education Archives - Page 3 of 6

Preface Project 3rd Annual Childhood Literacy Benefit Gala

September 16, 2022 by Mike

Gwinnett Business Radio

Preface Project 3rd Annual Childhood Literacy Benefit Gala

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Preface Project 3rd Annual Childhood Literacy Benefit Gala

Founder and Executive Director, JT Wu & Heather Phillips, Director of Educational Development

Preface is a national 501(c)(3) philanthropic initiative that empowers communities to combat early childhood illiteracy and secure foundational educational opportunities for the next generation!

Their model works by first pairing a local high school and local elementary school together as Preface Partners. Their expert teams then work with the high school administration to select and train student leaders (“Preface Ambassadors”) in clinically-endorsed educational best practices, including finger-led reading, dialogic responses, voice inflections, and dyadic scaffolding.

Preface Ambassadors culturally and linguistically reflect the communities they serve, allowing them to maximize engagement capacity with young students most in need of educational assistance and mentorship.

Ambassadors work directly into the elementary school classrooms to act as free supplemental resources for local educators on the ground, allowing for highly personal engagement and reading assistance in small group classroom settings!

Preface’s relational model has helped elementary school students make gains in literacy skills nearly twice as fast as their peers, while high schoolers gain firsthand service experience and a newfound appreciation for careers in education.

Additionally, Preface has been recognized by the GA Dept. of Education as an innovative World Languages program and is advised by experts affiliated with a wide variety of institutions, including the Georgia Leadership Institute for School Improvement, McKinsey & Company, J.P. Morgan Chase, Microsoft, and Princeton University.

Hosted and Produced by Amanda Pearch out of the Gwinnett Business RadioX Studio Located in Duluth GA

Broadcasted on Forsyth Business RadioX & Gwinnett Business RadioX

Special THANKS to Mike Sammond for lending studio

LIVE from the GNFCC Grand Opening Celebration: Shuntel Beach, King’s Ridge Christian School

September 7, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

LIVE from the GNFCC Grand Opening Celebration: Shuntel Beach, King’s Ridge Christian School

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LIVE from the GNFCC Grand Opening Celebration: Shuntel Beach, King’s Ridge Christian School (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 513)

Shuntel Beach is the Director of Admissions at King’s Ridge Christian School. While attending the GNFCC Grand Opening Celebration, Shuntel sat down with host John Ray to discuss the work of King’s Ridge, the value of Chamber membership for the school, how and why King’s Ridge hosts the Chamber’s annual luncheon devoted to education, and much more.

This show was originally broadcast live from the Grand Opening celebration and ribbon cutting of the new offices of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce at the 10000 Building at Avalon in Alpharetta, Georgia, on August 18, 2022.

North Fulton Business Radio is produced and broadcast by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

King’s Ridge Christian School

King’s Ridge Christian School is an exceptional place. But, among their strengths, several things set them apart.

First, this is a place of great intellectual activity and academic rigor. They seek to be the best in the world at providing a Christian college-preparatory program for students in grades Pre-K – 12, teaching students to view all learning through a Biblical template.

Second, they have a passion for bringing every student into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ while equipping our students with all excellence God calls them to do.

From its founding in 2001 until now, its enduring mission has been to be a Christian community providing a college preparatory education equipping students to know, to serve, and to believe in Christ.

Third, the school is preparing young men and women not just for college but also for life. They aim to educate, not indoctrinate. As a result, students have not only the freedom but also the encouragement to pursue knowledge and their giftedness and calling to the fullest extent possible.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Shuntel Beach, Director of Admissions, King’s Ridge Christian School

Shuntel Beach is the Director of Admissions for King’s Ridge Christian School.

She is also a board member for the REACH Georgia Foundation, whose mission is to be the most effective champions for Georgia’s children in need and unlock the full potential of our future workforce.

Shuntel holds an MBA from Kennesaw State University and lives in Alpharetta, Georgia with her husband, Senator Brandon Beach.

Questions and Topics in the Interview:

King’s Ridge Christian School
Shuntel’s experience with GNFCC
Annual celebration of education in North Fulton

North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, and others.

Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has grown to become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.

Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked-from-scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.

FOCO Talks: State of the Schools, featuring Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden & James McCoy

August 6, 2022 by Amanda Pearch

FoCo Talks

FOCO Talks: State of the Schools, featuring Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden & James McCoy

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Forsyth State of the Schools Podcast

featuring Superintendent Dr Jeff Bearden, James McCoy & Michelle Daniels

Dr. Jeff Bearden joined Forsyth County Schools as superintendent on September 2, 2014.
He has served as a school executive for over 25 years. Prior to joining Forsyth County, he was
superintendent of Rome City Schools and Fayette County Schools. Dr. Bearden spent the first part of his educational career in Maine where he served as superintendent of the Maine School Administrative District. Dr. Bearden also served as an assistant superintendent, assistant principal, and district athletic director. He taught social studies and language arts and was a varsity basketball coach. A Georgia native, Dr. Bearden holds a Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree from the University of Maine, and a Doctorate degree from Nova Southeastern University. Additionally, he is a third-generation veteran of the United States Air Force.

