The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders
The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders

The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders

Be Podcast Network

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Episodes

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Are you looking for proven ideas to increase your influence, hire and develop an excellent staff, build a stronger culture, lead meaningful change, and form a strong foundation for learning and leadership success? This is the podcast for you. Whether you're a leader to seeks to refine your command of core educational strategies, learn new management techniques from those who have used them at some of the world's largest corporations, gain fresh perspectives on personal development or student success from practitioners across fields, or a little bit of everything, you'll find powerful content on The Authority. Join leadership coach, storytelling strategist, and edtech advisor Ross Romano as he interviews the prominent education authors you already admire, up-and-coming voices, and experts from the worlds of business, personal development, and beyond — including Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon bestsellers — to take a deep dive into their wealth of practical insights.

Recent Episodes

Dancing with Discomfort featuring Carey Borkoski - Best of The Authority
MAY 31, 2026
Dancing with Discomfort featuring Carey Borkoski - Best of The Authority
In today's "Best Of," we're going all the way back to episode 9 of The Authority with Dr. Carey Borkoski. We talked about her book Dancing with Discomfort: A framework for noticing, naming, and navigating our in-between moments. You'll hear about:The importance of transitions in creating an interesting, fulfilling lifeHow to navigate unanticipated personal or professional transitionsNavigating the transition into an administrator roleAddressing the discomfort of giving or receiving feedbackGetting over imposter syndromeAbout today’s guestDr. Carey Borkoski is an Associate Professor and Research Fellow in the School of Education at Loyola University - Maryland, and a Lead Coach in the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Her research focuses on the role of building community and cultivating belonging in student and faculty successes. She also writes and speaks on strategies and technology tools that contribute to building a sense of community in our learning spaces.About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt 
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50 MIN
Magic in Room 216 with Andee Nunn
MAY 24, 2026
Magic in Room 216 with Andee Nunn
In more than 40 years of teaching, Andee Nunn reached over 4,000 students juggling positions as a reading specialist, English teacher, and communications adjunct faculty. She was named the 2008 Danbury (CT) Teacher of the Year, 2008 Connecticut State Semi-Finalist Teacher of the Year, and won the 2018 NAACP Excellence in Teaching award. Her book is Magic in Room 216: How One Teacher Came of Age and Inspired the Next Generation.Tune into our conversation to hear about:What is the “magic?”The risks Andee took during her teaching careerThe students who taught her the mostHow she was able to get students to open upWhat was the catalyst that sparked Andee’s “metamorphosis?”Reflections on the current state of educationGet Andee’s book, Magic in Room 216. About today’s guestBorn in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Long Island, Andee Nunn’s imaginary teaching started at age 6 when she modeled her kindergarten teacher’s magical classroom. In her basement she lined up her dolls and play acting at her dream profession began. After high school, she earned her B.A in Speech Education, MS in Secondary Education from Queens College, NY. and later completed post graduate studies in Reading at Western CT State University. Andee earned certification as an Elementary Education Teacher, Reading Specialist grades K-12, as well as High School English Teacher grades 9-12. During her more than 40 years as an educator, she juggled positions as a Reading Specialist/Consultant, English Teacher, Director of IAP, The Individualized Achievement Program at Western for first generation college students and served as Adjunct Professor of Communications. Andee was named 2008 Danbury Teacher of the Year, 2008 Semi-Finalist CT. Teacher of the Year and was the 2018 recipient of the NAACP Excellence in Teaching Award. Now retired, she resides in Danbury CT where she raised two daughters and lives with her husband of 48 years. For the last few years, she has addressed high school and college aspiring educators as guest speaker.About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt 
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51 MIN
A Guide to Engaging Families with Nathaniel Provencio—Community Connections and Your PLC at Work
MAY 14, 2026
A Guide to Engaging Families with Nathaniel Provencio—Community Connections and Your PLC at Work
Nathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field since 2001 as a classroom teacher, building administrator and associate superintendent. He is a speaker, school leadership coach, and author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work®: A Guide to Engaging Families.We talk about:Why parent and family engagement are important to schools, and how it relates to PLCsHow the concepts of a PLC apply to family engagementIs connecting with families just code for more work for already overworked teachers? Engaging families who traditionally have barriers to engagementThe biggest ‘community connection fail’ Nathaniel has seen a school try, and how to do it betterGet Community Connections and Your PLC at Work from Solution Tree. Learn more about Nathaniel at his website provenprincipalllc.com About today’s guestNathaniel Provencio has worked in the public education field since 2001 as a classroom teacher, building administrator and associate superintendent . In 2010, he became the principal of Minnieville Elementary in Prince William County, Virginia. Under his leadership, Minnieville Elementary was recognized as a Virginia Distinguished Title 1 School, became a National Model Professional Learning Community and was the winner of the 2019 Richard DuFour PLC Award.Mr. Provencio has been honored as the 2017 Prince William County principal of the year, the 2017 Washington Post Principal of the Year and the 2019 Virginia National Distinguished Principal of the Year.Mr. Provencio is the author of Community Connections and Your PLC at Work, which focuses on how schools can utilize the professional learning community framework to enhance family and community engagement.Mr. Provencio graduated from the University of North Alabama in 2001 with a degree in education and has a master’s degree in education administration from George Mason University in which he was recognized as one of 50 all-time George Mason University Alumni.About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt 
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52 MIN
The Teacher Team Leader Handbook with Chad Dumas
APR 15, 2026
The Teacher Team Leader Handbook with Chad Dumas
Dr. Chad Dumas is a Solution Tree PLC at Work®, Assessment, and Priority Schools associate and international consultant, presenter, and award-winning researcher whose primary focus is collaborating to develop capacity for continuous improvement. His latest book is The Teacher Team Leader Handbook: Simple Habits to Transform Collaboration in a PLC at Work®.We discuss:Foundations and actions of teacher team leadersHow important to establish the mission of the PLC?The book has Swiss Army Knife-like tools for leaders — you don’t use them all every time you pull out the knife, but you have what’s needed for the situationRole and responsibilities of the teacher team leaderThe assumptions a team leader must makeWho selects the leader?When it’s time to build capacity and when it’s time for a resetGet the book here: https://nextlearningsolutionspress.com/ttlh/Hear my previous conversation with Chad on episode 132, Let’s Put the C in PLC with Chad Dumas.About the hostRoss Romano is a co-founder of the Be Podcast Network and CEO of September Strategies, a coaching and consulting firm that helps organizations and high-performing leaders in the K-12 education industry communicate their vision and make strategic decisions that lead to long-term success. Connect on Bluesky or LinkedIn I also host Sideline Sessions, a podcast for coaches and parents of student-athletes. The show features conversations with coaches and performance experts in the NFL, NBA, NCAA, Olympics, and more. Listen here: https://bit.ly/3Rp0QGt 
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46 MIN