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ASU Alumni Association elects board of directors, National Alumni Council members


Kathleen Duffy Ybarra

Kathleen Duffy Ybarra was recently elected to the position of chair of the ASU Alumni Association’s board of directors.
Photo by: ASU Alumni Association

July 20, 2015

The Arizona State University Alumni Association recently elected its 2015-2016 board of directors and National Alumni Council. Terms for all members of both entities began on July 1.

Board/Council Officers

The following persons have been elected to serve as officers of the board of directors and the National Alumni Council.

Chair: Kathleen Duffy Ybarra ’81 B.A.

Kathleen Duffy Ybarra is founder and CEO of Duffy Group Inc., a global research and recruitment firm headquartered in Phoenix. In 2012, Duffy Group was named a Blue Ribbon Small Business Award winner by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Prior to starting her own business, she worked as the director of research for Tirocchi-Wright, Inc., a nationally retained executive search consulting firm.

She is a regular keynote speaker on recruiting and research, and is a founding member of the Arizona Human Resource Executive Forum. She is a member of the ASU President’s Club, a member of the HR advisory board for the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, and on the board of directors for the International Management Search Association. Her community service involvement includes a commitment to the local Moon Valley chapter and national organization of the National Charity League, a mother-daughter membership organization.

Chair-Elect: Brian LaCorte ’85 B.S.

Brian LaCorte is an equity partner and trial lawyer at Ballard Spahr LLC, a national law firm where he oversees the intellectual property team in the firm's Phoenix office.  LaCorte has served on Arizona's "Smart Beginnings" task force and the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness. He completed a long tenure as an executive board member of Crisis Nursery and was past president of Southwest Human Development.  He has been active in the St. Thomas More Society, Valley Leadership (Class XI), and the Valley Citizens League. LaCorte has supported the ASU Leadership Scholarship Program and Devils’ Advocates alumni chapters over the last several years.

Treasurer: Ryan Abbott '01 B.S., '08 M.B.A.


Ryan Abbott leads project development for SUNDT Construction, Inc. in the Southwest.  He began his career at Sundt more than 14 years ago as a field engineer, working his way through every level of project management. He has played a key role on many notable ASU projects, including Lattie F. Coor Hall, the Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Building 4 (ISTB4), the Biodesign Institute, the Downtown Phoenix Sun Devil Fitness Center and Sun Devil Stadium. Prior to serving on the ASU Alumni Association board, Abbott was a member of its Arizona State Young Alumni (ASYA) chapter. 

Past Chair: Bob Boschee '83 B.S., '85 M.B.A.

Bob Boschee is a principal partner with Merrill Lynch’s Ashley & Boschee Group, a team that develops and manages financial strategies for a select group of business and families. Before he joined Merrill Lynch in 1997, he spent 12 years as manager of treasury operations for Arizona Public Service Company and its parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corp. He is a liaison to the Arizona State University Foundation for A New American University's investment committee.

ASU Alumni Association Board of Directors

The following alumni were elected to their first three-year term on the Alumni Association’s board of directors, effective July 1:

Jason Alberts '97 B.S., '03 J.D. is an attorney within the U.S. Department of Justice in New York. In this position, he focuses on public integrity law and civil rights. Prior to his work for the Justice Department, he was an associate solicitor for the Division of Land and Water Resources at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Alberts has served on the board of directors for the ASU College of Law Alumni Association, and has acted as the organizer for the New York shadow run held in conjunction with Pat's Run in Tempe. He is also on the board of directors for the ASU Alumni Law Group.

Glenn Crawford '78 B.S. is a financial advisor and wealth manager for Taylor Insurance and Finance. He also has worked as executive vice president of sales for the Surrex Solutions Corp., and as a senior account executive and board-level producer for kforce/Source Consulting. Crawford was a member of the 1975 Sun Devil football team that was undefeated (12-0) in the regular season and victorious in the Fiesta Bowl that year. He has served on the board of directors for the W. P. Carey School of Business alumni chapter.

Bret Giles '87 B.S. is president and co-founder of the Tempe-based business Sitewire Marketspace Solutions, LLC. He also is the co-founder of Big Bounce, a business incubator and co-working space, and serves as professor of practice in ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business. He was named the 2010 Arizona Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Giles is co-chair of the Phoenix Father’s Day Council and chair-elect of the Downtown Tempe Community Council.

Trish Gulbranson '88 B.S. is founder, president and CEO of Derma Health. Prior to founding her company, she was CEO of the software company NetPro and had begun her career working as an accountant for one of the Big 4 accounting firms. She is currently a member of the ASU President's Club and the board of directors for the Arouet Foundation, and previously has been involved in the Arizona Technology Council, the Arizona Venture Capital Conference, and the Enterprise Networking Executive Board.

