Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich, Strategic Advisor and former President for SkillsWave

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

Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich is starting a new university: New State University.

Join Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich and Lev Gonick on Voices of Innovation as they discuss Thackaberry-Voinovich newest project launch - a new university. According to Thackaberry-Voinovich, the university is certificate-first, competency-based, and will allow students to pursue individual certificates all the way to a Masters’ degree.

Sasha Thackaberry-Voinovich is a higher education leader in innovative learning models and the effective use of eLearning systems, who has supported teams and grown enrollments across a range of institutions, including as the Vice President of Student and Partner Services at Pearson, as Vice President for Online and Continuing Education at Louisiana State University, and more.

This episode was filmed at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.

Ellen Levy, Managing Director at Silicon Valley Connect

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

The natural convergence of technology and education has led to a breaking of education-silos.

Ellen Levy discusses the evolution of ed-tech with Lev Gonick in this episode of Voices of Innovation. “You see this convergence happening where you have these top founders who are very technically savvy saying, ‘there’s a reason I also studied psychology.,’” shares Ellen. 

Ellen Levy is a Senior Advisor to the President at Arizona State University and Managing Director of Silicon Valley Connect, working with organizations and entrepreneurs on driving innovation while also managing an angel investment portfolio of 50+ startups; she spends her time focused on technology-led innovation across sectors including financial services, healthcare and education with a particular interest in rapidly-growing startups and on issues related to the “Future of Work.”

This episode was filmed at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.

Rahim Rajan, CEO at AQL Labs & Vice-Chair at Seattle Colleges Foundation

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

“The biggest opportunity we have in front of us is educating the billions,” Rahim Rajan. Rahim joins host Lev Gonick for Voices of Innovation. 

Educating the billions, not the millions, on innovation in technology is Rahim Rajan’s mission with AQL Labs. Join the discussion with Rajan and Lev Gonick on modernizing and optimizing higher education institution legacies.

Rahim has worked at the forefront of technological advances in higher education - assisting institutions in leveraging the newest innovations in technology.

This episode was filmed at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.

Kyrsten Sinema, U.S. Senator, Ret. and Professor of Practice at ASU

“I watched a lot of kids fall through the cracks because our education system wasn’t designed and wasn’t equipped with the tools to help kids with neurodivergent experiences learn in the ways that worked for them,” says retired U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema on the most recent episode of Voices of Innovation.

In the episode, Kyrsten Sinema reflects on her ASU career and passion for instruction as she reaches her 23rd year of teaching. And at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit, Sinema unveiled the launching of the Spark Center for Innovation in Learning, focused on learning diversity, at ASU.

Learn more about the Spark Center: https://publicservice.asu.edu/spark 

Over her 20-year career in public service, Kyrsten Sinema served Arizona in the State House and Senate, as a Member of the United States House of Representatives, and most recently in the United States Senate. Kyrsten earned a Masters of Social Work, PhD, J.D., and MBA from Arizona State University, currently serves as the President and CEO of the Arizona Business Roundtable and is a Professor of Practice at the Arizona State University School of Social Work.

This episode was filmed at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.

Claire Zau, Partner and AI Lead with GSV Ventures

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

Claire Zau is up next in Voices of Innovation with host Lev Gonick. 

From ChatGPT, to audio and video and now multi-modality — Claire reflects on the fast-paced evolution of generative AI to agentic AI with Lev Gonick, and highlights the future of AI use in the marketplace. “Every company is an AI-education company,” Zau says.

Claire Zau leads GSV’s AI investment coverage and has worn many hats across both the GSV Ventures investment team along with the ASU + GSV Summit team, where she collaborates with thought leaders across the edtech ecosystem to develop program and thought leadership. 

Sign up for Claire’s newsletter on AI and education: https://aieducation.substack.com/ 

This episode was filmed at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego.