The Stronger Podcast
Conversations to Build Stronger, More Equitable Organizations
The Stronger Podcast brings you insightful conversations with education leaders, innovators, and practitioners who are creating more equitable, sustainable, and high-performing schools and organizations.
Each episode turns real-world challenges into actionable strategies—so you can lead with clarity, build stronger systems, and elevate your impact.
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Episode 23 – We’re Preparing Kids for the Wrong World: Economic Mobility, Coalition Building, and the Long Game in Public Education with David W. James, Ed.D
Former Akron Public Schools superintendent Dr. David W. James never planned to work in education. He started at NASA, moved into environmental consulting, and ended up leading a school district for 13 years by accident.
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In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya sits down with David, now executive director of Summit Education Initiative, to talk about what it takes to move the needle on economic mobility when the old factory jobs are gone and nobody can tell you what the new ones require.
David became superintendent after a business manager role put him in charge of rebuilding every school building in the district. What kept him there for 13 years was a model most districts do not attempt. He got the city of Akron to co-own school buildings through an income tax partnership. He brought Ford Next Generation Learning in to build college and career academies starting in kindergarten. He partnered with the LeBron James Family Foundation to open the I PROMISE School. Each of those required years of coalition building with people who did not always agree with each other.
His approach came from consulting, not curriculum. Treat the community like your customer. Listen to the people on the front lines. When the freight trains of problems keep coming, stay calm and do triage.
Now at Summit Education Initiative, David works across 17 public districts, tracking students from kindergarten readiness through post-secondary outcomes. The work is not about graduation rates alone. It is about whether a kid in Summit County can actually build a life.
Listen in for a conversation about why the real constraint on student outcomes is not funding or policy. It is whether the adults around them can build something together and keep showing up.
Recent Episodes
Episode 1 – From Tokyo Classrooms to Oakland Streets: The Future of School – with Rich Harrison
From Osaka to Oakland, Rich Harrison’s journey bridges continents and classrooms, revealing how one educator’s global upbringing shaped his vision for more equitable, community-rooted public schools.
Episode 2 – Redefining the Ladder: From Corporate Climb to Classroom Change – with Helen Chan
From corporate consultant to education changemaker, Helen Chan shares her journey of transforming disillusionment into purpose, using her talent expertise to build joyful, equitable schools where both children and adults can thrive.
Episode 3 – How Community Saved Me: Identity, Loss, and Becoming a Leader – with Kat Ling
From rural classrooms to leading a mission-driven nonprofit, Kat Ling shares her journey of transforming education and leadership, cultivating inclusive communities, and empowering leaders to innovate youth most on the margins.
Episode 4 - Transforming Education: Giving Every Student Real Choices and Career Confidence – with Daniel Gray
From charting pathways for thousands of students to reimagining what true opportunity looks like, Daniel Gray shares a blueprint for reshaping how young people discover their futures with clarity and confidence.
Episode 5 - Equity Isn't Optional: Calling Out Broken Systems – with Jessica de Barros
From first-grade helper to transformative education leader, Clarisse Mendoza Davis shares her journey of serving underserved youth and reshaping early childhood and alternative education with compassion, vision, and equity at the core.
Episode 6 - The Kindergarten Lie: How We Miss Kids Long Before High School – with Clarisse Mendoza Davis
From Seattle classrooms to federal policy halls, Jessica de Barros shares her journey of championing equity in education, showing how a lifelong commitment to access and opportunity can reshape communities and systems.
Episode 7 - Purpose Shouldn't Mean Poverty: Rethinking Service, Wealth, and Leadership – with Sharhonda Bossier
From Watts to leading a national education movement, Sharhonda Bossier shares her journey of championing educational equity and economic mobility for young people of color while redefining leadership with purpose and authenticity.
Episode 8 - Test Scores Aren't the Whole Story: Rethinking Accountability and Impact – with Cathy Jones
From educator to nonprofit leader, Cathy shares her journey of transforming education and community engagement, helping Bexar County’s youth access post-secondary opportunities while empowering women leaders and cultivating meaningful partnerships.
Episode 9 - Schools Weren't Built for Us: Reimagining Education From the Community Up – with Malka Borrego
From reimagining neighborhood schools to coaching leaders through liberation and change, Malka Borrego shares how authenticity, proximity to community, and systems-level leadership can transform education and the people within it.
Episode 10 - Unlocking Parent Power: How Families Can Democratize Educational Equity– with Michelle Vilchez
From community organizer to education equity leader, Michelle Vilchez shares her journey of empowering parents and transforming schools, helping families of color advocate for meaningful educational change while addressing systemic disparities across California.
