Podcast
ASU+GSV Summit
Hosted by ASU+GSV · EN
Audio recordings of sessions captured live at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego. Now in its 17th year, the ASU+GSV Summit is the world’s leading event for leaders in “PreK to Gray” education and workforce learning, bringing together over 7,000 attendees from more than 66 countries.
60episodes
Episodes
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A New Wave of School Innovation – The Promise and Perils of Being A New School Entrepreneur
May 600:41:09Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Amar Kumar, CEO at KaiPod Learning; Allison Serafin, Vice President at Building Hope Impact Fund; Kelly Smith, Founder/CEO at Prenda; Robin Winder, Chief Academic Officer at FlexPoint and Florida Virtual School; Caroline Allen, Chief Program Officer at Center for Education Reform; and Kerry McDonald, Author of Joyful Learning.The fastest-growing schools in America no longer looked like the schools of the past. Microschools, virtual schools, hybrid programs, homeschools, and other new models had moved from niche to mainstream as families demanded personalization, flexibility, and specialization—and as districts sought new ways to meet students’ needs. Educators were increasingly stepping into entrepreneurship and leveraging technology to expand access for their students.This session examined both the promise and the operational realities of building and scaling schools today. Speakers explored the policy and structural challenges leaders must navigate, including zoning codes, accreditation rules, evolving state policies, complex ESA payment systems, and tight capital markets. The conversation got real about the friction leaders face while spotlighting the conditions that allow innovation to flourish.As the next generation of schools is being built in real time, this session highlighted the leaders shaping what makes that growth possible and explored what it takes for new school entrepreneurs to successfully launch, sustain, and scale transformative education models.
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Will AI Give Teaching the Renaissance It Deserves?
May 600:42:12Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Jason Palmer, Co-Founder & President at Socrait; Heather Anichini, President & CEO at The Chicago Public Education Fund; Jim O'Neill, President, Core and Supplemental Solutions at HMH; Jodi Feikema, Chief Academic Officer and Provost at American College of Education; Megan Mitchell, Teacher & EdTech Consultant at ABC Unified School District and Mitchell Method Consulting; and Mahnaz Charania, Chief of Transformation at TNTP.For decades, the magic of teaching—mentorship, relationships, and instructional judgment—had been increasingly crowded out by administrative burden, fragmented tools, and unsustainable expectations. As AI reshaped work across every sector, this session examined a defining question for education: whether technology can finally return time, focus, and humanity to educators, or deepen the strain.The speakers explored how teaching can evolve into a more sustainable, high-impact profession by redesigning the work itself. District leaders, degree-granting programs, funders, and builders examined how AI-enabled systems, new operating models, and educator-centered design can reduce operational friction, strengthen instructional presence, and improve student-teacher relationships. Rather than replacing teachers, these approaches aimed to decouple routine tasks from the core work of learning, allowing educators to focus on judgment, connection, and craft.Moving beyond the burnout narrative, panelists shared how schools and organizations are rethinking recruitment, development, and day-to-day practice to build a profession designed for longevity and purpose. The conversation explored what it takes to move past vacancy-filling and toward a future where teaching is once again a role of influence, growth, and deep human impact in an AI-enabled world.
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The Human Advantage: What Learning Must Do Differently in the Age of AI
May 600:39:05Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Matt Miller, CEO & Co-Founder at OKO Labs; Kim Smith, CEO/Founder at LearnerStudio; Maria Ortiz, Assistant Superintendent of High Schools at City of Newark Schools; Colin Kaepernick, CEO at Lumi Story AI; and Greg Toppo, Senior Writer at The 74 Million.As AI increasingly took on routine cognitive work, the true advantage shifted to what only humans can do well: think about their thinking, exercise judgment, adapt in unfamiliar contexts, and frame problems worth solving. This session brought together education leaders, system builders, and innovators reimagining how schools cultivate the durable skills AI can’t replicate: metacognition, executive function, adaptability, discernment, and complex problem-solving. The conversation explored how new school models and emerging EdTech tools have moved beyond content mastery to help students learn how to learn. From classroom practice to system design, speakers examined what it takes to prepare students to work alongside AI—not in competition with it—and how K–12 education must evolve to develop the human capabilities that matter most in an AI-powered future.
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What the CEO Needs From Learning Now
May 500:57:11Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Ali Bebo, Chief Human Resources Officer at Pearson; Omar Abbosh, CEO at Pearson; Gian Paolo Perrucci, Technology Officer at Pearson; and Sandra Loughlin, Chief Learning Scientist at EPAM Systems.The speakers explored why past conversations about the future of the learning leader have often missed the mark, and what becomes possible when learning leaders effectively partner with CEOs and technology teams around data, intelligence, and organizational capability. Dr. Sandra Loughlin examined how learning leadership must evolve beyond traditional models to better align with business priorities and enterprise transformation.The session also featured a fireside conversation with an exemplary CEO, CHRO, and CTO trio, illuminating what businesses truly need from the next generation of learning leadership. Through this discussion, the panel highlighted how today’s learning and people leaders can step into this expanded role with greater confidence, clarity, and influence by directly shaping organizational capability and strategic outcomes.
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From Crisis to Capability: Reinventing Entry-Level Work
May 500:40:16Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Matt Wilkerson, Founder & CEO at Extern; Heather Stefanski, Partner and Chief Learning and Development Officer at McKinsey; Stephanie Veck, Strategic Partnerships Lead, Economic Opportunity at American Institutes for Research (AIR); John Koelliker, CEO & Co-Founder at Leland; and Raymond Sass, Senior Vice President at Lightcast.The speakers explored how the so-called entry-level jobs crisis has shifted from a headline-driven problem to an urgent opportunity for redesign. They challenged the assumption that early-career talent must arrive fully “ready” and instead examined how leading employers are transforming real work into the primary engine for learning.The session discussed how embedded learning cultures, hands-on experience, and learning in the flow of work are helping close the experience gap by rethinking how people start, grow, and thrive in their first roles. From redefining what it means to be qualified to redesigning entry-level roles so contribution is immediate and learning is continuous, the panel highlighted how companies can build capability from day one while delivering real business value. Rather than reviving outdated models, the conversation focused on creating new frameworks where potential compounds over time.
