Hospitality with Purpose

What does it really take to lead a university, manage a $70M reserve, and still make time for karate, campus walks, and connecting with students? On this week’s episode of Leadership Unplugged with WiFi, we sit down with Joe Greene, Vice Chancellor & Providence Campus President at Johnson & Wales University, to talk about: - His unexpected path from factory work to university leadership - The mentor who changed his entire career trajectory - What he believes every future leader must u...

On this special episode of Hospitable, Dean reconnects with his High School buddy, also Dean, to catch up on the last 40 years of their lives. Dean (as in "Guest Dean") offers some incredible insights on being a corporate chef for Marriott and details some of the very cool things he is doing on property down in Louisiana. Chef Donnell hit's all the highlights of the mentality needed to run a kitchen to work / life balance in the food and beverage industry. This is a great listen for anyone in...

Ever wonder what it's like to build out your own event facility? We've got you covered on Hospitable with Nick & Dean! In this episode Hugo Adames stops by the studio and explains the process he went through to launch the Event Factory - a totally unique event venue right here in our own backyard. Hugo has a fascinating background from club scene origins, to the performing arts, to now running one of the coolest event facilities around! As much as this is a walk down memory lane, this epi...

Local legend and Bonafide hospitality guru Rick Simone stopped by the HwP Studios for a chat with Nick and Dean. From his early days as a JWU Hospitality Management Graduate to learning by doing out in the field, there isn't anything that Rick hasn't experienced during his career. A cornerstone of the community here in Providence, Rick shares his journey throughout the industry, the evolving landscape of hospitality and events, and then answers 20 wild questions from Dean! This is a really fu...

Alex Highsmith, General Manager and co-owner of Spirited Away and Brand Representative for Pentire Zoomed into the HwP studios for an awesome conversation about the Sprit Free Movement. Alex shared with us her journey to becoming a managing partner of America's first spirit free bottle shop, her path toward repping premium NA options like Pentire, and her takes on spirit free's place in the current F&B landscape. This was a fun episode that covered a TON of ground...as well as a killer sp...

In the very special episode of Hospitable, JWU's very own Marita Hurn drops into the HwP Studio to chat all things social media. This episode is a wild ride with Nick in the driver seat, guest co-host Ron Blum, and Lavin on the production. Marita walks us through her strategy and approach to content development, how the pandemic launched her into this creative field, and some of the ways that we should be thinking about personal brand and it's extension into social media. This convo is so wid...

In part 2 of this deep dive into the field of Tourism, Bryan Lavin adds another title to his responsibilities for this show as not only the producer and guest, but also the co-host on this Episode! After Dean and Lav rock a 2-sip review of a very cool cold brew coffee, they get down to brass tacks and dive right into the economics and ecosystems of tourism. This is a wide-ranging episode where we learn about the field of tourism, nerd out on coffee, and get to know Lavin a little better with ...

JWU Faculty Member Lou Pullano stops by the HwP Studios for a chat with Nick and Dean about his career trajectory, how he got into teaching and higher education, and weighs in on all the amazing opportunities the JWU students have as they begin to explore their careers. Lou has a great story highlighting how finding your passion is the first step toward success...from there it's understanding how to leverage that passion into a remarkable career! Thanks for stopping by Coach...and stick...

Director of Academic Programs for JWU's College of Professional Studies, Michael O'Malley, joines Nick and Dean in studio to share his origin story and highlight some of the goings on in online education. Michael is THE definition of the non-linear career path that is often connected to Hospitality professions. Joining the restaurant industry on a whim, Michael shares his journey that took him around the world as part of the restaurant industry and how those experiences have prepared him for ...

Resident food safety expert and newly minted Grandma, Patty Bowman, stopped by for a chat with Dean and fill-in Co-Host Lavin about food safety. Patty dropped so much knowledge in her first visit we had to bring her back to talk about food safety issues in commercial situations highlighted by recent transgressions by Boars Head Meats and Chipotle. Patty also reviewed some common food safety issues around the home and kindly let Dean and Lav know all the things they were doing wrong when it co...

Nick and Dean are joined in studio by colleague, fellow Professor, and resident guru on the Hotel Industry, Katie Davin. Katie shares her experiences getting into the hotel business and then transitioning to Academia. In this rapid fire episode the crew chats about terminal degrees, advancements in the hotel industry, and the management structure of many of the larger hotels. The show wraps up with a spirited round of "who the HELL are you" where Katie is put to the test to answer the age old...

Chef Ken is the leader of JWU's dining services and spearheaded a dining hall revolution over the summer on the Providence Campus. Nick & Dean kick off the season getting to know the man behind the plan focused on improving the dining experience for students across campus. In addition to getting the scoop on how the improvements went from idea to reality, the boys discuss proper usage of the term "Chef" and JWU's commitment to leveling up the food and beverage options for students...after...

Nick and Dean welcome back Matt Samel, PhD to talk private clubs and the impact that this industry segment has on the students here at JWU. Private Clubs are like no other segment in the Hospitality Industry and Matt is the resident expert on the topic here at JWU. In addition to talking business, Dean reviews some listener feedback and almost immediately puts the commentary into action, and we answer the long-awaited question when Matt is a guest...will his parking be validated? Be s...