Matt L. Merrell – Chapter President

Matt is a partner of Daniels Capital in Park City, Utah. Daniels Capital manages over $150 million in assets in the real estate private equity market. Daniels Capital’s investment portfolio consists of residential, commercial, and recreational properties located through out the United States. Prior to joining Daniels Capital, Matt managed a large portfolio of real estate assets, overseeing the successful acquisition, liquidation, and ongoing management of single-family, multi-family, and commercial properties. Matt received his finance degree from Utah Valley State. He enjoys sports and family related activities. Matt and his wife Jordan reside in Springville, Utah, with their two children.

Brian Wall

Brian began his experiences with UVSC in 1988 as a student working toward his AS degree.  After receiving an AS degree, Brian later returned to UVSC for a BS in Business Management.  Brian’s early involvement in programs like the business club DECA and his summer co-op work experience with Walt Disney’s World provided an unmatched learning opportunity.  Brian enjoys serving on the Alumni board and is committed to its continued success.  Brian has nearly 20 years of experience in sales and marketing.  He is the Manager of Marketing Incentives for Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc in Provo Utah. 

Paul E. Gifford

Paul currently works for Associated Food Stores as a Senior Technology Account Specialist in the Retail Technology department. He oversees technology and works as a phone support supervisor.  Paul is the 11-year-old Assistant Scout Master in his neighborhood.  He likes to garden and work around the house.  He graduated from UVSC twice.  Once in 1993 (at UVCC) with an AAS degree in the School of Business for International Business.  He received a plaque in honor of being the first recipient of this new degree.  It was at this time that UVCC became UVSC and he continued on to get his BS degree with emphasis on International Business in the School of Business. Paul currently resides with his wife and three children in South Ogden and makes the monthly commute to the Alumni board meetings because he loves the School and wants to help make a difference. 

Louise Bridge

Louise has worked at UVSC for ten years. She is the General Manager of the UVSC Bookstore. She teaches College Success as an adjunct professor. Louise graduated in Finance from BYU and received an MBA from Utah State.

Jason L. Wright

Jason graduated from UVSC in 2001 with a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Management.  In 2004 he became a Certified Purchasing Manager with the Institute for Supply Management.  In his more than 13 years with Nature’s Sunshine Products he has developed a strong understanding of business operations by gaining experience in procurement, production, accounting and supply chain management.  Jason is excited to be involved with the Alumni Board and looks forward to its continued growth and development.

Steve Teeter

Steve Teeter has been a professor in the School of Business at Utah Valley State College for 18 years. Steve is an excellent teacher and a valuable member of the faculty of the School of Business. He received the Faculty Excellence Award for the School of Business for 2005-2006. He inspires the students to do well.

The School of Business was the first school on campus to have its own alumni chapter, and for the past six years, Steve has served as the faculty advisor for that group. His enthusiasm, expertise, and strong support have been the most important factors in building this very successful organization. The chapter currently has a strong and active board that meets monthly, under Steve’s direction, to plan and implement events.

Steve works to recruit graduates into the School of Business Alumni Chapter. At graduation, the alumni board has a booth to welcome new alumni. Each graduate is given a tee shirt and an application to join the group. Steve also works with the athletics department to provide free tickets for students to basketball games. Again, his enthusiasm helps to engender the same enthusiasm among the students, who are the future alumni.

Blake Christensen

Blake Christensen graduated from UVSC in 1996, with a bachelor’s degree in business management.  He currently serves as the past president of the UVSC School of Business Alumni Association Chapter and heads up the product marketing department for Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc in Provo, Utah.

Eric Graves

Eric Graves serves as the Vice President of Sales overseeing all sales and costumer relations aspects of Sweetliving, a L.L.C. in Springville, Utah.  Mr. Graves is an experienced sales and public relations professional with over 15 years of experience in sales and customer relations. Mr. Graves joined Sweetliving in July 2006 with 10 years of management and sales experience at Nature's Sunshine. Mr. Graves established and managed a highly successful 12 state region as a regional Sales Manger for Nature's Sunshine.

Prior to working in the sales arena, Mr. Graves gained experience in production and processing as a manufacturing supervisor. In this capacity, he oversaw the operations connected with the production and packaging of the herbs and supplements.  Mr. Graves then managed the distribution of products and supportive literature. While overseeing the distribution facility, Mr. Graves, with the help of a great staff, successfully redesigned and coordinated the relocation of the shipping and fulfillment center without disrupting the flow of product to customers.

Mr. Graves has been licensed in Real Estate with the state of Utah since 1994 where he worked with Utah County’s top commercial real estate firm as both an assistant to the broker and a sales and leasing agent.

Linda Makin

Linda is an alumni of Utah Valley State where she received her A.A.S. in Secretarial Science class of 1980, B.S. in Accounting class of 2003 (Summa Cum Laude). She is currently completing Master's in Public Administration class of 2007. She has worked 25 years at UVSC. Her current position is Director of Budgets serving as a member of the President's Executive Council. Other UVSC positions have included Secretary to the Dean of Business, Technician/Analyst for Associate Vice President of Academics, Budget Technician, and Associate Director of Budgets.

Linda likes travel, swedish weaving, scrapbooking, BYU football. She is married to Mike Makin and they are proud parents of two daughters and one son-in-law. They became grandparent sfor the first time this past summer.

John T. Shoaf

John Shoaf is currently a senior associate at David N. Deutsch & Company, a Wall Street investment banking firm, where he is responsible for managing several large merger/acquisition transactions and advising corporations/boards with respect to corporate finance and business strategy. He is also founder and co-chairman of the New York Banking & Finance Group and co-president of the New York LDS Professional Association where he oversees eight subsidiary organizations, which facilitate career development, produce networking events and provide mentoring opportunities for nearly 1,500 professionals in New York City (and hundreds of students via the annual “Pathways to New York” event). John has played a seminal role in establishing the LDS Finance & Investment Association, a world-wide network of nearly 500 executives in the investment banking, private equity, and asset management fields.

Prior to moving to NYC in 2005, John served as president of Perfect Grounds Corporation for seven years and held various positions at Dominion Insurance and BioMarkers International. John graduated from Utah Valley State College in 2004 and will attend Columbia Business School in the fall of 2008.