Berumen, Paul is the Director of Local Government Relations and an authorized public lobbyist in the Office of Public Affairs. He joined ASU in April of 2005 as the Director of Community Outreach/Relations and has more than 14 years of dedicated public service. His experience includes working for the Mayor of Phoenix, the City of Mesa, Office of the Secretary of State and Office of the Governor. A native of Phoenix, he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Arizona State University. He was an ASU Community Fellow for the 2001-2002 academic year and inducted to the Phoenix Community College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003. He served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and is a veteran of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Brand, Tricia currently serves as the Director for Student Support Services/TRIO Programs at the University of Arizona. She earned her B.A. in psychology and educational studies at Washington University in St. Louis and her Ed.M. in educational psychology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, where she solidified her interest in education, research, and practice directed toward the success of underserved student populations.   Tricia's current work in TRIO provides first-generation, low-income, and disabled students tools for academic and personal success at the college level and beyond.   Tricia's professional and research interests include diversity and access to higher education, college retention, and the role of mentoring in first generation student achievement.   Prior to joining the University of Arizona, Tricia spent six years at Rutgers University where she served as a Research Coordinator for the Center for Early Education and Research, a Learning Specialist for the Rutgers Learning Center, and most recently as the Associate Director for Student Support Services/TRIO Programs for the Academic Foundations Center.   Tricia is an active member in various professional organizations, including the Western Association of Educational Opportunity Personnel, the Council for Opportunity in Education, the College Reading & Learning Association, and the Washington University Alumni Association.   She also serves as co-chair for the research & assessment committee for Student Affairs at the University of Arizona.   Tricia is married to Paul Brand, a project manager, and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Burgis, Laura currently serves as the CEO of the Pat Tillman Foundation, directing the organization's growing national collegiate-level transformative leadership development programs.   Prior to joining the foundation, Burgis served most recently as the Assistant Dean and Director of Development for the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU; her tenure at ASU exceeded 13 years in administration and teaching.   She has served on the faculty, teaching undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Barrett Honors College and Mary Lou Fulton School of Education and W. P. Carey School of Business.   Her research interest areas include:  transformative education models, spirituality in education, and philanthropy in higher education.   Burgis earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, her Masters in Higher Education Administration and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, both at ASU.   Her hobbies include reading, yoga, cooking and vintage sports car racing.

Calleroz-White, James C. is currently the Director of Community Initiatives and Assistant Head of the Upper School at Phoenix Country Day School.   Born and raised in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, James attended Harvard University where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Government and a Master's of Education (Administration, Planning, and Social Policy).   He has served youth in several capacities in his professional life including being Director of College Counseling at Belmont Hill School in Massachusetts, Harvard University Admissions Officer and Freshman Advisor, and Director for both Prep for Prep and Sponsors for Educational Opportunities in New York City.   James has served as the Vice President for the Association of Independent Schools in New England, Massachusetts elected member of College Board, Chairman of Outreach for the Boston Independent Schools College Counseling Association, and a federal grant reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education.   His current educational commitments include serving as Director of Educational Programming for The Greg Buckner Foundation and Board Member for CITYterm based in New York City.   James' commitment to youth still brings him back to his hometown, where he serves on the Steering Committee to bring a Boys and Girls Club to Hopkinsville and where he helped create the James White Scholars Program, an enrichment program designed to help students of color apply to college.

D'Adamo, Gene is the Vice President of Community Relations for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com.   He manages the Community Relations department and directs corporate and foundation contributions, community outreach programs and event sponsorships.   He also oversees the employee volunteer program, public service advertising and serves as Associate Publisher for AZ Society magazine.   D'Adamo is actively involved in many community organizations and committees and focuses much of his community work on the issues of domestic violence and education, including the Arizona Early Education Funds, Rodel Foundation, Governor's Education Roundtable and the P-20 Council.   He is a graduate of Valley Leadership and was a participant and panel chair for Arizona Town Hall.   He and his wife Debbie live in Phoenix and have three daughters, ages 22, 19 and 14.

Hart, Erin currently serves as the P-20 Special Projects Manager for the Governor's P-20 Council.   The P-20 Council is spearheading the alignment and improvement of Arizona's education system to ensure that all graduating students will be prepared for work and postsecondary education in the 21st Century.   Previously, she served as the Youth Development Manager in the Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families where she directed the Arizona Statewide Youth Development Task Force and Governor's Youth Commission, created the Governor's Mentoring Initiative and Governor's Volunteer Service Awards, managed state and federal grants of over $3.8 million, and provided leadership to many other youth-related programs and activities.   Her past work experience includes working with one of the top-three advertising agencies in Arizona, a national non-profit, and KAET-TV Channel 8.   She holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from Arizona State University, where she graduated with honors.

