Streamlining Global Learning Operations | Brooke Roberts from Via TRM

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Hey everybody, welcome to today’s episode of Pathmonk Presents. Today we are joined by Brooke Roberts, the VP of marketing at Via TRM. Brooke, good to have you on the show.

Brooke Roberts: Thank you for having me. I’m excited to be here.

Rick: Of course! So, Brooke, we were just talking about Via TRM offline, and it’s quite niche. I’d love for you to introduce it to the audience instead of me doing a bad job myself. To start with, what’s at the heart of what your company does, and how would you describe it to someone hearing about it for the first time?

Brooke: Great, yeah, thank you! Well, Via TRM—TRM stands for Travel Relationship Management. Essentially, we are a CRM for travel, but not just any kind of travel. We’re an ed-tech travel tech company designed specifically for global learning operations in the education sector.

So, we’re like the Salesforce for the educational travel industry. We work primarily in higher education, but also in K-12 education in the U.S., as well as organizations that send students, faculty, and administrators abroad—or receive international students from around the world.

Rick: That’s interesting that you make that comparison—saying you’re the Salesforce of educational travel.

Brooke: It’s the first time I’ve put it in a podcast interview, so we’ll see how it lands.

Rick: Let’s see if that catches on! Is there a specific core problem you solve for the organizations and institutions you work with? What can they expect when they come to you?

Brooke: Educational travel is much more complicated than typical travel. Depending on how well-traveled someone listening is, all travel might sound complicated, but in educational travel, there are a lot of moving parts.

Everything from academic credit—where it’s going, how the student is getting it, and how it applies to their degree program—to visa compliance for both inbound and outbound students. Are we within the rules and regulations of the country we’re going to or the country we’re in?

Then there’s travel risk management. Universities and organizations take on a lot of liability when sending students, staff, and faculty around the world. If something happens—a protest in Egypt, a bombing in London, a tsunami in Japan—they need to know instantly who is on the ground, if they are safe, and if they can check in.

Beyond that, students have to submit applications to participate in programs. Universities used to manage all of this on paper—literally—until the 2010s. Then they moved to spreadsheets, but that became “death by a thousand spreadsheets.”

Now, we offer software specifically designed for this sector, with all the fields, workflows, and compliance features they need—without the need for excessive customization, as they would with a general CRM like Salesforce.

A key differentiator for us is that we look at the whole student journey. Many systems only manage students from the time they apply. But what about the students who are just curious? Those who haven’t applied yet?

We bring students into the system earlier, gathering insights like where they want to go, why, and what barriers they face—cost, academic credits not transferring, etc. When institutions understand what’s preventing participation, they can launch marketing campaigns, dispel myths, and create resources to break down those barriers.

That has helped our clients dramatically increase enrollment because students who would have opted out now get the support they need to participate.

For me, I was a study-abroad student myself—multiple times in college. I’m obviously a huge fan, and I believe it’s an invaluable experience. The easier we make it for students to access these opportunities, the better.

Rick: Yeah, that’s beautiful. The fact that some students might miss out just because of paperwork or misconceptions is huge.

Brooke: Thanks!

Rick: I want to understand who actually comes to Via TRM for help. Who is your ideal customer profile?

Brooke: Right now, we don’t work directly with students.

We partner with universities, giving them their own instance of the software. Their students log in, fill out intake forms, and go through the advising process.

Our ideal clients are two main groups. First, the frontline workers—the ones who were drowning in spreadsheets. Some universities send thousands of students abroad each semester, so they need batch actions, reporting, and streamlined processes.

The second group is senior leadership—what we call Senior International Officers (SIOs) in the U.S. They oversee global engagement at universities and care about compliance, risk management, and reporting. They need to pull data quickly for press releases, emergencies, or strategic decisions.

Rick: That makes sense. I imagine being tasked with tracking all international students on your first day at a university would be… fun.

Brooke: Yep, that happened to me. First day on the job, the provost asked, “Can you figure out who’s abroad?” They knew about 75 people were somewhere in the world, but they had no idea where.

Rick: Let’s talk about your website. How does it play a role in attracting new users?

Brooke: I joined Via TRM two months ago, so I have big plans. In academia, thought leadership is crucial.

We publish two big reports each year, analyzing millions of data points across universities and students. That helps institutions understand student motivations and barriers.

We’re also launching a co-branded podcast with a major industry organization, featuring experts discussing challenges in international education.

Right now, our brand still looks a little too “cute and scrappy.” We’ve outgrown that. We’ve surpassed competitors in functionality, and now they’re chasing us. Our website and brand need to reflect that confidence.

Rick: I love that you’re focused on the student perspective. Now, let’s talk about you as a leader. What’s your day-to-day like?

Brooke: We’re a small team—about 20 full-time staff—so I wear many hats. I work on partnerships, product strategy, and marketing. I also jump into the trenches, designing graphics and writing LinkedIn copy when needed.

Rick: Never a boring day at a startup!

Brooke: Exactly!

Rick: Let’s do some rapid-fire questions. Just short, crisp answers. Ready?

Brooke: Yep!

Rick: Last book you read?

Brooke: The Debt Trap: How Student Loans Became a National Catastrophe.

Rick: One thing Via TRM is most focused on?

Brooke: Expanding our Via TRM International product.

Rick: One task you wish you could automate?

Brooke: Managing emails, DMs, and slide decks.

Rick: Brooke, thank you for being on the show. If someone forgets everything we talked about, what’s the one thing they should remember about Via TRM?

Brooke: We believe an interconnected world is a better world. Our mission is to make global education more accessible and seamless.

Rick: Beautiful. Thanks again!

Brooke: Thank you!