James McCoy is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Forsyth County Chamber. Over the last 16 years he has led several successful campaigns to gain voter approval for over $2 billion dollars for education, transportation, and public safety infrastructure improvements. During his tenure at the Chamber, the organization has worked with over 400 economic development clients and commercial real estate developments that have announced the creation of over 22,000 new jobs and over $2 billion dollars of new capital investment in Forsyth County.

Michelle Daniells is the enthusiastic VP of Business Development. She and her team bring the mission of The Chamber of to LIFE! They are the voice of business, providing community leadership, information and solutions to foster a strong economic environment and a superior quality of life in Forsyth County. Michelle and team take great pride in creating events centered around connectivity and growth. To learn more about membership and Chamber offerings, visit www.focochamber.org. Check out their YouTube channel.

SERIES PRESENTED BY:

“FOCO Talks” is presented by the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

Broadcasted LIVE from the Forsyth Business RadioX Studio in Cumming, Georgia

Produced by Amanda Pearch

Building Community One Relationship at a Time E25

July 28, 2022 by Karen

E25-Building-Community-One-Relationship-at-a-Time-feature

Phoenix Business Radio

Building Community One Relationship at a Time E25

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Building Community One Relationship at a Time E25

Another great LIVE show in the books! It was great to have Randy and Lloyd on the show together. Not only was there alignment in the conversation around conscious business, community focus, and education improvement, there is also a new relationship built between the two of them in the Phoenix Business Community. This is another beautiful example of how we can make change in the community- one relationship at a time.

These two are making amazing change in the Phoenix community and showcasing the importance of building strong communities. Along with the discussions of culture and community, there were some great tidbits and takeaways from the conversation that can be acted on immediately.

What were some of the takeaway tidbits?

Never discount anyone
Articulate who you are
Everyone wants to make a difference. Just find what is meaningful to you

Just because the recording is over, doesn’t mean the involvement stops there. There were some great discussions that include some actions that you can take to get involved.

Time to Take Action!

September 12th Event at Grand Canyon University- Beyond Zero Movie Screening Event

After a life changing epiphany, the CEO of a global public company embarks on a high stakes quest to eliminate all negative environmental impacts by 2020. To succeed they must overcome deep skepticism, abandon the status quo and ignite a new industrial revolution.

The full event will include snacks and drinks, networking, movie screening, and an on stage conversation with the film’s producer. You can find more details by emailing Randy.gibb@gcu.edu and let him know that you heard about it on the Culture Crush Business Podcast.

Classroom Supply Drive and Annual Fundraiser for the Million Dollar Teacher Project

The Million Dollar Teacher Project could use your support. They are doing their best to support students by supporting teachers and can use a little more help in doing so. There is an annual fundraiser and a classroom drive going on right now.

Email lloyd@mdtproject.org to learn more and let him know that you heard about it through the Culture Crush Business Podcast.

Million Dollar Teacher Project is a nonprofit organization that partners with Title I Schools, in marginalized communities, on creating community-centered strategies to help them increase how their teachers are recognized, drive more support directly into their classrooms and create innovative ways to impact how their teachers are compensated.

Lloyd Hopkins is the Executive Director/Founder of Million Dollar Teacher Project. Lloyd is an organizational leader with extensive experience in community and nonprofit work. He has worked in and around education for 18 years.

He graduated from Arizona State University with his degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership and took his passion for ensuring quality education for all to launch the teacher recruitment and retention program, Million Dollar Teacher Project.

In addition to being a Founder and Executive Director he is also an entrepreneur and philanthropist. As a philanthropist he is the Chair of Real Engagement through Active Philanthropy (R.E.A.P) which is a fund under the Arizona Community Foundation the supports programs making positive impacts on African-American Youth and is currently working with an Achieve60AZ Taskforce on improving attainment for the African American community in Arizona.

For his efforts he was recently a finalist for the Phoenix Center of the Arts Mayor’s Arts Awards for his Million Dollar Teacher Tree program and was honored by the East Valley NAACP with the Malala Yousafzai Equity in Education Award. He is also an alum of Valley Leadership’s Class 40.

Connect with Lloyd on LinkedIn and follow Million Dollar Teach Project on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Randy Gibb, PhD, joined GCU in July 2014 and served as the dean of the Colangelo College of Business until 2022. His team grew the college based the pillars of servant leadership, ethics, and entrepreneurism and promoted the ideals/concepts of free market capitalism and business as a form of ministry.