LaBonte, Chris began his career in education after earning his B.A. in liberal arts from Saint John's College (Santa Fe) 1992.   He has served as the academic dean and an instructor for the Center for Talented Youth at John's Hopkins University, and the science department chair at Colorado Rocky Mountain High School.   Chris earned his M.A. in program evaluation, and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin where his research focused on the social and neurological aspects of child development.   From 2003 to 2007 he was the middle school director at the Saklan Valley School in California where he worked to more than double the student population, add new classroom space, and develop a vibrant extracurricular program.   This summer he moved to Phoenix to work as the founding upper school head at the Tesseract school.

Martinez, Andrea serves as Vice President of Child and Family Welfare at Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) overseeing the Parenting Arizona and Early Childhood Development systems which work to strengthen Arizona's families.   Her credentials include 13 years of serving and leading child and family driven programs in both rural and urban Arizona communities.   Prior to CPLC, Ms. Martinez served Governor Janet Napolitano in the Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families working with multiple agencies in assessing and addressing community needs.   In 2006, Ms. Martinez was selected for the Kellogg Foundation sponsored Multicultural Executive Leadership Fellows Program and was recently selected for the 2007 Arizona Latino Leadership Institute.   She is also engaged in multiple projects aimed at developing voice and leadership for Latinas/os.   Ms. Martinez is an Arizona native and holds a Master of Social Work from Arizona State.

McCarty, Trish formed Education Resources, L.L.C., a certified government contracting firm, to address increasingly complex and critical problems in the education market. In 2002, McCarty's firm decided to develop a replicable prototype, based on analysis and data using best of best models. She and her firm opened a k-12 school for high-risk, inner-city Phoenix called STARSHINE ACADEMY. McCarty is a frequent guest speaker and has authored hundreds of articles for newspapers and magazines. She has been featured in INC Magazine, the New York Times, Working Woman and several other publications. She has been recognized with awards including, Working Woman's Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, Los Angeles Music Humanitarian Award, Arizona Interfaith Golden Rule Award for Education and named one of the Top 100 Women of Arizona of 2000. Considered an expert in strategic partnering, she was honored by an invitation to collaborate with major universities in producing publisher, John Wiley's, The Internet Encyclopedia, which includes her contribution entitled, "Strategic Alliances in the E-commerce".

Mayorga, Catherine is Vice President of Public Affairs.   Catherine is an Arizona State University graduate with a BA in Education and a Masters in Education Leadership from Northern Arizona University.   In her new position with the Tempe Chamber, Catherine's goal is to further the business interests of the Chamber members through the legislative process at both the local and the State level.   Prior to the Tempe Chamber of Commerce, Catherine was part of a lobbying team for the Maricopa Community College District.

Sindt, Paige is joining the Arizona EPFP from Arizona State University at the Tempe campus where she works in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost of the University with University Academic Success Programs.   In collaboration with University College at ASU, Paige coordinates many first-year student success courses and administers academic support programs designed to help entering students succeed in critical first-year courses.   She also teaches leadership and student success classes at ASU, which she has enjoyed for the past four years.   Originally from Iowa, Paige received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology & Spanish from Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa before moving to Arizona to pursue graduate studies.   Paige received a Masters of Education degree in Higher and Postsecondary Education from ASU; and is currently completing a Doctorate of Education in Higher Education. Paige brings to the program an avid interest in international education, visiting 20 countries on her travels around the world so far.

Thomson, Brenda is the Director of LearnLaw LLC, a human resource consulting service that provides human resources, leadership and strategic management training to Arizona business professionals.   The training courses are designed to be accessible to individuals and groups across industries, and include courses for both staff and management.   She started the company to further her personal goal to make the workplace a safe and productive environment for all people regardless of their race, gender, national origin, ability, religion or appearance.   Prior to forming LearnLaw LLC, Brenda Thomson served as the Director of the Center for Law Leadership and Management at ASU College of Law 2004-2007.   She was the Executive Director of the Maricopa County Bar Association, a professional trade organization for lawyers, from 1996-2003.   She obtained her bachelor's degree in English from Yale University in 1983, and J.D. from Yale Law School in 1989.   She is admitted to practice in Arizona, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.   She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Managers, Valley Leadership, the Arizona Women's Forum, Arizona Women Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Phoenix Rotary 100, Park Central Toastmasters, the Diversity Leadership Alliance, the Mosaic Ambassador Project, and the AZ State Bar Diversity Task Force.

