Latest / The Inspired Stories Podcast / Championing Educational Access: Jessica Silwick on ABET's Purpose Serving Thousands of Volunteer Experts, Educators, and Learners

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Championing Educational Access: Jessica Silwick on ABET's Purpose Serving Thousands of Volunteer Experts, Educators, and Learners · The Inspired Stories Podcast

0:04
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast,
0:08
where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from
0:11
their successes and be inspired by how they've overcome
0:14
adversity. My name is Anthony Kotaspodi,
0:17
and today's guest is Jessica Silwick, CFO and COO of ABET, a
0:23
nonprofit group that accredits college and university programs
0:27
and applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering
0:31
technology. Abet's mission is to inspire
0:34
confidence in educational quality standards, helping build
0:38
a safer, more efficient and sustainable world.
0:41
Jessica is well known for leading finance, human resources
0:45
and office operations at ABET, ensuring everything runs
0:48
smoothly behind the scenes. Now, under her direction, ABET
0:52
supports A voluntary peer review process with nearly 3000
0:57
experts. She has also guided teams in
1:00
professional education, applying her extensive background in
1:04
accounting and leadership. Among her many achievements,
1:07
Jessica has been recognized as a 2024 Top 50 Woman Business
1:12
Leader, a 2015 AICPA Emerging Leader Women to Watch, and a
1:19
2022 Oncon Icon Top 50 CFO. Now before we get into all this
1:26
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AD back benefits.com. All right, back to our guest
2:09
today, CFO and COO of ABET, Jessica Stillwick.
2:13
Thanks for making the time to Share your story today.
2:16
My pleasure, thanks for having me.
2:18
So Jessica, you've been at a bet for over 18 years, but before we
2:22
talk about your work there, give us a little bit about your
2:26
background growing up in a blue collar environment.
2:29
How did you transition from that into your early work in
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accounting? Yes.
2:35
So it was a interesting transition that wasn't a
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straight line from point A to point.
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BI grew up with a great, supportive family.
2:46
But in the area I grew up, that wasn't always the case.
2:49
And I witnessed some struggles of friends and people that I've
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met, you know, in a young adulthood.
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I worked really hard and took my education seriously and tried to
3:04
encourage all my fellow friends and classmates to do the same.
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I was fortunate enough to be able to see that the world was
3:11
slightly bigger than what I had been exposed to.
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So I started doing a bunch of research.
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I'm first generation college student, so I had to do a bunch
3:24
of research on my own, try to figure out the application
3:27
processes to colleges, how I could get financial aid, you
3:32
know, scheduling, you know, campus tours where I could.
3:36
So it was all about me finding and taking that initiative to do
3:40
that. And through that journey, I
3:41
realized that there was some work that needed to be done at
3:45
the high school level to raise more awareness.
3:48
Two opportunities for students to go to college and the career
3:52
opportunities that they had. So I tried to provide some
3:55
feedback about my experience and what I encountered as a first
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Gen. to make the make the transition easier for students
4:03
and learners like me. So I selected who could.
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You provide that feedback too, Jessica.
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I went back and I provided it to current students at my high
4:15
school. I've made myself available, so I
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have some friends that still live in the area, so I made
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myself available to their children or their children's
4:25
friends to be able to help guide them.
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I do have some ideas for a nonprofit that, but it's still
4:32
in the conceptual phase and there are there are other
4:37
organizations out there doing just just as I'm suggesting that
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I would one day like to do. But I just know that, you know,
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out of the gates, I selected the wrong university for me.
4:50
Had to then dig deep and be able to figure out what was going to
4:56
work best for me as a person and as a learner.
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And that suited my experience the best.
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So I, I had to take a semester and go to a Community College
5:06
when I was supposed to be at a university campus and get my
5:10
feet wet in the college experience, figure out what it
5:13
was like, the differences between, you know, college and
5:16
high school. And then from there I was able
5:19
to transfer to a college campus that fit my needs perfectly as a
5:24
working student. First Gen. and you know, the
5:30
rest is history. I got my bachelor's degree and
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from there, you know, went on to get a master's degree and, you
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know, a couple of certifications along the way.
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So I just never stopped pursuing knowledge and working hard to
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reach the goals that I want. And like I said, it wasn't a
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straight path. I started out biology, switched
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to psychology, so I did a lot of self exploration while I was in
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college and at university to figure out what really suited me
5:58
the best. And I love math and I'm very
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practical, pragmatic person by nature, so the accounting just
6:05
fell in the place. So you said that you were
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fortunate enough that you could see that the world was bigger
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than, you know, where you were living and sort of the
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environment that you were brought up in.
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How were you getting that glimpse?
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As I said, I have very supportive family that was
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engaged with, you know, very engaged in my upbringing and my
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guidance. But I am second generation.
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So my mother's family, my mom's sister and mom came from Greece.
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My grandmother has lived in parts of Africa and parts of
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Greece. And so I would hear their
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stories about their experiences and the same my, my father is
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third generation Italian. So, you know, again, hearing how
6:57
they came over here from Italy and we're able to build lives
7:01
for themselves and each generation getting better than
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the next. You know, I just knew that there
7:07
were the world was full of potential and possibilities by
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just hearing their stories. I was fortunate to have it in my
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home. And for those who aren't
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fortunate to have it in their home, you know, I think I try to
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encourage them to seek out, to hear other people's stories, to
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hear how other people were able to persevere, overcome and build
7:27
the life that they want for themselves.
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Because if they can do it, you can do it.
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I love that you also mentioned that you were able to transfer
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from one school to another school that was better able to
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support your needs and interests.
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Looking back on that experience, what advice would you have for
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other folks looking to choose their college or university?
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So I was very idealistic, you know, this is what it should
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look like. You know, this is what I should
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be doing. Like I am going away to this
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university. I am going to live on a in a
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campus dorm in the honors College.
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And you know, I'm just, I'm just going to do everything that is
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the typical college experience that I've been told to do.
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I'll join a few clubs, I'll do this, I'm going in pre Med, you
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know, all that. And then once I got into, once I
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actually experienced it for what it was, I realized that it was a
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great opportunity and it probably I could have made it
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work, but it just didn't suit me as a person.
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You know, I wanted to be closer to my family.
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Still. I wasn't ready to make that
8:38
transition. I probably, I needed more
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support than I was able to find as a first generation student at
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that campus because of my grades.
