Search Committee
Search Committee
Meet the Members
Chair
Jon Steinbrecher ’83, PED, is the eighth commissioner of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Jon has served as the commissioner of three Division I conferences – additionally serving six years (2003-2009) as commissioner of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and nine years (1994-2003) as the commissioner of the Mid-Continent Conference (the Summit League). He is the longest-tenured Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Commissioner, as well as the longest-tenured DI commissioner across three conferences. Jon is the only person to serve as commissioner in all three NCAA Division I subdivisions (FBS, Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), DI).
Jon is a 1983 graduate of Valparaiso University, where he earned both a bachelor of science in physical education and journalism. In 2006, he was bestowed an Alumni Achievement Award from his alma mater and was later inducted into the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014. Jon graduated with a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University in 1984 and he was awarded the Doctorate of Physical Education in sports administration from Indiana University in 1989. He serves on the Valparaiso University Board as the chair-elect.
An all-conference and academic all-conference selection in football and a conference champion in tennis, Jon was named Valpo’s and the Heartland Collegiate Conference’s Student-Athlete of the Year in 1983.
Vice Chair
As chief commercial officer, Julie Winkler ’96, MBA, has led organization-wide growth initiatives that accelerated revenue growth, attracted new clients, and diversified CME Group’s business. She established a data-driven, go-to-market approach with her global commercial team of 350+ people across sales, marketing, research and product development, data science and analytics, innovation, retail, and data, leading to $5 billion in new client revenue since 2016. Her client interactions span across many Fortune 1000 firms in banking, trading, investment management, commodities, data, and technology.
Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration in finance from Valparaiso University and a master of business administration in finance and derivatives markets with highest honors from Loyola University. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for S and P Dow Jones Indices and Valparaiso University. She is also the board chair for Women in Financial Markets (WIFM), a not-for-profit focused on connecting, advancing, and elevating women in the financial services industry.
Committee Members
Colette Irwin-Knott ’81, spent her career in the field of public finance with Umbaugh in Indianapolis. She provided financial advisory services by working closely with educators throughout Indiana on hundreds of school and library projects involving the issuance of municipal bonds. She has been an instrumental leader at local, state, and national levels of public finance. The Indianapolis Business Journal recognized her as a “Woman in the Lead for Financial Services.”
She has been an active community volunteer in her church, as well as serving on the boards of arts and library organizations throughout Indiana. In addition, she serves on the board of a longstanding company in Indianapolis.
Colette graduated from Valparaiso University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and continued to be active through the University Guild and College of Business Administration’s National Council. In 2009, she joined the University’s Board of Directors and has since chaired the Finance and Administration Committee and Academic Affairs Committee. In the latter part of 2020 and early months of 2021, she served as the interim president of the University.
Paul Strasen ’78, J.D., is senior vice president and general counsel of Housecall Pro, a software technology company based in Denver. Paul is a graduate of Valparaiso University, where he majored in humanities and political science, and the University of Chicago Law School. His law practice has included work on transactional and tax matters at a Chicago law firm followed by many years as general counsel of a number of public and private companies.
Paul currently lives in Littleton, Colorado, with his wife, Judith Kohlmeyer ’78 Strasen. Paul has served on the Valparaiso University board for many years. Prior to serving on the board, he was a member of the Christ College National Council. Paul and Judy are members of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Denver and have two children, Sarah and Karl ’11, and two grandchildren.
Sara Manske ’98, J.D., advises clients on international and United States domestic insurance matters. In particular, she counsels insurers, health maintenance organizations (HMO), and regulators on corporate, transactional, and regulatory matters. She has helped multiple Fortune 50 companies reach their goals and overcome their biggest obstacles. In the last year, Sara has advised clients on the ever-changing international insurance standards, including how those changes will impact both domestic-only and internationally active insurers. Sara also has counseled insurers and regulators on artificial intelligence, Big Data, and algorithms, including evolving standards and ethical considerations. Sara has presented to several departments of insurance on this topic, with other such meetings to follow.
Sara serves as a member of the Valparaiso University Board of Directors.
Rami Musleh, M.S., PA-C, joined the faculty in the fall of 2018 and serves as a clinical assistant professor for the physician assistant program. His clinic areas of expertise are neurosurgery and urgent care.
