Previous Alumni Awards
SOM Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2023
Don Armstrong
Founder and CEO of Vitu
The School of Management Distinguished Alumnus of the Year 2023 is Don Armstrong, founder and CEO of Vitu. Prior to founding Vitu, Don founded and was COO and CTO of SDR Technologies, where he designed groundbreaking campaign finance disclosure systems for federal, state, and local government agencies. After selling the company to NICUSA and receiving a BA in Business Administration in 1999, he served as Chief Architect and spearheaded the development of technology solutions across an array of government services. In 2003, he co-founded Motor Vehicle Software Corporation, now Vitu.com, a major disruptor in its industry that implements numerous groundbreaking DMV-related innovations, including the nation's first fully digital car sale in 2020. Under his leadership, Vitu grew to more than 400 employees and is now the largest private-sector provider of DMV services throughout the US. His is also a valued member of TechNet, the bipartisan network of tech CEOs advancing public policies and private sector initiatives within all levels of government. Don has hired interns from Cal Lutheran, employed our graduates, engaged in student-led consulting projects, he mentored students, guest-spoke in classes and at events, he serves as a member of my Dean’s Executive Council, and he has supported the school with significant gifts.
SOM Young Alumna of the Year 2023
Majd Abdullah Almaki
Founding Member & Director of IPA's Gender Balance Center
The School of Management Young Alumna of the Year 2023 is Majd Abdullah Almaki. Before Majd joined the MPPA program in 2018, she had completed an internship at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). After graduation in 2020, she returned to Saudi Arabia, where she is a founding member and the Director of the Gender Balance Center at the IPA, a Gender Expert in the National Observatory of Gender Balance Indicators, and also a committee member at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), developing guidelines for the promotion and implementation of gender equality. Recently, she spoke at a World Bank conference on data-driven decision-making for enhanced gender participation in the public sector.
SOM Alumna of the Year 2022
Amie Krause
Chief People Officer, Revance
Amie Krause is the Chief People Officer at Revance. She is a strategic and agile HR executive with 25 years of experience in talent acquisition, employee relations, compensation, benefits, leadership development, coaching and operations. Prior to her tenure with Atara, Amie held several HR leadership positions at Amgen, including her role as Global HR Lead, Organizational Effectiveness during which she served as the human resources lead for Amgen’s global commercial operations covering the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Additionally, she served the Commercial HR lead standing up Amgen’s cardiovascular franchise launching two products. Amie is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and was a founding leader of the Atara Women’s Alliance (AWA). She has been a strong advocate for the LGBTQ community at Atara and is an active member of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA). Amie holds both a B.S. in business management and an MBA from California Lutheran University. She has also completed the UC Berkeley Extension program for Human Resources Officers. Away from the office, Amie doubles as an adjunct professor at the California Lutheran University School of Management.