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They put me in this honors program, which was very
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challenging. And this, that sort of rigor
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along with the transition, I just, my 18 year old self was
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not ready for that. And I know a lot of students
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experience that, whether you come from my upbringing or not,
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a lot of students experience that And they'll, they come home
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from going away to college. And sometimes that's where
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they're, you know, they don't go back and give it another try or
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seek other options. And I always encourage everyone
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to just don't give up on your dreams.
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This is what you know you want to do.
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There's other ways, there's other pathways to be able to
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ultimately reach your goals. It doesn't have to be that
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traditional four year going into university, leaving home.
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So I came back, I, like I said, I did a semester at Community
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College, got that rhythm down for myself, took some college
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level courses and then I was still managed to get close to
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home. And then I found the university
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that was local that catered very well to 1st generation students,
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also catered very well to to women in STEM programs.
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And I was able to still work and support myself and, and the, the
10:09
flexibility of the courses just fit my needs extremely well.
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So. You know, couple parts of your
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story there that I want to point out and I think are are really
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great for people to hear. It's this idea of sometimes
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we've got to try on a lot of different hats to see what does
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fit and what doesn't fit. And so you were trying out
10:26
different majors. Well, that one didn't work.
10:28
That one's not me. Oh, wow.
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I, I really seem to connect with this one.
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And then you were doing the same thing with your college
10:35
experience and to, I don't know, sort of continue the the
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metaphor. I mean, hats off to you because,
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you know, a lot of people could and do in that situation.
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Throw in the towel like this isn't for me.
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I gave it a shot and instead you were like, well, maybe I can
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sort of like reverse here and kind of pivot in a different
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direction and see if I can still March forward in that direction,
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but just in a way that looks a little bit different.
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I'm not see it as a failure. It's never a failure.
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It's a learning opportunity. That's the key part of that.
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Yeah, I like that a lot. OK.
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So you found your way into accounting before we get to a
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bet, tell me, maybe just pick one stop before a bet that was
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really formidable for you and how you approach business, how
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you approach leadership? I was fortunate enough to work
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for three very large companies right outside of graduation and
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learn a lot from each one of them, learning the corporate
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structure, how to operate in different professional settings.
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I learnt about manufacturing, Pharmaceutical industry and then
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before a bet landing in the energy sector.
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So I would have to say that my time at with the large energy
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company really shaped just check tree of my career.
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I again found myself in a place that I didn't think I belonged
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in this, this company had a history for hiring the cream of
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the crop. You know, these graduates came
12:12
the Ivy League grads and when they hired me, I was kind of
12:16
like, it was, I was a little scared when I found out that
12:19
they hired me and for the position that they hired me for,
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there were two different positions.
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And this one was a little more challenging of a, of an
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accounting role. And so I, I'm not going to lie,
12:30
I went out and bought Cliff Notes, how long ago this was on
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certain topics that this role would just to make sure like, am
12:37
I really ready for this? I got in there and just
12:41
excelled. And it was really that moment
12:43
for me to where you realize that, you know, you do belong in
12:48
any environment that you want to be in.
12:50
And it wasn't that much of A learning curve for me to get
12:54
acclimated into that space. I found myself working on high
12:58
profile projects, eventually reporting to the CFO of energy
13:04
generation, which is kind of a big deal in an organization like
13:07
that doing SEC reporting. So it really helped build my
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confidence as a person and as a professional and it told me that
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I can have a seat at any table and I belong there.
13:20
But probably one of the biggest things for me there and I did
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have a great trajectory at that place.
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And ABET was in the same building.
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We had this coffee cart, it was on the 1st floor.
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And you know, you meet people in your building.
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And I was poached for about 6 months to go to a bet.
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And this person kept saying, I know you, I know you, this is
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where you belong. You're going to love it there.
13:45
You need to come. You're going to be able to do
13:47
great things for this organization.
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So it was, and then through my work with the energy company I
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had, I had, I was working directly with engineers and
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other STEM professionals. So it kind of, it really set me
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up for the next phase of my career and where I've been
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honestly for the past, you know, 9, almost 19 years.
14:10
Wow. So it's interesting that energy
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company that you worked for, they saw something in you before
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you really saw it in your cell, right?
14:19
You applied for the job you're interested.
14:21
Sounds like half of you was hoping you'd get it.
14:23
Half of you was like, I don't belong there.
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I don't really want that job, but I feel like I should apply.
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And they took you and now it's like, oh, crap, what do I do?
14:33
I'm out of my element until you found a little taste of success
14:37
and you're like, oh, wait, now I do belong here.
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I fit, I I got this. I got the skills for it.
14:44
And so you meet somebody at the coffee cart.
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Over the course of several months, they're pursuing you,
14:50
they're pulling you in. And so now they bring you in.
14:54
What was your role there initially?
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You finally, they finally convinced you to come over.
14:58
What were you doing? I was the manager of accounting
15:00
and. What did that entail?
15:04
So it really, I really did lead the accounting department at
15:08
ABAT. When I came there was at that
15:10
time a senior director for accounting and finance and that
15:15
individual's role was really just to kind of report to the
15:18
board. So like a higher level strategy
15:22
type of role. I was managing the insurance and
15:25
outs, the daily transactions and audits and all of that that
15:30
comes with the the accounting departments.
15:32
It was full cycle accounting. I was managing when I came on
15:35
and they needed a lot of help. They were not as organized as a
15:40
for profit, let alone a publicly traded for profit organization.
15:44
Financials were, I would not say they were in disarray.
15:49
They were. There was nothing unethical or
15:51
fraudulent happening. It was just very loose internal
15:54
controls and things of that nature.
15:56
And they had experienced some economic downturn it within the
16:00
organization. And I was brought in the kind of
16:04
clean things up, create a really well solid accounting process
16:09
and internal controls and really kind of take them from where
16:13
they were and help build a world class accounting department for
16:16
the organization. So tell us more about what a bet
16:19
does. So a BET is a quality assurance
16:23
agency. We do this through many
16:27
different services. Our primary goal in life.
16:31
We see we exist to ensure access to quality education for all
16:37
learners and that those learners are then prepared to go out into
16:41
the STEMS professions and face the grand challenges of a global
16:45
society. So we believe that we are
16:48
contributing to future professionals and problem
16:52
solvers who are going to go out and make the world a better
16:54
place. Legally speaking, ABET is A5O1C3
16:59
organization, nonprofit, non governmental, ISO 9001 certified
17:05
organization. But that's not really who we
17:08
are. That's who we are on paper.
17:10
ABET really is the heart and soul of ABET is the 3000 plus
17:15
expert volunteers from academia, industry, government who share
17:20
the same purpose as we do as an organization and supporting
17:26
those learners globally and then in supporting them, we are
17:30
having a greater impact on a global society.
17:34
So what does that look like in practical terms?
17:37
So who, who do you work with? What do you do for them?
17:42
What do they walk away from after their interaction with
17:45
you? Let's really help paint a
17:47
picture for people that are kind of outside of this industry.
17:50
So we have several touch points in in the, you know, the service
17:54
that we provide to society, one of which probably the one that
17:58
most people see is the academic world, the faculty members at
18:05
universities and colleges or those engaging and learning
18:10
opportunities in the credentialing space now.
18:15
So we offer them the opportunity to also have an impact on
18:21
quality education worldwide. We they know that the work that
18:25
they do is touching each program or offering one at a time, going
18:33
in there, sharing through the ABAT criteria or review
18:38
standards, going in and having conversations and having
18:42
peer-to-peer interactions. And at the end of the day, they
18:44
know that they are leaving a program or a credential
18:49
opportunity better than when they stepped in.
18:52
But it's a symbiotic relationship because they are
18:55
also learning from those programs and those credential
18:58
offers that they are reviewing for as part of a BET's quality
19:03
assurance service. So they're also taking insights
19:06
and lessons learned back to their colleges, universities or
19:11
professional offices. So I think it, you know, there's
19:15
a, a, a great value that's happening for them and what
19:19
we're able to offer them. They also get this amazing
19:22
network of purpose, you know, people who share the same
19:25
purpose of them, professionals, you know, relationships are
19:28
forged through a bat that lasts for a lifetime.
19:32
And you can see that through the longevity of our volunteers.
19:36
And they don't come and just volunteer for a year or two.
19:38
They're here for 20 years plus. Sometimes I think you know, also
19:43
for the students, when students are able to be engaged in one of
19:46
our review processes, they see the work that's being done.
19:50
They developed a sense of pride for the program that they're
19:52
part of and fully going to graduate from or that credential
19:56
they're going to earn. There's a sense of pride in
19:58
knowing that their program or their credential offer was
20:02
taking the time to show a commitment to quality and a
20:05
commitment to them. As learners to be able to offer
20:09
the best possible educational experience that they can.
20:12
So as a result, we have students that will contact ABAT and say,
20:15
hey, I had this amazing opportunity when ABAT was on my
20:18
campus or, you know, at my place of learning and you know, what
20:23
can I do to learn more about ABAT?
20:25
What can I do to become a volunteer?
20:27
What can I do to support, you know, the, the purpose and the
20:30
mission of, you know, articulating the, you know, why
20:34
quality assurance is so necessary in educational spaces.
20:38
So that's something that's really amazing to see.
20:40
I wish we had more learners engaged in the process, but the
20:44
ones who are engaged, there's always some sort of a follow up
20:49
with a bat. Staff members afterwards are
20:51
volunteers. And so this is one of the things
20:54
that I think is really fascinating about what you do is
20:56
that all of these peer reviewers, they're all
21:00
volunteers, we're talking about 3000 people who raise their hand
21:06
and say, I'm going to donate my time to this process.
21:10
I'm understanding this correctly, right?
21:14
How do you, what is it that really motivates these people to
21:18
get involved And, and how are you managing?
21:21
Because if I you know your your team is not that big internally,
21:25
how do you manage and sort of coordinate such a big team like
21:28
that as well? So I think that, you know, a BAT
21:32
motivates nearly 3000 plus volunteers by connecting them
21:36
honestly to our mission. You know, and they deeply
21:39
believe in it as well. They believe that they're
21:41
advancing quality in STEM education worldwide.
21:44
Our volunteers see their work as an opportunity to give back to
21:49
their professions, shape the next generation of graduates and
21:52
professionals. Like I said, they also get to
21:55
collaborate with peers who share their passion.
21:58
That sense of purpose and impact is really the greatest motivator
22:02
and it happens organically. I wish I could say but had the
22:04
secret sauce that you know, but it really is.
22:08
It's just it's all driven from an amazing purpose and the
22:12
ability to see that those tangible results from the work
22:15
that they do. So managing them is really not
22:19
that hard to manage them to keep them motivated.
22:21
Obviously we have a diverse team, volunteers with different
22:28
perspectives, outlooks, ways they'd like to address the
22:32
quality assurance and also they represent their different fields
22:38
of study. So we're bringing together
22:40
computer scientists, geologists, electrical engineers, you know,
22:46
as well as like practitioners in and sometimes I just saw the, I
22:52
went and did a program the other day, which was with the safety
22:56
professionals. So we're bringing these diverse
22:58
group of people with diverse backgrounds and fields of
23:02
expertise. And I think that we're able to
23:05
coordinate and manage them through a structured leadership
23:08
model. We also offer robust training.
23:11
So they're all trained the same, they all go through the same
23:15
training process to be a bet volunteers.
23:18
And we give a clear evaluation of the standards.
23:21
You know, we, we, we're very pragmatic about how we explain
23:27
what we do and how we do it. We logically map it out so that
23:30
there's no questions at the end of the day that we cannot
23:35
answer. And you know, and again, like I
23:37
said, most importantly, through all of this, we are fostering a
23:41
shared sense of purpose. So every volunteer knows that
23:44
they're shaping the future of STEM education worldwide.
23:48
So, Jessica, I want to better understand the specifics of what
23:52
takes place during the accreditation or the quality
23:56
assurance work that's going on. Can you maybe pick one example
24:00
of here's a university of college, a place that we worked
24:05
with, and here was an idea that came about from working with a
24:09
bet that they were able to implement and it made things
24:11
better? Yeah.
24:13
So we, we've just done a few case studies on individuals,
24:17
faculty members who were able to build programs from the ground
24:22
up. So they entered onto a campus
24:24
and you know, I, I will use engineering as an example.
