Championing Educational Access: Jessica Silwick on ABET’s Purpose Serving Thousands of Volunteer Experts, Educators, and Learners

Anthony Codispoti (00:01)
Welcome to another edition of the inspired stories podcast where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Cotus Bodie and today’s guest is Jessica Silwick, CFO and COO of ABET, a nonprofit group that accredits college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology.

ABET’s mission is to inspire confidence in educational quality standards, helping build a safer, more efficient and sustainable world. Jessica is well known for leading finance, human resources and office operations at ABET, ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. Now under her direction, ABET supports a voluntary peer review process with nearly 3000 experts. She has also guided teams in professional education,

applying her extensive background in accounting and leadership. Among her many achievements, Jessica has been recognized as a 2024 Top 50 Woman Business Leader, a 2015 AICPA Emerging Leader Women to Watch, and ⁓ a 2022 OnCon Icon Top 50 CFO. Now, before we get into all this good stuff, today’s episode is brought to you by my company, Ad Back Benefits Agency.

where we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that are both great for your team and fiscally optimized for your bottom line. Imagine being able to give your employees free access to doctors, therapists, and prescription medications. And here’s the fun part. The program actually puts more money in your employees’ pockets and the company’s too. One recent client was able to increase net profits by $900 per employee per year.

Results vary for each company and some organizations may not be eligible. To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefits.com. All right, back to our guest today, CFO and COO of ABET, Jessica Silwick. Thanks for making the time to share your story today.

Jessica Silwick (02:12)
My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

Anthony Codispoti (02:15)
So Jessica, you’ve been at ABET for over 18 years, but before we talk about your work there, give us a little bit about your background growing up in a blue collar environment. How did you transition from that into your early work in accounting?

Jessica Silwick (02:31)
Yes, so it was an interesting transition that wasn’t a straight line from point A to point B. I ⁓ grew up ⁓ with a great supportive family, ⁓ but ⁓ in the area I grew up, that wasn’t always the case. And I witnessed some struggles with friends and people that I’ve met in a young adulthood. I ⁓ worked really hard and ⁓ took my education seriously.

and tried to encourage all my fellow friends and classmates to do the same. I was fortunate enough to be able to see that the world was slightly bigger than what I had been exposed to. So I started doing a bunch of research. I’m first generation college student. So I had to do a bunch of research on my own, try to figure out the application processes to colleges, how I could get financial aid, you know.

scheduling campus tours where I could. So it was all about me finding and taking that initiative to do that. And through that journey, I realized that there was some work that needed to be done at the high school level to raise more awareness to opportunities for students to go to college and the career opportunities that they had. So I tried to provide some feedback about my experience and what I encountered as a first gen to make the transition easier for

students and learners like me. So I selected a universe.

Anthony Codispoti (04:03)
Who did you provide that

feedback to, Jessica?

Jessica Silwick (04:06)
⁓ I went back and I provided it to current students at my high school. ⁓ I’ve made myself available. So I have some friends that still live in the area. So I made myself available to their children or their children’s friends to be able to help guide them. I do have some ideas for a nonprofit that but it’s still in the conceptual phase. ⁓ And there are there are other organizations out there doing just

just as I’m suggesting that I would one day like to do. But I just know that out of the gates, I selected the wrong university for me. ⁓ Had to then dig deep and be able to figure out what was gonna work best for me as a person and as a learner and that suited my experience the best. So.

I had to take a semester and go to a community college when I was supposed to be at a university campus and get my feet wet in the college experience, figure out what it was like, the differences between college and high school. ⁓ And then from there, I was able to transfer to a college campus that fit my needs perfectly as a working student first gen. And…

You know, the rest is history. I got my bachelor’s degree and from there, you know, went on to get a master’s degree and a couple of certifications along the way. I just never stopped pursuing knowledge and working hard to reach the goals that I want. And like I said, it wasn’t a straight path. I started out biology, switched to psychology. So I did a lot of self-exploration while I was in college and at university.

to figure out what really suited me the best. And I love math ⁓ and I’m very practical, pragmatic person by nature. ⁓ So the accounting just fell into place.

Anthony Codispoti (06:04)
So you said that you were fortunate enough that you could see that the world was bigger than, you know, where you were living and sort of the environment that you were brought up in. How were you getting that glimpse?

Jessica Silwick (06:17)
As I said, I have very supportive family that was engaged with, you very engaged in my upbringing and my guidance, but I am second generation. So my mother’s family, my mom’s sister and mom came from Greece. ⁓ My grandmother has lived in parts of Africa and ⁓ parts of Greece, and so I would hear their stories about their experiences. ⁓

And the same, my father is third generation Italian. So, you know, again, hearing how they came over here from Italy and were able to build lives for themselves and each generation getting better than the next, you know, I just knew that there were, the world was full of potential and possibilities by just hearing their stories. I was fortunate to have it in my home. And for those who aren’t fortunate to have it in their home,

I think I try to encourage them to seek out, to hear other people’s stories, to hear how other people were able to persevere, overcome, and build the life that they want for themselves because if they can do it, you can do it.

Anthony Codispoti (07:27)
I love that you also mentioned that ⁓ you were able to transfer from one school to another school that was better able to support your needs and interests. Looking back on that experience, what advice would you have for other folks looking to choose their college or university?

Jessica Silwick (07:46)
So was very idealistic. This is what it should look like. This is what I should be doing. I am going away to this university. I am going to live in a campus dorm in the Honors College. I’m just going to do everything that is the typical college experience that I’ve been told to do. I’ll join a few clubs. I’ll do this. I’m going in pre-med, all that. And then once I.

