National Council

Principal
Deloitte Consulting’s Government and Private Sector Practice
Washington, D.C.

Sarah Benczik is a principal in Deloitte Consulting’s government and public sector practice in Washington, D.C. Sarah advises government leaders on people-focused strategy that delivers business and mission results. Sarah is dedicated to providing
innovative and practical solutions for human capital challenges like cyber workforce planning and management, integrating talent management processes with employee engagement to improve employee experience and productivity, and designing organizational and governance structures that improve decision-making.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Sarah worked in multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Defense, State, and Justice Departments. She holds a Master of Public Administration and a certificate of advanced study in security studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a Juris Doctor from the Syracuse University College of Law. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Chief Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer
Condé Nast
New York City

Danielle Carrig is Condé Nast’s first global Chief Corporate Affairs and Communications Officer, leading strategy for its portfolio of brands including Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Wired, and The New Yorker in over 30 countries. She has spent more than 15 years in senior leadership roles across media and entertainment, including at VICE Media Group, Netflix, and A+E Networks, where her public affairs work earned an Emmy Award. Earlier in her career, Carrig was executive director of Step Up, a national nonprofit providing enrichment programs to public schools. Named to Variety’s Hollywood New Leaders list and honored by organizations including the Alliance for Women in Media and Dress for Success, Carrig also received Valpo’s outstanding young alumni award in 2015. She graduated summa cum laude from Valpo with a B.A. in political science, humanities (from CC), and gender studies, and holds an M.A. in women’s studies from UCLA.

Senior Corporate Counsel, Microsoft
Redmond, Washington

Becca (Crocker) Cavin is senior corporate counsel at Microsoft. She graduated from Valparaiso University in 2008 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering (magna cum laude) and with Christ College Scholar honors. She went on to earn her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in December 2010. Becca is a registered U.S. patent attorney. Becca spent six years as a patent litigation and patent prosecution associate at the international law firm K&L Gates LLP, resident in their Chicago office, where she also served on the Junior Board of Chicago Volunteer Legal Services and volunteered as an attorney in contested minor guardianship proceedings. Prior to returning to the U.S., Becca served as senior intellectual property advisor for Fisher & Paykel Healthcare in Auckland, New Zealand.

Senior Director, Global Head of Partnerships
Immutable
Sydney, Australia

Matt Cavin is senior director, global head of partnerships at Immutable. He previously served as global head of strategy and corporate development at Openpay, VP AsiaPacific at Mastercard, board director at Consegna.Cloud, engagement manager at Monitor Deloitte, associate at Hyde Park Venture Partners, program manager at Techstars, and sales executive at lntermedix EMSystems. Matt holds an MBA in venture finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a master’s in law from the University of Auckland. Matt graduated from Valparaiso University in 2008 with a B.S.B.A. in international business, a B.A. in economics and Mandarin Chinese, and Christ College Scholar honors. He studied abroad at Zhejiang University. He was student body president, a Kemper Foundation Scholar, and a Lutheran Leader Scholar.

Associate Vice President for Research
Carnegie Mellon University
Pennsylvania

Matthew Christian is a higher education executive, focused on helping universities develop and support high impact research programs. He currently oversees Carnegie Mellon’s strategic research initiatives. He previously served as deputy vice president for research at Saint Louis University and associate provost and chief of staff to the provost at the University of Chicago. In the early 2000s, he founded (and eventually sold) OrthoAccel Technologies, an orthodontic device company based on research done at the University of Illinois-Chicago when he was a student there. In addition to Valpo, he has degrees from Yale Divinity School, the University of Illinois-Chicago, and Saint Louis University. He is married to Amy Repp and has three children: Zofie, Maeta and Linus. 

Director, Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA) Program
U.S. Department of the Treasury
Washington, D.C.

Matthew Cook is director of the Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA) program in the United States Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. There he leads Treasury’s efforts to incentivize pay for success projects across the United States to make results-oriented and evidence-based improvements to the nation’s most pressing issues including homelessness, unemployment, and improving health outcomes.

Prior to the SIPPRA program, he worked for government and non-profit organizations to improve the way the federal, state, and local governments fund and finance their services to taxpayers. Early in his career, he worked for a local school board in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.

At Valpo, he majored in psychology, classics, and humanities along with being a Christ College Scholar. He also has a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University and a Master of Business Administration from the Quantic School of Business and Technology. He has served as an alumni mentor for Valpo’s CAPS Fellows Program and welcomes conversations with new Valpo alumni and current students. Matt and his wife Dana Dutcher ’09 Cook live in Washington, D.C., and are active in the DMV Valpo community.

