PODCAST Season 5 EPISODE 2

Will Richardson

Founder

Future Serious School

Quote of the Podcast:

"The end of the world as we know it is not the end of the world, full stop." ~Dougald Hine

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Will is a lifelong educator who, after 22 years in the classroom, has worked with educators in over 25 countries to push their thinking about the purpose and practice of schooling in a time of deepening challenges and emerging opportunities for change. He is a parent, an author of six books, and the founder of Future Serious Schools. His recent manifesto "Confronting Education in a Time of Complexity, Chaos, and Collapse" is a provocation for a new "why" of schooling and the foundation for a seven-week workshop of the same title which is now entering its third cohort.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators.

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why so we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• Tell us about Future Serious Schools
• Share the essence of your Manifesto
• Share what people will gain from participating in your next cohort
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision makers to know?”

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

Website: https://futureserious.school/

Manifesto: https://futureserious.school/manifestoedu/

Books: Hospicing Modernity, Education in a Time Between Worlds, At Work in the Ruins, Pedagogies of Collapse.

Podcasts: The Great Turning, The Great Simplification, Future Learning Design.

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

PODCAST Season 5 EPISODE 1

Dr. Demetrus Liggins

Fayette County Public Schools

Superintendent

Quote of the Podcast:

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit" -Aristotle

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Today’s guest is Dr. Demetrus Liggins, superintendent of Fayette County Public Schools since 2021. A former English and ESL teacher, Dr. Liggins has served in nearly every role in education—from classroom teacher to high school principal to area superintendent—across California and Texas. Before coming to Lexington, he led Greenville ISD near Dallas, where he transformed a struggling district into one with significantly improved academic and financial ratings, earning state recognition.

Bilingual and deeply committed to equity, Dr. Liggins launched innovative programs like a citywide literacy initiative, a dual-language track, a STEM academy, and an Early College High School. His leadership has earned him national accolades, including being named a Superintendent to Watch and Kentucky’s 2026 Superintendent of the Year. With advanced degrees in education and policy and a passion for student success, Dr. Liggins is widely respected for his results-driven leadership and deep investment in mentoring the next generation of educators.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators.

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why so we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• What do you love about what you do?
• Portrait of a Graduate and Deeper Learning
• Local Accountability
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision makers to know?”

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

https://www.fcps.net/about/superintendent-s-office/strategic-plan/portrait-of-a-graduate

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Sen Reggie Thomas

KY State Senator

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Reggie Thomas graduated from Bryan Station High School in 1971. He earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in 1975 and a Juris Doctor from Harvard University in 1978. His career experience includes working as an assistant professor at Kentucky State University.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• You are on the Senate Education Committee, What drew you to education?
• Role of Government in Education
• Changing role of education for our new economy
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Ayo Jones

Educator| Author |Creator

Quote of the Podcast:

“Forward ever, backward never.” – Kwame Nkrumah

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Ayo Jones is an educator, instructional designer, and the author of Teaching with AI: The PEACE Framework. She’s all about helping teachers integrate AI into their classrooms to build the critical skills students need for the future. With years of experience working with students who have complex access needs, Ayo is passionate about making learning more engaging, accessible, and relevant for every student. Her goal? To help educators rethink what's possible and create classrooms that prepare students for a rapidly changing world.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• AI in education and rethinking instructional pedagogy.
• AI as assistive tech for those with disabilities
• Changing role of education for our new economy
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

Teaching with AI: The PEACE Framework

NoodleNook

www.peaceframework.com/

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Will Powers

Adult Policy Partner

Kentucky Student Voice Team

Quote of the Podcast:

“I believe in angels, something good in everything I see”

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Will Powers is a graduate of Occidental College, where he studied diplomacy and world affairs and graduated as an Obama Scholar. He has worked for the Brookings Institution, Blue Haven Initiative, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee advancing social impact through policy making. Will is currently the policy and public engagement partner for the Kentucky Student Voice Team helping lead the Rose Revival campaign and supporting high school students to facilitate a series of public hearings related to issues raised in KSVT's recently-filed legal complaint, Kentucky Student Voice Team v. The Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• KSVT Legislation
• Addressing skepticism about the KSVT litigation (learned pessimism about systematic reform)
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts

Books: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart

Mobilizing Citizens for Better Schools

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Kalimah Fergus Ayele

Head of Campus

The Winchendon School

Quote of the Podcast:

"Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it."

