Eduventures Summit 2023

Save the Date

June 14-16, 2023

Intercontinental Boston–Boston, MA

Eduventures Summit 2022 Recap

Thank you to our speakers, attendees, and everyone who participated in and interacted with Eduventures Summit 2022.

Presentation decks and videos will be available as soon as possible, and we will make announcements with further information.

See you next year in Boston!

2022 Keynote Speakers

Brandon P Fleming

Brandon P. Fleming

Founder & CEO, Harvard Diversity Project

Brandon is a nationally acclaimed Harvard educator and author of MISEDUCATED: A Memoir. His story of struggle, success, and service has inspired millions around the world.

An at-risk youth and college dropout turned award-winning educator, Fleming is Assistant Debate Coach at Harvard University and Founder/CEO of the Harvard Diversity Project. Fleming was recruited to join the Harvard debate faculty at the age of 27. Harvard later approved Fleming’s proposal to establish a new department within the university system called the Harvard Diversity Project – an unprecedented pipeline program of the Harvard Debate Council.

Fleming now leads an executive staff and board that has raised over a million dollars to enroll over 100 students of color into Harvard’s international summer debate residency on full scholarship.

Eduventures Summit Keynote Speaker - Platon

Vala Afshar

Chief Digital Evangelist, Salesforce

Vala Afshar is an award-winning inventor, author, weekly podcaster and columnist, and keynote speaker covering the future of buisnesss and work, leadership and innovation. As Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce, Vala collaborates with C-suite executives, industry analysts and thought leaders from around the world on opportunities for digital change.

With over 640,000 followers on Twitter, Afshar is named as a top influencer to senior executives on social media. Afshar’s Twitter account was viewed and shared over one billion times in 2021.
Afshar contributes weekly articles to ZDNET and other publications – published over 250 articles in 2020-2021. Afshar has interviewed over 850 guests on his weekly video show DisrupTV, where he speaks with the top business executives covering the topics of leadership, business, technology and innovation disruptive trends. The show is projected to have over 2 million viewers in 2022.

Afshar spent 13 years leading up to his current role, as a Salesforce customer, in roles of Vice President of engineering, Chief Customer Officer responsible for global customer services and Chief Marketing Officer. Afshar wrote the book ‘The Pursuit of Social Business Excellence’ which tells the story of how his company used Salesforce CRM to build a successful and growing business.

Eduventures Summit Keynote Speaker - Platon

Platon

World-Renowned Portrait and Documentary Photographer

After working for British Vogue for several years, Platon was invited to New York City to work for the late John Kennedy Jr. and his political magazine, George. Shooting portraits for a range of international publications including Rolling Stone, The New York Times magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ and The Sunday Times magazine, Platon developed a special relationship with TIME magazine, producing over 20 covers for them. In 2007, his work was awarded 1st prize at the World Press Photo Contest.

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In 2008, he signed a multi-year contract with The New Yorker. As the staff photographer, he has produced several large-scale photo essays, two of which won ASME Awards in 2009 and 2010. Platon’s New Yorker portfolios have focused on themes including the U.S Military, portraits of world leaders and the Civil Rights Movement. In 2009, Platon teamed up with Human Rights Watch to help them celebrate those who fight for equality and justice in countries suppressed by political forces. These projects have highlighted human rights defenders from Burma as well as the leaders of the Egyptian revolution. Following his coverage of Burma, Platon photographed Aung San Suu Kyi for the cover of TIME—days after her release from house arrest. In 2011, Platon was honored with a Peabody Award for collaboration on the topic of Russia’s Civil Society with The New Yorker magazine and Human Rights Watch.

Platon has published four book of his work: Platon’s Republic (Phaidon Press, 2004), a retrospective of his early work; Power (Chronicle, 2011), 100 portraits of the world’s most powerful leaders; China: Through the Looking Glass (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015), in collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Service (Prestel, 2016), dedicated to the men and women in the United States Military, their physical and psychological wounds, their extraordinary valor, and the fierce emotions that surround those who serve.

Platon is a communicator and storyteller. He has been invited to be a keynote speaker on leadership at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chanel, Nike, Yale University, Oxford University, Wharton University, the National Portrait Gallery in London and International Center of Photography in New York. He has also appeared on a range of television media including Charlie Rose (PBS), Morning Joe (MSNBC), Fareed Zakaria’s GPS (CNN) and the BBC World News.

