The Stronger Podcast

A social worker once walked Taylor Ramsey's mother from high school dropout to technical degree, and today Taylor leads OneGoal Georgia, which does the same for students across the state. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Taylor, Executive Director of OneGoal Georgia, a nonprofit that builds postsecondary advising into the school day, to talk about getting students from a diploma to a credential that pays. Taylor was born and raised in Honolulu, in a 32 story apartment building surrounded by others like it, with classmates from China, Japan, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam. Her mother had dropped out of high school in tenth grade in the Ozark Mountains and run away from home. A social worker got her into a GED program and then a technical college, where she trained as a medical transcriptionist and moved out of the service industry. The family was on public assistance through Taylor's childhood. She went to a liberal arts college in the Northwest and joined Teach For America at 22, telling the interviewer there was no plan B. In Baton Rouge she taught under a principal she was terrified of, who then wrote a letter about her that Taylor still keeps in her office. She has led OneGoal in Georgia for seven years. Mike and Taylor get into how the program works: students take OneGoal as a class inside the school day, and the team stays with them through the first year after high school, the stretch when they do not belong to anybody. They also take on summer melt, the move to start advising in ninth grade instead of eleventh, the growth beyond metro Atlanta that made OneGoal Metro Atlanta into OneGoal Georgia, and why Taylor thinks the harder public argument about whether college is worth it is a good thing. Tune in to hear the hiring mistake Taylor made at 26, and the advice from a mentor she has carried ever since. Chapters: (01:21) - A sterile conference room in Atlanta, and a suburb she never imagined (02:11) - Born in Honolulu to a mother who ran away from the Ozarks (02:32) - A 32 story apartment building and classmates from all over the world (03:14) - A social worker, a GED, and a job training program (03:53) - We are the working poor: the ethos that stuck (05:21) - Calabash aunties and a support group for single mothers (05:52) - Head Start, childcare cuts, and a preschool teacher’s recommendation (06:53) - Bringing the house down at the Hawaii State Capitol (07:24) - Sleeping in the back of YWCA conference rooms (08:40) - From powerless to powerful, and the shadow side of that drive (10:59) - Mission driven work, and the privilege of being paid for it (11:55) - College was not if, but how and when (12:45) - Food stamps at the grocery store, and the shame she remembers (13:19) - Teach For America at 22: there was no plan B (13:56) - Baton Rouge was an education, and a fast one (15:43) - Ms. Garrett, high expectations, and the letter still in her office (18:57) - What OneGoal is, and why a diploma alone is not enough (20:36) - What high schools are measured on, and what they are not resourced for (21:40) - A class in the school day, and support through the first year out (22:51) - Summer melt: the students who never make it to campus (24:05) - The secret sauce, and the barrier to scale (25:24) - Moving the start from eleventh grade to ninth (29:06) - Now OneGoal Georgia, and the students outside the metro area (29:43) - Is college even worth it: the conversation that changed most (30:48) - Technical colleges are mostly built for adults, not 18 year olds (32:15) - Three year degrees in Oregon and Georgia (33:12) - The everyday kids with a B or C average (36:08) - Scalable public goods, not one off angels (37:27) - Strong women mentors, and being hard driving with empathy (38:40) - The hire she made because the better candidate intimidated her (41:39) - Explicit training in coaching, feedback, and positional power (42:36) - Go hard early, and stay in a learning posture (43:59) - Focus on what is possible, not what is probable Referenced in this episode: Georgia's approval of 90 credit hour bachelor's degrees: https://www.ajc.com/education/2026/08/georgia-greenlights-3-year-college-bachelors-degree/ Oregon's first three year bachelor's degrees: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/01/george-fox-university-3-year-bachelors-degree-oregon/ Research on summer melt among college intending students: https://edpolicyinca.org/newsroom/mitigating-summer-melt National six year completion rates, including by income: https://nscresearchcenter.org/yearly-progress-and-completion/ National student to school counselor ratio data: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/62807f33-a020-4c4f-ac6f-bf284803fd97/pr_ratios-24-25.pdf Links: Taylor Ramsey at OneGoal Georgia: https://www.onegoal.org/locations/georgia/ More about OneGoal: https://www.onegoal.org/ OneGoal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/onegoal/ Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/ Stronger Consulting: https://strongerconsulting.com Start a podcast that matters: http://podcastsmatter.com For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org/ Stay strong.

