Bryan Ashton

What we talked about

Education does not follow a straight line

Bryan Ashton wants colleges to think beyond the student who moves directly from high school into a four-year degree. In this Making Names conversation with Aidan Evans, the head of Trellis Strategies describes a modern learner who may stop, restart, transfer or pursue a shorter credential. The question is how institutions support that whole journey, from enrollment through completion and into work. He sees value in both technical training and broader education, rather than treating them as opposing choices. What matters is understanding the skills a learner gains and how those skills carry into a changing career.

Affordability means looking at the whole cost

Ashton's own move from public accounting into education began with work at Ohio State focused on college affordability. He recalls hearing students misunderstand how their debt worked, an experience that sharpened his interest in the financial side of education. Tuition is only part of the calculation: housing, books and other expenses also shape what a student takes on. A promising salary after graduation does not tell the whole story if the borrowing required to get there undermines the benefit. His concern is preserving education's potential to improve lives while taking its costs seriously.

Build around the learner, not the institution

At Trellis Strategies, Ashton describes work across affordability, learner experience and learner mobility. His example is simple: when an airline cancels a flight, it offers alternatives; when a class is canceled, a student may be left to figure out the next step alone. Transferring between institutions can create another obstacle when previous coursework does not carry over. He also discusses a possible model for helping people compare how colleges would recognize skills gained through employment or military service. That is a direction he wants to explore, not a promise that every institution will award the same credit.

AI changes the question of what college provides

Ashton asks what happens when universities are no longer the only place to access knowledge. If people can learn independently with AI tools, institutions may need to rethink how they teach, assess and certify learning. His accounting background offers a useful distinction: individual tasks may change, while understanding systems and thinking critically remain valuable. He argues for intentional use of AI in education while acknowledging unresolved questions about original work and intellectual property. The discussion also recognizes students' uncertainty about their future careers, rather than assuming new technology feels equally welcome to everyone.

Doing the work and making it visible

The conversation closes with nonprofit leadership and the tension between delivering a mission and explaining it publicly. Ashton encourages emerging leaders to develop expertise with a clear viewpoint and share it consistently. Platforms such as LinkedIn can connect people who would otherwise never meet, but visibility is not a substitute for useful work. He sees organizations that communicate well without enough follow-through, and others whose strong work receives too little attention. For him, the opportunity is to get better at both: supporting learners and making the purpose and results of that support easier to understand.