Hey, Podcast Fans: The Women Leaders Podcast is Here!

It’s no secret that everyone on the Women Leaders staff are huge podcast fans. Most Monday staff meetings we talk about a podcast we listened to over the weekend: “You’ve gotta download the newest episode of The Trifecta,” Lisa Thuer gushes, or “This episode of The School of Greatness changed the way I think about leadership,” our fearless leader, Patti Phillips will tell us. Our episode queues are hundreds deep!

Needless to say, launching our own podcast has been something we’ve dreamed about for more than a year, and we’re THRILLED to share that the Women Leaders Podcast is finally here!

Each episode tells the stories of our members—the strong, resilient, inspired, and passionate women who lead in collegiate athletics administration, at the NCAA, at top-tier search firms, in business, and more. Our intention is to illustrate that every woman’s journey, at every level, is not always a straight one. We hope you’re able to glean lessons, find inspiration, and be motivated to aspire higher by these women’s stories!

We’re launching with four episodes that are structured as conversations with Patti and Women Leaders in College Sports all-stars: Vicky Chun, Women Leaders in College Sports president and Colgate University vice president and director of athletics; Sandy Barbour, Penn State University director of athletics; Samantha Huge, William & Mary director of athletics; and Grace Calhoun, University of Pennsylvania director of athletics.

“We have been very intentional since our re-brand about offering resources to our members year-round, in addition to our world-class opportunities at our leadership events and National Convention,” Patti says. “The Women Leaders Podcast is the perfect opportunity for our members to learn from and be inspired by incredible women who have paved the way for them and helped move the needle for women in intercollegiate athletics. We’re incredibly excited to share their stories with you!”

You can listen to all the episodes—we’re launching two a month after these first four!—on our website, or better yet, subscribe to them on Apple Podcasts or Google Play, and you’ll be automatically notified when a new episode is up!

Here’s more info about each of our first four episodes:

Episode 1: Vicky Chun

Vicky Chun is vice president and director of athletics at Colgate University and current president of Women Leaders in College Sports. She and Patti Phillips go way back—all the way to when they were interns at the NCAA together!—and the two of them chat about Vicky’s strategic and intentional path from player to coach to athletics administrator.

Episode 2: Sandy Barbour

Sandy Barbour, director of athletics at Penn State University, is one of four athletics directors in the Power Five conferences, and has a long list of accolades, including being named one of the 100 most influential women in business, landing a spot on Forbes’ list of most powerful women in sports and the top 25 most powerful people in college sports. She and Patti Phillips chat about her path to athletics administration.

Episode 3: Samantha Huge

Samantha Huge was recently named athletics director at William & Mary, after a successful tenure as senior associate AD at Texas A&M. She chats with Patti Phillips about her career journey, admitting that early on, her moves were neither intentional nor strategic—developing those skills was something she had to learn with experience.

Episode 4: Grace Calhoun

In this episode, Patti Phillips chats with Grace Calhoun, athletic director at the University of Pennsylvania. Grace was a gymnast as a kid, went to school to be an electrical engineer, was a track and field star at Brown, and received an MBA and a Ph.D in higher education—all before making her way to the top seat in athletics administration. She has shattered glass ceilings in each and every stage of her career!