Class Notes Archive 1931-2014
Class Notes are searchable back to our spring 2000 issue. You can browse the notes by decade (click on a decade to view its class notes):
Class notes from the 1980s
| 1985Gregory McCracken has joined the law firm Perlstein, Sandler & McCracken in Farmington, Conn., after nearly six years at Robinson & Cole in Hartford. He writes that the switch to a smaller firm “should leave more time for life around the edges of making a living”—a life that includes growing kids. (appeared in the Fall 2006 issue) • Diana Orlando, Cred. ’86, a first-grade teacher at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School, was named Teacher of the Year by the Milpitas Unified School District. Orlando will be moving with her class next year to the second-grade level. (appeared in the Fall 2006 issue) • As a Pfizer Global Health Fellow, Shira Rohde, M.S., worked in Zambia for six months. She served as a documentation officer with the Zambian HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Treatment Program, helping document issues and develop and disseminate communication materials. (appeared in the Fall 2006 issue) • Ken Kirsch exhibited his paintings in a fall show at Nestware, a store in downtown Davis. Kirsch, an abstract painter and owner of MAK Design+Build, has previously exhibited his work at the Bucheon Gallery in San Francisco. (appeared in the Winter 2007 issue) • Scott Morgan has recently co-written a book, Speaking about Science: A Manual for Creating Clear Presentations (Cambridge University Press). Morgan is a professional public speaker in Washington, D.C., who designs courses and teaches presentation skills to scientists and medical researchers, and a professional actor who hosts Home and Garden Television’s Dream Builders series. (appeared in the Winter 2007 issue) • Kevin Pelzer, M.P.V.M., was honored by the student chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association with a 2006 Teaching Excellence Award in Clinical Science. He is an associate professor at the Virginia–Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg. (appeared in the Winter 2007 issue) • Kristi Brown-Montesano recently published Understanding the Women of Mozart’s Operas (University of California Press). She has presented papers at Stanford University, UCLA and New York University. Brown-Montesano is also a vocal soloist singing in operas and with choruses, with recordings on Koch and New Albion labels. (appeared in the Spring 2007 issue) • Kevin Joe has become a fish and game warden after 20 years of public service as a California state park ranger. His new patrol area includes Lake and Mendocino counties. Joe says he finds much satisfaction in having a profession that protects California’s natural heritage and serves the public. (appeared in the Spring 2007 issue) • Mark Rutheiser, a board member of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, was recently installed as its chair. He is also a real estate developer who is currently building infill residential projects and mixed-use buildings in the Davis area. (appeared in the Spring 2007 issue) • The Office of Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency appointed Audrey Levine, Ph.D., as the national program director for drinking water. Levine is an environmental engineer with extensive research experience in water quality, water treatment and distribution systems, treatment technologies and water reuse. She joins the EPA after being a faculty member of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa. (appeared in the Summer 2007 issue) • Chris Spitters, a physician working in tuberculosis control and general public health, lives in Seattle with his wife, Norma. He has three children and two stepchildren. (appeared in the Summer 2007 issue) • Kevin Toy retired in September as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force after 22 years of service. He joined the Air Force as a project engineer and led aircraft, propulsion, chemical-biological defense and space acquisition programs throughout his career. Toy currently works for the Harris Corp. as a senior programs manager. (appeared in the Summer 2007 issue) • Margaret D’Arrigo-Martin, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Salinas grower-shipper D’Arrigo Bros. Co., was named Ag Woman of the Year by Ag Against Hunger. D’Arrigo-Martin, who also chairs the board of directors for United Way of Monterey County, was honored for her leadership in the ag industry and her work on behalf of children and low-income members of the community. (appeared in the Fall 2007 issue) • Bob McBarton joined the executive team of Fremont Bank as vice president of sales after a 17-year career at American Express. He, his wife, Felicia, and their daughter, Megan, live in the East Bay. McBarton has also for the past 10 years served as an executive director of the Luncheon Society, which hosts public affairs luncheons. (appeared in the Winter 2008 issue) • Bruce Carstens, D.V.M. ’91, and Suzie (Campbell) Carstens ’84, M.S. ’86, write that their oldest son, Christopher, is a freshman at UC Davis and is a member of the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh. Bruce and Suzie met at a Band-uh retreat in 1981, where Bruce played trombone and Suzie played clarinet. In 1997, they opened Willow Rock Pet Hospital in Rocklin where Bruce is the sole veterinarian and Suzie is the business manager. Bruce is also the executive and musical director for the city of Rocklin’s theater and arts program. Suzie is the costume designer for the theater, which produces four musicals per year. (appeared in the Spring 2008 issue) • Shira Rohde, M.S., who has worked at Pfizer Inc. for the past decade, founded the nonprofit organization Flip Flop Foundation in Zambia in 2006 following a six-month fellowship there as a Pfizer Global Health Fellow. The organization provides “flip-flop” sandals, school and hygiene supplies and other necessities to Zambian orphans and vulnerable children. Rohde lives in New York City, but returns to Zambia three times a year to work with the Zambian team. For more information, visit www.flipflopfoundation.com. (appeared in the Spring 2008 issue) • Stephen Cunha, M.A., Ph.D. ’94, professor of geography at Humboldt State University, and director of the California Geographic Alliance, received the 2007 California State University Wang Family Excellence Award as outstanding faculty member in social and behavioral sciences and public service. The systemwide citation includes a $20,000 prize. The California Council for Social Studies also honored Cunha with the Hilda Taba Award for Outstanding and Enduring Contributions to Social Science Education in California. (appeared in the Summer 2008 issue) • Francisco Rodriguez, Ph.D. ’97, president of Cosumnes River College, was named Elk Grove’s Man of the Year for 2007 by the Elk Grove Citizen. He was honored for his higher education leadership and his work with the city’s chamber of commerce. (appeared in the Summer 2008 issue) • New York actress Elizabeth Ward Land, M.F.A., returned to Sacramento's Music Circus in July to perform the role of Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music. Her previous Music Circus appearances include A Little Night Music and The Will Rogers Follies. (appeared in the Fall 2008 issue) • Francisco Rodriguez, M.S. ’97, is the new president of MiraCosta College in north San Diego County. He has worked 24 years in higher education, including his most recent position as president of Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. (appeared in the Spring 2009 issue) |