The Utah Board of Higher Education has launched the search for Utah Valley University's next president. Additional announcements, timeline details, and updates will be posted on this website throughout the process.
We greatly value your feedback. Please share your suggestions, comments, or nominations with the Utah Board of Higher Education at [email protected] or submit anonymous feedback: ushe.edu/uvu-presidential-search-feedback
Cydni Tetro is a nationally recognized executive leader, entrepreneur, and community builder with a proven record of guiding organizations through growth, turnaround, and institutional transformation. She has served on the Utah System of Higher Education Board since 2023, bringing a systems-level perspective on governance, workforce alignment, and the evolving role of higher education. A 2023 EY Entrepreneur of the Year, Cydni is known for pairing bold vision with disciplined execution—delivering results while strengthening culture, accountability, and long-term sustainability.
Cydni currently serves as Fractional President of MTNP, a diversified growth investment portfolio spanning consumer brands, outdoor recreation, marine, real estate, and technology-enabled services. In this role, she partners with founders, boards, and leadership teams to stabilize operations, professionalize systems, and accelerate value creation. Her responsibilities include P&L and capital stewardship, turnaround execution, operating model design, M&A and joint venture leadership, and building repeatable playbooks that enable scale while preserving mission and culture.
Previously, as CIO of Swire Coca-Cola, Cydni led enterprise-wide technology, digital, data, and AI initiatives across a multi-billion-dollar organization, modernizing infrastructure and improving decision-making across nearly 8,000 employees and 50 locations. She previously drove technology commercialization at Disney Imagineering, where she evaluated emerging technologies and IP coming from university partners, secured funding, and transitioned innovative concepts into scalable business units. She has also served as CEO and co-founder of three technology and consumer-facing companies, leading periods of rapid growth, integration, and successful exits.
Beyond the private sector, Cydni is deeply committed to education and community leadership. She is the founder of Women Tech Council, has inspired more than 40,000 students through STEM and workforce initiatives, has taught at Babson University, BYU, and SLCC, and serves on the board of SelectHealth and regional boards.
Shauna K. Smith is Managing Director and Co-Founder of Savory Fund, a private equity firm focused on investing in and scaling emerging restaurant brands. In her role, Shauna leads Portfolio Management and Value Creation, partnering closely with leadership teams to drive revenue growth, operating discipline, strategic transformation, and scalable infrastructure across the Savory portfolio. Shauna is an accomplished executive leader with 18+ years of experience building and growing Food & Beverage businesses. Since 2008, she has helped develop, acquire, and operate 530+ restaurants across a dozen states, generating more than $3 billion in aggregate sales and creating tens of thousands of jobs throughout her career. Shauna lives in Alpine, Utah, with her husband of 27 years, Andrew K. Smith, and their two sons and daughter-in-law.
Clark Collings is Utah Valley University’s General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees. He also serves as counsel and liaison to the Utah Valley University Foundation. He coordinates the provision of all legal services on campus and leads the Office of General Counsel.
Prior to serving as General Counsel, Clark was UVU’s Associate General Counsel, where he was responsible for the provision of legal services on all University transactional, business, and financial legal matters, oversaw the provision of legal services on all University privacy matters, and provided legal counsel to the University’s Athletics Department. Clark has spent a substantial portion of his career in high-tech. Before law school, Clark worked for nearly 10 years in various roles for Dealertrack, Inc., an ERP software-as-a-service provider for car dealerships. Prior to joining UVU, Clark was the Associate General Counsel for InsideSales.com, a predictive analytics startup in Provo, Utah, where he provided counsel on M&A transactions, data privacy matters, and IP licensing agreements.
Kyle Cullimore serves as Student Body President at Utah Valley University, representing more than 40,000 students. He plays an integral part in university governance and institutional decision-making. He collaborates closely with administration on planning, policy development, and approval, along with student fees and budget oversight. He is pursuing a pre-dental academic track with advanced coursework in the sciences while maintaining strong academic standing. He is known for his principled leadership, objective approach, and ability to build connection and belonging among diverse stakeholders.
Steven J. Lund currently serves as executive chairman of the board for Nu Skin Enterprises. He also serves as the executive director of the company’s Nourish the Children initiative, which has facilitated the donation of hundreds of millions of meals to malnourished children around the world.
Lund has served as executive vice president of Nu Skin International since 1985 and in various other roles since that time, including vice chairman of the board from 2006 to 2012, president and chief executive officer from 1996 to 2003, and president and chief executive officer of Nu Skin Asia Pacific from 1996 to 1998.
Lund has served on the board of directors for the U.S. Direct Selling Association and has participated in various civic and religious leadership roles; he also formerly served as chairman of the Utah Valley University board of trustees and on the then Utah State Board of Regents. Before joining Nu Skin Enterprises, Lund worked as an attorney in a private law practice after earning a Juris Doctorate degree from Brigham Young University's J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1983.
