Evolution Stories

MSA Marketing

Evolution Stories is a biweekly podcast that delves deep into the heart and soul of change leadership and school transformation.

  1. Your Mind Is Not Your Friend: Personal Transformation and the Leader Who Listens with Dr. Rand Harrington

    3d ago

    Your Mind Is Not Your Friend: Personal Transformation and the Leader Who Listens with Dr. Rand Harrington

    Rand Harrington did not arrive at school leadership through a conventional path. He earned a PhD in physics, taught Tibetan monks in Dharamsala, and walked from Mexico to Canada at 18. Each experience cracked something open. By the time he took his first headship at Kent Denver School, he had a vision and the confidence to push it. What he lacked was the capacity to listen. Between headships, he sold his house, bought a sprinter van, and drove across the country for a year. Every day, his wife Chris asked him the same question: how do you want to show up differently? That question changed everything. When he arrived at the American Embassy School of New Delhi in 2024, he showed up asking what the community needed rather than what he planned to deliver. The shift from "I have the answer" to "I have a question" is not just a leadership posture. Harrington argues it is only possible for leaders who have been through genuine personal transformation themselves.

    1h 2m
  2. The Third Path: Discernment, Resistance, and Getting Your Whole School to Move with Ellen Devine

    Jun 10

    The Third Path: Discernment, Resistance, and Getting Your Whole School to Move with Ellen Devine

    When generative AI hit schools, most reached for policies. Choate Rosemary Hall tried that too, and it wasn't working. Ellen Devine, Director of Studies and Chair of Choate's AI Steering Committee, describes the moment a single piece of advice changed everything: stop writing rules, write a stance. That stance, endorsing the discerning, informed, and ethical use of AI, became the foundation for one of the more thoughtful school-wide AI approaches in independent education. In this episode, Ellen traces how her background in rhetoric and composition, her years leading curriculum change in the English department, and her work on equity and inclusion all shaped how she thinks about leading through uncertainty. She also gets candid about the habits that can derail even well-intentioned change leaders, including the belief that force of will plus enough evidence always wins. It doesn't. But listening, she says, usually does.

    56 min
  3. The Price of Progress: What 17 Years at One School Teaches You with Mark Pingitore

    Jun 2

    The Price of Progress: What 17 Years at One School Teaches You with Mark Pingitore

    What does it actually take to lead a school through a decade of transformation without losing the people along the way? In this episode of Evolution Stories, Christian Talbot sits down with Mark Pingetore, Head of School at the American School of Barcelona, to explore what 17 years of leading change in an international school really looks like, including the lessons that only came through getting things wrong first. Mark traces his path from progressive education circles in New York City, working alongside Deborah Meier at Central Park East, to founding Tompkins Square Middle School, to leading ASB through a period of extraordinary growth. He reflects on a change effort in his early years at ASB that stalled not because the goal was wrong, but because he misread the culture, the law, and his own certainty. The shift from building a legal case to asking better questions turned out to be one of the most important moves he made as a leader. The conversation also covers ASB's five-year growth plan from 2014 to 2018, when the school grew from roughly 600 to nearly 1,000 students, built four major facilities, and dramatically expanded its academic and extracurricular programs. Mark reflects on what made that period work, including a board that focused on the future instead of the day-to-day, clear KPIs revisited annually, and leaders at every level who had genuine ownership of their work. He also names what it cost: staff who felt stretched past their limit, and a five-pillar plan that should have been three. This episode is essential listening for school leaders navigating the balance between vision and capacity, between pushing for change and protecting the people doing the work.

    45 min
  4. The Change Leader's Real Resources: Inclusion, Attention, and Letting Go with Lauren Jones

    May 26

    The Change Leader's Real Resources: Inclusion, Attention, and Letting Go with Lauren Jones

    Lauren Jones started as a special education teacher because she wanted to change outcomes for kids other people had written off. That conviction shaped everything, including her tenure as head of school at the International School of Kigali, where she rebuilt the school's support team, replaced principals with teacher leaders, and made inclusion the central focus of the school's identity. In this episode, Lauren and Christian Talbot move through the full arc of change leadership: a scholarship program that launched with thorough research and still missed the mark, three curriculum and arts initiatives that transformed the school's connection to Rwandan culture, and the practical reality of building consensus without waiting for unanimity. Lauren's through line: inclusion is a justice issue, and resources are not just money. Attention, relationships, energy, and time come first. The leaders who get that right are the ones who move change forward and make it last.

