Upcoming Events

Wednesday, January 14

Jan

Learning Staircase Series

Social/Networking | Student Recruiting

Lianne Wappett is an award-winning educator, communication coach, and experience designer. She brings more than two decades of industry and academic expertise to her role as a Professional Practice Assistant Professor at Utah State University’s Jon M. Huntsman School of Business, where she also directs the Huntsman Scholar Program. Her industry background includes brand-building work with Children’s Miracle Network, Walgreens, Intel, AskJeeves, and others. In the classroom, Lianne fosters curiosity and discovery, coaching students in communication, leadership, and using data and design to tell compelling stories. Her teaching excellence has earned her honors such as Utah State’s Mentor of the Year and the Huntsman School’s Teacher of the Year. A practicing artist, her work has been exhibited nationally and explores interactive, material-based dialogue. Her areas of expertise span visual analytics, data storytelling, design strategy, digital marketing, rhetoric, and experiential learning—all grounded in a passion for helping students “dare mighty.”

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm | More Info

Jan

ELS: Shauna Smith

Panel Discussion/Presentation

Shauna Smith is an accomplished executive leader with more than 15 years of experience at the helm of food and beverage organizations. Shauna started as an operator and has since been integral in developing, acquiring, and operating over 400 restaurants across a dozen states since 2008. Collectively, these establishments have generated more than $2.5 billion, offering employment opportunities to over 40,000 individuals. Her primary focus is elevating operational efficiencies and accelerating revenue growth across the various brands in the Savory portfolio. With an operational depth supported by a 70-person value-add team, she directly supervises the senior leaders of each portfolio company to ensure both strategic and tactical objectives are met. Shauna’s superpower is value creation through three key drivers—growth, efficiency, and site replication. This remarkable growth trajectory earned the firm multiple accolades, including back-to-back fast-growth awards from Restaurant Monitor, as well as eight appearances on Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc. 500 list—a testament to its rapid expansion and success. Beyond her organizational achievements, Shauna herself has been the recipient of several distinguished industry awards such as Women to Watch, CXO of the Year, and CEO of the Year

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm | Eccles Conference Center | More Info

SUBMIT AN EVENT