Vote to see Morehead-Cain at SXSW EDU 2027

Morehead-Cain has submitted a panel proposal for SXSW EDU 2027 titled “Degrees Don’t Transform Lives; Experiences Do.”

The session, featuring Morehead-Cain President Chris Bradford, Allyson Horst ’27, Tai Huynh ’20, and Transylvania University President Brien Lewis ’90, explores how mentorship, real-world problem-solving, and hands-on experience help develop students in ways coursework alone cannot.

We need your help bringing this conversation to the SXSW EDU stage—cast your vote by August 23! 

Panel description

We tell students to go to college to “'earn leadership” and “build skills” in the interest of gaining employment. But as higher education faces pressure to prove its value, it must move beyond delivering course credits to delivering experiences that shape who they become. This session highlights the transformational experiences at the center of a great college education: solving real-world and community problems, accessing mentorship, and developing agency. Then, we’ll consider how ideas of “merit” shape who gets access to this kind of transformation.

Session takeaways

• A framework for leadership development and the dimensions of becoming—and how to intentionally design experiences for them.
• How to develop partnerships that empower students to solve real community problems and transform student development.
• Reframing questions of merit, access, and outcomes in higher education.

More about the speakers

Chris Bradford is president of Morehead-Cain, which identifies, invests in, and empowers young leaders of character, curiosity, and purpose. He joined Morehead-Cain in 2021 after seventeen years co-founding and leading African Leadership Academy (ALA) in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has transformed the lives of over 1,500 emerging African leaders who have gone on to study at leading global universities and are now shaping the world. Chris holds a bachelor’s from Yale and a master’s in education and an MBA from Stanford.

Brien Lewis ’90 is president of Transylvania University after eight years as president of Catawba College in North Carolina. A Toronto native, Brien earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC–Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar and student body president, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto. After practicing law, he entered higher ed at Winthrop University, serving as executive assistant to the president, founding dean of University College, and vice president for development before leading Catawba. At both schools, he increased enrollment and retention, led campaigns that grew endowments, and created new academic programs and facilities. Brien has served on boards including United Way, Crosby Scholars, and the UNC Nutrition Research Institute.

Tai Huynh ’20 is co-founder and CEO of Acta Solutions, a govtech startup he built with Pavani Peri ’20 following their Civic Collaboration summer. Acta helps local governments respond faster to citizen requests for permits, inspections, and licenses, and is now used by fifty-five local governments across fifteen states. Tai served on the Chapel Hill Town Council from 2019–2023, becoming the first Vietnamese-American elected to public office in North Carolina at age twenty-two. Born to Vietnamese refugees, he was a first-generation college student, earning a degree in computer science.

Allyson Horst ’27 is a junior scholar pursuing a career in education equity and teacher preparation. She currently researches teacher retention in the Triangle region and previously worked as a teacher’s aide. At UNC–Chapel Hill, Allyson serves as treasurer of The Daily Tar Heel, an Agora Fellow in the Program for Public Discourse, a Zietlow Fellow through Carolina Public Humanities, and a host for Morehead-Cain’s Catalyze podcast.