Wesleyan University Podcasts

Chad Malinowski ’19 (hockey, lacrosse), Investment Banking Analyst at J.P. Morgan, talks about his Informational Interview process – viewing networking as a 5th class to knowing which questions to ask and etiquette after a connection is made. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-malinowski-649686121/

Senior Director of Team Marketing and Business Operations for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and former women’s lacrosse player, Dipali Ottaviani ’01, joins Chris & Coach on Zoom to discuss why she chose Wesleyan, her path from Wes to the NBA, how the league handled Covid, and her appearance on the fan board during the 2020 NBA Bubble.

Madeleine Lundberg ’19 (volleyball), Consultant at Trinity, speaks with A+ host Brian C. Adams ’04 (lacrosse), President of Excelsior Capital, about her Wesleyan athletic experience, non-traditional path to finding a major and what worked in her transition from college to a career in life sciences consulting. https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeleine-lundberg-92971410b/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bri...

Former NFL Head Coach and now analyst for Fox Sports 1, Eric Mangini ’94, joins Chris & Coach on Zoom to talk about his football playing days at Wesleyan, how he got into coaching, his career path in the NFL, and he provides excellent advice for current students. You also won’t want to miss his story about how he landed a cameo on the award-winning HBO series, ‘The Sopranos’.

A Middletown, Connecticut native and former Wesleyan women’s ice hockey player, Jennifer Heppel ’90 talks to Chris & Coach about her favorite Wes memories, her career path and how she became the Commissioner of the Patriot League, the differences between working on campus for an institution versus working in a conference office, and the challenges that Covid-19 has put on Athletic competition, amo...

Episode 7 of Chris & Coach; Beyond the Box Score features former Wesleyan men’s basketball player, Greg St. Jean ’13. St. Jean is quickly moving up the NBA ranks and is currently a Player Development Coach/Advance Scout for the 2020 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers. In this must-listen interview, St. Jean discusses how he ended up at Wesleyan, what it takes to be a leader, the emotions of winning t...

Host Brian C. Adams ’04 (lacrosse), President of Excelsior Capital, speaks with John Gannon ’86 (hockey, crew), Director of Development & Alumni Affairs at the Hackley School. Gannon talks about his Wesleyan experience as a student and an athlete, his career path and provides advice and best practices on how to leverage the alumni network in securing work experience. https://www.linkedin.com/in/br...

Episode 6 features the first interview with Wesleyan student-athletes as Chris & Coach talk to executive board members of the Student-Athletes of Color Leadership Council (SACLC), President Babila Fomuteh ’21 (football) and Vice President Myla Stovall ’22 (field hockey). Check out this must-listen as Babila and Myla discuss what SACLC has been up to, why they chose Wesleyan, how Wes and their spor...

Ted Dalton ’95, Senior Vice President for Corporate Partnerships & Business Development for the Boston Celtics, talks to Chris & Coach about his football playing days at Wesleyan, the career grind, how Wesleyan helped shape him, and he gives an incredible inside look into the challenges the NBA faced due to the pandemic.

NFL Insider for ESPN and Co-Host of the Fantasy Focus Football podcast, Field Yates ’09, joins Chris & Coach to reflect on his Wesleyan days being a member of the football and men’s lacrosse programs. Yates also discusses his career path, in which he started as a Team Scout for the Kansas City Chiefs, and talks about his worst beat as a fantasy football manager. Yates also provides invaluable less...

Chris Grace and Mike Whalen ’83 interview NFL reporter at ESPN, Kimberley Martin ’03, for episode 3 of Chris & Coach; Beyond the Box Score. During the interview, Martin talks about her time working in the equipment room at Wesleyan, what it was like covering the New York Jets as a beat writer, and her position at ESPN as a NFL reporter, before answering rapid questions from the hosts in a 60-secon...

