Indiana Youth Institute  + Henry Ford Learning Institute PResent:

College & Career Readiness

Innovation Challenge

Helping young people prepare for life after high school takes more than one program, one school, or one organization. It takes sparks of innovation and understanding the gaps that need to be filled. It takes collaboration across communities and systems.

The College & Career Readiness Innovation Challenge, hosted by Indiana Youth Institute and facilitated by the Henry Ford Learning Institute, is a hands-on event for youth-serving professionals and cross-sector partners to turn ideas into action. You’ll work with peers across education, workforce, nonprofit, and community spaces to explore local opportunities and challenges and create solutions that can support the youth you serve.

Come ready to collaborate, actively engage, and be part of a statewide effort to strengthen college and career pathways for Indiana youth.

Format

South Bend  -   9/1
Century Center
120 S. MLK Jr. Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46601

Indianapolis  -  9/2 Indianapolis Marriott North
3645 River Crossing Parkway
Indianapolis, IN 46240

Evansville      -  9/3
Old National Events Plaza
715 Locust Street
Evansville, IN 47708 

Resources 

  • Session Slides
  • Session Tools and Templates
  • Games and Activities Guide
  • More Design Thinking Resources

Session 1

9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Exploring Local Opportunities and Challenges Across the College and Career Readiness System

  • Build cross-sector connections around a shared commitment to Indiana youth
  • Explore the needs, experiences, and perspectives of young people
  • Identify gaps, barriers, and promising opportunities within the student journey 
  • Generate and assess solution ideas

Session 2

12:30 PM – 2:00 PM

Strengthening Solutions and Mobilizing for Action




  • Gather and apply constructive feedback to strengthen a proposed solution
  • Identify relationships, and resources needed for implementation
  • Develop a realistic 90-day action plan
  • Share emerging solutions and expand opportunities for collective action

Session 1

Preparing young people for life after high school requires a shared understanding of the people, experiences, and systems that shape their pathways. In this highly interactive session, participants will build relationships across sectors, explore the college and career readiness landscape from a young person’s perspective, and identify gaps and opportunities that no single organization can address alone.

Using human-centered design tools, participants will examine stakeholder influence and involvement, consider the experiences of Indiana youth, and map key moments along their college and career readiness journeys. Teams will use these insights to define an opportunity for innovation, generate possible responses, and develop an initial concept that reflects the strengths and resources within their communities.

Session 2

Innovation becomes actionable when ideas are strengthened through feedback, connected to the right partners, and translated into practical next steps. In this session, teams will prototype and refine their concepts with peers, consider what implementation will require, and identify the relationships and resources needed to move their ideas forward.

Participants will develop a focused 90-day action plan that clarifies immediate priorities, potential partners, and opportunities for support through Indiana Youth Institute and the broader statewide network. The session will conclude with a gallery walk and structured reflection designed to surface opportunities for continued collaboration, shared learning, cross-pollination, and collective action across communities.

Facilitators

Deborah Parizek
Executive Director
Deborah Parizek drives HFLI’s efforts to provide workshops, programs and site coaching that pair effective education and human-centered design approaches, empowering learners to lead transformational change in, with and for their community. She is known for cultivating the conversations, empathy, and capacity critical to addressing complex challenges. Prior to joining HFLI in 2005, Deborah designed and directed extensive teacher leadership development programs for multiple school systems.

Theodore Kozerski

A. Director Social Innovation

Theodore guides the strategic growth of HFLI’s learning programs, while developing unique resources and experiences that help learners to think creatively, work collaboratively with others, and implement innovations. He brings a unique perspective to the role that blends a passion for socio-cultural anthropology and application of human-centered-design methods. His experience as an entrepreneur and Human-Centered Design consultant, and a lens for inclusion and access. 

Dr. Beth Grzelak

Learning Experience Designer

Beth supports HFLI’s career-readiness and workforce development efforts, designing professional learning experiences that strengthen educators’ capacity to increase student agency and prepare young people for their futures. She has worked with diverse communities across the United States and in Scotland and is known for creating engaging in-person, virtual, and asynchronous learning experiences. Prior to joining HFLI, Beth directed the University of Michigan’s teacher education program and mentored aspiring teachers and school leaders.