DisruptED

As industries across the globe push deeper into digital transformation, the demand for STEM talent in the U.S. is soaring—and increasingly unmet. In fact, the growth of jobs requiring STEM proficiency has accelerated sharply in recent years, outpacing the pipeline of skilled workers, particularly in technical fields that require postsecondary education. The shortage isn’t just a labor market issue; it’s a risk to the nation’s innovation capacity and economic competitiveness.

So how do we inspire underrepresented students to see themselves in STEM before they ever step foot in a college classroom?

In the latest episode of DisruptED, host Ron J Stefanski sits down with Bryan Kelly, Senior Director of Data Products at Microsoft, for a powerful conversation about how early exposure, self-learning, and storytelling are reshaping the future of STEM education. From his own unconventional journey to the launch of a STEM-themed book series, Kelly shares why reaching kids before college is key—and how data can be a gateway to self-empowerment.

Key takeaways from the episode…

Self-Taught to Microsoft: Kelly shares how self-guided learning and determination took him from bookstores to building enterprise-level data products.

Early STEM Exposure is Critical: He argues that encouraging Black and brown students to pursue tech must start before college to prevent disillusionment and dropouts.

Storytelling as STEM Evangelism: Kelly introduces his new book, Cass Freeman: Decision Trees, a coming-of-age story that weaves real-world data science into a relatable, authentic narrative.

Bryan Kelly is a data and technology executive with over 15 years of leadership experience, currently serving as Senior Director of Data Products at Microsoft. He has led global teams of 100+ and managed $80M budgets across enterprise e-commerce, SaaS, marketing tech, and data strategy, with a consistent focus on operational excellence, data governance, and scalable architecture. Previously holding senior roles at Samsung and co-founding Montlake Labs, Kelly combines deep technical expertise with a proven track record in revenue growth, analytics innovation, and cross-functional collaboration.

As the demand for diverse, tech-savvy talent accelerates, the way we spark interest in STEM among underrepresented youth is evolving. At a time when fewer than 1% of venture capital dollars go to Black-led startups and authentic representation in tech remains scarce, books, media, and mentorship are becoming unconventional yet powerful tools for change. Increasingly, leaders in technology are realizing that early, culturally relevant exposure—not just curriculum—can ignite lifelong passion and close persistent equity gaps in STEM fields.

So, how do we transform STEM from an intimidating field into an accessible, relatable journey, especially for kids who’ve never seen themselves in tech?

In the second episode of this two-part series on DisruptED, host Ron J Stefanski continues his conversation with Bryan Kelly, Senior Director of Data Products at Microsoft. They explore Kelly’s new young adult book, Cass Freeman: Decision Trees, and the vision behind using fiction as a tool to demystify data science and inspire youth of color to see themselves as future technologists. The episode dives into why stories like Cass’ are critical—and how they’re part of a broader movement reshaping the culture of innovation from the ground up.

Key takeaways from the episode…

• Fiction as STEM On-Ramp: Kelly explains how Cass Freeman offers readers ages 12–18 an authentic, digestible introduction to data science through narrative and real-world challenges.

• Tech Meets Culture: The book intentionally represents underrepresented communities in tech, helping young readers see that they belong in spaces where big data, algorithms, and AI are shaping the future.

• From Books to Movements: Initiatives like Black Tech Saturdays and mentorship stories featured in the episode show how grassroots efforts create thriving ecosystems for diverse representation in tech in places like Detroit.

Bryan Kelly is a seasoned technology executive with over 15 years of leadership in data products, analytics, and enterprise platforms, currently serving as Senior Director of Data Products at Microsoft. He has led large-scale global teams and driven strategy across SaaS, marketing technology, and operations, managing budgets upwards of $80M. Known for his expertise in data governance, architecture, and digital transformation, Kelly combines technical fluency with business acumen to deliver measurable innovation and operational excellence at scale.

