In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Emily Worell, Director of Communications and Marketing, and Brent Doty, Athletic Director, at Wawasee Community School Corporation. As Wawasee-natives-turned-department-leads, Emily and Brent know their community well but, like in many districts, communications and athletics haven’t…

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Barbara Hunter, APR, Executive Director of NSPRA (the National School Public Relations Association). A lifelong advocate for public education, Barbara’s journey began in the front office of her local elementary school, where her mother worked as the school secretary. That early expo…

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we sit down with Lexi Vazquez, a high school senior at GMG Community Schools with a passion for social media and sports. As she prepares to attend the University of Iowa to study marketing with a minor in sports management, Lexi shares how her experiences in content creation as a student have shape…

In this live episode recorded at the 2025 Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) Annual Conference, Class Intercom’s Dr. Jill Johnson sits down with Anupama Vaid, President and Co-Founder of ParentSquare, to explore how schools can build stronger partnerships with families. Anupama shares how ParentSquare, which recently celebrated 14 ye…

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we sit down with Hudl’s Tony Linder, to explore how the company is transforming the way schools engage their communities through sports and storytelling. As one of the biggest names in athletic performance analysis technology, Hudl is used by 99% of schools across the U.S. to help student-athletes …

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Shari Veil, Dean of the College of Journalism & Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Under Shari’s leadership, the college is one of the most highly regarded in the nation, recently welcoming its largest freshman class in history. She dives into the college’s “…

On this episode of The Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Melissa Mertz, Product Manager at ParentSquare, whose journey from the classroom to the edtech space offers a fresh perspective on how schools can elevate their online presence with school websites. As the leader of ParentSquare’s Smart Sites tool, she helps schools create websites …

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Joe Sanfelippo, a passionate educator, leader, and storyteller. With 26 years in education—including 12 as Superintendent of Fall Creek School District—Joe has made a profound impact on his own school community and others nationwide. Now a renowned author and speaker, he travel…

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Terry Julian, technology facilitator at Hastings Public Schools. Throughout her 14 years with the district, Terry has worn many hats, managing everything from training and professional development to school public relations and social media. With a focus on elevating district storyt…

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Patrick Cogan, a senior at Pinkerton Academy and a standout student content creator. Patrick started as a sports videographer his freshman year, and since then his passion for video and content creation has grown. Now the school's primary content creator, Patrick has expanded his sk…

In this episode of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Christopher Villarreal, EdD, Director of Communications at Papillion La Vista Community Schools in Omaha, Nebraska. With 15 years of experience in public education, Chris shares his unique path from marketing and graphic design to teaching, and ultimately, school public relations—al…

In the season four premiere of the Content Generation Podcast, we’re joined by Heidi Vega, APR, the newly installed President of NSPRA (the National School Public Relations Association). With a unique start to her school PR career, Heidi shares her journey from serving in the Air Force to interning with her local school district’s communications de…

Join us for an insightful conversation with Trent Allen, APR, current National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) president and Chief of Staff at San Juan USD in Northern California. With a rich background in school public relations, Trent shares his journey within the industry, growing from a one-man show to leading a large and dynamic co…

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Jason McGehee, Assistant Club Director at Stars Basketball Club in Franklin, TN, located just outside of Nashville. Since its inception in 2014, Stars has seen annual, exponential growth and is now established as the region's top basketball club, impacting over 5,000 young athletes annually. In this episod…

Join us for a conversation with Dr. Marialice Curran, founder and executive director of the Digital Citizenship Institute. With three decades of experience in education as a teacher, administrator, and professor, Marialice shares insights on digital citizenship, and its impact on how school communities engage online. Marialice talks about how a thi…

Join us as we welcome Sydney Jensen, returning guest and 2019 Nebraska Teacher of The Year. Sydney is an esteemed educator from Lincoln High School (located in the heart of the state’s capital city). She first appeared on The Content Generation Podcast in December 2019. Now, after a decade of teaching, Sydney not only imparts her wisdom on ninth-gr…

Join us for a conversation with Chad Stevens, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at ParentSquare, the leading provider of innovative family and community engagement solutions for K-12 education. With a rich 28-year background that spans both public and private sectors in education and technology, Stevens shares his insights into the interplay bet…

This episode of the Content Generation Podcast features Kyleigh Kumm, a computer science and technology integration teacher at Harlan Community High School in Harlan, Iowa. In response to the need to get social media channels running for the district and buildings, Kumm proposed recruiting student content creators to help. Now, these talented and e…

