University Leadership

Troy D’Ambrosio is Vice President of Innovation, executive director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, assistant dean at the David Eccles School of Business and holds the Troy D’Ambrosio Presidential Chair in Entrepreneurship at the U. The Lassonde Institute assists students and faculty from idea to company launch through programs, competitions, and academic program at DESB. The Lassonde Institute has been consistently ranked as one of the best 10 programs for entrepreneurship in the nation and it has helped the University of Utah become a leader in technology commercialization.

D’Ambrosio is co-founder, officer, and director of multiple startup companies that have attracted over $700 million in capital. Those companies include Transworld Telecommunications, which was sold to Sprint in 1998; Convergence Communications, which was sold to Lockheed Martin in 2005; and EPM Mining Ventures, which is listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange. He has served as the VP of investor relations and corporate communication for American Stores Company, a NYSE listed company, the director of mutual fund operations for Wasatch Advisors and deputy chief of staff to the Mayor of Salt Lake City. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1982 and was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2000, a v100 Technology Leader in 2008, Best in State Educational Administrator in 2009 and received the 2014 Governor’s Medal for Excellence in Science and Technology. LinkedIn

Natalie Gochnour serves as senior advisor to President Taylor Randall and is director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. She also serves as the chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber. Natalie’s experience includes a diverse mix of public service and business experience.

From 2006 to 2013 she guided the public policy work of the Salt Lake Chamber, Utah’s largest business association. During her state service, she advised Utah governors Bangerter, Leavitt, and Walker, and served as the media spokesperson for the governor’s office during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. She also served as a political appointee in the George W. Bush administration, serving as an associate administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a deputy to the secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2022, Natalie was the recipient of the internationally-acclaimed Athena award, a recognition given to a professional female leader who has demonstrated significant achievement in business and community service. She serves as a Utah Department of Transportation Commissioner and on the boards of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, Envision Utah, World Trade Center Utah, and Primary Children’s Hospital. She also is a regional director for Altabank, Utah’s largest community bank, and a trustee of the O.C. Tanner Company.

Natalie has both an undergraduate and master’s degree in economics from the University of Utah.

In June 2021, Mark Harlan began his fourth year as director of athletics at the University of Utah. A veteran administrator with a deep history in the Pac-12 Conference, Harlan brought more than 20 years of intercollegiate athletics experience at five universities to Salt Lake City, including four years as director of athletics at the University of South Florida.

In his first three years at Utah, Harlan has overseen significant success in competition, in the classroom, in the community, and in fundraising, with marked improvements to the student-athlete experience. The skiing program has won two national championships (2019, 2021) and was the leader through two days of the 2020 NCAA Championships when the meet was canceled; the football program won back-to-back Pac-12 South championships in 2018 and ’19, and played in the Holiday Bowl and Alamo Bowl; gymnastics finished third at the 2021 NCAA Championships, advanced to the 2019 NCAA semifinals and claimed both the 2021 Pac-12 Championship and the 2020 regular season Pac-12 title; and the volleyball program has competed in three consecutive NCAA tournaments with a Sweet 16 appearance in 2019.

In addition, the men’s tennis, women’s cross-country and men’s golf programs have advanced to NCAA Championships competition as teams, and the Utes achieved their highest final fall ranking in the 2019 Learfield/IMG Director’s Cup, ranking 18th, third among Pac-12 schools. That 2019 fall sports season saw all four of Utah’s fall sports programs reach postseason play.

Academic achievement has risen to new heights under Harlan’s leadership, with Utah’s student-athletes posting the top three semester GPAs, including a program-record 3.57 in Spring 2020. In each of his three years at Utah, the Utes’ student-athletes have broken the previous record for full-year GPA, including a GPA of 3.407 in 2020-21. That topped the previous record of 3.387 set in 2019-20, which had eclipsed the previous best of 3.25 in 2018-19, Harlan’s first year at the U.

In addition, Utah’s 95-percent graduation rate, according to the NCAA’s November 2018 Graduation Success Rate report, was the highest in school history, and has been followed by back-to-back 94-percent rates in the 2019 and 2020 reports.

