AI-reading of Ryan's new article, "Closing Remarks - Week 6 - Friendships through Affiliation"

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What do you do when your engagement goals are climbing, your content has gone all-ask and no-story, and there's no budget to hire a writer? At UTEP, you stop looking inward and start looking out — to your own alumni.

In this special Agora edition of the podcast, Sydney Bertram, Assistant Vice President for Strategic Communications and Engagement at UTEP, shares how her team broke out of the "transactional loop" by launching the Miner Nation Contributors Program — a fractional team of alumni freelancers who bring an authentic voice and institutional pride that money can't buy. Sydney walks through the build, the pay-per-piece model, the CASE-metrics framework that proved its impact (contributor content was UTEP's highest-engagement content type in FY25), and three diagnostic questions for your own shop. Hosted by Ryan Catherwood with Agora Leader - Annie Quade.

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AI-reading of Dave Hail's new article, "Too Big to Be a Cause."

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This week on Keynote, Ryan sits down with Patrick Auerbach, Vice President for Advancement with the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, for a wide-ranging conversation about affinity, philanthropy, identity, and the changing nature of engagement work. After more than two decades leading alumni relations and engagement efforts at the University of Southern California, Patrick reflects on his transition into community foundation work and what he has learned from helping donors align their values with causes that matter most to them.

Watch the full-length version on YouTube.

Together, Ryan and Patrick explore the difference between affiliation and affinity, why younger donors increasingly prioritize cause-based giving over institutional loyalty, and how organizations can create deeper connections rooted in values instead of transactions. The conversation also dives into identity-based engagement, the realities of navigating politically diverse constituencies, and what higher education can learn from philanthropy-centered organizations.

Patrick offers thoughtful reflections on donor psychology, institutional reputation challenges facing higher education, and the importance of serving as a connector between people, passions, and purpose. It is an honest and nuanced conversation about what engagement work looks like in a world where trust, identity, and meaning increasingly shape philanthropic behavior.

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AI-reading of Ryan's new article "Closing Remarks - Week 5 - Honest Convos are on Podcasts"

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AI-reading of Kristin's new article, "Say the Hard Thing—But Say it with Care."

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In this episode of Keynote, Ryan sits down with Mackenzi Huyser, Vice President for Advancement and Chief Academic Officer at Trinity Christian College, for a conversation unlike any previously featured on Speaking Engagement.

Watch the Full-Length edition on YouTube (48-mins)

Last fall, Trinity Christian College announced that it would close at the end of the academic year. In this deeply reflective discussion, Mackenzi shares what it has been like to lead an institution through its final months, including the challenges of communicating closure, fundraising during a wind-down, supporting students and employees through grief, and helping alumni process the loss of a place that shaped their lives.

But the conversation is not simply about institutional closure. It is about community, memory, identity, and the surprising moments of joy that can emerge in difficult seasons. Ryan and Mackenzi explore what institutions owe their people in moments of transition, why engagement has actually increased since the closure announcement, and what higher education leaders can learn from Trinity’s experience as demographic and financial pressures continue reshaping the sector.

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AI-reading of Ryan's Closing Keynote this week, "Fixing the Broken Experience."

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In this Breakout episode, Ryan is joined by Dave Hail and Kristin Hanson to discuss two big questions shaping the future of higher education: what happens if universities move toward a lifelong “subscription” model, and how does AI fundamentally change what colleges are actually teaching?

The conversation begins with a follow-up to the “60-Year Degree” debate, exploring David Rosowky's follow up article "Built for Four Years. Needed for Sixty" on Fortune.com whether higher education is structurally capable of supporting lifelong learning relationships with alumni. Ryan, Dave, and Kristin unpack the infrastructure challenges behind subscription-style education models, including governance, employer expectations, continuing education, and whether institutions are equipped to provide personalized learning experiences long after graduation.

The second half of the episode shifts to a provocative article from Dartmouth’s provost, Santiago Schnell, arguing that AI is forcing higher education to move beyond polished output and refocus on judgment, reasoning, and intellectual accountability. The discussion explores whether universities are truly prepared to evaluate critical thinking instead of production, what happens to large-scale public education models in an AI-driven world, and why the real value of higher education may increasingly lie in teaching students how to learn, adapt, and navigate uncertainty.

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AI-generated reading of Annie Bastida Quade's new article "Substract First"

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