Executive Board
Tim Hanifan, President
Tim Hanifan is a 5th generation Nevadan who graduated from the 推荐杏吧原创, in 2019 with a B.S. in Professional Chemistry and a minor in Philosophy. While at the university, he became involved with the Honors Program and secured two undergraduate internships with a State Senator in Washington, D.C. He also participated in the University Debate Team while joining the Kappa Sigma Fraternity and the Phi Alpha Delta Pre-Law Fraternity. After completing his coursework, Tim began working for one of the largest technology companies in the world. He became more involved in politics, even running for public office, serving as a campaign manager for local races, and being an elected party leader both locally and state level. He is now considering studying for law school and has also taken on leadership roles within the Honors College Alumni Chapter, serving as President.
Jared Desamero, Past President
Jared Desamero is a proud Honors College and College of Business alumnus of the 推荐杏吧原创, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S.B.A. in Economics and Finance. He currently serves as the Past President of the Honors College Alumni Chapter. Jared is also the 2018 recipient of the College of Business Outstanding Senior Award in Engagement and the N. Edd and Nena Miller ASUN Leadership Award, the highest honor given to an ASUN student officer. After college, Jared became an established sales and product marketing professional at various tech startups, Fortune 500 companies, and multinational organizations. Based in Las Vegas, he stays involved through the United Way of Southern Nevada and the Honors Beyond: Mentorship Network. Outside of work, he is an avid electronic music enthusiast, hiker of the U.S. National Park system, and amateur chess player.
Tom Hovenic, M.D., Treasurer
Dr. Tom Hovenic serves as the Treasurer of the Honors College CAB. Dr. Hovenic is an Infectious Disease Specialist based in Reno, NV. With extensive expertise in Infectious Diseases, antibiotic stewardship, and wound care, he currently serves as Medical Director for Tahoe Forest's Infectious Disease Department and Antibiotic Stewardship Program, and as lead physician in wound care and Infectious Diseases at the Skin Cancer and Dermatology Institute. He also provides telemedicine services with VeeOne Health in Washington, California, and Michigan. Dr. Hovenic was previously a partner with Sierra Infectious Diseases and a hospitalist physician at Boone Hospital Center in Columbia, Missouri. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine and his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious diseases through the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is proficient in Spanish and committed to local and international medical outreach. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, skiing, and soccer with his family.
Kaeli Britt, Chief of Staff
Kaeli Britt graduated from the 推荐杏吧原创 in May 2023 with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Political Science. During her undergraduate career, alongside being a member of the Honors College and her other extracurriculars, Kaeli was also closely involved with UNR’s Multicultural Center. Kaeli joined the Honors College Alumni Chapter immediately after graduating. Last year, she served as Secretary for the Board and now, she currently serves as the Board’s Chief of Staff. After graduation, Kaeli moved back home to Las Vegas, as she plans on attending UNLV’s Boyd School of Law in the future.
Ross Golding, M.D., Chairperson of the Membership Committee
Dr. Ross Golding serves as the Chairperson for the Membership Committee of the Honors College CAB. Ross has lived in Reno for 41 years and is committed to the success of the Honors College students. Dr. Golding served as the Chairman of the Radiology Department at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center for a decade before serving as the Medical Director at Reno Diagnostic Centers for nearly 25 years.
Dr. Ross Golding earned his B.A. in Pre-Medical Studies from Florida State University and his M.D. at Emory Medical School. Following medical school and internship at Emory. Dr. Golding spent two years in Germany with the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He then returned to the United States where he completed his training in Radiology at the University of Colorado in Denver, Colorado. He then spent two years at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, as an assistant professor of radiology before moving to Reno. Dr Golding was an assistant clinical professor with UNR Medical School during his time as medical director of Reno Diagnostic Centers.
Bill Parsons, Chairperson of the Student Actualization and Engagement Committee
Bill Parsons serves as the Chairperson for the Student Actualization and Engagement Committee of the Honors College CAB. Bill Parsons is a business leader in FinTech, WealthTech, Data Intelligence, and Analytics Sectors both in the US and Internationally. He currently serves as the Group President for Data Analytics and International for AdvisoryCloud. He is a global and strategic technical team leader with expertise in Saas, enterprise software, CRM, and M&A integration. He is focused on hyper-personalized Wealth Management solutions for Advisors. He served as G.M. and S.V.P AI/Analytics and Products of Envestnet Yodlee for bank and wealth sectors including IPO, M&A, and acquisition. Bill has additional experience in Global Alliances, Partnerships, and Channels. Bill also has experience in company mergers and integration of Product, Sales, and Marketing organizations. Bill's experience spans cloud-based enterprise Software Platform sales, On-Line Banking solutions, ERP, and CRM solutions. Bill enjoys connecting with friends, family and traveling.
At the forefront of Reno's transformation, Bryan McArdle serves as the Revitalization Manager for the City of Reno. With a commitment to breathing new life into neighborhoods and driving economic development, Bryan's goal is a strategic vision and innovative approaches to revitalize areas within the city. From spearheading comprehensive revitalization programs to forging collaborations with developers and community stakeholders, he combines his expertise in urban placemaking, economic development and community engagement to create vibrant spaces that inspire growth, attract investments and enhance the overall quality of life for Reno residents.
