Taking leadership to the next level

Lenore Dai

Director of the School for Engineering of Matter

Transport and Energy

Fulton Schools of Engineering

Lenore Dai is a Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Director of the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE) at Arizona State University (ASU). She oversees degree and research programs in aerospace engineering, chemical engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and the professional science master’s program in solar energy engineering and commercialization. She joined ASU in 2008 and served as the Program Chair of Chemical Engineering in 7/2009-8/2015. Dr. Dai received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Illinois in 1997. She worked for PPG Industries, Inc. for five and a half years prior to joining the Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech University in 2002.

Dr. Dai’s current research focuses on environmentally responsive (“smart”) materials, novel polymers and polymer composites, surface, interfacial, and colloidal science with emphases on functionalizing nanoparticles and liquid-liquid interfaces.  She has published over 70 archival journal papers and 4 book chapters.  She is the recipient of multiple research and teaching awards including the ASU Fulton Top Five Percent Faculty Award (2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016), ASU Fulton Exemplar Faculty Award (2014), ASU Parents Association Special Recognition Award (2012), National Science Foundation CAREER award (2007), Whitacre Engineering Research Award (2007) and Lockheed Martin Engineering Teaching Award (2007).

Sean Dudley

Executive Director

Research Technology Office

Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development

Sean Dudley began his career in information technology in 1998 where he developed and deployed an application-based automated inventorying system that monitored over 500 distributed workstations for the University of Wisconsin. His passion for blending scientific research with IT brought him to Tempe where he initially worked at the Biodesign Institute in the Center for Evolutionary Functional Genomics.  Soon after, he advanced to a role that allowed him to service the entire institute.  He established many technological tools to assist researchers including a secure, large-scale, information system to support data management among 14 research centers, totaling 600 faculty and administrative customers. He then transitioned to the central research office at ASU in 2008 where he has been advancing the university by designing and deploying technological solutions and services for research administration and faculty. In 2012 Sean founded the Research Technology Office (RTO), which now includes over 55 employees operating among 12 functional teams.  The dual overarching strategic goals of this office are to reduce burden and accelerate or otherwise enable research. 

Sean helped ASU’s research administration organization scale from $184M to over $540mln in research over a single decade by transforming a landscape of disparate paper-based administration processes to one of orchestrated automation, integration, and progressive technological delivery. His role as both an administrative leader and research technologist continues to promote positive change and advancement for ASU.

Cyndi Giorgis

Professor and Divison Director

Division of Teacher Preparation

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College

Cyndi Giorgis earned her Ph.D. in Language, Reading and Culture from the University of Arizona.  She served for 18 years as a faculty member and subsequent Executive Associate Dean at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In 2014 she assumed the position of Dean, College of Education at the University of Texas at El Paso before accepting her current role as Director of the Division of Teacher Preparation in MLFTC in 2017. Her areas of research include teacher preparation, literature response, and children’s/young adult literature.

Cyndi has published numerous books, book chapters, and peer-refereed journal articles and has presented her research to international, national, and local audiences. She has received national, university, and college awards for her teaching. Cyndi has served as an editor of a peer-refereed journal, is a member of several editorial review boards, and has extensive service at all levels. Her current focus is on reimagining teacher preparation focused on rethinking the education workforce and the educational needs of children.  

Kimberly Hopely

Vice President for Unit Development

ASU Foundation

Kimberly Hopely, MNpS, joined the ASU Foundation in December 2015. Her role as vice president of unit development provides oversight and strategic support for the philanthropic expansion of all sixteen ASU academic units as well as the Biodesign Institute and The McCain Institute.

Ms. Hopely has been in the nonprofit sector for more than twenty-five years and has experience in community organizations, healthcare, and higher education. Prior to her position at the ASU Foundation, she served as the senior director for operations and development at the Banner Health Foundation, assistant vice president of University Advancement at A.T. Still University, and executive director for United Way of Grays Harbor in Washington, where the organization was recognized for innovations in community collaboration.

In 2012, Kimberly completed a health policy fellowship at New York Institute of Technology and Ohio University with a focus on graduate medical. She received her master of nonprofit studies at Arizona State University in 2011 after graduating from ASU in 2007 with a bachelor of arts in integrative studies—health administration and organizational leadership. Ms. Hopely completed an internship in organizational leadership at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center/Barrow Neurological Foundation in 2007.

Kenro Kusumi

Associate Dean and Professor

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Kenro Kusumi is professor in the School of Life Sciences and associate dean of research and graduate initiatives in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. Kusumi received his BA from Harvard University and PhD from MIT, and he carried out postdoctoral training at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. Prior to coming to ASU, Dr. Kusumi taught at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he served as director of pediatric orthopaedic basic research. At ASU, Dr. Kusumi has served as director of the Molecular & Cellular Biology interdisciplinary graduate program and interim associate director of graduate programs in the School of Life Sciences. Dr. Kusumi is also adjunct faculty at The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) in downtown Phoenix, and he helped to launch the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix in 2006, where he continues as faculty in the Department of Basic Medical Sciences. 

Dr. Kusumi’s research focuses on using genomic technologies to address biomedical and environmental challenges. His group, together with ASU colleagues and external partners, have established ASU as a center for studies of regeneration, focusing on understanding the ability of reptiles to regrow complex structures that include spinal cord, cartilage, blood vessels, and muscle. 

Sharon Smith

Dean of Students

Downtown Campus

Sharon Smith is Dean of Students at Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix campus.   In this role, she is responsible for creating a comprehensive student experience through fostering academic and personal success for all students.  Additionally, Dr. Smith has university-level responsibility for federally funded TRIO programs. 

During her tenure at ASU, Dr. Smith has held various positions at ASU including program director and program coordinator for NIH and Department of Education grants as well as advising pre-health students.   Dr. Smith serves as co-principal investigator for nine Department of Education TRIO grants totaling over $11 million dollars in funding.

Dr. Smith earned her undergraduate degree in Communication from the University of New Haven.  She received her master’s degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis on Intercultural Communication and doctorate in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Arizona State University.

Lisa Spanierman

Faculty Head of Counseling Psychology

College of Integrative Sciences and Arts

Lisa Spanierman is Professor and Head of the Faculty of Counseling and Counseling Psychology in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts. Before joining ASU’s faculty in 2013, she was Associate Professor at McGill University where she directed the McGill Diversity and Equity Research Lab. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and from 2012-2015 served as Vice President for Scientific Affairs for APA’s Society of Counseling Psychology. She serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. With more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and refereed book chapters and a co-edited book, her research focuses on racial microaggressions and white individuals’ racial attitudes. She was named 2018-19 Fellow at ZiF Center for Interdisciplinary Research (Bielefeld University, Germany) to examine productive forms of racial guilt. Dr. Spanierman has been recognized with several teaching awards, including the University of Illinois Provost’s Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching.