An Educated Guest

Is the $1.8 trillion student debt crisis a symptom of a broken "Iron Triangle" in higher education? In this episode of An Educated Guest, Todd Zipper sits down with Daniel Pianko, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Achieve Partners, to dissect why 50% of college graduates are currently underemployed and how the "Learn and Earn" model is disrupting the status quo.

The conversation dives deep into the "Experience Paradox," a systemic failure where a majority of entry-level job descriptions require years of experience that recent graduates simply do not have. Drawing on his career—from Goldman Sachs to founding University Ventures—Pianko explains how Achieve Partners is addressing this head-on. He discusses their recently raised $450 million fund designed to acquire service businesses and integrate high-value training programs, effectively marrying the educational process directly to the needs of the employer.

We also tackle the friction within Prior Learning Assessment. Pianko highlights the frustrating reality that military veterans, such as battlefield medical corpsmen, often receive zero credit toward nursing school for their elite experience. We discuss the urgent need to fix these pathways and create a more fluid system for credit transfer that respects real-world expertise.

Finally, we explore:

• AI as a high-powered research tool: Moving the conversation past "cheating" and toward professional utility.
• The radical shift in funding: The idea of moving federal support from academic infrastructure toward tangible, job-based outcomes.
• The search for "Purple Squirrels": Identifying high-aptitude talent currently working in retail or service roles and providing the missing link to the corporate world.

This episode provides a blueprint for a more functional relationship between learning and earning, offering a roadmap for students, educators, and employers looking to restore the ROI of the American degree.

The Forest is the Classroom: How Terris King II is Revolutionizing Early Education

Can the future of education be found in the woods? In this episode of An Educated Guest, Todd Zipper sits down with Terris King II, founder of Temple X Schools, to explore how nature-based micro-schools are transforming urban education.

Terris shares his journey from teaching at the world-renowned Shanghai American School to developing "Forest Schools" in Baltimore that serve hundreds of children. We dive into his "Sacred Trinity" model—a partnership between public schools, churches, and forest systems—and discuss why he believes "Participatory Science" is the key to proving the academic rigor of outdoor learning. Plus, Terris discusses the urgent need for a "Digital Bill of Rights" to protect students in an increasingly screen-addicted world.

Is your degree program past its "sell-by date"?

In this episode of An Educated Guest, Todd Zipper sits down with Norm Allgood, Dean and CEO of the Lyonova Institute at Saint Leo University, for a candid look at the "mechanical truths" of higher education. After years of building Synergis Education and advising over 75 institutions, Norm is sounding the alarm: higher education is sleepwalking toward a cliff.

Norm breaks down the framework from his latest book, 10 Pillars of AI Enablement, explaining how universities can move beyond "detecting" AI to leveraging it as a force multiplier for student success. We dive into "Operation Relaunch" at Saint Leo, the urgent need to close the "experience gap" for graduates, and why the 1906 architecture of the Carnegie Unit is the biggest barrier to innovation in Title IV funding today.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why "Super Catholics" and mission-aligned work brought Norm back to the institutional side.
• The difference between AI implementation and AI enablement.
• The rise of "Category Killers": How non-Title IV providers are out-pacing traditional degrees in ROI.
• Why the 18-to-24-month window for AI adoption is the make-or-break moment for "laggard" institutions.

Getting into college is a massive achievement—but for first-generation students, graduating is often just the beginning of a new struggle. Why are so many talented graduates stuck in "underemployment" traps?

In this episode, Todd Zipper sits down with Sheila Sarem, Co-Founder and CEO of Basta. Sheila shares her journey from the front lines of hiring at DC Public Schools and KIPP to launching a nonprofit that bridges the "Last Mile" between college completion and career launch.

We discuss:

• The systemic "signaling" problems that keep recruiters from finding first-gen talent.
• How the Seekr Survey provides a roadmap for career readiness.
• The "Experience Paradox": How to land an entry-level job when you don't have a traditional internship.
• Basta's recent expansion into the Carolinas and Philadelphia.
• What university presidents should be measuring beyond graduation rates.

Whether you are an educator, a hiring manager, or a student of the labor market, this conversation offers a data-driven look at how we can finally fulfill the promise of higher education for everyone.

In this episode of An Educated Guest, host Todd Zipper sits down with Rob Holmes, co-founder of ForgeNow, to discuss the revolutionary "Micro-College" model. As traditional higher education faces a crisis of cost and duration, ForgeNow is providing a high-speed, high-ROI alternative by training students in the essential trades—HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, and Facilities Maintenance—in just eight weeks.

