The Ashley B. Cash Show
In this podcast, we will be exploring all aspects of education. We will discover where our system is successful and failing. Through conversations with teachers, chancellors, government officials and more, we will identify the problems and how to change them. It's time we flipped this education!
Episodes
47 episodes
The End of STAAR: What Texas Parents Need to Know | Mary Lynn Pruneda
Texas used to be one of the best states in the country at math. Today, only 44% of our third graders are on grade level in math, and we've had one of the biggest declines on the Nation's Report Card of any state. So what happened?This we...
Inside West Texas's New Child Mental Health Model | Dr. Sarah Wakefield
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Dr. Sarah Wakefield, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, for an in-depth conversation on children's mental health. Dr. Wakefiel...
The Metaverse Meets the Classroom | Adam Mangana
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Adam Mangana, EdD, Founder and CEO of OptimaEd, to explore how virtual reality is reshaping what a classroom can be. Adam launched Optima Classical School, the world's first VR c...
Charter Schools, VR Learning, and the Fight Against Failing Systems | Erika Donalds
In this episode, Ashley sits down with Erika Donalds — educational entrepreneur, founder and chairman of the Education Freedom Foundation, chair of Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute, and founder/CEO of Optima Ed, the w...
Faith, TPUSA, and the $500K Scholarship Blueprint | Preston Parsons
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Preston Parsons — a 20-year-old senior at Texas Tech University who's already built the kind of resume most people spend a career working toward. Preston is the president and fou...
Optimize Your Health | Jack Collier
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Jack Collier, founder and president of Optimize Health & Performance, to discuss the growing Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, hormone optimiza...
Leadership, Communication & the Skills That Matter Most | Dr. Keegan Stewart
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Dr. Keegan Stewart, Chief of Staff to President Scott McDowell at Lubbock Christian University, to explore the leadership skills that shape successful students, e...
Inside Texas Education | Pam Little
What does it take to truly transform education? In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Pam Little, Texas State Board of Education Member for District 12, for an in-depth conversation about the future of ...
Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying | Jose Melendez
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Jose Melendez, director of the Taxpayer Protection Project and Government Reform & Oversight Coalition at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, for a timely conve...
Transforming Kids’ Mental Health with Enrichly | Margo Jordan
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Margo Jordan, founder and CEO of Enrichly, to discuss one of the most critical issues facing children today: mental health.Margo shares her journey from working i...
Middle School MBA | John Foster
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with John Foster, founder and president of Middle School MBA, to discuss why teaching students real-world business and economic principles is essential for their ...
The Future of Texas Education | Kate Bierly
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Kate Bierly, Campaign Director for Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of education in Texas.Ashley ...
Empowering the Next Generation | Tamika Williams
What if the labels people placed on you were never meant to define you?In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, I sit down with Tamika Williams, Founder and Executive Director of Beautiful As I Am, Inc., to talk about what it looks li...
Education & Family with Tony & Ariana Guajardo
In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Tony and Ariana Guajardo for a thoughtful conversation on education, parenting, family life, and the values that help children thrive. Together, they explore the importance of st...
Preparing the Next Generation of Educators | Kallie Covington & Sherre Heider
This week, host Ashley sits down with two powerhouse women from Texas Tech University who are shaping the future of education in West Texas.Dr. Kallie Covington, Director of Development for the College of Education at Texas Tech, s...
Setting the Texas Standard | Dr. David Vinson
What does it take to lead one of Texas's fastest-growing school districts with excellence, accountability, and heart? In this episode of the Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Dr. David Vinson, Superintendent of Conroe ISD, for a powerf...
Lindsay Dawson and uThrive Academy
She's worked in finance, served the CIA, represented the United States abroad, and now she's fighting for the most vulnerable in her own backyard. In this episode of the Ashley B. Cash Show, Ashley sits down with Lindsay Dawson for a conversati...
Building Pathways to Opportunity with Dr. Ben Alexander
In this episode, Ashley sits down with Dr. Ben Alexander, CEO of Workforce Solutions South Plains in Lubbock, Texas. With nearly two decades of experience in higher education and workforce development — including his tenure as Executive Directo...
The Currency of Knowledge | Catherine Komen, Director of TTU Red to Black
What does it really take to change the way young people think about money — and can that change start before they ever open a bank account?In this episode of the Ashley B. Cash Show, host Ashley sits down with Catherine Komen, Director o...
Built to Last | Tucker Brown
On this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, we're bringing the ranch to the classroom — and everywhere else. Tucker Brown is a sixth-generation rancher and steward of the R.A. Brown Ranch in Throckmorton, Texas — a family operation datin...
The Texas Story with Dr. Donald Frazier
What does it truly mean to know the Texas story — and who is responsible for making sure it gets told? In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Donald S. Frazier, Director of The Texas Center at Schreiner University, six-time author, historian, fi...
All Eyes on Texas | Julie Pickren, SBOE District 7
Texas is the economic powerhouse of the nation — and what happens here shapes the rest of the country, especially in education. In this episode of The Ashley B. Cash Show, we're pulling back the curtain on the battle being waged over your child...
The State of Ag: Mental Health, Politics & Reform | Venessa Wood
In this episode, I sit down with Ag Women Connect founder and CEO Venessa Wood for a wide-ranging conversation that hits close to home for anyone with roots in agriculture. We dig into the real issues facing the ag industry today, the mental he...
Commissioner Mike Morath on Reform & the April 2026 SBOE Meetings
What does it actually take to move the needle on education in a state as large and complex as Texas?In this episode, we sit down with Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath — a product of Texas public schools who's been leading ...
Inside Texas Education Reform | Mary Lynn Pruneda
Mary Lynn Pruneda has been at the center of Texas education policy for years — and this conversation proves it.As Governor Abbott's Education Policy Advisor, Mary Lynn was the lead advisor on House Bill 3, one of the most sweeping school...