Irene Grace Burnton, Chief Executive Officer of O'Connor House
Irene Grace Burnton (formally Irene Jacobs) has an extensive background in facilitating consensus among multiple stakeholders to strategically address complex problems. She is skilled at synthesizing suggestions into actionable solutions and marshalling public and private resources to implement cross-system policies and programs.

José Cárdenas, Chairman of the Board
José Cárdenas is Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Arizona State University. He serves as ASU’s chief legal officer and he is responsible for management of ASU Audit & Advisory Services.  He also serves as a University representative on and to the boards of directors of ASU affiliated and related entities. Mr. Cárdenas graduated from UNLV in 1974 and from Stanford University Law School in 1977. Before joining ASU in 2009, he practiced law for 30 years as a commercial litigator with Lewis and Roca. He also served as the firm’s managing partner and later as its chairman. Mr. Cárdenas is active in the community, which includes his service as Chairman of the T-Gen board and as a trustee of the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.  He is a member of the American Law Institute and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Steve Savage, Secretary
Steve Savage is managing partner of the Ballard Spahr law office in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Savage, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School, is a business/real estate transactional lawyer. For 17 consecutive years, Mr. Savage has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America. He is an Emeritus Board member and past Chair of the Arizona Science Center, a Board member of the Verde Vaqueros, and a member and past President of the Maricopa County Mounted Sheriff's Posse.

John Evancevich, Treasurer
John is presently an Audit Projects Manager at Salt River Project (SRP).  He has been with SRP for 24 years, the last 16 years of which managing SRP’s Contractual and Joint Ownership audits.  His diverse audit work experience has included contractual, financial, and information technology auditing.  John earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona and his MBA from Arizona State University.  John is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Information Systems Auditor.

Richard L. Boals
As president and chief executive officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Richard L. Boals provides his strategic vision and expertise to the state's leading health insurer. Boals joined Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona in 1971 and has served in a variety of capacities, seeing the company through numerous years of stability and success. Prior to his appointment to chief executive officer in April 2003, Boals served as president and chief operating officer. Boals received his bachelor's degree in accounting from Arizona State University and an associate's degree from Phoenix College. Boals served four years in the United States Air Force before beginning his career at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona.

Sarah Suggs Cheek
Sarah Suggs Cheek is a third generation Arizonan whose career has taken her east to New York and west to San Francisco with companies including KKR, TRW and Westin.  She returned to Arizona in 2001 to serve as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Pivotal Group, in charge of strategic marketing, planning and objectives.   She previously served as Executive Director of The National Women’s Hall of Fame in New York, an organization which recognizes and celebrates the achievements of extraordinary American women.   Her community volunteerism has included Chairman of The Heart Ball, Arizona Science Center Gala, Moondance At The Heard Museum, Arizona Foundation for Women Sandra Day O’Connor Awards Luncheon and past President of Charter 100.  She currently serves on the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Leadership Circle Board, The Barrow Women’s Board and is 2012 Chairman of the Phoenix Theatre Gala.  Sarah is married to Thomas R. Cheek M.D, has one son, John Jay, and is fluent in Spanish and Sign Language.

Elva Coor
An Arizona Native, Elva Wingfield Coor grew up in the Verde Valley, then attended ASC in Flagstaff and ASU. Following a position with U. S. Senator Barry Goldwater, she co-chaired the Arizona committee for his campaign for President, then organized get-out-the-vote campaigns for congressional, gubernatorial and city council candidates. She was founder and CEO of messaging and communication businesses which she sold after 20 years. Upon her marriage to ASU President Lattie Coor, she was charged with finding ways to bring the university and greater Phoenix together which led to development of the President’s Community Enrichment programs that continue to serve that purpose. In addition to serving on several non- profit boards including the Central AZ Chapter of the AZ Historical Society, AWEE, C-100, AZ Chapter of Women Business Owners, LDI (Learning Disabilities Institute), and various local and national trade organizations. She served on committees of organizations such as the Phoenix Art Museum, Center for New Directions, Maricopa County Merit Commission, and International Women’s forum, and is a member of ASU’s Women and Philanthropy. She was chair of the founding O’Connor House Committee that led to saving Sandra and John O’Connor’s home from demolition, and a founding member of O’Connor House Board of Directors.

Shelley A. Duane
Shelley A. Duane is not only a Board Member but also the co-chair of the Volunteer committee of O'Connor House. She has a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology and Counseling. Shelley is a current board member of the Barrow Neurological Institute and past board member of Arizona Breast Health. She was the clinical director of the Intensive Psychotherapy Center which is part of the Mayo Clinic Department of Psychiatry. Previous community volunteer activities include the Phoenix Symphony and the Arizona Opera.

