Learning from the Ground Up
The Gates Foundation believes that everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and build a better life for themselves and their families. In “Learning from the Ground Up,” we highlight some of the people and partners we work with to create these opportunities for students, families, and communities across the United States. In these conversations, Gates Foundation leaders get the rare and unique opportunity to engage with grantees and on-the-ground experts to explore our shared vision while discovering something new together.
Episodes
Episode 1: Growing education pathways in washington state
The Gates Foundation’s work in Washington state focuses on supporting locally led solutions that give young people access to the opportunities they need to design the future they want. In this video, while learning how to make apple cider at a local farm, Angela Jones and Barb Richey discuss their shared efforts to help young people explore college and career pathways and enroll in a postsecondary program that puts them on a path toward the future they want.
Guests:
- Angela Jones, Director, Washington State and US Charters, Gates Foundation
- Barb Richey, VP of University Advancement and Executive Director of EWU Foundation, Eastern Washington University
Episode 2: Providing good jobs is good business
Ryan Rippel and Bulbul Gupta are passionate about supporting small-and medium-sized businesses across the U.S. as they strengthen their bottom line and create good jobs that give people a path to opportunity and dignity. In this video, Ryan welcomes Bulbul to his hometown of St. Louis, where they visit a thriving small business working with Pacific Community Ventures and talk about what we can do to ensure all entrepreneurs have the resources they need to support themselves and their employees.
Guests:
- Ryan Rippel, Director, Economic Mobility and Opportunity, Gates Foundation
- Bulbul Gupta, President and CEO, Pacific Community Ventures
Episode 3: Delivering postsecondary value for all students
The Gates Foundation’s work in postsecondary education is predicated on the belief that all students should have the opportunities and support they need to pursue a post-high school credential that has value in the labor market. In this video, Patrick Methvin and Dr. Mildred García gather at Cal State University-Fullerton to talk about the importance of getting students to and through college, CSU’s approach to centering value in all they do, and learn from students directly about whether they think college is worth it.
Guests:
- Patrick Methvin, Director, Postsecondary Success, Gates Foundation
- Dr. Mildred García, Chancellor, California State University System
Episode 4:
Coming April 2025, a conversation about how we can make math more engaging and ensure every student sees themselves as a math person.
