A Transformation Beyond Willpower
Bridgett Strickler’s journey into the heart of adult education and workforce strategy did not begin in a policy meeting or a classroom; it began in aisle five of a Walgreens. Nearly fifteen years ago, a single text message delivering news of a friend’s suicide forced her to confront her own path of numbing grief and fear. Standing at that crossroad, she realized that survival, and eventually, thriving, required more than mere willpower.
Strickler found her “saving grace” in the simple, profound act of being seen by a supportive community. Walking into her first recovery meeting and hearing strangers say, “Hello, Bridgett,” rewired her understanding of human potential. It was here she learned the principle that would define her career: “Transformation is not a solo act.” Today, as a nationally recognized champion for adult learners, she works to ensure that no one has to navigate their “comeback story” alone.
Learning as a Relational Act
Strickler’s academic foundation is a blend of economics and education, holding a Bachelor’s from Bucknell University and a Master’s in the Art of Teaching from the University of Louisville. However, it was her return to the classroom at age 47 to earn her MBA that crystallized her professional mission. Carrying the “quiet fear” common to many adult learners, the doubt of whether a working mother and career changer truly belonged, she discovered that her success was fueled by the cohort of classmates who became her community.
This experience taught her that education is most effective when it is “relational, not transactional.” She realized that most adult learners do not lack motivation; rather, they are navigating high-stakes systems built for someone else, often with little margin for error. This realization turned her personal reinvention into a professional mandate to design systems that don’t ask learners to be “superheroes just to survive”.
Scaling the “Comeback” Narrative
Strickler’s career is defined by her ability to bridge the gap between grassroots needs and systemic strategy. As a senior leader at The Graduate! Network, she was instrumental in launching and scaling some of the most significant adult learner engagement campaigns in the U.S., reaching over 4,000 businesses and 6,000 workers. Her work proved that employer engagement models could drive both economic mobility and business retention.
A cornerstone of her leadership was the co-creation of Bridging The Talent Gap (BTTG), a grassroots initiative that uses data to help employers and communities understand the hidden potential within their workforce. By creating immediate on-ramps for education through employer-education partnerships, she demonstrated that systemic change is most sustainable when it solves immediate human barriers. Her peers have noted this relentless drive, with colleagues highlighting that
"Bridgett was exceptional; her authenticity, energy, and clear vision stood out immediately".
Dignity as Infrastructure
Now serving as Senior Partner for Adult Learner Engagement & Impact at the Center for Academic Innovation, Strickler continues to advocate for “meaning-making” in the education sector. She helps organizations replace “deficit narratives” with dignity and visibility, ensuring that lived experience is honored as a professional asset. Her 2025 TEDxWomen talk, “If You’re Going Back to School, Community May Be the Medicine,” served as a global platform for this message, challenging the notion that personal grit is a sustainable solution for economic mobility.
Strickler’s impact is measured not just in policy shifts, but in the thousands of adults she has connected to pathways aligned with their goals. She uses storytelling as a strategic tool, regularly interviewing learners to surface the breakthroughs that shape educational comebacks. To her, these are not just stories; they are the evidence required to move leaders from “compliance to commitment”.
A Relational Ecosystem
Looking ahead, Strickler envisions a workforce development landscape that functions as a “relational ecosystem” rather than a transactional one. Her goal is to normalize returning to education later in life, transforming it from a rare exception into a celebrated standard. She remains a vocal advocate for institutions to “design with belonging in mind,” understanding that persistence in any endeavor is fueled by connection as much as content.
Her leadership philosophy is grounded in humility and shared accountability. She believes that no single stakeholder holds the full solution, and success is found only when employers, educators, and learners stay at the table through the hard work of adaptation. For Strickler, the ultimate metric of success is rewriting the internal narrative of the adult learner:
“If my work helps rewrite the narrative from ‘too late’ to ‘just getting started,’ then I’ll know it mattered.”
Editorial Note
Bridgett Strickler’s journey reminds us that our “nonlinear” paths are often our greatest strengths. Her work challenges leaders to look beyond skills and credentials to see the human being at the center of the system. To learn more about her strategies for building community-based infrastructure or to view her TEDx talk, connect with her via the Center for Academic Innovation or follow her ongoing series of learner comeback stories on LinkedIn.
