The ExecMBA Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Leah Svoboda. Leah is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is the newly elected President of the Network of Executive Women (NEW) student organization. We talk with Leah about her background, her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her Darden as well as NEW’s plans for the years ahead. This episode is highly recommended...

Please join our Admissions team for these special micro-podcast episodes giving you a step by step guide to the application process. There are two ways to listen to the playlist... here, on Spotify ► https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EtyMkjZzi9ErgSjrTxKEl?si=1bffd345fee549ad

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with LaShondra Ervin. LaShondra is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Executive Student Association (ESA). We chat with LaShondra about her decision to pursue an MBA, what attracted her to Darden, as well as how she and her family have navigated the firs...

On this episode, we are joined by longtime friend of the podcast, Director of Admissions Katherine Alford, for a conversation that is something of an annual tradition – the application launch episode! Our new Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA applications are now live, and we catch up with Katherine to talk about the applications as well as tips and strategies for Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA app...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions, Dawna Clarke, to reflect on a truly historic opening week for the Darden School of Business. On Monday, 15 August, for the first time in the history of the School, we welcomed Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, and Executive MBA students to grounds for the start of school. In this episode, we...

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we’re excited to share a recent installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke and Senior Associate Dean, Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Grushka-Cockayne leads UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA  and MSBA programs, and she is also a member of the...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 15th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Robert Carraway. Carraway teaches in the Quantitative Analysis area, and he has taught in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA and Executive MBA programs, and he will teach Decision Analysis in the core curriculum of the newly launched...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 14th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Andy Wicks. Wicks teaches Ethics in Darden’s MBA and Executive Education programs. An ethicist with a background in religious studies, Wicks examines both the theoretical and practical implications of ethics through thought-pr...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Debbie Herndon. Debbie is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and in this wide-ranging conversation she reflects upon her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden and the supportive community she encountered from her very first moments as a Darden student. Debbie also reflects upon returning to school later in her career and the i...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jack Elsea and Matt Gray. Jack and Matt are second year students in the Executive MBA class of 2023, and we talk with them about the importance of making connections with classmates prior to the start of school, strategies for navigating the first year of the Executive MBA program, as well as what they are excited about as they move into their secon...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Lauren Powlovich. Lauren is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also a doctor. Lauren currently serves as the Associate Chief Medical Officer for the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, a Charlottesville-based foundation dedicated to bringing focused ultrasound, an early-stage, noninvasive therapeutic technology, to the treatment of...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jarred Mack. Jarred is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and he is also a Naval service member. We talk with Jarred about his service in the Naval supply corps, his decision to pursue an MBA and how he has balanced work, life and school in his first year at Darden. He also shares insights about his plans for the Darden Execut...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Billy Petersen (Class of 2023). Billy is as second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and he is also a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at UVA Health. We talk with Billy about his medical career, his decision to pursue an MBA and how he has fit UVA Darden’s Executive MBA program into a very full professional and family life. Billy als...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 13th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Manel Baucells. Baucells teaches quantitative analysis courses in Darden's MBA and Executive Education programs. Baucells' research focuses on incorporating psychological realism into consumer behavior models by considering fa...

Over the coming weeks on the ExecMBA Podcast, we will spotlight Executive MBA clubs and organizations. First up is the Darden Executive Fund (DEF). The Darden Executive Fund (DEF) is an independent study providing Executive MBA students hands-on experience researching, pitching, and directly managing a portfolio of active investments in publicly traded assets. Members of the DEF leadership board,...

In this special edition of the Darden Admission's podcast, we share the 12th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor June A. West. West is the Marjorie R. Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration, and she specializes in organizational communication, leadership, strategy, and change management. She teaches in Darden’s MBA, Execut...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Gopika Spaenle, the new Career Center Managing Director for Professional Degree Programs at the Darden School of Business. During this conversation, Gopika reflects upon what led her to Darden, why she’s passionate about supporting working professional students, as well as career paths and resources for Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA students. This...

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we spotlight the recent Finals Exercises at the University of Virginia and the Darden School of Business. Every year, the Darden ceremony features student speakers who are nominated and voted upon by their classmates. We’re excited to share the remarks from Alex Smith (MBA ’22), the Full-Time MBA student speaker as well as Joe Stanley (EMBA...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Alta DeRoo. Alta is a graduate in our Executive MBA Class of 2022, and she was recently named Chief Medical Officer for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. In this conversation, we talk with Alta about her background as both an OB/GYN as well as an addiction specialist, her decision to pursue an MBA, and how her Darden classes helped her grow as a l...

In this episode of the podcast, we continue our spotlight on the Executive Student Association (ESA) and catch up with Nate Carlson and Sarah Boschung. Nate and Sarah are first year students in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and they are the President and the Executive Vice President of the ESA, respectively. We talk with Nate and Sarah about their background, their decision to pursue an MBA, ho...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Amy Egeli. Amy is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also the Executive Student Association's (ESA) Vice President for Careers. We talk with Amy about her career as a Navy aviator, her decision to pursue an MBA, the important role her Learning Team has played as she's navigated the first year of the program and her goals for he...

Calling all Executive MBA applicants! In this episode of the podcast, Admissions Committee members and friends of the podcast, Katherine Alford and Ashley Robinson share tips and insights for Executive MBA applicants targeting the remaining deadlines for our Executive MBA Class of 2024, enrolling August 2022  – 10 May, 10 June and 25 June. Topics include MBA timing, test waiver requests, scholarsh...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Raj Venkatesan. Venkatesan is a member of the Marketing faculty at Darden, and he was recently named the Co-Academic Director for the M.S. in Business Analytics program, a one-year specialized masters offered by the UVA Darden School of Business in partnership with UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce. Venkatesan’s areas of ex...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Colin Wright-Pruski. Colin is graduate in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2021, and in this wide-ranging conversation, he reflects upon his decision to pursue an MBA and how his family nudged him to take this step. He also discusses serving as a class leader and how the Darden community transformed his MBA experience and helped him navigate a he...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Aisha Pridgen. Aisha is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2022, and in this conversation she reflects upon her decision to pursue an MBA and how she leveraged her Darden experience to secure a new role in the healthcare industry. She shares the tactics and strategies she employed as she explored potential career paths, as...