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Breakthrough Builders: Three Ventures Radically Reinventing Education
Friday July 10, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm PDT
Main Stage Room 130-135
What does educational innovation look like when founders stop waiting for reform and start building instead? Three pioneering leaders will showcase ventures that are reshaping the future of learning from the ground up. Meredith Olson will share how VELA is fueling the nationwide Indie Education movement, empowering thousands of founders and families to create new K–12 learning environments. Joe Ross will present Reach University’s Apprenticeship Degree model, which enables working adults to earn accredited degrees through their jobs. Pano Kanelos will introduce the Global Accreditation Project (GAP), an ambitious effort to create a new, outcomes-based accreditation system designed for innovation, accountability, and institutional pluralism. Together, these ventures offer a compelling vision for how bold builders can transform education at every level.
Speakers
avatar for Pano Kanelos

Pano Kanelos

Founding Partner, Athos Group
Pano Kanelos is a senior fellow in the Civitas Institute and the Director of the Center for the Future of Higher Education. A higher education leader, public intellectual, and nationally prominent advocate for the liberal arts, Pano Kanelos was the founding president of the University... Read More →
avatar for Meredith Olson

Meredith Olson

CEO, VELA
Meredith leads VELA with a commitment to founder-led growth, disciplined capital deployment, and long-term sustainability. Under her leadership, VELA has built the largest national network of Indie Education founders across all 50 states.
avatar for Joe Ross

Joe Ross

President, Reach University
Joe Ross is the founder and CEO of Reach University, a pioneering institution focused on apprenticeship-based, job-embedded degrees designed for working adults. Through Reach University and its affiliated programs—including Reach Teachers College, a forthcoming healthcare college... Read More →
Friday July 10, 2026 2:00pm - 2:45pm PDT
Main Stage Room 130-135
  Breakout Session

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