--- Marian Wright Edelman, Former president and the Children's Defense Fund

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Kalimah Fergus Ayele is the Head of NYC Campus for The Winchendon School, an oasis in the heart of Manhattan where students are guided through real-world learning to connect with their passion through a unique city-wide field study program. Her experience in schools started as a Peace Corps Volunteer where she taught Chemistry in East Africa and over her 30 year career, she has taught in 5 countries. She earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry at Stanford University and masters degrees at Teachers College Columbia University, including an Ed M in Organization Leadership through the Klingenstein program. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Kalimah Fergus Ayele has always been committed to building thriving, inclusive communities where participants experience a sense of belonging and have the opportunity to build the necessary tools to design and create a more equitable world.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• innovative schools and using design thinking techniques to "design for belonging" in school communities.
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts

Shout out to "The Management Center" a training program that helps organization design and implement equitable management systems;

"The Landscape Model for Learning"

"What School Could Be"

for their commitment to moving the conversation about innovation in education forward.

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Adam Smith

Founder and Lead Education Consultant

Smith Education Consultants

Quote of the Podcast:

We all do better, when we all do better - Senator Paul Wellstone

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Adam A. Smith is a first-generation college graduate who has dedicated his almost three-decade career to ensuring college access and success for all Americans. He served as the founding Director of the TRIO Upward Bound program at Rock Valley College and later as the college’s Dean of Students. He taught both undergraduate and graduate level courses at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, and was appointed to serve as the City of Rockford’s (IL) “Education Czar” to former mayor Lawrence J. Morrissey. Adam worked at Metropolitan State University as Director of Multicultural, American Indian and Retention Services, The University of Alabama as Director of Undergraduate Academic Advising and Student Success and at The University of Akron as Assistant Vice President of Student Success. He also has undergraduate admissions experience from his time at The University of Tennessee. Smith currently works at the University of Kentucky as Executive Director for University Academic Advising and has a vibrant public speaking and educational consulting firm, Smith Education Associates, LLC and is the host of The Get Uncomfortable podcast and is represented by the Institute of Democratic Education & Culture, “SpeakOut”, the nation’s only social justice speaker agency. Adam has built successful coalitions and initiatives that have transformed high school graduation rates, college enrollment and success for students throughout the nation.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• Higher education.
• College students since the return for lock down,
• Student success, student mental health and well-being,
• The impact of anti-DEI legislation on student success and belonging
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts

The Get Uncomfortable Podcast, Smith Education Associates, LLC,

SpeakOut - The Institute for Democratic Education and Culture

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Mariam Lee

Interventionist Specialist/MTSS Lead

Quote of the Podcast:

Education is a passport to freedom and the means to unlock the globe.- Oprah Winfrey

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Mariam Lee has been making an impact in education for the past 15 years. She has taught K-5 for 10 years in a title 1 school and made the switch during the 2020 pandemic into intervention. The past 5 years, her focus has been as a reading and math K-5 interventionist as well as MTSS Lead. She knew that she was called to teach, inspire, and attempt to close the academic and social and emotional learning gap even more so in both the all girls and all boys STEM schools.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators

● 30,000 Ft. View – Why do we, as a society invest in education?

● What drew you to education?

● mental health of teachers/mentoring

● What are the biggest challenges to you?

● What would you like decision-makers to know?

Podcast/book shoutouts

Abbott Elementary

Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions