928-523-6243
TPaul.Thomas@nau.eduMeet the team
Staff
T Paul Thomas
T Paul Thomas is currently the Director of the Northern Arizona Center for Nonprofit Entrepreneurship. In addition, Paul is an Executive in Residence and Assistant Professor of Practice for the NAU W. A. Franke College of Business developing and teaching Management and Entrepreneurship with a focus on non-profit and social enterprises. He also serves as the CEO of Northern Arizona Leadership Alliance and is the Executive in Residence for the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET). He serves as a board member for several non-profit and for-profit organizations.
Prior to joining Northern Arizona University in 2013, Paul had a 30-year career as a serial CEO, leading technology companies in Asia, Europe, India and the United States. He holds a BBA in Finance, and a M.Ed in Education Leadership from Northern Arizona University.
Faculty
Brandon J. Kavanagh
Brandon J. Kavanagh is a practicing attorney as a Partner/Member of Mangum, Wall, Stoops & Warden, PLLC. He was admitted to practice law in Arizona in 1999, having been admitted to practice law in Maryland in 1997. After growing up in Flagstaff, Brandon earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University with honors in 1994. He earned his law degree from George Washington University School of Law in 1997. He worked with the firm from 1999-2005 before moving to Phoenix to work with Gust Rosenfeld PLC as an associate and then as a Partner. In July 2010, he returned to the firm as a Partner to raise his family where he was born and raised. He has over two decades of experience in business law, real estate, and public law. Brandon was the Chair of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Arizona for 2008-2009 and is currently a Member at Large of the Business Law Section Executive Committee. He is involved with multiple non-profit entities as a Board member (Boys & Girls Club of Flagstaff, Los Abogados, and Northern Arizona Leadership Alliance) as well as representing many different non-profit and governmental entities throughout Northern Arizona. He has been an Adjunct Professor teaching Non-Profit Governance in The W. A. Franke College of Business since the Fall semester of 2018.
Lisa Bacus
An accomplished executive, advisor and strategic leader for over 30 years, Lisa has served in key corporate and global roles and helped Fortune 500 companies become industry-trend leaders with a keen focus on driving customer centricity and business results. She currently serves on several boards in both the public and private sectors.
Lisa recently launched a new business venture, Oro Vista Ranch, with a mission of bringing wellness to individuals of all ages and capabilities through equine-assisted therapeutic experiences.
Prior to her business venture, Lisa served as Executive Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer at Cigna, a global health services company, where she was responsible for Cigna’s global marketing and communications capabilities including operations, marketing research and insights, customer experience, branding, advertising, media, digital marketing and public relations. She also served as President, and later Chairman, of the Cigna Foundation.
Prior to joining Cigna, Bacus enjoyed a successful 22-year career with the Ford Motor Company, followed by five years at American Family Insurance where she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketer, overseeing all marketing, public relations, communications and actuarial functions.
Bacus earned two bachelor’s degrees from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Duke University.
She, along with her husband and children, runs the Bacus Family Foundation, which provides scholarships to college-bound Hispanic youth.
Joseph Wagner
Joe Wagner is a Flagstaff native that finished his studies in Business Administration Accounting and Political Science at the University of Arizona in 2012. Since graduating he has specialized in not-for-profit finance: working as a financial consultant for governments in Arizona (including schools and nonprofits on the Navajo Nation), serving as a fiscal manager for Flagstaff Medical Center, overseeing finance development for the newly established Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation, and currently manages Lowell Observatory finances as the Controller. He is a Certified Public Accountant and volunteers as a governing board chair for the Flagstaff Festival of Science.
Past faculty
Amanda Kristinat
Amanda Kristinat is an executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience, and has an impeccable reputation of excellence, increasing revenue and community awareness, and serving others and organizations to help elevate their success.
Amanda graduated from North American School of Architectural Drafting in 1996. Shortly after securing her first management position she realized her love of business and returned to school in 2000 for Business Management and Sociology. Also, in 2000 she started working for a non-profit organization and found that her passion was working with non-profits. Since then she has been dedicated to creating community, empowering non-profit organizations and others to see and exceed their potential.
Amanda has extensive business management experience with for-profit and non-profit entities ranging from operations, financial management, grant writing and management, educational program development, fund development, project and event management, fundraising, advertising, marketing, strategic planning, board development, community outreach, and organizational turnaround. Currently, she is the Vice President of Operations and Finance for the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, and owns Silver Lining Business Consulting and The Change Collective.
