Founded in 1982, the Snow College Foundation is dedicated to the philanthropic support of Snow College. The Foundation provides support through the development of charitable giving, creating community awareness. The following Snow College Foundation Board of Directors is a volunteer group of community leaders and alumni.
After completing his Ph.D. in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, Rob Behunin has spent a career putting together unique and complex partnerships. As a higher education administrator for nearly 20 years, Rob worked with and oversaw a variety of university programs. While serving in the Uintah Basin for Utah State University, Rob worked to form a group of special service districts dedicated to helping mitigate the social and economic impacts of the energy extraction industry in the local community. Over the course of seven years, he helped write policies that resulted in new roads and infrastructure and helped raise funds for a new 153-acre higher education campus in Vernal. Because of his unique understanding of the energy industry, and environmental issues, Governor Herbert asked Rob to help write the state’s initial Ten-Year Energy Plan.
A rural boy at heart, Rob, his wife Jacoba, and stepson “Wolfe” live on 16 acres in Wellsville with their schnauzers, a Welsh corgi, two goats, a hundred or more wild turkeys, and great-horned owls. On occasion, Rob has been known to sneak out on the back deck at sunset and play the bagpipes—which usually scares the turkeys but attracts the geese.
Joe Strain is currently a Partner with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He Graduated from Snow College in 1997 and continued his education at Utah State University. After graduation, Joe started his career as a CPA working in the PwC Salt Lake City office. In addition to his duties in Salt Lake City with PwC, he spent seven years teaching accounting at Westminster college before his career took him to the PwC National Office. Joe spent two years in the PwC National Office in SEC services primarily focusing on IPOs with retail and consumer companies. Once his two-year tour at national was done, Joe embarked on another two-year tour to work at PwC in Tokyo, Japan. Joe ended up spending seven years in Tokyo primarily serving his firm's largest technology client navigating the US regulatory environment. During the summer of 2019, Joe finished his time in Japan and moved back to the US, and is now the Assurance Leader for PwC in San Diego. Outside of work, Joe is dedicated to his family. He has a wife and three kids who have accompanied him all over the world. He loves the outdoors and loves Utah. Even while living in Japan, Joe has always kept a residence in Utah and visits often. Outside of PwC, Joe has spent time as a Vice President of the Mountain West Capital Network and is on the Board of Connect San Diego and a member of the Audit Committee of Community Housing Works in San Diego.
Gail Albrecht was the first person in her family to graduate from college. She earned a bachelors degree in psychology and english from Brigham Young University, and went on to teach English at Richfield High School. Gail took a break from teaching for a few years to raise her children, but upon her return to teaching, Mrs. Albrecht held several positions. She taught at Richfield Junior High and Richfield High School as a special education and Indian education teacher. She then received her Masters Degree from the University of Utah and was promoted to Learning Coordinator at Red Hills Middle School, and later to the position of School Counselor. Next, Mrs. Albrecht earned her Administrative Endorsement from Utah State University and was hired as Director of Special Education, Preschool, Title I, the Alternative Language Program, and Indian Education for Sevier School District. She worked hard to ensure that those subgroups were making adequate yearly progress. She was later elected to be President of the Utah Special Education Directors and then was named Assistant Superintendent of the Sevier School District. Her favorite part of her job is observing classrooms throughout the district, watching excellent teachers in action. She also enjoys the outdoors, most recently fishing for halibut in breathtakingly beautiful Prince William Sound, and reading with her nine precocious and adorable grandchildren.
Kelsey Berg is the Vice President of Government Relations for the Larry H. Miller Company. She has extensive experience in campaigns and government relations serving as political director for United States Senator Mitt Romney’s successful senate campaign and recently serving as his deputy chief of staff. She has years of experience working with and advocating for rural communities, first with former Congressman Jason Chaffetz (UT-03) as his Energy and Natural Resource advisor and later with the Utah Farm Bureau Federation. Kelsey was the staff lead for Chaffetz' successful bid to become chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. In 2016, Congressman Chaffetz asked her to run his campaign and political team. Prior to her service with Chaffetz, she worked for three years in state government affairs, focusing on energy issues.
Kelsey grew up in the beautiful Heber Valley and earned her bachelors in political science from Brigham Young University.
Michael R. Carlston is an attorney with Snow, Christensen, and Martineau in Salt Lake City where he is chair of the Real Estate Practice Group. His practice includes counseling developers, investors, businesses, and government entities in all aspects of commercial real estate transactions. He received a bachelor’s degree and then his juris doctor from the University of Utah joining the Order of the Coif. He is currently a member of the Utah State Bar, American Bar association, and the Salt Lake County Bar Association.
Kay was raised in Ephraim, UT. He is married to Diane Hougaard Christensen, and they are parents of six children and 21 grandchildren. Kay is a proud Snow College alum. He also attended Utah State University and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Kay’s profession has been in sales and marketing within the grocery industry, and he currently owns a consulting company. Kay has been active in civic affairs throughout his life. He served for 20 years on the board of directors of the Boy Scouts of America Heart of America Council in Kansas City. He was also the chairman of the advisory board of KMBZ and KMBR radio stations in Kansas City and was active in local city affairs for the city of Overland Park, Kansas. Kay’s service in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes functioning as a young missionary to Great Britain; a bishop, counselor and stake president of the Kansas City Missouri Stake; regional director of public affairs, regional representative, Area Authority Seventy in the North America area; president of the Ukraine Donetsk Mission; and counselor in the Kyiv Ukraine Temple Presidency. Kay also serves as the current Snow College Alumni Board Association President.
Randy Cox has been in the brokerage industry for more than 30 years. He was branch manager at Kidder, Peabody for 10 years and has managed investments for high net worth individuals and corporations since 1994. He is currently the managing director for investments at Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, in Salt Lake City. Randy graduated from Snow College and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business from Brigham Young University. He and his wife are the parents of five children.
Brik V. Eyre recently returned from serving as a Mission President in Phoenix Arizona. Prior to the start of their mission, Brik retired as Senior Vice President and President of the Americas at Baxter International, a global medical products company with business in more than one hundred countries. Prior to that role, he served as Corporate Vice President and President of Baxter’s Hospital Products segment. Brik served the Medical Technology industry by serving on the Board of AdvaMed (Advancd Medical Technology Association). Brik currently serves on the board of HemaSource, a medical products company, and on the Brigham Young University, Marriot School National Advisory Council (NAC). Brik graduated from Snow College in 1985 and then completed a Finance degree at Utah State University. He received his MBA from the University of Tulsa. Brik and his wife, Susan, have 5 children and 5 grandchildren.
Carson Howell serves as the Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services at Snow College. Carson has previously served for the Arizona Legislature, the Utah Governor’s Office, the Utah System of Higher Education, USTAR, and most recently as the Chief Financial Officer at the Idaho State Board of Education. While in Idaho, Carson designed and implemented the Idaho Direct Admissions initiative and the Apply Idaho application system – both designed to make it easier for students to apply and be accepted to college. Carson earned an associate’s degree in biology education from Ricks College, a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Boise State University, a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University, and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Boise State University.
Mark Howard graduated from Snow College and was co-captain of the football team while attending. He received his bachelor’s degree at BYU and his masters in health administration at UCLA where he met his wife. He was named a Snow College Distinguished Alumnus in 1983, and later a distinguished alumnus at BYU in 2003. He is a former resident of the Snow College Alumni Association. He previously worked for the Veterans Health Administration in Los Angeles, the Orange County Medical Center, the Air Force Corps in Thailand, and was the administrator and CEO for Intermountain Health Care in Central Utah. He retired as a full Colonel in the Air Force Medical Service Corps where he received the Bronze Star and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry.
The Utah Board of Higher Education named Stacee McIff as interim president of Snow College, as of July 1, 2022. McIff has served as vice president for technical education and workforce development at the college since 2021 and will lead Snow College during the Utah Board of Higher Education's search for its next president. Stacee has worked at Snow College for more than 15 years and served as interim in her current role before being appointed vice president for technical education and workforce development in 2021. She also served as Snow College Business Department chair from 2012-2020, and has held a faculty role at the college since 2006. Stacee has been heavily involved in the community and has served on the Southern Utah University Alumni Advisory Committee, the Board of Directors of the New Horizons Crisis Center, as national board chair of FBLA-PBL, as president of the Sevier County Republican Women, and more. McIff holds a Master of Science in Business Information Systems from Utah State University and a bachelor's degree in business education from Southern Utah University.
