33N83W

Our guest today is Dr. Pedro Villegas, a worldwide renown expert in avian virology, vaccine inventor, and a retired professor from UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He has been bestowed countless honors for his legendary work in his field, including one by the Georgia House of Representatives, and in 1999, he was the co-recipient of the University of Georgia Inventor Award for the discovery of the Villegas-Glisson/GA strain of Newcastle disease virus vaccine. In 2013 he was elected to the Hall of Honor of the World Veterinary Poultry Association. Born in Líbano, Tolima, Colombia, Dr. Villegas obtained his Veterinary degree from Universidad del Tolima in Colombia, completed his Master’s degree at Texas A&M University, and his PhD at the University of Georgia before becoming a professor at UGA. During his tenure at the University, he mentored numerous graduate students at the Master’s and PhD levels. His main work has been in the area of avian virology and control of poultry diseases, for which he has developed vaccines and procedures that help to stop the spread of poultry disease or mitigate its effects. He has published close to 100 peer reviewed articles covering different avian viruses and given nearly 300 presentations in 56 different countries. He is a father to 3 children, including Dr. Andres Villegas, President & CEO, Georgia Forestry Association and Patricia Elena Villegas, both UGA alumni; and Pedro Villegas, a graduate from Notre Dame and UC San Diego. His wife, Angela, received her Master’s degree from UGA and retired from working at UGA as a clinical microbiologist.

With gratitude and grace, Sumit Roy leads Realty Income, a $58 billion San Diego-based company, as its CEO & President. Realty Income owns and manages a portfolio of over 11,200 commercial properties located across the United States as well as in Puerto Rico, the UK, and Spain; and since being promoted to his current roles, he has overseen the doubling of the company’s assets from approximately $28B to $58B and with his team of employees.Prior to joining the company, Mr. Roy was an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank where he worked for seven years. During his tenure at UBS, he was responsible for more than $57B in real estate capital markets and advisory transactions. Prior to joining UBS, he worked in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, and as a Principal in technology consulting at Cap Gemini.He received an undergraduate degree from Georgia College & State University, a graduate degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Podcasts.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a Michelin starred chef? Well you’ll find out today because my guest is Michelin-starred Chef Drew Deckman! Drew grew up in Peachtree City, GA. After graduating from Rhodes College with a degree in Philosophy, he embarked on a culinary journey that took him thru Europe, and that journey included working with some of the biggest names in the culinary world, and earned him a coveted Michelin star for his work in Restaurant Vitus in Germany as well as 2003’s Rising-Star Chef award while executive chef at the Four Seasons in Berlin. After many years of working here and abroad, he finally found his home in Baja, Mexico, which is just south of the border in California. He is the proprietor of Deckman’s in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico, an area that has grown into an exciting new wine and culinary scene. Ever the Bulldawg fan, Drew generously donated two 5-course meals from his acclaimed restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe to support the San Diego Alumni Chapter’s local scholarship fundraiser last year! He keeps his restaurant doors open to all fans of Bulldawg Nation!

Joining us today are Will and Catherine Ostick, foreign service officers within U.S. Department of State and UGA Grady School of Journalism college sweethearts! Will is a career Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State. He has served as Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Consulate in Kabul, U.S. Consul General in Tijuana, Director for the Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs for the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs and as information officer at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, to name a few of his exotic posts from around the globe. He graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens with a BA in journalism and holds a Masters Degree in international commerce and policy from George Mason University. He is also a graduate of the Industrial College of Armed Forces with a Masters Degree in national resource strategy.Catherine is also a graduate of UGA with a Bachelors in Broadcast Journalism, and a Master's in Physical Education and taught P.E. and Spanish for over 10 years. She too has held various positions alongside Will within the U.S. Department of State. Currently, she is the Consular Assistant with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and prior to that as a Community Liaison Office Coordinator in Kabul, Afghanistan. Together they established 2 of UGA’s more exotic alumni chapters – the first in Kabul and the second in Mexico City!Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Podcasts

Joining us today is Shelton Wilder, a UGA graduate with a Bachelor in Business Administration. As a savvy serial entrepreneur, she has started a luxury lifestyle management company, a celebrity fashion stylist business, and invented the Shemie, which she debuted on Shark Tank. She is now the CEO of the Shelton Wilder Group and has become one of the top luxury real estate agents in Los Angeles. The Shelton Wilder Group has achieved a staggering $300 million in total sales, putting her in the top 1.5% of realtors nationwide. She was named 2021 Real Estate All-Star by Los Angeles Magazine and nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year by the LA Business Journal, and in Forbes Magazine she was named to the Top 10 Business Professionals to look out for in 2022 list. But life has not always been a smooth ride as we will hear from her having hit rock bottom in more ways than one, including surviving bankruptcy and achieving sobriety, but like every good “bulldawg in business,” she picked herself up and found her passion for real estate and is now one of the most successful realtors nationwide!

