Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is composed of family, long time associates of Mr. Brown, and appointees from the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. The board members have diverse backgrounds in education, business, economics, and technology.
The Thomas R. Brown Foundations consist of the Thomas R. Brown Foundation, a private operating foundation, and the Thomas R. Brown Family Foundation, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona. The two entities are legally separate, but are governed by the same trustees, and programs of both foundations are coordinated where appropriate.
Sarah Brown Smallhouse
Ms. Smallhouse has a BA in Economics from the University of Washington, an MBA from the University of Arizona, and an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She was the Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce 2008 Woman of the Year and received the Thomas L. Swanson Regional Leadership Award from the Pima Association of Governments for enhancing the regional community despite jurisdictional boundaries, promoting cooperation among residents and elected officials, and leading innovation on regional issues. She is President of the Thomas R. Brown Foundations, past-chair of the UA Foundation Board and co-chaired the University of Arizona’s Arizona NOW capital campaign. For several years she led initiatives on infrastructure and international trade while serving on the board of Tucson Regional Economics Opportunities. Today she serves on the UA Foundation Board of Trustees, the Advisory Board for the UA College of Science, the Biosphere 2 Board, and heads the College of Science Galileo Circle. Additionally, she serves on the board of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and co-chairs its Governance Committee.
Mary Brown Bernal
Ms. Bernal received her bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis, and masters degree from Arizona State University’s Executive MBA Program. Her professional experience includes 15 years in commercial lending with various banks in Tucson, Yuma, and Phoenix. She presently serves on the boards of the Brown Foundations, the Arizona Council for Economic Education and the Amerind Foundation, as well as on the investment committee of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.
Dan Janes
Mr. Janes is the CEO of Madden Media, a marketing agency focused on improving destinations. Madden uses innovative, technology-driven marketing strategies to provide solutions for their partners and impacts the growth of communities by creating personalized, immersive content that connects people to places.
Mr. Janes is a successful entrepreneur and early-stage investor. He co-founded 42six Solutions, a Big Data and Analytics company that was acquired by Computer Sciences Corporation. Following the acquisition, Mr. Janes became active as an investor and member of Desert Angels and Arch Partners. His breadth of experience includes being a West Point graduate and former Army officer who led operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, worked inside of a large government agency, built a startup, and grew new technology offerings in a publicly traded company. Mr. Janes advises companies throughout Arizona with a focus on those based in Tucson and Southern Arizona.
Barbara Gray
Ms. Gray retired as Director of Educator Programs at the Thomas R. Brown Foundation in 2019. She began her career in education, later adding both juris doctorate and educational leadership degrees. Ms. Gray retired from teaching AP Economics at University High School in 2013 but continues to read AP exams for the College Board. Ms. Gray has been honored as a U.S. Presidential Scholar Educator, a Flinn Foundation Outstanding Educator and has been recognized by the University of Arizona for her teaching. She is also a member of the Arizona Bar.
Shaun Kirkpatrick
Mr. Kirkpatrick is president and CEO of Research Corporation Technologies, a Tucson-based technology investment and management company that provides early-stage funding and development for promising biomedical companies and technologies. Since joining RCT as a venture development associate in 1993, Mr. Kirkpatrick has managed venture investments and technology development programs in the fields of cancer, inflammation, metabolic disease, and neurological disorders, and technology platforms related to biotherapeutics and antibodies. He serves on the boards of several companies in RCT’s portfolio, as well as the Critical Path Institute in Tucson. Mr. Kirkpatrick also serves on the board of directors for the Flinn Foundation.
As a Flinn Scholar, Mr. Kirkpatrick earned his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Arizona with a dual major in Economics and Ecology/Evolutionary Biology. He received his Master of Arts degree in International Relations from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
Past Trustees
John Carter
Mr. Carter joined IBM after graduating from Purdue, and later went on to earn an MBA from the Wharton School. He rejoined IBM and had management positions in New York, California and Minnesota prior to moving to Tucson where he started the IBM operation and which he managed for ten years. After retiring from IBM, he served as CEO of Qualtronics Manufacturing, Inc. Later he joined Burr-Brown Corporation, and ultimately served as its CFO. He a former director of Unisource Energy, of Tucson Electric Power, of Critical-Path Institute, Global Solar, the Tucson Airport Authority, the UA College of Science Dean’s Board of Advisors and the UA Tech Park.
Jack Jewett
Mr. Jewett is the past president and CEO of the Flinn Foundation in Phoenix. He earned a BA degree and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Arizona. He served on the UA Foundation Board, and is a past president of the Arizona Board of Regents. He was elected and served on the national Board of Directors of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). He was AGB’s Treasurer and served on its Executive Committee. The Jewett family owned Territorial Publishers, Inc., where he served as President. Mr. Jewett also served on: the Governor’s P-20 Council; the Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee; and the First Things First Board. Mr. Jewett was a state representative in the Arizona Legislature, where he was named a top legislator for overall effectiveness in three consecutive Arizona Republic newspaper surveys.
Michael Hard
Mr. Hard graduated from Yale University in 1959, and married a Tucson native. He then served in the US Navy as an LTJG before joining Valley National Bank (now Chase) in Arizona. He held a number of different positions in the bank, including: regional manager in charge of all branches in the state outside of Phoenix and Tucson; assistant to the chairman; and, at the end of his 39-year career, senior executive in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Mr. Hard is remembered for his extensive community involvement and his significant contribution to TRBF over his 20 years of service.
Gerry Swanson
Dr. Swanson, University of Arizona Professor Emeritus, earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Illinois, and was nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in the teaching of economics. He taught many specialized workshops in the United States and abroad, and was the recipient of numerous teaching awards. He was past executive director of the Arizona Council on Economic Education and past president of the Academy of Economic Education. Swanson was known for his research and analysis on hyperinflation in South America and Europe. He was the author of numerous essays on economic issues, and scripts for the National Public Television series The Economic Exchange. He also authored Bankruptcy 1995 and America the Broke. Dr. Swanson held the Thomas R. Brown Chair in Economics Education at the UA Eller College. Today Dr. Swanson’s dedication to economics education is memorialized in two awards at the University of Arizona: the Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence and the Gerald J. Swanson Scholarship for Undergraduate Excellence in Economics.