Platon’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums both domestically and abroad. He has exhibited in New York at the Matthew Marks Gallery and the Howard Greenberg Gallery, as well as internationally at the Colette Gallery in Paris, France. The New York Historical Society has exhibited a solo show of Platon’s Civil Rights photographs, which remain as part of the museum’s permanent collection. Other permanent collections holding Platon’s photography include The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Tampa, Florida and The Westlicht Museum for Photography in Vienna, Austria and the Scotland National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.

In 2013, Platon founded a non-profit foundation named The People’s Portfolio. The foundation aspires to create a visual language that breaks barriers, expands dignity, fights discrimination, and enlists the public to support human rights around the world. He serves as the Creative Director at Large for the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia. Platon’s first film, My Body Is Not A Weapon, features survivors of wartime sexual violence and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege.

Platon is currently on the board for Arts and Culture at the World Economic.

Platon’s life’s work is the subject of a Netflix documentary, Abstract: The Art of Design. In 2020, the Smithsonian acquired Platon’s archive of prominent African American civil rights leaders and culture leaders.

Doris Kearns Goodwin - Photo credit Annie Leibovitz

Marty Meehan

President of the Five-Campus University of Massachusetts System

The 27th president and the first undergraduate alumnus to lead the five-campus University of Massachusetts system. A former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected to the presidency after eight successful years as chancellor of his alma mater, UMass Lowell, during which he led the university to top-tier national status, improving its performance in every sphere of activity, including enrollment, student success, fundraising and auxiliary revenue generation.

Doris Kearns Goodwin - Photo credit Annie Leibovitz

Doris Kearns-Goodwin

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author and Presidential Historian
Appearing on stage with Jon Meacham

 

Doris Kearns Goodwin is a world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times #1 best-selling author.

Her seventh book, Leadership in Turbulent Times, was published in September 2018 to critical acclaim and became an instant New York Times bestseller. A culmination of Goodwin’s five-decade career of studying the American presidents focusing on Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson, the book provides an accessible and essential road map for aspiring and established leaders in every field, and for all of us in our everyday lives.

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Goodwin’s career as a presidential historian and author was inspired when as a 24-year-old graduate student at Harvard she was selected to join the White House Fellows, one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. Goodwin worked with Johnson in the White House and later assisted him in the writing of his memoirs.

She then wrote Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, which became a national bestseller and achieved critical acclaim. It will be re-released in Spring 2019, with a new foreword highlighting LBJ’s accomplishments in domestic affairs that have stood the test of time.

Goodwin was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II. The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys was adapted into an award-winning five-part television miniseries. Her memoir Wait Till Next Year is the heartwarming story of growing up loving her family and baseball. Her sixth book, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, won the Carnegie Medal and is being developed into a film.

Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln served as the basis for Steven Spielberg’s hit film Lincoln and was awarded the prestigious Lincoln Prize, the inaugural Book Prize for American History, and the Lincoln Leadership Prize.

Well known for her appearances and commentary on television, Goodwin is frequently seen in documentaries including Ken Burns’ The History of Baseball and The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; and on news and cable networks, and shows including Meet The Press and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She played herself as a teacher on The Simpsons and a historian on American Horror Story.

Goodwin graduated magna cum laude from Colby College. She earned a doctorate degree in Government from Harvard University, where she taught Government, including a course on the American Presidency.

Among her many honors and awards, Goodwin was awarded the Charles Frankel Prize, the Sarah Josepha Hale Medal, the New England Book Award, as well as the Carl Sandburg Literary Award.

Goodwin recently founded Pastimes Productions with Beth Laski to develop and produce film, television and digital projects.

Goodwin lives in Concord, Massachusetts. She was the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room in 1979, and is a devoted fan of the World Series-winning team.

Jon Meachem

Jon Meacham

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Presidential Historian
Appearing on stage with Doris Kearns-Goodwin

 

Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Jon Meacham is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. A contributor to TIME and The New York Times Book Review, Meacham is a highly sought-after commentator, regularly appearing on CNN and MSNBC.

