Today, I’m joined by Van Ton-Quinlivan from the Stanford MBA Class of 1995 and Sarah Tang from the Class of 2025. Van is a national thought leader in workforce development and currently serves as CEO of Futuro Health, a nonprofit growing the largest network of allied healthcare workers in the U.S. Her career spans roles in high tech, government, and nonprofit leadership, including serving as Executive Vice Chancellor for the California Community Colleges and being appointed by the Governor of California to shape statewide health workforce education strategy.
Sarah is a dual-degree MBA-MA student at Stanford, combining business and education to reimagine workforce readiness. She’s taught in Malaysia through the Fulbright Program, worked in strategy at BCG and Teach For All, and now co-leads the GSB Education Club. Her focus is on scalable, inclusive learning pathways that empower people with real-world skills in the age of AI.
Van and Sarah explore how education systems can evolve to meet the accelerating demands of work and society. They reflect on AI’s impact in the classroom and workplace, the changing value of credentials, and the practical challenge of making lifelong learning accessible. Across generations, their conversation points to a shared hope: that innovation in education—when grounded in equity and systems thinking—can unlock opportunity at scale.
00:00 Introduction and Backgrounds
03:00 Exploring Education and Personal Journeys
06:06 The Role of AI in Education
12:13 Community Colleges and Workforce Development
16:00 The Impact of AI on Curriculum Development
20:56 Healthcare Education and Future Workforce
26:00 International Perspectives on Education
28:54 Navigating Technology in Education
29:57 Diversity in the Classroom
31:22 The Future of Community Colleges
34:46 Workforce Development and Education
37:03 Challenges in Healthcare Education
41:43 Personal Growth and Career Navigation
Join the Podcast Series
Stanford MBA: From Baby Boomer to Gen Z | Class of ‘95 Meets Class of ‘25
Each of these episodes will feature a different pair of Stanford MBA people -- one from the class of 1995, and one from the class of 2025.
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📺 Also available on YouTube:
Entire series playlist:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSaVisoF0D_GKxVmHmakNxdpAJCb5_VTP
More info: https://www.katharinemclennan.com/
Contact: kath@katharinemclennan.com
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