In July 2022, he stepped into the role as Provost. Dr. Gibb served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force and commanded two Air Force flying units and retired as a Colonel and Command Pilot.

He also has academic leadership experience and taught as Department Chair of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Behavioral Science and Leadership Department, helped lead the human systems integration program at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, OH, as a Senior Military Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering and Management Department, and served at Arizona State University as an Associate Professor and Chair of the Human and Environmental Systems Department.

Dr. Gibb has extensive experience in aviation safety, human factors, visual perception and spatial disorientation, as well as leadership development. Dr. Gibb, originally from Wisconsin, earned his PhD and MS in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University. He also has an MA from the U.S. Naval Command and Staff College in Newport, RI, and was a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986.

Dr. Gibb served on the Governor’s Workforce Arizona Council, Canyon Angels founding board, WESTMARC board of directors, and Arizona’s board of Conscious Capitalism.

Connect with Randy on LinkedIn, and follow Grand Canyon University on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

About Culture Crush

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

According to Marcus Buckingham and Ashely Goodall in their book Nine Lies About Work, “Culture is the tenants of how we behave. It’s like a family creed. This is how we operate and treat each other in the family.”

As a growing company- Culture Crush Business Podcast is THE culture improvement resource that supports companies and leaders. Our Mission is to improve company cultures so people WANT to go to work. Employees and leaders should like where they work and we think this is possible.

Within the company: Culture Crush has Vetted Resources and Partnerships with the right people and resources that can help improve your company culture.

On this podcast: We focus on everything surrounding businesses with good company culture. We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees are finding joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company. We also find the companies that offer resources to help improve company culture and showcase them on the show to share their tips and tricks for growing culture.

About the Host

Kindra Maples is spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).

She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion of working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.

Then came the opportunity for leading the Culture Crush Business Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.

Shout Outs

We want to thank a few people for their behind the scenes effort in helping this relaunch to come to life. James Johnson with Tailored Penguin Media Company LLC.– It is a small, but powerful video production company with a goal to deliver the very best by articulating the vision of your brand in a visually creative way. Gordon Murray with Flash PhotoVideo, LLC. -Flash Gordon has been photographing since high school and evolving since then with new products that will equip, encourage, engage, and enable. Renee Blundon with Renee Blundon Design – She is not only one of the best free divers (that’s not how she helped with the podcast) but she is great with graphics design and taking the direction for the vision that you have while also adding creative ideas to bring to your vision to life.

These are just a few of the folks that supported the relaunch of the podcast. If you would like to be part of the Culture Crush team or would like to support underwriting the show- please reach out: info@culturecrushbusiness.com

Thanks to War E2

July 13, 2022 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Thanks to War E2

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Thanks to War E2

Challenges, especially the most severe ones, are also our most powerful teachers, Zoya Lytvyn, leader of the Ukranian NGO Osvitoria, shares in this episode of Rooted & Unwavering. She discovers inner strength at a deeper level that comes online when her brain wants to give up and become a vegetable.

Her organization currently provides education to more than 500,000 secondary school students online all over Ukraine and as refugees in over 120 countries abroad. How does she access her strength and not give into depression and reactivity?

She shares with host Hylke Faber how she keeps choosing what’s most important to her: being happy and being of service: building and adapting education to meet the needs of children now living in times of war.

Osvitoria is an NGO that develops education in Ukraine. During the war, its mission now is to restore education process and access to quality education for more than 7 million of Ukraine’s children.

Areas of work and projects:

Restoring education during the war
Creating innovative schools
Providing equal access to education
Training and supporting teachers
Developing Educational Community

Osvitoria in numbers:

101 781 teachers were taught and inspired by Osvitoria last year
Every 4th Ukrainian teacher trained with NGO in 2021
4 million users read Osvitoria.Media
180 000 graduates have been trained on the iLearn platform

Zoya Lytvyn is a Ukrainian educator, reformer and impact entrepreneur. The founder of NGO Osvitoria and Ukraine’s top innovative Novopecherska School, which is recognized by Microsoft among the TOP100 most innovative schools in the world. Member of the Supervisory Board of UN Global Compact in Ukraine, Merited Educator of Ukraine, TED speaker.

With her team, Zoya Lytvyn works to improve school education in Ukraine by establishing visionary schools and projects, providing equal access to quality education, training and inspiring teachers, and implementing the world’s top educational know-hows.

In 2019 Zoya Lytvyn was awarded in the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge as the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in Eastern Europe and the title of the Merited Educator of Ukraine by the President of Ukraine. During COVID-19 pandemics, Lytvyn and her team created for Ukraine’s government the first national online education platform called “The All-Ukrainian Online School”.

