Ed on the Edge

www.dashmedia.coEntrepreneurs. Educators. Investors. Policymakers. Hosted by GSV Founder & CEO Michael Moe, Ed on the Edge covers the "who" and the "how" of driving change in the global education landscape.Joe Lonsdale is the Founder and Managing Partner at 8VC, an early-stage venture capital firm managing over $6 billion in capital. In 2003, he founded Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR), a global software company known for its work supporting US and its allies’ defense and intelligence. Since then, he has founded more than a dozen prominent companies, including Addepar, a wealth management platform with about $5 trillion, and OpenGov, the leading cloud software provider for local governments. He continues to create and scale companies through the 8VC Build program.As an investor, Joe was an early backer of companies like Anduril Industries, Oculus (acq. FB), Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH), Oscar (NYSE:OSCR), Illumio, Wish (NASDAQ:WISH), JoyTunes, Blend (NYSE:BLND), Flexport, Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY), Orca Bio, Qualia, Synthego, RelateIQ (acq. CRM), Yugabyte, and others.Joe and his wife Tayler are active in a variety of philanthropic and institutional pursuits. In 2018, they founded the non-partisan Cicero Institute, which crafts and advances policies to promote effective and accountable governance, and is now successfully battling special interests with teams in over a dozen states. In 2021, Joe became the founding chairman of the board of the University of Austin (UATX), a new university dedicated to restoring the pursuit of truth in higher education. He also sits on the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute.Joe and his wife Tayler have four daughters and one son and live in Austin, Texas.

www.dashmedia.coRex Woodbury is the Founder and Managing Partner of Daybreak Ventures, a thesis-driven early-stage venture capital firm. The firm invests in Internet, software, and technology-enabled businesses, focusing on health, sustainability, education, community, and job creation. Prior to Daybreak, Rex was a Partner at Index Ventures where he focused on early-stage and growth investments in consumer technology businesses. Previously, Rex was an investor at TPG Growth and The Rise Fund, TPG’s global growth equity and social impact funds. Rex received his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, where he ran cross country.Rex writes Digital Native, a weekly Substack about the intersection of people and technology that reaches over 60,000 readers.

www.dashmedia.coBarry F. Malkin is the CEO of Carnegie Learning, a leading provider of K-12 education technology, curriculum, and professional learning solutions. Mr. Malkin has been an active operator, investor, and advisor to the educational services sector for over 20 years. Prior to assuming the role with Carnegie Learning, Mr. Malkin was Head of Corporate Development and Strategy at Apollo Education Group. Mr. Malkin joined Apollo Group in June 2009, heading corporate development and strategy for one of the world’s largest educational services companies. Mr. Malkin’s activities included overseeing all domestic and international acquisition and investment activity, global strategy, integration services, and strategic partnerships across Apollo and its subsidiary companies including Apollo Global. Mr. Malkin’s activities included, among others, the acquisition of BPP Holdings, Apollo Group’s largest acquisition and its first foray into the professional education sector; the development of a new post-secondary education joint venture in India with the Hindustan Times, and the establishment of new lines of businesses and products. In addition to his professional responsibilities, Mr. Malkin has been interviewed by national media outlets, served as a panelist and speaker at educational conferences across the country and was instrumental in the establishment of the XPrize Global Literacy Prize.

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Andrew Ng, a leader in AI and co-founder of Coursera, shares his journey from Singapore to Silicon Valley, revealing how mentorship sparked his passion for technology. He delves into the evolution of online learning, highlighting Coursera's impact on education. Ng compares AI advancements in the US and China, noting China's rapid progress in voice technology. He also draws parallels between AI and electricity as transformative forces, emphasizing collaboration's role in driving innovation in both AI and education.

www.dashmedia.coChristopher “Chip” Paucek is a visionary leader and seasoned entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to revolutionizing education and empowering individuals to pursue life-changing opportunities. As the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Pro Athlete Community (PAC), Paucek spearheads connecting the biggest talent in sports with unparalleled educational resources, experiences, and vital personal connections, ultimately enabling them to passionately pursue and shape their futures.Prior to becoming co-CEO of PAC, Paucek served as Co-Founder and CEO of 2U, Inc. During his 16-year tenure, Paucek architected the education technology company into one of the world’s largest online education providers, led a successful IPO in 2013, and grew the company to nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. His contributions earned him multiple accolades including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Goldman Sachs’s Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs Award, and recognition as one of America’s best chief executives by Institutional Investor magazine. Paucek’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1993 when he co-founded Cerebellum Corporation, known for its award-winning PBS television show, Standard Deviants. He also served as CEO of Hooked on Phonics and managed the successful re-election campaign of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski in 2004.With a BA from George Washington University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, Paucek is an active speaker on entrepreneurship and the global education and technology landscape. While Chip lives in Annapolis, MD with his wife (Gabbi), they stay closely connected to their two sons (Noah and Henry) at Syracuse University through a shared love of all things dogs, Florida, and the Miami Dolphins. (Bio via Pro Athlete Community)

www.dashmedia.coJeff Maggioncalda joined Coursera as CEO in June 2017 and since then helped the company grow to over 140 million learners and 7,000+ institutions, served by high-quality learning content from 300+ of the world’s top universities and industry educators. He previously served for 18 years as the founding CEO at Financial Engines Inc, a company co-founded by economist and Nobel Prize winner William Sharpe. Financial Engines grew rapidly under Jeff's leadership, providing high-quality online investment advice that has helped millions of people save and prepare for retirement. Jeff has also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and Cornerstone Research, and serves as a director of SVB Financial Group. He holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor's degree in Economics and English from Stanford University. In his free time, Jeff is a lifelong learner and proud dad, and enjoys studying music theory and spending time with his wife and three daughters.

