Engage: Midwest Learning Sessions

Understanding that Mental Health is a major concern in hospitality and service industries, University of Michigan Dining implemented a Mental Health & Wellbeing Initiative in 2023. In this session, MDining Director of Culture & Engagement Amanda Ewing will share the steps and resources it took to launch the initiative, findings from the first two years, and share upcoming opportunities for growth. Participants will leave with a model for engagement that can be replicated or revised for their own campus environment.

Amanda Ewing (she/her/hers) is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion educator and facilitator. She has a range of experience in DE&I programming and specializes in creating and delivering a curriculum that uses storytelling and creative skills for engaging in memorable learning experiences. In her role as Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Michigan Dining, Amanda’s work falls into three major categories: education, consultation, and coaching. Amanda provides professional development opportunities to staff and leadership, advises on DE&I incidents and strategy, and provides individual guidance to leadership and management.

Susan Cramer serves as Senior Associate Director of Residential Dining at the University of Michigan, where she currently leads strategic planning and operational excellence standards across nine residential dining halls and three retail locations.  She oversees more than 420 full-time staff who prepare 24,000 meals daily for the campus community.  Susan joins her team in excited anticipation of opening a new 850+ seat dining hall and retail location in the fall of 2026, which will add another 100 team members and meals to their program.  With nearly two decades of experience at the University of Michigan, Susan is deeply committed to building strong teams, developing leaders, and fostering a culture rooted in service, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Rahul Ponappa serves as Associate Director of Operations for Dining Services at The Ohio State University, where he oversees Residential, Retail, and C-Store operations. He has been with Ohio State since 2006, leading a range of dining concepts within high-volume collegiate environments.

Rahul completed a postgraduate hotel management program at The Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development in New Delhi, India, and holds a Master of Business Operational Excellence from the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State.

With 30 years of hospitality leadership experience in hotels and food service across the U.S. and internationally, he brings a global perspective to collegiate dining operations, along with a strong focus on strategic thinking, operational efficiency, and the training and development of high-performing teams.

Rebecca Selesky serves as Assistant Vice President for Culinary Services in the Division of Residential & Hospitality Services (RHS) at Michigan State University (MSU). She oversees a talented team of professionals who provide excellent care and high-quality nutritional services to the student-centric dining program. In addition, Selesky maintains the department’s annual operating budget of approximately $160 million and works to identify, create and implement strategic plans to achieve departmental objectives. She serves on the RHS executive leadership team and oversees more than 500 employees.