Work Shift is a digital hub for news, analysis, and opinion focused on whether education and training are delivering the talent and opportunity that society needs.
Why? Education and work are evolving rapidly—news coverage isn’t keeping up.
Over the past two decades, our understanding of success in postsecondary education has evolved dramatically. We’ve come to more fully understand that access and completion don’t mean much if credentials don’t translate to good careers, economic mobility, and ultimately better lives. As the future of work arrives and government investment expands dramatically, there’s a need for sophisticated reporting and analysis aimed squarely at the intersection of education and work.
That’s what we do.
The Leadership Team
Elyse Ashburn
Elyse is co-founder and editor of Work Shift. An award-winning journalist and analyst, she has spent her career focused on economic mobility and equity in postsecondary education. Before starting Work Shift, she worked as an independent writer and advisor. Elyse also previously served as chief of staff to the president at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which is a national leader in educating Black, Latino, and women students in fields in which they are underrepresented. Elyse started her career in local journalism, and was both a reporter and senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education, where she led coverage of student access and success.
Contact: elyse@workshift.org
Paul Fain
Paul is co-founder of Work Shift, editor of the must-read newsletter, The Job, and host of The Cusp podcast. A veteran higher education reporter, Paul is perhaps the nation’s top journalist focused on connections between education and work. He started Work Shift after a decade as a senior reporter and then news editor at Inside Higher Ed, where he led the outlet’s coverage of low-income and first-generation students, college completion, community colleges, federal policy, and emerging models of higher education. He also was the founding host of the successful podcast, The Key with Inside Higher Ed, and has contributed chapters for books on innovation in higher education, published by the Harvard University Press and the Stanford University Press. Earlier in his career, Paul was a senior reporter at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Contact: paul@workshift.org
Contact Us
To pitch a story idea, submit an op-ed, or otherwise reach Work Shift staff, email us at editors@workshift.org.