In the second episode of Chris & Coach; Beyond the Box Score, Chris Grace and Mike Whalen ’83 interview Senior Vice President and Editor-At-Large of ESPN Content, Rob King ’84. King explains why he chose Wesleyan, what it was like playing for legendary men’s basketball coach Herb Kenny, how ESPN production navigated through tough times with no sports due to Covid-19, ‘The Last Dance’ documentary o...

In the first episode of Chris & Coach; Beyond the Box Score, the voice of the Cardinals Chris Grace and Wesleyan University Athletic Director Mike Whalen ’83 interview the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Chicago Cubs, Jed Hoyer ’96. Hoyer talks about his Wesleyan experience as both a student and an athlete on the baseball team, his career path, free agent signings, navigating a...

Season One Finale: Carter Bays ’97 and Craig Thomas ’97, television writers, producers and show runners best known for their hit show How I Met Your Mother. “You want to find that spark of a story you have to tell, a story only you can tell, only in the way that you can tell it."

We repost our 2016 conversation with Laura Walker ’79, President and CEO, WNYC, the nation’s largest public radio station. “For me a lot of the fun of it, and the challenge of it, and the kind of stuff I love to do, is the mix of the creative and the business… I think that actually started at Wesleyan… There’s something about seeing connections and drawing them and reveling in them…and not being s...

Lael Brainard '83, member of the United States Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. "I found the transition [to business] relatively seamless…Wesleyan does a good job not just of exposing students to disciplinary rigors…but also of helping them and encouraging them to become engaged with the real world.”

Michael Fries ’85, President and CEO of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international TV and broadband company. “You have to be willing to take some risk in your life…I always tell younger people, just get started, figure out what you’re good at. Be patient, but if an opportunity arises be willing to take that risk, because if you’re confident in yourself and you have skills and you have that...

In honor of the success of the film "Get Out" we had to repost our interview with Bradley Whitford ’81, film and television actor (The West Wing—Emmy Award, Billy Madison, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Cabin in the Woods, Trophy Wife, Saving Mr. Banks, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Happyish, Transparent). “I urge people to really examine what brings you joy creatively. That is not always going...

Jennifer Tour Chayes ’78, Distinguished Scientist and Managing Director of Microsoft Research New England and Microsoft Research New York. "It’s really important to always be talking about what you’re passionate about…I’m always looking for somebody whose [story] is deeply engaging."

Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz '88, California-based OB/GYN and integrative medical doctor. “I didn’t really have a plan. I knew who I was and I stayed close to who I am, and I think that's how these things happen. And a lot of them were surprises…a lot of times when I planned, that’s exactly what didn’t happen."

In honor of Black History Month, an encore presentation of this interview with Beverly Daniel Tatum ’75, HON’15, President Emerita, Spelman College; author of "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race." “There was a line [in a Spelman brochure], that said, ‘This is your heritage and your calling.’ And I really felt like that sentence was spe...

In honor of Black History Month, an encore presentation of this interview with Theodore M. Shaw '76, Julius L. Chambers Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Civil Rights, University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill. “In a sense it was very selfish of me to pursue this path. Because I think I probably would have gone crazy if I didn’t find a constructive way t...

Jed Hoyer ‘96, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Chicago Cubs. “I think every day, forming an argument to support your beliefs and trying to be creative and think of new ways to build a great team…those are things that you learn getting a really good liberal arts education...You’ve got to think critically and you’ve got to be curious [to compete].”

Pete Ganbarg ‘88, Executive Vice President and Head of A&R for Atlantic Records. “Don’t wait for somebody to validate your own opinion. If you believe that it’s the right idea, do it. And if they want you to stop, they’ll tell you to stop."

Anya Fernald ‘98, sustainable food expert and CEO of artisanal food-and-agritourism company Belcampo. “We’re looking to set a precedent for how you can do the right thing and make money at it. And I’m hoping that the precedent that we set is going to inspire a lot of people…Come on world, let’s fund something that’s really real. Let’s invest in the fundamentals. Let’s invest in good agriculture."