Class Notes

1950s

KENNETH GOODMAN (’53 M.A.), professor emeritus at the University of Arizona, was featured as a teaching pioneer in an article published by the Arizona Jewish Post for his work founding the whole language approach to reading.

1960s

THOMAS DEBLEY (’67), a retired business historian, was elected president of the board of directors of Oakland Heritage Alliance, a nonprofit historic preservation organization in Oakland.

FRANCISCO GAVIÑA (’69, ’72 M.S.), serves as the vice president of F. Gaviña & Sons Inc., which was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s top minority-owned businesses list.

RON GUSTAFSON (’67) serves as president and chairman of Coast Packing Co. The North American Meat Institute Scholarship Foundation has established a scholarship in his name.

BETTY LaDUKE (’60, ’62 M.A.) was an exhibiting artist for the Schneider Museum of Art at the Oregon Center for the Arts.

DONALD TAKEDA (’67, ’71 M.A.) retired after 46 years teaching math and biology at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita.

PATRICK WIDNER (’69), executive director for Solar Cookers International, teamed up with Bob Metcalf, a Sacramento State University microbiology professor, to develop a portable microbiology laboratory to detect E. coli in drinking water.

1970s

JAMES BROWN (’72) has been promoted to the position of dean of the Social Science and Education Division at Volunteer State Community College.

VICTORIA CASTRO (’73) was featured in the Los Angeles Times for her leadership and involvement in the 1968 East L.A. Blowouts. She led the Chicano Youths for Community Action and played a large part in coordinating and carrying out the protests across Los Angeles.

OFELIA ESPARZA (’74) received the top National Endowment for the Arts honor for folk art that carries on an East L.A. tradition. In 2016, she received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Cal State LA in recognition of her artistic work and cultural contributions.

JOHN T. FEENEY (’79 M.S.) retired after serving as a judge for more than 20 years in Humboldt County.

GEORGE FRAHM (’75) will retire in the fall as president of Stater Bros. Markets after more than 47 years with the San Bernardino-based supermarket chain.

LEONOR GAVIÑA-VALLS (’74) is the vice president of marketing of F. Gaviña & Sons Inc., which was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s top minority-owned businesses list.

FRANK IOSUE (’75) published a collection of poems written throughout his life titled The Au Revoir of an Enormous Us: Collected Poems.

LOU LEON GUERRERO (’73) is the first woman to be elected governor of Guam.

1980s

AVERY AUGUST (’87), professor of immunology, was named vice provost for academic affairs at Cornell University.

ANUSH MOVSESIAN AVEJIC (’81) displayed her exhibition “Coffeescapes: From Cup to Canvas,” which explored the modern cup of coffee and the long tradition surrounding the drink, at the Roslin Art Gallery in Glendale.

ARAM BENYAMIN (’80) was named CEO of Colorado Spring Utilities.

STEVEN BRINK (’84) was appointed chief financial officer of APEX Global Brands, formerly known as Cherokee Global Brands, a lifestyle brand marketing platform.

JOANN DIAZ (’86) received Huntington Beach’s Mayor’s Award for her work as the city’s principal human resources analyst.

KIM DINGLE (’89) held a solo, four-gallery exhibition, called “Yipes,” in Culver City at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects.

GERALD FREENY (’83) served as president for the 2019 Tournament of Roses. He was the first African American president of the organization in the 130-year history of the Rose Parade.

ANIS HAFFAR (’80) founded the GATE Institute in Ghana to update teachers on current trends in education and leadership.

ANDREW HARVEY (’85, ’88 M.S.) has published a memoir, Tucker & Me: Growing Up a Part-Time Southern Boy.

LOUIS JACINTO (’86) curated an art exhibit, “Nervously Engendered: The Art of Gerardo Velazquez,” at the Coagula Curatorial in Los Angeles. The show included photos of the late Cal State LA alumnus Gerardo Velazquez (’86) taken by Jacinto. Velazquez was a founding member of the Los Angeles punk band Nervous Gender.

DILIP KHATRI (’83) directed the documentary Aspire to the Sky: The Wilshire Grand Story.

HOWARD MASUDA (’71, ’82 M.A.) retired after 40 years of service as the director of the University Tutorial Center at Cal State LA.