Wakefield, Joel is an Instructional Specialist in the Peoria Unified School District in Peoria, Arizona.   His responsibilities include mentoring and staff development for teachers on his campus as well as throughout the school district.   He has taught physical education, second grade, and fifth grade in his eighteen years of public school experience. Joel was born in Virginia, and lived in Kentucky, Illinois, and California before settling down in Phoenix in 1976.   In college he studied education and sports medicine.   After graduating he worked for both the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Athletics.   He holds a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership and is an expert in integration of technology in the classroom setting.   He has taught at both Rio Salado Community College and Grand Canyon University in their distance learning programs.   Currently he is working on a video project that highlights excellence in teaching on his campus.   When he is not a work he can be found working around the house, playing ice hockey, or spending time with his wife and two children.

Ybarra-Hernandez, Rosemary is a native Phoenician and is the CEO and Founder of AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute a college prep/access program for Latina/o youth.   A "Life-Long learner", Ms. Ybarra-Hernandez holds an Associates Degree in Marketing, Certificate as a Paralegal, Bachelors in Political Science/Pre-Law, a Certificate of Concentration in Women's Studies, a Masters in Public Administration, and Doctoral work in Juvenile Justice Policy and plans to complete her PhD in Educational Leadership.   Additionally, Ms. Ybarra-holds holds various certifications through U.S. Departments of Transportation, Health and Human Services, Justice and other professional organizations.   Ms. Ybarra-Hernandez has been recognized with:   ASU Outstanding Undergraduate, Board of Regents Scholar, United States Social Security Community Leader, Patricia Roberts Harris Fellow, Three (3) Dr. Cesar E. Chavez Award for Community Service and Leadership, Leader/Arizona Women in Government, Community Leadership/Women's International Day, Woman of the Year by Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority at ASU and most recently as a Community Leader by the Arizona Hispanic Forum.

Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner is the Coordinator of the Arizona Education Policy Fellowship Program.   She is a Professor in the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Lincoln Professor of Ethics and Education, and Doctoral Program Director for Higher and Postsecondary Education at Arizona State University.   Her research and teaching interests include access, equity and leadership in higher education, faculty gender and racial/ethnic diversity, organizational change, and the use of qualitative methods for policy research. Her publications include a book entitled Diversifying the Faculty:   A Guidebook for Search Committees, which is widely adopted, selling over 12,000 copies, and a co-authored book entitled Faculty of Color in Academe:   Bittersweet Success.   A co-edited book, Understanding Minority Serving Institutions is currently in press.   She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Higher Education, The Review of Higher Education, and presently serves as a founding board member for the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education and on the editorial board of the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education.   She was elected to the Association for the Study of Higher Education Board of Directors.   In 2001-2002, she was selected as an American Council on Education Fellow.   In 2007, she was a Visiting Scholar with the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research (SIHER) at the Stanford University School of Education (SUSE).   Dr. Turner has served as interim Associate Dean for research for the Arizona State University College of Education and as coordinator for faculty programs at the University of Minnesota where she co-founded a national symposium on the recruitment and retention of faculty of color entitled "Keeping Our Faculties."   Professor Turner's research includes a Spencer Foundation funded study of the faculty search committee process and hiring of faculty of color, a PEW Foundation funded study of Latino faculty in theological education, a Ford Foundation funded study of Diversity in Academe Post-Grutter, a Stanford University funded study of Pre - 16 reforms and the promise of a seamless educational system, and a study of women of color presidents in higher education.   Turner received her doctorate in Administration and Policy Analysis from the Stanford University School of Education.

J. Luke Woodis the Co-Coordinator of the Arizona Education Policy Fellowship Program and is a PhD student at Arizona State University in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a concentration in Higher Education.   He recently was awarded and completed the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral research fellowship at the Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research (SIHER) and is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) with a bachelor's degree in Black History and Politics (2005) and a master's degree in Higher Education Leadership with an emphasis in Student Affairs (2007).   While at CSUS, Luke served as co-coordinator for the Sacramento Multicultural Business Bureau Freedom Educational Theater, College Advisor for the Sacramento County Office of Education, and developed the W.E.B Dubois Peer Mentoring Program.   Luke has also worked as the Lead Legislative Assistant for the California Political Action Office of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and as a legislative intern for the 2nd State Assembly District.   Luke has been the recipient of numerous awards including the:   the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship; Top 30 under 30 from the Sacramento Observer; the Distinguished Fellows Presentation award from the International Society for the Exploration of Teaching in Learning.   He has published in Educational Studies and has many professional presentations including the following:   the Women of Color Conference at Humboldt State University, the Bilingual Multicultural Education Conference of CSUS, the Hawaii International Conference on Education, the International Society for the Exploration of Teaching in Learning, and the California Educational Research Association.   Luke's areas of interest include Afrocentrism, Urban Education and Administrators and Faculty of Color in Secondary and Post-Secondary Education.