R.C. “Dick” Eisenach
Dick is President & CEO of Eisenach Investment Company Inc. Eisenach Investment Company Inc. has owned and operated myriad companies ranging from commercial real estate, fruit growing and processing, to aviation. Before moving to Arizona, Dick was the principal real estate broker for the company’s commercial real estate division which over the years bought and sold tens of millions of dollars of commercial real estate for its own account. Dick is very well informed technically in this area and is an artful negotiator. Dick’s personal real estate experience and across the board business acumen make him a natural for exclusive representation with substantial individual investors who may have limited commercial real estate knowledge, and or the time necessary to find, evaluate, and negotiate desirable acquisitions.

Meredith Hay
Meredith is the Chair of Strategic Initiatives for the Arizona Board of Regents.  As former Executive Vice President and Provost of The University of Arizona, Dr. Meredith Hay was the University of Arizona's chief operating officer with responsibilities for the entire university budget including the Arizona Health Sciences Center. She had oversight of all academic, research and outreach programs with responsibility of ensuring excellence and coordination in all areas. Dr. Meredith Hay led the University of Arizona Transformation Plan which is designed to advance excellence in all areas of the university's missions of education, discovery and innovation as well as the UA land-grant mission of service to the State of Arizona. The goal is to advance the University of Arizona standing to one of the top research universities in the nation.

Peter Hayes
Peter Hayes is the Associate General Manager of Public Affairs for the Salt River Project. Hayes directed SRP’s congressional and federal relations in Washington, D.C. for six years beginning in 1985, before returning to Arizona to assume responsibility for the utility’s federal, state and local government relations. Prior to joining SRP, Hayes worked on Capitol Hill for the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, John J. Rhodes from Arizona’s First Congressional District. During the Reagan administration, Hayes worked as a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science at the U.S. Department of Interior, and then served as Deputy Director of Congressional Liaison in the Office of the Secretary, under both Secretaries William Clark and Donald Hodel. In 1992, Hayes served as Chief of Staff to Arizona Governor, Fife Symington. Hayes graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and completed the program for senior managers in government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Hayes, 56, is the father of three sons. He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Arizona Science Center, and the Board of Directors of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. He is a past member of the Arizona State University Barrett Honors College Dean’s Advisory Board, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and a commissioner on the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

Kim Sterling-Heflin
Kim is currently Co-Principal and Co-Owner of Instructional Innovations, LLC and American Medical Competencies Programs, an Arizona not-for-profit corporation, developing web-based educational programs for health care professionals.  She was previously with Phelps Dodge as Director of Shareholder Relations.  She serves on numerous community Boards and is co-chair of the Avon Program for Women & Justice at O'Connor House.

Lucia Howard
Lucia Fakonas Howard is the immediate past President of the Board of Directors of O'Connor House and co-chairs the Avon Program for Women and Justice at the O'Connor House. She has practiced law in Arizona for over 30 years, first as a partner in of the firm of Meyer Hendricks Osborn and Maledon (now Osborn Maledon), and then a principal of her own firm, Fakonas Howard Ltd. Ms. Howard holds a B.A. from Arizona State University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. She is the co-founder and past president of the Arizona Women Lawyers Association and has served on numerous civic boards and commissions, including Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), Arizona Commission on Salaries for Judges and Elected Officials, Arizona State Retirment Fund, Charter 100, Phoenix Arts Commission, Phoenix Ad Hoc Committee on Child Prostitution, AZ Center for Women and the Law , and Voices of Moderation. Ms. Howard is actively involved in Arizona politics, having served on numerous issues and candidate campaigns and as an advisor to elected officials at the city and state levels.

Doug Hunt
Mr. Hunt joined Holladay Properties in 1988 and is a senior partner of the nine partner privately held commercial real estate development firm. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and attended the Medill Graduate School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He also served in the US Army as a Military Intelligence specialist. Prior to joining The Holladay Group, he owned his own business. From 1977 until 1996, Mr. Hunt served as a member of the Indiana State Senate, where he was a member of the Finance Committee and specialized in tax and economic development policy and in services for the elderly. At Holladay, Mr. Hunt has been responsible for the creation of the AmeriPlex business parks in Indianapolis and Portage, Indiana and Merrillville, IN (Chicago market). AmeriPlex in Indianapolis is the largest mixed use business park in the Midwest. It required nearly five years of planning, public-private infrastructure negotiations, zoning, and land acquisition to create this unique project adjacent to the Indianapolis Airport, Interstates 70 and 465, and what has grown into Federal Express’s Second National Hub. Mr. Hunt is Holladay’s lead partner on the development of large-scale business parks. He has been instrumental in the series of partnerships with Purdue Research Foundation since the inception of the first such joint venture in 2005. He has taken a particular interest in architectural and landscape design aspects of Holladay’s developments. Mr. Hunt retains an active interest in civic affairs. He served on the board of Our Lady of Peace Hospital in South Bend. He has a special interest in the arts, as a member of the Northern Indiana Partnership for the Arts, Friends of the Snite Museum of the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Hunt is a member of the Sorin Society of Notre Dame and the Notre Dame Club of Tucson. He and his wife, Marlene, are members of the University of Arizona Medici Society. Also a student of history, Mr. Hunt served as a Trustee of the Indiana State Museum. Mr. Hunt has been honored by two separate Indiana Governors, one of each political persuasion, with the designation of “Sagamore of the Wabash,” Indiana’s most important honor to its citizens.

Sue Clark-Johnson
Sue Clark-Johnson, former President of the Newspaper Division of the Gannett Company, Inc., the nation’s largest diversified news and information company, is Executive Director of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University. Clark-Johnson, a longtime Arizona business woman, executive, and leader, retired from the Gannett Company in May 2008 after 41 years in news and executive leadership roles. With a combined circulation of about 4 million, Gannett owns more than 85 daily newspapers. The Newspaper Division is Gannett’s largest division with about 80 websites and 1,000 weekly newspapers, shoppers, and magazines. Prior to her role as President of the Gannett Newspaper Division, Clark-Johnson was Chairman and CEO of Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. as well as Senior Group President of Gannett’s Pacific Newspaper Group with oversight responsibility for 32 companies throughout the West. Her career has been acknowledged with lifetime achievement awards from The Washington Women’s Center and the National Association of Female Executives as well as a Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Diversity efforts from the National Association of Minority Media Executives and the Jerry J. Wisotsky Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League. She is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, is on the board of directors of two public companies - Pinnacle West/APS and Chyron Co. and serves on a variety of non-profit boards including the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN) and the Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU.

Courtney Klein Johnson
Courtney Klein Johnson is an Arizona native and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Studies from Arizona State University.  Currently, she is the President of United Needs. Previously she was the founder and CEO of New Global Citizens and served as the Director of Strategic Planning & Development for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Courtney has received numerous honors including being named as Arizona’s first Young Professional Athena Honoree and was recognized as one of “20 Woman to Change Arizona by 2020” by the Arizona Republic.

Jaime Molera
Jaime A. Molera is a founding partner of a government relations firm, Molera Alvarez Group. Prior to starting this business, Mr. Molera was Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction (2001-2003) and top advisor on policy and legislative affairs to Governor Jane Dee Hull (1997-2001). Recently, Governor Jan Brewer reappointed Mr. Molera (originally appointed by Janet Napolitano in 2008) to the State Board of Education where his colleagues voted him in as President for 2011. In addition, Mr. Molera served as a senior consultant and spokesperson to U.S. Senator Jon Kyl’s successful ‘06 re-election campaign. Moreover, Mr. Molera has appeared on numerous national and local television, radio and print media news outlets, including the Lehrer Newshour, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio. Mr. Molera was recognized by the Arizona Business Journal as one of the fifty most influential leaders in Arizona, as well as by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the top 100 Hispanic leaders in the United States.

Keri Silvyn
Keri Silvyn is a partner in the Tucson office of Lewis and Roca, practicing in the area of zoning and land use planning. Keri is currently the Chair of the Board of Imagine Greater Tucson, a collaborative regional civic engagement project. She has been living in Tucson since 1989, when she arrived as a student at the University of Arizona, completing both a BA and JD. Keri volunteers her time in many capacities, including as a board member of the Tucson Medical Center Foundation, a past President of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law Law College Association, and the Jewish Community Foundation. In her spare time, Keri and her husband Jeff are raising 3 children ages 9 and twins who are 6.

Barbara Shaw-Snyder
Barbara Shaw-Snyder is Director of Community Relations for the Office of Public Affairs at Arizona State University where she develops and directs new relationships and projects that serve Arizona's regions. Additionally, Barbara works closely with and provides technical support to the Arizona We Want Institute at the Center for the Future of Arizona. Barbara is a National Advisor for the Audubon Appleton-Whittel Research Ranch as well as ASU's North American Center for Transborder Studies. Previous to her work at ASU, Barbara received national acclaim for using statistical analysis and forecasting tools to address state and local financing challenges. Her work was named a best practice by the American Institute of Research's Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, and was supported by the US. Dept of Health and Human Services and the Annie E Casey Foundation. During this time, Barbara was also a federal technical consultant, grant reviewer and case researcher. Barbara has a BA in Religious Studies from ASU (1984) and an MBA from the University of Phoenix (1998). She is also a Registered Nurse.

Gay Wray
Gay Wray has lived in Paradise Valley since 1961. Her philanthropic associations included the Junior League, Charter 100, Phoenix Zoo Auxiliary, Arizona State Board of Vocational Education, Valley Shakespeare Theatre, Senators Cup for Hospice of the Valley, and Christ Church of the Ascension Memorial Garden. She is a former Director of the Arizona Bank/Bank of America AZ. Ms. Wray is now president of the Roger S. Firestone Foundation, an honorary member of the Smithsonian Institution's National Board, co-founder of the O'Connor House, a trustee of the Ullman Foundation, an advisory trustee of Phoenix Country Day School, a life member of the Women's Board of the Barrow's Neurological Institute, and an Arizona Ambassador for the Sharlot Hall Museum. She was educated at both Bennett College and Vassar College, and has three fabulous children and one grandchild.