FOUNDING COHORT  ·  AUGUST 2026

The people who benefit most from AI
aren't the ones who follow the hype.
They're the ones who got ahead of it.

Every decade or so, a new capability separates professionals — the ones who exploit it early from the ones who catch up later. Spreadsheets. The internet. Data fluency. AI is here now. The window is open. It won't stay that way. The Ascent is a structured program for professionals who are serious about turning AI awareness into applied capability.

Apply for the founding cohort → Enrollment closes July 24, 2026  ·  12 seats maximum
THE PROBLEM

You already know AI is changing the way work gets done.

What you may not know yet is exactly where it changes yours.

Right now, professionals are in one of three places: they've ignored AI entirely and are hoping it stays quiet, they've dabbled with a few tools and moved on, or they're quietly feeling the pressure to figure this out before someone else does.

If you're reading this, you're probably in the third group.

The challenge isn't access to information. There's no shortage of courses, tutorials, newsletters, and LinkedIn posts about AI. The challenge is application — connecting the right tools to the right problems in your actual work, developing judgment about where AI helps and where it misleads, and building the kind of fluency that compounds over time.

That's what The Ascent is built for.

THE PROGRAM

Four levels. Four achievements. One summit.

The Ascent is a four-level program. Each level is sequential and builds on the last. You earn an achievement at each stage — achievements that reflect what you've demonstrated and put into practice, not what you've watched.

LEVEL I AI Pathfinder 3 weeks  ·  Start here
You learn the AI landscape, evaluate the tool ecosystem, and identify one real AI opportunity in your own work. By the end of Level I, you understand what AI can and can't do, you've used tools against real problems, and you've documented an opportunity worth testing.
LEVEL II AI Navigator 4 weeks
You build a repeatable AI workflow and apply it to a real project. Navigator is where awareness becomes application — where you move from knowing the categories to building reliable habits around them.
LEVEL III AI Sherpa 5 weeks
You develop the skills to help others navigate AI adoption. Sherpa-level professionals aren't just competent users — they're the people their teams and organizations turn to for guidance.
LEVEL IV AI Operator 6 weeks  ·  The summit
You design and lead AI-integrated systems and workflows. Operators are building the processes other people follow.
The achievement standard

Each level requires demonstrated competency — attendance, a knowledge assessment, and a delivered project. There are no participation trophies. The Pathfinder achievement means something because it requires something.

THE FOUNDING COHORT

The founding cohort.

The founding cohort is the first cohort. That matters for a few reasons.

You'll work directly with me — Mark Cichonski — not a contractor, not a curriculum I've handed off. I've led data and AI initiatives and deployed AI at scale. I've been inside the initiatives that worked and the ones that didn't, and I can tell you why. That experience is the curriculum.

You'll be in a cohort of no more than twelve people. That's not a pitch — that's the ceiling. The learning model depends on the group being small enough that everyone participates. The presentations and peer feedback in Week 3 only work when every seat is filled by someone doing real work on a real problem.

You'll also help shape what comes next. Founding cohort participants' real-world use cases inform how the program develops at Levels II through IV. Your problems become part of the curriculum.

Sessions
3 weekly sessions, 90 minutes each
Schedule
Wednesday evenings, 6:00 – 7:30 PM ET  (Aug 5, 12 & 19, 2026)
Format
Remote, via Zoom
Cohort size
Maximum 12 participants
Weekly work
One assignment between sessions (~30–45 minutes)
Investment
$297  ·  Level I only $1,097 for all four levels  ·  Founding cohort saves $100 on both
Deadline
Enrollment closes July 24, 2026
After July 24, the founding cohort closes.

If there's a second cohort, it will be at a higher price point. Founding members also receive priority access to Level II enrollment when it opens.

COMMON QUESTIONS

Common questions.

Yes. The Ascent is designed for professionals who work with information, decisions, and people — not for engineers or developers. You don't need to know how AI works under the hood. You need to know how to use it in your actual work. If you can use a spreadsheet, you can do this program.
Courses give you information. This program produces demonstrated capability. You'll complete a knowledge assessment, build and present a real AI opportunity from your own work, and earn an achievement that reflects what you've actually done — not what you've watched. The cohort model also means you're learning alongside peers working through the same challenges, which is where a significant amount of value lives.
The AI Pathfinder achievement is issued upon completion of Level I. To earn it, you must attend all three sessions, pass the Week 3 knowledge assessment (scenario-based, 10 questions, 70% threshold), and present a documented AI opportunity from your own work. It's an achievement with a standard — one you can explain with specificity and point to with confidence.
Three 90-minute sessions over three weeks, plus approximately 30–45 minutes of work between sessions. Total: roughly 6–7 hours across the program. The bigger investment is the cognitive one — you'll be thinking about your work differently.
Attendance at all three sessions is a program requirement. If a conflict comes up, contact your facilitator before the session. In exceptional circumstances, arrangements can be discussed. Missing a session without notice is not something the program accommodates.