Jason Truppi has more than two decades of technology experience, notably including working on some of the largest national security and criminal cyber intrusion cases as a Cyber Special Agent for the FBI. He is currently the Co-Founder and CTO of ForceMetrics where he is building software that is changing the course of public-safety operations. He also served as Director of Security at Tanium, where he developed threat detection techniques at scale for Fortune 500 companies, before moving on to found several companies in cybersecurity, data analytics, fintech, and insurtech. In addition to his leadership roles, Jason is an advisor to several technology-based startups (Armis, ALTR, Tonic, Valkyrie, Jet) and continues to drive cyber policy as a Cybersecurity Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Chul Yim graduated with honors from the College of Engineering at the 推荐杏吧原创 in 2004 with a B.S. in Computer Science. While at the University, he served as President of ASUN and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Chul is a seasoned technology executive who helps technology startups with growth, strategy and market expansion. He is currently the Sales Director for the US Public Sector for Socure, the leading identity and trust provider based in Incline Village, NV. Previously he led sales teams at cybersecurity startups Virsec, Zimperium and Mandiant / FireEye. He credits much of his success to the rigorous academic coursework in the Honors Program, leadership opportunities and lifelong friendships built during college.
David Garcia is a strategic advisor who draws on his three decades of experience as a corporate, finance and merger and acquisitions attorney to bring a measured, pragmatic approach to his advisory engagements. In addition to his deep knowledge and experience in acquisition and financing transactions, companies and law firms throughout the U.S. and abroad have also relied on David as an authoritative resource on Nevada corporate law and practice. He practiced at Wilson Sonsini and Venture Law Group in Silicon Valley and later practiced in Reno at Hale Lane and then at Holland & Hart. During his time in private practice, he was recognized as a leading attorney in the mergers and acquisitions, finance and corporate practice areas by various national and regional publications.
Juston Berg is the Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at EDAWN, leading efforts to build Northern Nevada’s startup ecosystem. His primary focus is to drive entrepreneurial development, working closely with the EDAWN team and community partners.
Steven Caloiaro was the inaugural co-chair of this CAB in 2020, serving as its chair for the 2021 term. He graduated from the 推荐杏吧原创 with honors in 2004. During his time at the 推荐杏吧原创, Steven was the President of the Honors College Student Council, a two-term ASUN Senator and won a national championship with the University's Hockey Team. Following his time at the 推荐杏吧原创, Steven went to the University of San Diego School of Law. After graduation, he came back to Reno to practice law and is now a partner in the national law firm Dickinson Wright. Steven was recently awarded Northern Nevada's 40 under 40.
Through local, state and national programs in prevention, intervention and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders, Dr. Judi Kosterman has contributed to education, healthcare, workforce development, criminal justice, military and Veterans efforts. An educator, Judi confronted the problem of kids and drugs. This barrier to learning catalyzed her commitment to finding solutions, serving as Washington State Drug Control Executive and, subsequently, three Washington, DC, positions: Executive VP of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), Director of the National Center for the Advancement of Prevention (NCAP), White House Policy Advisor and team member directing the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign and as a consultant to National Guard Bureau’s Counter Drug Office. Following national service, she helped create the world’s first live, online treatment programs as Senior VP of CRC Health and as Executive VP of Newport Brain Research Lab, she began her work with neuroscience. Additionally, Judi helped facilitate the creation of and contributed as a National Board Member of All Rise (National Association of Drug Court Professionals and Justice for Vets) as well as the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). Currently, she leads the Brain Health Leadership Foundation “promoting brain health through science education and treatment.”
Mark is the CEO of technology, Web3/blockchain and games consultancy, Gigex, Inc. He’s a serial entrepreneur in games, digital assets, SaaS and enterprise services. He is an advisor and investor in several Web3 and fintech projects and is the blockchain expert for Dundon Advisers, a financial restructuring firm.
Bianka Dodov is a native Nevadan, born and raised in Reno. She attended UNLV where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, with honors. During her time at UNLV, she was an active member of the Honors College. Following her time at UNLV, she lived in Washington, DC where she spent three years advocating for recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the U.S. government. She earned her law degree at Seton Hall University School of Law and spent the next 10 years living and working in New York City in securities finance and legal compliance. She moved home to Reno in 2019 and currently works as a Senior Attorney at Sierra Crest Business Law Group, where she heads up the Firm's Corporate and Business Transactional practice.
Dr. Chris Castel serves as the CEO and CTO for Carewear Corp. which is wearable therapeutics and digital health for pain and injury recovery for professional and consumer markets. He is also a Managing Partner for Maison Castel LLC. Previously, he was the Chief Scientific and Technology Officer for Accelerated Care Plus Corp. Dr. Castel holds several patents and has received several honors and awards including the 2019 Finalist IoT/WTInnovation World Cup, the 2018 SPIE Startup Challenge Award and the 2012 J.E. Hanger Award for Pioneering Innovation. He lives in Reno with his wife and enjoys the mountains.
Yajahira Dircio serves as the current President of the Honors College Student Council (HCSC). In the past, she has served as the Director of Public Relations and Vice President. Her goal for the HCSC this year is to build up the Honors College student community through professional and social development by working with on- and off-campus groups/organizations.
Nandini Naidu serves as the Secretary of the Honors College CAB. Nandini is a senior at the 推荐杏吧原创 majoring in Biology with minors in Public Health and Analytical Organic Chemistry hoping to pursue an M.D./Ph. D. to become a physician-scientist conducting cancer research. Previously she was the Honors College Student Council Secretary and a TA/Peer Coach for HON 215. Nandini is an undergraduate researcher in the Hudig Lab at UNR School of Medicine working on the disruption of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) through the effect of non-ADCC-supporting antibodies and was awarded an NIH MARC Nevada fellowship.