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Anthropology (8)


Michael Bird

BS Anthropology

National Consultant
National Policy Council for AARP

Michael E. Bird is a Santo-Domingo/KEWA Pueblo Indian from New Mexico. Mr. Bird has more than 30 years of public health experience with Native American populations in the areas of medical social work, substance abuse prevention, health promotion and disease prevention, HIV/AIDS prevention, behavioral health, and healthcare administration.

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Misty Frost

BS Anthropology

CEO
CareerStep

Misty’s passion is for building company value though building consumer value. As CEO of CareerStep, Misty drives the vision and strategy behind building learning experiences that allow individuals to enter and then grow their careers in healthcare.

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Caroline Gleich

BS Anthropology

Professional ski mountaineer, Adventure Athlete, and Environmental Activist
Big Mountain Dreams

Caroline Gleich moved west from the frozen hills of Minnesota age at 15 and began to pursue her childhood dream of becoming a professional skier. Now she is sponsored by the likes of Patagonia, Zeal Optics, Clif Bar, Atomic skis, Thule, Nemo, Glide stand up paddle boards, Quickblade paddles, among others, and shreds with the best nearly every day of the season.

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Edward R. Christensen

BS Anthropology
MS Anthropology
Ph.D. Anthropology

Docent
Utah Museum of Natural History

Edward R. Christensen has achieved wide intellectual, accomplishments in a variety of academic and professional fields, and is devoted to civic and social service. He graduated from the, University of Utah in 1948 with a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in, Chemistry in 1949. Edward then completed his Ph.D. in Anthropology, in 2009.

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Economics (55)


Dave Patton

BS Political Science
Economics
Ph.D. Political Science

Executive Director
Utah Department of Health (UDOH)

Dr. W. David Patton has served as executive director of the Utah Department of Health(UDOH) since March 2011. As director, Patton oversees nearly 1, 000 health department employees with the goal of helping Utah become the healthiest state in the nation.

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Jewell Rasmussen

BS Economics

Chairman of Economics Dept. (retired)
University of Utah

Dr. Rasmussen graduated from Snow College in 1929 prior to attending the University of Utah where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics. He embarked on his teaching career at Granite High School and concurrently pursued his masters degree in economics at the University of Utah, receiving his graduate degree in 1936.

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Larry Gelwix

BS Economics

Managing Director & Co-Head of Industrial Corporate Advisory
Greenhill & Co.

Mr. Gelwix joined Greenhill in 2008. Prior to joining Greenhill, Larry was with Lehman Brothers where he focused on a variety of M&A and corporate finance transactions. Larry works primarily with industrial and aerospace & defense-oriented clients and his background includes working in the commercial aerospace industry.

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Darin Gilson

BA Political Science
BS Economics

Managing Director
Banyan Ventures

Darin Gilson is a founding partner of Banyan Ventures. Darin has led the firm’s efforts in developing BelleHavens, Spruce, Palo Verde, Terra Flame Home, RCA Holdings, and Kore. Prior to co-founding Banyan, Darin served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Campus Pipeline and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company.

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Environmental and Sustainability Studies (4)


Brandon Lee

BA Political Science
BS Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Principal
ABS Consulting

Director, Environmental and Economic Policy and Regulation, Lee leads and manages projects related to environmental, regulatory, economic, and security risk-related issues for ABS Consulting, a maritime risk firm. He has led projects analyzing environmental impacts in the Western U.S., regional, national, and international air emissions and climate change, air and water regulations.

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Jason Robison

BS Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Fellow
Harvard Kennedy School of Government at Harvard College

Professor Robison's research and teaching interests generally revolve around water law and related areas of environmental and natural resources law and policy. He began his work in this field while earning a B.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Utah and subsequently completed a J.D. at the University of Oregon School of Law, as well as an LL.M. and S.J.D. at Harvard Law School.

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Kelsey Howard

BS Geography
BS Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Research Consultant
Boulder Mountain Consulting, LLC

Kelsey Howard is currently attending graduate school at the University of Utah in the geography department. Her Master's research is focused on studying paleoecology and spring productivity in Utah's west desert by reconstructing past fire and vegetation histories, as well as past climates through the use of pollen and charcoal from wetland sediments.

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Sara Baldwin Auck

BS Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Regulatory Program Director
Interstate Renewable Energy Council

As IREC's Regulatory Program Director, Sara is responsible for managing the development of IREC's regulatory strategy, establishing priorities for engagement, and assisting with the strategy implementation.