BRUCE MOE (’89) was named Manhattan Beach’s city manager.

JOSE MOLINA (’87) is now a program manager for public infrastructure projects at SAFNA Engineering and Consulting.

RITA PARDUE (’87, ’90 M.A.) was crowned Ms. Senior California 2018. In October, she competed for the title of Ms. Senior America in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

ANNE REDDING (’88, ’92 M.S.), department chair and professor in the School of Justice Studies at Santa Barbara City College, spoke at the college’s 39th annual Faculty Lecture.

WARREN STANLEY (’89) was appointed commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. He is the first African American to head the law enforcement agency.

WILLIE ZUNIGA (’86), president of Grifols Biologicals Inc., was honored with the LA BioStar Award for his contributions to the regional bioscience industry during a Cal State LA BioSpace ceremony in August 2018 celebrating emerging entrepreneurs.

1990s

LAM BUI (’95) was appointed information technology manager for the Walnut Valley Unified School District.

EMMALYN COLES (’90) was named director of nutrition services at Walnut Valley Unified School District.

MICHELLE DEDEO (’91, ’93 M.S.) received an Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award at the University of North Florida. Only 10 faculty are chosen each year out of more than 500 for excellence in teaching.

PANKIT DOSHI (’99) served as president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

SUSIE FERGUSON (’95) was named one of the top 10 teachers of the year in the Livingston Public Schools district in New Jersey.

GABRIEL GRIEGO (’90, ’98 M.A.) was named principal of Venice High School in Los Angeles.

MIHO IKEDA (’98 M.S.) was named Most Influential Minority CPA by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

SHIVANAND (NANDAN) LAD (’97) was named vice chair for innovation in the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke University. He has been the director of the Duke NeuroInnovations program since 2011.

SECORA LAMBERT (’97) was recognized in the American Small Business Championship competition by Score Mentors and Sam’s Club for her small business, Lambert Chiropractic and Wellness Center P.C.

DENISE LOERA (’99) joined the Diamond Bar High School staff as an instructional dean.

SUJA LOWENTHAL (’96 MBA) was appointed city manager of Hermosa Beach.

CAPRI MADDOX (’91, ’95 M.S.), with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, was elected to the board of directors of Climate Resolve, a nonprofit focused on finding local solutions to global climate change.

MARIA MARTINEZ-POULIN (’98) was named superintendent for the Whittier City School District.

JOHN MOSELEY (’90) was named the chief commercial officer of Port Houston.

VIVA REYNOLDS (’94) was appointed to serve on the board of directors for the Tennessee Science Teachers Association.

FREDA ROSSI (’92) was named the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District family engagement coordinator.

STEVE SCARDINO (’99) was promoted to partner in Gordon, Edelstein, Krepack, Grant, Felton and Goldstein.

ART SIMON (’96) collaborated with NBC’s Dateline to produce a segment, “City of Angels,” on homelessness in Los Angeles, which aired in August 2018.

CHRISTINA SIRIANI (’99) was named assistant principal of the Arcadia Unified School District’s Foothills Middle School.

DEBBIE WALSH (’91) was named chief operating officer of the Kaiser Permanente-affiliated Maui Health System.

2000s

BRIAN ASHER ALHADEFF (’01 M.M.) is now working as the artistic director and conductor of Opera San Luis Obispo. He is the principal conductor of Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo and the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara.

THOMAS BECKUM (’01) was the top-ranked athlete in the nation in the 40-44 age group in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, after winning his race at the USA Track and Field East Region and New England Masters in July 2018.

KELSEY BROWN (’02 M.A.) was appointed principal of Baldwin Stocker Elementary by the Arcadia Unified School District Board of Education.

HARRY BUDISIDHARTA (’03) was named CEO of the Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC). The APDC works to advance the well-being of Asian American Pacific Islander communities in Colorado.

TOMII CRUMP (’00 M.A.) was named vice president of talent relations for first-run syndication, syndicated, alternative and reality shows at NBC.

ERWIN DELGADO (’01, ’06 M.A.) is a museum specialist at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Maryland.

JUAN ESCOBEDO (’01) won “Best Dramatic Short Film” at the 2018 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival. He is the prevention specialist at Hillsides, a family health organization serving Los Angeles.