Jay Bailey, President and CEO of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), commands a $40 million dollar project that is the largest center in America, dedicated to empowering African American entrepreneurs and small business owners. Jay is an Atlanta native and die-hard Georgia Bulldog, He has been recognized by 3 U.S. Presidents for his leadership and community efforts. In 2012, he was one of eight Americans honored at the White House as a “Champion of Change: Following in the Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”Dedicated to service, he is the National Point of Light Award and a Presidential Lifetime Volunteer Service Award recipient from the Obama Administration and officially named an “Amazing Atlantan” by the city of Atlanta. He is a recipient of the coveted Whitney M. Young National Community Service Medallion, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Service Award, a New Leaders Council Fellow, member of Alpha Phi Alpha and the 100 Black Men of Atlanta.Jay is married to NBC news correspondent Blayne Alexander and together with their daughter Sage live in Atlanta.

In this episode, meet Doug and Jane Root, UGA college sweethearts and co-founders of Rustic Roots Wood in Monroe, GA! Doug started their reclaimed wood business after embracing his entrepreneurial spirit and finding the courage to walk away from his long-time family business, Atlanta Lightbulb. In changing careers, he went from the known to the unknown to become an incredibly successful purveyor of reclaimed wood and wood products. And in it he has found more than just success, but also renewed joy in his career. And if the reclaimed beams that he sells could talk, the stories rich in history and intrigue they would surely tell, but since they can’t literally talk, Doug shares some of those stories with us, including one with George Washington. Jane started college at UGA, where her and Doug’s love story took root, and then graduated from Medical College of Georgia with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing. Jane first served as a nurse within the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta network, first on the hematology and oncology floor and then as a nurse coordinator for the spina bifida clinic. Her and Doug are the proud parents of 2 smart and beautiful teenage daughters, Riley and Elizabeth Root. Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Amazon Podcasts!

In this episode UGA alumnae Dr. Mila Shah-Bruce takes a break in between surgeries to join us and talk about how she manages life as a mom of 2 boys, a wife, an MD at Ochsner LSU Health with 2 American Board certifications – one in Obstetrics and Gynecology and another in Obesity Medicine, and a focused practice designation in Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (in which she is among the few elite doctors in the state of Louisiana with that designation). She is also an Assistant Professor and the medical student Clerkship Director at Ochsner LSU Health. She was inducted in the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2018 for excellence in teaching; and as if all her accolades and certifications to date were not enough, she is currently pursuing her PhD with an emphasis in health professionals education with a view to becoming dean of a medical school.

Today’s guest is back by popular demand – Darrell Blocker! Darrell is a UGA alumni and former CIA agent. We spoke with Darrell over a year and a half ago, and since then he has expanded his portfolio as a successful Hollywood creative consultant, ABC News Contributor, and as of recent he joined the elite group of speakers for TedxUGA 2022. He was also President Biden’s short list to be the Director of the CIA. In our catch up with Darrell, he talks about his TedxUGA talk on how being in the CIA taught him the ultimate lesson in kindness; growing his brand and role as a Hollywood creative consultant; and the moment when he got the phone call that he was being vetted and considered for the role of the Director of the CIA.Darrell has achieved feats that most do not come close to attaining. In his 32 years in the Intelligence Community, he rose to the rank equivalency of a 3-star general, served as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service (SIS), Chief of CIA’s iconic operational training facility, Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Center, Chief of Africa Division, and served multiple times as a Chief of Station. When he retired in October of 2018 he was the most senior black CIA officer in the Directorate of Operations.He’s now an ABC News Contributor as the go-to guy for all things North Korea, Iran, Counterterrorism, and Counterintelligence; he can also be found on set serving as creative consultant to the tv shows and film, and also working as Chief Operating Officer for MOSAIC, a strategic crisis management intelligence and security advisory firm.To hear more about Darrell's days as a CIA agent, listen to Part I from Season 1. Listen to 33N83W on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spreaker.

