Elliot Washor's TGIF 07.11.2025

Are you with me now? A J Ryder

Getting Ready for the Big Bang!

As we prepare for Big Bang, there's only a moment to pause and reflect on the incredible work taking place this past week that I/we were part of in Kauai, Los Angeles, San Diego, Australia, Barbados, and Canada. All of it is deeply connected to the International Big Picture Learning Credential, Harbor Freight Fellows, and B-Unbound. A recent text from Bonnie Lowenthal, President of the Port of Long Beach, sums how I felt about much of the work in LA and in general:

“We are now truly joined at the hip.”

Remembering Our Roots: TYBO and the PRN

Take a look at this photo—do you recognize anyone? It’s the original TYBO cohort of principals at The Met, taken about 27 years ago. This was the beginning.

When we launched our first six schools, we created the Principal Residency Program (PRN) in partnership with Johnson & Wales, Lewis & Clark, and Northeastern Universities. This cohort marked the first group of Met principals. Also, there were schools from across the U.S. that sent teams made up of a principal and a rising school leader. The goal was simple but powerful: to ensure that the foundational work of these small, start from scratch schools would continue and evolve.

As we return to Providence—the mothership—for Big Bang, Dennis and I will host a pre-conference session exploring the rich history of BPL and The Met. There’s so much to revisit: key sites, formative stories, and the raw, real beginnings that truly felt like a Big Bang. And as we look back, we'll also be looking forward—feet planted in the future, a la Sankofa. It's the perfect way to launch this year’s gathering.

An Alum Story: Ashley Magnus – Full Circle - 

The photos above this section highlight the journey of one of our Met alumni and Harbor Freight Fellows, Ashley Magnus—a story that deserves the spotlight for its remarkable arc and ongoing impact.

Unlike many students celebrated purely for academic achievement, Ashley’s path is shaped by skill, perseverance, and hands-on learning. Today, she’s a mechanic with the International Union of Elevator Constructors—a position of high responsibility in one of the most dangerous skilled trades. She supervises apprentices, communicates across trades on complex builds, and ensures safe and precise execution. Becoming a mechanic requires years of dedication, passing exams covering advanced mathematics, science, and building regulations. At this point in time, fewer than 0.5% of workers in this field are women—and that’s starting to change, in part thanks to Ashley.

Years ago, I wrote this paragraph about Ashley in a TGIF:

“My conversation with Ashley was just simply amazing. She has always worked, problem-solved, created and thought with her hands. At the Met, she had an LTI restoring pianos. She graduated the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, became a bike technician, a welder and all the while, in her own words, made herself “indispensable.” I loved her line about making yourself indispensable. Becoming an elevator constructor takes you through highly demanding training. Because of past practices, out of the 270 workers in this Union in Portland, there are only 4 women and she is one of them. This is a field that is looking to hire more women and people of color. Getting to know that this work even exists and getting early on access through internships is so important for students. Ashley will help us with this.”

As we approached Big Bang, Carlos, Ashley’s former advisor, reached out to her. She replied:

“Carlos, I can't make it to the upcoming dinner—I'm working way up north in Maine and the drive would be too much. Please say hello to everyone!I do have good news: I passed my Maine State license exam and I’m currently the only female elevator mechanic in the state. Last winter, my company hired two women apprentices. One is a woman of color—and the other is MY apprentice. Liz and I have now completed two elevators together. We believe they might be the first done by an all-women crew in Maine—maybe even all of Local 4, which covers eastern Mass, NH, and ME. (My business agent is verifying.) We even had a little ribbon-cutting ceremony on the first one we finished.”

Full circle indeed. An alum now mentoring—powerfully and meaningfully.

The Road to Providence – 30/30 Big Bang

Next week, I’ll be zigging and zagging my way to Providence for Big Bang, with a stopover near Albany at David Gersten’s Art, Letters and Numbers—a space alive with creativity, craft, and connection across all ages and disciplines.

Plenty, plenty, bye, bye

Be Well!