Pivot Point

Casey partnered with a rural racial justice advocacy organization that aimed to build inroads with their local business community.  The first step was clarifying business leaders' perceptions related to race, racism, equity, and inclusion. Casey got to work!  

Dr. Michelle Nicome drew on decades of experience in philanthropy to support a University that faced multiple and overlapping financial challenges. In this episode, we will hear how she responded to these challenges and navigated her own challenge of moving between the roles of consultant and researcher. 

When Dr. Lakita Little-McKinney began working with All-In-Milwaukee–a coalition of education partners helping limited-income, high-potential students graduate college–they wanted to better understand barriers to completion. Lakita found a way to center student voices in her investigation and empower All-In Milwaukee to expect more from its university partners. 

In this third episode, Dr. Leonard L. Richards Jr. encounters long-standing racial underrepresentation among faculty at a predominately white college of education. Even before critical race theory was in the news, Leonard was using it to bring together the past and present to chart a more responsible future for a college he loved.

In this week’s episode of Pivot Point, Riley Post helps West Point improve its peer evaluation process for cadets. You'll hear how Dr. Post identified inherent shortcomings in the process that existed, and how he supported the redesign of a more just and productive approach to peer evaluation for cadets at the United States’ most prestigious military academy.

Alex Yu says that when he launched his project he only had and a general sense that he wanted to help a non-profit organization improve. By the end of a process filled with all kinds of twists and turns, Alex was helping Colorado’s biggest LBGTQ+ advocacy organization remake the way they approached fundraising. 

Working with organizations on improvement can be complex and messy, but also highly impactful. Dr. Michael Neel interviews some of the most thoughtful, ambitious, and impactful leaders who graduated from Vanderbilt University’s Leadership & Learning in Organizations doctoral program. In each episode, you’ll hear the stories behind how a research-practice partnership was constructed and carried out, and the particular pivot points that made all the difference.

Check out this trailer to learn more and look for the first official episode to post November 11, 2022.  Please listen, subscribe, and share so others can find Pivot Point