Got into once I actually experienced it for what it was. I realized that it was a great opportunity and it probably I could have made it work, but. ⁓ It just didn’t suit me as a person. ⁓ You know, I wanted to be closer to my family still. I wasn’t ready to make that transition. ⁓ I probably I needed more ⁓ support than I was able to find as a 1st generation.

student at that campus. Because of my grades, they put me in this honors program, which was very challenging. ⁓ And this, that sort of rigor along with the transition, I just, my 18 year old self was not ready for that. ⁓ And I know a lot of students experience that, whether you come from my upbringing or not, a lot of students experience that and they’ll, they come home from going away to college. And sometimes that’s where they’re, you know,

they don’t go back and give it another try or seek other options. And I always encourage everyone to just don’t give up on your dreams. This is what you know you want to do. There’s other ways, there’s other pathways to be able to ultimately reach your goals. It doesn’t have to be that traditional four year going into university, leaving home. So I came back. I, like I said, I did a semester at community college, got that rhythm down for myself, took some college level courses. ⁓

and then I was still managed to get close to home. And then I found the university that was local that catered very well to first generation students, also catered very well to women in STEM ⁓ programs. And I was able to still work and support myself ⁓ and the flexibility of the courses just fit my needs extremely well. So.

Anthony Codispoti (10:10)
You know, a couple parts of your story there that I want to point out, I think are really great for people to hear. It’s this idea of sometimes we’ve got to try on a lot of different hats to see what does fit and what doesn’t fit. And so you were trying out different majors. Well, that one didn’t work. That one’s not me. Oh, wow. I really seem to connect with this one. And then you were doing the same thing with your college experience. And to, I don’t know, sort of continue the metaphor. mean, hats off to you because

you know, a lot of people could and do in that situation, throw in the towel. Like this isn’t for me, I gave it a shot. And instead you were like, well, maybe I can sort of like reverse here and kind of pivot in a different direction and see if I can still march forward in that direction, but just in a way that looks a little bit different. Yeah. And not see it as a failure. That’s the key part of that. Yeah. I like that a lot.

Jessica Silwick (10:58)
and not see it as a failure. It’s never a failure. It’s a learning opportunity. Mm-hmm. It’s a learning opportunity.

Anthony Codispoti (11:06)
⁓ Okay, so you found your way into accounting before we get to a bet tell me maybe just pick one stop before a bet that was really formidable for you and how you approach business how you approach leadership

Jessica Silwick (11:21)
was fortunate enough to work for three very large companies right outside of graduation and learn a lot from each one of them. ⁓ Learning the corporate structure, ⁓ how to operate in different professional settings. I learned about manufacturing, pharmaceutical industry, and then before ABET landing in the energy sector. So I would have to say that my time with the large energy

⁓ company really ⁓ shaped the trajectory of my career. ⁓ I again found myself in a place that I didn’t think I belonged in. This company had a ⁓ history for hiring the cream of the crop. These graduates came, the Ivy League grads, and when they hired me, I was little scared. When I found out that they hired me and for the position that they hired me for, there were two different positions.

This one was a little more challenging of an accounting role. And so I’m not going to lie. I went out and bought Cliff Notes. That’s how long ago this was. On certain topics that this role would just to make sure like, am I really ready for this? I got in there and just excelled. And it was really that moment for me to where you realize that you do belong in any environment that you want to be in.

it wasn’t that much of a learning curve for me to get acclimated into that space. I found myself working on high profile ⁓ projects, ⁓ eventually reporting to the CFO of Energy Generation, which is kind of a big deal in an organization like that, doing SEC reporting. So it really helped build my confidence as a person and as a professional. And it told me that I can have a seat at any table and I belong there. But ⁓

probably one of the biggest things for me there. And I did have a great trajectory at that place. And ⁓ ABET was in the same building. And we had this coffee cart that was on the first floor. you meet people in your building. And I was poached for about six months to go to ABET. And this person kept saying, I know you. I know you. This is where you belong. You’re going to love it there. You need to come. going to be able to do great things for this organization. ⁓

So it was, and then through my work with the energy company, had, was working directly with engineers and other STEM professionals. So it kind of, really set me up for the next phase of my career and where I’ve been honestly for the past, you know, almost 19 years.

Anthony Codispoti (14:06)
Wow. So it’s interesting that energy company that you worked for, they saw something in you before you really saw it in yourself, right? You applied for the job, you were interested. Sounds like half of you was hoping you’d get it. Half of you was like, I don’t belong there. I don’t really want that job, but I feel like I should apply. And they took you. And now it’s like, Oh crap, what do I do? I’m out of my element until you found a little taste of success. And you’re like,

Jessica Silwick (14:20)
You

Anthony Codispoti (14:35)
wait, no, I do belong here. I fit. I got this. I got the skills for it. ⁓ And so you meet somebody at the coffee cart. Over the course of several months, they’re pursuing you, they’re pulling you in. And so now they bring you in. What was your role there initially? You finally they finally convinced you to come over. What were you doing?

Jessica Silwick (14:56)
I was the manager of accounting. So it was, so it really, I really did lead the accounting department at ABAT when I came. There was at that time a senior director for accounting and finance and that individual’s role was really just to kind of report to the board. So like a higher level strategy type of role. I was managing the ins and outs, the daily.

Anthony Codispoti (14:59)
And what did that entail?

Jessica Silwick (15:23)
transactions and ⁓ audits and all of that that comes with the accounting department. So was full cycle accounting I was managing when I came on and they needed a lot of help. ⁓ They were not as organized as a for-profit, let alone a publicly traded for-profit organization. The financials were, I would not say they were in disarray. ⁓ There was nothing unethical or fraudulent happening. It was just very loose.

internal controls and things of that nature. And ⁓ they had experienced some economic downturn ⁓ within the organization. And I was brought in to kind of clean things up, create a really well solid ⁓ accounting process and internal controls and really kind of take them from where they were and help build a world-class accounting department for the organization.

Anthony Codispoti (16:14)
So tell us more about what ABET does.

Jessica Silwick (16:18)
So ABET is a quality assurance agency. We do this through many different services. Our primary goal in life, we exist to ensure access to quality education for all learners and that those learners are then prepared to go out into the STEM professions and face the grand challenges of a global society. So we believe that we are contributing to future

professionals and problem solvers who are going to go out and make the world a better place. Legally speaking, ABET is a 501c3 organization, nonprofit, non-governmental, ISO 9001 certified organization. But that’s not really who we are. That’s who we are on paper. ABET really is the heart and soul of ABET is the 3,000 plus expert volunteers from academia, industry, government,

who share the same purpose as we do as an organization and supporting those learners globally and then supporting them, we are having a greater impact on a global society.

Anthony Codispoti (17:31)
So what does that look like in practical terms? So who do you work with? What do you do for them? What do they walk away from after their interaction with you? Let’s really help paint a picture for people that are kind of outside of this industry.

Jessica Silwick (17:47)
So have several touch points in the service that we provide to society. ⁓ One of which, probably the one that most people see is the academic ⁓ world, the faculty members at universities and colleges, ⁓ or those engaging and learning opportunities ⁓ in the credentialing space now. ⁓ So we offer them the opportunity to also have

an impact on quality education worldwide. ⁓ They know that the work that they do is touching each program or offering one at a time, going in there, sharing ⁓ through the ABET criteria or review standards, going in and having conversations and having peer-to-peer interactions. And at the end of the day, they know that they are leaving a program or a credential

⁓ opportunity better than when they stepped in. But it’s a symbiotic relationship because they are also learning from those programs and those credential offers that they are reviewing for as part of ABET’s quality assurance service. So they’re also taking insights and lessons learned back to their colleges, universities, or professional offices. ⁓ So I think, you know, there’s a

a great value that’s happening for them and what we’re able to offer them. They also get this amazing network of people who share the same purpose of them, professionals. Relationships are forged through ABET that lasts for a lifetime. And you can see that through the longevity of our volunteers. And they don’t come and just volunteer for a year or two. They’re here for 20 years plus sometimes. ⁓ I think also for the students,

When students are able to be engaged in one of our review processes, they see the work that’s being done. They develop this sense of pride for the program that they’re part of and hopefully going to graduate from or that credential they’re going to earn. There’s a sense of pride in knowing that their program or their credential offer was taking the time to show a commitment to quality and a commitment to them as learners to be able to offer the best possible educational experience that they can.

So as a result, have students that will contact ABAT and say, hey, I had this amazing opportunity when ABAT was on my campus or at my place of learning. And what can I do to learn more about ABAT? What can I do to become a volunteer? What can I do to support the purpose and the mission of articulating why quality assurance is so necessary in educational spaces? ⁓ So that’s something that’s really amazing to see. I wish we had more.

Learners engaged in the process, but the ones who are engaged, there’s always some sort of a follow-up with ABAT staff members afterwards or volunteers.

Anthony Codispoti (20:49)
And so this is one of the things that I think is really fascinating about what you do is that all of these peer reviewers, they’re all volunteers. We’re talking about 3,000 people who raise their hand and say, I’m going to donate my time to this process. I’m understanding this correctly, ⁓ What is it that really motivates these people to get involved? And how are you managing?

Jessica Silwick (21:08)
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Codispoti (21:19)
your team is not that big internally. How do you manage and sort of coordinate such a big team like that as well?

Jessica Silwick (21:26)
So I think that ABET motivates nearly 3,000 plus volunteers by connecting them, honestly, to our mission. And they deeply believe in it as well. They believe that they’re advancing quality in STEM education worldwide. Our volunteers see their work as an opportunity to give back to their professions, shape the next generation of graduates and professionals. ⁓ Like I said, they also get to collaborate with peers who share their passion. That sense of purpose and impact

is really the greatest motivator and it happens organically. I wish I could say it had the secret sauce ⁓ that, you know, but it really is, just, it’s all driven from an amazing purpose and the ability to see that, those tangible results from the work that they do. So managing them is really not that hard to manage them, to keep them motivated. Obviously we have a diverse team of volunteers with different perspectives.

outlooks, ways they’d like to address the quality assurance. And also they represent their different fields of study. So we’re bringing together computer scientists, geologists, electrical engineers, as well as practitioners in… And sometimes I just saw the… I went and did a program the other day, which was with safety professionals.

So we’re bringing these diverse group of people with diverse backgrounds and ⁓ fields of expertise. And I think that we’re able to coordinate and manage them through a structured leadership model. We also offer robust training. So they’re all trained the same. They all go through the same training process to be ABET volunteers. And we give a clear evaluation of the standards. We’re very… ⁓

pragmatic about how we explain what we do and how we do it. We logically map it out so that there’s no questions at the end of the day that we cannot answer. And again, like I said, most importantly, through all of this, we are fostering a shared sense of purpose. So every volunteer knows that they’re shaping the future of STEM education worldwide.

Anthony Codispoti (23:44)
So Jessica, I want to better understand the specifics of what takes place during the accreditation or the quality assurance work that’s going on. Can you maybe pick one example of here’s a university, a college, a place that we worked with, and here was an idea that came about from working with ABET that they were able to implement and it made things better.

