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Alumni Faculty & Employees
Drawing from her own educational experience, assistant teaching professor Katy Reese guides students in developing the confidence needed to confront and conquer complex IS concepts.
The department chair and a professor of finance at BYU Marriott, Taylor Nadauld thanks his 25-year-old self for choosing to leave a lucrative position on Wall Street to earn a PhD.
Lieutenant Colonel Travis Bailey planned to make his assignment in Kansas City his last. With a leap of faith to request a new position, Bailey was transferred to BYU, where he is now the chair of the Department of Military Science and head of BYU’s Army ROTC.
As professor Mark Zimbelman retires from the School of Accountancy (SOA), he reflects on how his faith has helped him make a lasting impact through both his research and his interactions with students.
After 24 years of building an alumni network and forging one-on-one relationships with those in the MPA community, Vicki Okerlund leaves behind a legacy of Christ-centered leadership that extends beyond the workplace.
After graduating from the finance program at the BYU Marriott School of Business in 2007, Brandon Egan continues to seek God’s hand as he navigates changes in his career.
When Aliah Hall was hired as BYU Marriott’s wellness and prevention specialist in 2022, she created a space where students could put down their worries. “This is a place where you don’t have to perform,” Hall says of her office.
Jeff Thompson splits his time between teaching in the MPA program and directing BYU’s new Sorensen Center for Moral and Ethical Leadership, where he helps others discover how Christ-centered leadership can steer decisions and stabilize organizations.
From his childhood in Côte d’Ivoire to his Church mission in Ghana and a year-long stint in China, Stéphane Akoki had seen a lot before he even started college. Yet he discovered that coming to BYU Marriott widened his world—and his impact.
EMBA graduate Tema Hunkin Laussen had a lot to smile about in 2023. Her company, closed $20 million in residential real estate sales last year. But as much as she loved closing each deal, Laussen’s real highlight of 2023 was opening doors for students through her family’s charitable foundation.
Two months after Katie Cherrington moved to Maui, the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century struck her family’s neighborhood. In the aftermath of Lahaina’s tragedy, Cherrington has observed a community banding together and has seen principles in action that are taught at BYU Marriott.
After being surprised by a question in class that told him he might be in the wrong place, Norm Sherwood Traded law school for the MOB program which ended up creating the perfect path for him.
Justin Weiss, EMPA alumnus, has lived a life full of unexpected triumphs and hardships that have led to opportunities for personal development.
After 33 years of enriching and inspiring the next generation of business students, Monte Swain is teaching his final semester in the School of Accountancy (SOA).
Dale Hull, the 2023 MPA Alumnus of the Year, credits his time in the Executive MPA program for giving him the confidence he needed to help people with paralysis.
As an MPA professor at BYU Marriott, Eva Witesman emphasizes to students the importance of unity with one another and the organizations they will work for.
At the BYU Marriott School of Business, associate professor Taeya Howell prepares MBA students to be Christlike leaders when they enter the workforce.
Twenty years ago, Ian Wright learned the value of a good mentor. Now, as the finance program director and an assistant professor, he strives to encourage students to be the best in everything they do.
Art student Laurel Galli-Graves never imagined working as a data scientist for the Department of Defense. But her time in the MPA program helped her combine her artistic creativity, passion for public service, and love of analytics and machine learning to help further the public good.

Jeffrey Burningham, adjunct faculty and partner to the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, believes the creative process is pivotal to a fulfilling life.
Teaching professor for the Romney Institute of Public Service and Ethics Aaron Miller teaches students that future business leaders should focus less on climbing the corporate ladder and more on creating a positive impact in the world.

From a young age, Melissa Larson developed a love of reading and learning, and set the goal of graduating from a university. However, as the first person in her family to pursue higher education, she wasn’t sure what it would take to achieve her goal.
You could say that Gerald “Jerry” Petersen earned his master’s degree in marketing from BYU because he loved to sing.
As an associate professor at BYU Marriott, Liz Dixon reflects on how her father’s example helped her teach and practice Christlike communication.