Blake joined Pelion in 2002 and has led the firm from fund III to our most recently announced fund, Pelion Ventures VIII. Founded in 1986, Pelion Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. The firm invests in software infrastructure, vertical SaaS, fintech, artificial intelligence, security, marketplaces, information services, developer tools, consumer technology, and eCommerce. Blake backs entrepreneurs building unique and disruptive technologies. Blake has led investments in Redhat, Riverbed, Fusion.io, Integral Ad Science, DOMO, enCommerce, Soasta, Metacloud, and Strider. Prior to joining Pelion, Blake was Managing Director for Novell Ventures and Vice President of Strategic Business Development. He directed Novell’s venture strategy, including both its direct investments in companies and indirect investments in venture capital funds. Blake is currently serving and has served on several public and private company boards, and he also serves on the advisory boards of several venture capital firm funds. Prior to managing Novell’s venture capital organization, Blake held several positions in sales, marketing, product management, global channel sales development, and business development within Novell and WordPerfect. Blake has a B.A. in Economics from Brigham Young University.
Evelyn Porter currently serves as Utah Valley University’s Faculty Senate president and as a professor of mathematics and quantitative reasoning. She calls Sierra Vista, Arizona, home and has been at UVU since 2007, when she began as an academic counselor for the Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning Department, which was previously called the Developmental Mathematics Department. She holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics with honors from the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University.
Porter has worked to better U.S. education through co-authoring a July 2024 publication with two other UVU professors titled “Success in Asynchronous Courses Through Increasing Student’s Social Presence,” and co-presenting with another UVU colleague at the National Organization for Student Success’s 2021 conference about using technology to increase social presence in online classes. UVU’s commitment to accepting and supporting all students, including those whose life circumstances might make it challenging to attend college, is Porter’s favorite aspect of working at the university. When she isn’t serving students of UVU and beyond, she serves her country and community as a Navy reservist, which she has done for almost 18 years.
Nikki Scott serves as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Finance & Business Operations at Utah Valley University, where she provides strategic leadership in fiscal management, budgeting, and business operations for Wolverine Athletics. In this role, she ensures compliance, transparency, and long-term financial sustainability while aligning resources with competitive and institutional goals. Nikki plays a key role in capital project planning, operational efficiency, and resource allocation, partnering closely with coaches and administrators to support the growth of UVU Athletics.
Nikki began her UVU career in 2006 as a Junior Accountant and advanced through progressively responsible roles, including Assistant Athletic Director for Budgets & Finance in 2012, Associate Athletic Director in 2014, and Senior Associate Athletic Director in 2024. Her leadership reflects a balance of meeting current needs while maintaining a forward-looking vision for growth and innovation.
Beyond Athletics, Nikki has made significant contributions to campus leadership. She currently serves as President of UVU’s Professional Association of Campus Employees (PACE), advocating for staff engagement and development. Her service has included participation on numerous university-wide committees, such as the University Planning Advisory Committee (UPAC), co-chairing a staff merit pay initiative, and involvement in leadership programs like UVU PEER and UVSELF. Nikki’s commitment to excellence has been recognized with multiple honors, including the PACE Award of Excellence (2010, 2016) and the Divisional Award of Excellence (2011, 2023).
Nikki holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). She is also an active member of NACDA and CABMA, professional organizations that support collegiate athletics leadership and financial management. Nikki lives near Payson, Utah, with her husband Shawn and their two children, Adria and Ryker, along with a lively assortment of pets. Her daughter is currently a UVU student, and Nikki takes great pride in being part of the Wolverine family.
Aaron Skonnard has served on the Utah Board of Higher Education since 2023. He is co-founder and former CEO of Pluralsight, Inc., the leading technology workforce development company that helps companies and people around the world transform with technology. He continues to serve on the Pluralsight One advisory board today. Since co-founding Pluralsight in 2004, he grew the company to more than 2,000 employees with four offices in three countries.
Through his leadership, the company flourished and made its public market debut in May 2018. Since 2013, Pluralsight has acquired 10 companies to expand its library, add new features to the platform, and diversify into a multi-product and strategic skills consulting company. Aaron also led Pluralsight through three rounds of funding as a private company, including a $135 million Series B round in August 2014.
He strongly feels the key to a healthy business is establishing a strong culture and building a team that believes in its core values. In 2020, Pluralsight landed on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list and was also recognized by Great Place to Work® on its Best Workplaces for Women and Best Workplaces in Technology lists.
Aaron is a thought-leader in the industry, speaking at events around the world. He has served on the Zions Bancorporation board of directors for six years and currently serves on the boards of two technology startups, Kadence and Mindsmith. He is a founding board member of Silicon Slopes, the nonprofit that empowers Utah’s startup and tech community to learn, connect, and serve, working to make entrepreneurship and opportunity in Silicon Slopes open and accessible to all. As a result of his efforts in the business world and community, Aaron was inducted into the Utah Technology Council Hall of Fame in 2017. Other accolades include the 2015 Utah CEO of the Year from StartSLC, 2016 CEO of the Year from Utah Business, and MountainWest Capital’s 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year.
