Amanda "Mandy" Ralston

Founder of NonBinary Solutions

CEO of KidsChoice Therapy

Quotes of the Podcast: “Wisdom is like frequent-flyer miles and scar tissue; if it does accumulate, that happens by accident while you're trying to do something else.” Barbara Kingsolver

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Amanda “Mandy” Ralston, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, is a CEO, behavior analyst, and serial founder with more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of autism services, applied behavior analysis, and technology-driven innovation. She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of KidsChoice Therapy, leading multi-site pediatric therapy and autism service operations with a focus on clinical excellence, scalable systems, and equity-centered care. Known for her signature nonbinary thinking framework, Ralston speaks nationally on compassionate care, cognitive flexibility, and the future of behavioral health, bringing a pragmatic yet creative voice to conversations about ethics, outcomes, and neurodiversity-affirming practice.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators.

30,000 Ft. View – Why so we, as a society invest in education?

• What drew you to education?
• How nonbinary thinking can help educators move beyond “compliant vs. noncompliant” and really understand student behavior in context.
• What truly neurodiversity-affirming classrooms look like and how schools, families, and clinicians can partner so kids don’t have to be three different people in three different settings.
• Using nonbinary thinking to rethink “behavior problems” in schools
• What neurodiversity-affirming practice actually looks like in real classrooms
• How schools, families, and clinicians can work together instead of in silos
• How we move past binaries like “good/bad kid” or “compliant/noncompliant” and into more flexible, compassionate ways of understanding behavior. That ties into neurodiversity-affirming classrooms and better partnerships between educators, families, and therapy providers.
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision makers to know?”

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

Thanks to Dr. Karly Kordvoa and the RBT Textbook that I was recently asked to contribute to. We also just talked about it on her podcast The Grey Area.

Dr. Genevieve Leonard Series by Estelle Ryan

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

David Cook

Lead Strategist, Learning Ecosystems Design Consulting

Quotes of the Podcast: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." — Alvin Toffler

Introduction of Guest BIO –

With three decades working with schools, school systems, regional and state agencies and national education organizations David Cook, Principal Strategist at Learning Ecosystems Design, is an expert on what it takes to make change happen in education systems. David is a nationally respected voice in the transformation conversation. He retired in 2024 from the state agency level after 27 years at the Kentucky Department of Education, the last 15 as Director of Innovative Learning. During his tenure he has:

· Oversaw a statewide initiative to shift assessment, accountability and the credentialing of learning from a one size fits all state level approach, to one where communities design Local Accountability Models that measure the competencies found in a Portrait of a Learner/Graduate and provide a public facing dashboard for those local indicators. (2021-2024).

· Directed Kentucky's development of a competency-based education system including the initial efforts in developing a Portrait of a Learner

· Co-authored and implemented the first district level innovation zone program in the country, Kentucky's Districts of Innovation Program (2013).

· Designed and implemented the longest continuously operating statewide remote learning system in the country, Kentucky's Non-Traditional Instruction Program (2011).

· Authored Kentucky's award-winning Education Recovery Program (2010).

· Has authored and co-authored numerous pieces of legislation and Kentucky Board of Education administrative regulation.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators.

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why so we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• The Driving Test,
• The Need for A NEW Education System
• The AI Telescope
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision makers to know?”

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

What School Could Be - Dintersmith

The End of Average - Rose

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions

Bradley Scheel

Imagination Project

Quotes of the Podcast:

All failures of the future will be failures of the imagination.

Introduction of Guest BIO –

Wylde Scott is a Sultan, Matador, and Knight through and through, who has lived in Shanghai, Bangkok, and Timbuktu and still keeps a house on the bright side of the moon… When not living in his imagination, Wylde is an award-winning children’s author and founder of The Imagination Project and Wylde Scott Entertainment. In addition to dreaming up fantastic tales for young readers, Wylde spends his time in elementary schools, bookstores, and libraries creating fun-filled events for children, parents, and teachers alike. His mission is to ignite imaginations worldwide and empower children with the mindset that anything is possible. On his YouTube channel for kids, Wylde is committed to creating safe, educational, and exciting content for young children based on imagination and play. His many years spent studying storytelling, the imagination, and creativity, combined with his extensive experience applying those lessons in live environments, are the foundations of this book.

Interview

Agents of Change: Leaders/Innovators.

• 30,000 Ft. View – Why so we, as a society invest in education?
• What drew you to education?
• Why is Imagination the most important skill for the age of Artificial Intelligence.
• Imagination is not a mystery. It is a very buildable skill set everyone can utilize. - we just need time and attention. Our current scaffolding for education will not work in the 21st Century. We must adjust to meet the circumstance. Those who don't will be left behind.
• We can reframe and rework education so that both Children AND teachers come to school excited, energized and ready to learn and build.
• Should we have AI in Education?
• Why are the years of 5-10 so important to develop these skills?
• What should a typical day look like for a developing child?
• What are the biggest challenges to you?
• What would you like decision makers to know?”

Podcast/ website/ book shoutouts

Jonathan Haidt's book The Anxious Generation is the first to seriously discuss what technology is doing to our youth.

Biggest Fan of Sir Ken Robinson- can't believe twenty years later little has changed.

Support the show

Education Perspectives is edited by Shashank P athttps://www.fiverr.com/saiinovation?source=inbox

Intro and Outro by Dynamix Productions