Senior Manager for the Collaborative Safety Research Center
Toyota Motor North America Research & Development
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Jason Hallman, Ph.D., is the senior manager for the collaborative safety research center (CSRC) at Toyota Motor North America Research & Development (TMNA R&D) based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In this position, Jason supports people leadership, research theme development, and operations. Through a collaborative approach, CSRC proactively identifies research partners with relevant expertise and shares Toyota talent, technology, and data to deliver results that can benefit all of society. In previous roles at TMNA R&D, Jason was responsible for automated driving system safety and for development of future crashworthiness technology. He served in various leadership capacities on industry-wide activities related to safety and automation, including the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium, and the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). He completed a postdoctoral fellowship in injury biomechanics at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Department of Neurosurgery, earned a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering as a U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at Marquette University in Milwaukee, and earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a Christ College Associate designation from Valparaiso University

Head of Technology Strategy & Partnerships – Hybrid Cloud
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Lindsey Hillesheim, Ph.D., is a widely-read systems thinker adept at identifying trends and signals to inform short- to long-term technology & innovation strategies. This includes identifying innovative and promising technology partners in data, Al, hybrid cloud, edge, and sustainability that are addressing current and emerging customer needs. She has more than 16 years of experience in innovation, technology development & strategy, business development, research, and policy – spanning biotechnology, Al, and systems engineering. Previous roles included senior technology & innovation leadership roles at HPE, ATP-Bio (NSF Engineering Research Center based at the University of Minnesota), Cray, Adventium Labs, and Strategic Analysis Inc., where she assessed and explored technology for DARPA. Lindsey served as AAAS Science and Technology Policy fellow at the U.S. State Department, and on the Launch Minnesota Advisory Board, a state funded program to support the startup ecosystem in Minnesota. She earned her B.S. in physics and humanities from Valparaiso University and her Ph.D in physics, with a graduate minor in history & philosophy of science from the University of Minnesota. She is an active angel investor and involved in several Al policy and governance forums.

Director, Compound Screening Biology
PTC Therapeutics
Mountain View, California

At Valparaiso, Kevin majored in biochemistry and humanities. Upon graduation, he attended graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, earning his Ph.D. in biochemistry in 2009. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, he joined Edison Pharmaceuticals in 2013 as a research scientist. While at Edison, Kevin focused on the biochemistry of a family of enzymes implicated in pediatric mitochondrial disorders, characterizing the effects of drug molecules on those enzymes to develop treatments for patients suffering from these debilitating diseases. Now at PTC Therapeutics, he oversees a group of research scientists and manages several drug discovery projects across early stages of development. Kevin and his wife Jill Van Dalen ’00 reside in Hayward, California, and enjoy exploring the many outdoor recreational opportunities afforded by the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pastor (Retired)
Lutheran Church of the Atonement
Florissant, Missouri

Richard Mueller earned his B.A. in history from Valparaiso University and his M.Div. and S.T.M. from Christ Seminary – Seminex. Following seminary, Rev. Mueller served as managing editor of Lutheran Perspective, a biweekly national newspaper, while offering staff support services to Partners in Mission, the ELIM World Hunger Ministry, and Christ Seminary-Seminex. From 1985 to 1990, he was the associate pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Manchester, Missouri. He served with numerous Lutheran church organizations, including membership on the board of regents of Pacific Lutheran University. In 2023, he retired as senior pastor at Lutheran Church of the Atonement near St. Louis after 33 years of ministry.

Attorney
Piehler and Strande, S.C.
Wausau, Wisconsin

David Piehler is of counsel to Piehler and Strande, S.C., a legal firm in Wausau, Wisconsin. David graduated from Valparaiso University in 1977 with a degree in civil engineering. He earned his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1980, where he was awarded the William Herbert Page award as the outstanding contributor to the University of Wisconsin Law Review in 1980. He has practiced law with Piehler and Strande, S.C. since 1998, and is also a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin. David has been active in leadership roles in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and previously served as a member of the Synod’s board of directors.

Counsel (Retired)
Allstate Insurance Co.
Oak Park, Illinois

Susan L. (Peters) Rosborough graduated from Valparaiso University in 1978 with a B.A. in home economics and interdisciplinary humanities. She earned a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1981. She held the position of counsel for Allstate Insurance Co., specializing in employment and labor law, until 2017. In addition to supporting Lutheran education causes, Rosborough has been a leader of Lutheran social service agencies, including Lutheran Home and Services for the Aged and for the Lutheran Home Foundation. She previously served as president of the Valparaiso University Alumni Association’s Board of Directors and on the University’s strategic planning committee.