NOAH GIFT (’03 M.S.) founded Pragmatic AI Labs in San Francisco.

MELANIE HAGMAN (’02 M.S., ’05 M.A.) was named Castaic High School’s founding principal in the William S. Hart Union High School District.

RUZANNA HERNANDEZ (’03) was honored as a finalist at the California League of High Schools’ Region 10 Educator of the Year awards ceremony.

STACY HUA (’03) joined MFour as a senior research consultant.

JAVON JOHNSON (’03, ’05 M.A.) is the director of African American and African diaspora studies in the Department of Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

VINITA KHILNANI (’09 M.S.) was the winner of the 2018 Miss India North America Pageant.

TERRY LEWIS (’03 M.S.) was reappointed to the State Bar of California Attorney Diversion and Assistance Program Oversight Committee.

CINDY MACIAS (’01), previously the director for Hillsides Family Resource Centers, South Pasadena, has been named the senior director of Bienvenidos Foster Care and Adoption Services for Hillsides.

DANIEL MONTEJANO (’04 M.A.) is a health educator for the San Marino Unified School District.

ANDREW MONZÓN (’05 M.A.) is a tenure-track professor at East Los Angeles College. 

STEVE OLSON (’07) stars in the comedy-drama Fishbowl California, which is now streaming on Amazon, Vudu, and YouTube.

EDWIN PENG (’08) published his first young-adult novel, Star City.

ABBIE PERRY (’09 M.A.) is a full-time faculty member in the History Department at Rio Hondo College.

JORGE RAMIREZ (’04) is the president and CEO of the Heateflex Corp., which was named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s top minority-owned businesses list.

HAZEL RAMOS (’03 M.A.) teaches history at Glendale Community College.

SARA SUTACHAN (’07 M.A.) received a Nate Ellis Award during the 2018 Inman Innovator Awards.

ALAN WELLMAN (’09 M.M.) was named musical director of the Arroyo Singers.

2010s

ROBERT WILLIAM BATES (’18 M.A.) is a teacher at Prepa Tec High School in Bell, California.

ANGELINE BERNABE (’16) was selected as a news fellow for ABC News.

SOLY CANGARLU (’11) was named vice president, branch manager for the Bank of Southern California.

FREDDY CEREZO (’17) is a project engineer on the new LA Stadium in Inglewood.

MARC DONOHUE (’10) was named city clerk in Eastvale, California.

ELIZABETH FRAGOSA (’13) was hired as an English teacher at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tennessee.

JAIME GUZMÁN (’12, ’14 M.A.) received an Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Dissertation Fellowship from the University of Denver to further his research on the impact of gentrification on low-income communities of color in East Los Angeles, focusing primarily on the counter-gentrification movement known as Defend Boyle Heights.

ALISTAIR HAMILTON (’17 M.M.) was named head of creative and performing arts at the French American International School in San Francisco.

KARINA HERNANDEZ (’10, ’13 MSW) was hired as housing navigator for El Cajon Housing Connections. She has been working with the El Cajon Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team.

BETH KRONBECK (’11 M.A.) is the Social Science Department chair at Glendale Community College.

MEGAN LANGE (’17 M.A.) was named assistant professor of history at Santa Ana College.

NICOLETTE LEFFLER (’17 M.S.) is now an Herbalife Nutrition education coordinator for the LA Galaxy’s Sports Nutrition Program.

SHANE MURRAY (’12) is the author of Civil Disturbance and Boyhood to Manhood.

SASHA PEREZ (’16) was appointed regional affairs manager for the Campaign for College Opportunity.

JESSICA PHOENIX (’10 M.S.), a volcanologist, was a candidate for California’s 25th Congressional District in 2018. 

CLAUDIA B. QUINTERO (’10) was recognized by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts with the Adams Pro Bono Publico Award for her pro bono work on behalf of low-income families and new immigrants and for engaging her fellow students in public interest activities.

DENISE RAMIREZ (’17) is working on the new LA Stadium in Inglewood as a project engineer.

MIKE SONKSEN (’14 M.A.), known as “Mike the Poet,” published a book, Letters to My City.

RENEE TABIZON-HERNANDEZ (’15) was appointed archivist at the Getty Center Research Library.