24:29
So they go to a campus that doesn't have an engineering
24:31
program at all. And engineering programs are
24:35
challenging to, to build up from the ground up and the resources
24:38
that are needed to do that. And we've gotten testimonials
24:42
from individuals who said, I started by using the ABAC
24:46
criteria, I use that as my base. And then by reading it and
24:54
implementing ideas and concepts around the criteria, you know, I
24:59
got a lot of innovative ideas from you that and it just made a
25:05
very daunting task of creating programs from the ground up that
25:09
much easier because a back gave me that framework that I was
25:13
able to start with. And to me, that is the biggest
25:16
impact because now we are bringing these STEM programs to
25:19
campuses or colleges, universities that have never
25:24
been able to offer this sort of education to their learners.
25:29
And just the existence of our criteria and the volunteers who
25:34
were trained on our criteria, who were able to evaluate based
25:38
other programs based on our criteria and all that knowledge
25:42
that they've learned from that we're now able to go and spread,
25:47
you know, quality STEM education to campuses that would have
25:50
otherwise not had them. So in this example, the STEM
25:53
program that you're talking about, is this a college that
25:57
maybe they weren't offering particular courses or is the
26:01
program something that's extracurricular so it's outside
26:04
of kind of the structured learning environment?
26:07
I don't know. This is a degree engineering
26:09
program. So, you know, within the program
26:12
there are the courses that map the, the learner's journey by
26:17
which they can show the aptitude to to graduate with that degree
26:22
program at the end of the day. So this was, you know, this
26:26
entailed coordinating several courses, coordinating several
26:29
resources, you know, bringing together both technical and
26:33
non-technical education that would help build that degree.
26:38
And they were able to do all that using a vet criteria in
26:41
their experience with AB, a vet as a foundation and almost like
26:45
a launching pad to say, I can do this, I'm going to follow this
26:48
framework. You know, along the way, I got
26:50
some real innovative ideas when I was thinking about how to
26:53
apply the criteria to building this program.
26:58
And you know, and they they otherwise it would have been a
27:01
much more daunting you've. Got that framework?
27:06
You've got the step by step like.
27:08
Here's the chunks that you need to think about how to approach
27:10
it, and the order to do. It in yeah, to have a quality,
27:14
you know, educational program. This is this is what these are
27:18
the factors that you should have.
27:20
And so are you going in and you're suggesting, hey, you
27:25
know, you've got these four courses which are great, now you
27:29
need to add these five and maybe there's two existing courses
27:33
that you need to kind of modify the syllabus and to sort of put
27:37
all the pieces of the puzzle together.
27:39
So the beauty of ABET criteria is that there's a lot of
27:42
flexibility within it. So if it's a specific criteria
27:47
for a very specific program, we have general criteria and then
27:50
we have specific criteria. So general criteria, any, any
27:53
program can come in and and try to become ABET accredited under
27:57
the general criteria. But let's say if you have a
27:59
computer science program, there will be very specific computer
28:02
science criteria that you also have to show, you know, that you
28:08
are, you know, can meet that criteria to be able to become a
28:11
vet accredited. So I, I think say they know.
28:16
That being said, there is outside of those very specific
28:21
and few courses that we say within the specific criteria you
28:25
have to meet, there's a lot of flexibility to be able to bring
28:29
in other courses that you think will fit the specific needs of
28:33
your learners in your region of the world and, and the type of
28:39
professionals that you want to develop out of your program.
28:42
So each program is unique. You know, each program has their
28:45
own way of, of doing things, their own way of teaching.
28:48
You know, we, we provide that flexibility.
28:50
We provide the opportunity to be an innovative and keep up with
28:53
trends and technology and evolving learners needs, even
28:56
like the demographics of learners are changing within the
28:59
United States and itemize globally as well.
29:03
So how do you meet those needs of these new learners?
29:06
And within the ABEC criteria, there's tons of flexibility to
29:10
be able to make changes as needed to suit your specific
29:14
needs, to be innovative, and to reach your learners.
29:17
And I think I'm understanding a little bit more why that it's
29:21
not so difficult as I had imagined, not so difficult to
29:24
get peer reviewers to volunteer their time to do this, because
29:29
they get to go in a fresh new environment and they get to
29:32
learn how somebody else is doing it.
29:34
Now they're there to guide and lead and teach, but they can't
29:37
help but take away some ideas from a completely different
29:40
environment than they had been in before.
29:42
Exactly. Yeah.
29:46
So you, so you're talking about the ABET accreditation, but
29:49
there's also the quality assurance.
29:51
How do those differ? So accreditation is a form of
29:55
quality assurance? OK.
29:57
Accreditation is a form of quality assurance that is
29:59
specifically focused on degreed degree earning programs and for
30:08
a bet that means degreed earning programs within the STEM
30:12
professions. So we accredit 2 year and four
30:18
year degree programs globally. That's accreditation.
30:22
Accreditation is an 18 month process.
30:25
It is. It is work, right?
30:27
So it's not an easy thing to accomplish, but it's not
30:30
impossible or extremely arduous either.
30:33
So there's a fair amount of work that goes into being accredited.
30:37
You know, one of the like cornerstones of a Bed
30:41
accreditation is the assessment of student learning and that's
30:44
part of a continuous quality improvement process that we make
30:48
each and every one of our a Bed accredited programs demonstrate
30:52
that they have and they are using.
30:53
So it's not just do you have these courses, do you have this
30:57
sort of faculty, you know, do you have full time versus part
31:01
time and all that stuff. We want to know that you know
31:04
what your students are learning and that you're taking that
31:07
information and that data that you're collecting and the
31:09
assessment of student learning outcomes and you're reapplying
31:12
it back to your program to make it better.
31:14
So there's a focus on continuing improvement that has to be
31:17
evident in every ABET accredited program.
31:20
Now recognition of credentials is another quality assurance
31:24
service that's offered by ABET. This is a quality assurance
31:28
service that focuses more on short term learning
31:32
opportunities that result in some sort of a credential.
31:36
So whether it is a badge, a certificate, some sort of
31:41
alternate credential, there's something at the end of a
31:44
learner's journey that says that they've acquired these
31:48
knowledges and skills that allow them to now have a certificate
31:53
or some sort of recognition that they've earned these specific
31:56
skills as advertised by the offer of this credential.
32:03
It's very, I'm very proud of a about for going into this space.
32:07
I think that this is an essential place for us to be,
32:11
especially now. This is a part of lifelong
32:15
learning as well as a stepping stone for, for learners.
