BizTucsonSummer2025

SUMMER FALL 2012 2025

THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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SPECIAL REPORTS: Critical Path Institute Vantage West Credit Union

SUMMER 2025 • $3.99 • DISPLAY UNTIL 9/30/25

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BizLETTER We are proud to present our fifth annual Women Leading the Region Awards honoring the extraordinary women who advance Southern Arizona with their vision and dedication. With this year’s dynamic list, we’ve spotlighted more than 70 accomplished women over the past five years. The number of industries thriving with C-suite, female leadership across the region continues to grow, spanning fields from civil service to cuisine, banking to athletics, and construction to medicine. The 2025 Women Leading the Region honorees represent accomplishment and commitment in academia, healthcare, community outreach, aerospace/defense, entrepreneurship, finance, homebuilding, sports management, science and nonprofit endeavors. They also lead strongly within their communities, boosting causes that move Southern Arizona forward. We are proud to share their stories in this summer edition.

In 2009, BizTucson was launched with a bold statement and an illustration of our planet on the cover. “Why The World is Watching Tucson” highlighted exceptional leaders who brought worldwide acclaim to our region. The University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management was the site of the “Global Visionary Awards” featured in that inaugural edition, which spotlighted visionaries such as Dr. Thomas Grogan, founder of Ventana Medical Systems (now Roche Tissue Diagnostics) and Dr. Raymond Woosley, founder of the Critical Path Institute. These men virtually created the origins of the dynamic bioscience hub for which our region has become renowned.

Journalist Tara Kirkpatrick writes: ”Like many big ideas, Critical Path Institute essentially started on a napkin.

At a late summer dinner at Vivace in 2003, founder Dr. Raymond Woosley and a few trusted friends discussed how to speed up a stalled drug development pipeline. The notes they took that night would become a business plan, and ultimately in 2005, the Critical Path Institute. Today, 20 years later, the Critical Path Institute is a Tucson-based, global nonprofit that has changed the trajectory of the industry.

Our next special report features Vantage West Credit Union as the financial institution celebrates its 70th anniversary. It’s fitting that this report appears in 4 BizTucson < < < Summer 2025

Summer 2025

Volume 17 No. 2

Publisher & Owner

Steven E. Rosenberg Brent G. Mathis

Creative Director

Jay Gonzales Tara Kirkpatrick Loni Nannini

Editor Emeritus

Donna Kreutz

Contributing Writers

Christy Krueger Thomas Leyde Loni Nannini Dave Perry Steve Rivera Valerie Vinyard Romi Carrell Wittman

Contributing Editors

our Women Leading the Region issue: Vantage West President/CEO Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott is a 2022 honoree.

Journalist Tiffany Kjos writes: “Competing with some of the biggest players in the finance industry, Vantage West Credit Union has thrived for 70 years by being deeply committed to the community, making banking more accessible, particularly for low- and middle-income members, and by providing proactive, innovative technological solutions.”

From its 1955 inception in a oneroom barracks at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base with 600 members and less than $60,000 in assets, Vantage West has grown into the largest credit union based in Southern Arizona. It now serves more than 200,000 members and in the last 10 years has more than doubled its assets – definitely cause for a platinum celebration.

Finally in this issue, journalist Jay Gonzales reports on the merger of two of the leading business organizations in our region. Sun Corridor Inc. and the Tucson Metro Chamber are now The Chamber of Southern Arizona.

The merger demonstrates the quality leadership we have in our community to bring together two organizations that were highly influential on their own to now merge their influence for the overall good of the business community.

The leadership should be commended for the smooth transition.

In closing, we are grateful for our loyal readers, the tremendous support of our advertisers and our exceptional editorial team and their high standards of journalism.

Steven E. Rosenberg Publisher & Owner BizTucson

April Bourie Rodney Campbell Jay Gonzales Sovay Hansen Tara Kirkpatrick Tiffany Kjos Contributing Photographers

Brent G. Mathis Amy Haskell Regal Fierce Media Chris Mooney Christy Pickrell

Carlos Chavez KVRcreative J.D. Fitzgerald Christopher Grey BizTucson News Update (Email Newsletter)

Brent G. Mathis Tara Kirkpatrick

Contributing Technology Director

Mike Serres

Contributing Project Coordinator

Maricela Robles

Member:

American Advertising Federation Tucson DM-50 Metropolitan Pima Alliance Oro Valley Chamber Southern Arizona Leadership Council The Chamber of Southern Arizona BizTucson Magazine Issue 4 (ISSN 1947-5047 print, ISSN 2833-6739 online) is published quarterly for $16 per year by Rosenberg Media, LLC., 4729 E. Sunrise Dr., PMB 505, Tucson, AZ 85718-4534. Periodicals postage pending at Phoenix, AZ, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: BizTucson Magazine, 4729 East Sunrise Dr., PMB 505, Tucson, AZ 85718-4534 © 2025 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Opinions expressed in columns or articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

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Steve Rosenberg 520.299.1005 or 520.907.1012 steve@BizTucson.com

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Summer 2025 > > > BizTucson 5

BizCONTENTS

FEATURES COVER STORY: 38

WOMEN LEADING THE REGION Kym Adair

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Barbara Borgonovi

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Natalie Fernandez

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Alison Flynn Gaffney

44

Iman Hakim

45

Hava Leipzig Holzhauer

46

Ashley La Russa

49

Jennifer Mendrzycki

50

Liz McCusker

53

Liz Pocock

54

Desireé Reed-Francois

55

Anjela Salyer

58 60

Kristen Sharp Kristen Swingle

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SUMMER 2025 VOLUME 17 NO. 2

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DEPARTMENTS 4

BizLETTER From the Publisher

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BizMERGER A Merger of Influence: Tucson Metro Chamber and Sun Corridor, Inc. Now One

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32

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BizKIDS Wild Ambition: Reid Park Zoo Continues to Flourish

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BizCONSTRUCTION New Marana Aquatic & Recreation Center, $64 Million Project

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BizAWARDS Better Business Bureau “Torch Awards”

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Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce Awards

130

BizLEADS Key Group: Business Leads, Support and Friendship

64

SMALLBiz Proper Shops Unique Downtown Venue Offers Art, Apparel and More

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BizHONORS Metropolitan Pima Alliance Common Ground Awards BizCONSTRUCTION New to Market Upcoming Developments in the Region

ABOUT THE COVER Women Leading the Region Photography by Chris Mooney Creative Design by Brent G. Mathis Hair & Makeup: Gadabout SalonSpas

BizRANKINGS Tucson “On The Radar”

SPECIAL REPORT 65

BizCOMMUNITY PimaStart: New Partnership with Gospel Rescue Mission, Builds Workforce, Changes Lives

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BizAWARDS Social Venture Partners “Fast Pitch”

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SPECIAL REPORT 2025

THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

CRITICAL PATH INSTITUTE

Critical Path Institute 20 Years

MOVING DRUGS TO MARKET SMARTER, FASTER FOR 20 YEARS

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97 SPECIAL REPORT 2025

THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

VANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION

Vantage West Credit Union 70 Years

70 YEARS OF IMPACT BUILDING & SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES www.BizTucson.com

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1. Joe Snell, who was president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc. and now holds the same title for The Chamber of Southern Arizona 2. Joe Snell with Linda Welter, Principal & CEO, Caliber Group 3. Suzanne P. Clarke, President/CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 4. Suzanne P. Clarke, President/CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce with Chief Advocacy Officer Michael Guymon 5. Susan Gray, President & CEO, Tucson Electric Power, Board Chair, The Chamber of Southern Arizona

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BizMERGER

A Merger of Influence

Tucson Metro Chamber & Sun Corridor Inc. Now One

By Jay Gonzales The idea to merge two of the most prominent − some might say the most influential − business organizations in Tucson was a relative no-brainer to the point of some wondering why it didn’t happen sooner.

The Tucson Metro Chamber, originally formed in 1896, and Sun Corridor Inc., which has roots dating to 1989 when the Greater Tucson Economic Council was formed, merged into one all-encompassing business organization to put business advocacy, small business services, and economic development and job creation under one roof.

The Chamber of Southern Arizona was unveiled May 2 at a luncheon attended by more than 700, emceed by Susan Gray, former chair of the Sun Corridor Inc. board and now chair of The Chamber of Southern Arizona.

Gray is president and CEO of Tucson Electric Power. Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, gave the keynote address.

“Our move to form this new chamber solidifies Tucson and Southern Arizona as a region exploring new ways of leading – bringing together large, diverse groups that develop bold, creative solutions to regional issues,” Gray said in the news release announcing the merger.

As it turned out, the two organizations were on separate but similar tracks www.BizTucson.com

headed toward the merger that eventually occurred.

Linda Welter, principal and CEO at Caliber Group, a local marketing and PR firm, was serving as board chair for the Tucson Metro Chamber and helped lead it into the merger. She said that during the organization’s strategic planning process leadership realized it needed to

“

Our move to form this new chamber solidifies Tucson and Southern Arizona as a region exploring new ways of leading.

”

– Susan Gray President & CEO Tucson Electric Power Board Chair The Chamber of Southern Arizona

take action to step up its influence in the community for the good of its members, and it began exploring options.

“The Tucson Metro Chamber board determined that the organization needed to make a bold change in direction to support a region where businesses can thrive,” she said. “While the Chamber was gaining momentum, its resources, influence and impact was not enough to adequately support member growth and job creation in the current business climate.”

Joe Snell, who was president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc. and now holds the same title for The Chamber of Southern Arizona, said he had long been receiving feedback that the region needed to consolidate its business groups. He was being told there were too many groups vying for the attention of businesses, government, other business groups and, of course, the general public. They were also competing for the financial support needed for them to do their work.

“We already had a sense of this,” said Snell. “We did focus groups and surveys, and the No. 1 issue that came out from the locals was, there’s too many groups.”

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BizMERGER continued from page 23 and advocacy and there needed to be some consolidation.

“He was very clear,” Snell said. “We started adding all this up, and it became very clear that we needed to see unification happen.”

For Michael Guymon, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber since 2018 and a Sun Corridor Inc. VP for eight years before that, it was an easy fit. Guymon’s new title is chief advocacy officer, meaning he still does his old job of advocating for the region’s businesses.

One of the key bridges that had to be crossed in the merger was a level of trust between the two organizations that the work they each had been doing could coexist in one organization. Guymon said he and Snell both researched similar mergers and attempts, some of which were successful and some of which failed.

“They failed because of a lack of trust and egos,” Guymon said. “I trust Joe immensely. We had a great working relationship when I was at Sun Corridor, and we continued to have a great relationship after I joined the Chamber team. The trust was established.

“We were able to set our egos aside because we know this is a 20-year vision, not a three-year vision. We had to figure out who’s going to be the CEO and who’s going to kind of take a step back. For me, it was easy. I worked for Joe. I will work for Joe again.”

Welter said the Metro Chamber’s stakeholders, including the executive leadership of the board and the staff, were enthusiastically behind the idea to merge with Sun Corridor Inc. “A majority of the chamber’s stakeholders overwhelmingly supported the merger so that the business attraction and advocacy teams could work closely together under one roof, one strategy, one board, and one CEO,” Welter said. “We believed this organizational change was needed to position the new chamber for success in attracting and retaining more higher-wage jobs for our region when competition for these jobs is fierce.”

As the idea to merge took hold, leadership of both organizations met together to hammer out structure and how the work would get done.

“What we did is spend most of the time talking about what value looked like,” Snell said. “Eighty percent of the time was spent just getting to value. And once we had that, then we started talking about what the structure looks like.”

The new structure has Snell in charge with four direct reports: Guymon as chief advocacy officer; Susan Dumon as chief economic development officer; Angela Kish, chief financial officer; and Laura Shaw, chief communications officer. Dumon was an executive VP and Kish and Shaw were senior VPs at Sun Corridor Inc. Both Snell and Shaw have previous chamber experience, and several staff, including Snell, are former small business owners or operators.

“A couple things that were really in our favor is that we were both solid organizations − fiscally solid − and there wasn’t a lot of overlap between the two,” Snell said. “Sun 24 BizTucson < < < Summer 2025

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Corridor Inc., which represents primary job employers both large and small, had a separate funding stream. And the Chamber had a different funding stream, so they were very additive to each other.”

Now comes the work with all the same hot spots on economic development issues such as job creation, talent development and acquisition, and infrastructure. The advocacy side has issues with business regulation, taxes and having a say in how the Tucson region continues to develop from a business standpoint.

“We must have at seat at the table regarding policies and regulations that impact local business,” Welter said. “Our members count on us to advocate for them regarding important decisions that impact their business growth here.”

With two organizations that have had significant influence in the community coming together, it’s reasonable to expect that the new chamber’s influence should multiply at least two-fold, if not more.

“

We were able to set our egos aside because we know this is a 20-year vision, not a three-year vision.

”

– Michael Guymon Chief Advocacy Officer The Chamber of Southern Arizona

Admittedly, Snell said, he needs to adjust his daily approach as president and CEO to incorporate the strategies of the advocacy side of the organization. He said he’s planning a “listening tour” to find out from businesses, “What do you want? What do you need? What’s important to you?”

“Economic development is in our DNA. We’re not going to change from that,” Snell said. “Everything happens when you create a tax base. All good things happen from it.”

But with business advocacy now under one roof with economic development, the two can work in concert addressing the many critical business issues.

“Bringing us together was a ‘Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup’ moment. We were able to take those economic development and competitive issues only so far because we weren’t tasked with policy and advocacy as a pure economic development group.” Snell said. “We don’t have to hand that off to another group. We can identify it, measure the competitive side of it, and go out and work.”

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BizAWARDS

From left –

Royce Sparks, Intermountain Centers for Human Development; Jonathan Heras, Borderlands Theater; Denise Aquino, El Grupo Youth Cycling; Tim Kromer, Amphi Foundation; Liana Hicks, Greater Community Vail ReSources; Angelica Mendivil, Compass Affordable Housing, Inc.; John Fung, El Rio Health Center Foundation; Larry Starks, Tucson Juneteenth Festival, Inc.

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Nonprofits Reap Record Cash from Fast Pitch Tucson $360,000 Goes Out at 10th Anniversary Event

PHOTO BY CHRIST Y PICKRELL

By Loni Nannini Social Venture Partners Tucson celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Fast Pitch Tucson event by gifting a record $360,000 to eight local nonprofits.

“This is a historic giveaway for us,” said Brittany Battle, director of Fast Pitch after the April 3 event at the Fox Tucson Theatre.

There were $241,000 in awards given onstage from sponsors, including a $100,000 endowment from Arizona Complete Health, a $40,000 match from the Connie Hillman Family Foundation, and more than $79,000 raised in two hours from the audience that night.

“That is a huge impact, and we are really proud of our community for stepping up to make it happen,” Battle said.

Presented by Tucson Electric Power, the anniversary event featured threeminute pitches from participating nonprofits vying for monetary awards. It also showcased donors, sponsors and supporters, past participants, mentors and others who have been instrumental in helping Fast Pitch funnel more than $2 million into the nonprofit sector over the past decade.

“It has become a beloved program and event in our community because it is a beacon of hope for what is actually possible when people come together to create lasting change,” said Battle. “We know we are stronger together, and Fast Pitch is a space in which our community can witness that in action. We have this beautiful commitment between the business, social and nonprofit sectors www.BizTucson.com

that work in harmony to create this level of impact.”

Since its inception, the program has served 100 local nonprofits dedicated to breaking cycles of generational poverty and driving equity by addressing social issues such as education and literacy, arts and recreation, foster care, hunger and food insecurity, health and wellness, housing and homelessness, and more.

“

It has become a beloved program and event in our community because it is a beacon of hope.

”

– Brittany Battle

Director Fast Pitch Tucson

The diverse cohort of 2025 nonprofits includes El Grupo Youth Cycling, El Rio Health Center Foundation, Borderlands Theater, Greater Community Vail ReSources, Amphi Foundation, Compass Affordable Housing, Inc., Intermountain Centers for Human Development, and Tucson Juneteenth Festival, Inc. Benefits to participants extend beyond the awards they get at the annual event. The 100 Fast Pitch alumni or-

ganizations have collectively increased revenues by $123 million in the past decade and, after participation, 70 percent of nonprofits secured funding or grants from new funders.

Fast Pitch also aids with the creation of marketing strategies, capacity building and public speaking. Additionally, mentorship from community leaders and increased public exposure helps build long-term connections with volunteers, board members and donors.

“SVP Tucson is proud to highlight the wonderful work of many of our local non-profits through our annual Fast Pitch program,” said Anne Miskey, president and CEO of SVP Tucson. “Nonprofit participants not only learn how to tell their stories and highlight their impact, but are able to build awareness of the work they do throughout the broader community. Fast Pitch shines a light on the difference they make and helps them build and be sustainable for the long term.”

