Libsyn Directory

EP160: Investing in Native Futures: How Native Forward Is Empowering 22,000+ Scholars, with Sara LaBarge

Release Date: 11/27/2025

EP167: The Future of Community Colleges: Leadership, Funding, and Student Success | Jee Hang Lee

In The Margins

In this episode of In The Margins, Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, host of Discovering Your Mission, sits down with Jee Hang Lee, President and CEO of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), for a timely and unfiltered conversation on the future of community colleges, leadership, and student success. Drawing from his journey from Capitol Hill to leading one of the most influential organizations in higher education, Lee shares a national perspective on the growing pressures facing community colleges, from funding uncertainty and political complexity to increasing competition across the...

EP166: Meet Dr. Michael Baston, Recipient of the 2026 The EDU Ledger Champions Award

In The Margins

In this episode of In The Margins, we sit down with Dr. Michael Baston, President of Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) and recipient of the 2026 EDU Ledger Champions Award, for a timely conversation on leadership, student success, and the future of community colleges. Drawing from his journey as a first-generation college student and former public interest attorney, Baston reflects on how personal experience shaped his commitment to building institutions that don’t leave students to “figure it out” on their own. He shares how community colleges serve as powerful engines of opportunity,...

EP165: Black Woman on Board: Power, Access, and the Legacy of Claudia Hampton

In The Margins

In this powerful episode of In The Margins, our newest content partner Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, host of Discovering Your Mission, sits down with Dr. Donna J. Nicol, Associate Dean for Personnel and Curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts at California State University Long Beach (CSULB), and author of Black Woman on Board, to explore the remarkable leadership story of Dr. Claudia Hampton – the first Black woman appointed to the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees. Drawing from her research and personal reflections, Nicol unpacks how Hampton navigated the complex power...

EP164: Leading Through Uncertainty: Dr. Emelyn dela Peña on Mission-Driven Higher Education

In The Margins

In this episode we sit down with Dr. Emelyn dela Peña, President and CEO of , for a timely conversation on leadership, mission clarity, and sustaining equity work in a rapidly shifting higher education landscape. Drawing from her personal journey growing up in a diverse Los Angeles community, navigating loss and economic transition, and building a decades-long career across institutions like Stanford, Harvard, and Loyola, dela Peña reflects on the formative experiences that shaped her commitment to access, belonging, and student success. She shares how moments of protest, community support,...

EP163: From Credentials to Skills: Rethinking Opportunity in the Modern Economy, with NSC CEO Brooke DeRenzis

In The Margins

In this episode, The EDU Leger is excited to present the first in a series of content from our newest podcast partner, . Tune in as Dr. Mordecai Brownlee welcomes guest Brooke DeRenzis, CEO of the National Skills Coalition, for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of work, skills-based hiring, and the evolving role of higher education in an economy defined by rapid change. Drawing on national policy leadership and personal lived experience, DeRenzis explores why skills: technical, digital, and durable have become the foundation of economic mobility and why credentials must evolve to...

EP162: Sustaining HBCUs Beyond the Moment: Inside UNCF’s Transformation Strategy

In The Margins

In this episode of In The Margins, we are joined by Julian Thompson, Senior Director for Strategy Development, and Rev. Dr. Darryl Ann Lai Fang, Assistant Vice President for Transformation Support at the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building, for a deep dive into what long-term sustainability truly requires for HBCUs. As the institute approaches its 20th anniversary, Thompson and Dr. Lai Fang reflect on how UNCF’s work has evolved from discrete technical assistance to a holistic, networked transformation model designed to help institutions move from survival to sustained impact. Their...

EP161: Beyond the Politics: A New Way to Talk About Equity and Access, with Dr. Kyle Reyes

In The Margins

Meet Dr. Kyle Reyes, Vice President of Institutional Advancement and former Chief Inclusion Officer at Utah Valley University, whose work sits at the intersection of student success, cultural understanding, and leadership in politically charged times. In this episode, Reyes explores his groundbreaking framework from his book . Drawing from his own lived experience as a former college dropout and first-generation student advocate, Reyes offers a powerful roadmap for navigating higher education’s most difficult conversations – especially amid national DEI rollbacks. His discussion with The...

EP160: Investing in Native Futures: How Native Forward Is Empowering 22,000+ Scholars, with Sara LaBarge

In The Margins

Only 16 percent of Native Americans hold a bachelor’s degree, but one organization is rewriting that story. In this episode of In the Margins, we sit down with Sara A. LaBarge, M.S.Ed., CFRE, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Native Forward Scholars Fund, the nation’s largest direct scholarship provider for Native students. A proud citizen of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and an alum of the program herself, Sara shares how Native Forward is breaking barriers in higher education through culturally relevant support, strategic philanthropy, and transformational alliances with...

EP159: How the Kaplan Leadership Program Redefines Community College Transfer Success, with Nolvia Delgado

In The Margins

What if community college could serve as a launchpad to the nation’s top universities? In this episode, we sit down with Nolvia Delgado, Executive Director of the Kaplan Educational Foundation (KEF), a former KEF scholar herself, to explore how the foundation’s Kaplan Leadership Program helps first-generation and low-income students transfer from community colleges to some of the most prestigious four-year institutions in the country. Delgado shares her own journey from Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to Smith College, and the life-changing mentorship and...

EP158: Unpacking Americans views on higher education, with Sophie Nguyen of New America

In The Margins

In this episode, Sophie Nguyen, Senior Policy Manager in the Education Policy Program at New America, joins Diverse (soon to become The EDU Ledger) to unpack the findings of Varying Degrees 2025 – the latest national survey exploring how Americans view higher education. From her start as an intern to her current role leading research on affordability, accountability, and public opinion, Nguyen shares her personal journey into higher education policy and why she believes access to transformative education must be protected. She explains the survey’s biggest takeaways: cost as the...

More Episodes

Only 16 percent of Native Americans hold a bachelor’s degree, but one organization is rewriting that story.

In this episode of In the Margins, we sit down with Sara A. LaBarge, M.S.Ed., CFRE, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Native Forward Scholars Fund, the nation’s largest direct scholarship provider for Native students. A proud citizen of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and an alum of the program herself, Sara shares how Native Forward is breaking barriers in higher education through culturally relevant support, strategic philanthropy, and transformational alliances with federal agencies, tribes, and corporate partners.

LaBarge discusses how Native Forward has more than doubled its revenue, expanded its reach across all 50 states, and helped over 22,000 Native students from 500 tribes pursue degrees with financial and emotional support tailored to their needs. She also discusses the impact of major philanthropic gifts, such as MacKenzie Scott’s $50 million donation, the power of allyship, and the urgent need to fund basic necessities like housing, transportation, and food security to support students' success.

Key Points:

- Native student enrollment decline and its root causes

- How Native Forward has grown its impact and scaled nationwide with 22,000 Native students supported across 500 tribes

- Tackling food, housing, and transportation needs that hinder degree completion

- Sara’s Story: From Menominee roots to higher-ed changemaker

- The role of representation and belonging on campus

- Rising demand, 35% more scholarship applications this year

- Building cross-cultural alliances and advocating for policy change

- Transformative Giving: $50M gift fuels scholarships and growth

- The lasting impact of MacKenzie Scott’s trust-based philanthropy

- How listeners can become allies and support Native education

- Future Vision? Closing the $150M funding gap for Native scholars.