Vouched is a podcast about the people the hiring system overlooks, and the humans willing to stand up and say, "I know this person, and they're good."
Hosted by Amber Meakin, each episode flips the script on modern hiring. When you apply for a job online, software usually screens your resume before a human ever sees it, and talented, qualified people get filtered out before anyone knows they exist. Vouched is the antidote: a real referral, in public, from someone who means it.
Here's how it works. Every guest is someone worth vouching for. Sometimes Amber does the vouching; sometimes she brings on the former manager, teammate, or colleague who wants to. They share the story that made them a believer. Then we meet the candidate: who they are, what they're looking for next, and the qualities a resume and an applicant tracking system will never capture. Every episode closes with the candidate paying it forward by vouching for someone they've worked with.
If you're hiring, consider this your warm intro to genuinely great people. If you're job searching, follow along. You're not a keyword or a gap on a timeline, you're a person with a track record. And if there's someone you'd vouch for, Amber wants to hear about them.
New episodes weekly. You're more than just a resume.
Episode 04: Greg Hughes: The Director Who Leads the Team and the Client Conversation
In This Episode
Amber vouches for Greg Hughes, an IT operations and infrastructure leader with more than 15 years in the field. Greg led a global operations team that held 99.95 percent uptime year after year. He talks about leading by empowering his people, keeping a company audit ready, where AI helps an experienced person, and the roles he wants next: manager, director, SRE, or solutions engineer. Greg was also vouched for by previous guest, Kari Brandt.
How to reach Greg
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-hughes-30747b6/
Email: gjhughes@gmail.com
Pay it forward
Greg vouched for Kyle Berger, who has agreed to be a guest on a future episode.
Listen and get involved
If Greg sounds like someone your team needs, reach out to him using the details above. Know someone worth vouching for, or want to be a guest yourself? Learn more at vouchedpodcast.com.
Host:
Amber Meakin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambermeakin
Email: vouched@ambermeakin.com
Music: "Podcast Intro Opening Talk Show" by Alex Morgan, via Pixabay.
22 Sept 2026
Episode 03: Kari L. Brandt, PhD: The Data Scientist Who Tells You What the Numbers Really Say
In this episode, host Amber Meakin welcomes back Tony Zubek, who vouches for Kari Brandt, a data science leader who runs the teams and sets the strategy and still builds the models herself. Kari explains why “members spend more than non-members” is the most expensive sentence in loyalty analytics, how she measures real engagement beyond recency and frequency, and how a PhD in anthropology shaped the way she solves problems with data.
Guest:
Kari Brandt
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karilbrandtvpdatascience/
Vouched:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vouched-media-llc
Website: www.vouchedpodcast.com
Host:
Amber Meakin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambermeakin
Email: vouched@ambermeakin.com
Music: “Podcast Intro Opening Talk Show” by Alex Morgan, via Pixabay.
15 Sept 2026
Episode 02: Tony Zubek: Static Companies Don't Win
In this episode, host Amber Meakin vouches for Tony Zubek, a loyalty, CRM, and branded credit card leader who can set the strategy and then actually build it. Tony and Amber worked together when he ran a retail loyalty program and she was on the partner side, so she's seen firsthand how he turns a stalled program into one customers genuinely love. They get into what real loyalty looks like, why knowing your customer beats chasing points, and how he thinks about credit cards, mobile apps, and AI.
In this episode
Why loyalty is about how a brand makes you feel, not the points
Knowing your customer, and what it signals when a brand clearly doesn’t
Turning around a stalled loyalty program: audit, diagnose, and bring loyalty closer to the brand
Rewarding customers for keeping their profile current, and why fresh data drives repeat business
Why loyalty has to evolve with the customer: static companies don’t win, dynamic ones do
Untangling fragmented, multi-brand programs into one that works
Building the MarTech stack: in-house versus vendor partners, and why constant investment matters
AI as a tool, not a replacement, and why knowing how to use it is the real skill
Credit cards and loyalty: private label versus co-brand, depth versus reach
Mobile apps and gift card balances as real brand assets
How to actually get customers to download the app
What Tony is looking for next, and how to reach him
Connect
Guest
Tony Zubek
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyzubek/
Vouched
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vouched-media-llc
Website: www.vouchedpodcast.com
Host
Amber Meakin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambermeakin
Email: vouched@ambermeakin.com
Music: "Podcast Intro Opening Talk Show" by Alex Morgan, via Pixabay.
11 Sept 2026
Episode 01: Elisabeth Keller: From Loyalty Strategy to Lasting Customer Relationships
In this episode, host, Amber Meakin, vouches for Elisabeth Keller, a loyalty and customer engagement executive who rose from operations to SVP and chief client officer before founding Keller Standard. Elisabeth explains why effective loyalty depends on customer understanding, cross-functional execution, and playing the long game, not simply offering more discounts or points.
Guest:
Elisabeth Keller
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-keller/
Email: eliskeller@kellerstandard.com
Website: www.kellerstandard.com
Vouched
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vouched-media-llc
Website: www.vouchedpodcast.com
Host:
Amber Meakin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ambermeakin
Email: vouched@ambermeakin.com
Music: "Podcast Intro Opening Talk Show" by Alex Morgan, via Pixabay.
3 Sept 2026
Introduction
In this episode, we introduce the concept of the Vouched podcast.
Know someone who deserves to be vouched for? Tell Amber at vouchedpodcast.com.
Follow Vouched so the next episode lands in your feed.
Music: "Podcast Intro Opening Talk Show" by Alex Morgan, via Pixabay.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
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Guest appearances
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