Episode 67

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) sits down with Sneha Biswas, CEO and founder of Early Steps Academy. Sneha is disrupting both the education and edtech space by bring supplementary real world learning to students around the globe. 

During this interview, we discuss: 

About our guest, Sneha Biswas:

Sneha, an IIT and Harvard graduate, grew up in Jamshedpur, a small town in Eastern India. 

She credits the 200+ awards that she won in debates and international competitions to her mother's push to make her read books, follow the news, and to frequently talk in front of people in different situations.

While these early experiences helped her achieve success in global settings, it deeply disturbed her that globally, many of her brilliant friends could not find great jobs or stagnated in their careers.

Sneha, Founder of Early Steps Academy, speaking at a UNICEF conference at age 10

Working across the USA, Africa, London and India, Sneha saw that smart people who lacked the training or knowledge to think and communicate confidently found it difficult to navigate in the real world, ultimately not reaching their full potential. With this pain in her heart and a desire to make education relevant (useful) and engaging (fun!), she started Early Steps Academy.

👉 Connect with Sneha Biswas: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sneha-biswas25/

What is the case study method?

The case study method, pioneered at Harvard, is known to develop higher-order cognitive learning skills. Learners master not just the concepts, but also the skills of critical thinking, real-world problem-solving, and powerful communication.

Early Steps' innovation in education brings this powerful learning technique to children as young as 8-18 years old.

👉 Learn more about Early Steps Academy: https://www.earlysteps.co/about

About The Edtech Guru:

Leena Marie Saleh aka The Edtech Guru has spent well over a decade helping to drive change within the education space. The Edtech Guru is a firm believer that with access and equity, we can drive even greater change.

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Episode 66

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) sits down in an interview with Katy Stover, former educator turned all star recruiter. She is the founder and CEO of Higher people. Katy and Leena break down the walls on how to really use LinkedIn to get the job you want. 

Who is Katy Stover? 

Katy is a learner, teacher, problem solver, hustler, networker, and entrepreneur.

She started her career teaching Geometry in South East Washington, D.C. as a Teach for America Corps Member. After seeing the inequities in education, she became passionate about teaching students and adults real world skills necessary for the workforce. She worked at Pearson and then General Assembly, running massive educational programs.

While at GA, she partnered with Fortune 500 companies, including Booz Allen, Bloomberg, Capital One, The Department of Defense, and Disney, to up-skill and re-skill their teams. After realizing that GA was only solving one piece of the talent puzzle, she sought to learn more about recruiting.

She then spent 2 years learning the ins and outs of recruiting at an executive search firm. Seeing a need to help companies in a 360 fashion, Katy founded Higher People.

While still an all-star recruiter, she also believes you have to find ways to motivate, re-skill, and retain your top talent.

When she’s not helping companies, she’s rock climbing, hiking with her dogs Johnny Cash & Bleu, re-exploring LA, listening to live music, and working on her "adulting skills."

Connect with Katy and Higher People:

👉 Website: higherpeople.co

👉 Instagram: @higher.people

👉 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/higherpeople

👉 Connect with Katy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katystover

👉 Reflection Survey: https://bit.ly/3wMvtfa

About The Edtech Guru:

Leena Marie Saleh aka The Edtech Guru has spent well over a decade helping to drive change within the education space. The Edtech Guru is a firm believer that with access and equity, we can drive even greater change.

Connect with us:

Want to sponsor a podcast episode? Contact: [email protected]

Episode 65

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) chats with Roger Sands. Roger is the CEO and Cofounder of Wyebot. Wyebot helps to support school districts and organization to have the Wi-Fi infrastructure to support all things' technology. That means everything from robotics, printers, laptops, smart speakers, securities and more. We so often things only about one side of K12, but the pandemic also showed us that there is more than just handing out devices and that districts needs to be able to optimize Wi-Fi to support the ever-growing classroom needs. 

Exactly how is Wyebot disrupting the Edutech space? 

So how is Roger disrupting the space? He has brought AI to the table. That's right, Roger and his team are bringing AI to IT. Roger and Leena discuss how AI is changing the game for school districts and giving them the gift of time. Leena and Roger also discuss the skills that students need to enter the workforce. 

In the episode, Roger and Leena discuss: 

What is Wyebot? 

Simplifying WiFi With Over 100 Years’ Wireless Experience

They are not your typical startup. Their leadership team has over 100 years’ combined networking experience, leading teams and solving problems for everyone from mid-market enterprises to the Fortune 150.

Wyebot's Mission:

Wyebot is transforming IT operations for companies around the world, and that innovation is only possible because we focus on new approaches, great ideas, and welcoming anyone who shares our goal. If you believe in simplifying the world’s technology problems with automation, they want you on board, no matter your race, age, gender, or religion.

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Episode 64

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) chats with Senior Product Manager and PMA Top Product Marketing influencer of 2021, Daniella Latham. Daniella has forged a very nontraditional pathway to become one of the top product marketers in the space. In this interview we talk about how to make the transition, what you can do to start creating our own pathway.   Leena and Daniella discuss all the truths of the job hunting strategies and tricks.  In the interview, we discuss why: 

Let us know your thoughts and if this brought you value. We hope this inspires you to know that you aren't loosing your identity, you are just evolving.   As always, like, share and comment below.

