The SPU Voices Podcast

Seattle Pacific University alumna Margo Engberg ’89 is the founder and CEO of PinkaBella Cupcakes and PB Franchising. After 20 years of running a successful housecleaning business, she started baking cupcakes for children who had never had a birthday party. Engberg shares her incredible story of becoming a successful businesswoman and community leader. 

Seattle Pacific University's Chaplain Lisa Ishihara didn't anticipate a life in ministry when she was younger, but early on she found a love for worshipping God through her mom's musical dance choir. As a business major in college, she didn't focus on ministry, but her love for learning scriptures led her to the seminary where she earned two master's degrees from the Talbo...

SPU Voices Podcast host Amanda Stubbert led a live recording of the podcast, where she chatted with SPU professors about what Christian faith means at SPU. Faculty on the panel included Professor of English Christine Chaney, Professor of New Testament Studies David Nienhuis, Assistant Professor of Psychology Jenny Vadich, and Professor of Business Ethics Kenman Wong.

With more than 30 years experience at Seattle Pacific University, recently retired Dean of Multi-Ethnic and Wellness Programs Susan Okamoto Lane is someone who has seen big changes. As the diversity of the student body grew, the need for every student, faculty, and staff member to increase an understanding of what it means to be reconciled to God, and to one another, grew as well. As we learn to m...

Sandra Mayo is Seattle Pacific University's vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Mayo provides leadership in Seattle Pacific's ongoing work of reconciliation by providing strategic opportunities to fulfill SPU’s institutional mission. In this episode, we caught up with her to talk about her incredible journey to Seattle Pacific. Born in New York to parents who immigra...

Jacqui Smith-Bates has been the director of the Center for Career and Calling for the past 21 years, and she currently serves as the dean of career and learning support at Seattle Pacific University, overseeing the Center for Learning and the Center for Career and Calling. Jacqui loves that the Center for Career and Calling helps students discover how God has uniquely created them to serve the wor...

Alissa Shattenberg is the founder of the Sarobidy Maternity Center in Madagascar. She got her nursing degree in 2000 from SPU, then went on to receive a master's degree in nursing and a degree in midwifery. When she and her husband moved to Madagascar where they have only one doctor for every 8,500 people and the highest teen pregnancy rate in Africa, Alissa responded to that need. The matern...

Jeff Keuss is a professor of Christian ministry, theology, and culture at Seattle Pacific University, and executive director of Pivot Northwest. In this special episode of Inside Voices, we caught up with Keuss to talk about his new book, Live the Questions.

Jamie Shattenberg ’99 graduated from SPU with a degree in biology and returned to Madagascar, where he was born, to do the work he felt God called him to do. He is the international director of Eden Reforestation Projects in Madagascar, directing large-scale reforestation work, which provides income for over 1,200 men and women throughout the year while restoring the devastated ecosystems. To date...

Seattle Pacific University Vice President for Student Life Jeff Jordan is responsible for collaborative planning with SPU's academic leaders, student leaders, and student life staff. As if overseeing eight on-campus departments wasn't enough, Jordan also recently launched a leadership studies minor where he serves as professor and mentor. In this episode, Jordan talks about his career jo...

Seattle Pacific University Vice President for Student Life Jeff Jordan shares his best advice on how parents of college students can relate to their children when they return home for the holidays.

Dr. Julieta Altamirano-Crosby came to the U.S. with limited English and faced incredible hardship by the language barrier. Once she improved her English speaking skills, she became an advocate for others. Altamirano-Crosby now works in both Washington State and Guerrero, Mexico and has a long track record of collaboration and relationship-building in education and government settings. Her work is...

This episode we sat down with Ineliz Soto-Fuller, the director of Undergraduate Admissions at Seattle Pacific University. She was a first generation college student and is passionate about access to higher education. She didn't set out to work in admissions, but has now spent over 13 years helping students find their way.

Ineliz Soto-Fuller, the director of Undergraduate Admissions at Seattle Pacific University, shares her top three tips for applying to college.

Terresa Davis '07 is an accountant, a lawyer, a dedicated mother of four, a Kung Fu student, and an orange belt in Kenpo karate. She and her husband are the masterminds behind incredible Seattle restaurants including Blueacre Seafood, Steelhead Diner, Orfeo, Zane and Wylie’s, and Tempesta Coffee and Doughnuts. Born and raised in Australia, Davis recalls her journey to the United States and ho...

Seattle Pacific University's longtime gymnastics coach Laurel Tindall '75 recently retired after 46 years of coaching. She is nationally recognized as a champion of her sport. Her teams have won three national championships, her gymnasts have taken 31 individual titles, and in 2003 she was honored as national coach of the year for the fourth time. Perhaps the most impressive run of succe...

Martha Hiefield serves as CEO for the Americas of POSSIBLE, a worldwide marketing firm. Her goal is to optimize organizational strategies of the business while helping employees realize their best selves. She is dedicated to making the best agency and the best place to work, and it's evident in her work each day. 

In this episode of Inside Voices, meet Seattle Pacific University alumnus Kyle Brown '15, producer of the SPU Voices Podcast, as he shares his student journey and beyond at Seattle Pacific. After earning a degree in communications, Brown landed his first job at Seattle Pacific but shortly after faced an unexpected health challenge that taught him about the benefit of having a supportive work...

Philip Jacobs '08, SPU's 2019 Medallion Award Honoree, talks about legacy and how he hopes his life and work inspires youth despite the challenges they may encounter. Jacobs is a leadership speaker, hip-hop artist, father, and founder of the R.E.B.E.L (Redeemed Entirely by Elohim’s Love) firm. He is also a consultant and project manager at Greatheart Consulting where he develops business...

In this special minisode, meet Seattle Pacific University alumna Amanda Stubbert '95, host of the SPU Voices Podcast, as she shares about her student journey at Seattle Pacific and the people who impacted her along the way. After earning a degree in psychology and theatre, Amanda performed improv and taught theatre before returning to SPU.

After spending a semester abroad studying art history in Italy, Ashley Rodriguez fell in love with food and decided to make it her passion. Now she’s the creative genius behind the award winning food blog Not Without Salt , author of bestselling cookbooks, and host of a new YouTube series called Kitchen Unnecessary.

Seattle Pacific University President Dan Martin shares his journey of self-discovery that led him to become a university president, and he discusses his approach to leadership during unexpected challenges.

Jaymes Lackey discusses why he decided to run for school board in his community and why his education was important to him physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Laurra began her a career as a schoolteacher with no intention of returning to Peterson Cheese, a family-owned and -operated food distributor founded by her father and uncle. But along the way she discovered that running a company with, by, and for families was a calling she couldn’t ignore.

As a therapist (she received her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from SPU in 2000) and a writer, Cami excels at helping people figure out what it is they really have to say. She is the author of the quest memoir Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents .