• Connecting community vibrancy to the future of learning
• Engaging with data to measure economic and social mobility
• Discovering how to effectively apply community vibrancy in the classroom
• Strengthening relationships between workforce outcomes and economically vibrant communities

Paul Fain is a journalist focused on connections between education and work. He writes “The Job,” a newsletter that explores those issues, and helps edit a related weekly publication, “Work Shift,” which he co-founded. Paul also hosts The Cusp, a podcast on AI’s impacts on jobs and education. From 2011 to 2020, Paul was a reporter and editor at Inside Higher Ed. He oversaw the news outlet’s coverage of low-income students, college completion, community colleges, and federal policy. Prior to IHE, Paul was a senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education, where he covered money and management. 

Dr. Nicole Smith is a research professor and chief economist at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, where she leads the center's econometric and methodological work. One of her primary functions at the center is developing a framework for restructuring long-term occupational and educational projections. This framework forms the underlying methodology for Help Wanted, Recovery, and The Future of Work, three reports in an ongoing series that projects education demand for occupations in the U.S. economy. She is also part of a team of economists working on a project to map, forecast, and monitor human capital development and career pathways. Her current research investigates the role of education and socioeconomic factors in intergenerational education mobility.

Dr. Tana Hicks is a leader dedicated to creating equitable pathways for student success by connecting education and workforce systems. She holds a Ph.D. in African American literature and has experience in developing initiatives like Data Friends at Dallas College, where she serves as deputy chief of economic opportunity. Her academic foundation centers on the intersections of race, history, and identity — perspectives she integrates into strategies that close equity gaps and expand economic mobility. Committed to promoting economic opportunity, she also serves on the board of the East Africa Business Network and has presented nationally on labor market trends and equity.


Dr. Audrey J. Jaeger is the executive director of the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research and W. Dallas Herring Professor of Community College Education at North Carolina State University. Dr. Jaeger’s commitment to the accessibility and attainment of high-quality postsecondary education for all students is a natural expansion of her decades of research that explores community colleges, leadership, faculty development, and college transfer. Her work advances student success by bringing actionable data to leaders and policymakers in North Carolina and beyond. In her 20+ years as a faculty member at NC State, Dr. Jaeger has embraced the College of Education’s historic mission to serve North Carolina’s community colleges. To further these efforts, Dr. Jaeger has secured support from the John M. Belk Endowment, Ascendium Education Group, Arnold Ventures, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust, and other organizations to fund and expand the efforts of the Belk Center.

Dr. Ela Joshi is a senior education researcher who specializes in mixed-methods studies focused on improving equity and effectiveness in K–12 and postsecondary systems. At SRI, she leads evaluations of programs that strengthen teaching, leadership, and student outcomes — particularly for historically underserved students. Her work spans topics including Open Educational Resources (OER) adoption, teaching effectiveness, and equity-centered reform. Dr. Joshi has deep experience designing and leading rigorous, mixed-methods evaluations to understand how innovative programs and policies are implemented and scaled. She is especially interested in how data can be used to identify and expand high-impact, equitable teaching practices that improve access and success for all learners. Dr. Joshi holds a Ph.D. in education policy and leadership from Vanderbilt University and an MEd from Arizona State University. She began her career as a fifth-grade teacher in Phoenix, Arizona.

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