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Family and Consumer Studies (14)


Ron Dichter

BS Family and Consumer Studies

CEO
BlueDog Business Services, FortisPay, SIX PAC OTG

Ron Eliot Dichter is a serial entrepreneur who got his start while still attending the University of Utah. His first venture, Eliot Management Group, was sold by Dichter in 2010 and still operates in 15 states today. Dichter then started a national leading credit card processing company, BLUEDOG, which was later merged into FortisPay where Dichter currently serves as the Chief Revenue Officer.

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Barbara Vance

BS Family and Consumer Studies

Professor
Brigham Young University

Barbara Vance earned a bachelor's in family and consumer studies from the University of Utah in 1956. She received a master's in human development from Brigham Young University in 1959 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in counseling from Stanford University.

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Carol Heap

Family and Consumer Studies

Cook & Seamstress

Carol graduated from the University of Utah, magna cum laude, in home economics education in 1978. She was a member of Omicron Nu, the honor society for home economics majors (now known as Kappa Omicron Nu). She taught for one year at Hillcrest High School from 1978 to 1979. She married David Heap in 1979, and after the end of the school year, they moved to the Washington ,D.C. area for nine years, and then to Phoenix, Arizona in 1988.

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Abbirose Polityka

BA Family and Consumer Studies

Long-Term Care Ombudsman
Salt Lake County

Abbi provides services with respect for human dignity and promotes the individuality of the residents unrestricted by considerations of age, social or economic status, personal characteristics, sexual orientation or lifestyle. She strives to respect and promote residents’ rights of self-determination, making every reasonable effort to act in accordance with residents’ wishes.

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Geography (8)


Richard A. Carter

BS Geography

Vice President of Government Relations
Pacific Gas and Electric Company

A native of Salt Lake City, Utah and a current resident of Arlington, Virginia, Rick Carter graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Utah's College of Social and Behavioral Science in Geography/Urban Planning and a Master's Degree in City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University. He also affiliated with and was president of the Delta Sigma chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

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Teri Klug

BS Geography

President & Founder
Strategic Development LLC

Teri Klug is the community outreach director for Visit Salt Lake and is responsible for engaging with all constituents of Salt Lake County, with a learn, serve, grow together approach to the Visitor’s Economy. She also helps people better understand importance and value of visitors and define individual product offerings inside the fabric of each of 17 communities within Salt Lake County.

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Kelsey Howard

BS Geography
BS Environmental and Sustainability Studies

Research Consultant
Boulder Mountain Consulting, LLC

Kelsey Howard is currently attending graduate school at the University of Utah in the geography department. Her Master's research is focused on studying paleoecology and spring productivity in Utah's west desert by reconstructing past fire and vegetation histories, as well as past climates through the use of pollen and charcoal from wetland sediments.

Read more about Kelsey Howard

Merrill K. Ridd

BS Geography
MS Geography

Emeritus Professor
University of Utah

Merrill K. Ridd is an emeritus professor of geography. He graduated from the University of Utah with a BS in 1954 and MS in 1960. Ridd earned his PhD from Northwestern University in 1963. He is a Korean War veteran 1950-1956.

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Health, Society and Policy (6)


Nathan Vassiliades

BS Health, Society and Policy

Dentist & Owner
Queen Creek Smiles

Nathan Vassiliades completed a BS in Behavioral Science and Health and then went on to complete dental school at the Marquette University School of Dentistry. Nathan has volunteered for Give Kids a Smile, Sealants for Smiles, the American Red Cross, and Cancer Wellness House.

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Elaine Peterson

BS Health, Society and Policy

Academic Program Manager
John A Moran Eye Center - University of Utah

Elaine started with the University of Utah in 1994, as part of the Health Sciences Development Office, and has been the Program Manager in Ophthalmology for 15 years. She oversees one ACGME-accredited residency program with a complement of twelve trainees, and seven non-ACGME fellowships with a total of eleven fellows.

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Frank Ulibarri

BS Health, Society and Policy

Market President
Aetna - Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi

As President of Aetna, Mr. Ulibarri is responsible for leading local markets in Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi overseeing sales, network development, and operations for commercial group, individual and government businesses. He previously served as Chief Operating Officer for Coventry Health Care of Florida, and was later named Aetna Market Executive Director in 2013.

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Maziar Nourian

BS Health, Society and Policy
Minor Psychology
Minor Chemistry

Mentor
LEAP College of Health Program

Maziar M. Nourian is a graduate from the University of Utah College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He received his Bachelor of Science in Health Society and Policy as well as minors in Psychology and Chemistry ('13). Nourian will continue his education to complete a Doctor of Medicine in 2019.

