About me
Cole Emmanuel has the most diverse education story you'll ever hear, and he's now leading AI Ethics, Adoption, and Change Management at the world's largest education company. As Cole moved around at a young age, he attended a performing arts school, a large public school, and a rare Montessori high school before graduating at 16 and going to community college full time. After a year at community college, he moved to a small state school in Colorado before transferring to and graduating with an Astrophysics degree from Marquette University in Wisconsin.
Cole prides himself on his core value of "doing the things you don't have to do," which he credits fully for the early career success he has had. Examples of that philosophy are seen in past personal goals such as living and working in a new state every summer during college, going smartphone free for an entire year, and completing research in 3 different areas of academia. His most recent challenge was to get a graduate degree in a completely different subject, which led to him completing one of the first Master of Science in Management degrees in the new AI era.
So how does this background lead someone to work in AI at an education company?
It's all the mission. One of EF's core values is "If you want young people to change the world, you have to let them try," and Cole embodies that fully. Within a year of starting at EF, he had already stood up and led the deployment of what he calls "the most ethical AI tool." This entailed creating and leading hands-on workshops in over 10 countries for thousands of employees, as well as hosting ethical and environmental concern sessions.
Now, Cole is leaning into how AI plays a role in education, but with a unique lens. He is not building tools or systems for schools to use. He is using the unique learnings that came from teaching a company of former educators how to use AI to teach schools and students the skills that companies are needing.
He has experience presenting on the main stage at AI conferences, to groups of educational administrators, and to students. He is also passionate about AI Ethics and Environmental Intentionality, and is known for hosting free sessions for educators."We are all scared of what decisions are being made at the AI table, but now is the easiest time for anyone to get a seat, and our students deserve to know that." — Cole Emmanuel