Episode 11 - The Power of Stability: Why Retaining School Leaders Will Shape the Future of Education– with Mike Montoya
The Stronger Podcast host, Mike Montoya, looks ahead to the future of school leadership, unpacking why the next hiring cycles will define whether schools stabilize or continue to struggle with turnover and burnout.
Episode 12 - Leveraging Life Experiences: Behind a Career in Youth Opportunity and Equity– with Mike Montoya
From a childhood shaped by instability to a career dedicated to building pathways of opportunity, The Stronger Podcast host, Mike Montoya, shares how resilience, education, and supportive adults can change the trajectory of a life and an entire generation.
Episode 13 - The Shiny New Penny Problem: Data-Driven Courage for Lasting School Change – with Kelli Marshal
From sixth-grade math teacher to superintendent to leadership coach — Kelli Marshall shares how data-driven courage, deep relationships, and a clear “why” can transform schools and the people who lead them.
Episode 14 - Mergers Aren't Failures: Protecting Impact Through Trust and Strategy – with Jessica Sutter
From Bronx roots to shaping the future of public education: Jessica Sutter shares how a life grounded in service, trust, and intellectual rigor led her from the classroom to national education policy and consulting. Jessica is an education leader and consultant based in Washington, D.C., whose career spans teaching, charter school leadership, policy, and research.
Episode 15 - From Lifelong Immigrants to Education CEO: Leading Wth Compassion For Multilingual Learners – with Dr. Daniel Velasco
From lifelong immigrant to education equity leader, Daniel Velasco shares how identity, resilience, and compassion shaped his journey to becoming President and CEO of Ensemble Learning and a national voice for multilingual learners.
Episode 16 - Breaking the Mobility Trap: Aligning Partners Around Cradle-to-Career Outcomes – with Bill Crim
What if the promise that each generation will do better than the last is slipping away? In this episode of The Stronger Podcast, Mike Montoya talks with Bill Crim, CEO of United Way of Salt Lake and Utah’s Promise, about economic mobility and what it really takes to align communities around cradle to career outcomes.
Episode 17 - From Immigrant Roots to Leading a Charter Network Through Complexity – with Shara Hegde
From Boston to East San Jose, Shara Hegde shares her journey from Ivy League graduate to CEO of Alpha Public Schools and what it takes to lead charter schools through political and organizational complexity. Raised between the United States and India, Shara reflects on how her immigrant family background shaped her commitment to education equity and first-generation college access.
Episode 18 - From Helicopters to School: Leadership Lessons from James Willcox
From Army Blackhawk pilot to transformative education leader, James Willcox shares how a life grounded in service and family shaped his path to reshaping K-12 education nationwide.
Episode 19 - Finding Opportunity Through Relationships: From Immigrant Roots To Talent Leadership with Ron Rapatalo
What happens when the path your family imagined for you isn’t the one you’re meant to follow? From being the son of Filipino immigrants in Brooklyn to a leader shaping talent and social impact across education, Ron Rapatalo shares a powerful story about resilience, purpose, and the relationships that shape our lives.
Episode 20 - What Curiosity Teaches Us About Leading Schools with Joanna Belcher
From teaching fourth grade in Compton to founding a KIPP elementary school in Newark, Joanna Belcher has spent her career building schools and supporting leaders who believe every student deserves opportunity.
Episode 21 - Stop Chasing The New: How Consistency Builds Charter Schools That Last with Scott Hindman
Charter school leader Scott Hindman went from minor league baseball to investment banking to building one of New Mexico's most impactful public education networks. The lesson he keeps coming back to: find great people, give them the runway to lead, and play the long game
Episode 22 - Schools As Love Letters: Identities, Boldness, and the False Binaries Holding Education Back with Tricia Noyola
Tricia Noyola is a charter school leader, Regional Superintendent at the KIPP Foundation, and former CEO of Rocky Mountain Prep who builds schools as love letters to the communities they serve.
Episode 23 - We're Preparing Kids for the Wrong World: Economic Mobility, Coalition Building, and Long Game in Public Education with David W. James, Ed.D
Former Akron Public Schools superintendent Dr. David W. James never planned to work in education. He started at NASA, moved into environmental consulting, and ended up leading a school district for 13 years by accident.
Meet Your Host
Mike is the CEO and founder of Stronger Consulting. A 26-year education sector veteran, Mike is an expert in helping organizations design, manage and improve educational programs for young people. He has extensive experience recruiting, coaching, and supporting senior leaders in schools, school systems, and education non-profit organizations.
About the Podcast
The Stronger Podcast is produced by Stronger Consulting, a mission-driven firm partnering with schools, networks, and nonprofits to build stronger, more equitable organizations.
Each episode offers both inspiration and practical guidance—ideal for leadership teams, professional learning communities, or anyone committed to building healthier and more effective organizations.
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