32:20
And I don't think lifelong learning is a luxury anymore.
32:25
I think it's a necessity in the state of constant transformation
32:29
that our world is in. You can't just go to school and
32:31
get your 4 year degree or even your master's, your PhD and call
32:35
it quits. You've got to keep learning or
32:37
you're going to be left behind. I also, as I spoke earlier, the
32:41
demographics of learners are changing a lot of first Gen.,
32:45
not only first Gen. college students, but immigrants to to
32:49
our country and as well as you know, maybe individuals who grew
32:55
up in some of the communities similar that I did.
32:58
I think that being able to go and start your educational
33:02
journey by taking a credentialed certificate course at a college
33:06
or a university and then at once you earn that you can say, OK,
33:11
I'm just going to go into the career.
33:12
This is perfect for me and game. I'm happy this is what I want to
33:15
do. Or it is a stepping stone for
33:19
you to go get a two year degree or maybe a four year degree.
33:21
So the traditional 2 + 2 of Community College or two year
33:26
technical to a university is being shook chicken all up now
33:30
because there can be a point 1.5 + 2 + 2, Yeah.
33:38
Dive into Yeah. To get to where they want to be
33:41
in either their education, you don't have to dive feet first
33:45
into a university or college environment like we used to in
33:48
the past. It also allows people
33:49
flexibility within their careers.
33:51
You're not stuck in a career. You want to change careers,
33:54
right? But you don't want to start all
33:56
over in a college or university. You can go get a certificate
33:58
that says you're qualified to now.
34:01
Be an example for somebody like me, a business owner, I'm 51
34:06
years old, I had a four year degree.
34:09
There's something that I want to, I don't know up my knowledge
34:12
on what, what would be something that I might look into or I
34:19
think maybe you're mostly STEM. So if it helps, reframe that for
34:23
somebody in that field. Well, everybody now is chomping
34:26
at the bit and racing to become literate in artificial
34:30
intelligence, right? So, and the assumption is, and
34:35
I'm not going to say whether that's true or false because I
34:38
don't know, but the assumption is, is that if you don't know
34:41
how to utilize AI technology in some way or another and what
34:45
you're doing, there are going to be others who are and they're
34:48
going to run past you at the speed of light.
34:50
So a lot of professionals are feeling that pressure now, you
34:56
know, to to be just learn some sort of literacy on how to use
35:01
AI either ethically or you know, what's the best way to enter
35:06
prompts so that I can get the response that I'm looking for.
35:10
So I see there are a lot of professionals now, very
35:15
accomplished professionals who are now getting certificates in
35:19
artificial intelligence. It's also, you know, they worry,
35:22
what if I have to switch? Maybe I'm not going to be at
35:24
where I'm at. Do I have transferable skills?
35:29
And I think artificial intelligence is an example of a
35:31
transferable skill that some employers might take notice to.
35:36
So I think that's probably the most common example that we see
35:41
now. That really helps to wrap my
35:43
head around because I could see that, you know, if I weren't a
35:45
business owner, if I'm employed by somebody else, not only do I
35:49
want to stay relevant in, in my current position and make sure
35:52
that I'm staying on top of things and I've got access to
35:54
all the knowledge and the resources that are, are
35:58
available. But I also want something that
36:01
in the event that I need to look for another opportunity, tells
36:04
employers that I have some knowledge and experience in this
36:09
area, right? Like this, this.
36:11
And, and because of Abet's reputation and, you know, the,
36:15
the work that you do with all these different universities and
36:18
colleges, that carries some weight.
36:21
It's not just, I don't even know the comparison to draw, but you
36:25
know, it's not like I'm just writing on my resume that I
36:29
know, you know, AI kind of like in the old days, everybody's
36:32
like proficient in Word and Excel, proficient in ChatGPT.
36:35
No, no, no. I've, I've got a certificate
36:37
that says I, you know, I went through all the, the steps here
36:40
to, to, to learn what it was that, you know, you need to be
36:43
proficient in this. And I'll tell you if it's an
36:45
abat recognize certificate, then the whoever's reading your
36:49
resume at that moment can rest assured that you've shown
36:52
proficiency to be able to. We don't recognize participatory
36:56
certificates. There has to be some sort of a
36:58
check for understanding at the end of the learner's journey to
37:02
be able to show that they've retained a significant amount of
37:05
the knowledge transfer in that specific skill set or area.
37:09
And so if a bet had been a part of developing that program, does
37:14
the certificate I get mention reference a bet's name on it or
37:19
not necessarily? Now I think what it is, is that
37:22
so there's tons of certificate providers out there, so or
37:26
credential providers, if you may, it's a broader term to
37:29
capture certificate badges, all that stuff.
37:32
So there's, there are many, there's a huge, huge ecosystem
37:36
of providers out there. Some come from academia, some
37:38
come from for profit enterprises, some come from a
37:44
professional member associations, you know, so I
37:49
mean, it really does run the gamut.
37:51
And what they do is they, and if they identify a specific need or
37:56
of either their consumers or just society as, as a whole in
38:02
their region, they, they identify a need, they see that
38:05
they have the subject matter experts to be able to create
38:08
this certificate. So they go through the process,
38:11
they create it, they then offer the search, you know, and they
38:14
get learners that go through. And then after that happens,
38:16
they come to a bat and they say, hey, bat a bat.
38:19
I, I'm really proud of this offering.
38:21
I know this is a quality offering.
38:23
I want you to come out and validate that.
38:25
I want you to tell the world that this credential that I've
38:29
created is up to the quality standards of a bat.
38:33
And then that's when we come in after it's already developed,
38:38
after there's already been some sort of a large testing or
38:42
piloting done or learners that have actually earned the
38:45
credential. Then we come in and we say, you
38:48
know what, you're right. We've we've, you know, tested
38:51
your processes against our quality standards.
38:54
And you you are able to behave that recognize and let the world
38:58
know that your learners are are coming out with the skill set
39:02
and the abilities that that you promised.
39:05
Jessica, you are well known for talking about education as a
39:09
catalyst and we're kind of talking around that topic here,
39:14
but I wonder if you've got more that you want to say on that
39:16
specifically? It is just AI have seen it at
39:21
work to where education has changed the trajectories of not
39:26
only individuals lives, but their families lives and the
39:30
lives of everyone that they touch.