By facilitating collaborations and leveraging the collective power of individual donations, sponsored awards, endowments and other gifting opportunities, Fast Pitch seeks to change the way the community views fundraising.

“We have to think about ways to create more sustainable funding for nonprofits,” Battle said. “We want Fast Pitch to be a portal or conduit for donors to gift money and create long-lasting funding streams for nonprofits.”

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BizPEOPLE Vanecia Kerr

Vanecia Kerr has been named the new president and CEO of United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. Formerly the Chief Impact Officer of Denver’s Mile High United Way, Kerr also was regional executive director of College Track Colorado and managing director of marketing, communications and development for City Year Denver. Additionally, she has many years of corporate experience and is a sought-after speaker.

Josh Wright

University of Arizona has named Josh Wright as its new Chief Facilities and Planning Officer. Wright brings more than two decades of leadership experience in public administration, capital planning and sustainable development across Arizona. Wright served as city manager for Chandler, as well as town manager for Wickenburg and director of strategic initiatives for the Town of Marana.

David Denos

Vantage West Credit Union announced the appointment of David Denos as VP and commercial sales manager. Denos will lead efforts to ensure Vantage West continues to deliver a comprehensive suite of commercial products and services, while overseeing a high-performing lending and deposit team serving the Tucson and Phoenix markets. Denos has over 15 years of experience in commercial and financial services.

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BizCOMMUNITY

PimaSTART

New Partnership with Gospel Rescue Mission Builds Workforce, Changes Lives

By Tom Leyde

HUMBERTO S. LOPEZ 32 BizTucson < < < Summer 2025

GRM, at 4550 S. Palo Verde Rd., is now building a permanent coffee shop across the street, which it plans to open in September. Sawyer hopes he will land a full-time job there.

“I will be getting a car soon and will be out looking for an apartment before too long,” he said. “The program for the culinary school was a big step in the right direction for me. It’s been a godsend for me.”

PimaSTART began in 2021 when philanthropist Humberto S. Lopez of HSL Family Foundation approached PCC’s then-Chancellor Lee Lambert.

PHOTO BY AMY HASKELL

PHOTO BY BRENT G. MATHIS

training in information technology, building and construction, logistic management and commercial driver’s license qualification. The program is free for GRM guests who also enroll at PCC. The training can lead to new higherpaying careers, and, in many cases, an end to a life of poverty.

That’s what Sawyer, 56, is working toward. He finished his culinary training six months ago and received a five-year management certification. From there, he completed a 10-week paid internship, working as a barista in GRM’s mobile Coffee Cafe.

PHOTO BY BRENT G. MATHIS

When Charles Sawyer lost his job as a convenience store clerk in Tucson last year, he also lost his home. He had no luck finding a new job and no place to go.

Sawyer heard about the services offered by Gospel Rescue Mission and was accepted there as a guest. “It sounded like a really good opportunity,” he said.

Within a short time, Sawyer was enrolled in culinary skills classes, part of the PimaSTART program–a partnership between GRM and Pima Community College.

PimaSTART also offers fast skills

LISA CHASTAIN

IAN ROARK

MARCY EULER

central mission, which is “Empowering every learner for every goal every day.”

Amanda Abens, assistant vice chancellor of PCC’s workforce development and lifelong learning, said the GRMPCC partnership serves the needs of an unhoused population as well as Tucson industry.

“

There is no higher service than helping people who are open to take on that responsibility and changing their life for the better.

It’s pretty amazing for us to be a part of that consortium.

– Marcy Euler President & CEO Pima Foundation

”

“People can be great workers if they have training and support,” she said.

Pima Foundation oversees the finances of PimaSTART. Those funds pay PCC instructors and cover the

costs of tuition, supplies and books for PimaSTART students. The college receives no state or federal funding for the program.

“There is no higher service than helping people who are open to take on that responsibility and changing their life for the better.” said Marcy Euler, president and CEO of the Pima Foundation. “It’s pretty amazing for us to be a part of that consortium.”

Euler said there is often a public misconception about who is homeless and why. PimaSTART, she said, “is a lifeline for people to teach them skills. Some who complete the program enroll at PCC and prove to themselves that they can complete an academic program and succeed. There are countless blessings in this program, in my opinion.”

When PimaSTART first began, Euler, Roark and new PCC Chancellor Jeffrey Nasse presented on the program at a national meeting of the American Association of Community Colleges in Nashville, Tenn. It was well received, Euler said. “We have not found anything elsewhere that is this comprehensive.”

“It’s incredible, absolutely incredible, that we have such a good relationship with Pima,” Chastain said. “They’ve been so flexible and pliable to make the program work for our people.”

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PHOTOS COURTESY PIMASTART

An agreement was reached in which PCC instructors would incorporate GRM guests at the HSL Center of Opportunity into the college’s certificate for rapid training program.

Lopez presented a $250,000 gift to start the program, which Pima Foundation matched. Donations also came from the Connie Hillman Family Foundation and the Rotary Club of Tucson Foundation. More than $1 million has been donated to PimaSTART since its inception.

“We have made tweaks (in the program), and what a difference it has made for our guests to get a higher paying job,” said Lisa Chastain, CEO of Gospel Rescue Mission.

People have come to PimaSTART with experience only in the fast-food industry, Chastain said. They then gain the opportunity to go into construction or other jobs and free themselves from issues of addiction, mental health problems, legal troubles and spousal abuse.

Nearly 200 people have enrolled in the program and more than 100 people have graduated from PimaSTART. Some results have been quite dramatic.

“People have left, getting $110,000 a year driving a truck,” Chastain said.

“That’s pretty life changing.”

Ian Roark, PCC vice chancellor for workforce development and innovation, said PimaSTART benefits the college’s

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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Tara Kirkpatrick In 2025, BizTucson celebrates five years of honoring Women Leading the Region.

With this year’s dynamic list, we’ve spotlighted 72 incredible women over the past five years, and we’re just getting started.

The number of industries thriving with C-suite, female leadership across the region continues to grow, spanning

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fields from civil service to cuisine, banking to athletics, construction to medicine.

The 2025 Women Leading the Region honorees represent accomplishment and dedication in academia, healthcare, community outreach, defense, entrepreneurship, finance, homebuilding, nonprofits, sports management, science and more. They also lead strongly within

their communities, boosting causes that move Southern Arizona forward.

We couldn’t have reached this fifth anniversary without our valued partners – the always talented photographer Chris Mooney and the wonderful team at Gadabout Salon Spas, which generously provides the makeup and hair services for the honorees each year. We are so thankful to you! continued on page 38 >>> Summer 2025 > > > BizTucson 37

KYM ADAIR

Executive Director Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl

When Kym Adair walked into Arizona Stadium last December for the first Snoop Dogg-sponsored Arizona Bowl and saw a record crowd of more than 40,000 fans and Snoop Dogg on the field, she stopped and thought, “All the hard work has paid off and everybody is starting to see it.”

Vision accomplished.

Adair knows she’s one of many women who have an impact in Tucson and Southern Arizona. In fact, the more the merrier.

“There are a lot of women who have an impact and what we are doing here (at the Arizona Bowl) has a huge impact in the community,” she said. “I’m just excited to play a role in it.”

Now, in her seventh year as the Arizona Bowl’s executive director, she’s prideful that she’s helped the game turn into a signature event in Southern Arizona and a significant bowl in the family of 43 bowl games.

“I’m very proud of where we are,” she said. “We had a vision for what the bowl could become and now we are starting to see the effects of our strategic decisions we’ve made along the way.”

When she first took the job as the bowl’s executive director, she was one of just two females in that role. Now, she is one of six, but clearly one of the pioneers of the position in college football.

“Kym has established herself as one of the prominent leaders in the college bowl landscape,” said Ali Farhang, one of the founders of the event. “Her engaging and collaborative ‘we-not me’ mentality cultivates a positive culture of success. Her dedication and passion for the Arizona Bowl is only eclipsed by her love and devotion to our great community.”

“We’re definitely on our way,” Adair said of women leading bowl organizations. “We still have a long way to go. But we are seeing a lot of changes and there will be a tipping point.”

The Arizona Bowl – now called the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop − has seen some tremendous growth from its early days of sponsorship by NOVA Home Loans and Barstool Sports. It’s all come under the watchful eye – and leadership – of Adair.

“We’ve put a national spotlight on Southern Arizona,” she said. “We are consistently discussed among all the college conferences. There’s a great economic impact (locally) and charitable impact from the game. The community is the big winner from the bowl game. That’s always been our intent from day one.”

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PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Steve Rivera

BARBARA BORGONOVI President of Naval Power Raytheon

PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Rodney Campbell A few months into her new job as Raytheon’s president of Naval Power, Barbara Borgonovi developed a fondness for Tucson.

But the desert tested that love the very first week.

“Our first Saturday night in the new house, we were grilling and there was a baby rattlesnake in our backyard,” she said. “My first thought was to get a shovel.”

Borgonovi and her husband, Stephen, got through the experience and have grown to appreciate the region by hiking, playing golf and spending time outdoors.

“I didn’t know what a javelina was when we moved here,” she said. “Now, we appreciate living with animals.”

The couple moved here from Dallas when Borgonovi accepted the job last year. She has worked for Raytheon since 2001, steadily moving up through the ranks. Borgonovi started with the company after earning her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“I could work in the defense industry with another company, but I choose to work with Raytheon because of the people,” said Borgonovi, who also earned an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Ryan Doak works closely with Borgonovi as executive director of contracts. He said his colleague’s leadership style allows her to get the most from employees, benefiting the company and customers.

“Barbara is a straightforward leader who holds herself and her team accountable to commitments,” he said. “This allows her to build trust quickly with her team, her leadership and our customers.”

Borgonovi’s father was a nuclear physicist, sparking her career interests. Her involvement in student government also set the stage to pursue leadership positions.

“I was raised with a science background,” she said. “I knew I wanted to be an engineering leader.”

She’s proud that Raytheon provides outreach to Southern Arizona students who are interested in STEM careers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has estimated that the nation’s demand for engineering skills would grow by 13% from 2023 to 2031.

“We spend a lot of time at RTX and Raytheon working with elementary and middle school students. We need more engineers in this country,” said Borgonovi, who is a member of the University of Arizona College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board.

Borgonovi is grateful for the chance to work with the U.S. Navy as it defends our nation’s interests. It motivates her to lead her team every day.

“The role is an incredible privilege, leading the Navy business for Raytheon,” Borgonovi said. “Having a customer in need of a product gets me out of bed every day. It’s an exciting time in the job. I’m loving it.”

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NATALIE FERNANDEZ President Meridian Wealth Management

Living the motto, “Lead by example,” Natalie Fernandez is a financial trailblazer who practices a multi-pronged approach to community service through leadership, volunteerism and advocacy of financial literacy.

“My true give-back to society is to educate people about financial literacy and financial wellness to help improve individual and family financial situations overall,” said Fernandez.

The Tucson native has witnessed that impact firsthand as president of Meridian Wealth Management, which manages more than $3.9 billion in assets nationwide.

In 2020, Fernandez partnered with Meridian founder Greg Couch to spearhead the firm’s expansion to the West Coast, opening the Tucson office. During her three-decade career, she has garnered numerous accolades, including recent recognition by Forbes as No. 3 of 2025 Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State and No. 22 of 2025 Top Wealth Advisors Best-In-State.

The mother of five is committed to promoting personal responsibility and empowering others − particularly youth and women − to take charge of their financial futures.

“I strongly believe that the more young people can learn this critical information in fun, informal, engaging ways and put the information into action, it will reduce poverty and challenges families face down the road,” said Fernandez.

For decades, she has spoken regularly to students in middle school through college. She also supports career development through UA’s Eller College of Management, and provides financial education to UA athletes − including those who receive money through name, image and likeness (NIL).

Fernandez’ selfless commitment has transformed the way young men and women approach their financial well-being, according to Ricky Hunley, executive director of player relations and external development for Arizona Football.

“Thanks to her guidance, we have record numbers of students proactively managing their taxes, opening ROTH accounts, and even walking the floor of the New York Stock Exchange,” said Hunley.

Fernandez volunteers tirelessly as testament to her belief that “the more people we have involved, the more people we can touch.”

She is a member of the board of directors for the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of Tucson, Pima Foundation, Angel Charity for Children Foundation and Key Group. She has also worked with the American Heart Association, Social Venture Partners and many other charities.

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By Loni Nannini

ALISON FLYNN GAFFNEY CEO Banner University Medical Center Tucson Banner University Medical Center South

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By Valerie Vinyard

Alison Flynn Gaffney’s work team is always on her mind.

“I wake up and go to bed thinking of my team,” said Flynn Gaffney, CEO of Banner University Medical Center Tucson and Banner University Medical Center South.

Banner employs nearly 7,500 team members who work the two hospitals, a children’s medical center, a cancer center, and 23 outpatient locations. The hospitals are training sites for the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Born and raised in New York, Flynn Gaffney moved to Tucson from Salt Lake City in December. She and her family live in a historic neighborhood a few miles from her office.

“I’ve fallen in love,” said Flynn Gaffney of our desert city, describing Tucson as “a little quirky, a little gritty. The people are so genuine, they look you in the eye.”

She first became interested in medicine at 12, after being hit by a car, which shattered her right leg. “I was young enough to recover and old enough to remember,” she said.

Now 55, she luckily has no long-term issues from the injury.

“My entire career has been in healthcare in a capacity,” she said.

“In some ways, I think I was born a volunteer. I’m excited to be a catalyst for improved healthcare in Southern Arizona.”

Much of that involves making connections. “One person at a time,” she said. “That’s really been my focus connecting with as many of my team members and as many of my community members.”

“We have tremendous opportunities in Tucson and Southern Arizona to tell our story,” she said. “I think Tucson is a hidden gem. I’m now a walking commercial for this city.”

Dr. Samuel M. Keim, UA College of Medicine Chair of Emergency Medicine, describes her as a quick learner. “Alison is a polished but down-to-earth leader,” he said. “She is very humble and always points to the contributions of others on the team.

“She really does live the ‘we are one’ team concept,” he continued. “It is an honor to work with her to bring the best possible emergency care to our community.”

When Flynn Gaffney arrived, she immediately immersed herself in the community, including joining the Better Business Bureau and Southern Arizona Leadership Council.

Her first-year goal? “To walk through every door that has our logo above it.”

“I have an opportunity to promote my team and support other women leaders, to be a voice in helping us move forward,” she said. “I’m a big believer in trying to influence the course of people’s lives in any way I can.”

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Summer 2025 > > > BizTucson 41

IMAN HAKIM

Dean Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona

For Iman Hakim, keeping her word is what it means to be a good leader.

As dean of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona, Hakim has been proudly building the trust of her college – faculty, staff, and students – for the 18 years she’s held her position.

The longest-serving dean currently at UA, Hakim attributes her leadership success to creating a dynamic vision for the college and sticking to her word in the process. “If I say I will do it, then I will do it. They trust that it will happen,” she said.

Hakim is not only the Mel & Enid Zuckerman Endowed Chair in Public Health, she is also the founding director of the Global Health Institute at the UA, and she is internationally known for her research in bioactive food compounds in preventing chronic disease. Hakim was recently selected as a member of the Qatar University Health’s International Advisory Committee and the international advisory board for the College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, UAE. After finishing her medical degree and pediatric residency at Cairo University in Egypt, Hakim joined a research center and started working for a rural development program, training residents to provide healthcare in villages near Cairo.

With a doctorate in child health and nutrition and a master’s degree in public health, Hakim emphasizes how important it is to truly listen to patients’ beliefs and experiences, even if, at first, they make little scientific sense.

Presented with a patient who has an unscientific view about why they are experiencing something, Hakim seeks to understand and communicates to the patient that “what you see is true, but it is because of XYZ scientific reason.”

Rather than correcting patients about their own health, Hakim’s approach is to encourage them to trust what they are experiencing, but to revise their understanding of the cause—or how to fix it—based on science.

“It is crucial to try to make sense of their observation and to line it up with the science in a way that they can understand,” she said.

It’s easy to see how Hakim’s commitment to the patient’s voice translates well into being a trusted leader.

Lorraine Varela, special assistant to the dean, has worked with Hakim for 18 years and has witnessed the qualities that set her apart from other leaders.

“She balances strategic intellect with rare compassion and possesses a remarkable talent for uniting people toward a common vision,” said Varela.

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By Sovay Hansen

HAVA LEIPZIG HOLZHAUER President & CEO Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona

PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Jay Gonzales As a professional who had spent her career in some of the larger cities on the East Coast, Tucson was a change of scenery for Hava Leipzig Holzhauer, both in its physical landscape as well as the work she was about to embark on.