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Master of Public Administration (23)


Luis Garza

BS Economics
Master of Public Administration

Executive Director
Comunidades Unidas

Luis Garza has been involved in community affairs for the past 10 years. Prior to working at Comunidades Unidas, he worked for the SLC Mayor's Office of Diversity & Human Rights, The State Office of Ethnic Affairs, and the University of Utah Hospital.

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Dave Jones

Master of Public Administration

Co-Founder
Pathway Associates

Dave Jones is a co-founder of Pathway Associates, a regional fundraising consulting firm specializing in capital campaigns. With over twenty years of fund raising experience, and nearly forty capital and major gift campaigns to his credit, Jones brings a wealth of experience to his clients and a sincere passion for their causes.

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Amanda K. Covington

HBS Mass Communications
Master of Public Administration

Executive Vice President, Communications & Government Affairs
Larry H. Miller Group of Companies

Amanda Covington has more than 20 years of experience leading corporate communications and government relations strategies impacting financial communications, crisis communications, domestic and international media/public relations, corporate branding and advertising, digital media, employee relations, public policy and legislation, industry associations, and community relations.

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Aden Batar

Master of Public Administration

Director of Migration and Refugee Services
Catholic Community Services

Aden Batar is the Director of Migration and Refugee Services for Catholic Community Services (CCS). He is the first former refugee to ever hold such position in Utah. He has worked in this field for more than 20 years.

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Master of Public Policy (3)


Shawn Teigen

MS Master of Public Policy

Research Director
Utah Foundation

Shawn Teigen is the Lumina Foundation Strategy Labs State Policy Adviser for Utah. Lumina is the largest foundation in the United States that focuses solely on increasing Americans?? success in higher education. It works to increase the proportion of Americans with postsecondary credentials to 60% by 2025. Shawn is utilizing the resources of Lumina??s Strategy Labs with Utah leaders and influencers in an effort to help the state reach its attainment goals.

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Florian Hernandez

Master of Public Policy

Executive Director
Philippines Humanitarian

Florian Hernandez is the Executive Director for Philippines Humanitarian, a non-profit organization, providing funding for the education of impoverished children in the Philippines. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Utah and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Utah State University.

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Michael Parker

BS Political Science
Master of Public Policy

Vice President of Public Affairs, Marketing and Senior Economist
Ivory Homes

Michael P. Parker earned both his bachelor's in political science and master's degree in public policy with an emphasis in regional economic policy from the University of Utah. He currently serves as the Director of Public Policy for the Salt Lake Chamber.

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International Affairs and Global Enterprise (3)


Jeremy Lindsey

MS International Affairs and Global Enterprise

Chief Operating Officer
Alpha Warranty Services

Jeremy Lindsey is a winner of the 2017 Utah Business Magazine CXO of the Year award and AE Magazine's Top 40 Under 40.

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Mark Pittman

MS International Affairs and Global Enterprise
BS Political Science
BS Economics

Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Blyncsy

Prior to starting Blyncsy, Mark worked in areas as diverse as political campaigns, start-ups, and even a Fortune 500 Company. Mark was Director of the Lassonde New Venture Development Program at the Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah.

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Kyle Gray

MS International Affairs and Global Enterprise

Storyteller, Professional Speaker and Bestselling Author

Right after graduation Kyle was adjunct faculty teaching an entrepreneurship class called The Foundry, helping local Utah entrepreneurs. It was his experience during his degree program and later teaching that helped him get a job with a startup, whose business he helped to grow with annual recurring revenue using just online marketing.

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Political Science (84)


Laury F. Hammel

BS Political Science

President & CEO
The Longfellow Clubs

Laury was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and is a graduate of the University of Utah where he played on the nationally ranked tennis team. His parents, Lee and Ruby, met playing on the U tennis courts and both are members of the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame.

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Tom Henteleff

BS Political Science

Served on three not-for-profit Boards
The Phillips Collection, Bethesda Cares and Bethesda Metro Area

Tom Henteleff received his J.D. law degree from the University of California Law School (Boalt Hall) in 1968. He received a B.S. degree (magna cum laude) and a Certificate in International Relations from the University of Utah in 1965. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies upon graduation from University of Utah.

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Gary Thorup

BA Political Science

Shareholder, State & Local Tax Attorney, & Registered Utah Lobbyist
Durham Jones & Pinegar

Gary R. Thorup is a Shareholder at Durham Jones & Pinegar. For more than thirty years, Mr. Thorup's practice has focused on federal, state and local taxation, administrative law and government affairs.