The platform covers the secondary school curriculum and brings every student in front of very best Ukrainian teachers. After the Russian-Ukrainian war struck in 2022 this work continued and now more then 500.000 school students learn on this platform daily as it is the only possible way to continue their education. They connect from all over Ukraine, occupied territories and from more than 120 countries globally where they are refugees at the moment.

In cooperation with the UNICEF, Lytvyn and her team focused on helping Ukraine restore the educational process during the war: supporting teachers, schools, parents and schoolchildren, maintaining online education, and arranging education coordination centres for Ukrainian refugees. Zoya also is in charge of recovery strategy for school system of Ukraine for the Ukrainian Parliament. As a speaker at the Global TED 2022 in Vancouver, Lytvyn fundraised more than 2.5 million USD for the humanitarian needs of Ukraine.

Connect with Zoya on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About Rooted & Unwavering

Peace, Compassion, Wisdom, Purposefulness, Creativity and Strength come online in us when we deeply connect with the true, unwavering greatness that lives within ourselves and others.

In this podcast and radio show, Hylke Faber, seasoned transformational coach and author of the award-winning Taming Your Crocodiles series, engages in deep inquiry with leaders from all walks of life about courageously connecting with our true selves, others and the world at large.

How do we stay connected to our true selves and our greatness, especially when we are challenged? How do we rest in the heart, also when our mind keeps us restless? What becomes possible when we truly stay committed to our own and others’ best selves, also when we don’t feel it? How do we practice staying connected to our true selves, in the midst of our busy lives?

Join us and leave inspired to act on your heart’s greatness and that of the people around you.

About Our Host

For as long as he can remember Hylke Faber has been curious about what this life is about. His ongoing inquiry has become his work: helping people individually and collectively to discover what is possible in life and express that authentically and fearlessly.

Hylke started his work life with Towers Perrin as consultant and then as Partner with Strategic Decisions Group, serving a wide range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, consumer electronics and life sciences companies. A major shift occurred during this critical phase of his life. He had become the typical, hard-charging, 16-hours-a-day strategy consultant, and was burning out at a rapid clip.

When he discovered meditation, everything changed. He was so taken by his new discoveries that he chose to bring to business what he was learning: that there is a way we can have it all – we can be fulfilled, do work we love, and create extraordinary results with others. He thinks of it as creating a sense of ease in business.

He learned how to coach and facilitate human transformation completing his coaching certification with Newfield Network and by working at Axialent, the culture and leadership company. After a few years, he founded Co-Creation Partners together with other leaders in the field of transformation and personal development. Then he formed Constancee to help people grow by creating the conditions where deep personal, interpersonal and organizational shifts happen routinely.

He leads Growth Leaders Network, the culture and team development consultancy. He has also taught coaching at Columbia Business School Executive Education and has contributed to Harvard Business Review. He is currently teaching a course on Climate Conscious Leadership at Arizona State University. His award-winning book, Taming Your Crocodiles: Unlearn Fear & Become a True Leader, was published by Dover in 2018.

His next book, Taming Your Crocodiles Practices for Leadership Depth, came out in 2020. Besides helping others grow, which he loves, he is a trained opera singer, enjoys hiking and writing, is an avid reader, in particular of biographies, and is always in the process of growing himself. He integrates all of what he learns in his work with executives.

Connect with Hylke on LinkedIn.

About Our Sponsor

Realizing Your Greatness

We are a team of experienced facilitators and coaches dedicated to helping individuals, teams and organizations thrive by helping them recognize their innate greatness and putting it to work.

- Executive Coaching: we work with clients individually to help them connect to their calling and use every challenge as an opportunity to help them grow more into what makes them great.
- Team Performance: we help teams evolve to their next level of excellence, connectedness and impact by working on the root drivers of team performance.
- Culture Development: we help organizations to evolve their culture by creating clarity about where they aspire to go, and by building role models, coaches and systems that catalyze people being energized to work the new way.

Key Notes: we deliver powerful speeches at conferences and other events that help audiences become energized, more connected to themselves and each other, more open to discovery and ready to commit to the next stage of learning in their career and life journeys.

Growth Leaders Network (GLN) serves Fortune 500 companies, smaller organizations and non-profits globally.

GLN clients report that we catalyze significant business transformational impact and profound shifts in people, team and organizations at the root cause level.

Learn more about the Growth Leaders network here.

Honesty in the Workplace – Do Your Employees Want to Stay or Open Their Own Food Truck? E23

June 30, 2022 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

Honesty in the Workplace - Do Your Employees Want to Stay or Open Their Own Food Truck? E23

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Honesty in the Workplace – Do Your Employees Want to Stay or Open Their Own Food Truck? E23

Andy and Kristy were another perfect pairing for the Culture Crush Business Podcast. Kristy discussed what her team does to help leaders to enhance culture and optimize performance, while Andy gave us insight into the heart of his company and ways other leaders can support their internal teams.

