Staff Directory
Kathy Adkins
Kathy Adkins
Records Supervisor
Kathy Adkins manages the alumni records of the information services (formerly records) department. She has been with the Alumni Association since 1984. Her main focus is maintaining the data integrity of more than 225,000 alumni records. Adkins was an integral part of the university-wide data conversion from Benefactor to Raiser’s Edge.
(520) 621-5514 office
kat@al.arizona.edu
Vine Avenue Annex
1125 N. Vine Ave.
Room 204
Sarah Beaudry
Sarah Beaudry
Vice President, Communications
520-626-7100 office
sbeaudry@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. "Swede" Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202K
Dawn Bell
Dawn Bell
Executive Assistant
Dawn Bell joined the Alumni Association staff in March 2010. She is the executive assistant to the Association’s president and executive director, Melinda Burke. Bell manages Burke's calendar and supports senior staff activities including the UAAA governing board and alumni council. At the UA since 2005, Bell has worked for the College of Education, UA Faculty Center, and the College of Engineering.
520-621-9250 office
Dawn.Bell@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building 1111 N. Cherry Ave. Room 202F
Mariann Blossick
Mariann Blossick
Information Specialist
520-621-9040 office
murry@al.arizona.edu
Vine Avenue Annex
1125 N. Vine Ave.
Room 210
Melinda Burke
Melinda Burke
President and Executive Director
Melinda Burke (read the full bio) leads the Alumni Association in engaging and connecting alumni to the University of Arizona and celebrates a strong community of alumni and friends. As executive director, Burke collaborates with UA colleges and campus partners to align the Alumni Association and university's mission of serving UA graduates and connecting constituents through communications, career networking, and alumni outreach. As a liaison to the association's board of directors — composed of a diverse group of alumni volunteers from around the country — she listens carefully to alumni needs and serves to strengthen alumni networks regionally and nationally.
Burke earned a bachelor's of science degree from the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, majoring in textiles and clothing, and a master's of science degree from the UA graduate college.
520-621-9250 office
Fax number: 520-621-9030
Melinda.Burke@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. "Swede" Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202E
Fabian Cordova
Fabian Cordova
CFO, Associate Director
Fabian Cordova is the chief financial officer of the Alumni Association. He oversees the accounting staff, budget and reporting processes, scholarship program, existing and new contracts, and affinity and revenue-generating programs. Cordova began his tenure at the UAAA in August 2008, after spending 12 years in both the public and private accounting sector. He completed his undergraduate work in 1994 at the University of Arizona and earned an M.B.A. from the UA in May 2009.
520-621-9025 office
fcordova@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. "Swede" Johnson Building 1111 N. Cherry Ave. Room 214A
Lori Crouch
Lori Crouch
Administrative Associate
520-621-5516 office
lcrouch@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 214C
Penny Davis
Penny Davis
Administrative Associate, Awards Coordinator
Penny Davis joined the Alumni Association in 2006. She transferred to the Association from the UA Department of Chemistry, where she had worked since 1992. Davis is the administrative associate for the alumni travel program, Homecoming, and the awards and recognition program.
520-626-3835 office
davis@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building 1111 N. Cherry Ave. Room 202B
Faye Edmundson
Faye Edmundson
Information Specialist
520-621-9027 office
alfae@al.arizona.edu
Vine Avenue Annex
1125 N. Vine Ave.
Room 202
Jill Hall
Jill Hall
Vice President, Student and Alumni Outreach
Jill Hall joined the Alumni Association in 2008, following 10 years of employment at the UA Department of Athletics. She began her UA career working as a student trainer while she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. Hall returned to the athletics department in 1998, and worked in the development office until she was promoted to director of special events in 2000.
520-621-5233 office
ghall@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building 1111 N. Cherry Ave., Room 202D
Joyce Havenga
Joyce Havenga
Information Specialist
520-621-9038 office
joyce@al.arizona.edu
Vine Avenue Annex
1125 N. Vine Ave.
Room 210
Cindy Kaiser
Cindy Kaiser
Administrative Assistant
Cindy Kaiser came to the Alumni Association in 2006 after being employed with United Airlines Mileage for more than 10 years. She began her tenure at the Association as a data input operator in information services (formerly records) and now is the accounting department administrative assistant and the Association’s office manager.
520-626-4287 office
kaiser@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202N
Oscar Luján
Oscar Luján
Program Coordinator
520-626-9327 office
lujano@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 214B
Jeff Neff
Jeff Neff
Graphic Design Supervisor
520-626-3093 office
jeff@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 214H
Dianah Ogden
Dianah Ogden
Information Specialist
Dianah Ogden worked for Pima County Medical Assistance for three years before joining the Alumni Association information services (formerly records) department as an information services specialist in August 2001.
