Holly Connley
Career and Personal Brand Consultant
Carson College of Business

Holly Connley is the Career and Personal Brand Consultant for the Carson College of Business, serving MBA and EMBA students and alumni. For the past 17 years Holly has helped students from all walks of life as they navigate their career journey, including industry pivots, career changes and leadership advancements. She has a Master’s Degree from New Mexico Highlands University in Educational Leadership and has assisted with the creation of several professional development programs in the higher education space.

David Mitchell
Founder and President
The Leadership Difference

Since founding the Leadership Difference in 1995, over 450,000 people have attended Dave’s “enter-TRAIN-ment” seminars on topics that include leadership, customer service, selling skills, and personal performance enhancement.

In 2013, Dave was named Best Speaker of the Year at Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress in Las Vegas. In 2015, Meetings and Conventions Magazine named Dave one of the Best Speakers of the Year.  Dave has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, serves as president of the Walla Walla Community College business advisory board, has a master’s degree (M. Ed.) in Global Human Resources Development and is designated as a Certified Advanced Wine Sommelier.

Katie Elliott
Senior Sales Operations Manager
Dillanos Coffee Roasters

Katie Elliott (EMBA ’23) is the Senior Sales Operations Manager for Dillanos Coffee Roasters. She joined Dillanos after ten years leading sales operations in aerospace manufacturing. Katie serves on the International Business Advisory Board of WSU’s Carson College of Business and has deep expertise in developing teams and streamlining systems for growth. 

Jerry Leighton
Senior Executive Recruiter and Talent Acquisition Specialist
Providence St. Joseph Health

As a Senior Executive Recruiter and Talent Acquisition Specialist at Providence St. Joseph Health, Jerry executes targeted searches seeking out high tech professionals and executives primarily in the Clinical Leadership, Business Intelligence (BI), Pharmaceutical, Philanthropy and Epic EMR space. With over 30 years of experience in talent recruitment and vast industry connections, Jerry has a robust and proven track record of identifying and placing exceptional individuals in leadership and executive roles. 

Jeremy Valdez
Senior Regional Manager
TOM Operations at Amazon

During his eight-year tenure at Amazon, Jeremy Valdez has focused on driving innovation and excellence in operations talent management. Throughout his Amazon career, he has successfully worked across HR, operations, and program management roles. Prior to Amazon, he served in the US Army as a member of the 7th Special Forces Group and US Special Operations Command. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Norwich University. 

Matt Beer
Director of Master’s Programs
Carson College of Business

Matt Beer is the Director of Master’s Programs for the Carson College of Business, leading admissions, student support, and student experience efforts for WSU’s online master’s programs. Beer also leads the development of strategy and goals around the unit’s corporate engagement initiatives and serves as an advisor for practices and programs to support the WSU’s military-affiliated students.

Debbie Compeau
Phyllis J. Campbell Endowed Dean
Carson College of Business

Deborah (Debbie) Compeau was named the inaugural Phyllis J. Campbell Endowed Dean of Washington State University’s Carson College of Business on January 1, 2025. She leads the college in its endeavor to be the model school of business for tomorrow’s land-grant university.

Prior to her appointment, Compeau served as the college’s interim dean since 2023. Before that, she was the senior associate dean for faculty affairs and research. Compeau’s own research addresses complex issues related to the adoption, implementation, and use of information technologies in organizations, particularly health care organizations. She has taught information systems at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels, with a particular focus on IT strategy. She is an active case writer and case teacher and has conducted workshops on teaching with cases in the US, Canada, France, and Germany.

Compeau holds the Hubman Distinguished Professorship of Information Systems and is a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems. Prior to joining WSU, she held faculty positions in Canada at Western University (2000-2015), the University of Calgary (1998-2000), and Carleton University (1991-1998). She earned her doctorate in information systems from the Ivey Business School (Western University).