39:32
And I education is power, critical thinking as power be
39:39
the basically, you know, you could stay where you're at and,
39:43
and you could keep that knowledge that you've obtained
39:47
from from your bubble and within the space that you are.
39:52
Or you can seek to expand your mind and you can seek to either
39:57
learn tangible skills or, you know, think more theoretically.
40:02
It's really up to that individual and what is going to.
40:06
Really ignite something within them to be able to either, you
40:10
know, not everyone's purpose in life is to go out and make
40:12
money, right? But what can I, what can I, what
40:15
knowledge, what can I do to make me feel more empowered and
40:19
valued as a person? And I really think that
40:22
education does that for people and being able to have that
40:27
sense of self worth and that sense of self value.
40:29
And then that radiates to everyone that you come in
40:32
contact with. And in some cases inspires
40:35
people to go back to those who need that, whether it be
40:40
inspiration, whether it be that courage, whether it be the
40:43
ability to know that they can accomplish whatever they want.
40:47
And you know, I I people to be productive and satisfied, I
40:53
think we need to be in this constant state of knowledge
40:57
acquisition and processing and ability to keep our eyes open to
41:02
new opportunities. So it does help people socio
41:08
economically, but I also think it helps make people more.
41:13
I think it addresses mental health issues as well, if you
41:16
may, you know, if you find something that ignites people,
41:18
if people are able to find something that keeps them
41:20
thinking, keeps them going and not stuck in a rut, you know?
41:24
I love that. And actually it makes me want to
41:28
take a little bit of a selfish tangent here for a second, and I
41:31
hope you'll indulge me. I've got two boys who are 9 and
41:34
11 and like most kids their age, they don't like going to school.
41:38
Learning sucks. It's it's boring, right?
41:40
Like I, you know, I hear it all the time and I, I don't know how
41:45
to do this. Maybe you've got some
41:47
suggestions on how to help them see that when you find something
41:52
that you really are into that excites you, that learning is
41:55
amazing, you know, because I think they've got it in their
41:58
head kind of like I did that, Oh, once I finish this grade or,
42:01
or high school or college finally, then I can be done
42:04
learning and I can get on with my life.
42:06
And, you know, now that I'm 51 years old and I've lived a lot
42:10
of that life, I'm like, no, like, if I'm doing it right, I'm
42:14
learning everyday. Like I'm constantly tackling
42:17
something new and I can see it happen like little kernels of
42:20
it. Like they get into a, a video
42:22
game or like a, a sport and then they want to read about it and
42:25
they want to see the stats and like they're all excited and
42:28
they don't even realize that what they're doing is learning.
42:31
Do you have any suggestions for parents of kids how to sort of
42:35
instill that curiosity or that sense of wonder or the the
42:41
interest in learning? So I feel like for a lot of
42:45
kids, learning happens either has to be a hands on component
42:49
to it. You can't sit them in front of a
42:51
book and say thou must because they're going to revolt, right?
42:54
They're they're still free thinkers.
42:56
They haven't been programmed yet.
42:59
And you know, even though their world is their bubble that
43:03
they're currently in, their minds are or else or always
43:07
somewhere else. And they're very imaginative.
43:10
And you know, so I think that I, I have two children as well.
43:15
I have a 23 year old and I have a 17 year old.
43:17
And they couldn't be further apart when it comes to their
43:20
learning styles, who they are. My 23 year old's a free spirit.
43:23
My 17 year old is more by the book, you know, so it's been
43:28
interesting to watch both of their their journeys and their
43:31
education journeys. But one thing that always worked
43:33
is I never force them to confine.
43:42
Like, let's find a learning style that works for you, right?
43:45
Let's find are you a visual learner?
43:48
Are you an audio learner? You know what's going to work?
43:51
And there's opportunities for that.
43:53
Now school's going to tell them you must do this like this, and
43:55
that's why they don't like it and that's why they don't think
43:57
it's fun. But there's other opportunities
43:59
outside of school to continue to keep them focused and interested
44:05
in gaining more knowledge. You know, so let school deal
44:08
with the math, the science, the English or whatever as they have
44:11
to according to guidelines, but then find those opportunities.
44:16
Like, you know, my one son loved the play.
44:19
My son loved play Magic the Gathering.
44:21
I don't know if you're familiar with that.
44:22
It's like a strategy game, card game, kind of sci-fi.
44:25
And watching him learn that and the energy and it's not an easy
44:29
game. And watching him learn that, I
44:32
was watching it and I said, it looks like he's playing a game,
44:34
but he's not. He's learning critical thinking,
44:37
he's learning strategy. He's learning how to make point
44:40
A to point B all the way to point, you know, and you know,
44:44
sometimes work. So I would just say it's going
44:47
to happen whether whether you push them or not.
44:51
And just if you see something that they show interest in and
44:55
ignites them, just find ways to continue to expose them to that
45:00
and, and make them aware, Hey, you, hey, you're learning right
45:02
now, right? You get like, Hey, you're really
45:05
getting this and this like, you know, this is, I can see some
45:08
connections happening over there.
45:10
So I should let my 9 year old play Minecraft and use ChatGPT
45:14
to find his way through these worlds and watch YouTube videos
45:18
that help him learn how to figure out certain levels?
45:21
Yeah, and then make him make him talk to you about it, you know,
45:26
like, 'cause that's, I had my daughter played Minecraft too.
45:29
And there's, there's some higher level thinking that's going into
45:32
that, honestly. And, and one thing I had to
45:35
learn too is that they socialize and they learn different than we
45:37
did because of all that they're exposed to, you know, the
45:40
technology that they're exposed to.
45:42
So the fact that your son's using ChatGPT is not a bad
45:45
thing, but what are you doing once you get that information
45:48
back from ChatGPT? How are you processing it?
45:51
Are you thinking critically? Are you just accepting word for
45:54
word everything that this, you know that it's telling you?
45:57
It's a tool. It's a tool like a book, you
46:00
know, it's a tool like anything else.
46:02
So you know, it's really just guiding them and and how to use
46:06
it and to not let it think for them.
46:07
But to you know, how are you applying that now?
46:10
So ChatGPT told you to do this. What do we what's the follow up
46:14
to that? Or tell me about your world in
46:17
Minecraft? What do you you know, what's
46:19
your goal, What's your strategy? You know, it's there's some
46:23
higher level thinking happening there sounds.
