Senior Partner for Adult Learner Engagement
Bridgett Strickler
While this work has always been deeply personal to me, I hadn’t fully articulated why until recently. That's actually what led me to give my TEDx talk, If You’re Going Back to School, Community May Be the Medicine. In it, I explore how community is what carries you through hard transitions, multiplies your potential, and helps you rewrite your story when you take on something as challenging as returning to school.
I know this firsthand. Earning my MBA at 48, on the heels of some pretty devastating life events, completely changed my trajectory. By re-engaging with postsecondary education later in life, I found myself surrounded by others who were also rebuilding their identities in one way or another. That shared experience is why I resonate so deeply with adult learners and with the spirit of the education “comebacker.”
What is your personal adult learner story?
What aspect of adult learning are you most focused on?
For a decade, I was part of a small team that supported a national network of practitioners working with adult learners. One of our core responsibilities was collecting data that helped the network, and the broader field, better understand the adult learner journey.
That work directly shaped what I’m most focused on today. While the field has made tremendous progress in research and data about what works for adult learners, far fewer people are slowing down to capture the human experiences inside those systems. We have no shortage of data, but we have a shortage of lived stories.
Through my interviews with adult learners, I document the transformation that occurs when someone earns a degree or credential later in life. I believe stories reveal what numbers cannot about what becomes possible for someone as a result of re-engaging with education. I’m also gathering really important insights that will help institutions attract more learners, and critically, help more learners complete.
It’s tough to pick one. But I’ll go with the work I’ve done to engage employers in campaigns to support their workers’ education and career aspirations. I co-created a framework that garnered significant philanthropic funding bringing together employers, higher education institutions and other stakeholders to build a skilled, educated workforce by listening directly to workers. The framework was used across the country and connected entry-level workers to training or education that put them on a career path in their community. It also helped employers shape their programs to support their talent development needs
Favorite project you’ve worked on?
What excites you about the future of adult learning?
I’m excited by the growing recognition that learning happens everywhere, not just in classrooms and that higher education is beginning to catch up. The convergence of workforce learning, skills-based hiring, AI-supported evaluation, and renewed attention to adult learners creates an opportunity to redesign systems that are faster, fairer, and more humane. Done well, this moment can fundamentally reshape access and completion.
Beach, mountains, or city (vacation site)?
Mountains—especially anywhere with good trails, quiet mornings, and time to reflect.