1950s
Rosemary Coates (BS Transportation ’79) is the founder and executive director of the Reshoring Institute, a nonprofit organization focusing on the expansion of U.S. manufacturing. She is also the president of Blue Silk Consulting, a supply-chain management consulting firm. Coates recently participated in an event with C-Sweet, a national organization that aims to foster executive-level relationships for women across sectors in business and industry, where she spoke about reshoring, helping the economy, and workforce issues.
Charles Wilhoite (BS Finance ’87) is a managing director at Willamette Management Associates, a Portland-based firm specializing in financial advisory and business valuation services. Before beginning his 30-year career at Willamette Management Associates, he worked for KPMG. He currently chairs the board of directors of Legacy Health and is the immediate past chair of the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco-Portland Branch and The Nature Conservancy of Oregon. Additional board and volunteer service includes board membership with Meyer Memorial Trust, the National Association of Corporate Directors-Northwest Branch, NW Natural Holdings, Oregon Health & Science University, the Oregon Housing Stability Council, Portland Business Alliance, Portland State University Foundation, and the Urban League of Portland. He was welcomed as a new member of the Oregon Investment Council in April.
Michelle Corley Wing (BS Advertising ’89) is an educator and kids yoga certification specialist. Wing is also the founder of It’s Yoga Kids, which engages children in the practice of yoga.
Neil Russell (BS Management ’94) is the senior vice president of corporate affairs and chief communications officer for Houston-headquartered Sysco, a leader in selling, marketing, and distributing food products to restaurants, health care and educational facilities, lodging and other wholesale customers.
Vikas Anand (PhD Business Administration ’99) is associate dean for academic programs at the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. In this position, Anand leads the strategic planning process and execution for all academic programs at Poole. Before this, he served as a tenured professor and the executive director of MBA programs and graduate innovation at the University of Arkansas.
Stephanie Maderazzo-Hughes (BS Finance ’99) is celebrating her 22nd year as the CEO and chief operations officer of Arizona-based Canyon State Electric, overseeing the company’s financial safety and legal departments.
Larry Farnsworth (BS Management ’02) has nearly 40 years of law enforcement experience. He served as a deputy chief in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and retired as sworn captain. During his career, Farnsworth was tasked with commanding or working in many interagency law enforcement operations or investigations at all levels of government.
Andrea Horst (BS Management ’02) says, “Yes, #tweets (and the infrastructure that powers them) have a supply chain!” As a supply chain manager at Twitter, Horst manages a robust supply chain of computing hardware, real estate/structures, and networking accessories. “Most people don’t think about the physical, tangible, and inventoried infrastructure that power Silicon Valley’s most popular technology applications,” she says. “The infrastructure that we physically build allows tweets to become part of the largest conversations on the internet.”
Richmond Vincent Jr. (MBA ’02) is the president and CEO of Goodwill of the Valleys in Roanoke, Va.
Michael Addington (BS Finance ’03) is a senior credit analyst at Midfirst Bank in Chandler, Ariz.
Gbemi Disu (BS Economics ’04) is the executive director at Carnegie Mellon University Africa, working in partnership with the director of CMU-Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, to provide administrative, strategic, and operational leadership.
Michael Simpson (MBA ’04) received an exceptional service award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator. As the education sector branch chief, Simpson helped the Puerto Rico Department of Education recover from Hurricane Maria and earthquakes in 2020. Since completing this work, he has moved into the FEMA Infrastructure Division director position, overseeing the energy, water, transportation, and public housing sectors, including the construction and recovery of the $14-plus billion that FEMA committed to the energy and water sectors in Puerto Rico.
Shalen Young (MBA ’04) is the chief financial officer (CFO) at Abrazo Arrowhead Campus, an acute care hospital in Glendale, Ariz. Young oversees the hospital’s finance, case management, and materials management teams. Previously, he served as CFO for Arizona Specialty Hospital in Chandler, Ariz., and has held financial leadership positions at Banner Health in Phoenix and Cleveland Clinic.
Ryan Hegna (BS Finance ’06) founded Best Deal in Town, a discount electronics store, in 2007 and now has locations in Tempe, Ariz., Denver, and Las Vegas. In 2011, Hegna also opened Brilliant Bridal, a discount bridal business that currently has locations in Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas, and Dallas.
2010s
Max Simpson (BS Marketing/Management, BA Business Sports and Media Studies ’17) is a freelance contributor for Adweek magazine, writing in-depth pieces on branded campaigns, experiential activations, and sports marketing strategies.