Jessica Silwick (24:09)
Yeah, so we’ve just done a few case studies on individuals, faculty members who are able to build programs from the ground up. So they entered onto a campus and, you know, I will use engineering as an example. So they go to a campus that doesn’t have an engineering program at all. And engineering programs are challenging to build up from the ground up and the resources that are needed to do that.

And we’ve gotten testimonials from individuals who said, I started by using the ABAC criteria. I use that as my base. And then by reading it and implementing ideas and concepts around the criteria, you know, I got a lot of innovative ideas from you that ⁓ and it just made a very daunting task of creating programs from the ground up.

that much easier because ABEC gave me that framework that I was able to start with. And to me, that is the biggest impact because now we are bringing these STEM programs to campuses or colleges, universities that have never been able to offer this sort of education to their learners ⁓ and just the existence of our criteria.

and the volunteers who were trained on our criteria, who were able to evaluate based other programs based on our criteria and all that knowledge that they’ve learned from that, we’re now able to go and spread, you know, quality STEM education to campuses that would otherwise not had them.

Anthony Codispoti (25:48)
So in this example, the STEM program that you’re talking about, is this a college that maybe they weren’t offering particular courses, or is the program something that’s extracurricular, so it’s outside of kind of the structured learning environment?

Jessica Silwick (26:04)
no, this is a degree engineering program. you know, within the program, there are the courses that map the learner’s journey by which they can show the aptitude to graduate ⁓ with that degree program at the end of the day. this was, you know, this entailed coordinating several courses, coordinating several resources, you know, bringing together both technical and non-technical education.

that would help build that degree. And they were able to do all that using ABET criteria and their experience with ABET as a foundation and almost like a launching pad to say, I can do this. I’m going to follow this framework. Along the way, I got some real innovative ideas when I was thinking about how to apply the criteria to building this program. Otherwise, it would have been a much more daunting task for these individuals to be able to do.

Anthony Codispoti (27:01)
Because you’ve got that framework,

you’ve got the step by step, like here’s the chunks that you need to think about how to approach it and the order to do it in.

Jessica Silwick (27:07)
to have a,

yeah, to have a quality educational program. is what, these are the factors that you should have.

Anthony Codispoti (27:17)
And so are you going in and you’re suggesting, hey, you you’ve got these four courses, which are great. Now you need to add these five and maybe there’s two existing courses that you need to kind of modify the syllabus and to sort of put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Jessica Silwick (27:36)
So the beauty of ABET criteria is that there’s a lot of flexibility within it. So if it’s a specific criteria for a very specific program, we have general criteria and then we have specific criteria. So the general criteria, any program can come in and try to become ABET accredited under the general criteria. But let’s say if you have a computer science program, there will be very specific computer science criteria that you also have to show that you are, you

can meet that criteria to be able to become ABET accredited. ⁓ So I think that being said, there is outside of those very specific and few courses that we say within the specific criteria you have to meet, there’s a lot of flexibility to be able to bring in other courses that you think will fit the specific needs of your learners in your region of the world ⁓ and the type of

professionals that you want to develop out of your program. So each program is unique. Each program has their own way of doing things, their own way of teaching. ⁓ We provide that flexibility. We provide the opportunity to be innovative and keep up with trends and technology and evolving learners’ needs even. The demographics of learners are changing within the United States and I’d imagine globally as well. So how do you meet those needs of these new learners?

And within the ABET criteria, there’s tons of flexibility to be able to make changes as needed to suit your specific needs to be innovative and to reach your learners.

Anthony Codispoti (29:14)
And I think I’m understanding a little bit more why that it’s not so difficult, as I had imagined, not so difficult to get peer reviewers to volunteer their time to do this because they get to go in a fresh new environment and they get to learn how somebody else is doing it. Now they’re there to guide and lead and teach, but they can’t help but take away some ideas from a completely different environment than they had been in before. Yeah.

Jessica Silwick (29:39)
Exactly.

Anthony Codispoti (29:43)
So you see talking about the ABAT accreditation, but there’s also the quality assurance. How did those differ?

Jessica Silwick (29:50)
So accreditation is a form of quality assurance. Accreditation is a form of quality assurance that is specifically focused on degree earning programs. ⁓ And for ABET that means degree earning programs within the STEM professions. ⁓ So we accredit two year and four year degree programs globally. That’s accreditation.

Anthony Codispoti (29:53)
Okay.

Jessica Silwick (30:19)
Accreditation is an 18 month process. It is work, right? So it’s not an easy thing to accomplish, but it’s not impossible or extremely arduous either. So there’s a fair amount of work that goes into being accredited. know, one of the cornerstones of ABET accreditation is the assessment of student learning. And that’s part of a continuous quality improvement process that we make each and every one of our ABET accredited programs demonstrate.

that they have and they are using. So it’s not just, you have these courses? Do you have this sort of faculty? Do you have full time versus part time and all that stuff? We want to know that you know what your students are learning and that you’re taking that information and that data that you’re collecting and the assessment of student learning outcomes and you’re reapplying it back to your program to make it better. So there’s a focus on continuing improvement that has to be evident in every ABET accredited program.