Holzhauer arrived in December 2023 to take the job of president and CEO of Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona. The Jewish community around the world was in the midst of a crisis from the October attack on Israel by Hamas. It was also a time when there was a leadership gap locally, said Jeff Artzi, chair of the board of JPSA. “She came in ready to go,” Artzi said. “She immediately exhibited the kind of leadership that our organization needed. She very quickly learned who the stakeholders were in our community.”

JPSA is a merger of the Tucson community’s two leading Jewish philanthropic organizations, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation. The two merged in 2022.

While Tucson has its unique qualities as the so-called big city with a small-town feel, it wasn’t as though Holzhauer was coming to a place where her experience as a community leader wasn’t relevant. Her background includes prosecuting hate crimes as an assistant state attorney, running non-governmental organizations including other federations and anti-defamation leagues, and a run for Congress in Florida in 2022.

“Leadership means a lot of different things to different people,” she said. “Leadership is when we’re working towards something that’s greater than ourselves, to be looking through the lens of the people that we live and work with.”

Her approach to leadership shows in how Holzhauer goes about her work, Artzi said.

“She’s very smart. She’s very intuitive. She can read the room,” Artzi said. “Anybody who’s got the grit to run for Congress, and the aspiration to do so, has got a certain level of moxie and intelligence and an ability to work really hard towards a goal.”

Arriving shortly after the October Hamas attack, Holzhauer immediately jumped on the task of helping to stabilize concerns for the community and establishing an avenue to work through them.

Within a year after Holzhauer’s arrival, the JPSA launched the Center for Jewish Resilience with a focus on working with law enforcement and government on security strategies, on educating about and responding to contemporary anti-semitism, and on strengthening relationships in the broader community.

“This is the first of its kind in U.S. Jewish federations,” said Lisa Lovallo, a JPSA board member and retired Tucson corporate executive. “Its impact has already helped teachers, public safety officers, elected officials and citizens understand the complexities of antisemitism and how to combat it.”

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ASHLEY LA RUSSA Founder Roux Events, Blax Friday

Ashley La Russa has become a vibrant force for the Black community in Southern Arizona and beyond.

When she moved to Tucson in 2008 to take a position as assistant stage manager for the Arizona Theatre Company, the Port Arthur, Tex. native knew it was the ideal place to realize her dream of “uplifting Black-owned businesses and creating space for community, celebration and connection.”

In 2019 she founded Roux Events, an event management company with a focus on supporting organizations and community leaders that foster diversity, equity and inclusion. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, La Russa also launched Blax Friday, the largest accessible directory of Black businesses in Arizona.

“In 2020, we didn’t have a cohesive, comprehensive directory for locating Black-owned businesses statewide. . .and the population here in Arizona is so demographically significant,” La Russa said.

When she started the directory, there were 400 Black-owned businesses in Tucson; today, there are thousands in the directory.

In June, the Pima County Board of Supervisors honored La Russa and the Blax Friday community for “five years of visionary service, innovation and commitment to building a more inclusive and prosperous Arizona.”

Since 2008, La Russa has produced 500-plus events, including Soul Food Wednesdays, which bring together Black business owners in Downtown Tucson; and BOB Fest, a block party featuring food trucks, music and Black-owned businesses from around Arizona. On Aug. 23, La Russa’s second FLAVA event will offer food and conversation with Black chefs at the Carriage House in Downtown Tucson.

La Russa creations offer opportunities for joy, collaboration and connection, according to Beverely Elliott, executive director of the African American Museum of Southern Arizona.

“Ashley is self-made. She hit the ground running, not just as a woman, but as a Black woman in a community where the African American population makes up just over 4%,” said Elliott. “She has connected not just with the African American community, but with the community at large and she has done that through her entrepreneurial spirit and spirit of community.”

She describes La Russa, who has been honored by the University of Arizona Eller College of Management in its Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things, as a lifelong learner who exemplifies leadership in philanthropic, business and advocacy organizations throughout the region.

“Ashley is always present. Being present, whether you are the leader or not, is important. She knows when to lead and when to step back and let someone else be a leader, and that makes her a great leader,“ Elliott said.

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By Valerie Vinyard

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JENNIFER MENDRZYCKI President & CEO TMC Health

PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Rodney Campbell

After spending 10 years as a medical malpractice defense attorney, Jennifer Mendrzycki was moved by a family tragedy to get directly involved in healthcare.

When her sister-in-law died after battling advanced colon cancer, Mendrzycki’s life goals changed.

“I wanted to be on the side of the people who help improve quality of life,” said Mendrzycki, TMC Health’s president and CEO since May 2024.

Her entry came as a compliance officer for RWJBarnabas Health in New Jersey. While not directly involved in patient care, the job allowed her to gain experience in the field.

“The wonderful thing was that I got invited to help departments do things,” she said. “I learned a lot about healthcare from that experience. I wanted to learn more and do more. That’s how I got into leadership.”

With help from her colleagues, Mendrzycki learned about the clinical side and moved up the healthcare ladder. Her most recent job before coming to Tucson was as senior VP and COO of St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson, N.J. Family ties encouraged her to pursue the TMC Health position.

Her niece and nephew live in the Phoenix area. For many reasons, she’s happy things worked out.

“I appreciate the opportunity to work with a health system that has a long history of supporting the community,” she said. “I could tell it was beloved. We’re always thinking about how we can help our neighbors.”

A TMC Health employee for 29 years, Julia Strange has worked with numerous leaders in the system. As VP of external affairs and brand, Strange appreciates Mendrzycki’s approach to the challenging job.

“Jennifer’s leadership style is open and accessible,” Strange said. “She listens. She wants to get input from all stakeholders. When the time comes, she makes a decision and leads through that.”

Before she started her job, Mendrzycki went on a road trip with Strange to visit TMC Health’s rural hospitals. It was part of her effort to learn more about the community the system serves.

“These are our neighbors,” Mendrzycki said. “It’s important that I get to know who they are.”

She’s also made a point of learning more about her employees and what they do. Mendrzycki accomplishes that goal by signing up to work shifts alongside people in various departments and locations, a program she calls “Walk in My Shoes.”

“My dad always said the best thing to do is ask people for help,” Mendrzycki said. “It shows that you value them as a person and you learn more about them. Asking people for help is a gift for them and a gift for you.”

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LIZ M c CUSKER

Executive Director Tu Nidito Children & Family Services

For 28 years, Liz McCusker has calmly and creatively carried on the business of building Tu Nidito, a unique nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and families dealing with death and serious medical diagnoses.

“There is no one like us really in the whole country that provides the continuum that we do. Our vision is that no child grieves alone, no family grieves alone, and we provide a sense of community,” said McCusker, who jumped from a 10-year career in healthcare marketing to the nonprofit sector more than three decades ago.

The move was serendipitous. As regional director for the MakeA-Wish Foundation, McCusker learned of Tu Nidito, which at the time was a local children’s hospice. She joined “The Little Nest” in 1997 and in 2000, through a merger with Children to Children, added bereavement support for children, teens and young adults. It is now Tu Nidito’s largest program.

The organization continues to provide support to families who have a child with a serious medical condition and support for children who have a parent or caregiver with a serious diagnosis. Last year, it served more than 1,100 individuals through free one-on-one and group support and an additional 1,000 through crisis response and education. Services are available in English and Spanish.

“In Arizona, one in 10 children will experience the death of a parent by age 18 and one in 285 children will be diagnosed with a serious medical condition by their 20th birthday. There is no support for them unless they are in the hospital. We are their support out here in the community,” said McCusker.

Adamant that “surrounding yourself with amazing people” is vital, McCusker credits Tu Nidito’s success to effective board members and staff and 150+ dedicated volunteers. In turn, they are inspired by her passion.

“Liz’s steady leadership is characterized by unwavering commitment and quiet confidence, coupled with her ability to tackle challenges,” said Supriya Bakshi, a financial services professional with New York Life insurance company and board president for Tu Nidito. “That inspires trust and stability and is key to her strong leadership.

“Liz has also cultivated a transparent, inclusive, collaborative culture where staff, board members, and volunteers feel valued and empowered to contribute. It is not about her. It is about empowering all of us.”

The ultimate reward for McCusker is the long-term impact on children and families.

“The beautiful thing about Tu Nidito − and really all nonprofits − is that when you leave at the end of the day, you say, ‘It mattered that I showed up,’” McCusker said.

“There are not a lot of places in the world that you can say that.”

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By Loni Nannini

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LIZ POCOCK

CEO Startup Tucson & TENWEST Impact Festival

PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Sovay Hansen Beginning her career practicing law, Liz Pocock has had a nontraditional professional trajectory.

After completing law school at the University of Arizona and then working on international economic development initiatives for nearly five years, Pocock found herself wanting to focus her legal and business expertise on supporting local commerce in Tucson.

Now, rather than working on reform efforts in places as distant as Ghana, Pocock leverages her knowledge of accessing capital for small businesses here as CEO of Startup Tucson and the TENWEST Impact Festival since 2018.

Startup Tucson is quite small – Pocock is one of a team of only three core employees. The trio works together to support 300 members and around 80 volunteer mentors. The small staff ensures that Pocock is involved in all aspects of the organization. She fondly explains the many hats she wears this way: “For example, one day, I get to meet with an entrepreneur to help coach her through ideas about her business,” Pocock said.

“And then the next day I get to work on writing a big grant to get funding for an agriculture initiative that would translate into more jobs.”

For her, this is the beauty of working for Startup Tucson − it allows her to have one-on-one time with the individuals who the organization supports, while also getting to build the region’s economy on a larger scale.

When asked about her unique approach to leadership, Pocock explains that she has to inhabit two opposing mindsets to be an effective mentor to entrepreneurs.

“You’re taught as an attorney to be risk averse, but you also need the opposite approach with startups,” she said. “So, I am an interesting coach in this space, because I can help them see what the risks might be, while also helping them see what they need to do to move their idea forward.”

Gina Catalano, Pocock’s longtime mentor who has also worked with her at Startup Tucson in various roles, said that Pocock “embodies community building in everything she does.” She is a “passionate leader, innovative thinker, and collaborator.”

But perhaps what sets Pocock’s leadership style apart is an approach she learned from Catalano herself.

Pocock makes a point of empowering hopeful business owners to trust themselves. She learned the value of this when she’d ask to talk through a complex issue or decision with Catalano, who would ask Pocock lots of questions, only to then say, “See? You knew the answer all along.”

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DESIREÉ REED-FRANCOIS VP & Director of Athletics University of Arizona

When Desireé Reed-Francois was a little girl, she wanted to be the first female general manager in the National Football League for her beloved San Francisco 49ers.

First, however, she wanted to be a lawyer from the time she was in second grade, in hopes of emulating a great aunt.

“She was this elegant, well-dressed woman,” she said. “I remember asking my mother, ‘What does Aunt Mary do?’”

An attorney, she said. And so, there it all began.

It was the mid-1980s and more than a decade later, Reed-Francois earned her law degree from the University of Arizona in 1997.

Twenty-seven years later – with stints in the NFL, at Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Tennessee, UNLV and Missouri – she’s now the VP and Director of Athletics at Arizona. She’s come full circle.

Her journey here came from Arizona’s late, great Cedric Dempsey, who said she should set her sights on being an AD 22 years ago.

“I said, can women even do that?” she said she asked Dempsey, with a slight laugh. Back then, there were only two, one of whom was former North Carolina State AD Debbie Yow. Now, there are six in the major conferences.

“Cedric was instrumental in sharing what I could do,” she said.

“And Debbie painted a picture of what I could be.”

In her first year at UA, she was tasked to reign in a $34 million deficit in the UA athletic department. She says they are at about $5 million right now with the “expectation in 2026 there will be a balance.”

“It’s been one of stabilizing the athletic department, building a team, clarifying where we’re headed, and really coming together in the most transformative time in recent colleges sports history,” she said of the first year. “Our responsibility was to stabilize and build that foundation for the future. Our team has done an exceptional job with that, but we have a lot of work to do. This is only year one of a long journey. There is a lot more work to be done.”

She will be the one to guide them.

“I don’t know if I find that there’s a bigger responsibility because of the role that I have,” she said. “I just know that I am just like everybody else −care deeply and work really hard. I try to create that culture for others to achieve their best.”

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By Steve Rivera

ANJELA SALYER

President Mattamy Homes, Tucson Division

PHOTO BY CHRIS MOONEY

By Sovay Hansen

Anjela Salyer is nothing if not down to earth, even in her position as president of Mattamy Homes Tucson Division, the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America.

In leading her team, Salyer describes her grounded approach: “I am regularly connecting with all departments and team members.

Staying in tune with our office and field teams is imperative,” she said. I prioritize the staying close to the front lines, making sure I am astute to what our team needs, and what our customers seek.”

Given her commitment to working shoulder-to-shoulder with her team, it makes sense that Salyer was the second employee hired when the new Tucson division of Mattamy Homes launched in 2014.

She started as director of sales and marketing and was promoted to the role of VP/division manager in June 2019. She was named president in 2021.

Salyer leads by rolling up her sleeves and getting her hands dirty in all facets of her team’s work: land acquisition, land development and homebuilding. It’s no wonder Mattamy’s Tucson operations have surged to a top market position.

“I encourage people to make mistakes as long as we learn from them,” said Salyer, who views mistakes as lessons learned on the road to collective improvement – an important trait in an effective leader, since it empowers people to take thoughtful risks.

Salyer’s leadership style creates a sustainable work environment for her team, which aligns well with Mattamy Homes’ own sustainability goals. The company’s slogan reads, “For those who want to build a better world.” It has committed to building environmentally sustainable homes through the creation of energy-efficient houses; the use of water-efficient appliances; and reduction in buildingrelated waste, among many other climate-conscious ambitions.

Pete Skelly, retired CEO of Mattamy Homes U.S., heralded Salyer’s inclusive leadership style.

“It is her ability to bring people together and foster collaboration that makes her truly remarkable,” said Skelly. “She has a unique talent for recognizing strengths, designing collaboration that plays to her teammate’s strengths, encouraging growth, and turning challenges into opportunities.”

Salyer truly empowers everyone to deploy their unique skillsets not in a void, but within the embrace of true teamwork. When asked what she sees as the marks of a good leader, Salyer reaches for a scrap of paper on which she’d been taking notes for a mentorship program she is designing at Mattamy.

“Kind, supportive, and available,” Salyer said.

Because while being kind and supportive is one thing, being available requires actually being in the room, ready to serve.

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KRISTEN SHARP

President & CEO Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce

Perhaps it was Kristen Sharp’s master’s thesis in organizational leadership that trained her to fact-find and listen carefully to all sides of a story.

As president and CEO of the Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce since October 2022, Sharp listens attentively to many – often contrasting – viewpoints on issues facing the diverse business community in Southern Arizona.

Sharp characterizes her leadership style as doggedly pursuing the truth at the heart of these conflicts while making “sure that we don’t lose sight of the big picture.”

“Our chamber is a community organization, and we exist to help the community thrive, whether that be the immediate business community, the entire Oro Valley community, or all of Southern Arizona together,” she said. “Healthy, thriving communities cannot happen without healthy, thriving commerce.”

Sharp grew up in a rural town in Missouri, earning her bachelor’s degree in agricultural education at the University of Missouri and a master’s degree at the University of Arizona. Her studies taught her that collaboration is crucial to community success. She exercises those skills every day for Oro Valley, previously as the Chamber’s events director and now as CEO. Less than a year into her CEO post, Sharp was tested by fire, literally. The Chamber’s offices caught fire in March 2023, destroying most of the contents and making it unoccupiable. Undeterred, she found a new, better space at Oro Valley’s Innovation Park.

“The most difficult part after the fire was navigating the immediate chaos and uncertainty,” Sharp previously told BizTucson. “At the same time, it allowed us to reassess our priorities and focus on what’s important − our members and community. Ultimately, it led us to a new location that better suits our needs and future growth.”

In addition to direct advocacy such as regular meetings with the Oro Valley mayor and town manager to represent business interests, Sharp works to strengthen regional cooperation among municipalities, both in public forums and through ongoing relationships with elected officials and regional partners.

Greg Durnan, who has worked with Sharp for several years as a board member and Chamber sponsor, lauds her compelling communication style.

“At the annual business meeting, a guest at my table asked if she was a professional speaker – proof of the impression she leaves on everyone she meets,” Durnan said.

Added Sharp: “I emphasize the importance of focusing on the region’s many shared goals, such as better transportation and infrastructure. Let’s just get everyone at a table over a cup of coffee and chat about it. I think it is important to not get stuck in our bubbles.”

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By Sovay Hansen

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KRISTEN SWINGLE

President & Chief Operating Officer Critical Path Institute

Two important things to know about Kristen Swingle can be found right in her LinkedIn profile.

Problem Solver. Low Ego. Those two traits are the foundation of success for the respected president and COO of Critical Path Institute, a Tucson-based nonprofit that is a global game-changer in drug development. Swingle is C-Path’s daily operations chief who makes sure the team has the tools needed to accelerate new medical therapies worldwide.

“Humility is a really important attribute of leadership, from my standpoint,” said Swingle, who joined C-Path in 2019. “I feel pretty strongly that I’m a decent problem solver. For me though, it requires collaboration, it requires conversation. I actually come up with my best ideas when I’m in dialogue with people.”

C-Path, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, is a global, public-private partnership founded by Dr. Raymond Woosley in 2005 to help move crucial drugs to market faster and hasten progress in diseases, both common and rare. Swingle brought two decades of experience in medical and molecular sciences to C-Path, most recently from Cord Blood Registry, where she served as VP of stem cell operations.

“When I came out of interviews for Kristen, I said, ‘Hire her!

Yesterday!’” said C-Path CEO Dr. Klaus Romero, who was then the nonprofit’s Chief Scientific Officer. “She brings a practical lens to some of my more ambitious ideas. Whenever new concepts or approaches come up, I count on her to provide an honest, insightful reality check.”

Swingle served as chair of the board of directors for Arizona Bioindustry Association from 2018 to 2023 and is a national advisory board member for the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona.

She also was the executive chair of the March of Dimes Walk in Tucson.

She grew up in Tucson, graduating from Canyon Del Oro High School before earning her bachelor’s degree in biology from Northern Arizona University and a master’s in medical science from Texas A&M University. A 6th grade science fair win helped fuel her interest in the sciences and she’s proud to be working in the city that made her.

“I love Tucson. I am a product of this community,” said the mother of two. “Having an opportunity to work at an organization that is Tucson-based, and support its mission, strategy, and people is something I deeply value. I’m grateful to be part of a team that’s working urgently to advance treatments and cures for diseases that still have far too few options for individuals and families.”

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By Tara Kirkpatrick

CELEBRATING FIVE YEARS OF WOMEN LEADING THE REGION SUMMER FALL 2012 2021

THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Key Group

BizLEADS

Business Leads, Support and Friendship Since 1982

By Tara Kirkpatrick At 7:30 a.m. on a Tuesday in a Tucson hotel conference room, realtor Liane Wong stands and informs the women in attendance about an innovative new loan program for first-time homebuyers.

Heidi Yribar, owner of Antsy Nancy, takes her turn and advertises a last-minute opening in her oftensold-out sangria and tapas classes.

Natalie Fernandez, president of Meridian Wealth Management, offers sound financial advice amid uncertain tariff policy.

These are leads, and they are the foundation of Key Group, a Tucson women’s networking organization that counts many of the region’s C-suite executives and small business owners as members.

“Key Group was founded by a group of women who recognized that many men in our community had access to a strong professional network,” said Phoebe Chalk Wadsworth, president and CEO of Chalk Consulting and Key Group’s VP of membership.

“These women saw the value of that structure and set out to create something similar, just for women.”

Those seven founding members that set the path in 1982 were Dorothy Finley of Finley Distributing, Shelley Galicchio from Tucson Realty & Trust, Karen Kissinger from Deloitte, Maria Parham from the Arizona Daily Star, Meg Olson-Rickard of K Temp, Jan Crawford Rogers of JLTC & Associates, and Susan Scholl Smith from First Federal Savings and Loan.

“Women during that period were www.BizTucson.com

having to fight for a seat at the table, trying to be heard and seen,” recalled Smith, a rising star at her bank when she helped found Key Group. “It took a group of strong-willed women recruiting other women they knew in every category. It was a mighty effort and we were serious about it.”

Today, Key Group boasts more than 40 active members, representing varied industries including financial services, healthcare, consulting, tourism, construction, law, architecture, personal care, hospitality, publishing and more.

The women meet Tuesday mornings −

by Zoom the first week of each month − then in person for breakfast to share knowledge that helps each other in their fields.

The group is led this year by Holly Polston, president of Garment Graphics and Promotional Products “As the current board president, I’m privileged to help lead our organization,” Polston said. “This role gives me the opportunity to help shape our direction, support members and ensure they’re gaining the same valuable connections and business growth that I’ve experienced.”

“Being a member of Key Group has been a transformative experience for me,” said Elisa Ross, VP of marketing and sales for Hughes Federal Credit Union. “This vibrant community of women leaders has allowed me to form meaningful connections with fellow business owners and community partners who have helped to enrich my professional journey.”

Tracey Metcalfe-Rowley, senior director of education policy and online education for Tucson Unified School District, is popular for her online tips and hacks each week.

“Being in Key Group, now, I can say, ‘I know a person...’ because every woman in the group knows someone who can help with anything,” she said. “My ‘Rolodex’ has been expanded thanks to the network of accomplished women in Key Group.”

Besides business, Key Group has fostered real friendships too, encouraged by its many happy hours and get-togethers, as well as a group getaway each year.

Last year, members met in Sedona for a weekend of dinners, hiking, spa and sun. Previous retreats have included Tubac, Cottonwood, Prescott and even San Diego.

“I have met so many amazing women through my membership in Key Group that I never would have encountered otherwise,” said Trina Callie, associate director of talent development for RTX, the parent company of Raytheon.

Cindy Dhuey, owner of The Temp Connection, agreed. “For almost 30 years, Key Group and its members have empowered me to grow both professionally and personally. In addition to sharing knowledge, I have had the opportunity to develop long-lasting friendships.”

“The relationships I’ve built through my involvement over the past three decades have created a network I deeply value − people who step in when needed, offer candid and constructive feedback, and stand as a trusted support system I wouldn’t trade for anything,” added Wadsworth.

Membership in Key Group is by invitation only, and industry specific, but women interested in joining can contact the group at www.key-group-tucson. com.

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Tracy Nicasio Krystal Popov

Proper Shops

Unique Downtown Venue Offers Art, Apparel and More

By April Bourie On a recent Saturday night in Downtown Tucson, some patrons were enjoying cocktails at a bar. Others were visiting a gallery. Shoppers were perusing a clothing and jewelry store, and someone was getting a tattoo.

At Proper Shops, located at 300 E. Congress St., they can enjoy all these things. The 4,300- square-foot venue offers a diverse collection of shops featuring clothing, jewelry, University of Arizona apparel and souvenirs, and more.

There’s a barbershop and a tattoo parlor, and shared patio space with Jaime’s Pizza Kitchen, Scented Leaf Tea, and The Good Oak Bar. Proper Shops was founded by friends Krystal Popov and Tracy Nicasio. Popov owns and manages the L Offices, a downtown co-working space. She was often approached by retailers looking to rent small spaces. Proper Restaurant had vacated its space, and Popov thought it would be a good location for a new venture.

She approached Nicasio and Proper Shops was born, offering small spaces and month-to-month leases. The project opened in December 2022 with 15 retailers.

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toms is one of the original retailers.

During COVID-19, Robinson started woodworking projects with his sons to keep them busy. They began selling items on Etsy, and in 2021, sold 2,000– reinvesting the money back into the business.

When he heard about Proper Shops, he was ready. “I needed a space to meet customers that wasn’t in my home,” he said. “Having my own space also shows my customers that I am treating this as a legitimate business.”

Another tenant, The Tucson Gallery, came to fruition when Popov approached Tom Heath, a mortgage broker with several artist friends, about opening a gallery. Heath spoke with his friends, realtors Tony Ray Baker and Darren Jones.

“We thought we could create a gallery that is more than just hanging art on the wall where once the piece is sold, you must create another one,” he said.

The Tucson Gallery features artist originals reproducible on any item: a mug, t-shirt, or even a canvas. “This way, our artists can sell the same piece of art over and over, and they don’t have to wait to create another piece to earn more money.”

Chelsea Adler opened Willow’s Custom Boutique at Proper Shops. She had worked in retail all her life, ultimately designing her own clothing line. She was holding pop-up events for her clothes when she heard about Proper Shops. “It was low risk and lined up with exactly what I wanted to do. It also provided me with a network I didn’t have before going in.”

That network is an added benefit of Proper Shops. “My biggest surprise was collaborating with Chelsea of Willows Boutique,” said Robinson. “We created a wooden purse called Timber Totes.”

It’s become so popular that its being sold at nearly 10 different stores, some outside of Tucson.

Adler also collaborated with Scarlet Tompkins of Desert Mariposa Boutique, another Proper Shops retailer.

“Opening in Proper Shops was a lily pad,” said Adler. “It brought awareness to my brand and store, and it led me to the people in my life that have made everything possible.”

“The retailers’ passion and drive and commitment to fulfilling their dreams of being a retail business owner is what makes Proper Shops successful,” said Nicasio.

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CRITICAL PATH INSTITUTE MOVING DRUGS TO MARKET SMARTER, FASTER FOR 20 YEARS

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Critical Path Institute Moving Drugs to Market Smarter, Faster for 20 Years

By Tara Kirkpatrick Like many big ideas, Critical Path Institute essentially started on a napkin.

At a late summer dinner at Vivace in 2003, founder Dr. Raymond Woosley and a few trusted friends discussed how to speed up a stalled drug development pipeline. The notes they took that night would become a business plan, and ultimately in 2005, Critical Path Institute.

Today, 20 years later, Critical Path Institute is a Tucson-based, global nonprofit that has changed the trajectory of the industry. C-Path’s pioneering work as a neutral convener, trusted resource and generator of drug development solutions for companies and regulators alike has helped accelerate new therapies for diseases, both common and rare.

“What seemed impossible – to optimize the process for drug development and make it truly efficient – is now our reality,” said Dr. Klaus Romero, CEO of C-Path. “We were able to turn the dream of someday into today.”

“C-Path’s work has fundamentally changed the way the industry approaches drug development,” said Wainwright Fishburn, chair of C-Path’s board of directors. “Through its leadership in regulatory science, data integration, and patient-centered research, the organization has made an undeniable impact on the lives of people worldwide.”

Fixing an Inefficient System The early 2000s should have been a promising time for medicine. The first draft sequence of the human genome was announced in 2001, offering a trove of genetic information to decipher disease and human health.

But drug development had become too complex and costly for innovation– so much so, that Dr. Janet Woodcock, then FDA’s principal deputy commissioner, led the writing of a report about the dire need for a new “critical path” for drug development, in which regulators and pharmaceutical companies worked together to better the process for everyone, focusing especially on diseases with unmet needs.

The timing was fortuitous–Woosley, then-dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, was ready to start this “critical path” venture right in the desert. The City of Tucson, Pima County, Thomas R. Brown Foundations, Jim Click, and I. Michael Kasser were among the many donors who helped raise $5 million for the revolutionary idea.

Longtime C-Path board members, bioscience executives Shaun Kirkpatrick and Jeff Jacob have been involved since that pivotal 2003 dinner.

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2005

C-Path begins with six employees, establishing itself as a key player in accelerating drug development. FDA partners with C-Path to realize FDA’s Critical Path Initiative mission.

2006

C-Path spearheads the formation of the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium, an unprecedented collaboration between C-Path, industry, and FDA.

2007

Founder and CEO Dr. Ray Woosley testifies before Congress. President George W. Bush signs Critical Path Public-Private Partnerships bill.

C-Path wins Arizona Innovation Award.

2008

C-Path global efforts lead to the first-ever FDA and EMA qualification of kidney safety biomarkers. C-Path ranked No.7 on Reader’s Digest’s “Fix Healthcare Now!” list.

2009

C-Path launches its Coalition Against Major Diseases (which evolved into C-Path’s Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s-focused consortia), as well as its Patient-Reported Outcomes Consortium. These partnerships elevate the voices of those with living experiences and further accelerate drug development.

2010

PMDA reaches its first-ever biomarker qualification decision for kidney safety. Nature Biotechnology features C-Path’s evaluation of seven kidney biomarkers. Consortia focused on tuberculosis and polycystic kidney disease are formed.

2011

C-Path launches the Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Consortium, collaborates with Europe’s Innovative Medicines Initiative, develops first-ever therapeutic area data standards for Alzheimer’s in partnership with CDISC, and is named in NIMH’s “Top 10 Research Advances of 2011.”

2012

EMA issues first-ever qualification for brain imaging biomarker to aid early Alzheimer’s trials.

CDISC and C-Path launch the Coalition for Accelerating Standards and Therapies. FDA starts the Fit-for-Purpose Initiative, to review and endorse computerized drug development tools.

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concepts,” said Kirkpatrick. “The first was to do something that would speed up drug development in the precompetitive space, which would become available to all involved as a common good; second, was to harness the unique talent, collaboration and innovative spirit of Arizona. When the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative White Paper was published in 2004, the timing could not have been better.”

Jacob wrote the business plan, and when C-Path was incorporated in 2005 with six employees, he served as its first chief program officer. “I had to literally walk the halls of the FDA multiple days...looking for ideas for initiatives to make the medical product approval pathway better.”

The first effort C-Path launched was the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium, to leverage “biomarkers,” or measurable indicators of biological processes in people, to better bridge the gap from the lab bench to bedside.

These efforts are also helping to minimize animal testing.

“Now, the biomarker qualification pathway is a common process pursued by many groups around the world,” said Jacob. “C-Path was not only the first, but the one who helped create the entire pathway with the FDA. C-Path did the same thing with the EMA, as well as PMDA, Japan’s regulatory agency.”

Said Woosley, “It felt like serving on the USS Enterprise, charting unexplored territory and asking our small team to boldly go where no one had gone before. We didn’t just embrace the challenge; we thrived on it! And we attracted the very best scientists drawn to exploration and the chance to redefine what’s possible.”

Another early C-Path supporter was the Flinn Foundation, a privately endowed foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life in Arizona. Flinn had completed its first Arizona Bioscience Roadmap in 2002, a plan to boost bioscience in the state. C-Path became one of its early success stories.

“As C-Path became a trusted convener in regulatory science, Arizona gained a seat at the table in key national and international discussions on drug development, precision medicine, and rare diseases,” said Dr. Tammy McLeod, Flinn president and CEO. “This bolstered Arizona’s reputation as a serious contributor to solving complex health challenges.”

The Core of C-Path Today, C-Path employs over 150 people across the country and globe, and has added a European headquarters in Amsterdam.

The therapeutic areas of focus in C-Path’s current portfolio include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Type 1 diabetes, as well as rare diseases such as Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Friedrich’s ataxia, polycystic kidney disease, and more.

C-Path’s involvement in each area starts with an “ask”, either by regulators, a patient group, a pharmaceutical company or a health association wanting to partner. www.BizTucson.com

Those asks happen a lot, Romero explained, so C-Path weighs its participation based on a due diligence process to define the unmet need.

C-Path’s core competencies include biomarkers, data science and management, clinical outcome assessments, modeling and analytics and regulatory science. “We build each partnership around these,” Romero said.

“Each one of our efforts has a highly experienced and trained scientific lead and a core team,” said C-Path President and COO Kristen Swingle. “It’s a unified and cohesive approach to how the work gets conducted.”

The consortia are inclusive. “We convene all key stakeholders but most importantly, we insure the patient voice is central to informing the solutions we devise,” Swingle said. “You need to make sure it’s being incorporated into the process for developing treatments that directly impact them.”

A foundational distinction of C-Path is its custodial role over the vast amount of data contributed to the institute C-Path has earned the trust of both government and industry, so they share information once kept strictly proprietary. For example, if a certain drug trial fails, the details about sample size, participants, study design and more were often lost, when they could potentially hold the key to a future trial success. C-Path secures such crucial data, and protects its sources.

“To overcome concerns about the legality of sharing pre-competitive scientific data, we relied on a rock-solid legal foundation and an exceptional legal agreement for our consortia...,” said Woosley.

Over the years, C-Path has compiled 700,000+ anonymized, de-identified records of individuals who participated in research, among many trials, studies and additional data sources. “This is unique to C-Path, there is not another entity that has data this comprehensive,” said Romero.

In analyzing this rich data and engaging many perspectives, drug development in each therapeutic area becomes smarter and more streamlined, to encourage innovation and inform decisions, all with the regulators’ insights along the way.

“Data are like Lego bricks,” said Romero. “We have the ability to work with data and create any possible drug development solution with those Lego bricks, and what we create is always based on addressing unmet needs, where patients are waiting to have treatments.”

Engaging the Stakeholders Through its work, C-Path also engages and inspires patients and advocates.

Sarah Zenner-Dolan is a vibrant 58-year-old woman living with young onset Parkinson’s disease. Forced to quit her job as her symptoms worsened, she found solace participating in clinical trials and joining the bicycle riding team for the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s.

During one ride, she met Dr. Diane Stephenson, CPath’s VP of neurology. “We hit it off...I was given an opcontinued on page 72 >>>

2013

C-Path and IMI hold first joint meeting “Collaborating for Cures.” FDA issues its first-ever FFP endorsement for C-Path’s Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial simulator. EMA issues first-ever qualification of a quantitative drug development tool for this same simulator. The tool is featured in the Wall Street Journal.

2014

FDA issues first-ever biomarker Letter of Support for C-Path’s kidney biomarkers and receives $1 million Flinn Foundation grant. C-Path receives $11.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop computerized tools that can accelerate drug development for tuberculosis.

2015

Happy 10 years, C-Path! New consortia launched for neonatal drug development, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Parkinson’s disease. C-Path secures EMA and FDA support for multiple kidney biomarkers. C-Path is selected to host TB clinical trials data.

2016

C-Path co-develops biomarker qualification framework, launches further efforts in tuberculosis, releases multiple sclerosis trial database, gains EMA support for novel Parkinson’s biomarker, and receives three new FDA grants.

2017

C-Path makes a unique tuberculosis pathogen genomic sequencing database available globally, and receives a $1.1 million grant along with Arizonabased TGen for activities in Type 1 diabetes. T1D and solid organ transplantation consortia are launched, EMA gives support for liver biomarker and PRO Consortium achieves FDA endorsement of PRO instrument for major depression.

2018

Huntington’s disease consortium launches. C-Path receives first-ever qualification of composite safety kidney measure based on six biomarkers. University of Arizona and C-Path launch regulatory science graduate certificate.

2019

C-Path opens European headquarters in Dublin, launches the Friedreich’s Ataxia database with FARA and begins a biomarker project with Japan’s PMDA. A global transformative effort for data integration for rare and orphan conditions launches: The Rare Disease Cures Accelerator-Data and Analytics Platform initiative.

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2020

C-Path joins ERA4TB, and leads pediatric device efforts. FDA issues contracts to support outcomes work in asthma, and model-informed drug development in neuroscience. Through the Cure Drug Repurposing Collaboratory, collaborations on COVID-19 launch.

2021

C-Path’s symptom diary for irritable bowel syndrome supports pivotal FDA-labeling claim evolution for symptomatic drug. Consortia on hereditary ataxias and acute kidney injury launch. Duchenne database opens, and C-Path joins UNITE4TB.

2022

Rare Disease COA Consortium and Translational Therapeutics Accelerator launch. C-Path is selected to support the Act for ALS collaboration with FDA and NIH, launching Critical Path for Rare Neurodegenerative Diseases. C-Path relocates European headquarters to Amsterdam. EMA supports T1D biomarker initiative and TTC receives EMA endorsement for novel biomarker panel for kidney transplant trials.

2023

C-Path receives EMA endorsement for its Duchenne muscular dystrophy clinical trial simulation platform. FDA encourages and supports PSTC’s four pancreatic safety biomarkers. New consortia in lysosomal diseases and alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency launch with FDA support.

2024

C-Path hosts inaugural Global Impact Conference, receives $1.5M Niemann-Pick grant, unveils effort in imaging method, makes Duchenne trial simulator available, and receives landmark funding to convene the Global Evidence in Medicines for Parkinson’s Disease initiative.

2025

C-Path’s 20th Anniversary Celebration: A Global Milestone! C-Path marks 20 years of innovation, collaboration, and impact with multiple unforgettable events spanning the U.S. and Europe.

portunity to share my experience living with Parkinson’s and as a clinical trial participant.”

Zenner-Dolan has since joined the advisory committee for the FDA’s Peripheral and Central Nervous System leadership team. “My personal mission of living my best today is buoyed by the trust I have in the behind-thescenes work of the brilliant teams at Critical Path Institute,” she said.

Hailey Davenport, a Tucson native and UA graduate diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 14, was drawn to C-Path because of its important T1D research. She’s now the senior project manager for its T1D Consortium.

“Being on calls with experts in the field from both academia and industry, people that are actually working on developing therapies, just kind of being in the room is so special, and really gets me excited about the future,” Davenport said.

Rich Brennan, VP of federal affairs for the ALS Association, is working with C-Path to give those diagnosed with ALS a chance to live longer. “The public-private partnership and C-Path’s work, especially in the rare disease community, and their work in the neurology space, has been really important for us...”

“What we’re trying to accomplish is to make research data more shareable or more readily available, reusable, scalable and also, person-centric,” Brennan said.

20 Years and Onward Woosley believes that, over these 20 years, what CPath has truly created is collaborative regulatory science–an entirely new discipline.

‘Today, scientists from traditionally competitive pharmaceutical companies are working side by side with regulatory and academic researchers to share data and rigorously validate tools for new drug development,” he said. “I never could have imagined the widespread, global recognition and trust C-Path has achieved from both the scientific community and patient advocacy groups alike.”

C-Path’s work “is changing lives,” U.S. Rep Juan Ciscomani, from Arizona’s 6th congressional district, told the team at its 20th celebration this spring. “It’s driving innovation, and it’s strengthening Arizona’s role as a leader in modern drug development.”

U.S. Sen Mark Kelly of Arizona, whose wife former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was the lead congressional sponsor on the bill to enable C-Path’s public-private partnership, also gave his praise. “It’s meant more people have access to life-changing medicines and it’s given hope to those with rare diseases,” he said.

This milestone achieved, Romero looks toward future promise: “It’s been a very successful couple of decades, but we still have so much more work to do because there are still so many more unmet needs in the drug development process. We hope to continue to beat the odds and transform the process.”

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From left –

Dr. Klaus Romero CEO

Kristen Swingle President & COO

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Desert Duo

Critical Path Institute’s Dynamic Leadership Team

PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS

By Tara Kirkpatrick

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Critical Path Institute, a groundbreaking nonprofit driving better and faster drug development across the world, is led by a respected pair who are the ultimate tag team for science and structure.

Dr. Klaus Romero, CEO, and Kristen Swingle, president and COO, are truly the glue behind a global public-private partnership that, from its humble Tucson headquarters, has helped accelerate progress in new drugs and treatments for patients for 20 years.

“We have tremendous talent here and a wonderful structure,” said Romero, who served as C-Path’s Chief Scientific Officer before being named CEO in 2024. He has been with the organization for 18 of its 20 years.

“Anytime anything important happens, whether it’s day-to-day operations or something that develops for us anywhere on the planet, we stay connected as close to real-time as possible,” he said.

This C-Path leadership team achieves results– for patients, for industry, for regulatory agencies and for stakeholders worldwide.

“Klaus and Kristen are a truly exceptional team,” said C-Path founder Dr. Raymond Woosley. “They bring a rare blend of deep regulatory and scientific expertise with the interpersonal skills to lead large, complex teams across different stakeholder groups. They don’t just manage, they inspire.”

Whereas Romero sets the vision and passion for C-Path, Swingle perfects the process, driving the daily infrastructure for C-Path researchers and staff. They

are the perfect “partners in crime,” as they like to say.

“We need a CEO who’s driving ideas and has the strategic mindset,” said Swingle. “Klaus is phenomenal at that.

When he’s traveling to D.C., I’m dealing with matters here and making sure we’ve got that continuity. It’s also bouncing ideas off each other. I’m focused on the operational standpoint, making sure everyone has everything they need.”

Said Romero, “She sets a realistic expectation. I can get really excited about something around cutting-edge science or clinical development, but I need somebody to give me a reality check of what is realistically achievable.”

A prominent physician and clinical scientist from Colombia, Romero was presenting at a scientific meeting in 2007 when he had the chance to hear Woosley speak. Impressed with the nonprofit’s work in just its first two years, they immediately hit it off, so much so, that Woosley asked Romero to come work with C-Path.

“By December 2007, Olga Lucía and I were moving to Tucson and that was it,” recalled Romero. “I am indebted to Ray, for what he taught me, what he gave me personally and professionally. I will never be able to repay him.” Romero would go on to serve as executive director of both clinical pharmacology and the quantitative medicine program at C-Path before advancing to CSO and CEO. Romero is also a talented guitarist, often referring to himself as a “happy mucontinued on page 76 >>> Summer 2025 > > > BizTucson 75

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“

We have tremendous talent here and a wonderful structure.

Anytime anything important happens, whether it’s day to day operations or something that develops for us anywhere on the planet, we stay connected as close to real-time as possible.

– Dr. Klaus Romero, CEO, Critical Path Institute

continued from page 75 sician who happens to be a clinical scientist.” He plays bass, drums, keyboard, and relishes the ties between music and analytic thinking.

“There’s a number of components of the connection between music and my day-to-day and how I approach leadership,” he explained. “For any band to be successful, everyone has a role to play.”

Swingle, a Tucson native, joined CPath in 2019 with two decades of medical and molecular science experience, most recently as VP of stem cell operations for Cord Blood Registry.

“I had the benefit of joining the or-

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ganization at a time when a lot of hard work had already been put in and they had really built such a foundation for the successes we have had,” she said. Yet, Swingle has absolutely left her mark, helping to navigate C-Path through the COVID-19 pandemic as well as becoming a true bioscience ambassador in the region. She was chairwoman of the Arizona Bioindustry Association from 2018 to 2023 and is a national advisory board member of the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona.

Romero recalled her job interview: “I said, ‘Don’t wait, hire her!”

Both Romero and Swingle herald the opportunity to head a global, game-

”

changing organization from Southern Arizona.

“If you look at the big biopharma areas, each one of them has its own identity...the Bay Area, Boston, etc.

But what is the identity of Tucson? It’s growing as a hub for biopharma with a growing collaboration identity. Selfishly, I think we’ve contributed to that,” said Romero.

Added Swingle, “I’m a by-product of this community. There’s an element of Tucson in particular that is somewhat intangible. The people here are so invested in making Tucson better. We are literally making the world better, and we are right here doing it.”

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A Laser Focus on Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s

By Tara Kirkpatrick Critical Path Institute continues to help drive needed therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, especially Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

C-Path’s Critical Path for Alzheimer’s Disease consortium, which started in 2008, has contributed to some definite wins in accelerating drug development for this condition, over the past 20 years.

These include the first-ever computerized tool to transform clinical trial design in Alzheimer’s disease that is endorsed by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Also, the regulatory endorsement of viable drug development biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease has contributed to a new era of biomarker-informed clinical trials.

“Thanks to our talented team and the fact that we had all the support from the FDA and EMA, we have worked with key opinion leaders in the field, and we were able to look at data in new ways,” said Diane Stephenson, C-Path’s VP of neurology. “So, we brought forward these modeling tools and biomarkers at a time when, again, people were uncertain as to how to link the right drug to the right patient at the right time. It’s really game-changing.”

The latest optimism centers around a protein linked to Alzheimer’s deterioration, called “tau.”. To advance the momentum of using tau imaging in clinical trials, the CPAD consortium gathered more than 50 global experts together to develop a groundbreaking standard for analyzing tau in clinical trials for earlier stages of Alzheimer’s–what C-Path calls a harmonization approach.

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The Critical Path for Parkinson’s consortium, started in 2015, has achieved numerous regulatory successes for establishing biomarkers and accepted clinical trial tools.

It’s now delving deeper into sex differences in Parkinson’s pathophysiology and disease progression that can impact drug development. Long considered “an old man disease,” new Parkinson’s cases are increasingly showing up in women.

“

The frequency of younger people of both sexes with Parkinson’s is growing, to even the childbearing years.

”

– Dr. Diane Stephenson

VP of Neurology Critical Path Institute

“The frequency of younger people of both sexes with Parkinson’s is growing, to even the childbearing years,” Stephenson said. “We don’t know why.

It’s probably both genetics and environment, but it really raises the urgent need for new approaches to detection and treatments.”

“And when you go and talk to women with Parkinson’s, they actually experience the disease very different,” she said. “They get diagnosed way later.

They have different responses to the currently approved medications.”

This innovative initiative – called Global Evidence in Medicine for Parkison’s Disease, or GEM-PD, was recently launched in Vienna and already, many leading experts want to be involved and offer data, Stephenson said. “What’s so incredible about this whole field...everything we do is going to make a dent.”

“We are excited about this whole project because we’re sitting on a lot of data,” Stephenson said. “We have data from 15,000 patients, and no one’s probably ever, ever looked at sex differences.”

Stephenson has a personal stake in both diseases, having a mother who died from Alzheimer’s and a brother from Parkinson’s. “To watch the two people you love...suffer from the same diseases you’re working on, it was the most hopeless feeling.”

But continuing her C-Path work in neurodegeneration gives her hope for future patients. “I feel really encouraged...the science is advancing at a pace that I thought probably wouldn’t happen in my career.”

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BizMILESTONE

Decoding Rare & Orphan Diseases

By Tara Kirkpatrick Rare and orphan diseases–with the dual distinction of being both uncommon and incredibly challenging–have found a true champion in the Critical Path Institute.

Rare diseases affect fewer than 65 in 100,000 people, as labeled by the World Health Organization. The FDA and National Institutes of Health define rare diseases as those affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the country.

Yet, with more than 7,000 such diseases identified globally–often among children–they impact roughly 300 million people.

By bringing regulators, pharmaceutical companies and patients’ organizations to the same table and sharing valuable data, C-Path is creating a trusted baseline from which better studies can be designed, new patterns can be analyzed and new therapies can be developed.

“Rare disease studies can be challenging given the small numbers of patients and the limited understanding of the disease,” explained Collin Hovinga, VP of Rare/Orphan and Pediatric Disease programs at C-Path. “We bring stakeholders together, sponsors, persons with lived experience, clinicians and researchers to build solutions that generate impact.”

A LOOK AT SOME OF THE PROGRESS: Polycystic Kidney Disease One of C-Path’s major victories was helping to fuel the first-ever biomarker, followed by the first-ever drug to slow polycystic kidney disease. The genetic disorder causes clusters of cysts to grow 80 BizTucson < < < Summer 2025

in the body, mainly on the kidneys, damaging them over time.

C-Path’s Polycystic Kidney Disease Outcomes Consortium achieved a milestone when it secured the nod of the FDA and EMA for height-adjusted total kidney volume, or htTKV, as a biomarker, said Hovinga. “Building on that biomarker foundation, tolvaptan became the first approved therapy to slow...progression.”

“

Rare disease studies can be challenging given the small numbers of patients and the limited understanding of the disease

”

– Collin Hovinga VP of Rare/Orphan & Pediatric Disease programs Critical Path Institute

The consortium is focused on additional PKD biomarkers and advancing a clinical trial simulator to design better trials for future therapies.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy A complex disease caused by a genetic mutation, Duchenne muscular dystrophy robs patients, mostly boys, of the ability to walk and hits their hearts and lungs.

C-Path’s Duchenne Regulatory Science Consortium has developed an extensive database of information from DMD studies that helped produce the very first computational model for DMD clinical trial simulations. This sophisticated tool predicts results so a new therapy trial can be faster and less expensive.

Before this, designing a DMD trial was difficult because of the disease’s incredible complexity. The initiative has received a letter of support from the European Medicines Agency.

The DMD consortium’s work has also led to advancing glutamate dehydrogenase as a safety biomarker in trials of patients with muscle disorders.

Friedreich’s Ataxia With the largest integrated data and analytics platform for rare diseases, CPath helped foster the first-ever treatment for Friedreich’s ataxia, an inherited disorder that damages the spinal cord, part of the brain and the heart.

The new drug, Skyclarys from Reata Pharmaceuticals, was approved in 2023 to slow the disease progression and improve neurological function.

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Leveraging AI, Tech for Future Drugs Hailey Davenport

Preventing, Delaying Type 1 Diabetes

By Tara Kirkpatrick Type 1 diabetes, despite several advances, is still a momentous challenge for patients and their families. What’s more, the number of people diagnosed with T1D in the U.S. alone is projected to triple by 2050.

Critical Path Institute, which formed the T1D Consortium in 2017, is working to accelerate the process to new therapies to both prevent and delay this disease, with a keen eye toward finding it before the life-altering symptoms begin.

As a disease, T1D starts well before the symptoms emerge, so the ability to screen for risk beforehand is an incredible opportunity to impact the disease. Where that work starts is by identifying biomarkers to better select patients in the disease’s early stages for future clinical trials, as well as, gaining regulatory endorsement for clinical simulation tools to help design better trials.

“If we can measure these actionable markers of the body’s immune system attacking the pancreas, then certain therapies could delay that, or even prevent the autoimmune process from starting in the first place,” said Hailey Davenport, senior project manager for the T1D consortium, who lives with T1D herself.

One such tool the C-Path consortium has advanced is based on a biomarker called C-peptide. Measuring C-peptide levels in the blood over time can become an important biomarker to better track disease progression. This revolutionary tool was developed from analyzing data from 20 randomized clinical trials that included 781 people.

“Moving forward, we are looking at... incorporating more tools that would be applicable to both new onset and prevention,” added Davenport. “There are so many unmet needs, even with all the incredible advancements that we’ve had since I’ve been diagnosed.”

Because of this work, “future generations will have it so much better than we have it now,” added Davenport. “That’s exciting to be on the forefront of something really new and exciting that could be tangible in the next 10 years or so.”

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Looking ahead, Critical Path Institute CEO Dr. Klaus Romero sees the drug development industry at an inflection point.

“We’re needing to develop therapies that are leveraging technologies...that are at the true cutting edge of the intersection of science and people’s needs,” he said. “Gene-based therapies, cell-based therapies, anti-sense oligonucleotides–those types of products have the potential to be really transformative, but there are also innovative small molecules that can have major impact too.”

Yet, those possibilities reinforce the need to make sure potential risks and harms are equally as understood as the potential benefits, Romero said. C-Path’s core competencies are well-positioned to provide that analysis.

Take artificial intelligence, or AI, which C-Path has actually been utilizing since 2016.

“We recognized then that this was something that could have a transformative power and we started working on building the first foundation for us to start integrating artificial intelligence into the development of our drug development solutions,” he said. “Now, we have an advanced approach that keeps evolving.”

Moving forward, Romero noted AI’s vast potential in drug development will require proper checks, which C-Path, as a trusted neutral party, can offer. “More specifically, how can we be sure that a given AI solution is actually doing what it’s supposed to do to inform a drug development decision.”

The increased usage of digital health technologies, such as smart watches and phones, and other wearable sensors, will help elevate patient data, as long as they consistently capture meaningful information. The algorithms that process such data also must be reliable. The FDA and EMA have already issued guidance on their usage in clinical trials.

For example, C-Path VP of Neurology Dr. Diane Stephenson noted these tools’ utility for Parkinson’s patients to track their experience. “Their experience with the disease changes, not only each day, but within the day. It’s highly variable. So, if you expect that a doctor visit every six months or a year is going to be able to accurately predict a patient experience? How would you know if a drug worked?”

“This is just the beginning of those devices,” Stephenson said. “I can only imagine they’re going to get more and more sophisticated.”

Added Romero, “As we advance in those areas that will have a bearing in unlocking the potential of all drugs to be used for new kinds of indications, that’s where I see the future in advancing the science.”

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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS

By Tara Kirkpatrick

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www.BizTucson.com

BizPEOPLE Anne Breckenridge Barrett Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block Board of Trustees appointed Anne Breckenridge Barrett as the Jon and Linda Ender Director and CEO. She will lead the 101-year-old museum and its campus that includes five historic properties, galleries, an art education center and research library. Breckenridge Barrett has over 30 years of experience in cultural heritage, non-profit, and legal sectors.

Mark Isenberger

Cushman & Wakefield|PICOR announced that Mark Isenberger has been promoted to general manager of 5151 E Broadway Blvd, Tucson’s largest commercial office building. After serving as property manager for seven years at 5151, he will now oversee all aspects of operations, tenant and community relations, and strategic initiatives. Isenberger has more than 25 years of experience in high-rise office and corporate campus management.

Becky Burke

Becky Burke is the new coach for Arizona Women’s Basketball, named by Arizona AD Desireé Reed-Francois in April. The former head coach for University of Buffalo Women’s Basketball lifted the program to a record 30 wins last season and a WNIT title, in her three years there. Burke is the 10th head coach in the history of Arizona Women’s Basketball. www.BizTucson.com

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BizAWARDS

2025 Metropolitan Pima Alliance Common Ground Awards

By Tom Leyde The Metropolitan Pima Alliance (MPA) presented its 20th annual Common Ground Awards Apr. 18 at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort.

Ten organizations were honored for projects completed throughout Pima County. Five people were recognized as community leaders, and two firms were honored as community collaborators.

MPA focuses on facilitating sensible land use and development practices by encouraging reasonable and respectful dialogue among diverse groups and interests.

The nonprofit is an alliance of business, government and other nonprofit organizations. It advocates for balanced residential development and commercial land use policies that stimulate economic development and preserve the natural environment.

It has become a major voice on growth-related issues.

“We want to make life better,” said Jeff Kiewel, chair of MPA’s board of

Big Horn CDO Levee Augmentation

directors. “We want to make development easier and more effective and more beneficial to all the stakeholders. ... After 20 years, I’m happy to report that we’ve had terrific outcomes. We set a new standard.”

Alice Templeton of Stantec, the event’s main sponsor, said, “When we do find that common ground, magic happens...this working together has produced amazing results. Tonight, we celebrate those results and the often-difficult work that’s been done to make out communities better, stronger, safer and more resilient.”

Vanessa Martinez, regional pursuit manager for Psomas and chair of the MPA 2025 Common Ground Awards, said, “One of my favorite things about the Common Ground Awards is learning about ... how projects came to be and the culture of collaboration that all the individuals inspire. It’s pretty amazing.”

The 2025 Common Ground Award Winners: Big Horn CDO Levee Augmentation

The project is distinctive because of its collaborative nature, bringing together government agencies, engineering firms and local stakeholders to address urgent flood control challenges from the Big Horn Fire. The lightning-caused fire burned 119,987 acres in the Catalina Mountains in 2020. The project faced many challenges, such as navigating funding through the State of Arizona’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and balancing environmental preservation with infrastructure improvements.

La Posada at Pusch Ridge

The Oro Valley project addresses the growing demand for senior living, offering customizable units and highdemand amenities. It created a model for senior living communities. Located on 80 acres, the project faced significant

Milagro on Oracle

La Posada at Pusch Ridge Las Vistas Neighborhood Park

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“

We want to make development easier and more effective and more beneficial to all the stakeholders.

”

– Jeff Kiewel, Chair Board of Directors, MPA Common Ground Awards

Las Vistas Neighborhood Park

The park is an example of community-driven collaboration and innovative infrastructure development. It transformed an overgrown drainage channel into a flood-mitigating, communityenhancing green space that connects three elementary schools and neighborhood parks. The project leverages green stormwater infrastructure and enhances the quality of life in historically underserved areas.

Milagro on Oracle

Situated at 2445 N. Oracle Rd., the project is an innovative approach to affordable housing and historic preservation. The four-story building repurposed two historic motels, preserving the cultural heritage of the Miracle Mile area. Challenges included comPrince 10

Northwest Sewer Outfall

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plex financing and balancing community concerns about density and design.

Northwest Sewer Outfall

The project team balanced environmental, logistical and community concerns, while ensuring uninterrupted wastewater service. A temporary bridge minimized public impact and met strict Flood Control District requirements.

The team rebuilt The Loop bike path, repaired and enhanced golf course amenities and added an extra tee box.

Prince 10

Prince 10 is a visionary approach to transforming Tucson’s western gateway into a hub of commerce, culture and community connectivity. It is located between Interstate 10 and the Santa Cruz River. Spanning 110 acres, it features high-tech employment spaces, multi-story office buildings and integrated public spaces. The project benefits the community by attracting high-tech industries, creating local job opportuni-

ties and driving investment in an underutilized corridor. It sets a new standard for integrated urban development in Tucson.

Santa Cruz River Shared-Use Path at CalPortland

Over 25 years in the making, the project involved the planning, design and construction of a two-mile, shareduse path that spans Marana and unincorporated Pima County. It completes the 32-mile Santa Cruz River Park and connects the communities of North and West Marana. This allows these communities to reach Downtown Tucson and other locations along the 136-mile Chuck Huckleberry Loop without conflicting with auto traffic.

Stone Avenue Cycle Track

The downtown Tucson project is a prime example of innovative urban planning and collaboration. The cycle track enhances safety, mobility and suscontinued on page 88 >>>

Santa Cruz River Shared-Use Path at CalPortland

Stone Avenue Cycle Track

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PHOTOS COURTESY MPA COMMON GROUND

challenges, including a contractor going out of business and halting work in 2018. Sundt Construction resumed the work in 2019.

BizAWARDS

Uptown

Led by Bourn Companies, the project reimagines Foothills Mall into a vibrant, mixed-use urban village. It integrates retail, multi-family housing, office spaces, entertainment and hospitality, creating a dynamic live/work/play environment. The emphasis on sustainable and health-conscious design, pedestrianfriendly spaces, shaded walkways and connections to the Pima County trail system showcased a commitment to enhancing the quality of life for residents.

Ward 2 Exchange

The Ward 2 Exchange involved a real estate exchange between the City of Tucson and Dick Luebke, leading to the opening of the city’s Eastside City Hall and Desert Christian High School’s new athletic fields. It required extensive negotiations, rezoning efforts and construction coordination.

Uptown

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Community Leaders:

Shannon Murphy

Ed Honea

Honea, who died Nov. 22, 2024 at age 77, was mayor of the Town of Marana and a fixture in city government for 37 years.

His commitment to the town helped transform it into a thriving community.

Honea worked tirelessly to improve the town’s infrastructure, securing millions of dollars for essential water quality projects and transportation advancements.

Carla Blackwell

Blackwell retired as director of Pima County Development Services after 24 years on Apr. 4. She led the department through economic highs and lows, constantly improving processes to make it one of the nation’s best. Blackwell prioritized customer satisfaction through timelines, maintaining a five-day turnaround for critical permits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Matt Bailey

Bailey, a Tucsonbased attorney with Rusing Lopez & Lizardi, represents local, national and international clients with corporate and transactional needs. He served on the MPA board as its board counsel through 2024. During his board tenure, Bailey provided sound legal guidance, updated and maintained corporate bylaws and policies and helped fulfill MPA’s mission.

Murphy served on the MPA board from 2017 to 2024. She held the role of secretary from 2018 to 2021 and chaired both the membership and programming committees. After spending 12 years at Diamond Ventures, she recently joined CBRE, resuming her 17-year brokerage career.

Walter Hoge

Hoge owns Rio West Development and Construction. He joined the MPA board at its inception, believing Tucson needed a strong, unified voice to advocate responsible development and innovative solutions.

Over the years, he stayed involved, recognizing the value of bringing together individuals from across the industry to tackle tough issues and move projects, policies and ideas forward.

Community Collaborators: HSL Properties

The company is celebrating a halfcentury in business. It operates 39 apartment buildings and 11 hotel properties, providing 2,500 hotel rooms.

Schnitzer Properties

The Oregon-based company collaborates with local staff, brokers, businesses and organizations. It recently broke ground for the Drexel and Corona Commerce Centers, a $73 million investment in manufacturing spaces.

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Ward 2 Exchange

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PHOTOS COURTESY MPA COMMON GROUND

continued from page 87 tainability, integrating green stormwater infrastructure and preserving the local character. The repurposing of salvage streetlights for bike traffic signals demonstrates a commitment to cost control and sustainability. The project accommodates major festivals and downtown activities, vital economic drivers for Tucson.

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BizCONSTRUCTION

N E W

T O

M A R K E T

Project: Carondelet St. Joseph’s MRI Equipment Replacement Location: 350 N. Wilmot Road Owner: SMSJ Tucson Holdings Contractor: W.E. O’Neil Construction Architect: Swaim Associates Completion Date: March 2025 Construction Cost: N/A Project Description: The existing 2,421-square-foot space was renovated for new MRI equipment including electrical modifications, HVAC upgrades, plumbing and medical gas system improvements.

Project: Capstone Collegiate Communities Student Housing Location: 812 E. Speedway Blvd.

Owner: Capstone Collegiate Communities Contractor: CORE Construction Architect: Ankrom Moisan Associates Architects Completion Date: Summer 2027 Construction Cost: N/A Project Description: This new-build 165-unit student housing community will provide a modern living, studying and recreation hub within walking distance of University of Arizona.

Image courtesy of TSB Capital Advisors

Project: Lariat Village Location: 860 E. Irvington Road Owner: Impact Residential Development Contractor: Tofel Dent Construction Architect: Architectural Resource Team Completion Date: December 2026 Construction Cost: $25 million Project Description: Description: Lariat Village will offer 120 units in a four-story affordable multi-family complex with options of one, two and three bedrooms.

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BizCONSTRUCTION

N E W

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M A R K E T

Project: Tangerine Farms K-8 Location: Marana Owner: Marana Unified School District Contractor: CORE Construction Architect: BWS Architects Completion Date: July 2025 Construction Cost: $37 million Project Description: The new Tangerine Farms K-8 school, spanning 90,000 square feet, will feature two major buildings housing offices, a gym, cafeteria and 45 state-of-the-art classrooms.

Project: Pascua Yaqui Tribe Early Learning Center Location: 5025 W. Los Reales Road Owner: Pascua Yaqui Tribe Contractor: W.E. O’Neil Construction Architect: Swaim Associates Completion Date: First quarter 2025 Construction Cost: N/A Project Description: The 9,524-square-foot learning center for children ages two through seven years old includes classrooms, administration offices and extensive site work.

Project:

Pima County Superior Court & Public Service Center Tenant Improvement Location: Tucson Owner: Pima County Project Design & Construction Contractor: Sundt Construction Architect: DLR Group Completion Date: January 2027 Construction Cost: $14.9 million Project Description: Demolition is being performed on floor seven of the Superior Court building and tenant improvements on floors six and seven of the Public Service Center.

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PHOTOS: UNITEDHEALTHCARE

BizHEALTHCARE

SPONSORED CONTENT

Are Your Employees Getting the Most Out of Your Digital Health Offerings?

Submitted by Heather Kane, Health Plan CEO for Arizona & New Mexico, UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual

With employees increasingly seeking convenient, tech-enabled ways to support their wellbeing, digital health tools — including wellness and condition-specific apps — have gained widespread traction. These platforms, which can support everything from stress management to chronic condition care, present an opportunity to help improve workforce health outcomes.

Despite the rise in availability — with more than half of employers now offering these tools — many organizations have yet to see strong participation among employees. A recent report revealed that 68% of individuals are inclined to use digital health solutions, such as nutrition or mental health apps, highlighting a clear opportunity for employers to connect with that interest.

To help close the gap between availability and usage, employers can take steps to make these solutions more engaging and accessible. Here are five approaches to consider: 1. Work with a vendor that works well with your current health benefits Select a vendor that can align with your existing health benefits and systems. Up-to-date access to claims and clinical data can enable timely outreach and personalized recommendations delivered via app or phone. This level of integration allows for quicker interventions and a more connected employee experience.

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2. Use platforms that are easy to use and offer real help Seek out solutions that are simple to navigate and come with tailored support. Personalized assistance can make it easier for employees to get started — and stay engaged — with digital health resources.

3. Leverage insights to tailor programs that fit your employes’ needs Use data analytics to better understand your workforce’s health challenges and preferences. By identifying patterns and emerging risks, you can shape more targeted programs and

Heather Kane Health Plan CEO for Arizona & New Mexico, UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual

communicate the value of those offerings in a way that resonates. Personalized outreach backed by data often drives stronger outcomes and better cost alignment.

4. Promote a health-forward workplace culture Support a company culture that promotes wellness by engaging leadership, sponsoring team-based health initiatives, or involving employee groups in wellness campaigns. These actions can help normalize the use of digital health tools and position them as part of the broader employee experience.

5. Develop personalized internal communications Craft employee messages that reflect your employees’ unique needs, goals, and motivations. Framing digital health offerings in relatable, practical terms — and showing how they support individual wellness journeys — can help drive participation and long-term engagement.

By taking a strategic, employee-centered approach, organizations can help elevate adoption of digital health tools and unlock their potential to improve health and productivity.

For more information, go to: www.uhc.com/ news-articles/benefits-and-coverage/uhc-hub

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SPECIAL REPORT 2025

THE REGION’S BUSINESS MAGAZINE

VANTAGE WEST CREDIT UNION 70 YEARS OF IMPACT BUILDING & SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES www.BizTucson.com

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BizMILESTONE

70 Years of Impact Vantage West Builds &

By Tiffany Kjos Competing with some of the biggest players in the finance industry, Vantage West Credit Union has thrived for 70 years by being deeply committed to the community, making banking more accessible, particularly for low- and middle-income members, and by providing proactive, innovative technological solutions.

With more than 200,000 members, Vantage West is the largest credit union based in Southern Arizona and has more than doubled its assets in just the last 10 years.

“Our continued growth is a strong reflection of the trust and support we’ve earned from the communities we serve,” said Mark Papoccia, chief commercial and impact officer at Vantage West Credit Union. “Many people turn to credit unions because they’re seeking a more personalized, member-first experience − something that can be hard to find at larger financial institutions.

At Vantage West, our focus has always been, and will continue to be, on serving our members and putting their needs at the center of everything we do.”

VANTAGE WEST MILESTONES

1955

Started in a one-room barracks at DavisMonthan Air Force Base with the mission to help Tucson’s airmen and their families. Served a little under 600 members and had less than $60,000 in assets.

1960s

By the end of the 1960s, grew to nearly 14,000 members sowing the seeds for the rapid growth in the decades to come.

1975 - 1989

Merged with five different credit unions.

1999

Merged with Saguaro Credit Union and nearly doubled in size.

2002

Introduced Investment Service through a CUSO (Credit Union Service Organization).

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Launched Business Banking.

2006

The fundamental difference between banks and credit unions is that stockholders own banks, and profits go to them. In contrast, credit unions are owned by their members, and profits are reinvested into the community through loans and other services, said Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott, president and CEO of Vantage West.

Remaining competitive means continuously evolving Vantage West’s portfolio of loan and deposit solutions to meet changing member needs, Sagehorn-Elliott said. “The world is changing so quickly, we have to keep up and give people what they’re looking for.”

Changed the name to Vantage West and converted from a federal to a state charter. The new name was to better represent the diversity of the membership that spanned beyond DMAFB and paved the way for continued expansion across the state of Arizona.

2010 & 2014

Vantage West expanded by merging with First Edition Community Credit Union and the former Tombstone Federal Credit Union.

2011

Expanded its presence in Pinal County and cut the ribbon on the Casa Grande branch.

Supports Communities 10 Years of Massive Growth The credit union has come a long way since its founding in 1955, with 600 members and an office in a one-room barracks. Originally known as DMAFB Federal Credit Union, the organization was established on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to help airmen who were often targeted with high-interest loan offers, Sagehorn-Elliott said. Today, Vantage West still serves many military personnel and retirees but has expanded its membership to include a larger geographic footprint in Pima, Pinal, Cochise and Maricopa counties.

2015

Recognized as the first Arizona credit union to earn the Juntos Avanzamos designation for commitment to serving the Hispanic market.

2017

Earned 17 Arizona Daily Star Reader’s Choice Awards. www.BizTucson.com

Since its 60th anniversary, Vantage West’s assets have surged from $1.5 billion to $3.2 billion. And while it expanded through mergers in the past, the last decade saw it grow organically.

“We had a couple of mergers, but the most recent was well over 10 years ago,” Sagehorn-Elliott said. “Word of mouth is huge – families referring their children and their neighbors − and we work hard to offer products and services that are relevant.”

That growth also reflects an increase in home loans, and auto, personal, credit card and business loans, Papoccia said.

2018

Earned the special designation from the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution or CDFI.

2019

Expanded into the Phoenix East Valley and opened the Cooper Square branch in Gilbert.

2023

Refreshed the company brand to reflect a modern approach to banking, setting the stage for future growth and innovation.

“We can only make those loans through the depositors – those individuals who have faith in us, members who place their deposits with us,” he said.

“In return, we pass along the benefits associated with that by making loans with low rates and flexible terms right here in our community.”

The credit union has trained 90 bankers as financial coaches who work with members and, in some cases, nonmembers in branches and through Vantage West’s call center. It also deploys credit union representatives into the community. continued on page 102 >>>

Launched Interactive Teller Machines at 43rd & Peoria branch to provide additional one-on-one touchpoints for members in Glendale.

Opened the Interstate 19 and Irvington branch and expanded into South Tucson.

2024

Began remodeling branches to reflect new brand and support member needs.

2025

Introducing a new branch in Oro Valley later this year: 11165 N. La Cañada Drive, Suite 155.

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BizMILESTONE continued from page 101

For example, it recently joined with the Sahuarita Food Bank and Community Resource Center to offer regular office hours every week at the food bank, where it provides financial coaching and the opportunity to open accounts and help members apply for loans.

“We continuously get feedback that organizations are amazed that we not only come out and talk about what we want to do, but then we show up the next day and we actually do it,” Papoccia said.

The credit union’s community-mindedness is also reflected in its loan-making decisions, which all happen locally.

Often, members who apply for a loan via the credit union’s app are approved immediately, but, “if there’s any question, then a real, live person gets involved and will contact you and take the time to understand you and your needs and clarify any questions. That’s all happening right here in Tucson,” Sagehorn-Elliott said.

Certification Creates More Access As a result of helping people in lowerincome brackets, Vantage West was certified as a Community Development Financial Institution in 2018, which gives it access to federal grants through the CDFI fund.

“We pass those grants on to other community organizations and nonprofits and we give them back to our membership through lower fees and interest rates on loans,” Papoccia said.

In 2006 the credit union converted from a federal to a state charter, which enabled it to open membership to more Arizona residents, and it changed its name from DMAFB Federal Credit Union to Vantage West to reflect its new stature.

“So now we have ways of accepting people into the membership that we did not have when we were a federally chartered credit union,” Sagehorn-Elliott explained. “There’s not a big barrier to membership as there had been in past years.”

The credit union still has a branch at Davis-Monthan, along with 12 others in Tucson and five in the Phoenix area, Casa Grande, and Tombstone.

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teller machines, Vantage West continues to expand its physical footprint. Its newest location opened in 2024 in the Golder Ranch Plaza on Oracle Road, and the next new branch will open soon at West Naranja Drive and North La Cañada Drive.

Vantage West is on a mission to make members feel at home at its branches by hosting events such as Member Appreciation Week and a celebration of its 70th anniversary. The credit union also allows nonprofits to use many of its branches for meeting space.

“

The world is changing so quickly, we have to keep up and give people what they’re looking for.

”

– Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott

President & CEO Vantage West Credit Union

Employees at each branch also get to choose a community nonprofit to support and hold donation drives to support it.

Esperanza, a nonprofit that helps homeless veterans, has benefited from Vantage West’s philanthropy. Last year it received an unexpected $5,000 donation from Vantage West and ultimately moved its banking operations to the credit union.

“We didn’t realize what we were missing until we discovered what genuine community banking looks like,” said Esperanza CEO Suzanne Bond. “Where our previous banking relationship was transactional, Vantage West has proven to be transformational.”

“Since officially making the switch, I receive personal emails from bank employees regularly – not automated mes-

sages, but genuine check-ins to ensure our needs are being met and our mission is being supported,” Bond said.

Benefits and More The credit union supports its employees with a robust benefits package that includes generous parental leave, paid time off, and free education through the University of Arizona Global Campus, which offers classes online.

“We always had an education benefit, but this program with the University of Arizona makes it so easy for people with full-time jobs to further their education – it’s very flexible,” Sagehorn-Elliott said. “When the program launched, we went from about 10 or 12 employees taking advantage of our education benefit to 36.”

Vantage West also offers wellness incentives and in-person sessions with investment and retirement advisors.

Those kinds of benefits, and its authentic community culture, keep employees like Kelly Mobley happy and engaged.

Mobley started as a teller 22 years ago, progressed through the branches into management, and is now VP of digital and payments.

“Each individual’s journey is unique, and what truly sets Vantage West apart is our commitment to not only professional development but also educational opportunities. This investment significantly impacts our growth,” she said.

“Ultimately, our focus is on helping people. When we thrive as an organization, we can reinvest in our communities, fostering their growth and success.”

Vantage West believes that its people are the key to the organization’s success, and nowhere is this more evident than in a platform called Idea Exchange.

Any employee, brand new or tenured, can point out opportunities to improve products, processes or guidelines all for the benefit of the credit union’s members. A cross-functional team evaluates every suggestion and for each one that is adopted, the employee receives time off with pay or a bonus.

“I am a firm believer that our team members who are closest to the work are the ones with the best grasp of how to eliminate unneeded steps, improve products, and enhance our members’ experience with the credit union,” said Sagehorn-Elliott.

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PHOTO: CARLOS CHAVEZ PHOTOGRAPHY

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Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott President & CEO Vantage West Credit Union

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‘Value of Creating Community’ Vantage West CEO Brings Vision to Tucson

By Tiffany Kjos Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott made the bold decision to move to Tucson without ever setting foot in the city. She was captivated by its unique charm from the moment she arrived.

With more than two decades of experience in the financial services industry, Sagehorn-Elliott was recruited to take on the role of president and CEO at Vantage West Credit Union, coming from her position at a Massachusetts credit union during the peak of the COVID pandemic.

She interviewed with the Vantage West board via Zoom, and never had the chance to visit Tucson. But she saw a growing organization in a place that was appealing to her.

“When we did come out, my whole family and I just fell in love with Tucson – with the mountain views that surround the city, which is so full of culture and art and great restaurants,” Sagehorn-Elliott said. “And it’s just amazing how warm people are. We are really lucky.”

October marks five years for Sagehorn-Elliott at the credit union, and she is eager to lead the 70-year-old institution into the future with innovawww.BizTucson.com

tive tools that make banking easier and more convenient for members.

“We, of course, know that the technology and offering all those convenience features for our members, is incredibly important to them,” she said.

“They’ve told us that in their actions and their comments. So that’s going to continue to be a focus. But we really think the people side of our business is the most important element of what we do.”

Sagehorn-Elliott, from the tiny town of Polk, Neb., population 400, infuses her work with her personal philosophy of being helpful and kind, which she attributes to the lessons learned from living in such a close-knit community.

“It was an amazing way to grow up,” Sagehorn-Elliott said. “There was a really strong sense of community, so I think that taught me a lot about the value of creating community. I think that’s why I was so drawn to credit unions.”

Sagehorn-Elliott’s career in the credit union sector began at a call center while she was attending Nebraska Wescontinued on page 106 >>> Summer 2025 > > > BizTucson 105

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“

We really think the people side of our business is the most important element of what we do.

– Sandra Sagehorn-Elliott, President & CEO, Vantage West Credit Union

continued from page 105 leyan University. Most recently, she was an executive for five years at Workers Credit Union in Massachusetts. Before that, she worked for 14 years at Bellco Credit Union in Colorado.

What drives her, she said, is the ability to change people’s lives – she has “umpteen” stories of how the credit union has helped people through good times and bad. One member, who co-signed for an auto title loan with an annual interest rate of a whopping 119% and $500 monthly payments, wept when he found out the credit union had approved his loan application and dropped his payment to $139 a month. Another member, who worked for a nonprofit while

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supporting her daughter on her own, is now a proud homeowner.

Sagehorn-Elliott is committed to uplifting credit union members, particularly when they are facing hardships.

“It’s humbling that people trust us so much,” she said. “We train our representatives to be super sensitive to the fact that some people have shame connected to their financial missteps. And what we try to tell them is everybody has made a bad financial choice or two in their life. We’re not here to judge – we’re here to help.”

Named among the Most Influential Women in Arizona by AZ Business Magazine in 2021, Sagehorn-Elliott is deeply involved in the community. The

”

credit union is a member of The Chamber of Southern Arizona along with the Marana, Oro Valley, Southern Arizona Hispanic, Vail and Tombstone chambers of commerce.

Sagehorn-Elliott also is a member of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council.

“We are big believers in the value of local organizations, and I’ve been really impressed in Tucson, and Phoenix, too, at the number of organizations that exist (to help the community),” she said.

“We really believe that you dance with the one that brought you to the party.

Our members have been really good to us, so it’s important for us to give back and to be involved.”

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“

We have reimagined the teller position.

PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS

”

– Jimena Valdés-Walls Senior VP, Member Experience Vantage West Credit Union

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Service Takes a New, Personal Approach Interactive Teller Machines Connect Members

By Tiffany Kjos Vantage West Credit Union is flipping the script on banking tech with interactive teller machines that offer more personal interaction with bankers, not less, and allow employees to spend more time focusing on what really matters – meeting members’ needs.

The ITMs enable users to conduct transactions via a video connection with a live banker “like an ATM 2.0,” said Jimena Valdés-Walls, Vantage West’s senior VP of member experience. “Think about the ATM today – you can make deposits, withdrawals, payments, transfers. You can do all that at an ITM, but now you have the option to talk to a live banker if you have additional questions or have a more complex transaction and you need assistance.”

Vantage West deployed ITMs in Phoenix in 2023, and they are now in lobbies, and outside or at drive-thrus at 17 of its 18 branches, including Southern Arizona.

“One of the biggest differences that I’m excited about is we’re able to offer extended hours for our members,” Valdés-Walls said. “Usually, our hours are 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, 9 to 1 on Saturday. But with the ITMs, we now offer assistance with a live banker an hour before we open and an hour after we close.”

The credit union introduced the machines in response to a decline in teller transactions as members increasingly opted for online and other services.

“Our members were starting to adopt our digital services and ATM services, so we were starting to see a downturn www.BizTucson.com

in transactions (in branches) and we thought, let’s be proactive and reimagine the teller role and see how we can keep these team members engaged so we have less turnover in our branches and have more satisfied members overall,” Valdés-Walls said.

Initially, members worried that the ITMs would eliminate jobs. But the technology still employs local bankers, and the credit union trained its team members as “ITM ambassadors” to help members navigate the technology.

“We have reimagined the teller position so they’re able to do what they actually love doing, which is to help members achieve their short-term and long-term financial goals,” Valdés-Walls said.

Even credit union members who were initially hesitant to try the new technology have now welcomed it, often with assistance from the ITM ambassadors.

“Jimena and her team understand that the one-on-one, direct approach when members walk into the branch is the best way to explain the new features and to gain adoption, as well as to highlight that the virtual bankers are all local,” said Keysha Webb, the credit union’s senior VP of market development.

At their core, the ITMs have allowed the credit union to strengthen its commitment to a consultative banking approach rather than a purely transactional one, Valdés-Walls said.

“Before, when you walked into a branch and made your withdrawal or deposit or transfer, we didn’t have the

opportunity to talk to you about your financial goals because we had a long line of members waiting behind you who also needed help,” she said.

“We wanted to shift that approach to being more consultative, where you can self-serve for your transactions by using the ITMs, and then you can sit down with a banker who has the time and the ability to really help you achieve your goals. That’s really where we feel that we can offer more benefit to our members rather than just processing transactions all day long.”

And benefiting members and the community is at the heart of everything the credit union does. That includes reenvisioning branches as community centers that Vantage West uses for celebrations and nonprofits use for meetings, while creating welcoming spaces for members.

“I think of it as when you walk into one of our branches you are greeted by a friendly face, someone who knows you by name, an individual who makes you feel comfortable and will provide solutions for you that make sense,” Webb said. “We never push products. We offer tailored solutions.

“That, to me, is much more community-focused – it’s not about making the most profit and distributing it to shareholders. It’s about making our membership stronger, because if they’re more financially stable, that makes a community stronger overall.”

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Building Relationships Community Work Gets Top Priority

By Jay Gonzales In the broadest terms, “community” means the people around you, generally within a certain geographic location.

Vantage West Credit Union sees community as much more.

As a member-owned and locally headquartered credit union, Vantage West views its role as a community partner as an integral part of its business strategy.

It’s why, for the first time in its 70-year history, Vantage West created an executive-level position for its community efforts.

In 2018, Vantage West’s longtime impact as a community partner earned the credit union a special designation from the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution – or CDFI – which opened the door to government resources that would allow it to provide more loans to its membership base, particularly in low-income communities.

“Becoming a CDFI introduced a renewed outlook on growth opportunities and provided a valuable framework for aligning our efforts with the evolving needs of the community,” said Jon Bruflat, who was named VP of community impact for Vantage West in 2023. “We started looking at all of what we had been doing and said we should narrow our focus to what truly drives economic growth in our community.

“The culmination of those two factors highlighted that we should probably have someone dedicated to this.

Not only did we have resources that we didn’t have before, we had a new sense of strategy and purpose,” he said. “At the same time, organizations we wanted 110 BizTucson < < < Summer 2025

to partner with were reaching out to us, and we had to find a way to bring all of that together and make it work.”

With Bruflat as VP and a narrowed focus on its community work, Vantage West began taking a look at specifically where and how it was placing its resources in the community, said Rosanna Ramirez, who was named PR and market development manager in 2024.

“We were already doing the work,” Ramirez said of the donations, sponsorships and volunteerism Vantage West was putting into the community. “We just wanted to refine it, and it was looking at how we could be more intentional with the resources that we were going to be serving our community with.”

“For us, it really is building relationships and connections between the people in our community, with nonprofit organizations and local businesses, along with other credit unions in the area.”

One of those ways Vantage West is building relationships is to pay its employees 16 hours annually to do work in the community. Ramirez said it can be used for anything from an employee reading to a child’s class to doing work for a local charity. In 2024, it led to over 4,200 hours of service.

“When we say community, we say we’re serving our neighbors,” Ramirez said. “We’re serving people who we know, our peers and even our own team members within Vantage West.”

Jaime Hinojos leads a program that combines community impact with good business by promoting financial wellness for credit union members and the community at large. The program started in January 2024.

