Tanya Beard JS’01 has joined Holland & Hart as an associate in the firm's litigation department. She previously was a judicial law clerk in the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. District Court for Utah, and was a deputy Salt Lake County district attorney.

Sen. Bob Bennett BS’57 (political science) has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the University of Utah's Daily Utah Chronicle, where the state's junior senator wrote a political column as a U of U student in the 1950s.

Bennett also was a member of Owl and Key while at the U, and was inducted into the Beehive Honor Society in 1957.

Diane Brewton BS’79 has joined Decision Analyst, an international marketing research and consulting firm, as Senior Vice President and Director of Syndicated Research. Brewton comes to Decision Analyst with more than 20 years of syndicated research experience, and will lead a team producing comprehensive industry reports on such topics as American home comfort, health and wellness, baby products, and personal care items. Before joining Decision Analyst, Brewton held positions at Synovate, MRCA Information Services, and Foote, Cone and Belding, an advertising agency.

Craig Cutright BA’74 was named executive director of The American Lung Association of Utah. Cutright has served for more than 10 years as the association's associate director. Prior to joining the ALAU, Cutright served in different capacities with the American Heart Association.

Thomas L. Gourde BA’87 JD’90 has been named to head and direct the Corporate Law Division and the Estate Planning Practice Group at The Rann Law Firm, LLP, from its Orange County, California office. Upon his graduation from law school, Gourde accepted a litigation associate position with Bonne, Jones, Bridges, Mueller and O’Keefe, where he specialized in municipal liability claims, medical malpractice claims, and business and employment claims. In 1994, he joined the firm of Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar as an associate, specializing in the defense of professional malpractice matters, and in business litigation. He joined the firm of Neal, Haushalter & Ray in 2002 as a Senior Associate and Trial attorney.

Jason W. Hardin JD’00 has been named shareholder in the law firm of Fabian & Clendenin. Hardin has broad experience in complex business and commercial litigation. He is a former Naval submarine officer and a graduate of Rice University in Houston.

Travis Hayes BS’04 is the latest to offer advertising space on his forehead on eBay (a Nebraska man beat him to this particular punch). Hayes, now studying at the London School of Economics, began walking the streets of London in mid-April hawking a Texas-based Internet service. The Taylorsville High School graduate, who is videotaping passersbys’ reactions to his emblazoned head, plans to use winning bidder C I Host's $9,300 to make a documentary film about emerging “human billboard” advertising.

C I Host nearly doubles the impact of its conventional advertising budget (about $1.2 million annually) with “guerrilla advertising “ stunts that also include putting its logo on the seat of Evander Holyfield's boxing shorts. Two years ago , the company paid a Chicago man $8,000 to undergo four hours of needle work to tattoo the company's logo on the back of his head—permanently. A five-year contract requires Jim Nelson to keep the tattoo visible at all times and to make trips internationally to promote C I Host.

Paul Hess JD’81, an attorney with Strong & Hanni since 1979, has been appointed business and tax group leader at the law firm. Hess is a certified public accountant.

Vinson M. Johnson BS’79 MArc’81 has been promoted to associate with VCBO Architecture, a Salt Lake-based firm. Johnson has 26 years of experience in the architecture field and specializes in the design of medical facilities. AM

Joel Kempner BA’01 has joined HealthEquity, the leader in HSA client services and administration, as director of client care. His new responsibilities include the delivery of HealthEquity's HSA client services to consumers, employers, insurance brokers and health care providers. Kempner comes to HealthEquity from Intermountain Health Care (IHC), ranked by Modern Healthcare magazine as the nation's top integrated health system for five out of the last six years. At IHC, Kempner's responsibilities included day-to-day administration of customer service, claims adjudication, broker training and all EDI-HIPAA transaction implementation for IHC's health care providers.

W. Rolfe Kerr PhD’70 has been named commissioner of education for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kerr will direct operations of the church’s higher education institutions, including Brigham Young University (BYU), BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii, and LDS Business College. He also will have responsibility for seminaries and institutes of religion. Kerr has been a member of the church’s First Quorum of the Seventy since 1996 and has served as Utah’s commissioner of higher education, president of Dixie College, and in a number of administrative positions at BYU, University of Utah, Utah State University, and Weber State University. He earned bachelor’s and master's degrees from Utah State University before receiving a doctorate in education from the U.

Julie H. Kilgore EMBA’04, principal and managing partner at Wasatch Environmental in Salt Lake City, has become a member of the ASTM International board of directors for 2005 to 2007. Kilgore joined ASTM International and Committee E50 on Environmental Assessment, Risk Management, and Corrective Action in 1994 and is the chair of subcommittee E50.02 on Real Estate Assessment and Management. Kilgore chairs the task group responsible for developing E1527, Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment Process, which was specifically designated by Congress to serve as the national standard for conducting all appropriate inquiry until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency promulgates its own regulation.

Jared L. Kronenberg BS'02 (speech communication) expects to receive his J.D. from Syracuse University on May 22 and to serve as a law clerk for the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department in Rochester, New York for two years beginning in August. He plans to take the New York bar examination at the end of July.

