EDUP Xcelerated Excellence

Our guest, Dr. Lisa Vollendorf, is the 6th President of SUNY Empire State University. Did you know that Empire State is New York’s only public, online institution of higher education?

Dr. Vollendorf shares the origin of Empire State University, for which equity and access were key drivers. The university offers two-year, four-year, and limited graduate programs. Graduates of the 2024 class range from age 17 to 77.

Empire is designated as an Autism Support College, recognized by the Anderson Center for Autism and is a leader in innovation regarding transferability of credits. Dr. Vollendorf explains how Empire is addressing the more than 40 million individuals in the United States who have attended college but have not completed or received credentials.

Listen to learn about Empire’s holistic approach for student support and more.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Resources:

Empire State University

The State University of New York (SUNY)

EDUP PCO

The EDUP Experience

#onlinelearning

#studentsupport

#autism

Our guest ⁠⁠Andrés Acebo⁠⁠, Interim President of ⁠⁠New Jersey City University⁠⁠ shares how he and the NJCU community have forged a new mission and vision for what he calls a “Student Ready” college.

President Acebo stresses the importance of shared governance, while insisting on ways to meet the needs of students and communities served. NJCU is federally recognized as a minority serving institution (MSI). Andy explains how his professional and personal missions are reflected back in the experiences and successes of the NJCU student body.

He shares his insights on educational effectiveness and equity and the recent Supreme Court ruling, banning race-based admissions for institutions of higher education (IHEs).

Your Host: ⁠⁠Jacob Easley II, PhD. PMP⁠⁠

Resources:

⁠⁠NJCU Admissions⁠⁠

ROI-NJ.Com: ⁠⁠For NJCU’s Acebo, Success Story Born of Opportunity, Affirmative Action College Ruling Hits Home⁠⁠

⁠⁠The EDUP Experience⁠⁠

Our guest Steven Simmons, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Nilent, NIL Enterprise Solutions, shares experiences supporting college athletes for financial literacy, wellbeing, and social media branding.

Partnering with colleges and corporate bands, Steve shares how the Nilent service model reflects a mix of alturism and mercenary capitalism. The model is driving solutions in the wake of the recent federal ruling allowing college athletes to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL). He underlies the importance of authentic engagement not only across Nilent services, but for athletes in branding, and colleges in educating.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Episode Sponsor: Elation Communications

Resources:

Federal judge blocks NCAA from enforcing NIL rules

EDUP Legal

EDUP The Experience

Dr. Kevin Kumashiro, Interim Dean for the School of

Dr. Kumashiro is a scholar and advocate of anti-oppressive education and share frameworks to guide educator preparation and educational equity. He shares examples of how to operationalize these frameworks across different contexts within the education profession. His inspiration is drawn from social movements.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

Sponsor:

#Liberatoryeducation

#anti-oppresiveeducation

#educatorpreparation

Dr. Elsa Núñez is the President of Eastern Connecticut State University, Connecticut’s only public liberal arts institution of higher education. Dr. Núñez shares her lived experiences, and those as a university president looking toward retirement who is a lifelong learner.

She discusses the importance of a liberal arts education and educational attainment. She champions excellence and access and shares with the EDUP Xcelerated Excellence community the evolutionary process defining the unique excellence of Eastern.

Dr. Núñez shares the importance for education leaders to attend to social media, a collaborative approach for strategic planning, and brand identity development. She explains the power of kindness in society and how to manage work-life-balance as an educational leader.

Equity and effectiveness at Eastern are undergirded by a quality educational experience and opportunities for motivated students who otherwise might not have them.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP The Experience

Resources

Start your Eastern Personalized Journey https://www.easternct.edu/viewbook/

Connecticut State Colleges and Universities

Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges

#liberalarts

Guest, Dr. Alisha Pollard, is President of Warriors Helping Achieve Triumph (or “WHAT”). What is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to empowering individuals of all ages through enriching experiences and knowledge-sharing sessions, while encouraging self-confidence and the desire to excel. Dr. Pollard, describes how WHAT supports students and their families achieve financial literacy.

Recording during the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024, Las Vegas, NV, Dr. Pollard shares how authentic relationships have garnered positive connections across the Marketing 2.0, Healthcare 2.0 and other concurrent conferences.

She inspires educators and educational organizations to seek to level the playing field, championing equity to communities lacking in tools and resources.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP The Education Experience

#Financialliteracy

#justice

#equity

#networking

Meet Ty-Quan Payne, Dean of School Culture at Ivy Hill Prep in Brooklyn, NY. Ivy Hill Prep is a small charter school serving grades K-5. Mr. Payne is also an artist and founder of #LovePayne Productions offering independent executive producer services for theatrical productions, as well as photography, dramaturgy, and acting coaching services.

He shares how the use of martial arts at Ivy Hill Prep is married to the social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum to aid in students’ holistic develop. He stresses the school’s vision for preparing students in shaping the future.

Recorded during the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024, Las Vegas, NV, Ty-Quan explains that the conference sessions have helped him to improve his leadership in oder to better support others.

Ty-Quan advises those seeking to champion effectiveness and equity in education to align their hearts and minds for good and execute their vision.

Find Ty-Quan Payne on X: @iamlovepayne

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUPTheEducationExperience

#SEL

#SocialEmotionalLearning

#Charterschool

#Leadership

#Arts

#MartialArts

Meet Dr. Christopher Bonn, President and CEO of BonFire Leadership Solutions LLC. He is a former school district superintendent, the author of Igniting Change: The BonFire Principles for Transforming Toxic Organizations, and a university faculty member. Chris works with the technology industry and school systems to achieve greater efficiencies for educational outcomes through the use of assistive and other forms of technology.

Recorded during the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024 in Las Vegas, NV, Dr. Bonn advocates for expanded learning about AI and assistive technologies to aid in the democratization of education.

For the advancement of educational effectiveness and equity, he encourages those who support education to continually find ways to work with schools to simplify the non-instructional responsibilities of teachers to maximize their time for teaching and learning.

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP Xcelerated Excellence (a podcast)

Resources:

#AI

#Educationaltechnology

#Technology

#Assistivetechnology

Guest Jeannette Eastin is the founder of Refound Education. Her passion for democratizing education lends itself to supporting families, educators, and communities with innovations and connecting them to vital resources.

Jeannette sat down with EDUP Xcelerated Excellence during the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024, Las Vegas, NV. She appreciates the opportunities for networking and growing the reach of her organization.

She reminds all educators, innovators, and entrepreneurs to never give up in pursuit of their goals. Keep standing!

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP Xcelerated Excellence

EDUP The Experience

#refounded

#solutions

#innovation

#networking

Guest Rodney Toulson, owner of Restorative Consulting Services, shares the importance of systemic restorative practices for schools and school districts. The outcome is a transformed learning community.

Recorded at the Education 2.0 Conference, 2024, Las Vegas, NV. Rodney speaks on the multi-generational composition of conference participants as an environment for new learning.

He urges community members of color to join the education profession as agents for positive change.

Join Rodney Toulson on X: @RodneyToulson

Your Host: Jacob Easley II, PhD, PMP

EDUP Xcelerated Excellence (a podcast)

EDUP The Experience

#restorativepractice

#restorativecounseling

#restorativeeducation