James Hasapis
Jamey Hasapis brings over 20 years of experience working for Fortune 500 companies, developing, facilitating, promoting, and managing leadership and training programs to leadership teams nationwide. After moving to Flagstaff, AZ, Mr. Hasapis began working in the nonprofit world. There he began his marketing and PR career, working for organizations such as the Flagstaff Symphony, United Way of Northern Arizona, and Second Chance Center for Animals. Mr. Hasapis holds a BA Music/Liberal from California State University. Fullerton.
Megan Trout
Megan Trout is a Certified Public Accountant who has dedicated her accounting career to serving nonprofits, governments, and small businesses. Megan has practiced accounting for 14 years, including 8 years auditing governments and nonprofits. She is a proud NAU alumna (M.S. 2019, B.S. 2007).
Advisory board
David P. Franke
David Franke is a principal at Franke & Company, a private investment firm headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Franke & Company is a family office that focuses its efforts on a diverse set of private and alternative investment opportunities. Across the firm’s history, the investment portfolio has included investments into assets such as operating businesses, private equity transactions, real estate, oil & gas, and other alternative asset classes.
Franke & Company is the day to day responsibility for David. He has been with the firm since 1991. During his tenure, Franke has assessed hundreds of investment offerings, participated in the negotiations of company investments, and been active in the management and oversight of acquired investments within the company portfolio.
Franke & Company is also an active philanthropic investor with a focus on higher education. David leads the efforts in finding philanthropic opportunities, assessing the merits of such, negotiating the gift and then stewarding the impact of the gift. Franke is a member of the Northern Arizona University Foundation Board, has active committee roles with University of Montana, Mayo Clinic, United Way and other agencies. Prior philanthropic roles have been as Chairman of Sojourner Center (a Phoenix-based domestic violence agency), Chair of Arizona Business Accelerator, Education committee member of Opportunity International, and other roles.
Franke holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Washington and an MBA from Arizona State University.
Eric Fraint
Eric Fraint is a Certified Public Accountant with a degree from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Eric has an extensive background with nonprofits that are making significant differences. He has served on the Selection Committee for the Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management. He has served as Treasurer or as a board member for numerous organizations including the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, the Grand Canyon Association, the Young Playwrights’ Theater of Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Foundation, the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center, the Jewish Publication Society, Creative Access, the Kellman Brown Academy, and Temple Beth Sholom. He has taught nonprofit financial management courses in Drexel University’s Graduate Arts Administration program, La Salle University’s Nonprofit Management Center, and the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania. He writes a blog about financial best practices for nonprofit organizations. As Eric says, “I get excited by helping nonprofit organizations that are making a great difference in people’s lives and their communities.”
Chris Bavasi
Chris Bavasi served as chair of the Flagstaff Medical Center and Northern Arizona Healthcare boards from 2001 to 2015. He is also active on the board of directors for The Peaks Senior Living Community, which is operated through a partnership with NAH. Chris is a member of the Federal Governments Senior Executive Service.
In previous roles, Chris has been a detective with the Flagstaff Police Department; director of the Northern Arizona Council of Governments; a member of the Flagstaff City Council; and mayor of Flagstaff. He was also president of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns and president of the Flagstaff Unified School District board.
Over the years Chris has been on and chaired the boards of many nonprofits, including Boys and Girls Club, United Way, Coconino Community College Foundation, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Sigma Chi fraternity, Northern Arizona University Foundation, Flagstaff YMCA, St. Mary’s School Board, American Heart Association, Catholic Charities, Museum of Northern Arizona, Kiwanis, Northern Arizona Council of Governments, Lumberjack Athletic Association, the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff Medical Center, Northern Arizona Healthcare, Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation, American Cancer Society, the Flagstaff Metropolitan Planning Organization, and the Peaks Senior Living Community.
A graduate of Northern Arizona University and a resident of Flagstaff for more than 50 years, Chris is unwavering in his dedication to Northern Arizona and to the greater communities it serves.
Pats Shriver
Pats Shriver oversees the Arizona Community Foundation of Flagstaff as well as the Page/Lake Powell Community Fund, Greater Williams Community Fund, and Tuba City Community Funds, and nurtures the relationship with ACF’s affiliate partner, The Hopi Foundation. Pats works with donors and fund holders as well as other community partners to grow charitable assets and enhance community impact through strategic grantmaking. Pats joined the organization in 2011 as grants and operations coordinator for the Northern Region and was named Northern Regional Manager in 2013. In 2015 she was promoted to Regional Director of the northern part of the state.
Pats came to ACF from the Museum of Northern Arizona where she served as an executive assistant, human resources manager, facilities and events coordinator and Ventures trip coordinator during her four-year tenure. She has over 20 years of experience in senior management overseeing educational and consulting services in the Silicon Valley software industry and she holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.