About This Episode
In this powerful episode of Edu Unlocked, Ashish Fernando, founder of iSchoolConnect and EDMO, sits down with Kavitha Bindra, Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Executive Education at the Yale School of Management. This conversation is a masterclass in leadership, purpose, and the future of learning.
From her immigrant roots and transformative years at Wellesley College to her leadership at Yale, Kavitha shares her honest reflections on:
1. Finding your "why" early: Why chasing external validation doesn’t bring long-term joy, and how aligning your work with what truly animates you can lead to a more meaningful career.
2. Navigating complex leadership roles: How she pivoted her career from consulting and healthcare to higher education, and how stakeholder management and cultural sensitivity became key to leading executive education at Yale.
3. The future of Executive Education: Kavitha discusses the shifting landscape of higher ed—moving from one-time degrees to lifelong, stackable learning. She highlights the challenges and opportunities of engaging seasoned learners and designing programs that create lasting impact.
4. Mentorship, impact, and mission: She credits mentors, such as Yale alum Marc Freedman, with helping her reframe success and longevity in leadership—especially in shaping programs for “third-act learners” (professionals in their 50s+ seeking renewed purpose).
5. Advice for aspiring higher ed professionals: Whether you're trying to break into institutions like Yale or considering a transition into education from another sector, Kavitha shares valuable insights on taking strategic steps back to leap forward.
Whether you're an education leader, aspiring executive, student, or simply passionate about redefining the way we learn—this episode offers perspective, inspiration, and a clear call to lead with purpose.
Host & Guest
Kavitha Bindra
GuestExecutive Director and Assistant Dean, Yale School of Management
David Daniel is a strategic and visionary higher education leader with over a decade of experience building and optimizing learning organizations for greater efficiency, stronger programming, increased enrollment, and sustainable revenue growth. As Executive Director and Assistant Dean at the Yale School of Management, he has transformed Yale Executive Education into a modern, scalable, and globally competitive learning enterprise.
Daniel’s expertise lies in turning ambiguity into clarity and strategy into action. He excels at aligning teams, systems, and strategy to achieve organizational transformation—driving performance and impact across academic and executive education environments. Passionate about lifelong learning, he has represented Yale’s programs worldwide, inspiring organizations and learners to embrace education as a catalyst for growth and leadership.
Before joining Yale, Daniel worked at Deloitte as a Senior Consultant and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he honed his skills in strategy, operations, and organizational development.
Key Achievements:
1. Transformed Yale Executive Education into a more agile, scalable, and 21st-century learning organization that sustained market leadership and maintained 100% revenue through the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. tandardized in-person executive programs into hybrid and online formats—growing enrollment by 30% year-over-year since launch.
3. Founded Yale SOM’s first Alumni Relations division, now serving over 10,000 alumni across 58 global chapters, and chaired the Yale SOM Alumni Advisory Board.
4. Enhanced admissions operations for Yale’s full-time MBA program, supporting its consistent ranking among the world’s Top 10.
5. Recognized for strategic vision, cross-functional alignment, and mentorship that drive organizational excellence and team growth.
6. Global ambassador for executive learning and a passionate advocate for innovation and access in lifelong education.
Ashish Fernando
HostFounder & CEO, EDMO
Ashish Fernando is the visionary founder and CEO of EDMO, a revolutionary educational technology platform that's transforming how people learn and grow. With over 15 years of experience in education and technology, Ashish has dedicated his career to making quality education accessible to learners worldwide. Before founding EDMO, Ashish held leadership positions at several prominent EdTech companies and worked as an educational consultant for Fortune 500 companies. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Master's in Computer Science from MIT. Ashish is a frequent speaker at educational conferences and has been featured in publications such as EdTech Magazine, Learning & Development Today, and TechCrunch. He's passionate about the intersection of technology and human potential, believing that the right tools can unlock extraordinary learning outcomes for everyone. Under his leadership, EDMO has grown to serve over 100,000 learners globally and has partnerships with leading educational institutions and corporations. Ashish continues to drive innovation in personalized learning, adaptive assessment, and educational analytics.
Key Achievements:
1. Founded EDMO in 2019, now serving 100,000+ learners globally
2. Named 'EdTech Innovator of the Year' by Learning Technology Awards 2023
3. Featured speaker at Global Education Summit 2024
4. Published researcher in educational technology and learning analytics
5. Advisor to multiple EdTech startups and educational initiatives
Show Notes
- 1 0:00 - Opening insight: What animates you?
- 2 2:00 - Kavitha’s journey from Wellesley to Yale
- 3 12:00 - Executive Education’s inflection point
- 4 21:00 - Designing impactful learning experiences
- 5 33:00 - Advice for working at top-tier universities
- 6 41:00 - Lifelong learning and the future of higher ed
- 7 48:00 - Advice to her younger self
Key Quotes
"You can chase awards you don’t care about… or you can pursue the work that gives your life meaning. Figure that out early"
Resources
Supercharge Your University CRM