This Week in Edutainment | January 12 - January 16
We connect students around the world to primary source experts from a wide variety of topics and subjects. For more information, visit edutainmentlearning.com.
Upcoming Live Zoom Sessions
Recently promoted to Chief Executive Officer, Nathan has spent 22 years leading sales, marketing, and strategy at RSM (Retail Sports Marketing). RSM is a leading shopper marketing, retail solutions and experience agency based in Charlotte, NC. Nathan oversees some of the largest clients for the agency including Walmart, Sam’s Club, Red Bull, Tyson, META, and Unilever. He also manages key strategic partnerships in sports and entertainment from NASCAR, NBA to country music properties like the CMA Awards and Grand Old Ory.
Ms. Yarbrough is Professor of Government and Gary M. Pendy, Sr. Professor of Social Sciences, with teaching responsibilities in political philosophy and American Political Thought. She was a Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellow and has twice received research fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her first award as a Bicentennial Fellow resulted in the publication of American Virtues: Thomas Jefferson on the Character of a Free People (Kansas, 1998). Following up on this research, she has edited The Essential Jefferson (Hackett, 2006). Her second N.E.H. grant was part of a "We the People" initiative that supported research on Theodore Roosevelt and the American Political Tradition (University Press of Kansas, 2012), which won the Richard E. Neustadt Award for 2013 (awarded annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) for the best book on the Presidency). Ms. Yarbrough is the author of numerous articles and essays in American political thought and public policy, as well as other topics in political philosophy. Her current research involves a study of the political thought of Alexis de Tocqueville in relation to major American political figures. She has served on the editorial boards of The Review of Politics and Polity and currently serves on the editorial board of American Political Thought. She was President of the New England Political Science Association in 2005, and recently completed a Senate-confirmed appointment to the National Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2021, Ms. Yarbrough was awarded the Henry Salvatori Prize for her scholarly work and public service in upholding the principles of the American Founding.
Taylor Smith is the President and founder of Project Finance & Development Investments (PFDI), a company that helps build and finance important community projects across Florida and the United States. Since 1998, he has helped develop more than $1 billion worth of schools, housing, roads, and other facilities that support students, families, and local communities.
A major part of Taylor’s work is focused on charter schools. He has helped create, build, or support dozens of schools, including Mater Academy, Pinecrest Academy, Somerset Academy, River City Science Academy, and many more. His work often requires him to bring together city leaders, school districts, state agencies, and private partners—all working toward the shared goal of giving students a better place to learn.
In addition to leading PFDI, Taylor serves on several important boards. He is a Governor-appointed Board Member and Treasurer of the Florida Development Finance Corporation, a Trustee of Doral College, and a Board Member of Somerset Schools, a nationwide charter school network. He also helps oversee Building Faith, a nonprofit that owns more than $250 million in charter school facilities in Florida.
Taylor grew up in Florida and graduated from Spruce Creek High School. He attended Princeton University as a Truman Scholar and later studied at the Australian National University as a Fulbright Scholar. Today, he continues to work in Florida and volunteers as a leader and teacher in his Jacksonville community. He also enjoys spending time with his wife, Kathi, who is a children’s author and illustrator.
Taylor Smith’s work has helped thousands of students access high-quality schools and opportunities, making a lasting difference in education across the country.
Tony Morales is the Co-Chairman of N2Growth Executive Search in Miami, FL. He advises boards and senior executives on talent strategy, leadership selection, organizational design, performance management, succession planning, and executive transitions.
Through his leadership of N2Growth’s executive search practice, Tony oversees engagements across all industries, functions, ownership structures, business models, and geographies. Whether a multinational, multibillion-dollar enterprise, a sovereign government, or a startup in hypergrowth, Tony helps our clients answer three fundamental questions:
Who do we need on our leadership team?
How do we all succeed while they’re here?
How do we all succeed when they’re gone?
Prior to N2Growth, Tony’s career involved leadership through consultative, interim, and industry roles. After exiting a technology-enabled service startup, Tony held a leadership role at the ACE Foundation, a private foundation supporting social and public sector innovation. Before this, he was an executive for Academica, the nation’s largest educational services firm, leading strategic and administrative functions for its virtual and emerging technologies business.
Tony is active in philanthropy and community service, especially in his native South Florida. He serves as Treasurer of the Board of Directors of the Somerset Academy Foundation, Inc., Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Under A Tree, Inc., and a Trustee for Doral College, where he teaches anthropology each fall. He serves in a volunteering or advisory capacity for other private and public organizations, including the Center for Education Reform, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner Department. Tony is a member of YPO.
Tony holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and philosophy, politics, and economics, a master’s degree in anthropology, and graduate credentials in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. He serves as programmatic faculty at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, teaching through its Undergraduate Division and Aresty Institute of Executive Education at the undergraduate and executive levels, respectively.
Rahul Ravji is a half-Spanish, half-Indian student, born in France and currently living in the United Kingdom. Having graduated as his school’s valedictorian in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, Rahul is now a first-year Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Bristol, as well as a pilot trainee.
Rahul’s fascination with engineering began early, from winning the Rising All-Star team award in the First Lego League at age 10, to completing multi-year programs in Space Robotics and Astronautics, and working alongside engineers at the National Institute for Aerospace Technology in Spain.
In this session, Rahul will share his learnings from being an ambitious student: how to stay motivated, how to balance discipline with a healthy life, and how to maintain mental strength even after setbacks such as university rejection. He will speak openly about work routines, setting goals, and achieving the mindset that will drive you to excel.
Edutainment Podcast
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Edutainment Learning? Edutainment Learning is an online educational platform that connects students and teachers to primary sources of learning from a wide variety of subjects. Our goal is to provide students access to in-person conversations with industry leaders, historical figures, athletes, musicians, and more.
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