Jack T. Scully MBA’73 published a new book of free-verse stories, Mianus Village. The semi-autobiographical collection tells the story of a young boy growing up in hardscrabble housing set aside for working-class WWII veterans and their families. Scully is a longtime writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry as well as professional papers.
Jill Hoggard Green BS’80 MS’89 PhD’95 was named one of the nation's 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives by Modern Healthcare. Hoggard Green is CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems, in Hawaii. She has more than 40 years experience in health care leadership.
Laurie Locascio MS’86 was nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Locascio has spent most of her career at NIST, joining as a bioengineering researcher in 1986 and taking on a series of senior leadership roles before leaving the agency in 2017 to serve as vice president for research at the University of Maryland.
Andrea T. Martinez BA’98 JD’01 became the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah in March 2021. Martinez is the third woman and first Latina to hold the position and has served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for more than a decade. As an assistant U.S. attorney, Martinez was involved in the full spectrum of violent crime prosecution. She began her career at the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office.
Kevin Dyson BS’98—a former Utes Football and Tennessee Titans wide receiver—is the new principal of Centennial High School in Nashville. Since his NFL career, Dyson has now been a teacher, coach, and administrator at both private and public schools and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in education.
Belinda ’Otukolo Saltiban BS’00 MSW’04 PhD’12 is the new associate vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion at Vanderbilt University. ’Otukolo Saltiban was previously chief inclusion and diversity officer at Utah Valley University (UVU), where she was also a member of the President’s Cabinet, President’s Council, Women’s Council, and University Executive Council. Prior to her UVU position she was assistant dean of undergraduate studies and director of the Office for Inclusive Excellence at the U.
Andrea Martinez JD’03 (B.A .’97, UCLA) is a criminal defense attorney with her own law office in Salt Lake City. She served nearly six years over two stints as a deputy district attorney in the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s office. She also spent more than six years as a senior associate with Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys and almost four years as a trial attorney with the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association.
Taj Suleyman BA’09 is the first director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for the City of Springfield, MO. Suleyman has spent 10 years working in community outreach and direct services for a variety of organizations in the public sector and nonprofits. Most recently, he was equity director for Dubuque Community School District in Iowa.
James Jackson III BS’02 founded the Utah Black Chamber, which supports the economic development of the state’s Black community. Born and raised in a small Baptist “village” in Salt Lake City, Jackson says he came to the U as an introvert, but college “helped me grow out of my shell and learn how to network and connect with people.” He built new relationships through the Black Student Union, helped start the college chapter of the NAACP, and participated in a minority business scholarship program “that pushed me out of my comfort zone,” he recalls. Since its founding in 2009, the chamber has grown to about 300 members and now covers nearly the entire state. Jackson is Zions Bancorporation’s supplier diversity program manager and also a coach, speaker, and trainer with his own J3 Motivation, LLC.
Capt. Jean Philippe (“Phil”) Martial BS’12 is the new chief of veteran services for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Martial has served 19 years in the U.S. Army, as medical logistician, human resources officer, and currently as a Company Commander for the 76th Operational Base Command.
Alexia Adair HBM’13 MMU’17 is a UIT user experience (UX) developer for USS Content Management & Usability at the U. Adair is also an opera singer and has performed in many productions in Utah. “Being a UX developer brings my career story full circle. I wanted to be an architect so I could use my creative and analytical skills in my work. I do that every day now! It was a roundabout way to get to my goal, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the journey and learned some valuable things along the way. As a singer, I study humans and what drives their decisions in order to create a richer performance. At work, I study the same things, but in this case, it’s to create a better website.”
Joseph Genda BS’15 is the New American and Refugee liaison for the office of Salt Lake Co. Mayor Jenny Wilson BS'88. Genda came to Utah in 2007 as a refugee from Sierra Leone. After graduating from the U, he began work with Promise South Salt Lake where he was able to work closely with immigrant and refugee communities. He is fluent in Mende and Krio.
Benny Hinrichs BS’16 recently published his fourth book, Orluvoq, a fantasy novel about a young, drug-addicted shaman who has to climb down the ice cliff at the end of the world to find her dead parents. Hinrichs is a software engineer and musician who once ate 36 slices of pizza in a sitting. But, he notes, it's not that impressive, because his friend ate 48.
Ashley Cleveland MCMP’16 is the new deputy chief of staff for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall BS'04. Cleveland is an ecologist turned city planner and will manage some of the city’s most important initiatives and projects, as well as engage with boards, community groups, and civic organizations. Cleveland became the first Black woman city planner in Utah when she took a position in 2017 as the first Planner 1 in Millcreek. There she launched Promise, a partnership between Millcreek and the United Way of Salt Lake City aimed at mobilizing and supporting success for the city’s youth and families, with specific goals related to health, safety, economic well-being, and education. She’s also a founding member and sits on the board of directors for CurlyMe!, an organization focused on providing mentoring opportunities to help educate and empower young girls of color.
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