Now recognition of credentials is another quality assurance service that’s offered by ABET. This is a quality assurance service that focuses more on short-term learning opportunities that result in some sort of a credential. So whether it is a badge, a certificate, ⁓ some sort of alternate credential, there’s something at the end of a learner’s journey that says that they’ve acquired these knowledges and skills.

that allow them to now have a certificate or some sort of recognition that they’ve earned these specific skills as advertised by the offeror of this credential. I’m very proud of ABET ⁓ for going into this space. I think that this is an essential place for us to be, especially now. This is a part of lifelong learning as well as a stepping stone.

for learners and I don’t think lifelong learning is a luxury anymore. I think it’s a necessity in the state of constant transformation that our world is in. You can’t just go to school and get your four year degree or even your master’s or your PhD and call it quits. You’ve got to keep learning or you’re going to be left behind. I also, as I spoke earlier, the demographics of learners are changing. A lot of first gen, not only first gen college students.

But immigrants to our country and ⁓ as well as, you know, maybe individuals who grew up in some of the communities similar that I did, I think that being able to go and start your educational journey by taking a credentialed certificate course at a college or a university, and then once you earn that, you can say, okay, I’m just going to go into the career. This is perfect for me. End game. I’m happy. This is what I want to do. Or…

It is a stepping stone for you to go get a two-year degree or maybe a four-year degree. So the traditional two plus two of community college or two-year technical to a university is being shook, shook it all up now because there can be a point, 1.5 plus two plus two or yes, to get to where they want to be in either their education. You don’t have to dive.

Anthony Codispoti (33:31)
huh. A little bite sized chunk that people can dive into. Yeah.

Jessica Silwick (33:41)
feet first into a university or college environment like we used to in the past. It also allows people flexibility within their careers. You’re not stuck in a career. You want to change careers, right? But you don’t want to start all over in a college or university. You can go get a certificate that says you’re qualified ⁓ to now make a career change.

Anthony Codispoti (33:58)
So what would be an example for

somebody like me, a business owner, ⁓ I’m 51 years old, I had a four year degree, there’s something that I wanna, I don’t know, up my knowledge on. What would be something that I might look into?

Jessica Silwick (34:13)
⁓ well.

Anthony Codispoti (34:15)
Or I think

maybe you’re mostly STEM, so if it helps, reframe that for somebody in that field.

Jessica Silwick (34:21)
Well, everybody now is chomping at the bit and racing to become literate in artificial intelligence. So, and the assumption is, and I’m not going to say whether that’s true or false, because I don’t know, but the assumption is that if you don’t know how to utilize AI technology in some way or another and what you’re doing, there are going to be others who are, and they’re going to run past you at the speed of light.

So a ⁓ lot of professionals are feeling that ⁓ pressure now to just learn some sort of literacy on how to use AI, ⁓ either ethically or what’s the best way to enter prompts so that I can get the response that I’m looking for. So I see there are a lot of professionals now, ⁓ very accomplished professionals who are now getting certificates in artificial intelligence.

⁓ It’s also, you they worry, what if I have to switch, maybe I’m not going to be where I’m at. Do I have transferable skills? And I think artificial intelligence is an example of a transferable skill ⁓ that some employers might take notice to. So I think that’s probably the most ⁓ common example that we see now.

Anthony Codispoti (35:38)
That really helps to wrap my head around because I could see that. You know, if I weren’t a business owner, if I’m employed by somebody else, ⁓ not only do I want to stay relevant in my current position and make sure that I’m staying on top of things and I’ve got access to all the knowledge and the resources that are available, ⁓ but I also want something that in the event that I need to look for another opportunity tells employers that I have some knowledge and experience in this area, right? Like this.

Jessica Silwick (36:06)
Yes.

Anthony Codispoti (36:07)
this and because of bet’s reputation and you know the work that you do with all these different ⁓ universities and colleges that carries some weight. It’s not just ⁓ I don’t even know the comparison to draw but you know it’s not like I’m just writing on my resume that ⁓ I know you know AI kind of like in the old days everybody’s like proficient in Word and Excel proficient in chat GPT. No no no I’ve got a certificate that says I you know I went through all the steps here to

Jessica Silwick (36:30)
Mm-hmm.

Anthony Codispoti (36:37)
to learn what it was that you need to be proficient in this.

Jessica Silwick (36:40)
And I’ll tell you if it’s an ABET recognized certificate, then whoever’s reading your resume at that moment can rest assured that you’ve shown proficiency to be able to, we don’t recognize participatory certificates. There has to be some sort of a check for understanding at the end of the learner’s journey to be able to show that they’ve retained a significant amount of the knowledge transfer in that specific skill set or area.

Anthony Codispoti (37:06)
And so if ABET had been a part of developing that program, does the certificate I get reference ABET’s name on it? Or not necessarily?

Jessica Silwick (37:17)
No, I think what it is is that, so there’s tons of certificate providers out there, so, ⁓ or credential providers, if you may, it’s a broader term to capture certificate badges, all that stuff. So there are many, there’s a huge, huge ecosystem of providers out there. Some come from academia, some come from for-profit enterprises, some come from professional ⁓ member associations.

You know, so I mean, it really does run the gamut. And what they do is they identify a specific need or of either their consumers or ⁓ just society as a whole in their region. They identify a need. They see that they have the subject matter experts to be able to create this certificate. So they go through the process. They create it. They then offer the search, you know, and they get learners that go through.

And then after that happens, they come to ABET and they say, ABET, I’m really proud of this offering. I know this is a quality offering. I want you to come out and validate that. I want you to tell the world that this credential that I’ve created is up to the quality standards of ABET. And then that’s when we come in after it’s already developed, ⁓ after there’s already been some sort of a large testing or piloting done or learners that have actually

earn the credential, then we come in and we say, you know what, you’re right. We’ve tested your processes against our quality standards. And you are able to be about recognizing what the world know, that your learners are coming out with the skill set and the abilities that you promise.

