Leadership Utah 2018

Katie Amundsen is the Director of Development for the David Eccles School of Business. In this role, Katie is responsible for managing a portfolio of individual, corporate and foundation donors to the Eccles School as well as managing a small staff of junior fundraisers on the team. Katie earned her bachelor's in Communication Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master of Journalism from Columbia College Chicago. In 2010, Katie completed a certificate in Business Essentials from the David Eccles School of Business' Executive Education Program.Katie and her husband are parents to two daughters (ages 5yo and 8mo) and a puppy (age 8mo). When they're not about to lose their mind over their misbehaved puppy, Katie and her family enjoy playing outside, hiking, camping and seeing live music. 

Jadon Andersen works as the Director of Sales for Deseret Digital Media (ksl.com and deseretnews.com).  He began his career building out a revenue structure for ksl.com and advanced in his career as the top senior account manager for digital advertising until his title changed to director of Sales.  Jadon is married to Ashley Thurgood Andersen and has three children: Abby, Calvin and Corbin.  Some of his favorite pastime are golfing with his 7-year-old and 9-year-old boys, listening to his daughter play the piano, and going on dates with his wife.  Jadon has found that taking ownership of every event that you are faced with will help you to control the outcome and delvier the kinds of results that will make you successful in life.

Ryan Andrus is an in-house attorney at WCF Insurance, where he has worked since graduating from law school in 2008. Ryan began his career as a litigator, but now provides business support to the company. Ryan earned his bachelor's in business administration from the University of Utah and his law degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Ryan enjoys being outside hiking, backpacking, and trail running. His favorite place to visit and explore is Boulder, Utah and the surrounding area. He and his wife Leslie have four kids that keep them extremely busy.

Luna Banuri is founder and director of TeleTaleem, a social enterprise firm focusing on helping leverage the power of technology, innovative approaches, and partnerships to solve the toughest global development challenges in Education. She has 23 years of experience implementing projects in over a dozen countries. A dynamic project manager and strategy consultant, Luna has led cross-functional teams to implement projects in various post conflict communities. She possesses domestic and international experience. She uses her interdisciplinary experience, community development background, and academic training to tackle educational issues across diverse assignments. Last 10 years of her career have been a blend of entrepreneurship and disciplined strategy.  Having moved to Salt Lake City from Chicago 4 years ago while raising three children, Luna has invested and cultivated deep interest in the local community. She serves on various committees pertaining to Education and Diversity.

Elias Bishop is the Director of Government Affairs & Public Policy at Auric Solar. During the 8+ years that he's been in the solar industry, Elias has advanced solar policy and regulation, trained hundreds of government officials on solar energy, progressed solar code and best practices, and much more. His efforts have established Auric Solar as a respected leader with the community and government officials and have preserved citizens' choice to adopt solar energy more than once. He also has successfully led and managed market expansions for Auric Solar. Elias has a Utility Regulatory Certification from Michigan State University, a Solar PV Certification from Solar Energy International, and a B.S. degree in Business Management from Western Governors University. Outside of work, Elias loves being outdoors and spending time with his wife and daughters.

Michelle Blue is the Associate Division Director of Salt Lake County Animal Services. She has been with Salt Lake County for over 15 years. In her current role, she manages the daily operations, as well as the agency's human resources, financial, and administrative functions. She guides the overall direction, growth, and culture of the agency, and oversees all programming, initiatives, personnel, and strategic planning. Michelle earned her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Utah where she was inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honors Society for Public Affairs and Administration. She is currently a board member for the Utah Chapter of Pi Alpha Alpha. Michelle is an avid reader and spends her free time hiking and traveling. She lives in Murray with her husband and rescue dogs, and she takes every opportunity to enjoy Utah’s great outdoors.

Ben Brown joined Fidelity Investments in 2004 and currently serves as Fidelity's Public Affairs Manager for Utah. He assists with monitoring and reporting on local business trends as well as representing Fidelity in the business community. In addition to his Public Affairs duties, Ben assists with coordination and implementation of employee volunteer events and corporate sponsorship programs statewide. Ben currently serves as treasurer for the Plan B Theatre Company, board member of Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake, and vice president of the board for the Salt Lake City Gay Athletic Association. Ben earned his Bachelors of Business Administration from Westminster College. Ben resides in Salt Lake City and in his free time enjoys exploring the world of photography as well as Salt Lake City’s nightlife and restaurants.

Jason Butterfield is the Area Manager for Sunroc Building Materials. He is responsible for the operation of their four facilities along the Wasatch front and back. These facilities include the Ogden, Salt Lake, Lindon, and Heber locations. Jason Butterfield started his pathway into the building material industry during high school. He continued working in the family business instead of furthering his education. He has worked in the building industry for more than 30 years and is now working towards furthering his education. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family. Jason has the perfect foursome for golfing. His two boys and wife play best ball against him. Jason keeps their family close together with adventures in camping, hiking, school activities, baseball, and traveling all over.

Jason Conforto produces awesome videos for Avalanche Studios. His main focus is on high end television commercials and web videos. Jason earned his bachelor's in Media Arts from Brigham Young University. Personal hobbies include making movies, designing games, buying used sports coats, acting in Community Theater, spending time with family, public speaking, cooking, and wearing wigs.

James Davie is Director of Programming and Digital Media for KUED Television. He oversees program acquisition and scheduling for broadcast, as well as the station’s social media, website, and online content initiatives. He has served as Board Member and President of the Public Television Programmers’ Association. James earned his bachelor’s in Mass Communication from the University of Utah, with a minor in English. His area of focus was television and film production. His career in public media began with an internship at KUED.James has always loved writing and acting. He has written two (terrible) full-length screenplays, and used to perform as part of the improv comedy troupe Mission Improv-ible. He, his wife, and three teenage boys love going to movies, playing board games, and spending time in Bear Lake and Huntsville. 

Chad Dilley is the Senior Vice President of Channel Strategy for Zions Bank. Chad is responsible for creating and driving strategy across the self service channels for Zions Bank, including Online, Mobile, and ATM. He is also focused on developing strategy to attract and retain a younger demographic to the bank. Chad earned his bachelor's degree in Finance and Marketing from the University of Utah where he was actively involved in student government, in addition to many other campus organizations. Chad enjoys spending his free time in the outdoors, hiking, biking, camping, skiing, and golfing. He also enjoys taking advantage of the Salt Lake dining scene, and attending as many outdoor concerts as possible during the summer. He is active in volunteering with various community organizations, including the Utah Food Bank.

Deserae Dorton specializes in the digital side of public relations for the Salt Lake City Shriners Hospital. She manages the web content, social media—including regular Facebook LIVE videos that have led to media coverage and new levels of industry engagement, email and content marketing and has become a sought-out leader in Facebook LIVE in the Shriners Hospitals for Children system. Deserae also launched the patient ambassador program last year helping to train and mentor patients in public speaking and presentation and plugging them into opportunities that supports the hospital and gives the kids meaningful and exciting experiences. She has a BA from Weber State University in Public Relations and Advertising with a Marketing Minor. Deserae has one hobby, curiosity.

Kevin Dowdle is a relationship manager in the middle market banking group for Wells Fargo Bank in Salt Lake City. Focus on providing lending and treasury management services to companies with revenue greater than $20 million. Kevin earned his bachelor's in Economics and MBA from Brigham Young University.In his free time enjoys spending time with his wife and five children exploring the outdoors and playing sports together. His hobbies include running, mountain biking, golfing and skiing.

Kimberly Flores is the co-founder of fulFILLed Lifestyle Co., a sustainable lifestyle store located in Park City, Utah. fulFILLed Lifestyle Co. aims to simplify low-waste, toxin-free living with their range of refillable, eco-friendly, and ethically-created products. Before diving head on into entrepreneurship, Flores was the public relations manager at Waterford.org, a Utah-based early education nonprofit with the mission to achieve universal literacy through equity, access, and parent empowerment. Prior to her work with Waterford.org, Flores was the Director of Public Relations and Communication at the Salt Lake Chamber where she oversaw the Chamber’s Housing Gap, Tax Modernization and Gender Wage Gap marketing campaigns. For nearly 15 years, Flores was a television news journalist who won multiple awards for her breaking news and environmentally-focused investigative reports. 

Justin Gardner is a Commercial Real Estate Portfolio Manager. He is responsible for underwriting, managing and servicing a portfolio of commercial loan relationships. Justin earned his bachelor's in Accounting and Master's in Finance degree from the University of Utah, where he was a member of the Graduate Finance Club. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, golf, basketball, and spending time with his wife and three kids.

