Jackie Foor is the Executive Director of the Consortium for Public Education, a nonprofit that connects schools with partners and resources to help students prepare for their futures. 

In this episode, Jackie shares what it takes to run a successful and impactful nonprofit, reflects on how the collapse of the steel industry shaped the Pittsburgh region, and discusses the growing role of AI in education. She also explains how the consortium works to bridge the gap between what students learn in school and the skills they need to succeed in the workforce and in postsecondary education.

Later in the episode, recent Penn State graduate student Edward Amoah joins the conversation. Edward recently earned his doctorate in ecology with a dual title in international agriculture and development and is currently a postdoctoral researcher and ICDS Rising Research Fellow. He is President of Nyansapo Labs, whose mission is to expand equitable access to targeted teaching and personalized learning through AI-enabled teaching and learning systems. Edward participated in the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps short course program, won the Nittany AI Challenge, and participated in the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program in the College of Engineering. Edward and Jackie discuss how the consortium goes about building relationships with workforce, as well as AI-adoption across schools and different industries. 

Episode Chapters:

0:00 - 4:50 Growing up in Pittsburgh during the collapse of the steel industry

4:50 - 5:58 Penn State experience

5:58 - 10:45 The importance of grant writing

10:45 - 15:07 The mission of the Consortium for Public Education

15:07 - 20:55 Bridging the gap between workforce and education

20:55 - 26:13 What it means to lead a nonprofit as a social entrepreneur

26:13 - 31:08 The future of education

31:08 - 32:05 Advice for someone wanting to start a nonprofit

32:05 - 33:57 Rapid Fire Segment

33:57 - 47:35 Student Questions

35:03 - 39:58 Building trusting relationships with workforce

39:58 - 45:33 How AI can and should be implemented into the classroom, augmenting the workplace

45:33 - 47:35 Re-inventing K-12 education with work-based learning opportunities 

About Jackie Foor

Jackie Foor is the Executive Director of the Consortium for Public Education, a nonprofit that connects schools with partners and resources to help students prepare for their futures. Jackie graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s in secondary education from the College of Education, and received her master's in organizational leadership from Carlow University. 

About Edward Amoah

Edward recently earned his doctorate in ecology with a dual title in international agriculture and development and is currently a postdoctoral researcher and ICDS Rising Research Fellow. He is President of Nyansapo Labs, whose mission is to expand equitable access to targeted teaching and personalized learning through AI-enabled teaching and learning systems. Edward participated in the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps short course program, won the Nittany AI Challenge, and participated in the Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship (HESE) program in the College of Engineering.

The Dare to Disrupt podcast is made possible by the generous support of the Penn State Smeal College of Business.