Anthony Codispoti (39:02)
Jessica, you are well known for talking about education as a catalyst. And we’re kind of talking around that topic here. But I wonder if you’ve got more that you want to say on that specifically.

Jessica Silwick (39:14)
It is just, I have seen it at work ⁓ to where education has changed the trajectories of not only individuals’ lives, but their families’ lives and the lives of everyone that they touch. ⁓ education is power. Critical thinking is power. Basically, you could stay where you’re at and you could keep that knowledge that you’ve obtained from

from your bubble and within the space that you are, or you can seek to expand your mind and you can seek to either learn tangible skills or think more theoretically. ⁓ It’s really up to that individual and what is gonna really ignite something within them to be able to either, not everyone’s purpose in life is to go out and make money, right?

But what can I, what knowledge, what can I do to make me feel more empowered and valued as a person? And I really think that education does that for people ⁓ and being able to have that sense of self-worth and that sense of self-value. And then that radiates to everyone that you come in contact with. And in some cases inspires people to go back to those who need that.

⁓ Whether it be inspiration, whether it be that courage, whether it be the ability to know that they can accomplish whatever they want. ⁓ you know, I, people to be productive and satisfied, I think we need to be in this constant state of knowledge acquisition and processing and ability to keep our eyes open to new opportunities. So it does help people.

socioeconomically, but I also think it helps make people more, I think it addresses mental health issues as well, if you may. If you find something that ignites people, if people are able to find something that keeps them thinking, keeps them going and not stuck in a rut. ⁓

Anthony Codispoti (41:12)
Thank

I love that. And actually, it makes me want to take a little bit of a selfish tangent here for a second. And I hope you’ll indulge me. I’ve got two boys who are nine and 11. And like most kids their age, they don’t like going to school. Learning sucks. It’s it’s boring, right? Like I, you know, I hear it all the time. And I don’t know how to do this. Maybe you’ve got some suggestions on how to help them see that when you find something that you

Jessica Silwick (41:27)
Thank

Anthony Codispoti (41:49)
really are into that excites you that learning is amazing. Because I think they’ve got it in their head, kind of like I did, that, once I finish this grade or high school or college, finally, then I can be done learning and I can get on with my life. And now that I’m 51 years old and I’ve lived a lot of that life, I’m like, no, if I’m doing it right, I’m learning every day. I’m constantly tackling something new. And I can see it happen, little kernels of it.

They get into a video game or like a sport and then they want to read about it and they want to see the stats and like they’re all excited and they don’t even realize that what they’re doing is learning. Do you have any suggestions for parents of kids how to sort of instill that curiosity or that sense of wonder or the interest in learning?

Jessica Silwick (42:40)
So I feel like for a lot of kids, learning happens. There has to be a hands-on component to it. You can’t sit them in front of a book and say, thou must, because they’re going to revolt, right? They’re still free thinkers. They haven’t been programmed yet. And even though their world is their bubble that they’re currently in, their minds are always somewhere else. And they’re very imaginative. so I think that.

I have two children as well. I have a 23 year old and I have a 17 year old and they couldn’t be further apart when it comes to their learning styles, who they are. My 23 year old’s a free spirit. My 17 year old is more by the book, you know? So it’s been interesting to watch both of their journeys and their education journeys, but one thing that always worked is I never forced them to confide, like,

Let’s find a learning style that works for you, right? Let’s find, are you a visual learner? Are you an audio learner? ⁓ You know, what’s gonna work? And there’s opportunities for that. Now, school is gonna tell them you must do this like this, and that’s why they don’t like it. And that’s why they don’t think it’s fun. But there’s other opportunities outside of school to continue to keep them focused and interested in gaining more knowledge. So let school deal with the math, the science, the English, or whatever as they have to.

according to guidelines, but then find those opportunities. you know, my one son loved to play, my son loved to play Magic the Gathering. I don’t know if you’re familiar with that. It’s like a strategy card game, kind of sci-fi. And watching him learn that and the energy, and it’s not an easy game. And watching him learn that, I was watching it and I said, it looks like he’s playing a game, but he’s not. He’s learning critical thinking. He’s learning strategy. He’s learning how to make point A to point B all the way to point B.

Anthony Codispoti (44:20)
Okay.

Jessica Silwick (44:39)
F, you know, you know, sometimes work. So I would just say it’s going to happen whether, whether you push them or not. And just if you see something that they show interest in and ignites them, ⁓ just find ways to continue to expose them to that and make them aware, Hey, you, hey, you’re learning right now, right? You get like, Hey, you’re really getting this in this, like, you know, this is, I can see some connections happening over there, you know,

Anthony Codispoti (44:59)
Hahaha

So

I should let my nine year old play Minecraft and use chat GPT to find his way through these worlds and watch YouTube videos that help him learn how to figure out certain levels. Yes.

Jessica Silwick (45:18)
Yeah. And then

make him, make him talk to you about it. You know, like, cause that’s, I had my daughter played Minecraft too. And there’s, there’s some higher level thinking that’s going into that. Honestly. And, and one thing I had to learn too, is that they socialize and they learn different than we did because of all that they’re exposed to, you know, the technology that they’re exposed to. So the fact that your son’s using chat GPT is not a bad thing, but what do you do? And once you get that information back from chat GPT, how are you processing it?

