Dr. Angell Howard went from high school dropout to earning her doctorate. Now she helps education leaders and organizations navigate culture, leadership, and necessary change. In this episode of Z-Rated Success: The Decision Lab for Education Leaders, Nick Zizi sits down with Dr. Angell Howard, Associate Director of Professional Development and Staff Recognition at Illinois State University and founder of Necessary Change Consulting. This conversation kicks off Season 2 and continues the jour...

Overwhelmed by Options: Amanda Jeppesen on Student Employment, Career Decisions, and Real-World Learning

Z-Rated Success: The Decision Lab for Educational Leaders is where educators, leaders, and student success professionals unpack the decisions that shape students, teams, campuses, and communities.Hosted by Nick “The Zebra” Zizi, this podcast goes beyond surface-level success stories to explore the real choices, turning points, leadership lessons, and even the “knuckleheaded decisions” that help us grow. Each conversation is designed to be insightful, practical, and engaging—giving educational leaders fresh perspective, useful takeaways, and better questions to bring back to their work.Because in education, every decision is a direction.Better decisions. Better outcomes.