Hart & Hustle Podcast

Veteran homelessness is a complex challenge—yet organizations like Soldier On show us it's solvable. Casey DiCicco, Communications Director, and Bruce Buckley, CEO/President of Soldier On, share how their mission-driven work over the past 30 years transforms lives, one veteran at a time. This is the story of relentless dedication and innovative support systems—and what mission-driven leaders can l...

Unlock the transformative power of youth programs with Sue Gabriel, director of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem. She shares how a safe, engaging environment for kids isn’t just about after-school fun—it sets the foundation for resilience, leadership, and lifelong success. This is the story of how decades-old organizations like the Boys and Girls Club continue to shape future leaders — and...

John Frost, VP of Enrollment Management at Doane University, shares how one conversation — and one person who believed in a student before she believed in herself — sparked a ripple effect that changed three generations and an entire workplace. In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How to shift your team from "order takers" to "dream makers" — and why this changes everything about community enga...

Tymon Graham, VP of Student Affairs at Florida Memorial University, shares how he's spent 15 years building student access, institutional trust, and mission-driven leadership across three cities — and why he keeps choosing the hard institutions on purpose.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How FMU's scholarship portal is closing the funding gap for students who would otherwise leave money o...

Mollie Rockafellow, VP of Student Affairs at Eastern Oregon University, shares how the adversity she survived became the leadership framework she now teaches — and how mission-driven leaders can stop fixing deficits and start building on the strengths their teams already carry. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How to map the hidden patterns and systems undermining your organization's culture...

Chris Powers, VP for Enrollment at Mount St. Joseph University, shares what 25 years of servant leadership in higher education teaches you about mission, access, and who really deserves a chance.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How to lead first-generation participants through institutional barriers using the "Rule of Thirds" framework  ✅ Why small mission-driven organizations can adapt...

Lauran Hundshamer, VP of Marketing & Enrollment at St. Catherine University, shares how she rebuilt a 120-year-old brand strategy to compete—and grow—during the enrollment cliff crisis threatening universities nationwide. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How to use data dashboards and segmentation to identify high-intent audiences and convert them at higher rates ✅ Why hyper-personalize...

Heath Einstein, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Texas Christian University, shares how his team uses data, AI, and radical hospitality to reach the communities most institutions have forgotten — and what 25 years of mission-driven leadership has taught him about earning trust at scale.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How to use data personalization and AI to reach post-tradition...

Todd Rinehart from the University of Denver shares how he manages 22,000 applications a year with a small team — and the outreach, AI, and relationship-building systems that keep people from falling through the cracks.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How to scale personalized outreach when your team can't possibly reach everyone individually  ✅ Why the people who need your programs most...

LeAnn Hughes, Senior VP of Enrollment & Marketing at Valparaiso University, shares how she built a human-centered leadership philosophy after losing her father at 15 — and how that personal journey shapes the way she leads teams, reaches people in need, and navigates the tension between technology and genuine human connection.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ The "high touch, high tech...

Ethan Logan, VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Hartford, shares how 28 years of mission-driven leadership in higher education has shaped his approach to breaking down barriers, sustaining institutions that serve underserved communities, and building lasting access — one student, one family, one generation at a time.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How to reframe the ROI of...

Dr. Jeremy Taylor, VP of Enrollment Management at Defiance College, shares how he reversed 10 years of declining enrollment — growing 78% in Year 1 and 20% in Year 2 — without industry experience, a big budget, or the "way it's always been done."  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ How to use data to find overlooked growth pockets your competitors are ignoring  ✅ Why personalized, community-...

David Cooper, Director of Community Outreach at Central Community House, shares how he left a corporate career, took a major pay cut, moved back to the neighborhood that raised him, and built one of Columbus's most powerful community mentorship and men's mental health movements — from the ground up.  In this conversation, you'll learn:  ✅ Why calling people "neighbors" instead of "clients" fundam...

Jamie Merrill — President & CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida — walked across her college graduation stage six months pregnant, on Medicaid, living paycheck to paycheck. Today she leads 15,500 kids across 40 clubs in five counties and was just named Orlando Magazine's Woman of the Year. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How Jamie built a leadership identity rooted in calling...

Chris Thomas, VP for Student Affairs at West Texas A&M University, shares how he built a culture of mentorship, belonging, and authentic leadership — sustaining 26 years of mission-driven service without burning out. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How the internal vs. external locus of control framework develops accountable, resilient teams ✅ Why authentic leadership — not programs or...

Katie Condon, VP of Enrollment Management at Eastern Michigan University, shares how a first-generation college student with no family roadmap climbed from temp admissions counselor to vice president — and built a division focused on access, belonging, and saying yes to students others overlook. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How to advocate for yourself so leaders can actually coach and s...

Meaghan Arena, VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Southern Maine, shares how she grew enrollment year-over-year while institutions nationally are losing ground — and the leadership philosophy that made it possible. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How to build a culture where frontline staff drive strategic improvement — not just leadership ✅ Why meeting people where they are...

Pete Vernig, VP of Mental Health Services at Recovery Centers of America,  breaks down how his team maintains a unified clinical culture across 12  inpatient programs and 14 outpatient locations — and what every mission  leader can learn about scaling care without losing their soul. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How RCA built a unified clinical model across 8 states — and what it     took...

David Barron, VP of Enrollment Management at the University of Texas at Tyler, has spent 26 years doing what every mission-driven leader is trying to figure out: how do you reach the people who need you most, remove the barriers standing between them and opportunity, and scale that impact — without unlimited resources? In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How a peer mentor model expanded from 4...

Is your institution — or organization — measuring the wrong definition of success? Dean Kahler, enrollment leader at the University of Idaho, has spent his career challenging one uncomfortable truth: most institutions celebrate outcomes they should be ashamed of. In this episode of the Hart & Hustle Podcast, Dean joins Efrain Lozada for a  candid conversation about what it actually takes to le...

What if the key to retaining your best people wasn't a better benefits package — but whether they feel truly seen? Javier Flores has spent 30+ years in higher education investing in students others overlooked. As VP of Enrollment Management at Texas Woman's University, he's built a people-first philosophy that nonprofit HR and People Ops leaders need to hear. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅...

David Harris, CEO of Pro-PT Physical Therapy, built a 20-clinic healthcare organization across California's Central Valley — and he'll tell you the growth almost never happened. In this conversation, David shares the leadership philosophy, communication systems, and people-first culture that took him from PT technician to CEO across a 27-year career — including the moment he almost walked away fro...

VP of Marketing at a nonprofit that didn't believe in marketing — here's what he built. Christopher Lloyd is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Aspire Indiana Health, one of Indiana's largest nonprofit health systems serving 40,000+ patients annually across behavioral health, primary care, addiction recovery, housing, and crisis services. But when Christopher joined in 2019, the...

Dennis Carradin has been on the ground at 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Sandy Hook, and post-Columbine for 30 years — as a trauma therapist specializing in first responders and healthcare workers. In this conversation, he shares how a single encounter at a Dunkin' Donuts after Sandy Hook became the foundation of the Trauma Survivors Foundation: a national network now spanning 41 states, 2,800 trained t...

Dianna Huddleston, VP of Community Partnerships at Aspire Indiana Health, breaks down how their organization serves 40,000 clients across 8 clinics—offering primary care, behavioral health, pharmacy, housing, and employment services all under one roof. In this conversation, you'll learn: ✅ How Aspire's "no wrong door" same-day access model works in practice ✅ Why they opened pharmacies inside th...