Rami practiced clinically as a physician assistant in neurosurgery at multiple hospitals throughout Northwest Indiana for 13 years, and now works for a large urgent care group that has more than 40 clinics throughout Chicagoland and Northern Indiana. He also served as a clinical preceptor for PA and pre-PA students.
Rami holds a master of science degree from Pace University (2019), a bachelor of science in physician assistant studies from Midwestern University (2004), and a bachelor of arts in psychology with a minor in biology from Indiana University Northwest. Board certified as a physician assistant through the NCCPA since 2004, Rami brings extensive experience to the field. He is also a published author, with a co-authored article titled “Outcomes with Orthopedic and Neurosurgeons for Common Neck and Back Procedures” appearing in the Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, Volume 17, Number 1 (October 2022), pages 29–35.
Sara Gundersen, Ph.D., is a professor of economics specializing in religion, education, and development. She has been at Valparaiso University since 2011 and has served as program director for the master of science in international economics and finance program, the Budget Review Committee, the General Education and Policy Committee, and the College of Arts and Sciences Scholarship and Advising Committee. She has received several teaching awards and served as a mentor for the American Economic Association’s Committee for the Status of Women in the Economics Profession mentoring conference.
Sara received her bachelor’s degree in general business administration at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and her master’s degree and doctorate from Clark University. She is currently working on creating courses on personal finance.
Carolyn Simpson ’05, ’09, M.A., has served in a variety of positions over her 24 years at Valparaiso University. Most recently, she serves as a data analyst in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. Prior roles include positions in the Offices of Student Accounts, Registrar, and Office of Financial Aid. She is also a member on the Staff Council, a group of elected staff who are charged with providing advocacy and professional development to both hourly and salaried staff. She served as vice chair from 2023-2024.
Carolyn earned a bachelor of arts in English and secondary education, with honors, from Valparaiso University, as well as an master of arts in Liberal Studies, also in English.
Interesting fact: Carolyn’s twin sister, Marilyn, is the associate director in the Office of Financial Aid. The Simpson twins are one of many pairs of siblings or spouses who work together at Valpo.
Cornell Boggs ’82, ’85 J.D., is chairman of the Board of Directors for Thrivent Financial, a Fortune 500 financial services company based in Minneapolis. In January 2025, he began his third term as chairman. Cornell additionally serves as of counsel and senior strategic advisor for Quarles and Brady, a national law firm, where he advises the firm’s leadership and lawyers based on insights gained through a 30-year in-house legal career.
Cornell formerly served as a senior advisor for BarkerGilmore, where he advised general counsel and chief compliance officers through the firm’s GC and CCO Advantage Program, and as Toys “R” Us executive vice president and general counsel, where he led the company’s legal and government affairs functions. Cornell further served as Dow Corning Corporation’s senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, a role he held from 2012-2016, when the 73-year-old Joint Venture was merged into the Dow Chemical Company. In this role, Cornell was responsible for leading the company’s global legal, corporate security, and government relations functions. Prior to joining Dow Corning, Cornell served as chief responsibility and ethics officer for MillerCoors. Cornell served as chief legal officer and group vice president, public affairs, for Coors Brewing Company; and vice president and general counsel for Tyco Plastics and Adhesives, and operating division of Tyco International. Earlier in his career, he worked in the corporate legal departments of Monsanto Company, Anheuser-Busch Companies, and Intel.
He began his career as a judicial clerk for the Court of Appeals of Indiana, followed by appointment in the Attorney General’s Honor Program, where he served as a trial attorney at the United States Department of Justice, Civil Division, Torts Branch.
Cornell is a graduate of Valparaiso University and Valparaiso University School of Law. For 18 years, he served on the Board of Directors of Valparaiso University, where he was chairman of the Campus Life Committee, a member of the Audit Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee. Past board memberships include the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, as well as the ABA Standards Review Committee for law school accreditation. He is a member of the Indiana, Missouri, and Michigan State Bar Associations. Cornell has been recognized by Savoy Magazine for excellence on numerous occasions. In 2014, he was recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America. In 2015, as one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers, and in 2016, 2021, and 2024, as one of the Most Influential Corporate Directors in America. Cornell was further recognized in 2017 at the Library of Congress in conjunction with the American Bar Association as a recipient of the Burton Awards as a 2017 Legend in the Law.