2011 and 2010 Hall of Fame
Find out where NAU’s Social and Behavioral Sciences alumni are now
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Northern Arizona University is proud to share stories of our graduates who have gone on to make a difference in the world.
Eric Scott Baker
1986 MA Political Science
Eric Scott Baker is the Director, Senior Counsel and Associate General Counsel at Starbucks Coffee Company. He was born in Pasadena, California and raised in Flagstaff where he attended Flagstaff High School. Mr. Baker received his B.A. in Political Science and German from the University of Arizona in 1984, his M.A. in Political Science from Northern Arizona University in 1986, and his Juris Doctor degree from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in 1989. Mr. Baker began his legal career at the Phoenix-based law firm of Snell & Wilmer LLP and was with the firm for seven years. After leaving the firm, Mr. Baker was Associate General Counsel for Western Wireless Corporation in Seattle, Washington until the acquisition of the company by T-Mobile Wireless and Alltel Wireless.
Mr. Baker joined the Starbucks legal department in 2006. Mr. Baker led Starbucks legal for Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Starbucks corporation based in London through May 2023. He has now returned to the U.S. and is currently serving as chief legal counsel for Starbucks Canadian market making frequent trips to Toronto. Mr. Baker and his partner, William Kapfer (who holds a Masters Degree and Doctorate from NAU) reside in Manhattan and maintain a second home in Tucson. Both are regular visitors to Flagstaff and their beloved Northern Arizona University. Mr. Baker travels extensively and enjoys theater, snow skiing, backpacking, and the study of politics and history. In 2006, the Baker family established the Lillian Jane Baker Education Fund at NAU.
Raul H. Castro
1939 BA Education and 1967 Honorary Degree
Raul Hector Castro (born in Cananea, Sonora, Mexico on June 12, 1916) is a Mexican-born United States politician and alumnus of Northern Arizona University.
He has served in both elected and non-elected public offices, including United States Ambassador and Governor of Arizona. He was the first Hispanic to be elected Governor of Arizona. Castro lived in his native Mexico until 1926, when he moved to the U.S. state of Arizona and later became a United States citizen. Through grueling physical labor and self-denial, he saved enough to enter Arizona State Teachers College (later Northern Arizona University) in Flagstaff, Arizona, from which he graduated in 1939. He worked for five years for the US State Department as a foreign service clerk at Agua Prieta, a border city in his native Sonora, but he never forgot his dream of becoming a lawyer. Accepted by the University of Arizona Law College, Castro earned his Juris Doctor degree and was admitted to the Arizona Bar in 1949. After practicing law in Tucson for two years, he became deputy Pima County attorney. In 1954 he was elected county attorney and served in that capacity until 1958 when he became a Pima County Superior Court Judge. He earned a reputation as a man of keen mind and deep compassion for people during his six years on the Superior Court bench. His national stature grew over the years, and President Lyndon Johnson appointed Castro as U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador in 1964. That four-year service was followed by an ambassadorial assignment to Bolivia.
Returning to Tucson, Arizona in 1969 to specialize in international law, Castro continued to rise to the top in Arizona Democratic politics. Seeking state office for the first time in 1974, he surprised the experts by winning his spirited campaign for the governorship. In 1977, when he had completed two years as governor, President Jimmy Carter selected him to be ambassador to Argentina.
Booker Travis Evans, Jr.
1969 BS Psychology and 1971 MA Psychology
Booker T. Evans, Jr. retired from the law firm of Ballard Spahr, LLP in December of 2018 and opened a solo practice, Booker T. Evans, PLLC in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Evans focuses his practice in the areas of white-collar crime and commercial litigation and is experienced in the areas of criminal defense, products liability, insurance matters, criminal and civil RICO cases and healthcare matters. Mr. Evans has substantial civil and criminal trial experience; having tried cases involving allegations of defective products, bad faith on the part of insurance carriers, disputes over real estate holdings, copyright and trademark infringement, as well as a number of cases involving allegations of criminal conduct. He also handles post-conviction cases in Federal Courts and is often retained in matters involving the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Before entering private practice, Mr. Evans served as a Chief Deputy District Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada; as an Assistant United States Attorney in both Nevada and Arizona; and as Corporate Counsel for Arizona Public Service Company. He is licensed and practices in both Arizona and Nevada. In 2016, he received the National Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
Booker T. Evans, Jr received his B.S. in 1969 and his M.A. in 1970, from Northern Arizona University. In 1978, he received his Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law. While attending Northern Arizona University, Mr. Evans served as the founding President of the University’s first African-American Fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi; was the first African-American to serve on the Inter-Fraternity Council; was active in student government; and received his Gold Axe Award in 1969. He continued his relationship with the University after graduation by serving as President of the Board of Directors of the Alumni Association from 1991-1992. Mr. Evans has served as a Board Member of the NAU Foundation from 1993-1996 and 2021-Present. Mr. Evans was named one of Northern Arizona University’s 100 Outstanding Alumni for its 1999 Centennial Celebration.