Rob shares the "red thread" behind ForgeNow’s mission: providing a pathway to a middle-class life without the burden of soul-crushing debt. We explore the specific success they’ve had with the veteran community through the DoD SkillBridge program, the importance of "Workforce Pell" in modernizing federal aid, and why the trades are no longer just a "Plan B," but a primary path to a fulfilling career. Whether you’re an edtech innovator or a policy seeker, this conversation offers a blueprint for how we can better align education with the immediate needs of the workforce.

On this episode of An Educated Guest, host Todd Zipper sits down with Mark Milliron, President of National University, to explore how higher education can better serve the majority of today's learners: non-traditional, working, and military students. Mark breaks down National University's unique 54-year history and its innovative four-week course model designed to reduce cognitive load for busy adults.

The conversation dives deep into the true value of a degree, defining it through the three buckets of credentials, connections, and experiences. Mark also shares his "possibilist" view on artificial intelligence, explaining why AI should be viewed as a tool for "collective intelligence" rather than a threat of cognitive offloading. Finally, they discuss the critical need to expand employer tuition assistance to fuel a new era of learn-and-earn pathways.

Are we handing the keys of AI to a generation of "passengers"? In this episode of An Educated Guest, host Todd Zipper talks with Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of The Disengaged Teen.

Rebecca shares her journey from refugee camps to the halls of Brookings, explaining why she believes the current risks of generative AI for K-12 learners outweigh the benefits—unless we change the way we teach. We dive into her "Four Learning Modes" framework to understand the spike in teenage disengagement and discuss the chilling reality of a workforce where "AI agents" are increasingly preferred over entry-level human hires.

From the "Experience Paradox" to the "Cognitive Offboarding" trap, Rebecca provides a roadmap for parents and educators to help students move from being passive recipients of information to intrinsically motivated "Explorers" who can partner with AI rather than be replaced by it.

What happens when you apply the principles of design thinking to the Ivy League career journey? In this episode of An Educated Guest, host Todd Zipper talks with Joe Catrino, the Executive Director of the Dartmouth Center for Career Design.

Joe shares his "circuitous" journey from first-gen history major to ESPN and Yale admissions, eventually finding his calling in "Life Design"—a methodology pioneered at Stanford that encourages students to prototype their way through college. We dive deep into Dartmouth’s landmark $30 million internship endowment, which provides students with grants up to $6,500 to pursue unpaid roles in government, non-profits, and startups.

Beyond the funding, we discuss the "Entry-Level Paradox" and how Joe’s office is leveraging digital tools to help students visualize non-linear career paths from philosophy majors to tech leaders. Whether you are a parent worried about the 2026 job market or a higher ed leader looking to scale student outcomes, this episode provides a masterclass in modern career design.

Can the emotional power of a blockbuster movie actually help a student master organic chemistry? In this episode of An Educated Guest, host Todd Zipper talks with Josh Reibel, CEO of Dreamscape Learn, about the radical redesign of the learning experience.

Josh shares his "circuitous" 35-year journey from being a high school teacher in the late 80s to serving as the CEO of Amplify Learning and eventually partnering with Michael Crow and Walter Parkes to lead Dreamscape Learn. We dive into the "Alien Zoo"—the flagship VR curriculum where students become field biologists in a cinematic intergalactic sanctuary—and discuss why emotional engagement is the key to student persistence.

Beyond the headsets, Josh explains the logistics of the "Immersive Classroom" and how VR can serve as a "departure hub" for students regardless of their geography or socio-economic background. Whether you are a college president worried about the enrollment cliff or an educator looking for the next frontier of student engagement, this conversation provides a blueprint for the future of the 21st-century classroom.

Is a liberal arts degree actually the secret weapon in the age of AI?

On this episode of An Educated Guest, Todd Zipper sits down with Dr. David Watts, the Director of the Davis Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Colby College. David recently made headlines by leaving a top executive role at IBM to lead this initiative at a small liberal arts college.

They discuss why the future of the workforce demands more than just technical skills and why "interdisciplinary" thinking is the new currency. David opens up about the challenge of "cognitive offboarding"—the risk that students might outsource their critical thinking to algorithms—and how higher education must pivot to prevent it.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why "entry-level" jobs are disappearing (or at least, changing forever).
• How to teach AI ethics without it feeling like a "compliance checkbox."
• The surprising intersection of AI, philosophy, and the arts.
• How faculty are moving from grading "outputs" to grading "process."

To learn more about the Davis Institute, visit the Colby College website.