The Charlotte Ledger Podcast

In a special mini-podcast that's less than 10 minutes, we discuss candidates running for Charlotte City Council and Charlotte mayor in 2023: Who are they? Why are they running? How could Charlotte's city government change? Ledger editor Tony Mecia discusses the election with Charlotte Public Relations’ Bryan Holladay and Ledger elections researcher Sucharita Kodali. For more information about the...

There's been a lot of change recently at Queens University of Charlotte in Myers Park. Founded in 1857 as a private university for women, Queens today competes in Division I sports and serves about 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, president Dan Lugo and vice president of Queens’ strategic enrollment and communications Adrienne Amador Oddi...

Chris Berger is the vice president of enterprise communications at Atrium Health, a large healthcare system that operates in multiple states. In his role, Berger oversees both internal and external communications for Atrium Health and its 75,000 employees. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Berger discusses the importance of creating strong internal and external communication systems...

On May 18, 2023, a fire broke out at a construction site in SouthPark that took the lives of two construction workers, Demonte Sherrill and Reuben Holmes. Charlotte TV station WBTV obtained videos, pictures, interviews and records from the Charlotte Fire Department’s file, and released a special report called “ WBTV Investigates: Fire and Failure ” in September that digs into the May 18 fire and i...

Kathy Jetton is the president and CEO of Make-A-Wish Central and Western North Carolina. Make-A-Wish is a national nonprofit organization that grants wishes for children aged 2 to 18 with critical and life-threatening illnesses in 51 counties. On this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Jetton sat down with The Ledger’s Cristina Bolling to talk about the types of wishes Make-A-Wish grants and...

Glenda Bernhardt serves as the CEO of Freedom School Partners, an organization dedicated to promoting the long-term success of children by preventing summer learning loss and fostering a passion for reading and learning. The nonprofit primarily serves under-resourced students and communities. In this episode, Bernhardt shares more about Freedom School Partners's curriculum and how the organization...

Rick Mathieu serves as president of Johnson & Wales University’s Charlotte campus. Johnson & Wales is a public university with some 1,200 students enrolled in Charlotte. It’s located in the heart of Charlotte's Third Ward. On this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Mathieu sat down with The Ledger’s Cristina Bolling on campus of Johnson & Wales to talk about what's new at the uni...

Lynda Bouchard is the founder and chief inspiration officer of Booking Authors Ink , a boutique public relations firm dedicated to Southern authors. Bouchard assists authors in planning media tours, press releases and website content to create excitement around their books. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Bouchard talks about her transition from the airline industry to becoming a...

Restaurants look a lot different than they did a couple decades ago, with restaurant owners preferring open floor plans, using outdoor space like never before and placing the kitchen at the center of the action. In a conversation with The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia, Jason Hlewicki of the construction firm Swinerton discusses trends in the restaurant industry in Charlotte and the Carolinas. He d...

Tameka Gunn is the president and CEO of Community Link NC , a nonprofit that supports individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming unhoused. Community Link helps people in need across 15 counties in North Carolina to find safe and affordable housing. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Gunn talks about how to transition people in the Charlotte regi...

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is the 7th-busiest in the world in terms of takeoffs and landings. It handles more than 118,000 passengers a day. But it’s not done growing. Not even close. In this episode, Stuart Hair of the airport and aviation design expert Ben Goebel of architecture firm Gresham Smith discuss CLT's plans for growth over the coming decades. They discuss the latest on the...

Crystal Emerick is the founder and executive director of Brave Step , an organization that empowers individuals who have been impacted by sexual abuse. Emerick, a sexual abuse and sexual assault survivor, noticed a gap in sexual trauma support for adult survivors, especially adults who didn’t come forward immediately after their abuse. She founded Brave Step in 2014 to change that. In this episode...

Terri White is the president and CEO of the Charlotte Museum of History located on Shamrock Drive in east Charlotte. The museum is home to the Rock House, the oldest surviving house in Mecklenburg County, built in 1774. White describes her role as a “dream job” and strives to show people that history is more than just memorizing war dates.  White joined the museum in 2022. Under her leadership, th...