Emily Harris is a demographic analyst at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. Her work is funded by the state to produce population estimates and projections for Utah and its counties, and provides demographic expertise and interpretation of Utah’s changing population dynamics to the public and local stakeholders. Emily earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Middle Tennessee State University, and a Master’s degree from Purdue University. At Purdue she taught undergraduate Sociology and Statistics classes and worked as a researcher at the Center for Research on Young People’s Health. When Emily isn’t working, she is rock climbing. Whether it’s locally in Little Cottonwood Canyon, or in other states such as Idaho, Wyoming, or Colorado, almost every weekend is spent in the wilderness with her fiancé and two dogs.

Libby Haslam is a Principal at GSBS Architects. She works on large architectural projects including K-12 and Higher Education buildings. She also teaches a design studio at the University of Utah. Libby graduated from the University of Utah with a Master's of Architecture. She grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Prior to joining Shelter the Homeless Laurie served as the Executive Director of the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum.  Ms. Hopkins holds a M.A. in International Studies with an emphasis on Economics from John Hopkins University, and a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Redlands in California. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in International Studies from the Bologna Center for Advanced International Studies, Bologna, Italy and a Diploma in International Business from University of Paris IV, Sorbonne, Paris, France.  Laurie is a member of the SLCo ZAP Operating Committee Executive Board, sits on Public Arts advisory boards in the Park City area, and volunteers extensively for Lion's Heart Teen Service, Girls Scouts of Utah, and local schools.

Tyson Horrocks is a shareholder with Fabian VanCott primarily practicing employment law and commercial litigation. Tyson provides practical advice on matters such as handbooks, policies, restrictive covenants, sexual harassment and discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful termination. Tyson also represents commercial clients in complex disputes, business torts, business valuations, and civil fraud.Tyson earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Brigham Young University and his law degree from The George Washington University Law School where he served as the Vice President of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. Tyson is currently licensed to practice law in Utah and Arizona.Tyson enjoys golfing, traveling, attending sporting events and musicals, seeing movies, and playing outdoors. Tyson and his wife spend much of their free time chasing around their 4 kids ages 7, 5, and 2 year old twins.

Stacy Jennings is the Assistant Vice President of Investments for Intermountain Healthcare responsible for direct investment management for Intermountain's related entities and external investment oversight both operating and employee benefit/savings plans. She oversees investment manager due diligence for all asset classes and serves on several advisory committees. Stacy is a graduate of Weber State University with Bachelors and Masters degrees in accounting. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Cash Manager. She passed each of her certifications on the first sitting. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two children camping and hiking in the mountains and shelling on beaches. They travel whenever their busy schedules allow. Whenever possible she plays tennis and records her memories by digital scrapbooking.

Every day, Wells Fargo South Lake East District Manager Taylor Jones inspires more than 100 team members in 11 branches to put the customer first and showcase their culture of caring for the community. Taylor started her career with Wells Fargo in 2000 as a teller and has expanded her roles and responsibilities over the years. She has held the role of Vice President and District Manager for the past five years. Taylor is very involved in the community, currently participating on the board of the Utah Asian Chamber of Commerce. She was born and raised in the avenues and graduated from Judge Memorial before moving north and achieving a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Puget Sound in Washington State. Taylor currently lives in the Millcreek area with her husband Matt and two kids, Holden and Greysen. She enjoys taking her kids for strolls through the neighborhood. 

Lee Kapos has responsibility for the Regional Institutions Group which consists of a staff of examiners and risk specialists with supervisory responsibility for four regional state member banks, and six regional bank holding companies, each reporting between $10 billion and $50 billion in total assets. Lee is a graduate of the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance. Lee received the 2011 William Taylor Award for Excellence in Bank Supervision for his outstanding contributions to the examination of a complex nonbank financial company. The Award commemorates Bill Taylor’s integrity and outstanding contributions to both the Federal Reserve and the banking system as a whole, and represents the supervision function’s highest and most prestigious honor.

Michelle Larsen is responsible for Congressional and legislative affairs matters including management of legislative agenda. She supervises interns and government affairs consultants and participates with task force and working groups. Michelle serves as the UASD delegate on the Utah Transparency Advisory Board. Michelle earned her bachelor's in Political Science from the University of Utah. She was the recipient of scholarships from the AFL-CIO and the United Transportation Union. Additionally, Michelle served an internship with Professor J.D. Williams in a political topics research study. Michelle also studied at Westminster College. Michelle enjoys traveling, especially road trips through Utah's State and national parks. 