    38 min
  5. Place and People: Designing for Flourishing and Collective Efficacy

    May 19

    Place and People: Designing for Flourishing and Collective Efficacy

    What turns a school building into a place where students truly flourish? In this episode of Evolution Stories, Christian Talbot sits down with Dr. Brian Kelly, Head of School at Carol Morgan School in the Dominican Republic, to explore how physical space and school culture work together to drive meaningful change. Dr. Kelly shares the thinking behind Carol Morgan's new Arts, Innovation, and Dining Center, a space designed intentionally around student flourishing, and traces his own path into education and school leadership. The conversation digs into the challenge every leader faces: how to meet the accelerating pace of change with genuine innovation while building a culture of collective efficacy. Dr. Kelly reflects on a pivotal realization, that leaders don't need to have all the answers, and that their real work is elevating the people around them to catalyze change together. This episode is essential listening for leaders thinking about how the spaces they build and the cultures they foster can bring out the best in students and staff alike.

    35 min
  6. The Science of Motivation, Regret, and Leading Change with Dan Pink

    Feb 16

    The Science of Motivation, Regret, and Leading Change with Dan Pink

    What really motivates people to change? In this season finale episode of Evolution Stories, Christian Talbot sits down with bestselling author Dan Pink to unpack decades of research on motivation, leadership, timing, regret, and the future of human skills. Drawing from his work in Drive, When, To Sell Is Human, and The Power of Regret, Dan explains why traditional reward systems often fail in schools and organizations, why autonomy and purpose outperform control, and how leaders can avoid the trap of under-communicating change. The conversation also explores the science of breaks and timing, why regret can improve decision-making, and what educators must prioritize as AI transforms how knowledge is created and distributed. This episode is essential listening for leaders navigating complexity, uncertainty, and wise change.

    49 min
  7. Why Culture, Not Strategy, Determines Whether Change Sticks: When Doing What’s Right for Students Is Not Enough

    Feb 9

    Why Culture, Not Strategy, Determines Whether Change Sticks: When Doing What’s Right for Students Is Not Enough

    In this episode of Evolution Stories, Middle States President Christian Talbot sits down with Elinor Scully, Head of School at National Cathedral School, for a candid and deeply reflective conversation about leadership, change, and the realities of decision-making in schools. Drawing from her journey as a classroom teacher, division head, and head of school, Elinor explores what happens when leaders pursue the right outcomes but underestimate the human dynamics of change. She reflects on an early failed attempt to redesign a school schedule, unpacking how fear, identity, and unspoken resistance can quietly derail even the most student-centered initiatives. The conversation then shifts to a pivotal leadership moment during the COVID era, when Elinor was forced to make a high-stakes facilities decision without the certainty leaders often crave. Through that experience, she surfaces a core truth about leadership, that courage to act amid imperfect information is not optional, but essential. The episode closes with a forward-looking reflection on the next frontier of educational leadership, stewarding faculty culture in a post-pandemic world where trust, morale, and meaning have become as critical as pedagogy and strategy. This episode offers school leaders an honest look at why change is hard, what leadership actually requires, and how culture ultimately determines whether transformation succeeds or stalls.

    49 min
  8. The Leadership Shift Schools Aren’t Ready For Yet: Why Agency, Not Achievement, Predicts What Comes Next

    Feb 2

    The Leadership Shift Schools Aren’t Ready For Yet: Why Agency, Not Achievement, Predicts What Comes Next

    In this episode of Evolution Stories, MSA President Christian Talbot speaks with Maria Vogelei, Head of School and founding team member at the Village School in Arlington, Virginia, a learner-driven microschool built around agency, purpose, and self-directed learning. Maria shares her unconventional path into school leadership, moving from brand building and tech entrepreneurship into education after searching for a school that aligned with her daughter’s needs. She reflects on the difference between marketing and market education, why introducing new school models requires trust and social proof, and what surprised her most when stepping into the head of school role. The conversation explores leadership during moments of low morale, how prioritizing educators can stabilize entire school communities, and why presence, transparency, and one-on-one relationships matter more than polished strategies. Maria also discusses lessons learned from a previous mental health startup that failed to launch, offering powerful insights into champions, timing, and reframing perceived failure. As the Village School prepares to launch a learner-driven high school in a credential-focused market, Maria reflects on the tension between traditional measures of success and the skills students need in an AI-shaped future. This episode offers a grounded, honest look at change leadership, agency, and what it means to build schools for the world students are actually inheriting.

    36 min
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About

Evolution Stories is a biweekly podcast that delves deep into the heart and soul of change leadership and school transformation.

Information

  • Creator
    MSA Marketing
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    26
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Evolution Stories
  • Show Website
    Evolution Stories

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