🎙️ Episode 2 – Know Your Why Before AI: Building an Effective AI Workforce

Guest: Jennifer Eakin Womble, Conference Chair of FETC

Hosts: Dr. Michelle Ament & Arvin Ross

Presented by: The Human Intelligence Movement

🔍 Episode Summary:

In this powerful conversation, Jennifer Womble joins Michelle and Arvin to explore what it means to build an AI-ready education system without losing our human “why.” 

Together, they unpack the risks of tech-first thinking, the urgent need for AI literacy in schools, and how educators can reclaim the joy of teaching by using AI as a lift, not a replacement. From reimagining PD to rewiring mindsets, Jennifer shares how education systems can think more like startups and why adaptability, human connection, and purpose must lead the way.

💡 Key Insights & Takeaways:

• Start with Why—Always:Tech without purpose is noise. Jennifer reminds us that tools don’t teach humans, but humans do. Every AI integration must begin with clarity about what problem it’s solving for students and educators.
  

• AI as a Lift, Not a Layer: The best use of AI is to remove what weighs educators down, paperwork, data sorting, and feedback loops, so they can reconnect with students and reawaken the joy of teaching.
  

• Build Like a Startup: Bureaucracy can’t be an excuse. Jennifer calls on education to adopt a startup mindset: agile, inquiry-driven, and unafraid to challenge “how we’ve always done it.”
  

• AI + HI in the Classroom: Socratic dialogue. Curiosity-driven thinking. Personalized coaching. Jennifer illustrates how AI, when used well, can deepen student agency and support individualized growth.
  

• The Most Urgent Human Skill: Adaptability. Not just as a buzzword, but as a survival skill. It’s what every student will need in a world where the jobs and tools of tomorrow don’t yet exist.

🔗 Connect with Jennifer Womble:

• LinkedIn

• FETC Website

• • Leadhership Network

  
  

  🎙️ About the Hosts

  Michelle Ament and Arvin Ross come from different generations, experiences, and disciplines—but their unlikely partnership is built on mutual curiosity, deep listening, and a shared belief in the power of human connection. Their conversations are real, unscripted, and often challenging—in all the right ways.

  ⁠ Dr. Michelle Ament-⁠ ⁠@Michelle Ament⁠⁠ Co-President of the Human Intelligence Movement & Chief Academic Officer at ⁠Prosolve⁠.

  Arvin Ross-⁠ ⁠@ArvinRoss ⁠⁠ Co-Founder of ⁠Prosolve⁠, educator, speaker, and “adaptability enthusiast”.

  Jena Crossland-⁠ ⁠@JenaCrossland⁠⁠ ⁠ Production Manager and Director of Operations + Marketing at the Human Intelligence Movement.

  
  

  🔗 Join the Movement:

  Join the Human Intelligence Movement: https://humanintelligencemovement.org/

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