Anthony Codispoti (45:22)
All

Jessica Silwick (45:48)
Are you thinking critically? Are you just accepting word for word everything that this, you know, that it’s telling you? It’s a tool. It’s a tool like a book, you know, it’s a tool like anything else. So, you know, it’s really just guiding them and how to use it and to not let it think for them, but to, ⁓ know, how are you applying that now? So chat GPT told you to do this. What do we, what’s the followup to that? Or tell me about your world in Minecraft. What do you, you know, what’s your goal? What’s your strategy?

Anthony Codispoti (46:11)
Hmm, I like that.

Jessica Silwick (46:17)
You know, it’s, there’s some higher level thinking happening there.

Anthony Codispoti (46:19)
I like that. Sounds painful

because I’ve got less than zero interest in Minecraft, but I had another parent tell me recently, you got to meet your kids where they are. And so it’s a good reminder for me. Thank you for taking that selfish little tangent with me. This is going to be the one segment of the interview that I’m sure my wife will want to listen to. ⁓ So we’ll set that apart for her. coming, coming back to your story, Jessica, I’d be interested in hearing about a serious challenge that you’ve overcome in your life.

Jessica Silwick (46:26)
you

was great.

Hahaha

Anthony Codispoti (46:49)
was something personal or professional, how you got through it and what you learned.

Jessica Silwick (46:55)
My early 20s were tough, you know? Well, late teens, early 20s were tough. That was when I was going through a huge stage of exploration. ⁓ And like you said, there was a lot of pivoting that I was having to do and a lot of self-discovery. ⁓ So there were moments to where I probably could have thrown the towel in pretty easily and I did not. you know, and I just had to, again, ⁓ pick my path and it wasn’t always a straight path.

And that was really tough. And it took me longer to complete my education and get into the workforce as an example of that. ⁓ And then fast forward, kind of like the same challenges kept coming into place. Here I am, a young woman, professional in a very male dominated field, both not only in accounting, but also being engaged in the STEM community.

It’s changed a lot over the 10 years and I’m so excited about the transformation that I’ve seen. And we really have great representation now in the STEM community. But when I started at ABET, for example, that wasn’t the case. I’m standing up in front of a 50 plus board of white males.

you know, all over a certain age and some respected my knowledge and some didn’t. I walked in a room and I had to earn, I had to earn the fact that I knew something where some of my male counterparts did not. So that was a struggle of constantly having to be on top of my A game, constantly feeling like I had to win over and over and over again to solidify my position, ⁓ you know, as a woman professional.

Anthony Codispoti (48:26)
You have to prove yourself. Yeah.

Jessica Silwick (48:45)
And, you know, and, I’ve seen a lot of that changing and I can only imagine, I’ve spoken to other women who are older than me and I can only imagine the journey that they had becoming professionals and being regarded in their fields. So thank God that there’s trailblazers that made it easier for me, even though it was still challenging ⁓ for me all those years later. But I think, you know, just again, it’s this reoccurring theme with me in my life of the challenge of

me and I feel like I’ve overcome it at the ripe old age that I am. I’m pushing 50, so I’m right there with you, Anthony. But it’s been an ongoing challenge up until probably a few years ago of accepting the fact that I have a seat at the table. I’ve earned my seat at the table. I no longer have to do back flips and work until 2 AM to prove my worth, my knowledge, and what I can deliver. ⁓ So I think that ⁓

I wish that’s something I would have learned early on in my career. I think it would have saved me a lot of stress and anxiety. ⁓ But I’m grateful that I’m here now where I’m ⁓ at. you just have to keep telling yourself. ⁓ And you got to reflect. You have to reflect. And you have to say, was it really me staying up till 2 in the morning to complete that?

that may put me where I’m at today. And no, it probably wasn’t. I probably would have been just as successful otherwise. ⁓ And then so you’ll have to look back and you have to say, so I came equipped. ⁓ And I think that, like I said, just accepting that I belong, that ⁓ I am meant to be here ⁓ was a huge challenge.

that I ever come and it was also, it didn’t just because I was a female. It was also because I came from this middle to low collar, know, middle to low, you know, socioeconomic blue collar neighborhood. And now a big part of my journey was to be able to be like, wow, I have an amazing array of perceptions. Like ⁓ I can fit into any room. And I was taught how to be grateful. I was taught

how to be accepting. I was taught so many things because of my upbringing and not in spite of it. But now all I needed to learn how to channel all those great attributes that I got from an upbringing that really didn’t set me up very well for success in a professional career and a college experience, but it set me up in something much bigger than that. And it taught me resilience and it taught me how to see different perspectives.

and to be compassionate. And I think that those are all the attributes that got me where I was. And I don’t think I would have been successful otherwise without them.

Anthony Codispoti (51:46)
It sounds like you mentioned your supportive family several times and I’m guessing they’re the ones who sort of taught you these values to be grateful, to be appreciative, et cetera. But I’m wondering as you entered the workforce and you had this sense of I’ve got to work till 2 a.m. to prove myself, was there anybody in maybe a more similar situation to you that you were able to go to or lean on for help or guidance or mentorship?

Or were your parents still able to kind of help you navigate that challenging time, even though that was maybe something that they hadn’t been through themselves?

Jessica Silwick (52:25)
So my parents were always, you you’ve got this from day one, regardless of where I was at in life, and that, you you need to do everything for yourself. Don’t rely on anyone else to do that for you. So they instilled that foundation. When I found myself in the working environment, my very first job, had an internship and he made me cry. My boss made me cry. But that’s because he’s…

Anthony Codispoti (52:51)
boy.