520-621-9039 office
dogden@al.arizona.edu
Vine Avenue Annex
1125 N. Vine Ave.
Room 210
Nick Pierson
Nick Pierson
Director, Alumni Chapters and Advertising
Nick Pierson, director of alumni chapters, began working as an intern for the Alumni Association in 2004, during his senior year at the UA. Pierson earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a double major in marketing and management and a minor in psychology from the UA in 2005, and was hired as the Association’s director of advertising and corporate partnerships. In 2006, he was promoted to assistant director of alumni chapters and in 2009, he was promoted to director of alumni chapters. As a student, Pierson was a student manager at the Student Union Gallery and he worked on a UA Advertising Federation $10 million advertising campaign for Yahoo.
602-827-2190 office
npierson@al.arizona.edu
Phoenix Regional Office
714 E. Van Buren St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Maria G. Plank
Maria G. Plank
Information Specialist
520-621-7031 office
maria@al.arizona.edu
Vine Avenue Annex
1125 N. Vine Ave.
Room 210
Kelley Prust
Kelley Prust
Director of Membership and Marketing
Kelley Prust, director of membership and marketing, moved to Tucson three years ago, and joined the Alumni Association in May 2008. At the Association, she directs membership programming including member acquisition, retention, and cultivation. Before joining the Association, Prust was involved with the University of Southern California Alumni Association, both as a student and as an alumna, and was employed by Wild Oats Markets.
520-626-9337 office
prust@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202M
Jennifer Rich
Jennifer Rich
Associate Editor
Before joining the Alumni Association in 2001, Jennifer Rich worked at the UA Extended University where she was involved in many aspects of lifelong education, including the Elderhostel program. She also worked for alternative transportation, a division of UA Parking and Transportation Services. Today, she is the associate editor of and a writer for the UA Alumni Association Alumnus magazine. In addition, Rich writes the Association’s award citations for colleges, departments, commencement, and the Association’s Awards and Recognition program.
520-626-7868 office
jrich@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202I
Allison Riggle
Allison Riggle
Program Coordinator
Allison Riggle joined the Alumni Association staff in May 2006, and now is the program coordinator in the membership department. She works on membership programming including member acquisition, retention, and cultivation.
520-621-9026 office
riggle@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202C
Rhonda Rugg
Rhonda Rugg
Senior Business Manager
Rhonda Rugg is originally from Pennsylvania and earned a degree in accounting from Grove City College. She moved to Tucson in 1991, and was the Tucson Symphony Orchestra director of finance before she joined the staff of the Alumni Association in 2005.
520-621-9032 office
rugg@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202O
Mark Strickling
Mark Strickling
Regional Director, Phoenix Regional Office
As the director of the University of Arizona Alumni Association Phoenix regional office, Mark Strickling oversees five alumni chapters, four alumni clubs, and one council, while developing activities in Maricopa County and northern Arizona. As a UA student, he was an Arizona Ambassador, an Eller School of Management Student Success Committee member, and a two-year letter-winning football player. Strickling earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing at the UA in 1994, and later earned a master’s degree in business administration and completed postsecondary coursework in education at the University of Phoenix.
602-827-2189 office
strickling@al.arizona.edu
Phoenix Regional Office
714 E. Van Buren St.
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Lisa Valentine
Lisa Valentine
Director, UA Alumni Travel, Homecoming Coordinator
Lisa Valentine joined the Alumni Association in July 2005 as an administrative associate for Homecoming, special events, student relations, and young alumni. She now is the director of alumni travel, Homecoming coordinator, and career-services liaison to the university. Valentine worked at the UA Department of Athletics for nine years, with the final two as assistant director of trademarks and licensing for the university. She earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports sciences and a master’s degree in sports administration at the UA, and a master’s degree in counseling from Northern Arizona University in 2002.
520-621-5333 office
lisaval@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202J
Nancy Daru Yaeli
Nancy Daru Yaeli
Vice President, College and Community Relations
Nancy Daru Yaeli graduated from the UA in 1976 and holds a J.D. from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. After practicing law for eight years, she followed her heart to the Alumni Association, where she has been employed since 1989. Yaeli oversees the Association’s college, community, and UA Foundation collaborations and relations, awards and recognition program, and educational outreach opportunities including alumni group travel, lifelong learning, and class reunion programs.
520-621-9034 office
yaeli@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building 1111 N. Cherry Ave. Room 214D
Xinyu Zhang
Xinyu Zhang
Senior Graphic Designer
Xinyu Zhang has been the Alumni Association’s senior graphic designer since June 2008. After earning a master’s degree in fine arts from the UA in 2005, she became the Web and graphic designer for the UA Cooperative Extension. Before coming to the UA, Zhang earned a bachelor’s degree in law from Peking University in Beijing in 1984, and she was a designer and editor for the China Social Sciences Press in Beijing.
520-626-9051 office
zhang@al.arizona.edu
Marvin D. “Swede” Johnson Building
1111 N. Cherry Ave.
Room 202L








