Four Loras Alumni Join Board of Regents, Bringing Expertise Across Key Industries

Dan Allen began his term as the 30th president of La Salle University in April 2022. Under his leadership, La Salle has pursued strategic initiatives focused on enrollment growth, student retention, fundraising and enhanced student experience. The University has reported significant enrollment gains and record fundraising, earning recognition from The Philadelphia Business Journal and The Chronicle of Higher Education for its turnaround.

Before joining La Salle, Allen served as senior vice president for advancement and external relations at DePaul University, where he led fundraising, alumni relations and advancement communications strategies. His previous leadership roles include senior associate dean for external relations at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and vice president of institutional advancement at Lewis University and Loras College.

Allen earned his undergraduate degree from Loras in 1990. He met his wife, Theresa (DiBenedetto ’92), while attending the College. They have been married for more than 30 years and have three children: Maggie, Meghan and Danny.

Meg Bucaro is the founder and principal consultant of Meg Bucaro Communications. A communication strategist, keynote speaker, executive coach and college instructor, Bucaro helps leaders and organizations strengthen communication, build credibility and increase influence.

With a master’s degree in communication, Bucaro has taught at the college level since 2001, including at Loras as an adjunct professor of communication. Through her consulting, speaking and training engagements, she works with corporate leaders, executives and professional associations to strengthen communication skills and leadership effectiveness.

Meg has served previously on the Loras National Alumni Board and spoken at Loras Women’s Leadership Alliance engagements. Her and her family live in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and their three children.

Dr. Michael McCrea is the Shekar N. Kurpad, M.D., Ph.D. Professor and Endowed Chair in the Department of Neurosurgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), where he also serves as co-director of the MCW Center for Neurotrauma Research. He is interim director of the Wisconsin Institute of Neuroscience (WINS) and director of its Clinical Neuroscience Research Center (CNRC). He also serves as a research neuropsychologist at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee.

A board-certified clinical neuropsychologist, McCrea earned his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and completed additional clinical neuropsychology training at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Northwestern University Medical School. He is a past president of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology and the American Psychological Association’s Society for Clinical Neuropsychology.

McCrea, a native of Benton, WI, is an internationally recognized researcher in neuroscience, with more than 400 peer-reviewed scientific publications and extensive experience contributing to national and international initiatives focused on traumatic brain injury. He also serves as a neuropsychology consultant for the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks.

McCrea graduated from Loras in 1988. He and his wife, Ann Marie, have three children: Grace, Elena and Joe.

Dan Tropp is a senior executive with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., one of the world’s leading insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting firms. He serves as chief operating officer of Gallagher Global Brokerage – Americas, supporting property and casualty brokerage operations across the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America.

In this role, Tropp supports operational excellence, strategic growth and the delivery of risk management solutions across a diverse organization that includes retail brokerage, specialty insurance, captive operations, wholesale brokerage and facultative reinsurance. Gallagher’s Americas division operates in 15 countries and serves more than 500,000 clients.

Tropp began his career as an insurance broker and producer with his family’s firm, Tropp & Company, which was acquired by Gallagher in 2007. Since joining Gallagher, he has held sales and regional leadership roles in Chicago, Dallas and New Jersey and has served as COO– Americas since 2021.

Tropp earned his undergraduate degree from Loras in 1999 and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in 2007. His family has strong Loras connections: his father, Regent Emeritus, Thomas Tropp (’69), his sister Sara (Tropp ’02) Donhost and his wife, Christine (Lorenz ’01) Tropp, all are graduates of the College. Dan and Christine have three children: Michael, Mary and Andrew.