David Leta is a leader in the firm's commercial bankruptcy practice group, and has a reputation for being a creative problem solver with regard to financial problems. He graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton, AKA Binghamton University with a B.A. in Economics and a J.D from the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law. David serves on several local and national boards, including The Fourth Street Clinic, Utah Dispute Resolution, The American College of Bankruptcy Foundation (where he also is a Fellow of the College), and currently is the President of the Board of Trustees at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. David also is the Youth Director for Trout Unlimited in Salt Lake County, and organizes programs to teach children and teens about fish conservation and fly fishing. When not practicing law, David loves to ski, hike, road bike, fly fish, play tennis and travel.

Chris McCormick is the President and CEO of the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce. He works closely with businesses, civic leaders, and key organizations to help grow the local economy. Chris is passionate about serving and making a difference. A strong believer in free enterprise, Chris enjoys helping people achieve success. Chris attended the University of Texas-Arlington, majoring in geology. However, after the oil collapse, Chris changed his focus to communications. Education continues to be a lifelong pursuit for Chris as he feels it helps him get more from life. Chris writes and records music and has had some international success with an off the wall song called, “Santa's Got No Bling Bling". In 2002 he had the opportunity to perform with the Back Country Band at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. He continues to write music and has recently built a recording studio in his basement.

Tara serves as the Programs and Events Manager for the Salt Lake Chamber. She plans and organizes 150 events with her team each year. She works with venues, sponsors, donors, and event attendees to make sure each event runs smoothly. In May of 2016, she graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication and a minor in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Her emphasis was in hospitality management. When Tara isn't putting on an event for the Chamber, you can find her running her black lab, Monster, on the Wasatch trails or running with a volunteer group called The Launch Team, which is a program that helps kids ages 10-18 run a half marathon. Tara also loves traveling, camping, and scuba diving with her partner Bryan. 

In 2011, Alex Moyes joined Wexpro (now Dominion Energy Wexpro) as an associate geologist and has since held various assignments in development, new ventures, and reserves analysis. In 2016, Alex became the manager of Geoscience and Engineering where he oversees field development, production optimization, acquisitions, and reserves reporting. Alex earned his bachelor's degree in Geoscience, his master's degree in Geology, and his MBA all from the University of Utah. During his undergraduate and graduate studies, he did various internships with the U.S Geological Survey, Petroleum Systems International, Schlumberger, and Exxon Mobil.In his free time, he enjoys golf, biking, running, and spending time with his wife and daughter.

Teri Paulson is the President and CEO of Integrated Employer and Integrated Insurance Solutions. Integrated assists clients in managing and protecting their business. The team at Integrated makes doing business simple so that their clients can do what they do best. Teri attended SLCC on a presidential leadership scholarship; she served on the college activities board. Teri is a lifelong learner spending 3-4 weeks per year doing continuing education and self development classes. Teri enjoys hiking, yoga, spending time with family and she loves to travel. Teri has traveled to over 30 countries and is looking to add 3-5 countries every year. Teri and her team donate their time with the YWCA; hosting Halloween carnivals and safety fairs.

Nancy Pearce is responsible for and oversees all of the operations at her Zion’s Bank retail branch.  She is also responsible for the coaching, development of her team members and business lending.  Prior to Zion’s she worked for Wells Fargo Bank for 11 years.  She has an associate’s degree from LDS Business College and took additional classes in psychology at Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah.  In her free time she loves to spend time with her children, spend time outdoors, work in the yard, hike, boating, tubing, skiing etc.  She also loves to travel when she can.

Alicia Vernon's skill set in Networking, Sales, and Business has helped her attain the position of All Resort Group's Director of Business Development. Alicia earned her Associates Degree from Dixie State University and her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Accounting from the University of Phoenix.  As an executive with close relationships in most of Summit, Salt Lake, Utah, and Wasatch County resorts, hotels, DMCs, government and private businesses, and a member of Park City’s and Salt Lake’s Visitor Chamber Bureau, Utah Business Tourism Association, Ski Utah, Utah Tourism Industry Association, Park City Women in Business, and the Greater Park City Transportation Management Association, Alicia has been dedicated in promoting business and tourism. She has participated in the Event Planning of ASAE, Sundance, Kimball Arts Festival, Park City Food & Wine Classic, Peace House Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, and Thin Air Innovations.