46:25
Painful because I've got less than 0 interest in Minecraft,
46:28
but I had another parent tell me recently, you got to meet your
46:32
kids where they are. And so it's a good reminder for
46:35
me. Thank you for taking that
46:36
selfish little tangent with man. This is going to be the one
46:40
segment of the interview that I'm sure my wife will want to
46:42
listen to. So we'll set that apart for her.
46:45
But coming coming back to your story, Jessica, I'd be
46:48
interested in hearing about a serious challenge that you've
46:51
overcome in your life, whether it was something personal or
46:54
professional, how you got through it and what you learned.
46:58
My early 20s were tough, you know, Well, late teens, early
47:02
20s were tough. That was when I was going
47:04
through a huge stage of exploration.
47:08
And like you said, there was a lot of pivoting that I was, I
47:11
was having to do and a lot of self discovery.
47:14
So there were moments to where I probably could have thrown the
47:17
towel in pretty easily and I did not.
47:20
And, you know, and I, I just had to, again, I took my path and it
47:26
wasn't always a straight path. And that, and that was really
47:28
tough. And it took me, took me longer
47:31
to complete my education and get into the workforce as an example
47:36
of that, you know, and then Fast forward, you know, kind of like
47:40
the same challenges kept coming into place.
47:42
You know, here I am a young woman professional in a very
47:48
male dominated field, both not only in accounting, but also
47:53
being engaged in the STEM community.
47:55
It's changed a lot over the 10 years and I'm so excited about
47:59
the transformation that I've seen.
48:01
And we really have great representation now in the STEM
48:04
community. And but when I started at a BET,
48:08
for example, that wasn't the case.
48:10
I'm standing up in front of a, you know, A50 plus board of
48:17
white males, you know, all over a certain age.
48:20
And some respected my knowledge and some didn't.
48:23
Or I or I walked in a room and I had to earn.
48:26
I had to earn the fact that I knew something, yes, where some
48:32
of my male counterparts did not. So that was a struggle of
48:37
constantly having to be on top of my a game, constantly feeling
48:40
like I had to win over and over and over again to solidify my
48:44
position, you know, as a woman professional.
48:48
And, you know, and, but I've seen a lot of that changing and
48:51
I can only imagine, I've spoken to other women who are older
48:55
than me and I can only imagine the journey that they had
48:57
becoming professionals and and being regarded in their fields.
49:02
So thank God that there's Trail Blazers that made it easier for
49:04
me, even though it was still challenging for me all those
49:08
years later. But I think, you know, just
49:12
again, it's this reoccurring theme with me in my life of the
49:15
challenge of me. And I feel like I've overcome it
49:19
at the ripe old age that I am. I'm, I'm pushing 50.
49:21
So I'm right there with you, Anthony.
49:24
But it's, it's been an ongoing challenge up in 2, probably a
49:28
few years ago of accepting the fact that I have a seat at the
49:32
table. I've earned my seat at the
49:33
table. I no longer have to do backflips
49:36
and work until 2:00 AM to prove my worth, my knowledge, and what
49:41
I can deliver. So I think that I wish it's
49:46
something I would have learned early on in my career.
49:50
I think it would have saved me a lot of stress and anxiety.
49:55
But, you know, I'm grateful that I'm here now where I'm at.
49:59
And I just, you know, you just have to keep telling yourself
50:04
and where you got to reflect. You have to reflect and you have
50:08
to say, was it really me staying up till 2:00 in the morning to
50:11
complete that, that that may put me where I'm at today?
50:14
And no, I probably wasn't. I probably would have been just
50:17
as successful otherwise. And then so you'll have to look
50:20
back and you have to say, so I came equipped, you know, and you
50:26
know, I think that, you know, like I said, just accepting
50:31
that, that, you know, that I belong, that that I am meant to
50:37
be here. Was it was a huge challenge that
50:41
I overcome. And it was also, it didn't just
50:42
because I was a female, it was also because I, I came from this
50:46
middle to low collar, you know, middle to low, you know, socio
50:51
economic blue collar neighborhood.
50:53
And now I, you know, a big part of my journey was too was to be
50:56
able to be like, wow, I have an amazing array of perceptions
51:03
like I can fit into any room. And I was taught how to be
51:08
grateful. I was taught how to be
51:11
accepting. I was taught so many things
51:15
because of my upbringing and not in spite of it.
51:18
But now all I needed to learn how to chat, channel, all those
51:21
great attributes that I got from an upbringing that that really
51:26
didn't set me up very well for success in in a professional
51:29
career and a college experience. But it set me up in something
51:34
much bigger than that. And it taught me resilience and
51:38
it taught me how to see different perspectives and to be
51:41
compassionate. And I think that those are all
51:44
the attributes that got me where I was.
51:46
And I don't think I would have been successful otherwise
51:48
without them. It sounds like, you know,
51:51
you're, you've mentioned your supportive family several times
51:54
and you know, I'm guessing they're the ones who sort of
51:56
taught you these values to be grateful, to be appreciative,
52:00
etcetera. But I'm wondering, as you
52:03
entered the workforce and you had this sense of, I've got to
52:07
work till 2:00 AM to prove myself.
52:10
Was there anybody in maybe a more similar situation to you
52:15
that you were able to go to or lean on for help or guidance or
52:18
mentorship? Or were your parents still able
52:22
to kind of help you navigate that challenging time, even
52:24
though that was maybe something that they hadn't been through
52:27
themselves? So my parents were always, you
52:30
know, you've got this from day one, regardless of what, where,
52:34
where I was at in life, I'm in that, you know, you, you need to
52:37
do everything for yourself. Don't rely on anyone else to do
52:40
that for you. So they instilled that
52:43
foundation when I got when I found myself in the working
52:46
environment, my very first job, I had an internship and he made
52:51
me cry. My boss made me cry, but that's
52:55
because he's, he was very direct with me.
53:01
You know, if I turned in work and it was, you know, I had
53:04
papers that were facing the wrong direction in a very
53:07
detailed analysis that I did of huge leases that we had in this
53:12
manufacturing company. So proud of my work.
53:14
I dropped it off to him and he was like, what is this?
