In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ben Hallett sits down with Dr. Sheree Utash, President of Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech) a visionary leader transforming the landscape of technical education and workforce development. Since assuming the presidency in 2015, Dr. Utash has led WSU Tech through a remarkable period of growth and change, including its pivotal 2018 affiliation with Wichita State University. Under her leadership, WSU Tech has become Kansas’ largest technical college and the managing partner for the National Center for Aviation Training, setting the national standard for innovation in applied learning.
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In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ben Hallett sits down with Dr. Shené Owens, Director of Student Affairs, and Dr. Bernadette Poerio, Assistant Director of Student Affairs at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development. Together, these dynamic leaders bring a powerful combination of strategic vision, student-centred practice, and deep commitment to fostering belonging in higher education.
In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ben Hallett sits down with Dr. Shoshana Zeisman-Pereyo, Executive Director of Student Academic Support Services at Portland State University. A student-centred educational leader and champion for inclusive excellence in STEM, Shoshana is an expert in designing, scaling, and sustaining programs that drive academic success for diverse student communities.
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In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo’s Director of Sales, Lyndin Francis, sits down with Rosie George, Manager of Student Engagement & Experience at the University of Adelaide. A strategic and creative higher education professional, Rosie is passionate about building inclusive, student-centred programs that help individuals belong, navigate, and thrive. From transforming orientation into immersive, story-driven journeys to embedding peer leadership into institutional culture, Rosie’s work sits at the dynamic intersection of planning, support, and cross-campus activation.
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In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo’s Director of Sales, Lyndin Francis, sits down with Michelle Collins, Program Lead of Libraries for Belonging at Monash University. A qualified librarian and passionate advocate for community-centered storytelling, Michelle blends creativity, digital strategy, and deep literary insight to transform how libraries engage their communities. With a background spanning bookshops, English literature, and digital communication, her mission is clear: to bridge the gaps between readers and writers, messages and audiences, and libraries and the communities they serve.
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In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo’s Director of Sales, Lyndin Francis, sits down with Guillermo Merelo, Associate Director of Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Waipapa Taumata Rau, The University of Auckland. With a rich and global career spanning over 30 years, Guillermo brings unmatched expertise at the intersection of diversity, equity, inclusion, organisational development, and community engagement. From his early days as a senior public officer in Latin America to leadership roles across Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Guillermo’s work has consistently pushed the boundaries of people and culture strategy through an academic and justice-focused lens.
