CLAS Leaders
Every year the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences asks several successful alumni to return to campus during Homecoming to discuss their professional experiences and what they believe are the most important aspects of leadership. The alumni featured below will share their experiences during a panel discussion on October 25, 2007. This is a complimentary event open to all alumni and students. For more information, please call 480.965.1441.
2007 CLAS Leaders
FEATURED ALUMNI INCLUDE:
Allison DuBois
Author and Medium
B.S. in political science, 2001
Since receiving her bachelor’s degree, Allison Dubois has become an author and has used her psychic abilities to help law-enforcement agencies across the country solve crimes. Her life inspired the hit NBC TV show “Medium,” which based its plot on her experiences as a medium, wife and mother. Her first book, “Don’t Kiss Them Goodbye,” reached the top 10 on The New York Times Best Seller List in 2005. A third-generation Sun Devil, Dubois is on tour promoting her latest book, “Secrets of the Monarch: How the Dead Teach Us to Live Better Lives,” while still assisting with criminal investigations.
Kathleen Duffy Ybarra
Founder and President, DuffyGroup
B.A. in communication, 1981
Kathleen Duffy Ybarra founded Duffy Research in 1991 and grew the company to become DuffyGroup, a three-division, certified woman-owned business. As president, Duffy Ybarra oversees the growth of the organization, which handles staffing, recruitment and research needs of national and international clients. Prior to founding DuffyGroup, Duffy Ybarra worked for more than eight years as the director of research for Tirocchi-Wright, a national executive-search firm. Duffy Ybarra is a founding member of the Arizona Human Resource Executive Forum and a highly regarded keynote speaker on recruiting and research.
Tina Jonas
Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Defense
B.A. in political science, 1982
As the under secretary of defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer of the Department of Defense, Tina Jonas oversees the department's financial management activities, including a budget in excess of $400 billion. Jonas has served as an assistant director and the chief financial officer of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She was responsible for the FBI's budgetary and fiscal matters, financial planning and property and procurement activities. She is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
Randall Nelson
Research Professor
Leader, Molecular Biosignatures Analysis Unit, Arizona State University
Ph.D. in chemistry, 1990
As a research professor and leader of a unit in ASU’s Biodesign Institute, Randall Nelson studies diseases that distress human populations, searching for treatments for such illnesses as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Nelson has published about 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts regarding biological mass spectrometry and proteomics. He holds 22 patents, with 25 more pending, for inventions related to mass-spectrometric technologies and methods. He is also acting president and chief executive officer of Intrinsic Bioprobes, a Tempe-based company he founded 10 years ago to provide protein-analysis services.