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At Moravian Academy, your children are supported, challenged, and inspired to explore, grow, and become their most authentic and successful selves. Across our three campuses, academic, co-curricular, and extracurricular programs empower learners to discover their unique potential and thrive. While our primary focus is the education of students, we also believe in supporting families and community members as they grow into their best selves.
With this in mind, we are pleased to continue our year-long virtual Moravian Academy Community Education Series for 2025–26. Led by Moravian Academy faculty experts and thought leaders, this series will explore engaging topics designed to inform, inspire, and strengthen our community.
2025-26 Upcoming Session
March 18, 2026 – 7:00 PM | via Zoom
When Technology Moves Faster Than Society: How Schools Must Prepare Students to Lead Wisely
Hear from experts in artificial intelligence, civil discourse, sustainability, and robotics and learn how to prepare students to lead responsibly amid rapid technological change.
When Technology Moves Faster Than Society: How Schools Must Prepare Students to Lead Wisely
Hear from experts in artificial intelligence, civil discourse, sustainability, and robotics and learn how to prepare students to lead responsibly amid rapid technological change.
When Technology Moves Faster Than Society: How Schools Must Prepare Students to Lead Wisely
Technological change—particularly in artificial intelligence and other exponential innovations—is accelerating faster than our social norms, civic institutions, and public discourse can adapt. As these tools reshape economies, ecosystems, and how people engage with one another, today’s students will inherit challenges that are deeply interconnected, ethically complex, and profoundly human.
This parent education conversation brings together experts in civil discourse, sustainability and robotics, and artificial intelligence—including Illah R. Nourbakhsh, Kavcic-Moura Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University; Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss, who works at the intersection of transformational leadership, learner-centered design, and emerging technologies; and Liza Garonzik, author of Conversation Comeback and founder of R.E.A.L.® Discussion—to explore what it truly means to prepare students for leadership in this moment.
The discussion will examine why AI fluency, systems thinking, and the ability to collaborate and problem-solve across differences are no longer optional skills, but essential ones. Participants will also hear how Moravian Academy is beginning to imagine a new approach to innovation and leadership education—one that equips students to leverage powerful tools responsibly, engage constructively with diverse perspectives, and lead with wisdom in a rapidly changing world.
Illah R. Nourbakhsh
Illah R. Nourbakhsh is Kavcic-Moura Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, inaugural Executive Director of the Center for Shared Prosperity, and co-director of the Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Lab. He was the Inaugural K&L Gates Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences named him a Kavli Fellow. In 2013, he was inducted into the June Harless West Virginia Hall of Fame. He was previously Robotics Group Lead for NASA/Ames during the MER landings, and is a retired civil servant, NASA GS15/10. In 2019, he was named a Hastings Fellow. He has co-authored textbooks and popular literature, including Turn Left, AI and Humanity, Robot Futures, and Parenting for Technology Futures. He has authored articles for The New Yorker and Foreign Affairs, in addition to academic journals and book chapters. He is a trustee of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Winchester Thurston School, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project. He is a Director at Open Planet, a London-based Community Interest Corporation, and also President and a director at Friends of Open Planet, a 501(c)3 based in the United States.
Illah R. Nourbakhsh is Kavcic-Moura Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, inaugural Executive Director of the Center for Shared Prosperity, and co-director of the Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Lab. He was the Inaugural K&L Gates Professor of Ethics and Computational Technologies. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University. In 2009, the National Academy of Sciences named him a Kavli Fellow. In 2013, he was inducted into the June Harless West Virginia Hall of Fame. He was previously Robotics Group Lead for NASA/Ames during the MER landings, and is a retired civil servant, NASA GS15/10. In 2019, he was named a Hastings Fellow. He has co-authored textbooks and popular literature, including Turn Left, AI and Humanity, Robot Futures, and Parenting for Technology Futures. He has authored articles for The New Yorker and Foreign Affairs, in addition to academic journals and book chapters. He is a trustee of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Winchester Thurston School, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project. He is a Director at Open Planet, a London-based Community Interest Corporation, and also President and a director at Friends of Open Planet, a 501(c)3 based in the United States.
Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss
Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss works at the intersection of transformational leadership, learner-centered design, and emerging technologies to help K–12 and higher education communities evolve beyond school-centered routines toward more human, adaptive learning ecosystems. As a Professor of Practice, Education Department Chair and Director of Moravian University’s Ed.D. Program in Transformational Leadership, he partners with educators and leadership teams to navigate complex change, especially the adaptive challenges created by generative AI, shifting community expectations, and the urgency of designing learning that is more personalized, relevant, and socially embedded.
