Academy Executives

Robert Heyn

  • Robert Heyn was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. He has a degree in Computer Systems Administration from Politécnico Gran-Colombiano University; a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Brigham Young University.

    After several years of successfully managing his own businesses, Robert became the Executive Director of the Pete Suazo Business Center (PSBC). Robert contributed his experience to help existing and potential minority entrepreneurs build wealth through training, mentoring, and assistance with developing their business plans and loan packages. Robert was recognized by receiving the 2008 region VII “Minority Small Business Champion of the Year” award, a top honor from the Small Business Administration (SBA).

    Robert has served the community and his church in many capacities. From 2008 to 2011, Robert served as the Mission President of the Mexico Tijuana Mission. He has also been a bishop, stake counselor, and a member of the Young Men General Board. Robert currently helps low income families in the Salt Lake City Inner City Mission.

    In the community he has served on several boards and committees, including United Way of Salt Lake, University of Utah Minority and Diversity Committee, Salt Lake Community College School Management Advisory Committee, Utah Micro-Enterprise Loan Fund Marketing Committee, a member of the Executive Committee of the BSA – Great Salt Lake Council, and Esperanza Dual Immersion Charter School board of directors.

    Robert has been married to Yolanda for 40 years. They have two children and four grandchildren.

Curtis Beesley

  • Curtis Beesley was born in Utah and grew up in Southern California and has a vast Executive and Sales Management career in the private sector that includes the construction, manufacturing, and youth leadership industries. His passion is people and specifically helping others to see their value and full potential to achieve life’s highest measures regardless of their surrounding conditions.

    Since 2015, Curtis has been in the NGO space lifting others from the depths of poverty to sustainable self-reliance in developing countries. The last several years he served as President of Mentors International. He is thrilled to now expand his vision and reach with The Academy!

    Striving to do good every day by living the “Golden Rule” is the innate desire of his heart.

    Curtis received his BS in Business Management from BYU with a minor in Spanish.

    Curtis enjoys outdoor sports of all kinds and quality time with his wife Stephanie and their extended family.

Cam Crowther

  • Cam was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, and prior to joining the Academy was a founding partner of Creosote Group, specializing in guiding not-for-profit and educational organizations toward sustainable growth. He brings a wealth of experience from his time as President of WERC Institute and as a Vice President and Dean at Southern Virginia University. While in law school at Washington & Lee Cam was distinguished as the H. Crim Peck Scholar, Article and Submissions Editor of the German Law Journal, and received a Transnational Law Institute scholarship. He was also honored as a Sloan Fellow and recipient of the Sloan Masters Award at London Business School, where he earned a master’s degree focused on strategy and leadership. 

    As an adjunct professor at the BYU Marriott School of Business’s Ballard Center, Cam teaches aspiring leaders about strategic growth and management in a social enterprise. He also volunteers as a member of the President’s Leadership Council at Ensign College. 

    Cam loves to travel and has lived, worked, studied, or served as a missionary in eight countries. He and his wife, Marissa, are the parents of four children.

In-Country Area Directors

Alex Cavalcante

  • Alex earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from State University of Ceara in Brazil. He then went on to receive a Master of Public Administration from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in April 2008.

    He has worked as Controller on several projects in different companies for more than fifteen years. He started his role as the Brazil Country Manager of the Academy for Creating Enterprise in 2018. He was introduced to the Academy shortly before starting his Master's Degree at BYU. He was delighted with the program, its methodology, principles and values. He always thought that this program would be a blessing for the Brazilian people. More than 10 years later, saw the Academy beginning to take off in Brazil. He was the first Chapter President in Brazil. Now, he can currently share several success stories of Academy students in Brazil using this program. He can testify how wonderful this program is!

Phillip Tan

  • Owner of Bemx Enterprises, a dealer of industrial cleaning equipment and supplies. He has previously worked as the general manager for a business process outsourcing company.

    Much of his career was spent with Self-reliance services where he supported the development of the PEF program in the country, served as project manager for disaster response efforts in Mindanao, and leading the implementation of self-reliance initiative for the whole of Mindanao. Prior to Church employment, he gas worked in the field of organizational development in different companies and industries.

    He completed a degree in BS industrial Engineering with minors in Chemical Engineering from De La Salle University.

    He and his wife, Geraldine, have two children, Spencer and Eliza.

  • Luis Enrique was Born in Lima, Peru. He studied accounting and finance, certified as a coach at MEJOR-ARTE a coaching school in Peru, Completed a Master's Degree in Business Management for Entrepreneurs at IEBS-The Business School of Innovation and Entrepreneurs-Spain. Luis Enrique managed his own business for several years, achieving great things in his business objectives and goals. Luis Enrique has served his community in the development of urban projects and his Church in different responsibilities. He served as a Missionary from 1992-1994 in Peru. He also served as bishop, stake counselor, member of the high council, auditor, and secretary for 10 years of a coordination council in Lima Peru, in addition to other calls.

    Luis Enrique learned about The Academy for Creating Enterprise in 2013 when a pilot program was started in Lima, he was part of the graduates of that first group, thus starting the first chapter of the academy in Peru. He was Chapter President, Coordinator of Chapters, and is now the Current Director of the Academy for the South America Northwest, South America and Caribbean Areas. Luis Enrique has contributed significantly to the growth and development of the Academy in these areas. Luis Enrique is passionate about the Academy, he greatly enjoys helping people start and improve their businesses to achieve self-reliance, and brings a lot of experience, knowledge and leadership. Luis Enrique married Paula Hidalgo in 1995 and they have 6 children together.

Luis Arzubiaga

Frank Anno

  • Ing Frank Anno Ekwam was born in Ghana and is the regional director of the Academy for Africa West.

