Education is at the core of equity issues, and the pandemic shone a spotlight on existing gaps and potential solutions.  

This episode, our guests investigate inequities in educational opportunity, the challenges for public education during the pandemic and beyond, and the emerging technology that’s helping close persistent gaps. Join us as we explore what the future of education will look like and what responsibility our leaders have in terms of enabling the kind of social mobility that comes with greater access to learning.  

Highlights from this episode: 

• Katherine Newman (System Chancellor for Academic Programs and SVP for Economic Development at UMass) explains the impact of educational opportunity on social mobility 
• Lee Pelton (President of Emerson College and the next CEO of The Boston Foundation) introduces the connection between intergenerational wealth and educational opportunity 
• Massachusetts Secretary of Education, James Peyser, discusses how opportunity gaps manifest themselves in public education 
• Joshua Ness (Sr Manager at Verizon 5G Labs) tells us how 5G will open doors for students and new learning opportunities 
• PTC’s Chief Strategy Officer Kathleen Mitford describes how learning and access to technology present opportunities for social advancement 
• Art Papas, CEO and Co-founder of Bullhorn, proposes some practical alternatives to the traditional four-year degree 
• Liz Reynolds (Executive Director of MIT’s Industrial Performance Center and now Senior Member of the National Economic Council) continues the discussion of skills training as it relates to economic recovery  

So, follow us on our journey this season as we investigate Boston’s challenges as a microcosm for bigger issues of equity and access. Through topics like access to technology, healthcare innovations, the future of education, and forward-thinking DE&I strategies, we take Boston’s Brand Problem out of the shadows — and onto the Tech Trail.