When newlyweds Beth and Ángel Cabrera left Georgia Tech in 1995 for Spain, neither imagined they’d return as president and first lady to the campus where they first met.
“If you told us back then that we’d be in this role, we would have laughed really hard at that, but our alma mater called, we were invited to come back, and spending these seven years here was a dream come true,” Beth said.
Beth and Ángel Cabrera as students in front of the Mickey Mouse clock on the side of the Skiles Building.
Ángel (left) and Beth at a football game as students.
She spent nearly a decade teaching and earning tenure at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid before the family, which had grown to four, returned to the U.S. after Ángel accepted the presidency at the Thunderbird School of Global Management. While teaching management at Arizona State University, Beth also studied positive psychology and its impact on women’s careers before publishing her first book, Beyond Happy: Women, Work, and Well-Being.
She taught positive leadership at George Mason University and served as a senior scholar in the its Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Returning to Georgia Tech, Beth knew the stresses associated with succeeding at the Institute. Through her own studies and hearing others’ stories of “getting out,” she strived to help strengthen a culture of wellness at Tech.
Beth, the president and founder of the leadership development and consulting firm Cabrera Insights, was invited by more than 50 campus groups — Colleges, student organizations, departments, Stamps Scholars, Greek organizations, and others — to share the importance of “finding community, the connection between wellness and performance, and the strategies behind how to make meaningful changes to routines and behaviors.” With audience feedback, she decided to write another book.
Beth speaks to a group of campus staff members in 2020.
“I get a real sense of meaning from sharing this information because I know it can help people. It’s a great feeling to know that I was able to make a difference in the lives of members of this community. If one person in that room does one thing to change their behavior to make them happier or healthier, then I’ve done my job, and I feel so lucky that I’ve been able to share this with Georgia Tech,” she said.
Listen to Beth talk about wellness on the Generating Buzz podcast.
President Cabrera created a new role focused on student engagement and well-being, and Beth served on the advisory board for faculty and staff well-being, assisting with the implementation of the Institute’s wellness road maps.
She first arrived on campus in 1991. Since then, Georgia Tech has grown larger, greener (now considered among the nation’s most beautiful campuses), and, she is proud to say, more empathetic.
“You hear the stories of alumni who talk about professors who were hard on them and that they ‘got out,’ and that's so different now. The Tech standard hasn’t changed, but you’re going to get all the support you need to prioritize your well-being, and the encouragement that you can have fun being a student while still studying hard and unlocking your full potential,” she said.
The Cabreras in Dublin, Ireland, for the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in August 2024.
The Cabreras shoot oysters with Dene Sheheane, president of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, and Laura Solomon, a Tech graduate who founded the Tybee Oyster Company, in June 2026.
In support of Transforming Tomorrow: The Campaign for Georgia Tech, Beth has traveled around the world, engaging alumni in support of the Institute’s fundraising efforts, which recently reached $2 billion.
“Seeing the generosity of the Georgia Tech alumni has been one of the most rewarding parts of our time here. We've both been blown away by it. Ángel always says none of this would have happened without them — the ribbons we've been cutting, the research we’re conducting, the scholarships to expand access to Tech. These trips have also given us great insight into the diversity of careers that Yellow Jackets have, and it showcases that a degree from Georgia Tech can really take you anywhere,” she said.
For Beth, her Georgia Tech journey is one she couldn’t have imagined. As her time as first lady ends, she will take the memories and relationships she built over the past seven years with her as the couple prepares for their next chapter.
“Beth has served this place with passion and generosity that has nothing to do with any title. A lot of what people describe as the warmth of this community or my own has come from Beth. She has poured more of herself into Georgia Tech than most people will ever know and she did it with great joy, without expecting anything in return.” —President Ángel Cabrera
On Tuesday, Oct. 20, Beth was honored for her service and leadership with a tile in the Pathway of Progress: Celebrating Georgia Tech Women installation.
Credits
Written by Steven Gagliano
Edited by Stacy Braukman
Graphics by Stephen Mullinax