Board Biographies

John A. Barragan III: Park City, UT

John Barragan has an extensive background in financial services and corporate finance, with over 10 years experience in both areas. He began his career at Merrill Lynch and is now senior vice president of TriCor Financial Services Ltd., a financial planning firm with $200 million under management. Previously, John held positions including finance manager and director of finance for a national healthcare company.

John graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is currently completing his MBA at Westminster College and is a candidate for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation in 2007.

Active in the community, John serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity for Summit and Wasatch counties, the investment committee for the National Ability Center and manages investments for other non-profits in Salt Lake City. In addition to his professional commitments and extensive volunteer activities, John enjoys skiing, mountain biking, triathlons, fly fishing and being with his family.

Forrest Cuch: Salt Lake City , UT

Forrest Cuch is an active member and leader of the Ute Indian Tribe. While serving as the Tribe's director of education for 15 years after his graduation from Westminster College , he led efforts to produce and publish A History of the Northern Ute People , and has more recently edited A History of Utah's American Indians . Forrest then became the planner for the newly recognized Wampanoag tribe of Gay Head, Massachusetts , where he was responsible for designing and developing the service programs to be administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and for the long-range strategic plan for the Tribe.

Since 1997, Forrest Cuch has been executive director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs. He strives to educate Utah leaders as well as the general public of both the ancient presence of American Indian people in Utah and their enduring plight as citizens with very unique contributions yet to be made to modern day society. His experience and knowledge of nation building, strategic planning, and Native American History make him a valuable member of our board.

John Manookin: Park City , UT

John is currently Vice President, Senior Private Banking Officer for Wells Fargo in Park City , and has considerable financial and management expertise gained from over 30 years of banking experience at numerous Utah banks. John has worked to manage entire unit production centers as well as more recently focusing on working with high net worth bank clients. He is a welcome addition to the Swaner team.

Ted McAleer: Park City , UT

Ted McAleer is currently the Executive Director of the Utah Science Technology and Research Initiative (USTAR).  Prior to assuming this position, Ted was the Director of Business Development for University of Utah’s Technology Venture Development organization. Ted has 20 years of experience in technology innovation; business development; product, services and operations management in both start-up and mature corporations.  He has been Chief Operating Officer for Teleoptic Digital Imaging, LLC and the Sr. Director of Implementation services at Campus Pipeline, Inc.  He also has worked for SunGard SCT, Procter and Gamble, Pepsi Co. and the US Army.  He holds a MBA from Harvard Business School, a Master of Engineering from the University of Virginia and BS in Engineering Management from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Dan McPhun: Park City, UT

Dan has a strong background in international management, venture capital and environmental engineering. Before joining Mitsubishi International in 1979 Dan was Manager of International Operations for Envirotech, a fortune 1000 manufacturer of water and waste equipment. At Mitsubishi International Dan served first in Washington D.C. working primarily on Mitsubishi’s nuclear fuels and machinery business. Then he moved to LA where he was responsible for Business Development for the 14 Western states. This included managing Mitsubishi’s venture capital investments. Dan next moved on to Chicago where he was Manager of the Environmental Machinery Department. Dan is now a Senior Advisor to Mitsubishi International working both the New Business Development Department and Precious Metal Departments in New York and also the Environmental Machinery Department in Chicago. Dan has B.S and MBA from Oregon and Masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown plus a Certificate in Environmental Engineering from UCLA.

When Dan was Manager of the Environmental Machinery department he started Mitsubishi’s  Ozone business in the USA. Mitsubishi had formed a teaming agreement with Fuji Electric one the world’s largest and most experience suppliers of ozone generators. Dan was successful in getting Fuji’s ozone generators qualified by many major consulting engineering companies including CDM and CH2M Hill. Dan also negotiated a JV between Mitsubishi / Fuji and Osmonics Corporation; at the time a world wide supplier of small ozone generators. The JV included setting up partial manufacturing of Fuji generators in the USA. Osmonics was later acquired by GE Water and Fuji is now selling their generators directly in USA market.