Harlan has spearheaded the development of the Ken Garff Red Zone at Rice-Eccles Stadium, which opened in 2021 and expands the stadium’s capacity to 51,444, while adding new team locker room facilities, club spaces and premium seating. Groundbreaking took place in November 2019, and construction on the $80 million expansion began in early 2020 on the project that will also fully enclose the stadium’s south end zone area. Harlan and University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins unveiled plans for the project in November 2018, and in April 2019 announced the Ken Garff family’s $17.5 donation, the largest gift in Utah Athletics history.

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Jeff Herring has served as the Chief Human Resource Officer at the University of Utah since 2013. Prior to the U, Jeff served on the Governor’s Cabinet as the Executive Director of the Utah Department of Human Resource Management for 12 years. In HR, Jeff has consistently focused on developing the organizations strategic efforts using principles of increasing customer service, efficiency and effectiveness, and leadership capacity.

Prior to his public service, Jeff worked as an attorney focusing in the area of labor and employment law.

Jeff earned his BA in History from the University of Utah. He then went on to earn his MBA with an emphasis on HR and completed his law degree from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California.

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Teresa Kehl is an accomplished administrative leader with nearly two decades of experience in executive support, strategic coordination, and operational management across higher education, professional sports, and entrepreneurship. She currently serves as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Special Assistant to the First Lady at the University of Utah, where she plays a pivotal role in supporting the President’s Office, ensuring seamless execution of institutional initiatives, and fostering engagement with key stakeholders. </ br> Since joining the University of Utah in 2015, Teresa has held multiple leadership roles, including Special Assistant to the President and First Lady and Executive Assistant to the President, where she has been instrumental in managing executive operations, scheduling, and high-level university affairs. Prior to her tenure in the President’s Office, she served as Executive Assistant to Taylor Randall in his role as Dean of the David Eccles School of Business, where she provided strategic administrative support to one of the nation’s top business schools. LinkedIn

Jeff Labrum, CPA, is the Chief Operations Officer for the University of Utah, a role he assumed on November 1, 2023. As COO and member of the executive team, he works closely with the president, CFO, and two senior vice presidents to oversee the execution of achieving the overall goals and vision for the university.

Jeff directly oversees Auxiliary Services, Office of Facilities and Project Design and Construction, Campus planning, and the Real Estate Administration Office. He also serves as the president’s liaison for Athletics and the University of Utah Growth Capital Partners Foundation.

Jeff brings more than 25 years of private sector industry experience as a finance and operations executive. He began his career at the accounting firm KPMG and spent years at Magnesium Corporation in a variety of roles and responsibilities including driving spin off’s of business units and the recapitalization of the business. Most recently, he founded his second startup company, Lingotek, Inc., a SaaS enterprise translation software platform and sold the company in January 2021 subsequently joining the acquirer Straker Group (ASX:STG) as its U.S. general manager. He joined the University of Utah in 2023 as a special advisor to the president before assuming his current role.

Jeff is a certified public accountant and a two-time University of Utah graduate, with a BA in accounting and an MBA.

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Lori McDonald, PhD, is the Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Utah.

Credited with the capacity to build vibrant partnerships with major offices and academic units across campus, McDonald provides innovative leadership to a comprehensive Student Affairs Division that includes Housing & Residential Education, Student Development & Inclusion, Student Health & Wellness and the Office of the Dean of Students. As Dean, she served as the Student Affairs Administrator for Campus Emergency Management and as the Senior Deputy Title IX coordinator and now sits on the President's Cabinet and the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs' Academic Leadership Team.

McDonald earned her doctorate from the University of Utah’s Department of Educational Leadership & Policy. She has a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology, also from the U. Her tenure as Vice President comprises over twenty-five years of dedicated service within the University of Utah's Division of Student Affairs.

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Chris Nelson is the chief university relations officer and secretary to the university. Prior to assuming this role in August 2022, Nelson served as interim chief marketing and communication officer and the university’s communications director and chief spokesperson. Over the course of his three-decade career at the university, Nelson has held senior roles in strategic communications, marketing and fundraising, including: assistant vice president for public affairs at University of Utah Health and executive director of the University of Utah Hospital Foundation. He holds a master’s degree in public administration, bachelor’s degrees in mass communication and political science, and a graduate certificate in integrated marketing communications—all from the University of Utah.

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Jason Perry is the Vice President for Government Relations and the Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah.  Jason brings more than 25 years of experience working in the public sector, where he has worked extensively with policy makers at the local, state, and federal level.

