Rural America is on the brink of an economic transformation. With more than $1 trillion in advanced manufacturing investments (and nearly two-thirds of that flowing into rural regions) this moment represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revitalize local economies, strengthen school-industry partnerships, and empower students with career pathways in advanced manufacturing.

Matt Kirchner sits down with Duwain Pinder, Partner at McKinsey & Company and a leader of the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility to explore the institute’s new report: Manufacturing in rural America: A plan for K–12–industry partnerships

This conversation examines the gap between the career-connected learning students want access to, and the opportunities afforded them in rural districts. Matt and Duwain discuss how manufacturers and school districts can work together to close this gap and prepare the next generation for the influx of jobs coming to rural America.

Listen to learn:

• Why 63% of $1 trillion in new U.S. manufacturing investment happening within 15 miles of rural communities means for K-12 education
• How we solve the problem of 8 in 10 students wanting access to career-connected learning, but only 3 in 10 having it
• The $34 billion annual wage impact advanced manufacturing could create for rural Americans, and what must happen to realize it
• Why employers should think about school districts like they do about their suppliers
• What success could look like in 2035 if schools and industry build long-term, evidence-based partnerships that sustain economic mobility

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. Rural America is the new frontier for advanced manufacturing. McKinsey’s analysis found that 63 % of $1 trillion in announced U.S. manufacturing investments are being built within 15 miles of rural communities. Pinder explains that these projects will define America’s manufacturing future and bring high-quality jobs to places that have long been left behind.

2. The skills gap solution isn’t either-or...students need basic academic and technical skills. McKinsey’s research shows that foundational reading and math scores are eroding across the U.S., especially in rural communities, even as demand grows for advanced manufacturing talent. Duwain and Matt agree that employers shouldn’t accept this trade-off. Students must graduate ready to read, calculate, and communicate and understand robotics, PLCs, and other manufacturing tech, which requires schools and employers to work together on both fronts.

3. Using existing successful models (not always reinventing the wheel) will help rural K-12 accelerate and scale career-connected learning. Nearly 8 in 10 rural students want apprenticeships and hands-on learning, yet only 3 in 10 can access them, a gap that represents a massive opportunity. Evidence-based models like youth apprenticeships, dual-enrollment, and early-college high schools already exist. If districts embrace these, plus partner with employers and workforce associations, they can create career-connected learning more quickly.

Visit the show notes page for more

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When the founder of the world’s largest furniture manufacturer partners with one of the nation’s most innovative technical colleges, you get one of the most unique learning centers in the world. This week, host Matt Kirchner is joined by the visionaries behind the landmark Wanek Center of Innovation at Western Technical College: Ron Wanek, Founder of Ashley Furniture Industries, Dr. Josh Gamer, Associate Vice President of Workforce Partnerships and Innovation, and Dr. Roger Stanford, President of Western Technical College.

The conversation is a masterclass in industry partnerships, future-forward educational technology, and building a true pipeline from K-12 education to technical colleges to a four-year degree.

This episode is a must-listen for any educator, employer, or policymaker committed to a skills-based, adaptable future workforce.

Listen to learn:

• Why the 50-year partnership between Ashley Furniture and WTC was the core ingredient for this innovation.
• How a manufacturing leader defines the handful of ways to build true wealth in the United States today.
• The Digital Twin technology that allows students to digitally perfect process changes before implementing them on physical robotic assets.
• Western’s new strategy to use a full-time position to bridge the operational gap between K-12 schools and local manufacturers.
• How the college is developing an enterprise AI strategy to use data from the center for operational efficiency and curriculum change.

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. U.S. education must refocus on technical skills to compete globally. Ron Wanek warns that the U.S. is falling behind countries like Germany and China because it has deprioritized technical education in favor of liberal arts. His partnership with Western is designed to reverse that trend through STEM and workforce training.

2. The Wanek Center is a national model for Industry 4.0 integration in education. The facility includes 39 networked robots, a live IoT data infrastructure, and the first educational Digital Twin of its kind. The Digital Twin allows students to simulate manufacturing process changes in a virtual environment before applying them to the physical robotic cells. Students and employers alike now use the space to prototype real-world innovations.

3. Western has built a full pipeline from middle school to a 4-year Automation Leadership degree. Through dual credit programs, high school students in the district now earn thousands of Western Technical College credits annually. A full-time K-12 liaison connects schools and employers, supporting everything from field trips to FIRST Robotics. Dr. Roger Stanford also signed 13 new transfer agreements with UW-Stout—including a direct 61-credit transfer into the new Automation Leadership bachelor’s degree, which stacks seamlessly from credentials like SACA into advanced career pathways.