Romney Stewart is the President of Blue Stag Consulting Group, which specializes in business transformation and successful scaling and growth for franchisees, franchisors, and independent businesses. Romney has been a senior executive leading well-known brands in the hospitality and restaurant industry for more than 20 years at both regional as well as global brands, such as Domino's Pizza. A proud two-year player on the Snow College football team, Romney continued on to graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Public Relations from Brigham Young University and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Texas A&M University. Romney enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Kristin and four children and resides in Springville, UT. In his spare time, Romney pursues fly fishing and playing several sports.
Jim Tatton is an adjunct professor of biology at Snow College. After graduating from Snow College, Jim received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Utah School of Medicine. He has served as a clinical associate professor in family medicine at both the University of Utah and A.T. Still University in Missouri. Jim and his wife, Kristine, reside in Nephi.
Gregory serves as Senior Planning Consultant for Wright Ford Young & Co. where he provides industry-leading counsel and practical application of business, tax, trust, and charitable tools and strategies to help clients achieve their objectives and best interests. Before joining Wright Ford Young & Co., Gregory practiced law with Brown & Streza LLP and was named one of the “Top 25 Rising Stars” by Los Angeles magazine and The Journal for Law & Politics. Gregory earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Notre Dame and degrees in Economics, Business Management, and Sociology from Brigham Young University. In addition to his service for the Snow College Foundation, Gregory serves on the Children’s Justice Center Friends Board in Manti, Utah, as Chairman of the UCI Planned Giving Professional Advisory Council in Irvine, California, and as an instructor and merit badge counselor for Scouts BSA on the topics of Citizenship in the Community, Citizenship in the Nation, and Citizenship in the World. Gregory currently lives on a small ranchette in central Utah with his wife and two children, enjoying the simple life, fresh air, farm and gardening, open natural spaces and wildlife.
Mechelle Mellor was raised in Nephi, Utah. She graduated from Snow College where she played on the women’s basketball team. She received her bachelor’s degree at Southern Utah University. She served on the SUU Alumni Chapter leadership for several years. In 2006 Mechelle received the Young Aluma Award from Southern Utah University. Mechelle enjoys volunteering in her community including assisting with various non-profit events and mentoring collegiate women. Mechelle has worked for Zions Bank 24 years and is currently the Private Banking Operations Manager for Zions Bank.
Roger Thompson is currently a licensed broker in Utah, a commissioner of the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City, and president of the Utah Symphony Conductor’s Circle Advisory Council. Roger earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. He distinguished himself in law school, earning the prestigious Order of the Coif, and was a member of the board of editors of the Utah Law Review. He is also a former president of the Yale Club of Utah; board member of Salt Lake City School Volunteers, Inc.; president of the East High School PTSA; member of the Mayor’s Task Force on Historic Preservation; a past delegate of the Utah Democratic Convention; and a member of the board of directors of the State of Utah-Olene Walker Housing Trust Fund. Roger served an LDS church mission in Germany and has also served as a city councilman and council chair for Salt Lake City as well as a member and vice president of the Salt Lake City Board of Education. Roger loves to sing and was a member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the Yale Glee Club, and the Yale Alley Cats. He is also an avid tennis player and can be found on the court many mornings. He and his wife, Colleen, enjoy spending time with their family, which now includes 16 grandchildren.
Brent M. Thorne retired in 2010 after serving in public education for 42 years, including 25 years as a school district superintendent. He is married and has six children and 10 grandchildren. As a young man, he served an LDS mission in the New England states. He later served a mission with his wife, Janis, on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati. During their time in Tarawa, Brent and Janis were adjunct professors for BYU Hawaii and taught faculty at Moroni High School to help them obtain their teaching licenses and college degrees. Brent is active in Rotary International and is an assistant district governor. He attended Snow College and Weber College on football scholarships, graduated from Utah State in 1968, and received a master’s degree in education leadership from BYU in 1978 and a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut in 1984. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserves for six years. Currently, Brent and Janis are ordinance workers in the LDS Manti Temple.