Joining us today is Terrel Sanders, MD and Lieutenant Commander with the U.S. Navy, Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 working as Lab Director in Infectious Diseases and with the Navy’s Global Health Engagement, currently stationed in Ghana. He was named to UGA’s prestigious 40 under 40 list in 2021, and was a graduate of UGA's Franklin College of Arts & Sciences. During the pandemic, LCDR Sanders took on the additional role as a health ambassador, helping to combat Covid-19 while in Ghana. He gives us the inside scoop on what it was like to be on the ground in Africa during the pandemic and what a day in the life of an infectious disease doctor really looks like! Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker!

In this episode Suzanne Yoculan Leebern, former head coach of the women's gymnastics program at UGA from 1983 to 2009, shares her secret sauce for becoming one of the most decorated coaches in the history of collegiate gymnastics. During her tenure, she turned the UGA gymnastics program into a national powerhouse. Named the NCAA coach of the year 5 times, she led the team to 10 NCAA championship titles, 16 Southeastern Conference titles, 22 NCAA Regional crowns, and produced 37 NCAA individual champions (including 3-time all-around winner Courtney Kupets) and 58 Gym Dogs with 306 All-America honors. In 2010, she was inducted into the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. And to top it all off, along with Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson, she was featured in the 2014 ESPN documentary Sarah & Suzanne, about the rivalry of the two coaches and their gymnastic teams.

On this episode, Polina Marinova, a graduate of UGA's Grady School of Journalism is back to talk about some of her latest dossiers on The Rock and Dolly Parton! She writes about and interviews some of the most successful, fascinating, and compelling people in business and life. She shares with us the lessons that she learned from writing about the Rock, Dolly Parton, and Martha Stewart; and on her captivating interviews with Brandon Stanton (author, Humans of New York; UGA alum) and Sidra Qasim (Co-founder of Atoms), and Chris C. Miller (former Acting Secretary of Defense; Green Beret). She also talks about her interview with Noah Galloway, an Army veteran who found new purpose after a roadside bomb claimed his left leg and arm in the Iraq war to become an author, a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, and an ultra-athlete.Polina is the founder of The Profile, a weekly newsletter that features profiles on successful people and companies across areas of business, entertainment, tech, sports, and more. Formerly, she was the author of Fortune Magazine's Term Sheet, a daily newsletter on deals and dealmakers, startups and venture capitalists. You can catch her weekly dossiers, interviews, podcasts, and much more by going to theprofileread.com!33N83W is a podcast curated for the alumni and fans of the University of Georgia. It’s my mission with every episode to remind you of all the reasons why you can be proud to be a bulldawg! I do this every episode by introducing you to the alumni and people who have made a difference and continue to inspire us. Listen to 33N83W on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker.

In this episode meet Karen Lichey Usry, 1999 Gymnast of the Year! The story of her and her husband Mike Usry, former UGA football player, is one of love, athletics, 2 national championships, 1 touchdown, and a family of 4. Karin Lichey Usry is a former GymDog from 1996-1999 and was part of the undefeated and national champion 1998 and 1999 teams. In her days as a collegiate gymnast, she was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 1996 and the Gymnast of the Year in 1999, and the She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top gymnast in 1999. She earned first-team All-America certificates in all five categories 1998 and 1999 and earned a total of 11 All-America awards in her career. And she belongs to a very special club with a membership total of 1 – she is the only collegiate gymnast to have ever scored a perfect 40.0 in the all-around, meaning she scored a perfect 10 in the floor, vault, bars, and beam.3On Mike’s collegiate career: Mike Usry was a UGA football player, a quarterback. He was a highly recruited QB out of high school. Once he got to UGA, he was always the first one in the gym and worked hard to be at the top of his game. However, he was there at a time when Mike Bobo was the QB and later Quincy Carter, who had been a baseball player. While Mike did not get tons of time on the field, the moments that he had were memorable, which included a huge clutch play wherein he passed the ball to fullback Patrick Pass (a future eight-year NFL player) who ran the ball 40 yards for a touchdown!On how Karin met Mike: Before there was texting and iPhones, Karin and Mike were introduced thru mutual friends at a bowling alley in Athens. After they met, with a little courage and a landline (yes a real telephone!), Karin called Mike…and the rest was history!33N83W is a podcast curated for the alumni and fans of the University of Georgia. It’s my mission with every episode to remind you of all the reasons why you can be proud to be a bulldawg! I do this every episode by introducing you to the alumni and people who have made a difference and continue to inspire us. Listen to 33N83W on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker.

In this episode Dan DeLamater takes us inside the Touchdown Club of Athens, a club that was established in 1946 for UGA football fans and that now hosts well-known speakers from ESPN sports broadcasters to UGA football greats at its coveted member meetings at the Athens Country Club, and has the patronage of the legendary Loran Smith among many others. Dan is the clubs most recent past president, and he shares with us some private stories about some of its patrons and speakers including one on Coach Kirby Smart! Dan is also a frequent guest lecturer at the Terry College of Business. He is married to a UGA alumna and parent of two UGA students. What makes his story even more inspiring is that he dedicates his time and support to the University, all while never having attended UGA as a student (he graduated from Georgia State). If you are a fan of UGA football, parent to UGA students, or a Terry College of Business student or alum, this episode is one you do not want to miss! 33N83W is a podcast curated for the alumni and fans of the University of Georgia. It’s our mission with every episode to remind you of all the reasons why you can be proud to be a Bulldawg! We do this every episode by introducing you to the alumni and people who have made a difference and continue to inspire us!

In this episode, Michael Cheney, President of the UGA Alumni Sports Industry Council, tells us all about the new Council, its mission, and how he was able build it from an idea he had to an illustrious board of advisors of sport industry veterans and providing scholarships to students within the UGA Sport Management and Policy Program in only two short years. The Council currently includes the likes of Vince Thompson, Founder and CEO of MELT; Percy Vaughn VP at Kia Motors America and Chairman of the Chick-Fil-A Bowl Board; Chip Caray, Play-by-Play Announcer for the Atlanta Braves & Fox Sports South; Susan Goodenow, VP of Marketing and Communications for Chicago Bulls; and David Koonin, Agent for Creative Artists Agency Sports, to name a few. Coach Jack Bauerle serves as its Athletic Department Liaison. The UGA Alumni Sports Industry Council is an external advisory board that serves the students and faculty at UGA by providing access to practical professional experience in and executives across multiple sports business related disciplines. It provides guest lecturers, reviews and contributes to curriculum, fundraises for and provides scholarships thru the UGA Foundation, works with students in career development, provides access to coveted internships, and sponsors an annual on campus internship program.Michael is a Terry College of Business alumnus with extensive experience in marketing having developed partnership marketing and sponsorship strategies for Coca-Cola, Sprite, PowerAde, Visa, and BMW, among others. He has negotiated with the IOC, NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB Media, and multiple sports teams across all major US Sports, the US Open, Pebble Beach, IMG College and many more. He is currently a California Bulldog, but flies cross country to Athens, GA often because he is a parent to current Swim Dog, Teagan Cheney, and to a future Swim Dog, Brennan Cheney! Brennan will be joining the UGA Swim Team in 2021! To inquire about the Council or to donate to the scholarship you may reach Michael directly at ugasportscouncil@gmail.com. 33N83W is a podcast curated for the alumni and fans of the University of Georgia. It’s our mission with every episode to remind you of all the reasons why you can be proud to be a Bulldawg! We do this every episode by introducing you to the alumni and people who have made a difference and continue to inspire us!

Actress and UGA grad Jamie Gray Hyder joins this episode to talk about all things UGA and what it's like to be the new bulldawg in blue on Law & Order: SVU! As the new series regular, she talks about what it's like work with Ice-T or "Uncle Ice" as she thoughtfully refers to him as and Marsika Hargitay. She also reflects on her days at UGA, being on the international sensation True Blood, and how she became the star of one of the most successful video game franchises ever - Call of Duty. As an ethnically diverse female actress, she also opens up about the sense of responsibility she feels when representing her Lebanese-American roots in the characters she plays, and she shares about the rollercoaster that being in the entertainment business can take you on, including the time when she had to file for unemployment. Oh and by the way she is not only smart, savvy, mutli-talented, and successful, she gives back by lending her star status to helping various veteran causes as well. If you were a True Blood fan, you may remember her as the strikingly beautiful and badass werewolf Danielle on Seasons 5 and 6! For fans of hers and the show, she gives us a little insight on what it was like to be on the set and work with the infamous cast, which starred Anna Paquin and Alexander Skarsgård, to name a few. You can catch the accomplished UGA graduate from the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences (with a degree in Theater & Film Studies) in her latest role as Officer Kat Azar Tamin in Law & Order: SVU. You can subscribe, download and listen to every episode of 33N83W on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Spreaker! Go Dawgs!