In this episode, hear from Nicole Eimer, digital communications specialist for Valley View Public Schools. Located in a suburb of Chicago, VVSD, proudly serves a diverse community of about 15,000 students and 21 educational facilities. During a recent revamp of the district's strategic plan, focus shifted to building a heightened sense of belonging…

In this episode, we hear from Caden Block, a senior student athlete at Hastings High School and the winner of the 2023 Content Generation Award. Beyond breaking sports records, Caden discusses his journey into content creation, talking through the experience of creating social media content and telling stories through social channels. Inspired by t…

High-school student Drew Colling discusses his journey as a content creator. Drew’s forte is sports broadcasting and announcing, where he brings a captivating and enthusiastic style to play-by-play announcements. As a member of his school’s multimedia team, he creates social media content for his school in a collaborative team environment alongside…

In this episode, we're joined by Josh Sauer, seasoned school communications expert and current Director of Solutions Engineering at Finalsite. His experience as a K-12 PR professional, his role in the Oklahoma School PR Association, and his position as a board member of the National School PR Association (NSPRA) all serve as evidence of his deep pa…

Marketer Morgan Hobbs and Social Media Manager Nina Sobotka join us to share insights on the fast-paced and exciting world of semi-professional sports. This includes insights from their experiences in building and managing fan bases, navigating the unique challenges of social media, and producing authentic and engaging content about players, teams,…

Attorney Bobby Truhe from KSB School Law discusses the increasingly urgent need for legal expertise in the education sector. Following his first year of law school, Truhe gravitated toward school law, hoping to feel a genuine sense of making a difference. The post-pandemic era has brought about a surge in controversy, difficult conversations, and v…

Running point on social media for a school, business, side hustle, or even personal accounts can feel like a 24/7 job. Andrea Gribbel would know. Her team at #SocialSchoolforEDU works with schools all over the country to help them craft content for their social channels. And over the years, she’s learned a ton about how to not only do school social…

Communications strategist, podcaster, and friend Justin Dearing offers his unique perspective from transitioning from sports broadcaster to teacher to now working with schools all over the country through CESO (the Center for Effective School Operations) to tell incredible student stories. Justin brings a wealth of experience to the table. Formerly…

Sharing the story of her unique career trajectory, NSPRA President and seasoned school communications leader Cathy Kedjidjian talks about the state of school communications and the school PR community, plus how she approaches serving her peers, team, and community. This includes considerations like accessibility and breaking down barriers, but also…

The Content Generation Podcast is back and better than ever! From storytelling and advocacy to representation, digital formats, and new channels, content is everywhere. This season, we’re leaning into collaboration, tapping innovative change-makers from a variety of disciplines to share their unique perspectives on all things content. The Content G…

A storyteller by nature, Erin McCann is fascinated with telling the stories of Public Education. A product of Texas Public Schools, Erin joined the School PR world in 2015 and currently works for Allen ISD in Allen, Texas as the Director of Digital Marketing and Media. During this episode, we spoke with Erin about her career journey and the current…

PJ Caposey is a dynamic speaker and a transformational leader and educator. PJ began his career as an award-winning teacher in the inner-city of Chicago and has subsequently led significant change in every administrative post he has held. PJ became a principal at the tender age of 28 and within three years was able to lead a small-town/rural school…

Jen Randall is a 17-year veteran of the high school classroom. She started as a choral and show choir director and now travels the country hosting clinics, consulting and judging competitive show choir. In recent years, she has gone back to her journalistic roots, and now teaches Digital Media and produces KDGN (broadcast channel) for Carroll ISD i…

Sydney Jensen, a Georgia native, is a ninth-grade English teacher at Lincoln High School in the epicenter of America's heartland: Lincoln, Nebraska. Lincoln is one of the nation's top cities for refugee resettlement, and students at Lincoln High speak more than 30 languages. Jensen also serves as an instructional coach working with new and veteran …

Christopher Aumueller is the CEO and founder of Fanword, a storytelling company for sports teams. During this interview, we spoke with Chris about his career journey and what led him to creating a company focused on storytelling. As a former Division 1 tennis player, Chris has a unique perspective regarding student athletes and social media use. Be…

Whether it involved short films or sports talk radio, Justin Dearing has been telling stories as far back as he can remember. Justin is a former high school Film and Radio Production teacher turned School PR professional. Currently, Justin is the Assistant Director of Communications for Carroll ISD in Southlake, Texas and co-hosting the podcast "Sc…

