New Beginnings: EdTech Enters a Renaissance

 

The 2020 ASU+GSV was one of the first major edtech events to be postponed or cancelled because of the COVID pandemic. Now it is the first to return. In this episode, Co-founder Deborah Quazzo reflects on the incredible struggles of the past 18 months and points to more positive predictions moving forward.

Deborah is the Managing Partner of GSV Ventures, a venture fund investing in education and workforce skills technologies that are disrupting the $7 Trillion sector. In addition, she is Co-founder of the ASU+GSV Summit. Now in its 12th year, the ASU+GSV Summit celebrates innovations and innovators across the global “preK to Gray” learning and talent landscape and attracts over 5,500 attendees.

Deborah currently serves on the boards of Aakash Educational Services Ltd (a leading tutoring and test preparation company in India), Ascend Learning (a portfolio company of Blackstone and CCCP), Class Technologies, Degreed, The Educational Testing Service (ETS), Intellispark, PhotoMath, QuillBot, Remind, Stride, Turnitin (an Advance Communications company) and Valenture Institute. She is a board observer at CLI Studios, Fairygodboss and Outlier.org. She is a member of the boards of The Common Ground Foundation, The Falling Walls Digital Education Jury Board, The Khan Academy Thought Leadership Council, The New Profit Prophets Education Advisory Group, Oriental Education Institute (OEI), Steppenwolf Theatre Company and The Strada Institute for the Future of Work Advisory Committee. She previously served on the board of a number of education organizations including The Chicago Board of Education (CPS) and KIPP: Chicago.

Deborah graduated cum laude with a BA in history from Princeton University in 1982 and an MBA from Harvard University in 1987.

Watch Previous Episodes of The Age of Digital Learning!

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale
Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale
LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

Larry North
Resilience, Reinvention, and the Relentless Pursuit of Growth: Larry North’s Journey from Fitness Icon to Private Equity Leader
February 20, 2026

Entrepreneurship is being glamorized in real time. Social media highlights overnight wins, AI tools promise instant scale, and private equity is reshaping industries at a rapid clip. Yet behind every “success story” is something far less flashy: failure, adaptability, and the discipline to keep going when life hits hard. According to the U.S. Bureau…

Read More
Consulting
Consulting Reframed: Perspective, Leadership, and Impact Beyond the Client
February 19, 2026

As organizations navigate accelerating digital transformation, tighter margins, and increasing organizational complexity, the role of consultants is being re-examined. Today’s most effective consulting leaders are no longer valued simply for delivering projects, but for bringing outside perspective, cross-industry insight, and the ability to lead through ambiguity. Most large organizations today are not short on…

Read More
comedy
Laughter as a Service: How Comedy Can Power Trust, Teamwork, and Career Growth
February 19, 2026

Comedy might be the most underused business skill in your toolkit… In a world of back-to-back Zoom calls, Slack threads, and AI-generated everything, real human connection can start to feel like an afterthought. We’re moving faster than ever, but sometimes we’re listening less, reacting more, and missing the small moments that actually build trust. The…

Read More
founder-led brand
The Art of Evolution: Leading a Founder-Led Brand Into Its Next Chapter with Mary Beth Sheridan
February 19, 2026

For many retail brands, growth today isn’t just about innovation — it’s about keeping pace with customers whose expectations are evolving in real time, led by younger generations who expect brands to reflect their values and show up with cultural relevance. In fact, recent research from MG2 found that the overwhelming majority of Gen Z…

Read More