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Archive List

Alumni Feature: Mike Moore-Building Better Lives through the WVDSA

Mike Moore graduated from the BYU MBA program in 1993. During their MBA years, Mike and his wife, Laurie, welcomed a daughter, Megan, who was born with Down syndrome. Moore remembers everyone in the MBA program—the professors, administrators, and his classmates—being incredibly understanding, empathetic, and helpful.

When Moore graduated, he and his family moved to Corvallis, Oregon, to accept a marketing position for Hewlett-Packard. Their ward in Corvallis continued to be helpful with and understanding of the challenges that can come with Down syndrome. Within a few years, Mike and Dana Roberts, fellow ward members and BYU alumni, had a son with Down syndrome, and together the Moores and the Roberts co-founded the Willamette Valley Down Syndrome Association (WVDSA), a not-for-profit organization.

The mission was and remains today:

To provide our children with a better quality of life in our communities now and in the future by being advocates for them through:

- Parent/family support and networking

- New parent education and support

- Community education and awareness

“We really didn’t feel that the local area had a good support system in place to serve families affected by Down syndrome, so we created it," Moore says. The two families donated both time and money to get the organization up and running. As a result of these initial efforts, the WVDSA now has a full volunteer board, a healthy yearly fundraising budget, a web site, brochures, new parent packet and support, monthly newsletters and meetings, quarterly family activities, and an annual Buddy Walk to help with awareness and fund-raising.

Moore served as president of the WVDSA for almost three years and continues to be actively involved in other organization offices. The WVDSA has been a blessing for many throughout the state of Oregon. Megan Moore is now fifteen-years-old and doing wonderfully, and the Moores have three other children, ages nineteen, eleven, and eight.

Moore, in addition to his efforts with the WVDSA, is the owner of three successful businesses: a small biotech company, a high-end custom home building company, and an excavation/heavy construction business. Moore hopes to use these businesses to prepare for his next venture: better living conditions for adults with disabilities. “There is a major shortage of housing, care as parents age or die, and vocational opportunities for the disabled. I’m in the concept stage of developing a business plan to address some of these concerns,” Moore says.

In all he has been able to accomplish, Moore is grateful for his MBA experience at BYU, and continues to give of his time to serve the program. During the past few years, Moore has mentored more than ten Marriott School students. “I’m grateful for the inspiration my MBA class and education provided me,” he says. For more information about the WVDSA, visit www.wvdsa.org.

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Alumni Feature: Rob J. Thurston—Helping the Search for a Cure

After earning his MBA from BYU in 1982, Rob Thurston spent his career in the benefits and consulting field. He has worked for such companies as IBM and Delta, and is currently the president and CEO of HR Consulting Group, Inc., a top twenty-five U.S.-based benefits and consulting firm.

Immediately following his MBA, Thurston admits to having been on the career “fast track.” Within three years, he was a national vice president of the third largest HR and benefits consulting firm, Fred S. James Consulting. But at that same time, his two-year-old son was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis (TS), a genetic disease that causes autism, epilepsy, cancerous tumors on the brain and kidneys, and mental retardation. The Thurstons had two other children and a fourth on the way and were devastated at the diagnosis and terrified that their other children might develop TS.

In adjusting to the news, Thurston decided to change the focus of his career and his traveling. He wanted to focus on helping his son while simultaneously helping others who were afflicted with TS. Due to his position in a large consulting firm, he was able to devote a significant amount of professional time to learning about health care. He was very passionate and driven about his search for information and knowledge, especially due to the personal and emotional interest he now had because of his son’s condition.

One thing Thurston was able to do with his network of MBA classmates was get in touch with people at IHC and Primary Children’s Hospital. By 1986, the Thurstons had put together a database of families with instances of TS that had been passed from generation to generation. Because of Thurston’s networking, researchers at the University of Utah, Primary Children’s Hospital, and UCLA began to work together for the first time. Thurtson’s son, as well as other afflicted children, helped to inspire the group to set aside their turf battles and funding issues and instead focus on doing what was best for children with TS. Thurston used his “win-win” management techniques learned while in the MBA program to help keep everyone on track.

Thurston’s work inspired his whole family to get involved with helping others. They joined the Utah Autism Society and volunteered at the Child Behavior Therapy Unit, and Thurston was asked to lead the local Tuberous Sclerosis Association. The Thurstons made a generous financial donation to further the research of TS, and Thurston was asked to join the National Board of Tuberous Sclerosis. At the time of the donation, it provided 12 percent of the board’s budget and consequently had a huge impact on the research that could be done.

Within three more years, the Thurstons had found more than forty-five people in the Smith family line that enabled them, due to polygamous marriages, to pinpoint the husband who was the genetic carrier for TS through several generations. This led all the involved TS researchers to the LDS genealogical database, and they were able to trace those Smith family members.

The results of this have been miraculous. Many charities are now banding together and the Voluntary Health Agencies now have more than thirty-eight charities as members that can do more effective lobbying and public education. Autism awareness and growth in Utah have brought about the support of the new Carmen Pingree School for Autism in Salt Lake City. Seizure medications have been developed that can prolong the life of Thurston’s son and millions of others. Researchers in 1990 and in 1997 discovered the first and then second gene markers that show on which two chromosomes TS exists. By 1998, a diagnostic test was developed enabling anyone to know if they have TS and to help with genetic and family counseling. And now the National Board of TS Alliance raises several million dollars for research and family support each year. The National Institute of Health has designated TS as a disease whose cure could yield tremendous results for autism, epilepsy, and even cancer. Consequently, the Department of Defense and the federal government are now allocating many millions each year.

Thurston’s goal and hope is for a cure. It might be too late for his son, who is now twenty-five years old, but, Thurston says, “The prolonging of his life and his quiet, sweet spirit in our home has been priceless.” Clearly Thurston’s efforts with regard to TS have been significant, and yet he is quick to dismiss credit and thanks. “None of these results have been due to my efforts but by countless families and friends who have gotten involved.”

The Thurstons, who live in Provo, have five children, two of whom have TS. Thurston says the past years have not come without many difficult choices, but he claims he would gladly trade his career or see it suffer if it would mean less suffering for those he loves. “The trade-off is to see lives changed, impacted, and helped for the good.” He continues, “If you want to do something greater than yourself, to experience the charity that Christ refers to, and to lose yourself in the service of others, you know what to do. Get involved.” If you would like to learn more about TS and how you can help, please visit tsalliance.org.

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Send Us Your Updates

In future issues of the MBA Newsletter, we want to showcase the ways you've used your MBA to "go forth to serve" your employers, your families, your communities, and the world. Each issue will include an alumni feature.

Alongside the feature article, future issues will include brief updates on the careers and lives of alumni from the BYU MBA program. However, we need your help. Please submit updates to the about your life and career developments to the Marriott Alumni Magazine web site. We look forward to hearing from you!

~BYU MBA Newsletter Staff

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