Director of Process Development
Advanced BioNutrition Corporation
Columbia, Maryland

Peter Schmalz graduated from Valparaiso University in 1969 with a B.S. in mechanical engineering. He earned an M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1972 and is a registered professional engineer in Delaware. Following graduate school, he was employed by the DuPont Company for 38 years where he served in a variety of managerial roles in R&D, engineering consulting, and facility design and construction within DuPont Engineering and in engineering technology and operations management within the DuPont Crop Protection business. After retirement from DuPont, he assumed his current role as director of process development for the Advanced BioNutrition Corp. in Columbia, Maryland. He is active in a variety of leadership positions in the local church and has served as the chair of the board of directors of the United Methodist Campus Ministry at the University of Delaware. He also previously served on the President’s Advisory Board at Valparaiso University.

Corporate Director of Mission Integration
EverTrue
St. Louis, Missouri

Travis Scholl is corporate director of mission integration at EverTrue (formerly Lutheran Senior Services), lifting up its mission, values, and faith-based identity throughout the organization and its external stakeholders, and working closely with the 19 chaplains on staff across Missouri, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Prior to this, he was managing editor of theological publications at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, serving as editor of its flagship Concordia Journal, as well as developing multimedia resources and managing its book press. His teaching career has included courses and workshops at Concordia Seminary, Washington University, St. Louis University, and the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is also the preaching assistant at History Trinity Lutheran Church in the downtown Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis.

Travis holds a Ph.D. in English and creative writing from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School. He graduated from Valparaiso University with a B.A. in English and Christ College Scholar honors. An essayist and poet, he is the author of Walking the Labyrinth.

Professor
Department of Atmospheric Science
Colorado State University
Ft. Collins, Colorado

At Valparaiso, Russ Schumacher majored in meteorology and humanities, and following graduation entered the graduate program in atmospheric science at Colorado State University. He received his M.S. in 2003 and Ph.D. in 2008. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and assistant professor at Texas A&M University. In 2011, he returned to Colorado State to join the faculty and was promoted to associate professor in 2016. His research and teaching interests include mesoscale meteorology, extreme precipitation, numerical weather prediction, and societal impacts of weather and climate. During these years, he also completed a successful run on the TV quiz show “Jeopardy!”, including winning the Tournament of Champions in 2004 and reaching the semifinals of the Battle of the Decades tournament in 2014. Russ and his wife, Andrea, have a son, Stanley.

Biomedical Librarian/Informationist
Information Solutions
Sacramento, California

Pam Sieving completed an M.A. in English literature and linguistics at the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1971, and an M.S. in library science at Southern Connecticut State University in 1974. She is accredited at the ‘distinguished’ level in the Academy of Health Information Professionals. Since 1986, she has focused on information resources and services in ophthalmology and vision research, first as director of library services at the University of Michigan’s department of ophthalmology and visual sciences from 1986-2001, then as informationist to the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Pam retired from federal service at the end of 2014, but continues work on several international projects, particularly with several providing needed information resources at eye centers in developing countries.

She is active in the American Library Association, the Medical Library Association, the Association of Vision Science Librarians, and the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society. For many years she was active in Valpo Guild chapters and served as national vice president for two years. Pam is married to Paul A. Sieving ’70; they were ‘pioneers’ at the Reutlingen center in spring 1968 and now live in Sacramento, but still include being ‘travel partners’ as an important part of their lives. Sons Ted and Matt are both attorneys in California: Ted owns and manages Work Evolution Labs as well as xNovo Legal and Recreational Coffee, all in Long Beach; Matt is associate general counsel with SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank. Daughter-in-law Lia lzenberg is principal of Lia lzenberg Coaching and Consulting; grandson River and granddaughter Wren keep the whole family guessing where the next adventure will be.

Associate Director
Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri- St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri

Rachel Taube, MSW, is a committed mental health leader with a passion for making education and tools accessible to communities. She serves as the associate director of the Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri- St. Louis, where she also leads Mental Health First Aid Missouri as program director. With more than a decade of experience facilitating mental health training at the national level, Rachel is known for her practical, people-first approach.

She earned her Bachelor of Social Work degree from Valparaiso University and a master’s from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

Outside of work, Rachel volunteers with Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, supporting leadership development and empowerment for women. At home, she and her husband stay busy — and entertained — by the energy and laughter of their two young children.

Physician

Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center
Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology – Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana

Loretta VanEvery has been a physician with the Richard Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis since 2007 and Chief of Neurology since 2009. Dr. VanEvery is also an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Indiana University, where she specializes in electromyography as well as the diagnosis and treatment of neuropathy and neuromuscular diseases. She is an active member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church where she is also currently president of the congregation council. In her spare time, Dr. VanEvery enjoys traveling, painting, gardening and refurbishing antique furniture. She also hosts the Indianapolis branch of the Christ College reading group, which allows her to combine her love of reading, cooking and entertaining. Lori serves as chair of the Christ College National Council.