www.dashmedia.coIn today’s episode, we sit down with Belhaven University leaders Kevin Russell (VP for University Enrollment and Marketing), Audrey Kelleher (Provost and VP for Academic Affairs), and Dr. Brett Andrews (Dean of The School of Business). In partnership with GSV, Belhaven offers an online MBA in Entrepreneurship - a program recently named top 10 by Forbes.

www.dashmedia.coIn today’s episode, we delve into the inspiring journey of Jean-Claude Brizard, a visionary educator deeply committed to advancing equitable education and empowering students. Born in Haiti and separated from his parents due to political persecution, Jean-Claude was raised by his grandmother until reuniting with his family in the United States six years later. This formative experience, coupled with witnessing his parents' sacrifices, instilled in him a profound sense of purpose. Jean-Claude's educational path led him from the public schools of Brooklyn to earning advanced degrees in Chemistry and Science Education from Queens College, and later, a degree in School Administration and Supervision from City College of New York. His career began in the trenches of the New York City public school system, where he first encountered the myriad challenges facing students and the pivotal role educators play.Ascending through various leadership roles, Jean-Claude served as the principal of George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, an instructional superintendent in New York City, and later as Superintendent of the Rochester City School District. His journey didn't stop there; he went on to become the CEO of Chicago Public Schools and now leads Digital Promise, a global nonprofit dedicated to accelerating educational innovation. Under his leadership, Digital Promise focuses on bridging the gap between education leaders, researchers, and technology developers, with initiatives aimed at fostering inclusive innovation and equitable learning opportunities. Throughout his career, Jean-Claude has remained relentless in his mission to transform educational systems, driven by his personal narrative and an unwavering commitment to ensure that every child in America has the opportunity to thrive in the digital age. This episode explores his impactful work and the ongoing initiatives at Digital Promise that are shaping the future of education.

www.dashmedia.coBari Weiss is the founder and editor of The Free Press and host of the podcast Honestly. From 2017 to 2020, Weiss was an opinion writer and editor at The New York Times. Before that, she was an op-ed and book review editor at The Wall Street Journal and a senior editor at Tablet Magazine. Weiss is the winner of the LA Press Club's 2021 Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism. She is also the winner of the Reason Foundation’s 2018 Bastiat Prize, which honors writing that “best demonstrates the importance of freedom with originality, wit, and eloquence.” In 2019, Vanity Fair called Weiss the Times's "star opinion writer." In 2023, Weiss and The Free Press won the Dao Prize for their work on the Twitter Files. Weiss is a proud Pittsburgh native. Her first book, "How to Fight Anti-Semitism," was the winner of a 2019 National Jewish Book Award. She lives with her wife and daughter in Los Angeles.

Lev Gonick is an educator, technologist, and smart city architect. He has been teaching, working, and living on the Net for more than 25 years.Lev is Enterprise Chief Information Officer at Arizona State University. Enterprise Technology at ASU leads the design and agile management of all enterprise infrastructure, applications, products, services, and analytics. HE also chairs the Sun Corridor Network, Arizona's Research and Education Network.In 2023, Lev was recognized by the ORBIE Awards as Arizona’s top large Enterprise CIO. In 2022, EdScoop named him among the Top 50 Educational Technology influencers and leaders.Before joining ASU in 2017, Lev was co-founder and CEO of DigitalC, the award-winning non-profit organization enabling and celebrating innovation, collaboration, and productivity through next-generation broadband networks, big open data solutions, and IoT for public benefit.Lev was CIO at Case Western Reserve University from 2001-2013. He and his colleagues were internationally recognized for technology innovations in community engagement, learning spaces, and next-generation network projects. Lev's innovations, including the Case Connection Zone catalyzed national projects, including US Ignite and Gig.Inside Business Magazine named Lev one of their Power 100 in 2015. In 2011 Government Technology awarded Lev one of their "Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers in Public-Sector Innovation."​ In the same year, Crain's Business Cleveland named Gonick one of its "10 Difference Makers"​ in Northeast Ohio and Broadband Properties honored him with their Cornerstone Award for "using fiber to build an inclusive society and empower individuals."​ In 2010 he received recognition as "Visionary of the Year" from NATOA. Lev has been recognized by ComputerWorld as a Premier 100 IT leader and honored by CIO magazine with a CIO 100 Award.