Durga Suresh-Menon, PhD - Head of School: New England Innovation Academy. This is episode 776 of Teaching Learning Leading, K12, an audio podcast.

Durga Suresh-Menon, Ph.D., is Head of School at New England Innovation Academy. 

An energizing, dynamic and growth-minded educator with a record of inclusive leadership and passionate storytelling, Dr. Suresh-Menon joins NEIA with over two decades of collaborative higher-education experience, academic program development and a unique understanding of what makes students successful. She has a rich background in higher education, leadership, curriculum development, and academic excellence. 

Before joining NEIA, she served as Dean of the School of Computing and Data Science and Dean of Graduate Education at Wentworth Institute of Technology, as well as an Associate Professor, where she led efforts to implement progressive learning strategies and interdisciplinary curriculum that promoted innovation and global awareness. 

She is recognized for her work fostering a culture of growth, development and innovation, ensuring that a STEAM curriculum remains aligned with the ever-evolving technological landscape and industry demands. 

Fluent in multiple languages, Dr. Suresh-Menon loves to connect with tech-minded students and parents from all backgrounds and brings a global perspective and collaborative spirit to NEIA’s academic community.

What an awesome conversation!

So much to think about!

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

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Connect and Learn More:

https://neiacademy.org/

[email protected]

https://www.instagram.com/hello.neia/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/durga-suresh-menon/

Length - 37:41

Laura Levine - President & CEO - JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. This is episode 775 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Laura Levine has devoted her career to helping people of all ages better understand financial services through marketing and outreach, communications, and most recently, through education. In 2004, she became executive director of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, a Washington DC-based nonprofit organization committed to “financial smarts for students,” and was named President and CEO in 2011.  

Since taking over at Jump$tart, Laura has continued to raise awareness about the importance of financial literacy and the need for effective financial education. Under her leadership, Jump$tart launched the Jump$tart National Educator Conference, Jump$tart Financial Foundations for Educators and J$FFE Online, Project Groundswell/Check Your School and the Jump$tart Teen Teach-In, as well as the coalition’s social media efforts. Laura guided the expansion of Financial Literacy for Youth Month to the broader Financial Literacy Month (sometimes called National Financial Capability Month) observed today. While growing the coalition at both the state and national levels, she led the enhancement of legacy programs including the Jump$tart Clearinghouse and National Standards for Personal Financial Education.  

In 2008, Laura was appointed to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy by President George W. Bush and chaired the Council’s Youth Committee. She is currently a member of the Experian Consumer Council, the Forbes Nonprofit Council, CNBC Financial Wellness Council, the Community Advisory Forum for Fifth Third Bank, and has held many voluntary appointments, including having served on the Parent Cabinet for DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. Laura speaks and writes on financial literacy topics, especially guidance for parents and family members, and the important role that classroom-based financial education can have in advancing financial equity and inclusion. Laura began her career in credit unions and was a credentialed, Capitol Hill correspondent before moving into the securities industry. She served as Director of Editorial Services for the National Association of Securities Dealers (now FINRA) and, later, as Director of Education and Information for the NASD Office of Individual Investor Services. From 1999-2004, Laura was Director of the NASDAQ Educational Foundation. A native of Los Angeles, Laura holds a degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Southern California. She does not consider herself a financial expert, but rather, a staunch advocate for financial education and information and – she hopes – she has raised a financially literate son.

Our focus today is the need for financial education, the impact of financial education, and mobilizing passionate advocates nationwide.

Awesome conversation!

So much to learn!

So much to do!

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

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Connect & Learn More:

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https://www.jumpstart.org

https://x.com/JumpStart1995/

https://www.facebook.com/Jumpstart1995/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/jumpstart1995/

Length - 47:22

Jason McKenna - How A.I. and Robotics are Changing STEM Education. This is episode 774 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Jason McKenna is V.P. of Global Educational Strategy for VEX Robotics and author of “What STEM Can Do for Your Classroom: Improving Student Problem Solving, Collaboration, and Engagement, Grade K-6.” His work specializes in curriculum development, global educational strategy, and engaging with educators and policymakers worldwide.

Our focus today is "How A.I. and Robotics are Changing STEM Education."

So much to think about.

So much to learn.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

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Connect & Learn More:

https://www.vexrobotics.com

https://twitter.com/MckennaJ72

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-mckenna/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1954631456/ref=jmckenna

Length - 44:47

Hosho McCreesh - Psalms from the Badlands: 150 Psalms or Haiku Style Poems about the American Southwest. This is episode 773 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Hosho McCreesh is currently writing & painting in the gypsum & caliche badlands of the 

American Southwest. His work has appeared widely in print, audio, & online.

Our focus today is his work…. Psalms from the Badlands.

Awesome writing!