Jessica Silwick (52:54)
He was very direct with me. You know, if I turned in work and it was, you know, I had papers that were facing the wrong direction in a very detailed analysis that I did of huge leases that we had at this manufacturing company. So proud of my work. I dropped it off to him and he was like, what is this? Throw it across the desk and basically said, your pages aren’t all facing the same direction. Fix that and bring it back to me. Didn’t even look at the work I had done yet, but that was a moment.

for me to kind of really like that was probably the first time I focused on that multiple attributes of what it means to be quality, right? And submit quality work and take pride in what it is that you’re submitting. ⁓ So that was kind of like a tough love moment for me that he instilled. And then by the end of that, ⁓ of me working there, he…

basically said, I hope you know that you can go wherever you want and do whatever you can do. You’ve been one of my best interns I’ve ever had. And he was tough. He was tough. And when I got hired at the energy company, this may have been part of the reason why I was hired there. One of the accountants who worked there ⁓ was an auditor for the manufacturing company from Deloitte. And she was like, Jessica, I remember her.

Rich said she was one of the best interns he’s ever had and he’s tough. So kind of like that opened that door for me in a sense to get in with this energy company. So had I not had this person who pushed me, made me cry just once but did, ⁓ I may not have been able to get, so was just those little moments that did that. My boss I have now, the CEO of A-Vet, has always been a champion for women. He’s put women in positions.

that within our organization that his predecessors would not have. I’m the first female CFO, COO of ABET. And ⁓ that’s because he saw something in me. And in a way, took a chance just because of the perception of my age and my gender. ⁓ And I don’t have a traditional STEM background either. ⁓

And just through his coaching as well and guidance, how to ⁓ operate in different environments and giving me a global perspective as well, being engaged in different global communities has also, through his guidance. ⁓ And I don’t say it quite enough because it’s one of those things where it’s like, she’s just saying that because it’s her boss. I usually, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fact that ⁓

you know, him being a champion for women, and it’s not just me. There are other women within our organization and even outside of our organization that I see him champion for. ⁓ You know, that I don’t know that I’d be in this position that I’m in now either.

Anthony Codispoti (55:56)
What’s the CEO’s name?

Jessica Silwick (55:57)
Dr. Michael Milligan.

Anthony Codispoti (55:59)
Great, I’m gonna make sure we give him a shout out there. So putting humility aside, Jessica, what is your superpower?

Jessica Silwick (56:01)
Thanks.

So a very, very blatant kind of superpower is I see connections and I see I’m really good at putting together puzzles. ⁓ So I’m really good like auditor. I’m really good at like sequencing things, you know. ⁓ So, you know, that is a ⁓ gift that I have and that’s probably one of my biggest superpowers. Put a puzzle in front of me, I’ll figure it out, right? ⁓

put a mystery in front of me, I’ll figure it out. But I think honestly, I’ve been told many times that ⁓ I care too much. You know, that ⁓ I give people too many chances. ⁓ That, you know, I drag things along because of that. ⁓ And there have been moments where maybe I didn’t make the best business decisions because of it. You know, keeping someone on that probably should have not.

been kept on as long as they have been. And then it created some cultural things and stuff within the organization. But I still, I see that as my superpower, right? Because I think that every person is worthy of an opportunity and a chance ⁓ to be better, ⁓ to be able to prove that they can be better. And if I’ve got to take some hits along the way and experience some, you know, no good deed kind of ⁓ repercussions.

then I will continue to do that. Because I honestly think that if I was not built like that, if I did not take chances on people like I do, ⁓ that I wouldn’t have learned as much as I have over the years.

Anthony Codispoti (57:47)
Jessica, before I ask my last question, I want to knock out a couple of things. First, everybody listening, I’ll invite you to hit the follow or subscribe button on your favorite podcast app. Want to get more great interviews like we’ve had today with Jessica. And if you want to get in touch with her, best place is LinkedIn. Her name again is Jessica Silwick, S-I-L-W-I-C-K. And we’ll have a link to that in the show notes. Also, her email address, she’s given me permission to share this with you if you want to reach out directly to her.

is jsilwick at abet.org. And again, we’ll have links to that in the show notes. So last question for you, Jessica. As you look to the future, what is it that you’re most excited about for ABET? What’s on the horizons here?

Jessica Silwick (58:33)
The way in which we are diversifying our impact and service to society, ⁓ we are no longer, and we haven’t been for a while, but we’re finally stepping out. We’re not just an accreditation board. We are an organization that is dedicated to learners and preparing learners to handle the grand challenges of our future. So through the recognition of credentials, so we’re branching out, we’re recognizing.

credentials, short burst learning opportunities as a viable, respectable ⁓ opportunity for learners to be able to make these same contributions that graduates from a two or four year degree program can make. So I think, you know, seeing that we are recognizing there’s different types of learners out there, there’s different type of learning opportunities out there and serving a much bigger ⁓ array.

of individuals around the world. I’m really excited for that. And I’m excited to see how much further we can take that and how many more educational opportunities we, ourself, ⁓ can offer as well. You we’re getting ready to launch a certificate in sustainability in STEM fields for students, for professionals, you know. And I think that, you know, just showing that we care a lot and that we care about

society as a whole and the impact that we have and the products and the services that we continue to create to be able to support that. ⁓ That’s really what I’m most excited about and engaging industry as deeply as we have and getting deeper with that and making the connection for learners to industry and their needs as well as academia. All that’s got me jazzed right now and looking forward to the future.

Anthony Codispoti (1:00:24)
Awesome. Jessica Silwick from ABET. I want to be the first to thank you for sharing both your time and your story with us today. I really appreciate it.

Jessica Silwick (1:00:32)
Thank you, Anthony, it was my honor.

Anthony Codispoti (1:00:34)
Folks, that’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories Podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.