Known as a skilled orator with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion, and current affairs, Meacham brings historical context to the issues and events impacting our daily lives.

 
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His latest #1 New York Times bestseller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. Meacham is a co-author of the recently released book, Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the complicated motives behind the three impeachments in U.S. history.

Meacham’s Presidential biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list. The Times said, “Destiny and Power reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.” Meacham delivered eulogies for both President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush.

Meacham’s #1 New York Times bestseller, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, was hailed as “masterful and intimate” by Fortune magazine. His other national bestsellers include Franklin and Winston, American Gospel, and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.

A contributing editor at TIME, Meacham writes for the magazine’s Ideas section. He also pens “The Long View” column in The New York Times Book Review in which he “looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment.” He served as Newsweek’s managing editor from 1998 to 2006 and editor from 2006 to 2010. The New York Times called him “one of the most influential editors in the news magazine business.”

Meacham is a frequent guest on Morning Joe; Real Time with Bill Maher; The 11th Hour, and was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Fox News produced an hour-long special about Meacham’s Destiny and Power in November 2015.

Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Society of American Historians, and chairs the National Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Meacham is a Distinguished Visiting Professor of History at The University of the South and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt. He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.

Jon Meachem

Allan C. Golston

President, U.S. Program, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

 

Allan C. Golston, president of the United States Program, leads the foundation’s efforts to help all students graduate from high school, get to and through college, and get a good job. Originally joining the foundation in 2000 as the chief financial officer, Allan felt a deep connection to the U.S. Program work—which spans early learning, K-12, postsecondary, and education pathways into the workforce, as well as economic mobility and opportunity—and began serving as president in 2006.

 
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Allan believes education provides a bridge to opportunity unlike any other in America, and he is committed to ensuring all young people have the education and opportunity they deserve. This includes a deep focus on equity in education and using data to get to better outcomes for students of all backgrounds.

Allan’s professional background is in consulting, public accounting, consumer packaged goods, software development, finance, healthcare, and education. He holds an MBA from Seattle University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Colorado.

2022 Agenda

Wednesday, June 15
6:00pm – 8:00pmWelcome Reception and Remarks
Doug Hughes, CEO, Encoura/Eduventures Research
Sponsored by Anthology
Thursday, June 16
9:00am – 9:10amOpening Remarks
Doug Hughes, CEO, Encoura/Eduventures Research
9:10am – 9:15amAgenda Review
Richard Garrett, Chief Research Officer, Encoura/Eduventures Research
9:15am – 10:00amKeynote Presentation
Undoing Miseducation: The Transformative Power of Educational Equity
Brandon Fleming, Founder of the Harvard Equity Project
10:00am – 10:45amResearch Update
The Parent Student Relationship in College Search
Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Analyst
10:45am – 11:00amBreak
11:00am – 11:45amEnrollment Leader Panel
David Johnson, Indiana University, Bloomington
Meredith Twombly, Clark University
Amy Takayama-Pérez, College of Charleston
Jay E. Murray, Western Connecticut State University
Moderated by Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Analyst
11:45am – 12:30pmResearch Update
Exit Velocity: What's Next for Online Higher Education Post-Pandemic?
Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer
12:30pm – 1:45pmLunch Presentations
Lead by Eduventures Analyst Team (select 1)

The Fading Allure of High Price/Discount Tuition Model
Kim Reid, Eduventures Principal Research Analyst, Encoura and June Claughton, Eduventures Quantitative Research Analyst, Encoura

How are we Recruiting Now? How the Pandemic has Reshaped Traditional Student Outreach
Johanna Trovato, Eduventures Senior Research Analyst, Encoura and Reva Levin, Vice President of Enrollment Services, Encoura

Higher Education Technology after COVID, What Now, What Next?
James Wiley, Eduventures Principal Analyst, Encoura

Sneak Peek: The Masters Market Update
Clint Raine, Eduventures Senior Analyst, Encoura and
Jacqueline Miller, Eduventures Quantitative Specialist, Encoura

OPM Impact: Online Enrollment Trends at Schools that Work (or not work) with OPMs
Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, Encoura