During this episode, Taylor and Amber discuss highlights from the previous podcast episode, Taylor shares his takeaways from the Digital 4 Good Conference, and you'll hear about some exciting things happening at Class Intercom this fall!By Class Intercom

Mitch Fisher is a student, content creator and social media enthusiast. Mitch is currently a junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln majoring in advertising and public relations with a minor in theater. In fact, Mitch was first introduced to Class Intercom when he was in high school. During this interview, Mitch and I discussed: 1. How spreadi…

Today we discuss why I think Julian Edelman deserves the award!

During this episode, we sat down with Heather Callihan, Stephanie Dannehl, and Amanda Dykes to hear what they have been learning at #ISTE19. We also got to hear more about what they are creating and how they are inspiring the next generation of content creators. Special thanks to these educators for taking time out of their busy schedules at ISTE t…

As a content and marketing specialist for Social Assurance, Alexander Lahargoue focuses on creating strategic content to help clients grow and sell online. In his free time, he writes suspense novels, cooks and is currently learning new languages. During this interview, we spoke with Alexander about how he creates meaningful content as a financial …

Jill Johnson is in her third year as the Vice Principal at Seward High School. She holds a bachelor’s degree in language arts education (UNK ‘91), master’s degrees in instructional technology (PSU ‘00) and educational administration (CUNE ‘17), and she is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership through the University of Nebr…

Matt Will is a Software Architect and Dev Lead at Don't Panic Labslocated in Lincoln, Nebraska. During this conversation, we spoke with Matt about his career journey and how digital citizenship applies to software development and content creation. You can connect with Matt on Twitter or Linkedinand connect with Don't Panic Labs on Twitterand Facebo…

Michelle Welch is a Registered Dietitian and the District Wellness Facilitator at Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. During this episode, we spoke with Michelle about how she creates content for multiple audiences and how she applies digital citizenship when sharing health and wellness information on behalf of her school district. You can…

Erik Miller is a Nebraska-born kid who grew up being told he was unique and ‘artsy.’ He followed every unique and artsy 18-year-old's dream and went to college to study business. After college, Erik got married and joined the circus. Actually, he and his wife went into full-time college ministry (Although, his parents weren't sure how that was diff…

Aaron Babcockhas called Nebraska home for nearly 25 years after attending the University of Nebraska-Kearney where he graduated with a degree in journalism and mass communication. Aaron has enjoyed a 20-plus year career in athletics, where he has worked at UNK, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and as Director of Public Relations for the Kansas Ci…

Michelle DeRusha is an author, free-lance writer and content creator. She blogs at MichelleDeRusha.com and is the author of four books. During this episode, we spoke with Michelle about the writing process and how she stays organized. You can connect with Michelle on her blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Be sure to follow Class Intercom on Twi…

Danielle Chaney is Nebraska-based copywriter and strategist who has helped a variety of small and large companies increase awareness of their brand/product(s), grow target audience(s), and generate sales using traditional and digital channels. She is currently the Content & Client Strategy Manager at Social Assurance, a financial software and marke…

During this episode, I spoke with Taylor Siebert and Ben Pankonin, the founders of Class Intercom about #DigCitWeek and what this week means for Class Intercom. We also highlighted how our heroes in education are celebrating #DigCitWeek and what you can look forward to this fall from Class Intercom. Resources mentioned: Common Sense Media Digital C…

Heather Callihan has worked in the field of education for over 21 years and today is the Technology Integration Specialist for Northwest Public Schoolsin Grand Island, Nebraska. In addition to serving as the NETABoard president, she is also a Common Sense Certified Educator and Ambassador. Heather believes learning needs to be visible and students …

Gretchen Garrison is a teacher, blogger and author. Starting her blog, Odyssey Through Nebraska, came about when she realized that not all area families were exploring the Nebraska places that she and her kids tended to frequent. Detour Nebraska is Gretchen's book which inspired by her blog and was published last year. During this conversation, I s…

Josh Allen is the Technology Integration Specialist for Lewis Central Community Schoolsin Council Bluffs, IA. In addition, he manages the LewisCentralCSD social media profiles for the district. He is a former president of the Nebraska Educational Technology Association (NETA) and co-host of the Dads in Ed podcast. During this episode, I spoke with …