Today’s guest has spent more than 25 years focused on one big idea, helping learning truly stick.
Dr William DeJean is the founder and CEO of Unleash Learning, working with schools and organisations around the world to build professional learning that lasts. His journey began in San Diego, where he taught high school for a decade and was named the 2003 San Diego County Teacher of the Year.
He went on to complete a masters and doctorate in education, lectured in universities across the US and Australia and supported leadership teams through major change. His work brings together deep research, real classroom insight and a clear understanding of what makes learning meaningful and sustainable.
William now leads Unleash Learning, hosts Unleash Learning TV and the Unleash Learning podcast, and presents at events including TEDx, Young Minds and Happiness and Its Causes. You can learn more about him on the Unleash Learning founder page.
This is the second time I’ve had the chance to speak with him, and it’s a real pleasure to welcome him back. Let’s dive in.
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Nicole Dyson: How Future Anything empowers students to change the world.
Today’s guest is Nicole Dyson, one of Australia’s most influential voices in future-focused education, youth entrepreneurship, and system-wide innovation. Nic’s journey from classroom teacher to award-winning entrepreneur has reshaped how thousands of young people think about learning, creativity, and possibility.
She’s the founder and CEO of Future Anything, an organisation with a bold mission to turn ideas into action. Over the past decade, she’s worked with more than a hundred thousand young people and educators across Australia and New Zealand, influencing the learning of more than a million students. Her work spans everything from YouthX, Australia’s only startup accelerator for school-aged entrepreneurs, to Catapult Cards, a design thinking tool now used by classrooms around the world.
Nic’s impact reaches well beyond our region. She’s an Obama Foundation Leader, a three-time honouree on The Educator’s Most Influential List, and her organisation is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere contributing to the IDEEC project, a major European Union initiative shaping global best practice in entrepreneurship education.
At the heart of it all is her belief that youth-led ideas can bend the future, and that every young person deserves the chance to discover their passion and potential. Today, we get to hear how she helps educators and systems bring that belief to life.
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Glenys Oberg: Trauma-aware practice, compassion fatigue and the cost of not caring.
Today I’m joined by Glenys Oberg (FHEA), an author, educator and researcher whose work sits at the crossroads of wellbeing, neuroscience and teaching practice. Glenys explores how compassion fatigue, moral injury and emotional resilience shape the lives of educators, and how trauma-aware, evidence-informed approaches can create healthier and more sustainable ways of working in schools
What I value most about her work is how clearly she bridges research and practice. She takes insights from neuroscience and psychology and turns them into practical support for teachers, helping them understand not only the science of wellbeing but how to bring it to life in everyday school contexts.
Glenys is the author of The Cost of Not Caring and Creating Trauma-Informed Classrooms, two books that continue to influence how we think about care, trauma and teacher wellbeing. This conversation is a thoughtful look at what it really takes to support both students and the educators who stand beside them.
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Jeffrey Jordan: Innovation, equity, and the complex work of principals.
Today we’re joined by Jeffrey Jordan, an inspiring school leader who’s currently in his third year as an elementary school principal. Jeffrey’s career spans classrooms and continents. He’s taught English Language Arts across primary and secondary settings, led as a vice principal for six years at the second-largest English high school in Quebec, and even taught English as a Second Language in South Korea.
Throughout his career, Jeffrey has been driven by a passion for helping every student thrive. He’s a strong advocate for educational and assistive technologies, digital citizenship, and resource support for students with learning difficulties. His leadership is grounded in inclusion, innovation, and the belief that schools should be places where all learners feel seen and supported.
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Amy Green: Wellbeing Leadership: a new approach for school leaders.
Today, I'm talking about something that sits right at the heart of great leadership - wellbeing. Not as a buzzword or a side project, but as the foundation for how we lead, teach, and thrive together. In her new book Wellbeing Leadership, Amy Green challenges us to rethink what leadership in schools can look like when wellbeing isn’t an afterthought, but the starting point. She explores four essential qualities that create a wellbeing-centred workplace, and eight characteristics that empower staff to feel, work, team, and lead well. This conversation isn’t about quick fixes or checklists. It’s about courage, clarity, and the willingness to do things differently - to lead a wellbeing revolution in education.
🎧 Here’s the conversation: The Art of Teaching Podcast: https://lnkd.in/gBQRRz27
📘 Find Amy’s work and resources at The Wellness Strategy:
https://lnkd.in/g4pBZUUa
Australia