Daniel Tye (BA Business Communication ’17) is the operations manager for Carmen’s Authentic Mexican Food in Phoenix.
Victoria Becher (MBA ’19) is a strategic sourcing manager for manufacturing company W.L. Gore & Associates in Newark, Del.
Chu Xiaoqing (MBA ’17, DBA ’19) is a senior partner at Jincheng Tongda & Neal law firm in China. In his book, Equity Investment Dispute Resolution: Practical Points and Case Analysis of VAM and Buybacks (股权投资争议解决: 对赌与回购实务要点及案例精析), Xiaoqing focuses on complex disputes of valuation adjustment mechanism and buybacks in practice.
2020s
Moises Espinosa Lopez (MS-BA/MBA ’20) is celebrating his second year at Micron Technology in Boise, Idaho.
Keith Pickering (MBA ’20) is a sales development representative for software as a service startup Ontic in Austin, Texas.
Grant Frailich
(MiM ’14)
- Club Pride Tree is identity-based programming on-site at schools focused on topics relevant to LGBTQ+ youth, including pronouns/vocabulary, navigating the coming-out process, LGBTQ+ history, representation in pop culture, LGBTQ+ laws, and how to be an ally. “The Pride Tree brings programs directly to kids at their schools for free,” Frailich says.
- The Pride Tree Mentoring program connects middle and high school students with college students and working professionals who share a common professional interest, Frailich says. “For example, we take a middle schooler and a high schooler who are interested in law, pair them up with a student and a working lawyer, and create a pipeline/new career pathway for kids from multiple schools.”
- Camp Pride Tree (coming summer 2022) will provide LGBTQ+ youth and allies with a traditional summer camp experience without restrictive gender norms. “We eliminate the concept of ‘boys cabins’ and ‘girls cabins’ and simply allow kids the chance to be kids,” Frailich says.
- Parent programming offers parents of LGBTQ+ children the chance to ask questions such as, “How can I support my nonbinary child?” or, “What does it mean if my child says they are trans?” The program focuses on creating nonjudgmental environments and an atmosphere of growth where parents feel supported and part of a greater community to assist their child.
Frailich says The Pride Tree’s commitment to diversity runs deep: The majority of its board identifies as LGBTQ+ and/or as people of color, while several board members are women and/or bilingual in English and Spanish.
Alec Butler (BS Computer Information Systems ’21) is an inside sales associate at Veeam Software in Tempe, Ariz.
Josephine Carlin (MBA ’21) is a senior contracts associate at Infosys BPM in Tempe, Ariz.
Wang Cheng (DBA ’21) is chairperson at KeyLogic Consulting, a firm for talent management in China. Cheng shares a clear theoretical framework and suggestions to execute talent strategies in his book, Talent Strategy (人才战略如何排兵布阵赢在终局).
Amanda Condit (MBA ’21) is a strategy and management associate at Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C.
David Darnell (MBA ’21) is a commodity manager at Intel in Chandler, Ariz.
Erin Grady (MBA ’21) is a senior analyst at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas.
Jatin Kapur (MBA ’21) is a product information materials program manager at semiconductor company Applied Materials in Santa Clara, Calif.
Jessica Malis (MS-BA ’21) is a data analyst for EXOS, a human performance company headquartered in Phoenix.
Brandy Maroney (Business Communication ’21) is celebrating six years as a customer representative at Southwest Airlines in Chandler, Ariz.
Thi Ngoc Anh “Zoey” Nguyen (MBA ’21) is a data analyst intern for the National Association of State Procurement Officials in Lexington, Ky.
Kizito Okougbo (MBA ’21) is a graduate assistant at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
Dinesh Rathore (MBA ’21) is a graduate assistant for W. P. Carey, helping first-year students get the support they need to be successful.
Shane Speirs (MBA ’21) is the founder and chief medical officer of HealthyU Family Medicine in Avondale, Ariz.
Matthew Totlis (MBA ’21) is an associate at Kearney, a management consulting firm in Chicago.
Forbes named China’s Top 100 Businesswomen of 2021, including two alumni.
Jiang Jinhua (MBA ’13), vice chairwoman and vice president of Flat Glass, is No. 35 on the list.
Zhang Ning (DBA ’15), chairwoman of Red Avenue New Materials, is No. 63 on the list.