Troy Runnells is the my529 Senior Director for Strategy and Business Development, my529, Utah’s 529 educational savings plan, manages more than $12.5 billion in assets in over 370,000 accounts. Troy has been instrumental in guiding my529's significant growth throughout his 13-year tenure. Troy graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Utah State University. Troy grew up in Southern California and loves the outdoors. He is married with four kids. When he isn’t working, he is preparing for his next Ironman competition. You can often find him running, cycling, or coaching his twins’ competitive soccer team.

Jennifer Tarazon currently serves as the Business Outreach Manager in the Office of Regional Economic Development at Salt Lake County. She serves as a liaison to local businesses and partnering organizations, while facilitating the on-going development and implementation of regional economic development programs. A first-generation college student, Jennifer earned her bachelor's in Government, with a minor in Spanish from Smith College and her law degree from Brigham Young University where she was the president of the Minority Law Students Association and clerked for Judge William Nixon at the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Having recently moved back to Utah from Washington, D.C., Jennifer is eager to immerse herself in the local community and identify organizations to partner with. Most recently she has volunteered as a scholarship application grader for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and a foster for rescued pit bulls.

Lauren Todd is Director of Strategic Planning for Intermountain’s Central Region, supporting seven hospitals. Lauren provides volume trending, forecasting and works with finance to produce volume and payer mix assumptions for the five-year plan and annual budgets. She facilitates projects and overall strategy activities for service lines in the region. Lauren earned her bachelor’s in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida and her MBA from the University of Utah. She entered General Electric through their Operations Leadership Management Program, receiving education and personal mentorship from top minds in the company while gaining a variety of work experiences. Lauren enjoys the outdoor activities Utah provides: downhill skiing, hiking and camping with husband, Brad, and dog, Izzy. She is an avid reader. 

Mike Vela has been with HKS 39 years, is a principal of the firm and Emeritus Office Director.  Additionally, Mike coordinates within the Mountain Region (SLC, Phoenix and Denver offices) as well as the entire HKS team of 29 offices worldwide. HKS SLC is a diversified architectural firm with projects in Healthcare, Commercial, Education, Assembly, Ecclesiastical, Hospitality, Residential and Manufacturing sectors. Mike is also the Assembly National Sector leader for HKS. Mike earned a Master of Architecture at the University of Texas, Arlington, Texas and an undergraduate Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Texas, Austin, Texas. Mike is also an Associate Professor at the University of Utah and has taught in the School of Architecture for the past 17 years. Mike currently serves as a Board member of the Salt Lake City Historic Landmark Commission.

Jamee Wright has been a member of the SelectHealth Marketing team for over 16 years and currently serves as the Strategic Communications Manager. In this role, she provides oversight for content marketing and traditional and social media. She also creates high-level communication dashboards for public-facing and internal initiatives and supports the Executive Team. Jamee holds a B.S. in English with a professional and technical writing emphasis from Utah State University. Jamee enjoys the outdoors, including hiking, being at the beach, and running. She also loves live music and concerts, traveling, and discovering new places and opportunities. Jamee and her husband Brendon have three fantastic boys.

As Business Outreach Coordinator, Greg Yerkes represents the Downtown Alliance to mostly small and medium sized businesses. He manages the Downtown Merchant Association, coordinates the annual Dine O'Round, leads ad sales for Downtown the Magazine, serves on the mayor's Business Advisory Board, and more.  He graduated cum laude from Westminster College with a Bachelor of Arts in International Business. Greg is an avid camper, amateur motorcycle mechanic and (at one point) conversationally fluent in German and Romanian.  He loves to plan trips and constantly looks at maps to find his next out of the way adventure. 

Denis Smith is the Assistant Vice President and Corporate Controller of Intermountain Healthcare, a not-for-profit health system with 22 hospitals, 185 clinics, health insurance plans, and approximately 37,000 employees. He oversees the company’s accounting operations and internal control initiatives.  Denis graduated from Brigham Young University with a Master of Accountancy and is a Certified Public Accountant in Utah.  Denis enjoys playing basketball and tennis and attending musical theater performances. He lives in Draper, Utah with his wife Denise and two children.