    Frank became involved with the academy first as a chapter president where he earnestly worked with a team to help in businesses creation.

    He served a full-time mission in Nigeria Enugu and is married with 3 children.

    Having earned his Mechanical Engineering degree from KNUST, Frank's entrepreneurial journey began as he assumed the role of CEO at E.F Anno Engineering & Plumbing Services. Here, his passion for addressing environmental challenges led him to co-create the groundbreaking Rain Forest Treatment System – an independent on-site water filtration solution for households and commercial use.

    Frank has an ardent desire to help individuals develop their entrepreneurial skills and nurture their business ideas. He finds immense joy in engaging with business owners, uncovering solutions to intricate challenges, and propelling ventures to success. He has conducted transformative trainings for artisans under UNICEF and contributed to the Self-Reliance Start My Business program for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

    Beyond his professional endeavors, Frank embraces his creative spirit by indulging in innovative movies and programs. Yet, amidst his dedication to entrepreneurship, he cherishes nothing more than spending precious moments with his loving family.

Adrian Vargas

  • Adrian is a certified trainer by the Public Educational System in Mexico and holds a degree in Business Administration. Adrian previously served as the Chapter Area Manager in Mexico and has been with the Academy for 11 years. Adrian has worked as Regional and Residential teacher, Regional Coordinator and Chapter Area Manager with the Academy.

    Adrian has been a Young Men’s President, Stake Sunday School President and Counselor in the Bishopric. He served a full-time mission in Oaxaca, Mexico. Adrian is married and is the father to four children. He loves mountain biking, hiking and climbing mountains.

Headquarters Team

Lanae Hooper

  • She received a MS in Accounting at BYU and worked in public accounting at Deloitte & Touche in her early career.  She has always enjoyed serving Non-profit clients in the community and is thrilled to be using her accounting expertise as well as her Spanish skills to help manage resources at the Academy.


    Lanae has been married 30 years to her husband Steve and they have five children. They raised their children in Mesa, Arizona but moved to Utah in recent years. In her spare time, Lanae likes to ski or hike, read historical novels, volunteer with Stitching Hearts Worldwide, and play the piano, especially when her daughters sing.

Jacob Smyth

  • Jacob grew up in Danville, California, as the oldest of six children. His interests took him to Brigham Young University, where he received a degree in Sociology and worked in the BYU Ballard Center for Economic Self-Reliance. While directing student internships between business and nonprofit partners, Jacob honed in his desire to help individuals become self-reliant and receive meaningful opportunities.

    Jacob served a mission in Wichita, Kansas and Fortaleza, Brazil. In addition to his time at the Ballard Center, Jacob has worked as a Swim Team Head Coach and as an EFY Counselor. Jacob enjoys music, the outdoors, and time well-spent with friends and family.

Adrienne Ventura

  • Adrienne has been with The Academy for just over three years and works in Program growth and standardization specifically supporting the growth of Brazil, The Philippines and Africa West. Adrienne served a full-time mission in Curitiba Brazil and then completed her undergraduate degree at BYU studying English Literature and social impact with the Ballard Center. Through the Ballard Center, she worked as an intern with the LDS Church’s Self-Reliance Services and then directed multiple internship teams working with Ballard Center partners. Adrienne also taught a class for the Ballard Center on Design Thinking. This introduction to social impact and business is ultimately what led Adrienne to know she wanted to work for an accredited and impactful nonprofit that gives back to the world. Adrienne loves to travel hike, rock climb, do yoga, read and spend time with her family and friends and her cat, boots.

Jen Gallacher

  • Jen Gallacher has a strong passion for sharing organizations’ vision and mission through marketing. For over a decade, she has helped businesses improve brand awareness, grow their pipeline, and achieve growth. She currently works with Stage Marketing as the manager of the PR/Content team.

    She manages marketing initiatives for brands in a variety of industries including non-profit, SaaS, health, food, and athletics. Some of her clients have included Community Action Services, GuideCX, Echo Paper Paper, Salsa Queen, Amor Vines, ComTec Solutions, Skyline Technology Solutions, and The Cash Flow Academy.

    Jen has a Bachelor of Science in Digital Marketing and a minor in Business Management from UVU and holds certificates in social media marketing, CRM management, and more.

    Jen lives at the foot of the most beautiful mountain in Salem, Utah. She has been married to Brett for 31 years and has three amazing children.

  • Alexa Hodson graduated from Brigham Young University with a double major in Sociology and Spanish. She served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Paraguay and Pocatello, Idaho due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her experiences in Paraguay ignited her passion for other cultures and fostering self-reliance in developing countries. She is enthusiastic about the mission of the Academy and loves to contribute to its impactful work.


    Alexa worked at United Way of Utah County, connecting individuals with community resources to promote self-reliance and growth. She also served as a supervisor for the Online Missionary Training Center in various regions of South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Alexa enjoys playing pickleball, swimming, and watching NBA games with her husband (go Lakers)!

Alexa Hodson

Daniel Salazar

  • Daniel Salazar Castillo, from Peru, has worked with the Academy since 2017. Daniel majored in Foreign Trade at ADEX, Peru and has a background in electronics with a focus in digital security systems. Daniel owns a company in the field of telecommunications. He is married to Jennifer Valdivia and has four children. His motivation has always been” one more entrepreneur, one less poor person in the world.” Because of his Academy training, he has been able to help hundreds of people improve their self-esteem and skills by starting or growing their own businesses.

    He is married to Jennifer Valdivia and has four children. His motivation has always been” one more entrepreneur, one less poor person in the world.” Because of his Academy training, he has been able to help hundreds of people improve their self-esteem and skills by starting or growing their own businesses.