Knowing is Half the Battle – Gaining Insights into Your Market and Competition
Clint Chapman, Vice President and Matt Ellis, Chief Product Officer, Encoura
1:45pm – 2:00pmEd Tech Analyst Break
Three Questions with
James Wiley, Eduventures Principal Analyst, Encoura and Susan Green, National Director, Cyberbit
2:00pm – 2:45pmResearch Update
Education Expectations: Overcoming the Pandemic’s Toll on Education Plans
Dr. David Clayton, Senior Vice President of Research, Strada Education Network
2:45pm – 3:30pm Featured Speaker
Electricity and Flow
Vala Afshar, Salesforce Chief Digital Evangelist
3:30pm – 4:00pmSnack Break Sponsored by Six Red Marbles
4:00pm – 5:00pmClosing Keynote Presentation
The Power of Unity: Rekindling the Spirit of Optimism
Platon, World-Renowned Portrait and Documentary Photographer
5:00pm – 5:30pmInnovation Award Winner Presentation
Cara Quackenbush, Eduventures Senior Vice President, Encoura and Doug Hughes, CEO, Encoura
5:30pm – 7:30pmInnovation Award Reception
Friday, June 17
8:00am - 9:00amBreakfast Breakout
Understanding Trends in Mobility for Adult Learners
Rucha Vankudre, Research Manager and Senior Economist at Emsi Burning Glass
Dartmouth Eleanor

9:00am – 9:45amKeynote Presentation
Higher Education and the Quest for a Better Tomorrow
Marty Meehan, 27th President of the five-campus University of Massachusetts System
9:45am – 10:15amEDTALK – Voice of the Student Series
Tina Gridiron, Vice President of the Center for Equity in Learning, ACT and Iva Keo, sophomore nursing student at UMass Lowell
10:15am – 10:30amBreak
10:30am – 11:15amKeynote Presentation
Transforming our Higher Education System Post-pandemic with a Focus on Value that Ensures more Equitable Economic Outcomes for all Students
Allan Golston, President of the Gates Foundation with James Wiley, Eduventures Principal Analyst, Encoura
11:15am – 12:15pmKeynote Presentation
A conversation with
Doris Kearns Goodwin, world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning author
and Jon Meacham, Presidential historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning Author and one of America's most prominent public intellectuals moderated by Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, Encoura
12:15pmClosing Remarks
Doug Hughes, CEO of Encoura

Sponsorship

Become a Summit Sponsor

Sponsorship of Eduventures Summit provides an exclusive opportunity to extend your brand and meet with 500 senior leaders from higher education institutions across the country. Sponsors can network with high-level decision makers and join the discussion on the disruption and innovation that is transforming the higher education sector. Our conference will focus on the big issues facing higher education leaders, discuss ways to align strategy and innovation, and provide role-based workshops for higher education leaders.

Eduventures Summit will explore the newest ideas in student enrollment management, online and continuing education, program innovation, student success drivers, and the impact of technology innovation in all of these areas. Based on their level of participation, sponsors have the opportunity to address specific audiences with an exclusive breakfast breakout session.

Limited Attendance

Senior Leaders from

Colleges and Universities

2022 Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Gold Sponsors

emsi

Silver Sponsors

six-red-marbles

Innovation Awards

Eduventures Research Innovation Awards Program was created to recognize and showcase the achievements of organizations that share Eduventures vision for a responsive, innovative higher education sector.

Congratulations to our 2022 Innovation Award Winners

Washington & Jefferson College

University of Arizona

Colorado Technical University

Florida Atlantic University

Washington & Jefferson College

University of Arizona

Colorado Technical University

Florida Atlantic University

Recognize your work and team efforts with an Innovation Award.

Each year Eduventures Research solicits award applications, completes judging, and announces winners in 3 categories (listed below). We welcome submissions focused on enrollment, student experience or outcomes innovation during or inspired by the pandemic. Award winners will be featured at Eduventures Summit 2022.

About the Program

Eduventures Innovation Awards Program honors higher education institutions, companies and other organizations in the following categories.

Judges select winners from written applications and, if needed, follow-up interviews. Entries are scored on value to the institution, innovation, and relevance to the mission of the school.

Innovation Categories

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Enrollment

A new enrollment management strategy in a fast-changing environment.

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Student Experience

A new approach to teaching and learning or student support.

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Outcomes

A new effort to define and report student outcomes.