Bob Pruitt III: Salt Lake City , Utah
*Vice President

Bob Pruitt is a native of Fort Bragg , North Carolina , and has spent the majority of his life in Salt Lake City.  He has a Bachelor of Science in finance from the University of Utah and his J. D. Degree from the University Of Utah College Of Law .  Upon admission to the Utah State Bar, Pruitt worked in all phases of oil and gas, mining, water, real property, and environmental law.  Bob is particularly active in environmental counseling and related litigation, including hazardous waste problems; his expertise include mined land reclamation projects, CERCLA and RCRA cleanup projects, hazardous waste incineration, nuclear waste and hazardous waste landfill permitting, brown fields development, clean-up cost allocation, innocent owner defense, and criminal defense of environmental law.

Pruitt is active with the Energy & Natural Resources Section of the Utah State Bar, where he was chairman of the Environmental Law Committee 1985 - 1987.  He received the Section's "Lawyer of the Year" Award from 1985-1986.  Pruitt is also active in the American Bar Association, where he served as vice chairman of the Satellite Technology Committee and was program chairman for the Committee workshop, entitled "Satellites and Remote Sensing: New Issues for the Natural Resources Lawyer," held at the National Space Technology Laboratories in 1987.  Pruitt served as president of the Utah Association of Petroleum & Mining Landmen from 1986-1987 and on the committees of American Association of Petroleum Landmen and the Rocky Mountain Association of Environmental Professionals. For recreation, Bob enjoys skiing, kayaking, reading, and motorcycling.

Diana Swaner: Park City , UT
* Secretary

In addition to serving as the elected Secretary of our Board of Trustees, Diana Swaner is also the chair of the Governance Committee, and is a member of the Nominating Committee and Rhinestone Cowboy Committee. She brings us expertise in education and social science. Diana earned her M.S. in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Intercultural and International Education with a specialty in Curriculum Writing, and has since held a variety of positions which have given her experience in education and management. Currently, she is an owner and consultant at Environmental Awareness Resources in Park City.

Sumner Swaner , ASLA, AICP: Salt Lake City , Utah
* President/Chairman

Sumner Swaner possesses a unique combination of training and perspectives.  He is a talented landscape architect, environmental planner, wildlife biologist, and developer; Sumner melds these disciplines to enhance environmental and economic options for communities.  Sumner's work has been published in leading magazines, including "Landscape Architecture," "Planning," and " Urban Land ."  Currently, Sumner commits his time to community planning projects and educational engagements.  He is the founder of the nonprofit organization Center for Green Space Design and has spoken at venues ranging from small city meetings to the 2002 United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development .  Sumner has a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture and environmental planning from Utah State University.

Paula Swaner, Ph.D.: Salt Lake City , Utah
* Founding Board Member

Dr. Paula Swaner has received several degrees from the University of Utah , including a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in English Literature, as well as a Masters of Science in educational psychology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.  She has also received an M.A. from Pacific Graduate Institute in the Mythological Studies Program and is in the dissertation phase of a Ph.D. program from Pacifica University .  In addition to her degrees, Dr. Swaner has certifications in Object Relations Theory and Therapy from the School of Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, as well as from the Academy for Guided Imagery.

Dr. Swaner's professional career began as a psychotherapist at the Granite Community Mental Health Center ; she then worked with the Second District Juvenile Court and shortly thereafter she practiced privately.  In 1993 Dr. Swaner established the Evergreen Coalition, a consortium of family projects, and in 1997 received a faculty appointment at the International Institute of Object Relations, a position she still holds.  In 2000, under the auspices of the International Institute of Object Relations Therapy, Dr. Swaner established and directed the Infant Observation Teleconferencing Satellite Program, coordination between Chevy Chase , Maryland , London Tavistock Clinic, and Salt Lake City .  In 2003 she established the Rocky Mountain Psychological Center , a Psychotherapist's Group Practice involving training and community mental health projects.

Dr. Swaner has received numerous honors, including Heart and Hands Award from the Cornerstone Counseling Center (2001), Norman S. Anderson MD Award for Distinguished Service to Mental Health in Utah (2002), and Emeritus Merit of Honor from University of Utah (2003). In 2004 Dr. Swaner was inducted into the Old Main Society Honorary Sorority at Utah State University .  When time allows, Dr. Swaner enjoys swimming, hiking, and cross-country skiing.

Honorary Board of Trustees

Tom Bakaly
Bill McCreary, Ph.D.
Bill Fenimore
Joe Sargetakis
Paula Swaner-Sargetakis