Episode 2: Earl Martin Phalen

In this episode, I had a chance to talk with Earl Martin Phalen, who founded BELL andSummer Advantage and is the President and CEO of Reach Out and Read. BELL, which Earl founded when he was a law student, has grown to become one of the leading afterschool providers in the country, and Summer Advantage has received a lot of attention recently because of their results with helping to keep young people engaged over the summer months. Earl and I talked about some of the thornier issues in the field today – how organizations represent their work as opposed to the realities, who gets to call themselves an educator and the value of investing in measuring results. We also had a few laughs. This episode of Please Speak Freely is sponsored by the School’s Out WashingtonBridge to Afterschool and Back Conference, happening on October 17-18 in Seattle Washington. Come to the Bridge Conference to connect, act and transform!