His teaching and facilitation emphasize curiosity, empathy, and action research as tools for building capacity and momentum inside real organizations. He retired as superintendent of Salisbury Township School District in 2021 after a full career in public education, and he holds degrees from Moravian University, Teachers College at Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss works at the intersection of transformational leadership, learner-centered design, and emerging technologies to help K–12 and higher education communities evolve beyond school-centered routines toward more human, adaptive learning ecosystems. As a Professor of Practice, Education Department Chair and Director of Moravian University’s Ed.D. Program in Transformational Leadership, he partners with educators and leadership teams to navigate complex change, especially the adaptive challenges created by generative AI, shifting community expectations, and the urgency of designing learning that is more personalized, relevant, and socially embedded.
His teaching and facilitation emphasize curiosity, empathy, and action research as tools for building capacity and momentum inside real organizations. He retired as superintendent of Salisbury Township School District in 2021 after a full career in public education, and he holds degrees from Moravian University, Teachers College at Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Liza Garonzik
Liza Garonzik is the author of Conversation Comeback: A Teacher’s Guide to Class Discussion in a Distracted, Divided World and the founder of R.E.A.L.® Discussion, which partners with schools to teach, measure, and celebrate conversation skills. A former teacher and school leader, she works across classrooms, departments, and boards to help educators lead the Conversation Comeback. Liza is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B.) and the University of Pennsylvania (M.S.Ed.) and a frequent contributor to the growing discourse on human skills through podcasts, conferences, and print media.
Liza Garonzik is the author of Conversation Comeback: A Teacher’s Guide to Class Discussion in a Distracted, Divided World and the founder of R.E.A.L.® Discussion, which partners with schools to teach, measure, and celebrate conversation skills. A former teacher and school leader, she works across classrooms, departments, and boards to help educators lead the Conversation Comeback. Liza is a graduate of Harvard College (A.B.) and the University of Pennsylvania (M.S.Ed.) and a frequent contributor to the growing discourse on human skills through podcasts, conferences, and print media.
Moravian Academy is pleased to once again partner with ISACS (Independent Schools Association of the Central States) to offer our families and faculty access to the ISACS Parent Series—a cornerstone program designed to strengthen the school–home partnership.
This year’s series of six evening webinars (September 2025 – May 2026) will feature renowned experts in education, parenting, and child development. Each one-hour session provides parents and caregivers with insights, strategies, and encouragement to support children at every stage of development.
Because Moravian Academy is an ISACS member school, all webinars are free of charge for our families and faculty. Pre-registration for each webinar is required. About 1–2 weeks before each session, we will share the registration link: with you (included below for your convenience). Once registered, you’ll receive a reminder email from ADVIS 24 hours prior to the webinar.
For more information about each session, please CLICK HERE.
To register for the sessions, please click this link: isacs.ws/PS25-26PAISFor more information about each session, please CLICK HERE.
All sessions are 6:30–7:30 p.m. CT / 7:30–8:30 p.m. ET.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025
School Skills: Setting Kids Up for Success
Lisa Damour, Author & Ask Lisa Podcast
School Skills: Setting Kids Up for Success
Lisa Damour, Author & Ask Lisa Podcast
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Impacted Everything + What We Can Do About It
Jonathan Haidt, Author & Social Psychologist
How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Impacted Everything + What We Can Do About It
Jonathan Haidt, Author & Social Psychologist
TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026
Elevating Discipline with the Brain in Mind
Tina Payne Bryson, Author, Speaker & Pediatric Psychotherapist
Elevating Discipline with the Brain in Mind
Tina Payne Bryson, Author, Speaker & Pediatric Psychotherapist
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2026
10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People
David Yeager, University of Texas at Austin, Psychologist & Author
10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People
David Yeager, University of Texas at Austin, Psychologist & Author
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2026
Happier Parenting: Evidence-based Strategies for Improving Parent Happiness
Laurie Santos, Yale University
Happier Parenting: Evidence-based Strategies for Improving Parent Happiness
Laurie Santos, Yale University
WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2026
Conscious Parenting: Raising Resilient, Self-aware & Connected Children
Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Clinical Psychologist & Author
Conscious Parenting: Raising Resilient, Self-aware & Connected Children
Dr. Shefali Tsabary, Clinical Psychologist & Author