Excellent conversation!

So much to learn and think about.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

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Connect & Learn More:

hosho-mccreesh.squarespace.com/

https://x.com/HoshoMcCreesh

https://www.instagram.com/hoshomcc/

Length - 43:32

Annie Kessler - City Year New York and Student Success Coaches. This is episode 772 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Annie Kessler is a dedicated leader committed to advancing educational equity. She started her career in education as a City Year New York AmeriCorps Member, serving in a 5th grade classroom at PS48X in the South Bronx after receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English at Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland. Annie’s experiences as an AmeriCorps Member were transformative in her career journey and led her to become a Program Manager and then Director at City Year New York.

A little about … City Year New York:

City Year New York AmeriCorps members a.k.a Student Success Coaches (SSCs) serve full-time in 17 New York City public schools, reaching more than 7,000 students each day.  (They are basically an army of 20-somethings who come into community schools and serve as teacher helpers/caring adults.)

Our focus today is …. New York City will need to hire almost 4,000 more educators to meet new classroom size requirements.  Where will new teachers come from?

Awesome conversation!

Great focus!

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

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Connect & Learn More:

https://www.cityyear.org/

https://x.com/cityyear/

https://www.instagram.com/cityyear/

https://www.youtube.com/user/cityyear

https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-year/

https://www.facebook.com/cityyear/

Length - 32:56

Lee Matthew Goldberg- Miles in Time - Book 1: Solve the Mystery, Save the Future. This is episode 771 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the Anthony, Lefty, and Prix du Polar nominated author of fifteen novels including THE ANCESTOR and THE MENTOR, and THE GREAT GIMMELMANS along with his five-book DESIRE CARD series and the RUNAWAY TRAIN trilogy. 

MILES IN TIME came out May 2025. 

After graduating with an MFA from the New School, he’s been published in multiple languages and his writing has also appeared as a contributor in CrimeReads, Pipeline Artists, LitHub, Chicago Quarterly Review, Electric Literature, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Jewish Book Council, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Mystery Tribune, The Nerd Daily, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Maudlin House and others. 

His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. 

He is the publisher of Fringe Press, the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City.

Our focus today is Lee’s latest book - Miles in Time, Book 1: Solve the Mystery, Save the Future

Cool read!

Great characters!

Awesome conversation!

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

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Connect & Learn More:

https://leematthewgoldberg.com/

https://wisewolfbooks.com/2025/03/miles-in-time-miles-in-time-book-1-by-lee-matthew-goldberg

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXQQQT74?tag=w0a653-20&geniuslink=true

https://www.amazon.com/Time-Fixers-Travel-Mystery-Miles-ebook/dp/B0F643RXQ8?ref_=saga_dp_bnx_dsk_dp

https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/

https://bsky.app/profile/leematthewgoldberg.bsky.social

https://www.tiktok.com/@leematthewgoldberg

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8001634.Lee_Matthew_Goldberg

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Lee-Matthew-Goldberg/author/B00RPF06TS?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1627313638&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

Length - 32:31

Joshua Ray - Finding Your Balance: Personal and Professional Wellness Strategies for Effective Educational Leadership. This is episode 770 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Joshua Ray, EdD, is an educational speaker and author who has led the Professional Learning Communities (PLC) at Work® process at the elementary, secondary, and district level. He is passionate about building healthy school cultures, the work of collaborative teams, systems of support, and educator well-being.

As assistant superintendent, Dr. Ray helped schools collaboratively build district common assessments, unite around common expectations, and improve teaching and learning. He worked alongside principals and instructional coaches to make the PLC at Work process practical and meaningful.

Previously, Dr. Ray was principal at Greenwood High School and East Pointe Elementary School. Under his leadership, both campuses were selected by the Arkansas Department of Education to participate in the Arkansas PLC at Work project. Greenwood High School became a destination for schools and educators across the state looking to learn how to implement PLC work on a secondary campus. Similarly, East Pointe Elementary went from a “B” school to a distinguished Arkansas campus in the top 5% of performance and growth, resulting in nearly $150,000 of reward funding from the state of Arkansas and East Pointe being recognized as a “Leader in Me Lighthouse School.” Dr. Ray also serves as a member of Arkansas’s state guiding coalition focused on developing PLCs and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Ray was chosen to represent the University of Arkansas at the American Educational Research Association Conference as a David L. Clark scholar for his work on the wellness practices of educational leaders. He has published research on PLCs and educator well-being in Principal Magazine, The Standard, AllThingsPLC Magazine, and the Journal of Educational Administration.

Joshua holds a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Arkansas. He is a National Board-Certified Teacher and an Arkansas Master Principal graduate.

Our focus today is Josh’s latest book - Finding Your Balance: Personal and Professional Wellness Strategies for Effective Educational Leadership.

