Today, Maria talks with Anette Carlisle, a passionate education advocate and podcaster, working to improve education, reduce poverty, and help communities create the future they aspire to and deserve. An evolutionary biologist, Anette works on system-level change, often focused on slow change over time. A reluctant politician, she also ran for the Texas House in 2006, and the Texas State Board of Education in 2012. Today, she is involved with numerous organizations at the state and national level and a large part of her efforts centers around legislation and policy. Together they discuss Anette's journey and how she has been building diverse teams and improving public education in her community of Amarillo, Texas. A member of the Amarillo Board of Trustees for 19 years, she now serves on the board of Amarillo College which has garnered national attention based on its poverty reduction efforts that grew out of the work of Panhandle Twenty/20, founded and led by Anette for 12 years with an emphasis on improving educational attainment and reducing poverty. Tune in to listen and learn from a leader who is committed to improving public education, alleviating poverty, growing women leaders and building diverse teams to drive community change. You can listen to her informative podcast “Anette on Education” and find more about her work at www.anettecarlisle.com.
Production team:
Host : Maria Xenidou
Producer: Julie-Roxane Krikorian
Introduction Voice: David Bourne
Contact us:
impactlearningpodcast@gmail.com
Music credits:
Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals
Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks
Where to find more about Anette Carlisle:
Anette Carlisle’s Website
Anette Carlisle on LinkedIn
Anette’s Podcast: Anette on Education
Mentioned in this episode:
Amarillo College Board of Regents
Center for Public Policy Priorities
Hope Center for College, Community and Justice
Sara Goldrick-Rab, Founding of the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice
Colleges Are No Match for American Poverty, an article about Amarillo College’s poverty iniative in The Atlantic
Case Study of Amarillo College: Supporting Community College Completion with a Culture of Caring by Sara Goldrick-Rab and Clare Cady
H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards School Board Team
Dr. Steve Murdock, Texas State Demographer
Listen to this episode and explore:
Childhood: spending time outdoors to study the world around her (3:26)
Getting her bachelor and master degrees in zoology to become an evolutionary biologist (5:31)
What triggered her interest in biology and zoology: the desire to understand better of the world around her (6:57)
After college: being a researcher before becoming a stay-at-home mom (8:44)
Anette’s passion for public education: creating more opportunities for more people (9:47)
Starting the Panhandle Twenty/20 to lower poverty levels and improve educational outcomes for people in her community (13:35)
Practical examples of partnering with other members of the community to tackle their complex educational issues (17:49)
Fighting the scarcity mindset: creating a caring culture to improve the collective good beyond the individual (20:49)
Measuring their progress towards their goal (22:47)
Offering guidance and career-focused advice to high schoolers to help them make college choices (23:55)
The #RealCollege Movement: Amarillo college’s initiative to reduce poverty and improve educational outcomes (28:56)
The rise of for-profit education vs public education (31:37)
The crucial importance of investing in public education and funding public schools (35:15)
Leadership Women: Anette’s efforts on gender equality (38:26)
The critical roles women can play in the future of communities (40:04)
Her podcasting journey: building communities focused on education through a new medium (42:11)
Anette’s advice on how to start getting involved in solving education-related problems (48:09)
The one thing Anette wants to leave her mark on during her lifetime (51:25)
Maria’s key takeaways and call-to-action (57:28)