Jason is a graduate of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at The University of Utah and began his career working for Attorney General Jan Graham. A passionate advocate for protecting children, Jason helped launch the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce and received the FBI Director’s Award for distinguished service to the law enforcement community. He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney.

Following his service in the Attorney General’s office, Jason became an Administrative Judge in Utah’s Department of Commerce where he quickly rose to the level of deputy director. While serving in this capacity, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. appointed Jason to serve as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. During his time leading GOED, he was instrumental in the recruitment and expansion of companies that bolstered Utah’s economy and helped the state receive numerous national accolades including one of the Most Business Friendly States, Most Dynamic Economy, and Best Managed State.  Most recently, Jason served as the Chief of Staff for Governor Gary Herbert.  Jason became Vice President for Government Relations at the University of Utah in 2011 and Director of the Hinckley Institute in 2016.

Jason makes his home in Salt Lake City with his wife Mary Catherine and their four children.

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Dr. Erin Rothwell is the Vice President for Research (VPR) and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah. Since joining the VPR Office in 2018, Dr. Rothwell currently oversees 18 research administrative units that support research compliance, regulation policies, and safety procedures across campus. In addition, Dr. Rothwell serves as the President of the University of Utah Research Foundation that cultivates research innovation and technology transfer for university real estate prospects and industry partnerships.

Dr. Rothwell’s research is currently funded through the National Institutes of Health and is focused on ethical, social, and legal implications of genetic and technological advancements on individuals and families specifically within newborn screening, prenatal testing, and bio banking.

As Chief Safety Officer of the University of Utah, Keith Squires is responsible for the oversight and coordination of all campus safety initiatives, as well as supervising the university's public safety divisions.

He served in Governor Gary Herbert’s cabinet as the Utah Commissioner of Public Safety, retiring in September 2018 after 31 years of service as a law enforcement officer. He served as the homeland security advisor for Governors Huntsman and Herbert. Keith has served the state in many other capacities, including as director of the State Bureau of Investigation, assistant superintendent of the Utah Highway Patrol, and director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Keith served as a state and local law enforcement advisor to U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

He holds a master’s degree in homeland defense and security from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a bachelor’s degree in administration of criminal justice. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and FBI National Executive Institute.

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Educational Experience:

1. University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, J.D., 1987 Order of the Coif (Top 2%) Utah Law Review, Articles Editor

Professional Experience:

1. Van Cott, Bagley, Cornwall & McCarthy, Shareholder
2. Utah Supreme Court, Clerkship with the Honorable Michael D. Zimmerman

Professional Associations and Community Activities:

1. National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA)
2. Past President Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake Board of Trustees
3. Past President University of Utah Honors College National Advisory Board
4. Utah State Bar, Ethics and Discipline Committee Member

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New chief financial officer named

Heidi Woodbury has led Advancement at the University of Utah as the vice president for University Advancement since February 2019.  During her tenure, she has spearheaded several fundraising campaigns and led the university to exceed its $2 billion Imagine New Heights campaign goal. Since her appointment as vice president, University Advancement has developed campus-wide partnerships with a renewed focus on donor-centric fundraising and a One U approach to customer service and teamwork.

Prior to Heidi’s current position, she served in various leadership roles in the David Eccles School of Business from 1996 – 2019, most recently as assistant dean for external relations. Under her direction, financial support from private, foundation, and industry donors significantly increased; new academic centers and facilities were built to meet the needs of students, faculty, and our community’s business professionals; and alumni connections across the nation and world have flourished. Prior to joining the Eccles School, Heidi was the director of public relations for KUER-FM, the university’s public radio station. During her storied career, Heidi has been the recipient of many awards for her outstanding achievements, most recently the Patti N. Choate Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Fundraising Profession from the Utah Society of Fundraisers.

Growing up in rural Utah, Heidi’s post-high school vision was not to attend college. Fortunately, her academic counselor urged her to apply for the prestigious University of Utah leadership scholarship. The scholarship offered life changing opportunities, enabling her to graduate from the U with a degree in Social and Behavioral Science in 1989. Heidi has since dedicated her life’s work to paying it forward and facilitating more University of Utah chances for those who want to achieve higher education goals.

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