Hinojos said the organization’s leadership saw a need to provide members with financial coaching from a live person at a credit union branch instead of visiting a big-bank website and hoping for the best.

“We decided to do something different where you can meet with someone one-on-one at a branch or remotely by appointment,” Hinojos said. “Then, once you meet with that person one-onone, we’ll create that road map for you to be able to achieve whatever financial goal that might be.”

With branches in Tucson and surrounding communities including Marana, Vail, Oro Valley, Tombstone, Casa Grande, Davis-Monthan, as well as three branches in the Phoenix area, Vantage West is taking its financial wellness services to members where they’re needed.

“Our coaches are trained to know the resources in their own communities so they can refer our members to those resources,” Hinojos said. “That’s another way we differentiate our approach.”

In the end, Bruflat said, it’s about caring. He calls the Vantage West strategy a “layered approach.”

“We are in the community and we care about the community,” he said.

“That’s a genuine feeling that all of our staff have. We really do care.”

“We want to be more than just a donation or sponsorship. We want to be a community partner. A lot of times that means just starting a conversation and seeing where it takes us. We want to meet our communities where they are, and we want to be there for a long-term partnership.”

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Jon Bruflat

VP, Community Impact Vantage West Credit Union

Jaime Hinojos

Program Manager, Financial Wellness Vantage West Credit Union

PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS

From left –

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David Denos

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PHOTO: BRENT G. MATHIS

VP, Commercial Sales Vantage West Credit Union

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Rapport & Trust

A New Focus on the Commercial Customer

By Jay Gonzales With nearly three decades as a businessman in Tucson, Edmund Marquez has been around the proverbial block a time or two with various banks, credit unions and other financial institutions.

He’s owned an insurance agency since he was 22. He owned an auto dealership, operated some gas stations, and dabbled in automobile warranties, repairs and financing.

More recently, as a real estate investor, he’s experiencing the value of working with a credit union – specifically Vantage West Credit Union – in an area that hasn’t been a common offering by those financial institutions – a commercial real estate loan.

“I have banks that I do business with, and when you look at what’s happening in the economy, with all the different regulations, you have to survey the environment,” Marquez said. “Traditionally, an individual doesn’t think about credit unions when it comes to commercial lending.

“But in the last 10 years or so, credit unions have started to really get into the commercial game, and they’ve been smart about it. They stick to the breadand-butter deals of commercial real estate. They’ve ended up being the most competitive.”

Credit unions are generally known for offering more personalized, often locally focused service to businesses, whereas large banks tend to cater to bigger commercial clients, particularly for high-value needs like commercial real estate financing.

That’s changing, said David Denos, VP of commercial sales for Vantage West. Denos was referred to Marquez for his insurance needs when he moved to Tucson. It was from that relationship that Marquez went to Vantage West for a loan on a commercial property he’s acquiring. www.BizTucson.com

Denos said the company has fully staffed, specialized teams supporting both commercial lending and a comprehensive suite of business banking services, including tools to handle payments, deposits and expenses, equipment financing, and lines of credit.

What sets a local credit union apart is the kind of relationships it can build with its members − something big banks often struggle with unless you’re one of their high-value clients, said Mark Papoccia, Vantage West’s chief commercial and impact officer.

“As with any meaningful relationship, trust and respect must be earned over time,” Papoccia said. “It rarely happens in the first meeting − it often takes multiple touchpoints to build genuine rapport and lasting connections.”

“

In the last 10 years or so, credit unions have started to really get into the commercial game, and they’ve been smart about it.

”

– Edmund Marquez, Agency Principal,

Edmund Marquez Allstate Agencies

Denos added: “We really encourage our team to go on-site and meet our business members, to see their operations first-hand, build stronger relationships, and gain a deeper understanding of how their businesses work.

“If we all understand where we’re trying to go and exactly what we’re trying to do, it helps if there’s no miscommunication − or what I call the 11th-hour fire that potentially pops up every now and then and ends up creating confusion in a transaction. We really try hard to avoid those.”

As it does with its financial wellness program for individual members, Vantage West wants to be a resource for its commercial customers to help them manage their businesses and succeed.

“We’re committed to offering thoughtful advice and guidance at every stage,” Papoccia said. “Just like individuals, businesses go through life cycles − whether it’s securing startup capital, funding for expansion, or implementing advanced cash management solutions as their operations evolve.

“No matter the size − whether you’re a large enterprise or a first-time entrepreneur − we’re here to support that journey with the right tools and insights at each step.”

A necessary aspect of building those relationships and that trust with its members, Denos said, is hiring the right people to do that. He said it’s what separates credit unions − at least Vantage West Credit Union – from banks and competitors.

“When it comes to financial institutions, our products or offerings are largely similar,” Denos said. “Our competitive advantage is the people we hire.

We go to great lengths to make sure we are hiring top talent that truly cares about helping businesses.”

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BizPEOPLE

Nina Grigsby

Paragon Space Development Corporation announced Nina Grigsby as its new CFO. Grigsby has over 20 years of financial leadership experience, in a robust career that includes serving as CFO of The District Communications Group in Washington D.C., director of business operations at NewWave Telecom & Technologies, Inc., and CFO of Mitigation Technologies in Maryland.

Jeremy Duda Ventana Canyon Club and Lodge appointed Jeremy Duda as its new CEO and GM. He joined the club from The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, where he served as GM for the past three years.

With more than two decades of leadership in private club management, Duda brings a strong track record of operational excellence, strategic growth and commitment to the member experience.

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Nancy Kluge President & CEO Reid Park Zoo

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BizKIDS

Ambition Reid Park Zoo Continues to Flourish After 60 Years

PHOTOS COURTESY REID PARK ZOO

PHOTO BY BRENT G. MATHIS

By Valerie Vinyard

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Erik and Isabella Fredrickson were part of a steady stream of Reid Park Zoo visitors one April weekend.

The couple’s 2-year-old boy, Timothy, was safely ensconced in a stroller, batting his hands with anticipation.

It was the family’s first time at the zoo, and they wondered aloud about the extensive construction taking place near the entrance. After being told it was preparation for the zoo’s new Pathway to Asia exhibit, which will expand the zoo to 28.5 acres, the family was happy for the community.

“I wish it was already ready, but I’ve heard great things about this zoo,” said Isabella Fredrickson, a 32-year-old landscape architect from Chicago who was visiting family in Tucson. “I’ve always liked going to zoos, and this will be our first time here.”

Reid Park Zoo just celebrated its 60th anniversary. Much has changed since Gene C. Reid received 18 donated prairie dogs from Texas in 1965. Reid had been the head of the Tucson Parks and Recreation Department, and he and his team established a “Prairie Dog Town” where the zoo’s current World of Play is located.

After a year, the Randolph Park Children’s Zoo had accumulated a small collection of birds, farm animals, two squirrel monkeys and a 2-year-old elephant named Sabu.

The zoo continued to welcome a variety of species, and by 1978, the newly named Reid Park Zoo had grown to 15 acres.

Last year, the zoo welcomed 622,500 visitors, its highest attendance to date. The zoo, which is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, also has been awarded Green Certification by Local First Arizona.

All this is done by a hardworking team of roughly 140 employees.

Of those, 80 are year-round workers. The zoo is open daily except for Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Nancy Kluge, the zoo’s president and CEO, was quick to praise the more than 550 volunteers who helped out last year. She especially is proud of the growth of the zoo’s teen program, Zoo Crew, which has about 80 members.

“They are amazing,” said Kluge, adding that the more than 100 docents and other volunteers add to the experience, making it “extra special.

They provide an added dimension.” continued on page 120 >>> Summer 2025 > > > BizTucson 119

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continued from page 119

Today, more than 400 animals from around the world call Reid Park Zoo home. Species include a 52-year-old Southern white rhino—the oldest in North America—24 flamingos, and the fan-favorite six elephants and four giraffes.

Adam Ramsey has been the director of animal care for Reid Park Zoo for 12 years. He calls the zoo “an oasis in the desert.”

“The animals always come first here,” said Ramsey, who grew up in Tucson.

“If the animals need it, we’re going to provide it for them.”

With Tucson’s extreme climate, introducing new species isn’t always easy.

When the zoo decides to acquire new animals, the staff asks itself a series of about 40 questions, including what the conservation message is.

“They must be a good fit for us, and we must be a good fit for them,” Ramsey said.

When the new Pathways to Asia exhibit opens in Fall 2026, it will feature

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a number of species, including red pandas, Komodo dragons, gibbons, two small-clawed otters, and Egyptian fruit bats. A new breeding and conservation center will be established for tigers.

Deborah Carr, the zoo’s director of marketing and communications, said Pathways to Asia will be “transformative for the zoo.”

“

You can learn about the animals and get close to the animals.

It’s a very easy zoo to visit.

– Nancy Kluge President & CEO Reid Park Zoo

”

“You can learn about the animals and get close to the animals,” added Kluge, who estimated the average visitor can see everything in about two hours. “It’s a very easy zoo to visit.”

Two full-time veterinarians and 30 animal keepers are among the main caretakers of the animals. Ramsey makes sure all of the animals enjoy regular enrichment training to combat boredom. Enrichment includes making food- and scent-related changes to the animals’ environments.

Kluge loves the impact that a visit to the zoo provides.

“We can touch the hearts of the people that visit,” she said. “They care about the animals. They love them.”

The zoo will feature Summer Safari Nights Fridays and Saturdays through Aug. 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. Summer hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Admission is $11.25 for ages 15 to 61; $9.25 for seniors 62 years old and older; $7 for ages 2 to 14; and free for kids younger than 2.

For more information, reidparkzoo.org.

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BizCONSTRUCTION

New Marana Aquatic & Recreation Center Vibrant, $64 Million Project Celebrates Grand Opening

By Tom Leyde In Marana, it’s simply known as MARC. The Marana Aquatic & Recreation Center opened with a May 3 ribboncutting ceremony. The $64 million project was completed in 20 months, on time and on budget. It’s the latest town project, with more to come, including more retail stores and a downtown built on more than 40 acres, town officials said at the ceremony.

MARC was funded by a temporary half-cent sales tax approved in 2021. The project, at 13455 N. Marana Main St. between Marana Health Center and Northwest Fire District, began in Fall 2023.

The half-cent sales tax paid for the 60,000-square-foot recreation center and a 48,000-square-foot aquatic center with the following amenities:

• • • • • •

One large community room and two multi-purpose rooms

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A child watch room for ages 2-7, allowing parents to use the facilities while their children are being care for.

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A 25-yard competition/lap pool with 12 lanes and diving boards.

A weight room Two group fitness rooms An indoor walking track

A teen room for ages 13 to 18 or senior year in high school.

The room is equipped with computers and a wall of TV screens.

A recreation pool consisting of a resistance channel, splash pad, zero-depth entry, cabanas, event lawn, and two 20-foot water slides.

PHOTOS BY J.D. FITZGERALD

A 3-court gymnasium

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BizCONSTRUCTION A project like this doesn’t get accomplished without strong leadership and we have that here.

“

– Wayne Barnett, Deputy Director, Marana Parks and Recreation Department

continued from page 122 More than 1,000 memberships had been completed before the grand opening, said Wayne Barnett, deputy director of Marana Parks and Recreation Department.

“A project like this doesn’t get accomplished without strong leadership and we have that here,” Barnett said. “We’re looking forward to this place becoming a vital part of this community.”

CHASSE Building Team constructed MARC from designs created by Architekton, Abacus served as project management. About 150 Town of Marana employees also contributed to the project.

The impetus for MARC came after the parks and recreation department conducted a survey of more than 5,000 residents, about 82% of whom identi-

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fied a recreation center and aquatic center as major needs for the community, said Jim Conroy, director of Marana Parks & Recreation.

The Marana Town Council approved the parks and recreation master plan in 2021, which included MARC. MARC also is a job creator, Conroy noted. At the town’s old pool, there were 15 lifeguards. The new pools will have 60 lifeguards in addition to staff for the recreation center.

“This (project) is about a kid walking out of this facility feeling good about himself or herself,” Conroy said.

Peter Nimmer, Abacus senior project manager, said the firm worked with the town council for more than three years on the project, including in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Costs were increasing and supplies were difficult to acquire, he said.

”

Because the project was built on a flood plain, the building had to be raised by two feet. That was just one of many challenges, Nimmer said, but all were successfully rectified.

“It’s been fun,” Nimmer said. “We’ve had a great time.”

Architekton Project Manager Michael Rosso said, “This is a recreation center tailored by residents of Marana for the community of Marana. This has been a project we have loved.”

Town Mayor Jon Post told the crowd at the ceremony: “Expect projects like this consistently from your council. This building is amazing. I know when you see it, you’re going to love it.”

Day passes, monthly, six-month and annual memberships for MARC are available, as well as options for non-residents and families.

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BizAWARDS 1

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Weiss Board

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1. 2025 Community Visionary Award: Lety Ortiz, founder and Host, Nuestra Hora con Lety 2. Business Ethics Category I: Goalsetters Career & Workforce Development; Anissa Brown, owner Goal Setter 3. Business Ethics Category II: Jade Star Acupuncture & Wellness; Gail Lopez, Clinical Director 4. Business Ethics Category III: Kaiser Garage Doors & Gates; Lorannda Angot, Vice President of Human Resources and Administration & L ogan Hardy – Tucson General Manager 5. Non-profit Ethics Below $1.5 in Revenue Category: Southern Arizona Book Heroes; Irene Coppola, President & CEO BBB Serving Southern Arizona; Jennifer Turner-Jones, Founder So. AZ Book Heroes & Mark Weiss Board of Directors - President 6. Non-profit Ethics Above $1.5 in Revenue Category: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Arizona; Irene Coppola, President & CEO BBB Serving Southern Arizona & Scott Matlick – President & CEO, RMHC Southern Arizona 7. Spark Category: Jacqueline Gallegos – Owner and CEO, SHOTZ DE SALUD

2025 Better Business Bureau

Torch Awards

Better Business Bureau Serving Southern Arizona announced the winners of its 2025 Torch Awards for Ethics and Spark Award for millennial entrepreneurs at a celebratory event presented by South32 on May 2 at Casino Del Sol. In a first, a portion of this year’s ticket proceeds was given directly to the nonprofit finalists and winners—an intentional step toward strengthening those 126 BizTucson < < < Summer 2025

who uplift and serve our region every day.

“Integrity and trust are the foundation of every thriving community,” said Irene Coppola, president and CEO of BBB Serving Southern Arizona. “This year’s finalists and winners exemplify what it means to lead with ethics and purpose. And by giving back to the nonprofit recipients, we’re deepening our commitment to creating lasting, positive

impact in our community—where trust, integrity, and support go beyond the awards and into everyday lives.”

Since 2004, the Torch Awards have honored businesses and nonprofits of all sizes that go above and beyond in embodying Character, Culture, Customers and Community. Winners were selected by a panel of independent judges made up of respected business and community leaders.

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PHOTOS: CHRISTOPHER GREY FINE ARTS

BizAWARDS

Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce 2025 Awards THE LIST OF THE 2025 WINNERS: 1.

Outstanding Small Business: Schulz Financial Group

4.

Outstanding Nonprofit: Life Beyond the Books

2.

Outstanding Midsize Business: Home Care Assistance

5.

Outstanding Community Leader: Tony Penn United Way

3.

Outstanding Large Business: KE&G Construction

6.

Outstanding Legacy Award: Roche Tissue Diagnostics

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BizRANKINGS

TUCSON On The Radar How the Region is Getting Noticed

Tucson Named “Ultimate Star City”

National Geographic National Geographic has dubbed Tucson the “Ultimate Star City,” praising it as one of the best places in the world to see the night sky. The magazine references a number of other astronomical amenities in Tucson, including the world’s largest public telescope on Mt. Lemmon and the manufacturing facility for large mirrors for telescopes, housed under the east bleachers of Arizona Stadium.

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One of the 25 Best Places to Travel in 2025

BBC Travel In its inaugural guide to the best cities to travel this year, Tucson was listed at No. 7 for its distinction as the first U.S. city to be named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy; the iconic Mission San Xavier del Bac, the numerous scenic hiking trails and Tucson’s commitment to sustainability. BBC Travel also gave the city a nod for its momentous 250th birthday this year.

Tucson Recognized as One of Best Places to Retire in 2025

Forbes With a median home price of $329,000, Tucson was noted as one of the best places to retire in 2025 by Forbes, which also listed the cost of living here as 3% below the national average. Tucson was also commended for its vibrant desert surroundings, moderate vulnerability to natural hazards and good tax climate.

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6 BizTucson < < < Spring 2011

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6 BizTucson < < < Spring 2011

www.BizTucson.com