Meet the 2025 Alumni of the Year

Victoria DeFrancesco Soto is a professor and dean of the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas. 

Joseph A. Shaw is an internationally recognized leader in developing optical instruments to study the natural environment. 

Mary Foote is an infectious disease physician working at the crossroads of public health, health care and emergency management. 

Todd Pletcher is one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of American thoroughbred racing.

Joan Ashcraft serves as director of fine and performing arts for Tucson Unified School District and is the co-creator and director of Opening Minds through the Arts.

Cecil B. Drain is a distinguished leader in nursing and health care education with a career spanning more than five decades. 

Callie Groth is an entrepreneur and businesswoman with a decade of experience in business model design, technology innovation and personal branding. 

Jerry recently retired as the Chief Operating Officer of Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, after a distinguished three-decade career in technology. 

Sean Elliott chose to attend the University of Arizona to play basketball, starting in 1985. Since 2018, Sean and his wife Claudia have served as ambassadors for Methodist Healthcare. 

Robin Shambach is the managing principal of BWS Architects, a 25-person Arizona firm that specializes in community-driven architecture for K-12 schools, libraries, municipal buildings and more. 

Donald and Susan Powell created annual scholarships for international students at the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law and W.A. Franke Honors College as well as an endowment for the Wildcat Mentor Society.

Sunita Mishra is the chief medical officer for Amazon Health Services, which aims to make it easier to find, choose, afford and engage with the products and professionals needed to get and stay healthy.

Alan Dan Barreuther taught at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy from 1975 to 1991 and established clinical pharmacy roles at University Medical Center.

Christine Jane Barreuther worked at Kino Hospital before joining the Southern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System and working there for 33 years.

Duncan founded the Duncan Buell Everything is Mathematics Public Lecture Series Endowment, a series designed to captivate non-expert audiences, highlighting the relevance and beauty of mathematics in everyday lives.

Jan Lesher started working for Pima County in 2010, quickly advancing to deputy county administrator. In October 2021, she became acting county administrator, and the Board of Supervisors hired her as county administrator in April 2022.

Marilyn Ludwig taught for 48 years in southern Arizona, making a difference in the lives of countless students. Toward the end of her career, Marilyn became a Curriculum Generalist, partnering with TUSD and publishers to choose new reading and math adoptions.