According to Kristy and her team, the four main areas that individuals in the workplace are searching for is to be known, grown, included and inspired. These four pieces are areas that Kristy and her team focus on improving but these are four main areas that your team and company can start to focus on as well!

When improving company culture and focusing on your people, the ROI is there in the end. There are a handful of tips that came from the conversation that can help improve the company culture, increase retention, and attract the right new candidates.

So where do you start?

Take the time to know your people and who they are. Support and grow your people. Provide them professional development support and stop being afraid that they “might” leave the company. Guess what? They might stay too! Reach out to your staff and ask for their thoughts and input. Allow your staff the opportunity to feel inspired with the work that your company is doing.

Both Know Your Talents and ESI are perfect examples of companies that are doing great things and allowing their staff to feel inspired with what they are doing. The next step is honesty. This means that leadership is honest to the staff and they provide a space for the staff to be honest as well. This opens the opportunity for staff to be open with their bosses and management about their goals and future growth. Maybe the employee wants to grow in the company or maybe they want to have a food truck someday. You’ll never know unless you give them the space to open up.

This podcast is for any level leader that understands culture is going to happen whether you work on it or not. So why not work on it and make it better? You don’t have to be sick to work on your health and your culture doesn’t have to be bad to want to work and improve it.

All in all- when you start to focus on improving the company culture at your company, once you start you have to keep going. You can’t talk to employees about their feelings, thoughts, and ideas and then not consider them as you grow and improve. Andy put it simply, “You can’t put the genie back in the bottle.”

In the end- as a leader- be bold, courageous, purposeful, and mindful.

Know Your Talents (KYT) is a management consulting firm that enhances culture and optimizes performance at every level. Our expertise is centered around four key principles: helping businesses know, include, inspire and grow their employees.

Kristy Bach serves as the President at Know Your Talents, a premier management consulting partner working with leaders to enhance culture and optimize performance at every level. Know Your Talents is the corporate division of LearnKey, a workforce education solutions provider. Kristy leads the corporate division enabling the company to offer a complete “enterprise development solution” that aligns people strategy to business strategy.

Kristy brings her success to immediately connect with, consult, and inspire individuals across every level and discipline, building trust and authentic relationships with clients, team members and peers. Prior to joining KYT, Kristy was with BestCompaniesAZ a leading Arizona Marketing Company. Additionally, she served in a COO capacity for over ten years at The Finders, a local staffing and recruiting firm, specializing in Technology, Human Resources, and Finance/Accounting.

Kristy currently serves on the Board of Directors for a local non-profit organization, Career Connectors and serves on the GCU Technology Advisory Board. Kristy is a graduate of the University of Arizona and she enjoys spending time with her husband and family, friends, community involvement, running, biking and hiking in her free time.

Follow Know Your Talents on LinkedIn and Facebook.

Educational Services (ESI) is the leading provider of employee staffing solutions for Arizona school districts, as well as assisting governments and colleges. Founded in 1999 by three educators, ESI has a passion for helping people by making a positive impact in education and public service.

ESI’s featured services include a return-to-work program known as RetireRehire, and SubSource, the largest substitute staffing program in the state. ESI has proudly served over 10,000 of Arizona’s public retirees and actively employs over 6,000 substitute educators.

Andy Shirk is the President & CEO of ESI, delighted to lead a company where heart and integrity are cherished in a people-centered culture.

Prior to joining ESI, Andy lead TrueRoots Development for 7 years advising business owners throughout the Valley.

Kindness, curiosity and wisdom are his core values. His greatest joy is serving people with warmth and compassion which is the bedrock of his career.

Whether as a business leader or playing upright bass in the local music scene, Andy genuinely loves to create the setting for others to shine.

Follow ESI on LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Culture Crush

Culture is not just a tag word to be thrown around. It is not something you throw in job descriptions to draw people to applying for jobs within a company.

Within the company: Culture Crush has Vetted Resources and Partnerships with the right people and resources that can help improve your company culture.

About the Host

Shout Outs

Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy Charter Schools

April 25, 2022 by John Ray

North Fulton Business Radio

Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy Charter Schools

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Ehab Jaleel, Amana Academy Charter Schools (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 448)

With a diverse population of over eight hundred students, Amana Academy Charter School is a unique K-8 school using the Expeditionary Learning (EL) model for its curriculum. Ehab Jaleel, Executive Director, and host John Ray talked about the EL learning model, what the children learn and experience, the partnership with the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta which has resulted in their new West Atlanta Campus, and much more.

North Fulton Business Radio is broadcast from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.

Amana Academy Charter Schools

Amana Academy is a K-8 tuition-free public charter school open to all students who are eligible to attend Fulton County Schools.

Considered among the most well-regarded charter schools in the state of Georgia, Amana Academy’s Alpharetta campus was established in 2005 and authorized by the Georgia Department of Education and the Fulton County Schools system.

