Education Conversations

Welcome to the Season 1 finale! We’re ending the season with a two-part series of episode highlights from the past year. You’ll hear some of your favorite guests and catch a few choice excerpts you may have missed.

Episode 23 is focused on Leadership in Education. Guest highlights include:

We’re ending Season 1 of our podcast with a two-part series of episode highlights from the past year. You’ll hear some of your favorite guests and catch a few choice excerpts you may have missed.

Episode 22 centers on the theme of Relationships and Resiliency. You’ll hear highlights from these guests:

Students across the country are experiencing a mental health crisis, and many students are struggling. But what happens when teachers are struggling too? Listen as host Jennifer Vigne talks with Mandy O’Malley, Director of Community Outreach at Resilient Retreat and a mental healthcare professional for over 20 years, about how we can support students and teachers so they can become more resilient and find well-being.

The world is rapidly changing and so too, must education. Many teachers are leading that charge, continuing to adapt, bringing innovative, creative approaches to the classroom so that they can best meet the unique needs of every student in their classroom and inspire a lifelong love of learning. In this episode, Jennifer Vigne talks with two Innovation Teachers of the Year, Josette Ortega and Amber Rylak.

Listen as Jennifer Vigne sits down with Matt Smith and Dr. Brittany Nielson, two key contributors in a regional initiative to support students who have stopped attending college or who were admitted but never enrolled. Learn about this great project, why the work of supporting students to help them complete their postsecondary education matters, and how relationships can make such a difference in helping students get back on track to reach their goal of a degree or certificate.

In this episode, Jennifer Vigne talks with Ronnique Major, the 2024 Sarasota County Teacher of the Year. Ronnique discusses how she was inspired to teach and how her many amazing mentors and teachers helped her develop into the educator she is today. Jennifer and Ronnique explore key qualities of exceptional educators and how relationships can make such a difference in the lives of young and veteran learners alike.

Listen as Jennifer Vigne talks with Braulio Colon, the Executive Director of the Florida College Access Network (FCAN), about the role of college access networks on the state and the local level. They explore how this community-focused model works and why college access networks are so important. Braulio shares his insight on the research that led to the creation of the Florida College Access Network, what he’s seeing in the Florida education landscape today, and how organizations can work to lift all students and open new pathways to postsecondary education.

Listen as Jennifer Vigne talks with Jessiah Straw, a 2013 graduate of Sarasota Military Academy whose remarkable journey to becoming the vice president of a Seattle-based holding company serves as a poignant story of the power of relationships, resources, and resiliency. Jessiah talks about how he navigated a complex world to succeed and the ways that scholarships helped him achieve his dreams, but not without some snags.