Detroit is rewriting the rules of workforce development by betting on technology, community, and second chances. Far from a top-down solution, this workforce transformation is driven by grassroots innovation and partnerships that reflect the city’s resilience. As employers call for job-ready talent and traditional education pathways fall short, leaders in Detroit are asking: What if we reimagined education and workforce development as a fully integrated, flexible, and deeply local system?

Can a city build a future-ready workforce by meeting people where they are and by redefining what learning, support, and access look like?

Dana Williams, the President and CEO at Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, Tiffany Graydon, the Director of Workforce Development and Education at Focus: HOPE, and Sandy Mead, the VP of Workforce Development at Skilltrade, join our host, Ron Stefanski, on this episode of DisruptED. Together, they explore Detroit’s radically collaborative approach to preparing residents for jobs in healthcare, skilled trades, and beyond, through hybrid training, social services, and systems built to include those often left behind.

Key Highlights from the Episode:

• Training meets real life: Skilltrade’s hybrid model blends online learning with weekend clinical labs, letting Detroiters learn around work, family, and life, providing a blueprint for inclusive workforce transformation.
• From rebellion to resilience: Focus: HOPE, born out of the 1967 uprising, has evolved from food distribution into a major force in workforce training.

• Beyond jobs—toward justice: DESC’s Project Clean Slate clears criminal records, removing barriers and opening doors to meaningful employment.

Dana L. Williams is a seasoned workforce development and human resources leader with expertise in strategic planning, employer engagement, and community relations. She currently serves as President and CEO of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, where she leads citywide workforce initiatives focused on innovation, equity, and economic growth. Her career spans leadership roles in HR, public affairs, and corporate philanthropy, with a consistent focus on building partnerships that align business goals with community impact.

Tiffany Graydon is an education and workforce development leader with deep expertise in program design, fiscal management, and strategic policy implementation. As Director at Focus: HOPE, she oversees operations that align workforce training with industry needs, while fostering cross-sector collaboration. Her career spans more than 15 years in advancing educational equity and technology integration to build sustainable career pathways in underserved communities.

Sandy Mead is a veteran workforce development strategist specializing in aligning healthcare and IT training programs with labor market demand. As Vice President at Skilltrade, she leads national efforts to expand access to hybrid and online certification pathways that connect underserved populations to high-demand careers. Her career includes over 20 years of leadership roles focused on employer engagement, digital learning, and partnerships that enhance workforce readiness across the country.

Today’s digital landscape isn’t just shaped by code—it’s shaped by how deeply companies listen. Whether in retail, software, or AI, brands that center their design around real user behavior are pulling ahead. Intuit’s “Follow Me Home” approach exemplifies this mindset, encouraging teams to observe customers in their daily environments to uncover real needs. This commitment to customer-centric innovation continues to influence how digital products are designed, tested, and trusted.

So how do personal passions like music, books, or frustration with bad service help create better digital experiences?

On this episode of DisruptED, host Ron J Stefanski welcomes back Scott Wilder, Global Head of Digital Self-Serve at LastPass and longtime friend from their Borders Books and Music days. Together, they reflect on how early exposure to physical retail and analog media helped inform Scott’s approach to customer-centric innovation, particularly in building digital self-service solutions rooted in empathy, simplicity, and trust.

Key Highlights:

• Fixing the Fractured Self-Serve Experience – Scott breaks down how disjointed help centers, support portals, and learning sites confuse users and weaken trust. He shares his approach to designing seamless, customer-first digital journeys.

• Bringing the Customer into the Room – Drawing on his time at Intuit, Scott explains how physically involving customers in product discussions—through calls, visits, or even team meetings—creates more meaningful innovation than spreadsheets ever could.

• Building Trust in an AI-Driven World – As AI tools become more central to support and learning, Scott argues that trust, clarity, and human touchpoints will define which experiences succeed and which fail.

This is a special treat to have Scott Wilder from Last Pass on the DisruptED podcast. Ron and Scott worked together for 5 years at Borders Books and Music. As they acknowledge on these shows, they learned an awful lot about the kind of intellectual curiosity that fuels innovation.

Scott is a recognized thought leader in advancing technology after leading a number of highly innovative tech initiatives as a key executive at Intuit, Google, Hubspot, Udacity, Coursera and Adobe. His passion for technology is fueled by intense curiosity about how to make things work better.

Technology disruption continues to reshape how we work, learn, and connect. From bookstores to browsers, the leap from physical to digital has transformed not only industries, but expectations. According to McKinsey & Company, generative AI alone could add up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy, making it vital to understand how curiosity, learning, and innovation fuel this transformation.

So what can we learn about today's digital evolution by revisiting the early internet days, especially from someone who built online experiences before “online” was mainstream?

On this episode of DisruptED, host Ron J Stefanski reconnects with longtime friend and fellow Borders alum Scott Wilder, now the Global Head of Digital Self-Serve at LastPass. Together, they explore how bookstores, browsers, and bold ideas shaped some of today’s most essential tech innovations. Their conversation tracks the early signals of technology disruption, from pioneering web platforms to building scalable, AI-enhanced learning and customer experiences.

In this episode, Ron and Scott discuss:

• Borders as a Digital Pioneer – Borders wasn’t just about books. Scott recalls how the company experimented with online media, store-level websites, and event integration—laying the groundwork for modern e-commerce personalization.

• Early Internet Innovation – From launching web support at Silicon Graphics to building web ad infrastructure at AOL, Scott helped define digital customer engagement before it became standard practice.

• Curiosity as a Catalyst – Whether in edtech or AI, Scott emphasizes how intellectual curiosity drives innovation, fuels collaboration, and helps overcome fear of new technologies.

This is a special treat to have Scott Wilder from Last Pass on the DisruptED podcast. Ron and Scott worked together for 5 years at Borders Books and Music. As they acknowledge on these shows, they learned an awful lot about the kind of intellectual curiosity that fuels innovation.

Scott is a recognized thought leader in advancing technology after leading a number of highly innovative tech initiatives as a key executive at Intuit, Google, Hubspot, Udacity, Coursera and Adobe. His passion for technology is fueled by intense curiosity about how to make things work better.

As climate instability worsens and aging U.S. infrastructure faces growing strain, energy resilience is no longer a future-facing issue, it’s a present-day necessity. A 2024 analysis found that U.S. counties experienced an average of 999.4 power outages over the past decade, affecting more than 540,000 customers per county, with disruptions occurring nearly every week. This underscores a steady rise in the power grid’s vulnerability. As cities like Detroit pursue sustainability, modular microgrids are emerging as a way to leapfrog outdated systems while also creating opportunity for local communities.

Can modular microgrids bring renewable power and career pathways to underserved cities?

DisruptED dives into this question with host Ron Stefanski and guest Ademola Fagade, founder and CEO of Geo Prime Energy. In this episode, they explore how Fagade is using Detroit as a launchpad for modular energy systems, innovative workforce training, and AI-driven energy planning. The conversation highlights a new era of energy and economic development from rethinking grid infrastructure to reimagining talent pipelines.

Highlights from the Episode:

• Workforce First, Grid Second: Geo Prime’s approach starts by sourcing, training, and empowering local talent, often from underserved communities, to manage and maintain advanced microgrid systems.

• AI-Powered Project Planning: CineFox, the company’s proprietary software, uses digital twins and AI simulations to reduce energy project costs, streamline compliance, and repurpose decommissioned power plants.

• Detroit as a Renewable Leader: While Fagade has global leads in Nigeria and South America, he’s determined to pilot the first hydrogen-based modular grid in Detroit to spark local impact and innovation.

Ademola Fagade is an industrial and systems engineer with deep expertise in energy infrastructure, process optimization, and agile project management. As CEO and co-founder of GeoPrime Energy, he leads the development of software-driven solutions for clean energy transformation, including AI tools that streamline power plant decommissioning. A career highlight includes directing the decommissioning of DTE Energy’s St. Clair Power Plant—a benchmark project in safety and efficiency for renewable conversion. 

Detroit is no longer just the Motor City, it’s becoming a hub for clean energy innovation. As climate change forces global shifts in infrastructure, the spotlight is turning to advanced, decentralized solutions like microgrids. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that microgrids could help improve resilience and reduce emissions, especially in aging urban power systems. With energy costs climbing and grid reliability becoming more critical, cities like Detroit are now racing to modernize their energy backbone.

Can aging coal-fired power plants transition to cleaner alternatives without disrupting our energy supply? And can Detroit, a city long synonymous with industrial decline, lead the way in the energy revolution?

This episode of DisruptED, hosted by Ron Stefanski, features entrepreneur and engineer Ademola Fagade, founder and CEO of Geo Prime Energy. Together, they explore how microgrids, hydrogen fuel, and modular energy systems are reshaping the future of sustainable power—and why Detroit is central to that transformation.

Key Highlights from the Conversation:

• Microgrids as a Bridge to the Future: Fagade outlines how modular microgrids can help large energy producers make gradual, safe transitions from fossil fuels to renewable energy without total infrastructure overhauls.
• Hydrogen's Disruptive Potential: With hydrogen fuel costs projected to fall from over $4.50 to as low as 13 cents per gallon thanks to new technologies, Fagade sees a realistic, scalable path toward green energy.
• Detroit as a Launchpad: Fagade shares how personal history, mentorship, and opportunity rooted him in Detroit—a city he now sees as essential to his mission of global energy transformation.

Ademola Fagade is the founder and CEO of GeoPrime Energy, a Detroit-based company pioneering modular microgrid technology and hydrogen integration. Fagade gained firsthand experience in power plant operations and decommissioning as a former DTE Energy engineer. His technical expertise and passion for innovation have earned him contracts with major utilities and partnerships with organizations like TechTown and NPower.

Detroit is once again at the center of industrial and technological reinvention. At New Lab, an innovation hub in the heart of the city, entrepreneurs, engineers, and dreamers are collaborating to redefine the future of energy and mobility. Energy innovation is no longer just a competitive advantage, it’s a necessity.. The manufacturing industry alone is responsible for a significant portion of global energy consumption, making energy efficiency a critical focus for future economic and environmental stability.

How can emerging entrepreneurs in the energy sector drive meaningful innovation while overcoming barriers to entry? What role does collaboration play in fostering breakthroughs in sustainability?

In the first of a three-part episode of DisruptED, host Ron Stefanski sits down with Ademola Fagade, founder and CEO of Geo Prime Energy. They discuss Fagade’s journey from Nigeria to Detroit, his deep passion for energy solutions, and how spaces like New Lab are cultivating the next generation of problem solvers.

Key Takeaways from the Conversation:

• Passion and exposure drive success. Fagade’s background in a competitive, innovation-focused environment helped shape his entrepreneurial spirit. His experience at DTE Energy gave him hands-on exposure to high-stakes projects, solidifying his commitment to the energy industry.

• New Lab is an ecosystem for collaboration. Entrepreneurs, engineers, and innovators are finding common ground in this unique workspace, where resources like prototyping labs and legal support remove barriers to entry.

• Sustainability is the future of industry. As energy consumption rises, solutions that optimize efficiency and reduce waste are important. Fagade’s company, Geoprime Energy, aims to contribute to this transformation through energy innovation that makes clean energy transitions more accessible and cost-effective.

Ademola Fagade is the CEO and Co-Founder of Geo Prime Energy, where he leads efforts to transform traditional power plants into clean energy sources through innovative technology and advanced software solutions. Fagade brings extensive experience in energy management, process optimization, and large-scale power plant decommissioning, drawing on his background in industrial and systems engineering and his leadership in the DTE Energy St. Clair Power Plant project.. His expertise in Agile methodologies, engineering design, and strategic partnerships has positioned him as a key figure in driving the transition to sustainable energy solutions.

The world of work is evolving at an unprecedented pace, driven by AI, Web3, quantum computing, and global interconnectedness. The rapid acceleration of technology and shifting workplace dynamics present both immense opportunities and challenges for professionals across industries. In an age where adaptability and resilience are key to success, how can individuals navigate this disruption while maintaining personal growth and well-being?

What does it take to thrive in a world where change is constant and disruption is inevitable? How can professionals embrace uncertainty, build resilience, and achieve success while maintaining a fulfilling personal life?

On this episode of DisruptEd, host Ron J. Stefanski sits down with Joe Gagnon, a serial entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and author, to discuss the evolving nature of work and the mindset needed to succeed in today’s fast-changing environment. From his humble beginnings in the Bronx to leadership roles at Ernst & Young and IBM, and ultimately launching multiple successful ventures, Joe shares the principles that have guided his journey and how endurance training has strengthened his professional and personal resilience.

Key takeaways from the conversation…

Adaptability and Curiosity Drive Success: Joe’s journey highlights the importance of embracing new technologies and challenges with an open mind. His willingness to say “yes” to opportunities allowed him to transition from an unknown professional to a highly successful entrepreneur.

Resilience is Built Through Consistent Effort: Whether in business or ultra-marathons, endurance and perseverance are key. Joe emphasizes the need to push through setbacks and continue learning and growing.

Intentional Living Leads to Fulfillment: Success is not accidental—it results from deliberate effort over time. By making conscious choices and prioritizing personal growth, individuals can lead more meaningful and impactful lives.

Joe Gagnon is a seasoned entrepreneur and executive with over 25 years of experience leading high-growth companies across industries, including SaaS, healthcare, and customer engagement. He is currently the CEO of RaYnmaker, an AI-powered sales and marketing platform for small businesses, and has previously led companies like 1upHealth, Sparkcentral, and Penn Foster. In addition to his business leadership, Joe is an endurance athlete, author, and podcast host, emphasizing resilience, adaptability, and high-performance living.

The pandemic magnified long-standing challenges in education, particularly in math, where students across the country have fallen behind. Research from McKinsey & Company found that students, on average, were five months behind in math due to COVID-19-related disruptions. However, the crisis also sparked innovation, with tutoring emerging as one of the most effective interventions for accelerating learning. As schools work to bridge the gap, what does it take to re-engage students and make math education more effective?

How can we help students not only catch up but also fall in love with math? That’s the question at the center of today’s episode of DisruptED, where host Ron J. Stefanski speaks with Phyllis Hillwig, the CEO of Eurekii. Hillwig has dedicated her career to reshaping math education, combining rigor, engagement, and measurable impact in her tutoring approach. In this episode, she shares her journey, insights into why students struggle with math, and how her startup is helping bridge the achievement gap.

Key takeaways from the episode…

Student engagement is crucial: Eurekii’s approach makes math learning fun and interactive, ensuring that students are excited about the subject rather than intimidated by it.

Rigor matters: Challenging students with complex problems fosters deeper learning and builds resilience, a crucial factor in long-term success.

Measuring success: Effective tutoring programs require clear, measurable outcomes to demonstrate impact and justify investment in educational interventions.

Phyllis Hillwig is the CEO of Eurekii, where she has spent over five years reshaping math education through engaging, student-first tutoring that emphasizes fun, challenging, and measurable results. With a background spanning educational publishing, business strategy, and K-12 learning, she has led initiatives to enhance student achievement through innovative teaching methods. Previously, she held leadership roles at organizations like BridgeEdU, Wisewire, and Words & Numbers, driving impactful educational programs and strategic growth in the industry.