Resources in this Episode:

Learn more about the Wanek Center of Innovation: westerntc.edu/WanekCenter

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When we think of STEM, we often picture engineers, chemists, or programmers. But what about someone who patents a piece of clothing, challenges the textile industry, and builds a company around purpose-driven innovation?

In a very unique episode of The TechEd Podcast, host Matt Kirchner sits down with Michael Drescher, Founder of Vibrant Body Company. Drescher’s career has spanned cable TV, logistics, and media before leading him to unexpected innovations in fabric science and apparel. His story shows how engineering, chemistry, and entrepreneurship intersect in surprising ways — and why educators should encourage students to look beyond conventional STEM paths.

From patents to cross-disciplinary collaboration, from science to social impact, Drescher offers a compelling case for why the next generation of innovators must combine technical skill with a sense of mission.

Listen to learn:

• Why engineering careers often appear in unexpected industries
• How chemistry and materials science drive innovation in everyday products
• What a utility patent in fashion reveals about unconventional STEM applications
• Why budding entrepreneurs should leverage subject-matter experts from a range of fields to solve complex challenges
• Why purpose-driven entrepreneurship matters for the next generation of innovators

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. Innovation often begins with a personal “why.” Drescher’s journey started after losing loved ones to breast cancer, whereafter he dove into the science of women's garments and became the "unexpected messenger" of the fashion industry's pitfalls. From polyurethane cups to restricting the lymphatic system to "if it's on you, it's in you," Drescher shares the unexpected science of textiles.

2. There's a need for STEM professionals in industries most people overlook. Vibrant Body's approach to undergarment design and manufacturing is a lesson in applied STEM - from the biomedical science of the "electrical body" to the chemistry of textiles to the engineering of clothing design. It's a lesson for educators to broaden their students' understanding of potential career fields in STEM disciplines.

3. Collaboration across disciplines drives real breakthroughs. The Vibrant team combined expertise from molecular biology, technical bra design, German manufacturing, and Italian fabric engineering to create a product that earned a rare utility patent. Drescher emphasized that innovation is “breadcrumbing” - each expert leads to the next - a lesson educators can pass on to students tackling complex problems.

Resources in this Episode:

Vibrant Body: vibrantbodycompany.com

Other:

• Michael's Tedx Talk on YouTube: "Theories on Breast Cancer"
• Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

Books:

• Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras
• The Gene: An Intimate History

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You asked...we answered!

In this first-ever “Ask Us Anything” episode, producer Melissa Martin flips the script and poses your biggest questions to host Matt Kirchner. The result is a candid, wide-ranging conversation that covers career decisions, workforce challenges, and the future of artificial intelligence.

From elementary classrooms to C-suite hiring struggles to the role of AI in disrupting education, this episode explores the most pressing questions in STEM and technical education today. Matt and Melissa share real-world stories, practical advice, and unfiltered takes that every educator, employer, and student will find valuable.

Listen to learn:

• Why career interests start forming as early as elementary school, and what kind of exposure matters most
• How young people can sort through post-secondary options without feeling trapped by a single choice
• The interview strategies that stand out to CEOs after thousands of candidate meetings
• What manufacturers are getting right (and wrong) in the race to attract new talent
• How AI is reshaping education, and why human relationships matter more than ever in the age of disruption

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. Early exposure changes student trajectories. Students begin shaping career perceptions as early as elementary school; use age-appropriate experiences to put advanced manufacturing and STEM on the radar. Matt traces his own path back to a fifth-grade plant tour - watching a vibratory deburring bowl - showing how simple, vivid experiences stick for years.

2. Talent pipelines are a long game. Employers that show up consistently, serve on advisory boards, visit classes often, bring students on site, even offer “pizza Tuesdays”, win attention and hires. Culture and first impressions matter on tours: clean, organized facilities and engaged employees signal a place students want to join, now and later.

3. AI elevates personalization and demands new pedagogy. Shift essay-style tasks toward live, in-class dialogue and reflection to reduce easy generative-AI shortcuts and increase real learning. Use data-informed, asynchronous pathways so learners who need time can take it, and those ready to advance aren’t held back.

Submit your own question for a future edition of Ask Us Anything on our website! https://techedpodcast.com/askusanything/

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Haven’t been to a technical college in the last 3 years? The transformation is striking, and it’s only a glimpse of the reinvention higher education faces in the next decade.