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Unlocking Trust, Speed, and Skills in the Increasingly Contingent Economy
May 500:40:58Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Julie Stone, Chief Learning Officer at TTEC; Tigran Sloyan, CEO & Co-founder at CodeSignal; Ken Schumacher, Founder and CEO at Ropes; Nikki Eatchel, Chief Assessment Officer at Prometric; and Jennifer Lee, Partner at GSV Ventures.The speakers explored how contingent workers now make up nearly 40% of the workforce, creating new challenges for organizations seeking to maintain performance, trust, and culture as talent continuously rotates in and out. They examined how AI is reshaping the contingent workforce through Tinder-like talent marketplaces, rapid skills matching, verification systems, fraud detection, and real-time performance signals.The session discussed what it takes for contingent workers to be effective from day one, how skills-based hiring and assessment must evolve in a world defined by constant churn, and what this shift means for organizational culture, accountability, and long-term capability building. Through this conversation, the panel highlighted how employers can move beyond disposable labor models to build trust, quality, and alignment in an increasingly contingent workforce.
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The AI Productivity Paradox: Redesigning Work for Enterprise Impact
May 500:41:25Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Vishaal Gupta, President, Enterprise Learning & Skills at Pearson PLC; Lydia Logan, Vice President for Global Education and Workforce Development at IBM Corporate Social Responsibility; Anshul Sonak, Principal Engineer at Intel; Guna Jayaraman, Chief AI Officer at Cornerstone; and Lawrence Stevens, Director, Learning & Skills Ecosystem at Cisco.The speakers explored how, as AI moves from experimentation into widespread enterprise adoption, organizations are discovering that the core challenge is not the technology itself, but rather building the skills and organizational readiness required to unlock its full potential. Drawing on insights from the AI Workforce Consortium, they reframed the conversation from simply adopting AI tools to redesigning work around outcomes by focusing on measurable value created through human-AI collaboration.The session examined how strategy, skills, and roles must be aligned to support enterprise transformation, while also addressing why individual productivity gains often fail to translate into organization-wide impact. Through this conversation, leading companies explored what contributes to this productivity gap and what it takes to redesign work in ways that generate sustainable enterprise value.
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Wiring the Workforce Pell Era: Building the Infrastructure for Short-Term Credentials
May 500:43:23Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Portia Pratt, Senior Policy Analyst at National Governors Association; Lee Lambert, Chancellor and CEO at Foothill-De Anza Community College District; Kristin Hultquist, Past Chair at MSU Denver Board of Trustees; and Alison Griffin, Principal Consultant at FutureRise.The speakers explored how Workforce Pell is opening federal funding to short-term, non-degree programs, shifting the national conversation from access to accountability as policymakers and institutions face mounting implementation demands. They discussed how, with the public comment period recently closed and the final rule still pending, policymakers, governors, and institutions are racing to build the approval processes, accountability systems, and data infrastructure required to support this new era.The session examined where implementation currently stands, what remains unsettled, and what states, employers, and institutions must do now to prepare for Workforce Pell’s launch. Through this conversation, the panel highlighted the regulatory urgency, operational complexity, and infrastructure development necessary to ensure short-term credential pathways can scale effectively while meeting evolving accountability standards.
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Beyond Persistence: Building Ecosystems Where Black Men Thrive in Higher Education
May 500:40:09Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Destin Mizelle, Roadtripper at Roadtrip Nation; Enoch Ellis, Roadtripper at Roadtrip Nation; Tobias Brown, Roadtripper at Roadtrip Nation; and Jasmine Haywood, Strategy Director at Lumina Foundation.Inspired by Roadtrip Nation’s documentary Thriving: Black Men in Higher Education, the speakers explored the relationships and supports that help Black men thrive across college, career, and community. Through honest conversation and lived experience, they discussed the role of friendship and mentorship in building belonging, resilience, and long-term success.The session examined what it takes to move from support systems to opportunity systems, highlighting practical ways higher education leaders and industry partners can strengthen networks, expand pathways into entrepreneurship and innovation, and ensure the next generation of Black men has access not only to education, but also to the connections that sustain representation, mobility, and enduring success.
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Native Speakers: What First Mover Language Apps Can Teach Every EdTech About AI
May 500:39:43Summary readyRecorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Hugh Yao, CEO at LingoAce Academy Inc; Max Azarov, CEO at Novakid; Karine Allouche, General Manager, Language Learning Worldwide and Skills GTM Europe at Chegg; and Alina von Davier, Chief of Assessment at Duolingo.The speakers explored how language learning apps did not simply add AI, but instead rebuilt around it earlier than almost anyone else in education. They discussed how these companies were already building AI-native experiences—including conversational practice, real-time feedback, deep personalization, and continuous engagement—before much of the broader education industry had fully understood what AI-native education could become.The session examined how language learning companies became the field’s native speakers, fluent in capabilities that many others are still learning to use, while also confronting the hard lessons that come with that fluency. The panel explored how the category previews where every AI-native education company may be headed: explosive growth, intensifying competition, and the challenge of building sustainable businesses when AI commoditizes core features overnight. Through this conversation, the speakers unpacked what language learning’s breakthroughs and market battles reveal about building durable AI-native education companies in an era of rapid technological change.
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