About Today's guest: 

Daniella is a product marketing professional with experience leading marketing and growth strategies. She is a life-long learner who thrives in cross-functional roles, and is obsessed with building user empathy.

Daniella's Areas of expertise:

Daniella is an active member of the product marketing community and love learning from others in the field. She was named a top 100 product marketing influencer in 2021 by the Product Marketing Alliance and a top 30 product marketer to watch in 2022. She is also a proud Toastmaster, and have also served as co-Director of EdTech Austin, the hub for all things EdTech in Austin, TX. 

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Episode 63

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) chat with job strategy and resume expert and rising LinkedIn superstar, Erin Lewber. Erin is a rock star resume and job search strategist to help former educators and return to work moms to coach and guide you to make the leap to a new career to back in. 

Leena and Erin discuss all the truths of the job hunting strategies and tricks. 

In the interview, Erin and Leena discuss why:

Let us know your thoughts and if this brought you value. We hope this inspires you to know that you aren't loosing your identity, you are just evolving. 

About Erin Lewber: 

By day, Erin work at Amazon Business (Amazon's B2B part of the business), where she leads a team of Strategic Adoption Managers who help Amazon's Fortune 100 Customers build customized B2B Procurement strategies and reach their organizational procurement goals using Amazon Business. 

Outside of Amazon, Erin is a professional branding and job search strategist for teachers and moms. Erin helps career transitioners and return to work professionals build a job search strategy (because yes, you need one!) and authentically promote "their brand" across their resume, LinkedIn, and job search, so you can confidently land a new role.

Aside from all of that, she has a fantastic husband, two kids, and a dog. She is also a novice beekeeper, crochet-er, and love anything in the great outdoors!

She loves connecting and mentoring on LinkedIn - DM her anytime!

👉 Need a free resume template?

👉 Connect with Erin on LinkedIn 

About The Edtech Guru:

Leena Marie Saleh aka The Edtech Guru has spent well over a decade helping to drive change within the education space. The Edtech Guru is a firm believer that with access and equity, we can drive even greater change.

Connect with us:

Want to sponsor a podcast episode?  Contact: [email protected]

Episode 62

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (The Edtech Guru) breaks down what things you should be thinking about this summer to level up your teaching. So much has and hasn't changed in the few short years of the pandemic. One thing is certain, that teaching has to evolve. But what exactly needs to change? Leena breaks down what you can change to have short wins in your classroom today!   What tips will you take this summer to prepare for the next school year?

About The Edtech Guru:

Leena Marie Saleh aka The Edtech Guru has spent well over a decade helping to drive change within the education space. The Edtech Guru is a firm believer that with access and equity, we can drive even greater change.

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Episode 61

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) talks the teacher transition process with former educator and instructional coached turned District Engagement Advocate (Education Account Rep), Scott Nunes (aka MrNunesTeach) about what it took to make the change, and what he has learned throughout the process. We talk hard truths and the realities. Sometimes the post transition can be challenging and Scott gets raw about what he is learning and has learned. 

This series was made as requested by you all. This was designed to support those thinking about the change or making the change, to let you know that you are not alone. 

Connect with Scott Nunes: 

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In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) sits down with former second grade teacher, Jordan Campbell turned Edtech marketer. Jordan and Leena openly discuss:

We also discuss mental health, why you can't just spray and pray and how to find your passion.

Each episode in this series is raw, candid, and emotionally. We hope that this episode helps guide you on your own transition and lets you know that you are not alone.

This series was inspired by teacher transitioners. We want you to know it's ok, there is a huge community of us. You are not alone. We hope this gives you a bit of not only inspiration, but hope. Each episode has its own unique spin as each journey is different and know that it's ok!

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About The Edtech Guru: 

Leena Marie Saleh aka The Edtech Guru has spent well over a decade helping to drive change within the education space. The Edtech Guru is a firm believer that with access and equity, we can drive even greater change. 

Connect with us: 

Want to sponsor a podcast episode? Contact: [email protected]

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) sits down with Former Educator turned Senior Instructional Designer Paisley Laundry. We have a very frank and hard conversation around what:

Everyone has their own journey outside the classroom, and in this episode, Paisley shared hers.

Let us know your thoughts about today's episodes and what key takeaways you had.

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(Disclaimer: The Edtech Guru's opinions are hers and hers alone)

In this episode, Leena Marie Saleh (AKA the Edtech Guru) breaks down what life is like going through the Teacher Transition process. We talk with Stella Ikhnana to discuss how she made the transition and what life is really like when you do decide to leave the classroom and what does it really look like post transition. 

We talk hard truths and realities of the transition process. 

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Connect with Us: 

Want to sponsor a podcast episode? Contact: [email protected]

(Disclaimer: The Edtech Guru's opinions are hers and hers alone)