In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, host Matt Kirchner talks with Layla Merrifield, President of the Wisconsin Technical College System, about why the future of higher education depends on bold innovation. Merrifield doesn’t mince words: credit loss should be a thing of the past, neurodivergent inclusion is an imperative, and U.S. colleges can no longer “rest on our laurels” as global competition accelerates.

From the arrival of Workforce Pell, to personalized student success plans, to stackable credentials, Merrifield argues that technical and community colleges must evolve—or risk irrelevance. Her perspective offers educators and employers alike a roadmap for building systems that are more inclusive, more responsive, and more essential than ever.

Listen to learn:

• The implications of expanding Pell Grants to short-term, high-demand programs (8–15 weeks) and how this reshapes access to workforce training.
• How Wisconsin’s technical college system compares to others in terms of state oversight, innovation, and responsiveness—and what models elsewhere might teach WTCS and vice versa.
• How “credit loss should be a thing of the past”—why stackable credentials and seamless transfer paths are non-negotiable.
• Why Layla argues for a universal design for learning that accommodates neurodivergent learners (and why it's the best mode for all students).
• Why Merrifield believes technical colleges must “evolve or be left behind” in a world of AI, disruption, and global competition.

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. Higher education must pivot quickly to stay relevant. Layla pointed to campuses closing outdated programs while adding new ones, the arrival of Workforce Pell expanding aid to short-term credentials, and the dramatic transformation of technical college facilities—“if you haven’t been on a campus in three years, you’d be shocked at how different it looks.” Together, these shifts show that technical colleges are reinventing themselves faster than most people realize .

2. Credit loss should be a thing of the past. Merrifield highlighted UW–Stout’s automation leadership degree, where students can use industry certifications to transfer 88 of 120 credits toward a bachelor’s. She also emphasized dual credit programs, transferring entire programs, and credit for work experience as essential tools to eliminate wasted time and money.

3. Universal design for learning makes inclusion the default. Layla explained that universal design for learning ensures learning is accessible to all from the start rather than relying on retrofitted accommodations. With 20–25% of learners falling into neurodivergent categories, she argued that education must be designed with multiple pathways for receiving and demonstrating knowledge—whether that’s reading, video, hands-on practice, or other modes. In her words, “Why not design our learning so that it is accessible to everyone right from the start?

Resources in this Episode:
Learn more about the Wisconsin Technical College System: www.wtcsystem.edu

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What happens when K-12, higher education, manufacturing, and a startup tech company sit around the same table to talk about AI? This episode brings that rare collaboration to life.

Recorded live at TitletownTech—the venture studio founded by Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers—this panel features four leaders from distinctly different sectors, all navigating how AI is changing their world. From fault anomaly detection in industrial equipment to generative AI in K-12 classrooms, this episode is a crash course in what applied AI really looks like on the ground.

Panelists include:

• Mike Beighley, Superintendent, Whitehall School District
• Dr. Kate Burns, Provost & Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin–Green Bay
• Rick Roeske, Senior Director of Service and Solutions, BW Converting
• Alex Tyink, Founder & CEO, Fork Farms

Moderated by Matt Kirchner, Host of The TechEd Podcast

Through stories of innovation, disruption, and surprising lessons, these leaders share how they’re preparing students, supporting workers, and strengthening their communities with artificial intelligence.

Listen to learn:

• How a rural K-12 school is using AI to power personalized learning and student-led scheduling
• What happens when higher ed rethinks writing and assessment in the age of ChatGPT
• How manufacturers are using AI to capture tribal knowledge and improve customer relationships
• What it’s like to co-develop AI solutions inside the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab
• Why human connection and relevance still matter more than ever in the AI-powered classroom

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. AI is expanding what’s possible in education by unlocking more personalized, student-centered learning. In both K-12 and higher ed, AI is giving educators the tools to meet students where they are—academically, emotionally, and logistically. From adaptive math instruction to AI-driven student support systems, the future of learning is more flexible, scalable, and responsive.

2. Manufacturing is using AI not just to fix machines, but to build better relationships. Rick Roeske shares how BW Converting uses AI to detect fault anomalies, preserve expert knowledge, and improve customer support—often solving problems before clients even notice. It’s not just about performance; it’s about trust.

3. For startups, AI partnerships can unlock capabilities far beyond their headcount. Alex Tyink explains how Fork Farms built a proprietary AI farm management system with help from the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab—accessing high-level expertise and infrastructure that most early-stage companies could never afford to build in-house.

More on the episode page!

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Building tomorrow’s workforce starts with more than just technical skills—it requires access, mentorship, and leaders willing to invest in students long before they enter the job market.

