Written by TalkingPoints Founder and CEO Heejae Lim
Early April is one of my favourite times of year. Spring is blooming, and so is “conference season”. I started last week at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, then headed straight to Vancouver for TED. Both conferences had plenty of buzz around AI, but what really stood out was something much deeper: the power of human connection.
At ASU+GSV, I joined a panel called “Families as Force Multipliers: Unlocking Student Success Through Collaboration”. I got to share my story and talk about how TalkingPoints is helping schools and families work together—across language, tech, and cultural barriers. One moment that really stayed with me was during the Q&A, when a principal stood up and said TalkingPoints had been a “life-saver” for building community and reaching families once considered unreachable. It was such a powerful reminder of why we do this work.
What I love about ASU+GSV is how it brings together educators, funders, innovators, and policymakers who all care deeply about the future of learning. And while that future clearly includes AI, we have to focus on making sure technology serves people, not the other way around.
TED picked up on the same theme. Many of the talks looked at how AI can actually strengthen human relationships—if we use it thoughtfully. This resonates deeply with me. At TalkingPoints, we’re using AI to break down barriers—translating messages in over 150 languages and coaching families and teachers to communicate more effectively. It’s all about helping every child succeed by making sure the adults in their life can connect.
I left both conferences full of hope and ideas—and even more convinced that when we put people at the center of innovation, we can build something truly transformational.
TalkingPoints is an education technology nonprofit with a mission to improve student outcomes by unlocking the superpower of effective family-school partnerships. The TalkingPoints Universal Family Engagement platform combines access for all families regardless of barrier or circumstance with embedded research-based guidance for educators, actionable data-informed insights, and universally designed two-way auto-translated preferred language communication.
Ten of the country’s twenty largest school districts trust TalkingPoints to create a culture where all families, no matter their background, can meaningfully partner in their children’s education. See how TalkingPoints can support your community.