53:17
Throw it across the desk and basically said your pages aren't
53:21
all facing the same direction. Fix that and bring it back to
53:24
me. Didn't even look at the work I
53:25
had done yet. But that was a moment for me to
53:28
kind of really like that was probably the first time I
53:31
focused on the multiple attributes of, of what it means
53:35
to be quality, right and submit quality work and take pride in
53:38
what it is that that you're submitting.
53:42
So that was kind of like a tough love moment for me that he
53:45
instilled. And then by the end of that of
53:49
me working there, he basically said, I hope you know that you
53:53
can go wherever you want and do whatever you can do.
53:55
You've been one of my best interns I've ever had.
53:57
And he was tough. He was tough.
53:59
And, and when I got hired at the energy company, this may have
54:05
been part of the reason why I was hired there.
54:07
One of the one of the accountants who worked there was
54:12
an auditor for the manufacturing company from Deloitte.
54:16
And she was like Jessica, I remember her Rich said.
54:19
She was one of the best interns he's ever had.
54:20
And he's tough. So kind of like that opened that
54:23
door for me, you know, in a sense to get in with this energy
54:27
company. So had I not had this person who
54:29
pushed me, made me cry just once, but did I may not have
54:35
have been able to get. So it's just those little
54:37
moments that did that. My boss, I have now the CEO of a
54:41
BET has always been a champion for women.
54:45
He's put women in positions that I, you know, within our
54:48
organization that his predecessors would not have.
54:53
You know, I'm the first female CFOCOO of a bat, you know, and,
54:57
and you know, and that's because he, he, he saw something in me,
55:03
you know, and in a way took a chance just because of the
55:07
perception of my age and my gender.
55:11
And I don't have a traditional STEM background either.
55:17
And just, you know, through his coaching as well and guidance,
55:21
how to, you know, operate in different environments and
55:26
giving me a global perspective as well-being engaged in
55:28
different global communities as has also, you know, through his
55:32
his guidance. And I don't say quite enough
55:35
because it's one of those things where it's like, Oh, she's just
55:37
saying that because it's her boss.
55:39
So I usually, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention the
55:43
fact that, you know, him being a champion for women.
55:47
And it's not just me. There are other women within our
55:50
organization and even outside of our organization that I see him
55:53
champion for, you know, that I don't, I don't know that I'd be
55:57
in this position that I'm in now either.
55:59
What's the CEO's name? Doctor Michael Milligan.
56:03
Right, make sure we give him shout out there.
56:06
So putting humility aside, Jessica, what is your
56:09
superpower? So a very, very blatant kind of
56:16
superpower is I see connections and I see I'm really good at
56:21
putting together puzzles. So I'm a really good like
56:26
auditor. I'm really good at like,
56:27
sequencing things, you know, So, you know, like, that is a gift
56:35
that I have, and that's probably one of my biggest superpowers.
56:38
Put a puzzle for me, I'll figure it out, right?
56:41
Put a mystery in front of me, I'll figure it out.
56:44
But I think honestly, I've been told many times that I care too
56:50
much, you know, that I give people too many chances, that,
56:58
you know, I drag things along because of that.
57:01
And there have been moments where maybe I didn't make the
57:03
best business decisions because of it, you know, keeping someone
57:06
on that probably should have not been kept on as long as they
57:09
have been. And then it created some
57:10
cultural things and stuff within the organization.
57:14
But I still, I see that as my superpower, right?
57:17
Because I think that every person is worthy of an
57:19
opportunity and a chance to, to be better, to be able to prove
57:25
that they can be better. And if I've got to take some
57:28
hits along the way and, and experience some, you know, no
57:32
good deed kind of repercussions, then you know, I'll continue to
57:39
do that. Because I honestly think that if
57:41
I was not built like that, if I did not take chances on people
57:45
like I do, that I wouldn't have learned as much as I have over
57:49
the years. Jessica, before I ask my last
57:52
question, I want to knock out a couple of things.
57:54
First, everybody listening, I'll invite you to hit the follow or
57:57
subscribe button on your favorite podcast app.
57:59
Want to get more great interviews like we've had today
58:02
with Jessica? And if you want to get in touch
58:05
with her, best place is LinkedIn.
58:07
Her name, again, is Jessica Silwick SILWICK, and we'll have
58:12
a link to that in the show notes.
58:14
Also, her e-mail address, she's given me permission to share
58:17
this with you if you want to reach out directly to her is
58:20
jsilwick@abet.org. And again, we'll have links to
58:24
that in the show notes. So last question for you,
58:26
Jessica, as you look to the future, what is it that you're
58:30
most excited about for ABET? What's on the horizons here?
58:37
The way in which we are diversifying our impact and
58:40
service to society. We are no longer, and we haven't
58:44
been for a while, but we're finally stepping out.
58:46
We're not just an accreditation board.
58:49
We are an organization that is dedicated to learners and
58:54
preparing learners to handle the grand challenges of our future.
58:59
So through the recognition of credentials, so we're branching
59:02
out, we're recognizing credentials short burst learning
59:06
opportunities as a viable respectable opportunity for
59:12
learners to be able to make these same contributions that
59:17
graduates from a two or four year degree program can make.
59:20
So I think you know, seeing that we are recognizing there's
59:24
different types of learners out there, there's different type of
59:27
learning opportunities out there and serving a much bigger array
59:32
of individuals around the world. I'm really excited for that and
59:36
I'm excited to see how much further we can take that and how
59:39
many more educational opportunities we ourself can
59:43
offer as well. We're getting ready to launch a
59:45
certificate in sustainability in STEM fields, for students, for
59:50
professionals, and I think that just showing that we care a lot
59:58
and that we care about. Society as a whole and the
1:00:02
impact that we have and the products and the services that
1:00:05
we continue to create to be able to support that, you know that
1:00:10
that's really what I'm most excited about.
1:00:12
And engaging industry as deeply as we have and getting deeper
1:00:15
with that and making the connection for learners, you
1:00:18
know, to industry and their needs as well as academia.
1:00:22
You know all that all that's got me jazzed right now and looking
1:00:25
forward to the future. Awesome.
1:00:28
Jessica Silwick from Abet, I want to be the first to thank
1:00:31
you for sharing both your time and your story with us today.
1:00:33
I really appreciate it. Thank you, Anthony.
1:00:36
It was my honor. Folks, that's a wrap on another
1:00:38
episode of the Inspired Stories podcast.
1:00:41
Thanks for learning with us today.