You’re the star expert, now promoted to leader. Why the dread? That's Imposter Syndrome! We tackle the 3 biggest fears of new leaders:Am I losing my edge if I delegate?How do I lead people smarter than me?What if I'm a fraud who just got lucky?Learn to move from doing to leading and silence the inner critic. Tune in!

In this EdTech Startup Showcase episode, host Jethro Jones interviews Vidya Sundaram (CEO) and Elisabeth O'Bryon (Chief Impact Officer) from Family Engagement Lab. The conversation explores how their platform bridges the gap between classroom learning and home support through bite-sized, actionable text messages that help families understand what their children are learning and how to reinforce those skills at home. The founders share their personal motivations—Elizabeth's experience as a bilingual school psychologist working with diverse families, and Vidya's childhood experience of disconnect between her immigrant family's educational values and school communication. They discuss their FAST Talk model (Families and Schools Talk), which has supported over 70,000 students across 50+ districts, and their new AI learning coach that provides personalized support for parents' questions.Key TakeawaysFamily engagement works best when it's accessible and actionableShort text messages (160 characters) with specific, grade-level appropriate activities are more effective than lengthy emailsThe impact is greatest for underserved studentsResearch shows the most pronounced learning gains for students whose families don't share a common language with teachers and those who started the year behind academicallyParents want to help but need the right informationFamilies have passion and interest in supporting learning but often lack insight into what's happening in the classroom and how to help at the right developmental levelSustainable implementation requires cross-functional coordinationSuccess comes from communications experts working alongside curriculum teams to create a shared responsibility for family engagementAI can personalize family supportTheir new AI learning coach allows parents to ask specific questions about their child's needs and build their own confidence in supporting learning at home

Host Priten Soundar-Shah speaks with Aidan Kestigian, COO of Thinker Analytix, about why nearly half of college graduates lack basic reasoning skills and how explicit instruction in critical thinking can address this gap. They discuss the ethical commitments that should guide EdTech development, including prioritizing pedagogy over gamification, maintaining transparency with students, and building genuine relationships with educators.Key Takeaways:Critical thinking requires explicit instruction—it's not automatically developed through traditional courseworkEthical EdTech means putting pedagogical goals first, not engagement metrics or "stickiness"Reasoning is inherently difficult and requires sustained practice; shortcuts undermine real learningDirect accountability between EdTech developers and educators leads to better products and outcomesMission-driven organizations can prioritize both growth and integrity when the mission guides decision-makingRelevant Links:thinkeranalytix.orgthinkarguments.orgethicaledtech.orgAbout Aidan:Aidan Kestigian, Ph.D. Chief Operating Officer for ThinkerAnalytix, an education non-profit organization, and a visiting Associate of the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. Aidan received her Ph.D. in Logic, Computation, and Methodology from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018 and taught logic and ethics to college students for a decade before and during her time at TA. She is the author of Democratic Decisions in a Critical Thinking Crisis (2025).

Today we're pleased to share a recent episode from The Authority, with host Ross Romano and guest Casey Watt. They discuss Casey’s book, The Craft of Clarity: Six Steps to Bridge Gaps, Foster Commitment, and Create Sustainable Alignment.Topics include:Misaligned perspectives between teachers and leaders“Clarity precedes capacity.” What does that mean for leaders?Strategy is simple. Clarity is complex. Many teams think they’re collaborating, but really they’re just coordinating. What’s the difference, and how can leaders move their people from faux collaboration to true collaboration?Learn more about Caseywww.catchingupwithcasey.comwww.linkedin.com/in/catchupwithcaseywww.instagram.com/catchupwithcasey About today’s guestCasey Watts is a passionate speaker, author, and thought leader in team leadership with over 20 years in education and 10 years of experience coaching educators, entrepreneurs, and leaders. She is the creator of the Clarity Cycle Framework, helping leaders bridge gaps, foster commitment, and create sustainable alignment. Casey is also the founder and host of The Catching Up with Casey podcast, where she and her guests bring clarity to the seemingly small things in leadership that make a big difference.About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn 

Have you met “Jessica” the virtual speech helper? I certainly remember hearing about it the first time.This concept raised a lot of questions in the clinical community. Are we trying to replace clinicians, and was that the intention behind this application?If you’ve had these questions too, you won’t want to miss this conversation. This episode is the second half of my interview with Maura Connor from BetterSpeech, the company that created an AI “virtual speech helper” to enhance and extend work being done in therapy sessions. In this conversation we talk about:✅ How the “speech helper” was intended (and NOT intended) to be used✅ Discussion on why technology initiatives fail in schools✅ How can technology decrease work for educators (instead of adding more)?Maura Connor is an accomplished executive leader with deep expertise at the intersection of education and healthcare technology. She currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Better Speech, where she is leading the launch of Streamline, an AI-powered special education management platform that helps districts reduce administrative complexity for providers and teachers, ensure compliance visibility, and strengthen support for students and families. With a career spanning executive roles in ed tech, health tech, and clinical operations, Maura has built a reputation for scaling organizations, driving innovation, and leading high-performing teams through periods of transformation. Her work focuses on uniting vision, strategy, and execution to deliver measurable outcomes for schools, clinicians, and the communities they serve. Maura is passionate about advancing solutions that enable educators and clinicians to spend more time on direct impact—helping children grow, thrive, and reach their potential—while ensuring that systems of care are more efficient, compliant, and sustainable.You can connect with Maura on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maura-connor-2508929/Learn more about BetterSpeech’s telehealth platform and services here: https://www.betterspeech.com/Learn more about Streamline by BetterSpeech here: https://www.streamline-sped.com/why-streamline Streamline is an AI solution that automates evaluation, service tracking, and compliance workflows, freeing up time for clinical judgement and engagement. In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapy