Who Is Krisanthe Vlachos? Podcast Host at Center of Ohio State Scandal

The name Krisanthe Vlachos was virtually unknown outside veteran advocacy circles until Monday, when Ohio State University President Ted Carter resigned over an "inappropriate relationship" involving access to university resources for her private business ventures. Now, the podcast host and entrepreneur finds herself at the center of one of the year's biggest higher education scandals.

While Ohio State has not officially named the woman involved in Carter's resignation, multiple reports and statements from organizations like JobsOhio have identified Vlachos as the individual who sought and received inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership and public resources to support her business interests.

The Callout Podcast: Vlachos's Platform

Krisanthe Vlachos is the founder and host of "The Callout Podcast," a program launched in 2020 that focuses on supporting military veterans and connecting them with career opportunities across industries such as energy, infrastructure, and utilities.

The podcast has allowed Vlachos to collaborate with multiple organizations involved in veteran outreach and workforce development, positioning herself as an advocate for former military personnel transitioning to civilian careers. Her platform features discussions with veterans, industry professionals, and policymakers about employment opportunities and challenges facing those who have served.

While the podcast maintains a relatively small audience compared to major shows, it has attracted notable guests over the years and secured sponsorships from organizations like JobsOhio, which supported the program as part of its outreach efforts to veterans and workforce development initiatives.

The podcast's mission statement emphasizes connecting veterans with meaningful career opportunities and raising awareness about the skills and value former military personnel bring to civilian workplaces—a cause that resonated with Carter, himself a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral.

VetEarnsUSA LLC: The Business Connection

Beyond podcasting, Vlachos operates VetEarnsUSA LLC, a business venture focused on organizing and managing initiatives to help veterans transition into civilian careers. This company appears to be at the heart of the controversy surrounding Carter's resignation.

According to reports, VetEarnsUSA LLC was registered with an address linked to WOSU Public Media, a building owned by Ohio State University. This connection between Vlachos's private business and university property has become a focal point of the investigation into Carter's conduct and the use of public resources.

The company's activities include organizing events, conferences, and programs designed to connect veterans with employers and career opportunities. However, the extent to which Ohio State resources were used to support these private business activities remains under investigation by the university's Board of Trustees.

The question at the heart of the scandal is whether Vlachos received inappropriate access to university leadership, facilities, resources, or networks to advance her business interests—and whether Carter's personal relationship with her influenced these decisions.

Public Appearances and Professional Network

Vlachos has maintained an active presence in veteran advocacy circles, appearing at various events and conferences focused on veteran issues and workforce development throughout recent years.

Social media posts show her attending the Student Veterans of America national conference in Colorado Springs in 2026, where she appeared alongside Ted Carter and other veterans' advocacy leaders. These public appearances demonstrate the professional overlap between Vlachos and Carter in the veteran support space.

In 2025, Vlachos's podcast co-sponsored a theatrical performance titled "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret," a production aimed at raising awareness of issues affecting veterans and military families. Such collaborations with military-focused cultural events helped build her credibility within veteran advocacy networks.

Her LinkedIn and social media profiles showcase connections with various organizations, businesses, and leaders in the veteran support ecosystem, suggesting she has cultivated a substantial professional network over several years of advocacy work.

The Carter Connection: "Dear Friend and Mentor"

The relationship between Krisanthe Vlachos and Ted Carter appears to have extended beyond typical professional boundaries, based on public statements and appearances.

Carter appeared on "The Callout Podcast" in multiple episodes, lending his considerable credibility as a retired Navy vice admiral and university president to Vlachos's platform. Such appearances would typically be valuable for a podcaster seeking to attract sponsors, guests, and listeners.

Vlachos, in turn, referred to Carter as a "dear friend and mentor" in social media posts, language that suggests a relationship that went beyond the typical host-guest dynamic or professional networking. This characterization raises questions about how their personal relationship may have influenced professional decisions involving university resources.

The timeline of their relationship remains unclear, as does the question of when it crossed from appropriate professional networking in the veteran advocacy space to the "inappropriate access" that ultimately led to Carter's resignation.

What "Inappropriate Access" Means

While full details remain under investigation, the phrase "inappropriate access to Ohio State leadership" suggests several possible scenarios that may have violated university policies or public trust.

Resource Allocation: Vlachos may have received use of university facilities, staff time, or other public resources to support her podcast or VetEarnsUSA LLC business activities without proper authorization or compensation.

Leadership Connections: Carter may have facilitated meetings, introductions, or access to other Ohio State administrators, donors, or partners that gave Vlachos's businesses advantages not available to others.

Institutional Endorsements: The university's name, reputation, or official support may have been used to benefit Vlachos's ventures in ways that created conflicts of interest or blurred lines between public service and private business.

Facility Usage: The registration of VetEarnsUSA LLC at an Ohio State-owned building suggests possible improper use of university property for private business purposes.

Any of these scenarios could constitute ethical violations or misuse of public resources, particularly if they resulted from Carter's personal relationship with Vlachos rather than legitimate university business or partnerships.