Chris Hill '86 B.S. is CEO of St. Luke’s Medical Center and Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital. Prior to that appointment, he served as CEO of Arizona Spine and Joint Hospital in Mesa. He retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years as a Medical Service Corps officer, supervising hospital and medical operations at a number of posts across the United States and abroad. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the ASU Alumni Association's chapter for military veterans.

Fred Reish '67 B.S. is a partner with the law firm Drinker Biddle LLP, where he chairs the Financial Services ERISA Team. His practice focuses on fiduciary issues, prohibited transactions, tax-qualification and retirement income. Reish has written four books and more than 350 articles on fiduciary responsibility. He is a charter fellow for the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Reish has been recognized as one of the “legends” in the retirement plan community and has received distinguished service awards from several organizations.

The new board members join Malissia Clinton ’90 B.A., who was elected to her second term on the board, as well as continuing board members Steven Balthazor ’91 B.S.E.; Michelle Bolton ’93 B.A.; Bob Boscamp ’69 B.A.E.; Teresa Clement ’02 B.S.E., ’07 Ph.D.; Dan Mullen ’66 B.S.; Darren Skarecky ’94 B.S.; Anthony Valencia ’91 B.S., ’13 M.B.A.; and Jeff van Raaphorst ’87 B.S., ’97 M.B.A.

ASUAA National Alumni Council

The following persons were elected to their first three-year term on the Alumni Association’s National Alumni Council:

Jeff Daniel ’06 B.S. is a territory manager with Lexipol, a provider of risk management policies and resources for public safety organizations. He has as spent his entire career in sales working for various technology companies. He actively volunteers for charities that include the American Red Cross and the Alzheimer’s Association. A resident of Laguna Hills, Calif., Daniel has represented ASU at many local college fairs and has served on the Alumni Association’s Medallion Scholarship Review Committee for several years. He has been president of the Orange County chapter of the Alumni Association since 2012. Daniel is a member of the Sun Devil Club.

Margaret Dunn ’10 B.A., ’12 M.B.A. is the founder and owner of Dunn Transportation, the company that runs the popular “Ollie the Trolley” service in downtown Scottsdale. Her passion for the transportation industry has its roots in a job she held when first attending ASU during the 1980s. As a community leader, Dunn serves on the boards of directors for the Arizona Transit Association Board, Tempe Tourism, and the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce. In 2015, she was a recipient of the Sun Devil Select Award, which recognizes innovative business leadership.

Luis Heredia ’98 B.S. is a district director for U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego. Prior to that, he worked as a senior congressional aide to Congressman Raul Grijalva and as a public affairs director for Union Pacific Railroad's Arizona and New Mexico operations. A first-generation American from a Mexican immigrant farm worker family, Heredia participated in the Leadership Scholarship Program at ASU. He has been a Woodrow Wilson/Public Policy and International Affairs fellow and a 2013 Flinn-Brown fellow for the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership. He worked to establish the ASU Alumni Association’s El Diablito chapter in Yuma and also has served on the board of the association’s Los Diablos chapter.

Jeff Mirasola ’90 B.S. is the state and local government affairs director for CenturyLink, Inc. Prior to that position, he worked as a public relations director for Qwest and worked as a local television anchor/reporter in Phoenix, as well as various locations in Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Outside of work, Mirasola is involved in community organizations such as Silent Witness, Catholic Education Arizona, the board of Mesa United Way, and B'nai B'rith Little League.

Michael Tully ’87 B.S., ’91 M.B.A. is the president and CEO of AAA Arizona. Tully is also the chairman of Club Software Solutions, a wholly owned AAA technology firm. Prior to joining AAA, Tully owned an export finance company and held CFO positions at Fairchild Data Corp. and PJH Brands, Inc. Tully is a lifetime member of the Fiesta Bowl Committee, a member of YPO/WPO, a member of the ASU President’s Club, and has served on the Finance Advisory Board and the Center for Services Leadership for Arizona State University. Tully’s other community affiliations include serving as chair of the board for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona, as a board member for the Boys and Girls Club of America, and as the vice chairman for Financial Executives International.

These new members join Andy Hanshaw ’87 B.S. and Danelle Kelling ’00 B.A., ’04 J.D., who were elected to a second term on the council, as well as continuing council members Yesenia Barraza ’08 B.S.; Eddie DeVall ’93 B.A.; Michelle Gettinger ’90 B.S.; John Gibson ’05 B.S., ’10 M.B.A.; Michael Grosso ’97 B.S.; Kristine Kassel ’91 B.S.; Nick Kieffer ’00 B.A.; Sarah Krahenbuhl ’03 B.A.; Tere LeBarron ’82 B.S., ’92 M.H.S.A.; Caleb Navarro ‘05 B.S., ’08 M.S.; Alberto Pino ’06 B.A.; Guy Roll ’90 B.S.; Graham Rossini ’02 B.S., ’11 M.B.A.; and Travis Snell ’00 M.P.A.