In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, Mary Ellen Stanek, Co-Founder and CIO Emeritus of Baird Asset Management, shares how one of the nation’s most respected investment firms thinks about talent, education, and inclusion. She reflects on being the first woman to chair a major civic leadership group, the creation of the award that now bears her name for advancing diversity in corporate governance, and how internships are shaping the next generation of professionals.

Mary Ellen also unpacks how AI is changing finance while elevating the need for human judgment, and why Baird invests millions into education initiatives that expand opportunity—programs like Cristo Rey’s work-study model, All-In Milwaukee’s 90% college graduation rate, Aug Prep’s innovative K-12 approach, and major scholarship funds at Marquette.

For educators, employers, and community leaders, this conversation is a roadmap for how business and education can work together to prepare students for meaningful careers and stronger communities anywhere.

Listen to learn:

• How Baird selects 300 interns out of 32,000 applicants each year
• What it meant to be the first woman to chair the Greater Milwaukee Committee
• The story behind the Mary Ellen Stanek Award for Diversity in Corporate Governance
• Why AI boosts productivity in finance but can’t replace human judgment
• How All-In Milwaukee achieves a 90% graduation rate with 84% of students debt-free

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:

1. Internships are one of the most effective ways to build a talent pipeline. Baird received over 32,000 applications for internships this year and hired just 1%, bringing in 300 students across the firm. About 40% of those rising seniors secure full-time roles, proving the long-term workforce impact of investing in student opportunities.

2. Inclusion in leadership transforms organizations and opens doors for others. Mary Ellen began her career as one of the only women in the room, later becoming the first woman to chair the Greater Milwaukee Committee. Today, Baird counts nearly 100 female managing directors, and the Mary Ellen Stanek Award continues to honor leaders driving diversity in corporate governance.

3. Education investments create measurable results for students and communities. All-In Milwaukee reports a 90% six-year college graduation rate, with 84% of scholars leaving school debt-free and 91% employed or in graduate programs. Similar investments in Cristo Rey, Aug Prep, and Marquette scholarships demonstrate how targeted support leads to stronger career pathways and local economic growth.

Resources:

• Learn more about Mary Ellen Stanek
• Internships at Baird
• Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
• St. Augustine Preparatory Academy
• All-in Milwaukee
• Boys a

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Distributed manufacturing allows goods to be produced closer to where they’re needed — but enabling that future requires a complete rethink of infrastructure, systems, and workforce development.

In this episode of The TechEd Podcast, Dr. Charles Johnson-Bey joins host Matt Kirchner for a deep dive into Engineering the Future of Distributed Manufacturing — the new national report from the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA). Charles, a former professor and recently retired Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, brings decades of experience in defense, systems engineering, and academia to this conversation.

Together, they break down ERVA’s five priority areas for enabling distributed manufacturing: modular and reconfigurable infrastructure, digital design tools, edge-to-cloud data systems, workforce education, and new performance metrics. Charles also shares how these priorities came from input across industry, academia, and government — and how they’ll guide research, funding, and education in the years ahead.

Listen to learn:

• What distributed manufacturing actually looks like in practice — and why it matters now
• Why “digital twins + AI” are critical for linking design, production, and data-driven decision-making
• The essential role of public infrastructure in enabling connectivity and access for all communities
• Why proximity to advanced tools like a digital twin or a cyber-physical testbed is essential for scaling distributed manufacturing

3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. Distributed manufacturing is a modular approach to resilient, tech-enabled production. Charles defines distributed manufacturing as a system where production assets can be easily moved, reconfigured, and localized closer to the point of need. He describes how smaller, agile, and digitally connected systems—like reconfigurable machines and regional testbeds—enable manufacturing to respond to disruptions, like the ones exposed during COVID-19.

2. The workforce of the future needs digital fluency—and systems thinking. Students must be prepared not only to operate new technologies, but to understand how those technologies interact within broader systems. Charles highlights the importance of human-machine teaming, digital twins, and cyber-physical testbeds, and calls for education that helps learners “fall in love with the rigor” of complex technical work.

3. America’s manufacturing strategy must include small and mid-sized firms. Charles points out that most manufacturers in the U.S. are small to mid-sized, yet lack access to advanced infrastructure and scalable tools. He argues that national strategies must focus on democratizing technology—making AI, automation, and data systems affordable and available to all levels of the manufacturing sector.

Resources in this Episode:

• Read the ERVA Report: Engineering the Future of Distributed Manufacturing
• Learn more about ERVA
• Follow Charles on LinkedIn

Visit the episode page for more!

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