Great conversation!

Incredible focus.

Powerful book.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

You are AWESOME!

Connect & Learn More:

[email protected]

https://x.com/JoshRay711

https://www.instagram.com/joshray_consulting/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-ray-259426161/

https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Your-Balance-Professional-Educational/dp/1962188795

Length - 01:02:03

Theresa M. Callaghan, PhD - Help! I'm Covered in Adjectives - Cosmetic Claims & the Consumer: Navigating Science, Regulations, and Myths in the Beauty Industry, 2nd Ed. This is episode 769 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Theresa M. Callaghan, Ph.D. is a leading biochemist and skincare scientist with over 35 years of experience in international corporate skincare research. She is the author of Help! I’m Covered in Adjectives: Cosmetic Claims & The Consumer – Navigating Science, Regulations, and myths in the Beauty Industry, 2nd Edition. She has also had more than 150 scientific and technical articles published. 

She sits on the scientific editorial review board of the International Journal of Cosmetic Science and is an active member of a number of professional societies including the British Herbal Medical Association, & the Scandinavian Society of Cosmetic Scientists. She is also an advisor to TKS Science Publisher; (HPC Today Journal) is Scientific Editor at EuroCosmetics Magazine, as well as writing a monthly column on Claims Insights for them. She contributes a monthly article to BEAUTYSTREAMS on ingredient technologies.  

Callaghan is a graduate biochemist from the University of Bath, with a doctorate (PhD) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel). Following her PhD, she then moved to Paris, France as a post-doctoral research fellow at the Pasteur Institute. While she was working there, she was invited to support LVMH-Dior with their Capture project, and this is how she entered the world of cosmetic science, and the skin care industry in particular.

Over 15 years ago, she set up a cosmetics scientific development consulting business, working with ingredient suppliers, brands, and also service providers in clinical and pre-clinical testing and research. 

Born and raised in Wales, she now resides in Germany.

Amazing information!

Great conversation!

So much to learn and understand.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

You are AWESOME!

Connect & Learn More:

Connect with Theresa M. Callaghan

Length - 01:00:27

Ryan Gottfredson - Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation. This is episode 768 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Ryan Gottfredson, Ph.D. is a cutting-edge leadership development author, researcher, and consultant. He helps organizations vertically develop their leaders primarily through a focus on mindsets. Ryan is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author of Success Mindsets, The Elevated Leader, and Becoming Better. He is also a leadership professor at the College of Business and Economics at California State University-Fullerton.

Our focus today is Ryan’s latest book - Becoming Better: The Groundbreaking Science of Personal Transformation

So much to learn and understand.

Great conversation!

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

You are AWESOME!

Connect & Learn More:

[email protected]

https://ryangottfredson.com/

https://twitter.com/RyanGottfredson

https://www.instagram.com/ryangottfredson/

https://www.facebook.com/RyanGottfredsonPhD/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryangottfredson/

Length - 55:39

Madelyn Simon - Writer & Artist: Poppy's Sweet Sibling Story. This is episode 767 of Teaching Learning Leading K12, an audio podcast.

Madelyn Simon is a proud native New Yorker who grew up with a love of nature… especially plants and animals. She loved it so much that in 1979 she started Madelyn Simon & Associates Inc. where they designed, installed, and maintained live plants both indoors and out. The company grew (forgive the pun) and serviced 700 corporate clients weekly until she retired in 2006.

When her daughter was young, she would ask Madelyn to dream up stories to share each night before bed. Not one, not two, but three stories every night before they could turn off the light. Now, Madelyn wants to share these stories with the world.

In 2006, after retirement, watercolor painting and oil painting became her passions, as well as a rekindling of her love of storytelling. 

When her daughter was young, she would ask Madelyn to dream up stories to share each night before bed. Not one, not two, but three stories every night before they could turn off the light. Now, Madelyn wants to share these stories with the world.

Our focus today is Madelyn’s book - Poppy’s Sweet Sibling Story. The 7th story in her series.

Thanks for listening!

Thanks for sharing!

Before you go...

You could help support this podcast by Buying Me A Coffee. Not really buying me something to drink but clicking on the link on my home page at https://stevenmiletto.com for Buy Me a Coffee or by going to this link Buy Me a Coffee.

This would allow you to donate to help the show address the costs associated with producing the podcast from upgrading gear to the fees associated with producing the show. That would be cool. Thanks for thinking about it. 

Hey, I've got another favor...could you share the podcast with one of your friends, colleagues, and family members? Hmmm? What do you think? Thank you!

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Connect & Learn More:

https://www.madelynsimon.com/

Amazon link for Poppy’s Sweet Sibling Story

Amazon Author Link

Length - 18:09