From new trustees to a new alumni network to a new team member, spring 2026 has brought significant growth across every part of Reliance College.
Here’s what’s new:
Two Great Connections Alumni Join the Board of Trustees
Eric Rhodes and Jake Ilson, both alumni of The Great Connections Seminar, have joined the Reliance College Fund Board of Trustees.
Eric first came to the seminar in 2009, at 17, and returned three more times. He’s now a materials engineer in the Bay Area, finishing a master’s in engineering management. In a conversation we recorded with him, he reflected on what the program had meant, and what he said captures something short testimonials rarely do.
On whether one week is worth the time:
“It’s worth a semester of college, for sure, if not more. You’re doing eight, sometimes ten hours a day of talking and reading. The level of understanding you have of the material is ten, a hundred times as deep” as what you’d get from a lecture.
The skills go beyond comprehension. Learning to restate what someone said in his own words until they confirm he’s understood has, he says, “wormed its way into how I interact with people” at work and at home. And the introspection exercises Marsha gave students to work through alongside the seminars? “I’ll argue introspection is more important. One is figuring out yourself, which I think might be harder. But they galvanize each other.”
Eric has been carrying all of this for sixteen years. Now he’s joining the board to help build it for the next generation.
Jake Ilson brings his own Great Connections experience and professional expertise alongside Eric’s. Jake, who first attended at 16, describes the experience as giving him “a huge amount of self-reliance, self-responsibility, and confidence.” This was the foundation, he says, for how he eventually built a management career in banking without a college degree.
Their joining is more than a governance milestone. The students who come through these programs don’t just leave changed, they often come back.
The Great Connections Alumni Network Is Taking Shape
We’ve engaged Isabel (Isa) Moino — a Great Connections alumna and co-founder of Emergent Innovation, a collaborative facilitation firm — to develop a formal alumni organization. Isa has surveyed the alumni community, and the first meetings have recently been underway.
It’s fitting that Isa is leading this. Her professional work is built directly on the Socratic facilitation skills she traces back to The Great Connections — creating environments where people think better together.
If you’re a Great Connections alumnus and haven’t heard from us yet, reach out to Isamoino@reliancecollege.org. We want to find you.
Familaro Enright Joins the Board of Great Books Great Conversations
Marsha Familaro Enright has been invited to join the board of Great Books Great Conversations, an organization dedicated to bringing the Great Books tradition to broader audiences through dialogue and discussion. The invitation deepens our connection to the wider community of educators and institutions committed to serious liberal arts education.
AI Proof U™ Completes Its First Full Cohort – with Raymie Stata
This spring, Reliance College completed the first full run of AI Proof U™ – our hybrid program developing the human capacities AI can’t automate: judgment, reasoning, and communication. The cohort ran March through May, with in-person intensives in Chicago bookending six weekly online seminars.
The capstone included an evening at the Union League Club with Raymie Stata, former CTO of Yahoo, on “How to Navigate Your Career in the Age of AI.” Stata’s argument: the professionals who thrive won’t be those who use AI most fluently, but those with judgment and breadth that AI can’t replicate. “You can crank stuff out and not get the depth,” he observed. With his approval, the recording will be published online — we’ll announce when it’s available.
The next cohort begins October 2, 2026. Cost is $2,500 with flexible payment options. Applications are open at reliancecollege.org/ai.
A Seminar on the Declaration of Independence — Filmed for Teachers
On May 18th, Marsha Familaro Enright facilitated a seminar on the Declaration of Independence for the Free Society Coalition, filmed to show teachers what a well-facilitated Socratic seminar looks like in practice – the depth of engagement it produces and how a facilitator guides inquiry without directing conclusions. We’ll share details on how to access this resource as it becomes available.
Kirsten Lopez Joins as Development Officer
We’re pleased to welcome Kirsten Lopez to the team as Development Officer, who is starting July 6th. Kirsten comes from the Herzog Foundation, where he received hands-on training across the full scope of development work. He arrives with professional preparation, enthusiasm for the Great Books, and a clear mandate: expand our reach as we move into our opening year.
Welcome, Kirsten.
Looking Ahead
To support the work described above, make a gift at reliancecollege.org or reach out to Marsha Familaro Enright at Marsha@reliancecollege.org.
The community is growing. We’re glad you’re part of it.