Anthony Dorado's road back to the program that trained him began when a busy CEO made time for him, and now he tries to give fifteen minutes to anyone who reaches out. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Anthony, Executive Director of City Teaching Alliance in Greater DC Metro, a nonprofit that prepares teachers for city schools, to talk about changing careers and leading with empathy. Anthony grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles, in a first-generation Mexican family. His parents were 16 when he was born, so his grandparents raised him in a home full of aunts and uncles. He started kindergarten without speaking English, was in English as a second language classes until high school, and found a mentor in his charter high school's founding principal. He started out in private banking and left after almost two years because the work did not match his convictions. When his best friend, a teacher, asked if he wanted to teach math, he said why not, and fell in love with teaching. He joined Urban Teachers, now City Teaching Alliance, which pairs a master's degree with a teaching fellowship, and moved to Washington, DC. After working internationally as CEO of education for a private equity firm, he came back to lead the region where he trained. Mike and Anthony get into how the four-year fellowship works, why classroom management is team management, and why Anthony assumes best intent when something goes wrong. He also lays out what is next for City Teaching Alliance, which now calls itself a workforce development organization: an accelerated pathway into teaching, a pathway for paraprofessionals, and a move into Virginia. Tune in to hear what Anthony would tell his younger self in Los Angeles, starting with skateboarding. Chapters: (01:11) - Stronger together, and where Anthony calls home (02:00) - Growing up in Koreatown in a house full of family (03:40) - Parents at 16, and the grandparents who raised him (05:30) - Starting kindergarten without speaking English (07:08) - A charter high school and the principal who became a mentor (09:08) - Leaving private banking to teach math (11:12) - Urban Teachers, a master's degree, and a move to Washington, DC (13:04) - I was in your seat ten years ago: teaching his own community (14:45) - Former students sending their graduation pictures (16:50) - How the four-year City Teaching Alliance fellowship works (19:18) - Why teacher preparation needs partners outside the system (21:17) - Coming back to lead, and giving anyone fifteen minutes (23:35) - Teaching as a proving ground and a pipeline into leadership (24:36) - Classroom management is team management (28:20) - Special education support depends on the school and its budget (29:39) - The gap between what kids need and what schools are funded for (31:33) - Leading with empathy and assuming best intent (33:09) - Leadership development, and a note to the funders (35:51) - Roots in the DMV, and new pathways into teaching (37:14) - Scaling City Teaching Alliance into Virginia (39:04) - Advice to his younger self: quit skateboarding (39:58) - Trusted mentors, and making fifteen minutes for others Referenced in this episode: City Teaching Alliance names Anthony Dorado executive director for Greater DC Metro: https://cityteachingalliance.org/blog/city-teaching-alliance-expands-leadership-team-with-three-new-executive-directors/ Urban Teachers renamed City Teaching Alliance: https://cityteachingalliance.org/urban-teachers-announces-name-change-to-city-teaching-alliance/ Public school spending per pupil, U.S. Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/school-system-finances.html Links: Anthony Dorado at City Teaching Alliance: https://cityteachingalliance.org/employees/anthony-dorado/ More about City Teaching Alliance: https://cityteachingalliance.org/ City Teaching Alliance on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cityteachingalliance/ Connect with Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc/ Stronger Consulting: https://strongerconsulting.com Start a podcast that matters: http://podcastsmatter.com For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org/ Stay strong.

Dr. Tenika Holden-Flynn, Executive Director of Teach For America Indianapolis, says believing in kids is only the start. The work is turning that belief into clear goals and measurable action for students. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Tenika to talk about how leaders get built in Indianapolis and why teaching may be the best training ground there is. Tenika grew up in Farrell, Pennsylvania, a town of fewer than 5,000 people, and went to parochial school from pre-K through ninth grade. When the family could not afford private school for her and a private college for her older sister, she started tenth grade at a public school for the first time. The classes were bigger and the options fewer, but she found teachers who looked like her and believed she could accomplish anything. That is why she knew she would become a teacher. Today she leads a chapter where alumni run schools and shape policy across the city. They do not always agree on how to get there, she says, but they all believe students deserve to win. Mike and Tenika get into the new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation and how district and charter schools will share facilities and funding. She also explains what a 2023 RAND study found about Teach For America teachers in the city, and the 2030 goal to double student outcomes in reading and math. Tune in to hear how a student who found her calling in a public school classroom is now building the leaders Indianapolis will need next. Chapters: 🏫 00:49 Meet Dr. Tenika Holden-Flynn: from public school student to turnaround school leader 🧭 10:24 Teach For America Indianapolis develops leaders, and RAND measured the student results 🏛️ 16:12 The new Indianapolis Public Education Corporation takes on shared facilities and funding 🤝 21:43 Leaders learn the job by shadowing the people already leading it 🍎 28:02 Teaching is the job that prepares you for any role 🎯 31:54 Turn belief in kids into goals, systems, shared ownership, and measurable action Links: Website: teachforamerica.org/indianapolis Dr. Tenika Holden-Flynn on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tenika-holden-flynn-ed-d-7351519a Teach For America on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/teach-for-america Explore Teach For America Indianapolis and connect with Tenika on LinkedIn to follow the work of building education leaders and student results in the city. Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com Publish a Book That Matters: booksthatmatter.org Start a Podcast That Matters: podcastsmatter.com Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org Stay strong.

