Hosted by Dr. Mordecai Ian Brownlee, president of the Community College of Aurora and a national voice on purpose-driven leadership and economic mobility, Discovering Your Mission features conversations with leaders who are shaping the future of education, workforce development, and community impact.
The first episode under this new partnership features Brook DeRenzis, CEO of the National Skills Coalition, in a wide-ranging discussion on the future of work, skills-based hiring, and the evolving role of higher education in an economy defined by rapid technological change.
Drawing on her national policy leadership and personal lived experience, DeRenzis outlines why skills—technical, digital, and durable—have become the foundation of economic mobility. The conversation also highlights the growing importance of community and technical colleges, the rise of working learners, and the urgent need to design education and workforce systems that support lifelong learning.
At the center of the discussion is a clear message: workforce training is not a “second-chance” system, but a first-choice investment in people, communities, and national prosperity.
Key themes from the episode include:
Skills as the foundation of economic mobility
Credentials that validate skills rather than create barriers
The central role of working learners in the future of higher education
Community and technical colleges as engines of workforce advancement
Continuous learning as an essential strategy in an AI-driven economy
The importance of equity and student voice in workforce policy
“Jobs that require skills training are the backbone of our economy,” DeRenzis shared during the conversation.
Dr. Brownlee emphasized the broader mission of higher education, noting that the future of opportunity will be built on systems designed to lift people, not leave them behind.
Through this new partnership, The EDU Ledger and Discovering Your Mission will continue to spotlight national leaders, emerging workforce trends, and the strategies shaping the next era of higher education and economic mobility.
