Last Friday was a special one with my #ClassIX Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation Fellows.
We spent the day at Strada Education Foundation—thank you for opening your doors and for the leadership you provide in Indiana and nationally! It takes thought leaders in the space to drive change and we are incredibly fortunate as a state to have you here as an asset.
I’ve had a front-row seat for the past six-plus years to the momentum happening across Indiana: literacy, postsecondary pathways, high school redesign, early education, workforce alignment, and the broader work of reimagining our education systems. And this is what our session was all about.
We often talk about education through the lens of statewide economic prosperity and what it means to build a place where graduates want to stay and where businesses can find the talent they need.
But there’s another side of that equation: individual economic mobility.
When people have access to strong educational experiences, relevant skills, and meaningful pathways, they are better positioned to access quality jobs, increase their earning potential, and create greater opportunity for themselves and their families. The data is out and there’s no disputing it… educational attainment = greater economic mobility.
That intersection of individual opportunity and statewide prosperity is exactly why this module matters.
During the day we heard from an incredible group of leaders working across the field:
Sec. Katie Jenner , Jacqueline Kronk, Erin Hillenburg Kissling, Brandon Brown, Dr. Jeff Butts, Keanna Warren, Anne Wicks Alexia Maggos, Katie Lash, Timothy Robinson, and Ruth Watkins
So many takeaways. But one line from Dr. Jenner stuck with me: “Let the main thing be the main thing.”
In a moment when there is plenty competing for our attention, that feels especially relevant.
For me, the main thing is simple:
How do we create an education system in Indiana that gives every student the strongest possible opportunity to succeed and, in doing so, strengthens the future of our communities and our state?
That’s the work I have the privilege to work on everyday at Welborn: connecting cradle-to-career systems, strengthening the early learning ecosystem, cultivating partnerships, identifying resources that can accelerate change, and above all building relationships that endure, because this is how change happens.
No single organization, sector, or leader can do this alone and what we can accomplish and build collectively will always be stronger than what we can accomplish on our own and Friday was a perfect demonstration of this idea in action!
Grateful for a day with my Fellows centered on a topic that means so much to me.
Now, let’s keep rowing in the same direction and “let the main thing be the main thing”!