Not many people get to have on their resume: National Championship, Heisman Trophy Candidate, Super Bowl Champion, and successful wine maker. But Terry Hoage is one of the rare individuals who do, and on this episode, Terry talks about how he went from winning at Sanford Stadium to making touchdowns in the wine industry in Paso Robles, CA, and also the effect covid-19 has had on the local wine industry. He also talks about his longtime relationship with Coach Dooley, who once said he had the most recruited (Herschel Walker) and the least recruited player (Terry Hoage) in the same year. Terry is a former UGA football player, Heisman Trophy Candidate, and 1984 SEC Player of the Year. He was a member of the infamous 1980 National Championship and teammates with Herschel Walker. His NFL career spanned 13 seasons with six teams, including the New Orleans Saints (where he met his wife). As a professional athlete, he reached the pinnacle of NFL success by becoming a Super Bowl champion on the 1992 Washington Redskins team. He is now proprietor and winemaker of TH Estate Wines in Paso Robles, CA, along with his wife Jennifer. Paying homage to his alma mater and football days, he named some of his wine, “Hedges”, “The Pick”, and “The 46”.TH Estate Wines: thestatewines.comYou may also listen to 33N83W on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and Speaker.

A UGA graduate who becomes a spy and shatters cultural barriers to rise thru the ranks of the CIA to become the Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Center, Chief of Africa Division, and Chief of CIA's iconic operational training facility.Today's guest is someone that I met at an alumni reception in Beverly Hills years ago, and at the time he handed me a business card that stated he worked for the State Department, but I had a feeling there was more than meets than eye. And I was right! My guest today is Darrell Blocker, a former high level intelligence officer for the CIA. You could say he was the real life Jack Ryan and 007. In his 32 years in the Intelligence Community, he rose to the rank equivalency of a 3-star general, served as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service (SIS), Chief of CIA's iconic operational training facility, Deputy Director of the Counterterrorism Center, Chief of Africa Division, and served multiple times as a Chief of Station. When he retired in October of 2018 he was the most senior black CIA officer in the Directorate of Operations. He's now an ABC News Contributor as the go-to guy for all things North Korea, Iran, Counterterrorism, and Counterintelligence; he can also be found on set serving as a consultant to the show Condor, collaborating on several creative endeavors, and also working as Chief Operating Officer for MOSAIC, a strategic crisis management intelligence and security advisory firm.

While school is ‘remotely’ in session and spring football practice for the Bulldogs has been on hold, Josh Winnett is doing his best to keep current with life during the unprecedented pandemic. Josh is a current student and the new walk-on place kicker at UGA. Having never played a day of football before, on January 17, 2020 he bravely tried out for the UGA football team, and to his excitement he received the good news that he made the team. However, making the team does not mean that he made the roster, and it was his hope that G-Day would be his opportunity to show off his skills and officially make the team roster. However, Covid-19 unexpectedly took over the world, and spring practice and G-Day were canceled and classes were moved online. He gives us a peak into what the team is doing to prepare during this time, which includes at-home strength training and conditioning assignments and weekly Zoom meetings. He looks forward to when the team can start practice again and have the opportunity to show off his skills on special teams.

Loran Smith needs no introduction as most longtime UGA football fans will recognize his voice. It’s the voice that has been heard from the sidelines of UGA football for decades. The late legendary play-by-play commentator Larry Munson, used to pass the broadcast to Loran by asking, “Whattayagot, Loran?” On this episode of 33N83W, he reflects on life in Athens in the 1960’s as a track star and Grady School student and his inspiration and path into broadcasting. As a Masters aficionado, he also reminisces about his impressive 50+ trips to the Master and authoring multiple books on the subject. Having served as executive producer of the football coach's television show, packager of the game radio broadcasts, host of the Mark Richt post-game locker room show, sideline reporter during the games, and current co-host of the pre-game Tailgate Show, he has bared witness to some of the greatest moments in UGA athletics. Loran is a man who has lived a life in service of UGA, first as a track star earning both an MVP and the title of team captain in 1960, and later as Assistant Sports Information Director, Business Manager, Executive Director of the Georgia Bulldog Club, and member of the Athletic Association Development Office. Throughout his career he has served as editor of the printed game day program and has been a prolific author having written 17 books and penning a regular column that still appears in the Athens Banner Herald.