Amana chose the Harvard-based EL Education (Expeditionary Learning) model* because of its equal emphasis on academic achievement and character education. With high standardized test scores, an integrated STEM curriculum, a focus on stewardship and ethical character, and Arabic world-language instruction across all grade levels, Amana is a success story in the world of whole-child education.

Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

Ehab Jaleel, Executive Director, Amana Academy Charter Schools

Ehab Jaleel has a zeal for pursuing innovation and mobilizing new ventures with an eye toward making a difference in his community and the world. He aspires to be a “weaver”—building community connections and weaving a rich social fabric.

A graduate of the Leadership Atlanta class of 2016, Ehab is a corporate professional turned nonprofit leader/educator. He is Executive Director of Amana Academy Charter Schools, an emerging network of metro-Atlanta public schools. He co-founded Amana’s flagship school in 2005 in Alpharetta, GA, a STEM-themed EL Education credentialed Title-1 school that is among the highest performing schools in Georgia. Amana’s first replica school is in partnership with Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta at their Camp Timber Ridge.

Ehab’s education and community focus extends to a number of organizations including the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce’s Tech400 Committee, the Advisory Council for North Fulton Community Charities, as a board member of the Atlanta International Night Market, and as a Regional Director for the Georgia Tech President Scholars Selection Committee. He led the governance committee on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Charter Schools Association, and he served as a board member at U-Beyond, a youth mentorship & professional development organization.

In 2014 Ehab was included in the list of Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Muslims; and in 2015, The Alif Institute recognized him with the Arab American High Achiever award.

Born in Jordan, Ehab immigrated to the United States at the age of six and resided in Albany, NY until his family moved to Florida’s Tampa Bay area. He has also lived in Louisville, KY while working for General Electric, but most of his adult life has been in metro-Atlanta where he earned degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Psychology from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and where he worked at The Coca-Cola Company’s headquarters in operational marketing and innovation roles for fifteen years.

Ehab resides in Milton, Georgia with his wife Lara ‘Lemiya’ Alexander. They have three adult daughters, the eldest an equestrian, the second a veteran of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, and the youngest attending his alma mater studying Environmental Public Policy and minoring in Japanese. He is a foodie who enjoys global travel, fitness, outdoor adventure, and following Formula 1 racing.

Questions and Topics in this Interview:

What are charter schools? How did Amana get started?
Why did you make the switch from the corporate world to running a school?
How do you see yourself fitting into the North Fulton landscape?
What is the student experience at Amana? How does it benefit them? Where do your students come from?
How do families find you?
Where do they go after 8th grade?
Education was in the news quite a bit during the pandemic. How did your school navigate it; and how will emerging trends affect your organization and the education sector in general? Are there lessons for leaders?
We hear you are expanding with a very innovative partnership with Girl Scouts. Tell us more about that.
What local partnerships do you have going?
How can the community get involved and help with your mission?

Special thanks to A&S Culinary Concepts for their support of this edition of North Fulton Business Radio. A&S Culinary Concepts, based in Johns Creek, is an award-winning culinary studio, celebrated for corporate catering, corporate team building, Big Green Egg Boot Camps, and private group events. They also provide oven-ready, cooked from scratch meals to go they call “Let Us Cook for You.” To see their menus and events, go to their website or call 678-336-9196.

STEM over the Summer E10

May 12, 2021 by Karen

Phoenix Business Radio

STEM over the Summer E10

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STEM over the Summer E10

STEM Unplugged – STEM over the Summer was a discussion with collaborative nonprofit partners at Lowell Observatory, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Pathways to Learning. In this episode, Kelly, Tom and Elise explored ways for community members to engage in hands on STEM to find their identity as learners.

Lowell Observatory has a unique methodology for teaching which focuses on STEM for all levels, including thermodynamics for preschoolers! Pathways to Learning has created new approaches to engaging learners with STEAM in a backpack, Ag in a Bag and the mobile STEAM lab. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is focused on connecting the community with hands on activities at the library, with current undergrads and more!

The mission of Lowell Observatory is to pursue the study of astronomy, especially the study of our solar system and its evolution; to conduct pure research in astronomical phenomena; and to maintain quality public education and outreach programs to bring the results of astronomical research to the general public.

Kelly Ferguson has served as the Education Coordinator at Lowell Observatory since October 2015. She joined the observatory staff in 2014 as a public program educator while she finished her Master’s program at Northern Arizona University. She also runs camp programs for children ages 3-14.

Kelly earned her M.S. in Applied Physics in 2016 and has dedicated her time to teaching formal science in an informal setting. Kelly is currently back in school to get a certificate in early childhood development. For the past 14 years, Kelly has worked with young children in underprivileged areas of her community, bringing her love and passion for STEM education to as many as possible.