JobsOhio's Response

JobsOhio, the state's economic development organization that previously sponsored Vlachos's podcast, issued a statement acknowledging awareness of Carter's resignation and noting that the situation might be connected to the podcast host.

The organization's careful wording suggests it is conducting its own review of any involvement with Vlachos's ventures and ensuring that its sponsorship dollars were properly used. As a quasi-public entity funded in part through state liquor sales, JobsOhio faces accountability for how it allocates resources to various programs and initiatives.

The organization's statement emphasizes that any sponsorship of "The Callout Podcast" was part of legitimate workforce development and veteran outreach efforts, but the connection to the Ohio State scandal raises questions about due diligence in vetting such partnerships.

The Veteran Advocacy Dimension

The scandal's setting in the veteran advocacy space adds a layer of complexity and sensitivity to the situation. Both Carter and Vlachos have positioned themselves as champions for veterans, with Carter's military service lending particular credibility to such efforts.

The veteran community, often underserved in terms of civilian career transitions and support, relies heavily on advocates and programs to help former service members navigate post-military life. Legitimate efforts in this space provide valuable services to those who have served.

However, the misuse of a university presidency or public resources to benefit private ventures—even those nominally focused on helping veterans—would represent a betrayal of public trust and potentially undermine legitimate advocacy efforts by association.

Veterans' organizations and advocates who worked with Vlachos or appeared on her podcast may now face questions about their involvement and whether they were aware of any inappropriate arrangements with Ohio State.

Previous Controversies and Public Profile

Before becoming embroiled in the Ohio State scandal, Vlachos maintained a relatively low public profile outside veteran advocacy circles. Her work focused on the niche intersection of military transition and civilian career development, attracting limited mainstream attention.

Unlike some personalities in the podcast or advocacy space, Vlachos does not appear to have courted controversy or sought high-profile attention beyond her work connecting veterans with employers. Her social media presence emphasizes her podcast, veteran events, and advocacy work rather than personal brand building or influencer-style content.

This makes the sudden thrust into the national spotlight particularly jarring, as someone who operated largely within specialized networks now finds her name in headlines across the country and her business dealings under intense scrutiny.

Investigation and Legal Questions

The Ohio State Board of Trustees has committed to a thorough investigation of the matter, which will examine multiple dimensions of the relationship between Carter and Vlachos and any use of university resources.

Key questions the investigation must answer include:

• What specific university resources were made available to Vlachos or her businesses?
• Were proper procedures followed for any partnerships, sponsorships, or collaborations?
• Did other university officials know about or facilitate the arrangements?
• Were any Ohio ethics laws or university policies violated?
• What financial benefits, if any, did Vlachos or her businesses receive?

Depending on findings, the investigation could have legal implications beyond Carter's resignation. If public resources were improperly used, there could be grounds for recovering costs or pursuing other remedies. If conflicts of interest or ethics violations are substantiated, additional accountability measures may be necessary.

Vlachos herself could face scrutiny regarding whether she knowingly benefited from improper arrangements or actively sought access she understood to be inappropriate. However, no allegations of wrongdoing by Vlachos have been officially made, and she has not been charged with any violations.

Impact on Veteran Advocacy Work

The scandal's ripple effects may extend to Vlachos's ability to continue her work in veteran advocacy. Organizations that previously partnered with her podcast or VetEarnsUSA LLC may distance themselves pending the investigation's outcome. Sponsors may reconsider their support, and potential guests may decline appearances.

The veteran community's response will likely be mixed. Some may view Vlachos as unfairly caught up in Carter's ethical failures, while others may question whether her businesses provided genuine value or were primarily vehicles for accessing university resources and networks through her relationship with the president.

Rebuilding trust and credibility in the wake of such a high-profile scandal—even if she is not found to have violated any laws or policies herself—will be challenging. The association with a university president's resignation over "inappropriate access" creates reputational damage that could persist regardless of investigation findings.

The Silence and What Comes Next

As of the scandal's public disclosure, Vlachos has not issued public statements about the situation, the nature of her relationship with Carter, or her business dealings with Ohio State. This silence may be on advice of legal counsel as the investigation proceeds.

Her social media accounts, previously active with updates about veteran events and podcast episodes, have gone quiet since the news broke. "The Callout Podcast" has not released new episodes addressing the controversy.

The coming weeks will reveal whether Vlachos chooses to address the situation publicly, cooperates with the university's investigation, and attempts to continue her veteran advocacy work or steps away from the spotlight entirely.

For now, Krisanthe Vlachos remains a figure largely defined by questions: What exactly was her relationship with Ted Carter? What resources did she receive from Ohio State? Did she know such access was inappropriate? And what happens to her advocacy work in the aftermath of a scandal that has ended a university president's career?

The answers will emerge as Ohio State's investigation proceeds and as journalists, investigators, and the public piece together the full story of how a podcast host focused on helping veterans became the catalyst for one of higher education's most prominent resignations of the year.

Originally published on University Herald