Joy Osborne, President and CEO of Student Achievement Partners, says the Common Core era made instructional materials better across the country. Student outcomes have not caught up, and the next decade of her work is about finding out why. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Joy, a former teacher and principal who now leads the national nonprofit founded by the primary writers of the Common Core State Standards, to talk about turning better materials into better outcomes for kids. Joy taught herself to read at three and grew up in Miami Gardens, where the school across the street was not getting students where they needed to go. Her mother turned Joy's test scores into transfers, and she commuted across town from kindergarten on. In a gifted class, she balanced a checkbook against a budget, then walked back into her regular classroom to find everyone doing a worksheet. She has spent her career making sure every kid knows they have agency and the right to ask questions. Mike and Joy dig into why SAP is now mapping the gap between materials and outcomes, and how AI is changing which math and literacy skills students need to master by hand versus understand conceptually. Joy compares it to transportation: you could take a rocket ship everywhere, but sometimes you still need to walk because it's good for your heart. When the first call came about leading SAP, her answer was, "But I'm just a teacher." Tune in to hear what the caller said back, and why Joy now tells the leaders she coaches that who they are is already enough. Chapters: 🏠 03:08 Joy Osborne never attended school in her own Miami neighborhood 🌈 04:58 Taught herself to read at three and found new places in books ✏️ 10:34 From Summerbridge student to Summerbridge teacher every college summer 🧠 16:20 Critical thinkers are never limited to what someone chooses to tell them 🗺️ 20:01 How the Common Core aligned 40-plus states around the same skills 🧮 24:39 Redesigning high school math for data literacy in the age of AI 🚶 26:26 AI is like transportation: sometimes kids still need to walk 💵 32:07 Schools decide which kids learn to lead and which learn to follow 📈 36:29 Mapping the gap between better materials and better student outcomes 🪞 40:30 Impostor syndrome as a new CEO and learning to ask herself first 🍎 43:33 "But I'm just a teacher": who you already are is enough Links: Website: https://learnwithsap.org/staff/joy-osborne/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joydosborne Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/student-achievement-partners?trk=public_profile_topcard-current-company Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com Publish a Book That Matters: booksthatmatter.org Start a Podcast That Matters: podcastsmatter.com Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org Stay strong.

Shruti Sehra leads New Profit, a national venture philanthropy, through what she calls the largest global realignment of our lifetimes, driven by rapid innovation and an unprecedented intergenerational transfer of wealth. She is clear that nobody can predict how it ends. In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with Shruti Sehra, CEO of New Profit, the national nonprofit that has spent nearly three decades putting unrestricted capital and capacity building support behind social entrepreneurs working in education, economic mobility, and democracy. Shruti just marked twenty years at New Profit, and she stepped into the CEO role at the end of a strategic plan cycle rather than the start of one. Her read on this moment is historical. Every eighty to a hundred years the world reorganizes itself, and the pattern arrives with gilded age levels of inequality, a $124 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer, enormous innovation, and collapsing trust in institutions. History can tell us where we are. What it cannot tell us is the outcome, because the outcome depends on what we do. She also tells Mike about growing up as one of four Indian families in a town outside Indianapolis, about mispronouncing her own name until her early forties so she would not disrupt anyone&'s roll call, and about the mother she calls a closet social justice warrior who signed her up at nine to volunteer at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, so she would work for a Black supervisor and see power look different than it did in her town. Listen in for the tension Shruti says every leader is being called to hold right now: the fierce urgency of now alongside the long arc and why she believes that tension, held well, is exactly how we get to write what comes next. Chapters: 🌏 01:30 Shruti Sehra's story of paradoxes: arriving in the U.S. ⛪ 05:54 Growing up Indian in small town Indiana 🏛️ 11:22 Formative volunteer experience at The Children's Museum 📚 15:06 Going to school in Connecticut 🧭 18:11 The immigrant experience and the importance of community 💡 26:05 Shruti’s leadership at New Profit and the power of unrestricted capital for social entrepreneurs ⏳ 28:45 Navigating the current moment 🔮 30:40 History cannot tell us the outcome, because we create the future 🔺 37:19 The triangle of tension: impact, culture, and sustainability in hard decisions 🤝 40:58 Systems change never happens in isolation, and interdependence is the point Links: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/shruti-sehra New Profit on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/new-profit-inc- Website: newprofit.org Follow Shruti and New Profit to see where the strategy lands as they think through what the next decade of venture philanthropy asks of the field. Connect with Mike: www.linkedin.com/in/mmsc Stronger Consulting: strongerconsulting.com Publish a Book That Matters: booksthatmatter.org Start a Podcast That Matters: podcastsmatter.com Go from Expert to Thought Leader: geniusdiscovery.org For more great podcasts like this one, visit https://podcaststhatmatter.org Stay strong.