Mike Boykin is the CEO of Bespoke Sports & Entertainment, an award-winning Charlotte marketing agency. He’s had a career filled with successes and lessons — and he's also part of the team responsible for the idea of dumping mayonnaise on football coaches' heads at the Duke’s Mayo Classic. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Boykin discusses the importance of collaboration in the m...

Shawn Flynn is the chief communications officer for Holy Angels, an organization in Charlotte that provides care to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Prior to his role with Holy Angels, Flynn spent 24 years as a TV news reporter. He retired after his son Liam was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2018. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Flynn discusses hi...

Artificial intelligence has been getting a lot of buzz in recent months — and Lauren Marturano has a front-row seat on how it works and where it is heading. She's the founder and CEO of Zinnia, a tech platform that helps businesses plan events, and some of the software is powered by AI. In a conversation with The Ledger's Tony Mecia, Marturano discusses her experience building a tech company in Ch...

Elizabeth Hardin, former vice chancellor for business affairs at UNC Charlotte, is a fellow in Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, which is designed to broaden, deepen and accelerate social impact. She’s also an active member of her Charlotte church community and leads a discussion-based book group that encourages community and deep discussions on challenging topics. In this episode of The Cha...

Brian Baltosiewich is the founder and executive producer of The Queen City Podcast Network and Balto Creative Media. Since its founding in March 2018, The Queen City Podcast Network has grown to over 35 Charlotte-produced podcasts and is regarded as the first hyper-local podcast network in the country. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Baltosiewich discusses the history of podcasts,...

Oscar Wong was born to Chinese immigrants in Jamaica. After an engineering career, including a stint in Charlotte, he retired to Asheville and started the city's first brewery since Prohibition. Today, Highland Brewing is North Carolina's largest brewer, and Wong has become known as the state's "godfather of craft beer." He turned over operation of Highland Brewing to his daughter in 2015 and is n...

Local cafeterias sometimes produce more food than they need. Local charities need food to serve the hungry. Kim Aprill co-founded an organization called Feeding Charlotte that bridges the gap between those with excess food and the nonprofits and churches that need it — solving a local problem of food distribution. In this episode of The Charlotte Ledger Podcast, Aprill discusses with host Steve Du...

In 2014, a national study ranked Charlotte 50th out of the 50 largest metro areas in the United States in economic mobility — meaning that many of those born into poverty in Charlotte were likely to stay in poverty. It was a wake-up call, and Charlotte's large corporations, nonprofits and government mobilized to tackle the problem. Now, nearly 10 years later, how is Charlotte doing? Sherri Chisolm...

Figuring out care and support for older adults can be tricky. It involves navigating a complex web of insurance rules, healthcare options and living arrangements — and is a process that is often emotionally taxing. In this episode, Jennifer Szakaly of Charlotte-based Caregiving Corner offers tips for older adults and their loved ones and discusses the nuances of caregiving, the complexity of the h...

Finding the right healthcare coverage for your workers can be complex and confusing, and costs are expected to continue to rise. So how can employers navigate that challenge? The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia talks with Catapult’s Martha Barker about strategies for providing coverage and finding the best options for employees. This podcast is an audio version of the “Business Toolbox Series,” a we...

The job market is tight — and is expected to continue to be. So how can employers find and retain their best workers? The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia talks with Catapult’s Kendra Stewart about strategies for recruiting and keeping top talent, the importance of company culture and amenities and the shifting generational expectations in the workplace. This podcast is an audio version of the “Busin...

It's a challenging time for employers these days — what's the best advice for dealing with common human resources challenges? The Charlotte Ledger's Tony Mecia talks with Catapult’s Stephanie Dillon about tips for employers on topics including handling discipline and layoffs, hybrid and remote work and supporting employees’ mental health. This podcast is an audio version of the “Business Toolbox S...