At the start of the fall semester, Brigitte Madrian, dean of the BYU Marriott School of Business, welcomed 11 new faculty members to the college. “At BYU Marriott, our faculty are dedicated teachers, exceptional scholars, and transformative role models. We are thrilled to welcome these new professors and know that their insights and experience will greatly enhance the educational experience of our students.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree in economics from Brigham Young University in 2019 and PhD in operations and business analytics from Drexel University in 2024, Cameron Bale joins BYU Marriott as an assistant professor of marketing. His research focuses on data privacy and how firms can protect sensitive data while ensuring that it remains useful for business applications, such as machine learning and forecasting. Cameron Bale and his wife, Morgan, live in Springville, Utah, with their two daughters. Outside of work, he enjoys outdoor activities such as camping and playing disc golf.
Morgan Bale is a new assistant professor of marketing at BYU Marriott. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from BYU, a master's degree in economics from Purdue University, and a PhD in marketing from Drexel University. She researches causal inference techniques and Bayesian statistics to study brand equity, retail media, and customer loyalty. In addition to her passion for helping students understand causality and develop their critical thinking skills, she loves spending time with her family and going to the beach.
A new assistant professor in the School of Accountancy, Nicole Donahoo attended BYU Marriott, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting with a minor in economics. During her schooling, she worked as a forensic accountant for Rocky Mountain Advisory, a local Salt Lake City accounting firm. After graduating, she earned a PhD in accounting from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she taught undergraduate-level accounting courses. Her research interests primarily investigate forensic accountants and how external forces shape the individual auditor’s experience and decision-making.
Major Jake Johnson has served 13 years in the US Army in various capacities and locations, earning over a dozen medals and badges. He played an integral role in planning, supporting, and executing training with multinational forces in both the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and has participated in two combat deployments to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. While on his most recent deployment, Johnson served as the lead logistics advisor in the Kandahar Providence and led advisors from various NATO countries on developing executive-level logistics processes for the Afghan Army. Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in business leadership from Southern Virginia University, a master’s degree in operational studies from the Command and General Staff College at Army University, and a master’s degree in supply chain management from the University of Kansas. Along with his military service, Johnson has actively served in various leadership capacities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including most recently on the Okinawa Japan Temple open house dedication committee. He and his wife, Jordan, have been married for 17 years and have four children.
Captain Luke Parker earned a dual bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and engineering management and a master’s degree in engineering management from Missouri University of Science and Technology, where he also participated in Detachment 442 Air Force ROTC. After completing the fundamentals of acquisition management program in June 2019, Parker held a variety of acquisition positions within the National Air and Space Intelligence Center and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. He was a deployed officer from 2022 to 2023, serving as the executive officer to the Director of the Combined Air and Space Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Prior to becoming an associate professor of aerospace studies in BYU’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 855, Parker was the deputy program manager of the Advanced Range Threat System Variant 3 program at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
A newly joined associate professor in the School of Accountancy, Jeffrey Pickerd earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting in 2011 from BYU Marriott and then became a registered CPA in Illinois in 2012. After earning his PhD in management with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2016, Pickerd joined the faculty at the University of Mississippi, where he was on faculty. He teaches accounting information systems and researches data analytics, accounting information systems, and auditing. He loves BYU and is eager to help the students and the university succeed.
Amanda Pope earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting at BYU Marriott. She enjoyed 18 years in public accounting with PwC in Washington, DC; Grant Thornton in Salt Lake City and Chicago; GlomoTax in Provo; and, most recently, Andersen in San Francisco, working remotely. At Andersen, she oversaw her group’s internship training program by assessing interns’ progress and guiding them in professional development. She brings her experience in corporate, international, and global mobility tax consulting to her new role as an associate teaching professor in the School of Accountancy.
Major Corban Smith joins BYU’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 855 as the operations flight commander. After earning his US Air Force commission through the Air Force ROTC program at Utah State University in 2007, he completed intelligence officer training in October 2009. He has held a variety of intelligence positions from tactical fighter aircraft mission planning to supporting US strategic nuclear command and control. As the senior intelligence instructor for the Tactical Leadership Programme in Albacete, Spain, Smith led the intelligence training program for hundreds of military personnel from 16 NATO nations. He also served as the chief of intelligence for Operations Team 2 onboard the National Airborne Operations Center aircraft, enabling situational awareness for the Executive Office of the President of the United States, the secretary of defense, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during all phases of national-level operations and crisis. Prior to coming to BYU, Smith was the lead exercise planner for the intelligence directorate at US Africa Command.
Ryan Sommerfeld teaches courses in managerial accounting in his new role as an assistant professor in the School of Accountancy. Prior to joining the faculty at BYU Marriott, he taught at Washington State University. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from BYU Marriott and his doctoral degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to earning his doctorate, Sommerfeldt worked on the advisory team at Squire & Company, did an audit internship with Grant Thornton, and owned and operated a landscaping company. His research lies at the intersection of managerial accounting and audit and has been published in top-tier journals in accounting. He has also served as a reviewer for numerous journals and conferences, a member of the organizing committee for the Junior Accounting Scholars Organization, a regional director for the AAA’s Management Accounting Section, and currently as a director for the Institute of Management Accountant’s Research Foundation. Sommerfeldt loves spending time with his wife, Jen, and their four children, along with eating milkshakes and playing sports.
Early in his career, Ross Storey used his bachelor’s degree in facilities and construction management to elevate guest experiences for Hyatt Hotels and Sodexho. He then worked for the Missionary Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly 12 years, where he led curriculum design and training efforts for missionaries and mission leaders worldwide. He was recruited to work for a tech startup, where he strategized with Fortune 500 companies on how to best implement a large-scale software solution. Storey earned an MPA and a master’s degree in instructional psychology and technology from BYU. With expertise in online learning and experiential learning theory and a passion for helping students invest in their learning experience, Storey was an adjunct instructor for various business communication and experience design classes before joining BYU Marriott full-time in the Department of Experience Design and Management as an associate teaching professor.
Prior to being assigned to the BYU Army ROTC, US Army Foreign Area Officer Lieutenant Colonel Michael Valletta served as the deputy chief for the Office of Defense Cooperation assigned to the U.S. embassy in Bucharest, Romania. He has a distinguished military career that spans over 19 years of service. He started his career as an aviation officer, flying UH-60 Black Hawks and MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aerial systems. He deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting various combat and humanitarian operations, and commanded an elite unit of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Valletta transitioned to become a foreign area officer in 2012, specializing in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility with Hungarian as his control language. From 2016 to 2019, he served as an attaché in Budapest, Hungary, and then from 2020 to 2022, he served as the deputy director of special intelligence programs in the intelligence directorate for INDOPACOM in Oahu, Hawaii. Aside from completing various professional and regional training programs, Valletta holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Weber State University, an MBA from the University of Maryland, and a master’s degree in international affairs from the University of Utah. Valletta enjoys spending time with his wife, Meghan, and their six children.