Follow Lowell Observatory on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Those who are part of the educational landscape are discovering that formal education is more than just four walled classrooms in our cities. Today, there are learning landscapes and systems that meet the students where they learn the best, in green (outdoor) spaces. There are volumes of research supporting this!

Pathways to Learning (PTL) organizes interest-driven exploration that fuels connected growth among people and the planet. Its ability to combine and reconfigure three separate but synergistic platforms enables Pathways to Progressive Learning to build educational products and events that every experience builds upward–each on top of the last—while, at the same time, inviting every customer to venture further outward from familiar sites to new settings.

Trailblazing educational opportunities from valley basins to mountain peaks – it is so important we stake our name on it. No two customers are the same. Some prefer educational tours, others want a map and a compass.

One of key initiative PTL has developed is it Outdoor STEM Centered Education program (OSCE). Since the beginning of OSCE eight years ago, 350 schools, 1,440 teachers and 27,000 campers from Metro Phoenix and rural Arizona communities have participated in OSCE and 50% of which are Title 1 schools.

OSCE is delivered through different PTL Learning Platforms; mountain learning platforms, Mobil STEM Discovery Lap and STEAM in a Backpack and Ag. in a Bag. These can be utilized through its Pathways to Progressive Learning.

Tom Fraker, CEO of Pathways to Learning (PTL), has worked for more than 35 years in the business and nonprofit sector, focusing his entrepreneurial skills on creating and developing successful organizations by blending the passion of the non-profit sector with the discipline and organizational structuring of the private sector.

His synergistic approach has been enhanced across sectors (private, public and non-profit) by integrating relationships and the development of partnerships.

Follow STEAM in a Backpack on Facebook and Instagram, Chauncey Ranch & Camp on Facebook and Instagram, and Camp Tontozonia on Facebook.

Embry-Riddle STEM Outreach is committed to the academic disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics – a STEM-based education. The Embry-Riddle faculty and students have worked with the community to share in this commitment to STEM-centered experiential and project-based learning.

The STEM Education Center, alongside the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium, support existing STEM outreach efforts by faculty and students to sustain a culture of STEM literacy and enthusiasm in the Quad Cities. The Embry-Riddle STEM Education Center fills a vital need for promoting and enhancing STEM education at Embry-Riddle, in local K-12 schools, and in the community at large.

Elise Corcoran began as the Director of STEM Outreach in the spring of 2021. She is a passionate educator with over 15 years of experience teaching students and leading staff in wilderness and classroom settings.

With a background in education and a master’s degree in Natural Resources and GIS, Elise has always been involved in both science and education. She is committed to teaching scientific literacy skills to promote responsibility, problem solving, and global thinking in the next generation.

She is delighted to be a part of the ERAU team and help inspire children’s interest in the STEM fields.

Follow the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium on Facebook.

About Our Sponsor

SciTech Institute™ was established as the Arizona Technology Council Foundation as the conduit for collaboration among STEM industry, academia, civic, and non-profit organizations in Arizona. Now, rebranded and named the SciTech Institute™ the goal centers around aligning assets and resources to motivate individuals to pursue STEM-related educational and career paths or find a passion while engaged in community events during the SciTech Festival.

The Chief Science Officer program highlights the 6th-12th graders that have been selected as leaders in their schools and communities to receive training to build a world-class community of diverse STEM-literate workers and knowledgeable, engaged citizens. Science For All allows for tax credit donations to provide engaging experiences for students while RAIN (Rural Activation Innovation Network) focuses on resources for the rural areas of Arizona.

As a STEM Learning Ecosystem, SciTech Institute™ focuses on collaboration and connecting individuals with opportunities! STEM Professionals are encouraged to engage with the future workforce by serving as a mentor, leadership coach, panelist, keynote and session trainer during a variety of conferences hosted or sponsored by SciTech Institute™ and The Arizona Technology Council.

Teachers and Administrators are invited to connect with the resources available while activating a large network of STEM champions for student projects, judges at events, volunteers, exhibitors and more. SciTech Festival Event Coordinators are supported during the planning and execution of community STEM events around the state by the SciTech STREET Team Members and the growing network of volunteers. The possibilities are endless! SciTech Institute™ looks forward to connecting with you today. Visit SciTechInstitute.org today for more information.

Follow SciTech Institute on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

About Your STEM Unplugged Host

After graduating from Bolivar-Richburg High School in rural western New York and joining the United States Army, Kelly Greene learned quickly to adapt to her surroundings to be successful. She attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and played shortstop on the Tiger softball team while earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education.

After graduating from Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training, she traveled the world with the military. While stationed in Misawa, Japan, Kelly fell in love with learning about cultures around the world. Even as a deployed Soldier during Operation Iraqi Freedom for two tours, she found opportunities to connect with the local children to form the Victory Base Council Girl Scouts with her fellow servicemen.