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Ron Henriksen

BA Political Science

Co-Founder
Henriksen/Butler Design

Ron Henriksen received his bachelor's degree from the U in political science. He went on to co-found Henriksen/Butler Design, a contract furniture business, with Steve Butler in 1980, and the company became one of the leading distributors in the Intermountain West.

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Psychology (31)


Michael Rosmann

MS Psychology
Ph.D. Psychology

Adjunct Faculty, Psychologist, & Farmer
University of Iowa

Michael R. Rosmann is a psychologist and farmer whose life's work involves improving the behavioral healthcare of the agricultural population. He seeks to advance regional and global food production policy which enhances the behavioral and economic welfare of food producers,maintains stewardship of the land and other resources used in food production and protects the safety of food for consumers.

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Darady Bitter

BS Human Development and Family Studies
Psychology

Social Worker
Department of Veteran's Affairs

Darady Bitter received her bachelor's degree in human development and family studies in 2009. She then went on to receive her master's in social work at the University of Texas-Austin.

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Paula Swaner

Ph.D. Psychology

Psychotherapist
Granite Mental Health Center

Dr. Paula Swaner has been a member of Utah's psychotherapeutic community since 1963 when she volunteered at Granite Mental Health, Utah's first community mental health center.

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Ryan Evans

BS Psychology

President
Utah Solar Energy Association (USEA)

Ryan provides leadership, direction and management for all aspects of USEA activities and is responsible for seeing that the strategic initiatives and policies of the Board of Directors are effectively implemented. Specifically Ryan leads Utah Solar's strategic & operational strategy; board member, and external relations; advocacy & public policy; administration; and business development.

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Sociology (23)


Clover Sanders

Masters Sociology

Realtor
The Group Real Estate

Clover Sanders was born and raised in Salt Lake City. She attended Rowland Hall and graduated from the University of Utah with a B.A.. In 2001, she moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she and her husband lived for two years. Clover earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Denver in 2005. She then lived and worked in Boston for one year before returning to Salt Lake City in 2006.

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Tobie Spears

BA Sociology
BA Political Science

Executive Director
Guatemalan Humanitarian Tours

Tobie says she is lucky enough to have one awesome husband, two amazing daughters, and three crazy cats. Tobie fell in love with traveling when she was 17 and backpacked through Europe and drove from Utah to Canada with her two best friends. In 2013 they drove from Utah to Guatemala where they lived, worked, and volunteered and Tobie's been leading international travel ever since.

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Allysann Ingram

BS Sociology

PAQ Program Manager
United States Air Force

A year after graduation, Allysann and her husband moved to Massachusetts. They both secured jobs with the Air Force, working at Hanscom Air Force Base. She is currently working as a Jr. Program Manager and was recently accepted into the Global Studies and International Relations master’s program at Northeastern University in Boston.

Read more about Allysann Ingram

Sara Starkey

BS Sociology

Vice President & General Counsel
Larry H. Miller Dealerships

Sarah Starkey joined the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies in October 2010 as Staff Attorney and now serves as General Counsel for Miller Automotive Operations. In her role, Sarah provides a broad range of legal counsel to Larry H. Miller Dealerships including acquisitions and divestment, state and federal automotive sales and service compliance, manufacture contracts and compliance, contract review and management, litigation, advertising review, risk management, employment and government relations.

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Friend of CSBS (15)


Connie White

Friend of CSBS

Vice President of Compliance
Western Electricity Coordinating Council's (WECC)

Connie White became Western Electricity Coordinating Council's (WECC) Vice President of Compliance in 2009. She provides oversight and directs all aspects of WECC's Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP). This includes the registration process, audits, investigations, and enforcement, for more than 450 entities in the Western Interconnection.

Read more about Connie White

Mickey Ibarra

Friend of CSBS

President
Ibarra Strategy Group

For Mickey Ibarra advocacy has always been a way of life. It was in that role he honed the leadership skills that led him to the White House senior staff of President Bill Clinton, the creation of his own business and the development of the Latino Leaders Network.

Read more about Mickey Ibarra

Ana Breton

Friend of CSBS

Digital Administrator/Producer
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Ana Breton is a Director of Photography & Editor for comedy series, TV and documentaries. Currently, she lives in New York and works as the Digital Administrator/Producer for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Read more about Ana Breton

Matthew Theel

Friend of CSBS

Special Education Teacher
Canyons School District

William Matthew Theel graduated from the University of Utah in May of 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in Ethnic Studies. Formerly under the College of Social and Behavioral Science, it is now housed under the School of Social and Cultural Transformation.

Read more about Matthew Theel

Last Updated: 4/28/23