Keven Ann Willey
1980 BS Journalism
Keven Ann Willey was born in Washington, D.C., during the Eisenhower administration. Her interest in politics began early. Keven’s mother used to take her in a bassinet to the Senate gallery and listen to the likes of Everett Dirksen and Estes Kefauver debate public policy issues. Keven’s father, who worked for the National Institutes of Health, moved the family to Tucson, which is where Keven grew up.
Keven studied briefly in Europe and at Colegio Cervantes in Guadalajara. She spent the bulk of her college career at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where she was a walk-on varsity volleyball player. She was graduated magna cum laude in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in political science and Spanish. She is a 2001 graduate of the Management Development Program sponsored by the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and was also named that year a Hoover Fellow at Stanford University.
Keven began her journalism career at The Associated Press in Phoenix, and later in 1980 joined The Arizona Republic where she covered everything from school boards to murders. She spent 1987-88 covering the presidential campaign, traveling extensively with Bruce Babbitt, George Bush, Michael Dukakis, Richard Gephardt, Al Gore, Jesse Jackson and Jack Kemp. She covered eight national political conventions and has won many awards for news writing, column writing, and editorial writing. Her work appeared in The New York Times and she’s been featured on PBS, NPR, CNN, C-SPAN and numerous other television and radio stations nationwide.
Keven became The Republic’s political columnist in 1989 and was named editorial page editor in 1998. Under Keven’s direction, The Republic’s editorial pages twice were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize.
Keven became vice president and editorial page editor at The Dallas Morning News in November 2002. Her department’s ongoing Bridging Dallas’ North-South Gap won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing, an award recognizing the groundbreaking journalism of editorial writers Tod Robberson, Colleen McCain Nelson and William McKenzie. In 2011, The News was named “Opinion Page of the Year” among large-circulation newspapers by the National Conference of Editorial Writers. In 2008, her department’s successful four-year campaign to amend the state constitution to require legislators to publicly record their votes was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing.
Keven was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board in 2008.
Shelly K. Bunge
1984 BS Journalism
Shelly K. Bunge, Executive Vice President of Music Business Affairs for Sony Pictures, is a 1984 journalism alumnus. She is a Gold Axe recipient (1984), a Centennial award recipient (1996), and a Truman Scholar. Shelly graduated from NAU in three years, earned her master’s in political science at the University of Arizona in 1985 and her law degree from Columbia in 1988. Shelly worked as a diplomat to Tunisia after graduating from the University of Arizona, then entered law school with the intention of pursuing International Diplomacy. However, personal life choices took her to California and Sony Pictures is where she has been working for over 25 years.
Adam Rogers – 2010 Recipient
1989 BS International Affairs
Adam Rogers has worked for the United Nations for much of the past 25 years – as a communication advisor, as a senior policy advisor for programmes and policy and finally as the global coordinator for the World Alliance of Cities Against Poverty. He retired in 2018 but continues to support the work of the UN as an independent contractor. Recent assignments have included helping the Government of Kuwait to set up a public policy center and then supporting the UN Development Programme in Ukraine to conduct a socio-economic impact assessment and then manage and communicate its response to the COVID19 pandemic.
Prior to joining the UN system in 1994, Rogers worked as a journalist, an author, and as an entrepreneur. He has written several books, including The Earth Summit: A planetary reckoning, Taking Action: an environmental guide for you and your community, and The Intrepid Traveler: getting the ultimate experience for your travel dollars anywhere on earth. His most recent book, The No Mammal Manifesto: Diet for a new and more sustainable world, explores the links between a “red” meat-centered diet and the Sustainable Development Goals.
A sequel to Taking Action is due out in 2020 and is called Taking Action Online for the environment, social justice and sustainable development. This book connects the many dots in the social media universe and provides step-by-step advice on how to raise funds, build communities and inspire action for the results we need to create the world we want.
Aside from a BA in International Affairs from Northern Arizona University, Adam has an MA in Communication and Technology from the University of Alberta in Canada, and an MBA from the TRIUM programme with New York University, the London School of Economics and HEC Paris School of Management.
More on Adam, including how to connect with him on social media, can be found on his website at adamrogers.online