Peggy Lander, who holds an integrated marketing and communications certificate from the U, has been named the Utah Advertising Federation's Advertising Professional of the Year. Lander is a partner and executive vice president at the Salt Lake-based advertising firm Richter7. The award honors a UAF member who "exemplifies extraordinary advertising experience, has made a significant contribution to the community, and is respected and revered by peers and associates." Lander has 28 years of experience.

Paul Laland BS’85, a corporate executive with more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical and biotechnology communications, has joined VaxGen, Inc. as Vice President, Corporate and Financial Communications. Laland served most recently as senior partner at Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, Inc., where he established and headed the firm's Life Sciences Group on the West Coast. He also served as co-chair of the firm's global healthcare practice.

John Larson BS’86 MPrA’87 has been named vice president of finance for Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment. He will be responsible for the day- to-day accounting and finance operations for the group, which includes the Utah Jazz, Fanzz, LHM Advertising, the Delta Center, KJZZ Television and the Salt Lake Stingers. Larson joined the Utah Jazz in 1990 and served most recently as group controller for LHM Sports & Entertainment. A certified public accountant, he also currently serves on the University of Utah College of Business Alumni Board as well as the U Young Alumni Board.

Jingan “John” Liu MArc’97 has been named project manager and lead project architect at the Utah office of CLC Associates, a national architecture, engineering, planning and surveying firm. Also a graduate of the city planning and architecture school of Tongji University in Shanghai, China, Liu has nearly 20 years of planning and architecture experience.

Edward P. Lunt BS’71 MBA’74 has been sworn in as a member of the Utah Transit Authority board of trustees. Lunt will represent areas of Salt Lake County and the cities of Tooele and Grantsville. Lunt was the president and CEO of Western Property Management for 22 years and served as the first chairman of the Holladay City Council. As a member of the UTA board, Lunt will help set policy and provide overall guidance for the agency.

Michael S. Masters BS’80 MBA’83 has been named vice president of operations, and Todd L. Porter BS’93 is now materials manager, for Parvus Corp., a strategic systems engineering and development partner for aerospace, defense, transportation and industrial OEMs. Masters previously held executive and director-level positions at Dayna Communications (now Intel), Gateway Computers, Sanyo Electronic (now Icon International), Flowserve Corp., and Eaton-Kenway (now HK Systems). Porter previously served in several materials management and procurement roles for Evans and Sutherland Computer Corp., Megahertz (now 3-Com), and ElectroCom.

Michael R. McCarthy II JD’00 has rejoined The law firm of Parsons Behle & Latimer after completing a judicial clerkship with the U.S. District Court. McCarthy is a member of the firm's litigation and environmental, energy and natural resources departments.

Richard Mickelsen BS’87 MD’92 has been named full-time medical director for Youth Care and Pine Ridge Academy, two local residential treatment centers for youths. Mickelsen, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, has been consulting for the programs since August 2004. Prior to that, he worked with adolescents in the outpatient, day treatment and residential programs of Valley Mental Health, a not-for-profit agency in Salt Lake City. He was previously medical director at Four Winds-Saratoga, a private psychiatric hospital in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he headed an inpatient psychiatric team caring for youths.

Kate Petley BFA’76 recently completed a major commission for the Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport (image at right). She also has an upcoming solo exhibition at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Texas. Petley now lives in rural southwestern Colorado after years in Houston. She exhibits her work in Houston, Denver, Santa Fe, and many other venues.

Bruce Plenk MEd'71 JD'77 recently accepted a position as housing staff attorney with Southern Arizona Legal Aid in Tucson, Ariz. Previously, Plenk practiced law in Utah with Utah Legal Services, Inc., was a visiting law professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, where he was also in private practice. Plenk worked recently as a renewable energy consultant in Arizona.

Joe Reyna BS’02 (economics) BA’02 (political science), former deputy mayor of economic affairs of Ogden city, has been named regional president of the Zions Bank Multicultural Retail Region. He will be responsible for business development, deposit growth and the creation of Zions' strategic plan to serve multicultural markets in Utah and Idaho, with specific emphasis on Latino clients. He will have direct responsibility over two Zions Bank offices, in Rose Park and the new Redwood Road branch. Reyna is the chairman-elect of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce board of directors and founder of the Ogden Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Marcia B. Saltz MBA’03 has joined Ramsey Group Real Estate as a realtor associate. Fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish, Saltz is a native of Brazil who moved to the U.S. in 1982 after receiving a medical degree. An accomplished physician, she practiced medicine in Florida, Georgia and Alabama and was an assistant professor at the Medical College of Georgia. In 1995, she moved to Utah, where she co-founded Spa Vitoria, the first medical spa in Utah. An active community volunteer and member of the United Jewish Federation of Utah, Saltz now brings her drive and dedication to a career in real estate.

Heather [Donaldson] Sanders MBA’97 has joined the APX as managing director of professional services. In her new role, she will lead a regional group focused on the growth of APX's high value professional services and technology solutions business in the Midwest and Eastern United States. Additionally, she will actively assist APX clients navigate the changes associated with deregulated electricity markets. Prior to joining APX, Sanders served as the director of consulting services and market intelligence, focused on the Midwest and PJM regions for The Structure Group.

James “Cid” Seidelman PhD’87 has been named provost and vice president for academic affairs for Westminster College. Seidelman joined Westminster in 1980 as an instructor in economics. Since then, he has served as director of the college's economics program, director of its MBA program, and dean of the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business. For the past year and a half, he has served as interim provost.

Alex Smith BS’04, former quarterback for the Utes, was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft that began April 23. Smith, chosen by the San Francisco 49ers, was the highest pick ever from the state of Utah. Smith led the University of Utah football team to an 11-0 record for ’04-05, which includes a first-ever trip to the Bowl Championship Series. Smith was rewarded with accolades including Heisman finalist, Sports Illustrated College Football Player of the Year, and Pro Football Weekly All-American (first team). See “2004-05: The Perfect Season?” for more Ute athletic achievements.

Scott K. Sorensen BS’86 has been named to the board of directors of Wabash National Corporation. Sorensen, 42, is vice president and chief financial officer of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., a leader within the health- care equipment and services and funeral services industries. Prior to joining Hillenbrand, he was executive vice president and CFO/treasurer of Pliant Corporation (formerly Huntsman Packaging Corporation) from 1998 to 2001. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah, Sorensen holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

The Salt Lake law firm of Strong & Hanni has hired Benjamin P. Thomas BS’98 as an associate in the firm. Thomas joins the firm's business, tax and estate planning practice group. He is a graduate of Willamette University's College of Law and the U.

Gov. Jon Huntsman issued a proclamation declaring April 8, 2005 as Elbert Thomas Day in honor of the late Utah Sen. Elbert D. Thomas, who graduated from the U (grad year unknown) and taught Latin and Greek here from 1914 to 1916, for his efforts to rescue Jews from Nazi Germany. Early on, in 1934, he visited Germany and witnessed Adolf Hitler's discriminatory practices, recognizing the inherent, insidious danger there even before the Nazi regime instituted its “Final Solution” of genocide.

Over radio airwaves, and as a signatory in national advertisements, Thomas openly criticized then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt - breaking with his own Democratic Party - for his restrictive immigration policies and for not doing more to save Jewish refugees. During the war, he advocated loudly and publicly for more vigorous efforts/ military and political efforts to rescue Jews by the allied powers to rescue Jews, even signing on to public advertisements in 1943 that sharply criticized the Roosevelt administration.

In 1943, he co-chaired a weeklong “Emergency Conference to Save the Jewish People of Europe” and introduced a resolution in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to build a U.S. government agency to rescue refugees from mass murder. Thomas then wrote the legislation that would create it. The result: The War Refugee Board that - in the final 15 months of the war - saved about 200,000 Jews and 20,000 non-Jews the Nazis had targeted for extermination.

Tom Thorum ex’84 was promoted to project manager at VCBO Architecture, a Salt Lake-based firm. Thorum has been with VCBO for eight years and specializes in performance spaces.

Luanne Valentin BA’77 has joined Spectrum Engineers, Utah’s largest integrated engineering firm, as a business developer. Prior to joining Spectrum, she spent 12 years in the business development division of Deloitte & Touche, an international public accounting firm. In addition to her bachelor’s degree in journalism, Valentin also holds a Certificate of Integrated Marketing Communication from the U. She is a member of the Utah chapter of the Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Lara Walker BFA’88 BA’94 MA’96 has joined Syracuse (N.Y.) University’s College of Arts and Sciences as the Winifred Seely Myers Love Junior Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics. Most recently, Walker was a doctoral student, Spanish teaching assistant coordinator, and teaching fellow in Spanish at the University of Houston, as well as a business Spanish trainer for World Learning in Houston. In addition to bachelor’s degrees in modern dance and Spanish and a master’s degree in Spanish from the University of Utah, Walker holds a master’s degree in Latin American literature from the University of Pittsburg.


Former Gov. Olene Walker PhD’87 has joined the ranks of honorees in the Hinckley Institute of Politics Hall of Fame. The first woman recognized, she shares the honor with three other former governors (Norm Bangerter, Cal Rampton, and Scott Matheson Sr.), two U.S. senators (Ted Moss and Wallace Bennett) and a congressman (Jim Hansen). At the ceremony, Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions Bank, announced the addition of the "Olene Walker Scholarship," which will be awarded to one woman at the Hinckley Institute annually. Other attendees included Scott Matheson Jr., former gubernatorial candidate and current dean of the U's College of Law, and Ted Wilson, former Mayor of Salt Lake City and former director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics. All seven of Walker’s children graduated from the U, and five of her grandchildren are currently attending.

Jenny Wong BS’89 has been appointed human resources coordinator for Fieldstone Homes Utah. She is responsible for employee recruitment, retention, training and managing the company's health and benefits programs.

Richard Young BS’83 has been promoted from regional manager to senior vice president of operations at Kleinfelder Inc., a San Diego-based engineering consulting firm. Young, also named division manager of the company's Western Division, is based in the firm's Salt Lake City office.