Leadership Team & Staff
Diana Crossley
Managing Director
dianak@umich.edu (734) 647-2210
Diana Crossley is the Managing Director of the Tauber Institute for Global Operations, a position she has held since 2000. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Diana worked at the beverage company Diageo PLC for 10 years in the areas of Forecasting, Production Planning, New Product Introductions, Supply Chain Operations and served as the Director of Demand Planning.
Diana is a native of Connecticut and received her B.S. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1986 followed by an M.S. in Industrial Engineering in 1987. Diana is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Ann Arbor, plays women’s ice hockey and is certified by APICS at the CPIM and CIRM levels.
Asli Aka
Associate Director, Industry Relations
akah@umich.edu (734) 647-2220
A 2005 Tauber alumna, Asli Aka is excited to return to the Tauber Institute as Associate Director, Industry Relations. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Asli worked in the private sector in strategic consulting, banking, and private equity, specializing in renewable energy, automotive and electronics projects, as well as international business, technology roadmapping, procurement and supply chain optimization.
Originally from Istanbul, Turkey, Asli earned multiple degrees from the University of Michigan: B.S.E. in Industrial and Operations Engineering, B.A. in German, and M.S. in Manufacturing.
Danielle Bain
Student Program Coordinator
dbain@umich.edu (734) 763-3883
Danielle Bain is the Student Program Coordinator for the Tauber Institute for Global Operations. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Danielle earned her BBA from Eastern Michigan University where she was an active member of the campus community and received the EMU Greek Life Silent Leader Award.
Post-graduation she served as the Superior Edge Graduate Assistant at Northern Michigan University for two years while pursuing her Master of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs. In her position at NMU, she worked with student organizations, leadership development programming, and event coordination - and earned the Superior Edge Honor for completing over 1,000 hours of service in the Leadership, Diversity, Citizenship, and Real World edges. In her spare time, Danielle enjoys spending time with her family on the lake, traveling, photography, and serving as a member of the Volunteer Service Team for Alpha Gamma Delta.
Joshua Cascade
Visiting Executive
Joshua Cascade is a private equity investor with over 24 years of industry experience. Cascade has led or co-led leveraged buyout transactions representing over $2 billion in aggregate acquisition value. Cascade was most recently a Managing Partner at Wellspring Capital with a 16-year tenure at the firm.
Prior to Wellspring, Cascade was a member of the investment team at Odyssey Investment Partners. He began his career at The Blackstone Group in 1994, after earning an undergraduate bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Michigan. Cascade taught a private equity course to MBA candidates at the Yale School of Management during the Fall of 2018.
He has been a frequent guest lecturer at MBA programs, including Columbia Business School, Michigan Ross, NYU Stern School, and University of Chicago Booth.
Theresa Ceccarelli
Marketing and Communications Manager
tceccare@umich.edu (734) 647-0308
Theresa's responsibilities include marketing strategy, branding, visibility, communication and awareness of the Tauber Institute. Theresa Ceccarelli began her career with Gannett Co. Inc., working in the USA Today circulation office as a blue chip account manager in markets around the US. While at Gannett, she held various operations and sales positions of increasing responsibility in customer service, product development, retail and national advertising, new media, and circulation for The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. She also held the position as conference manager for Society of Manufacturing Engineers, business development manager for the Advanced Electric Vehicle Program at the University of Detroit-Mercy and director of business and IT workforce for Macomb Community College. She joined the Tauber Institute in 2011 as a marketing manager.
Theresa received her BA from Michigan State University, MA in public relations from Wayne State University followed by a PhD with an emphasis in marketing from Wayne State University. She continues to teach communication courses at Wayne State University and has authored several case studies for WSU.
R. Eugene Goodson
Emeritus Visiting Executive
Dr. Goodson has unique expertise in his Rapid Plant Assessment process. He has taught this lean tool in several courses to MBAs in the business school, building a database of over 800 plant tour reports prepared by students taking the course. Dr. Goodson has been engaged by over 30 companies over the last 12 years to conduct RPA workshops at their facilities. He also conducts workshops for Michigan Engineering lean certification courses. The Rapid Plant Assessment process is now employed by many companies as their primary lean assessment tool.Companies that have engaged Dr. Goodson for RPA workshops include NUMMI, Ingersol Rand, UPS, BorgWarner, Parker Powis, Honeywell, Ball Aerospace, QuadGraphics, Schlumberger, AIP Aerospace, Alticor, ABB, MANN+HUMMEL, Thetford, Guardian Glass, Williams Controls, Southwall Technologies, Behr, Cummins, Danotek, eControls, Jervis-Webb, MCI, ITT, UTC, Morbark, Bergstrom, E-One, Fleetwood, Wheeled Coach, Magna, and Siemans.
Michaele Reeves
Team Project Manager
mlreeves@umich.edu (734) 647-1333
Michaele Reeves joined the Tauber Institute for Global Operations in April 2008. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Michaele was the Office Manager at the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation for over seven years.
Michaele is a native of Michigan. She served in the U.S. Air Force for four years specializing in behavioral science and is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War.
Teri Minton
Marketing Associate
Teri Minton contributes her background in news and event production to the Tauber Institute for Global Operations communication team. Contact Teri about news to share with the Tauber Institute community.