On Balance

In this episode of On Balance, Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Marcus Kennedy, General Manager of Intel Corporation’s Gaming Division.

Intel’s mission is to shape the future of technology to help create a better future for the entire world. By pushing forward in fields like AI, analytics and cloud-to-edge technology, Intel’s work is at the heart of countless innovations. From major breakthroughs like self-driving cars and rebuilding the coral reefs to things that make everyday life better like blockbuster effects and improved shopping experiences — they’re all powered by Intel technology.

Learn more about Intel!

Novel Effect is an app that uses voice recognition to follow along with interactive music, sound effects, and character voices (i.e., “soundscape”) as you read aloud from your favorite children’s books. Parents, kids, and teachers call it “magical." Parents Melissa and Matt Hammersley came up with the idea for Novel Effect after Matt watched his friend read aloud with a young child while adding her own silly voices and sound effects. The child laughed and begged to read more books. It was magical and stuck with them.

In this episode of On Balance, Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Dr. Rufus Tony Spann, a renowned counselor, educator and thought-leader passionate about shifting culture of mental health and wellness by promoting inclusivity for all people.

As Executive Director of Mental Health at TimelyMD, he oversees a national network of licensed providers trusted to provide virtual therapeutic counseling, in-the-moment behavioral health support, health coaching and crisis intervention services to college and university students.

The founding member and former Chief Clinical Officer of Hurdle, a digital health platform for people of color, Dr. Spann brings extensive experience in creating equity within mental health and reducing barriers to access to increase preventative wellness for all. He has honed his expertise at the intersection of mental health and higher education over the last decade, and continues to teach at the University of Southern California and serve on the Forbes Health Advisory Board.

Learn more about TimelyMD here!

Dr. Rod Berger sat down with, Julia Rafal-Baer, Ph.D., the managing partner of ILO Group. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Rafal-Baer played an instrumental role advising school district and state education agency leaders across the U.S. and led a nationwide effort to safely reopen schools, accelerate learning, and strengthen critical supports for students. She serves as an expert advisor to the COVID Collaborative.

Prior to founding ILO Group, Dr. Rafal-Baer served as the chief operating officer at Chiefs for Change, a nationwide network of district and state education leaders, where she helped transform the organization from a small start-up to an $11M high-impact national nonprofit. She coached and mentored more than 50 leaders through the Future Chiefs program at Chiefs for Change, half of whom went on to become superintendents and commissioners. Dr. Rafal-Baer previously served as assistant commissioner of the New York State Education Department. In 2020, she was appointed by the U.S. secretary of education to a four-year term on the National Assessment Governing Board.

In this episode of On Balance, Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Ricky Blair, the founder and director of Platform Seven.

Platform Seven is a Los Angeles-based life and business mentoring consultancy helping to unlock the potential in young adults and entrepreneurs.

Built on Ricky’s experience of leaving school at sixteen with bad grades and poor prospects, then going on to establish an award-winning central London real estate company, Hatton Real Estate, which transformed the entire industry before being sold to the highest of multiple bidders, Platform Seven exists to make the impossible possible for others. And to provide a vital bridge between education and succeeding in the real world.

From a young real estate entrepreneur to a business mentor and success therapist, Ricky gives young adults and entrepreneurs the self-belief, skills, and strategies to succeed.

Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Anurupa Ganguly, the founder and CEO of Prisms of Reality. She created Prisms to level the playing field for all students in mathematics and the physical sciences. Prisms, is building a spatial learning platform that rapidly improves student engagement & performance in Math. Prisms does this by immersing students in compelling real-world problems that foster kinesthetic sense-making, student intuition, and deeper connections between physical and abstract representations.

Learn more about Prisms here! 

On Balance with Hardeep Gulati

In this episode of On Balance, Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Hardeep Gulati, CEO of PowerSchool, the leading provider of K-12 software and cloud-based solutions to improve educational outcomes and simplify school operations. PowerSchool supports more than 45 million students in more than 90 countries and reaches 75% of students in North America. Rod and Hardeep discussed all things education in 2022 and beyond, along with tidbits about dinner-time conversations and the role education plays in family discussions.

On Balance with Kimberly SmithDr. Rod Berger recently sat down with Kimberly A. Smith, the co-launch and lead for the Center for Inclusive. Rod and Kimberly discuss inclusivity and representation in education. Kimberly is passionate about professional development for educators, introducing entrepreneurship in education, and promoting diversity and inclusion in #curriculum content.

Learn more about the Center for Inclusive Innovation here!

In this episode of On Balance, Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Ardis Kadiu, CEO and founder of Element451, a customer relationship management (CRM) software company. They discuss the innovation of processes and experiences for students in higher education.

Being a first-generation college graduate of an immigrant family, he’s thankful for his collegiate experience, he knew he wanted to improve the process of others. Ardis graduated from New York University - Polytechnic School of Engineering in 2007.

Learn more about Element451!

In this episode of On Balance, Dr. Rod Berger sat down with Dr. Gyimah Whitaker, Deputy Chief Academic Officer of Fulton County Schools in Georgia. Rod and Gyimah talk about the need for strong female leaders in education and the very important role they play. They also discuss the exodus of education professionals and the unique needs it poses to our communities.