In 2013, she was deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and traveled the country by air and had the opportunity to utilize the most advanced technologies available to the tactical HUMINT operations in theater. Upon return from combat, she retired with 21 years of service and began teaching 6th grade Math.

After being selected as a Westside Impact Teacher of the Year and having her Fiesta Bowl Charities Wish Granted for a morning news studio, she was asked to begin a new class on campus – 7th grade STEM! Using her enthusiastic nature and combined with her strong classroom management she was able to design curriculum based on the Engineering Design Process to have her 7th graders complete a new project every 2 weeks!

She is excited to serve as the Director of Student Success for the rapidly expanding Chief Science Officers Program. Her goal is to push students just a bit outside of their comfort zone so they can see for themselves the power of their own ideas.

Fulton County Schools Update with Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney

April 5, 2021 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Fulton County Schools Update with Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney

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Fulton County Schools Update with Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney (GNFCC 400 Insider, Episode 60)

Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney shared updates about the Fulton County School System, including Finish Strong, an effort to stress the importance of graduating high school, plans for in-person learning, the support of the community in the last year, and much more.

Dr. Looney joined the host of “The GNFCC 400 Insider,” GNFCC CEO Kali Boatright, on this edition of The GNFCC 400 Insider, presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. The show is produced by John Ray and the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.

Fulton County Schools

Fulton County Schools (FCS) is the fourth largest school system in Georgia with more than 14,000 full-and part-time employees, including more than 7,500 teachers and other certified personnel, who work in 106 schools and administrative and support buildings.During the 2019-20 school year, approximately 93,500 students will attend classes in 59 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 18 high schools (includes two open campus high schools) and 10 charter organizations (some charters have multiple campuses but are considered one school).

School System website | Facebook | Twitter

Dr. Mike Looney, Superintendent, Fulton County Schools

Dr. Mike Looney joins Fulton County Schools after recently serving as Superintendent of Williamson County Schools in Tennessee, where he was named 2015 Superintendent of the year by the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents (TOSS).

He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Master’s degree in Education from Jacksonville State University in Alabama. Dr. Looney earned his Educational Specialist Degree and Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Alabama.

Dr. Looney’s work has been presented for regional and national audiences on a wide range of educational and leadership topics.

He has served on several distinguished panels including President George W. Bush’s National Reading Leadership Panel in Washington D.C.

Dr. Looney also served as Superintendent of the Butler County School District in Alabama. Under his leadership the school district realized significant student achievement gains, improved the graduation rate, and established the district’s first magnet school. In recognition of his work there, he was selected as Greenville, Alabama’s Citizen of the Year in 2008.

Before arriving at Butler, he was Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Montgomery Public Schools. Under his leadership, the district of 61 schools and 31,000 students received national notoriety for its improvement in reading achievement scores.

Dr. Looney, a public educator since 1994, has also served in the roles of classroom teacher, assistant principal and principal. During his tenure as principal, his school was recognized for closing the achievement gap for underprivileged and minority students. His school was highlighted at both the state and national levels and was named a National Title I Distinguished School.

Prior to entering the field of education, he served as finance manager for a privately-held corporation with fifty employees in Anniston, Alabama. His responsibilities included corporate finance, marketing, and human resource management.

Dr. Looney is a military veteran having served for seven years in the United States Marine Corps before being honorably discharged with a service-related injury. His military service was distinguished by four meritorious promotions which included his being selected as the Marine of the Year for MCRS Montgomery serving Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. In addition to other medals and ribbons, Dr. Looney was the recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. His military duties took him all over the world and included a six-month tour on the USS Raleigh with the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Amphibious Force. He is the father of four grown children.

LinkedIn | Twitter

About GNFCC and “The GNFCC 400 Insider”

**Kali Boatright, President and CEO of GNFCC**

“The GNFCC 400 Insider” is presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC) and is hosted by Kali Boatright, President and CEO of GNFCC. The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, member-driven organization comprised of over 1400 business enterprises, civic organizations, educational institutions and individuals. Their service area includes Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell and Sandy Springs. GNFCC is the leading voice on economic development, business growth and quality of life issues in North Fulton County.

The GNFCC promotes the interests of our members by assuming a leadership role in making North Fulton an excellent place to work, live, play and stay. They provide one voice for all local businesses to influence decision makers, recommend legislation, and protect the valuable resources that make North Fulton a popular place to live.

For more information on GNFCC and its North Fulton County service area, follow this link or call (770) 993-8806. For more information on other GNFCC events such as this North Fulton Mayors Appreciation Lunch, follow this link.

For the complete show archive of “The GNFCC 400 Insider,” go to GNFCC400Insider.com. “The GNFCC 400 Insider” is produced by John Ray and the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.