In Practice: Education. Leadership. Impact

What does leadership look like when the stakes are life or death, and what happens when those lessons meet the decisions that shape our schools?
In this first episode of In Practice, Dr Pamela J. Ferrada talks with Nicholas Stellitano, a Harvard Kennedy School alumnus who spent 20 years in the US Marine Corps, including as a jet pilot with two combat deployments to Iraq. Today he is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Dillinger Research and Applied Data, where he helps schools and youth-serving organisations use data to make better decisions for young people.
Nick shares what running low on fuel over the Gulf taught him about staying calm under pressure, why an ancient Greek dilemma still shapes how he thinks about fairness, and why people so rarely make truly data-driven decisions. Together they explore trust, school boundaries, resistance to change, and where AI genuinely helps (and where the hype gets ahead of reality).
📄 Free companion resourcesExecutive Brief: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DoLMPVqRpCialoF5Hzj1YO7wvIDxCGSZ/view?usp=sharingLeadership Journal: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EUyIxkpe3dhGvupoA4dUw_BD1Ai5HKw9/view?usp=sharing
🎥 The full video conversation is on YouTube from Monday 16 November.
Chapters00:00 Cold open01:01 Introduction02:08 Leadership principles from combat, and the Ajax dilemma06:13 Staying calm when the fuel runs low09:14 From the cockpit to the classroom11:34 High standards without losing the human side13:22 Recovering when things don’t go as planned14:51 Misconceptions about leading under pressure16:30 Trust and transparency19:23 Data, schools and decisions that shape opportunity23:09 What makes educational data different26:58 School boundaries and fairness29:05 The metrics that matter31:35 When the data doesn’t match expectations34:46 What sits beneath resistance36:35 Supporting leaders through uncomfortable data38:38 Absorbing emotion: be the wall40:42 AI and the future of learning43:03 Where AI helps, and what gives hope45:45 Hype versus reality47:21 The core three49:32 Closing
Host: Dr Pamela J. Ferrada, Vice President, Harvard Alumni for EducationGuest: Nicholas Stellitano, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Dillinger Research and Applied Data
Follow Harvard Alumni for Education on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.Contact: harvardaed@gmail.com
Music: “Achievement” by Bluewave (freetouse.com)
In Practice is produced by the Harvard Alumni for Education Special Interest Group. Views expressed are those of the speakers.
 
 
 
 
 
 

In Practice: Education. Leadership. Impact is a podcast from the Harvard Alumni for Education (HAEd) Special Interest Group. Season 1 is hosted by Dr Pamela J. Ferrada, a member of the HAEd Global Leadership Team.
In every episode, we interview exceptional leaders from Harvard University's global network, including renowned faculty, accomplished alumni, and affiliated scholars. Our conversations explore leadership, innovation, and lifelong learning across education, research, and professional practice.
In this trailer, you'll hear from:
Richard Weissbourd, Senior Lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and director of Making Caring Common Project.
Nicholas Stellitano, Harvard Kennedy School alum, former Marine Corps pilot and co-founder of Dillinger Research and Applied Data.
Margaret Wang-Aghania, Harvard Graduate School of Education alum and co-founder of SubjectToClimate.
Christian Gossan, featured Harvard Business Review expert and managing director of Sharpen Advisory.
Pankaj Agarwal, Harvard Business School alum and founder and CEO of TagHive.
Every episode comes with two free companion resources: an Executive Brief with the key insights, and a Leadership Journal to help you put them into practice.
New episodes every second Monday. Follow In Practice wherever you get your podcasts.
Music: "Achievement" by Bluewave, from Free To Use Music (freetouse.com)