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Class Notes Archive 1931-2014: Winter 2008

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1976Kim Myers was selected as the San Diego Community College District vice chancellor of human resources. Myers, a lifelong educator who has long been involved in human resources, had been vice president of human resources and employee relations for the San Joaquin Delta Community College District.
1977Tim Wright, M.F.A., had several of his plays produced this past summer across the country and in places as far removed as New Zealand, where his Pied Piper of Hamlin was performed at Golden Bay High School.
1978Richard Moreno received a 2007 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award. The award recognizes emerging or mid-career writers of achievement who have demonstrated a connection with Nevada in their work or by living in the state. Moreno is director of student publications and an instructor at Western Illinois University. He has written seven Nevada-related books. • Vicki Burich Wallace was named to the Parks and Pathways Development Committee in Eagle, Idaho, by the mayor and the Eagle City Council. • Jan Schori by Anna Hennings Occupation: general manager and chief executive officer of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Touching lives: shortly after graduating from the UC Davis School of Law, Jan Schori, J.D. ’78, joined the legal team at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a non-profit, publicly owned utility that provides electricity to Sacramento County and parts of Placer County. After 15 years, she had moved up from junior attorney to general counsel, and in 1994, Schori became SMUD’s general manager, responsible for all of the company’s operations. Though she never imagined working for an electricity company, once she got her foot in the door, she discovered how much the industry touches everyone around her. “It has been very rewarding to be able to work while also helping the environment and doing something that is essential for people’s lives and businesses,” says Schori. Going green with UC Davis: “Fundamentally, we want to preserve people’s quality of life and even improve it,” she says. “But we have to come up with ways to make the most efficient use of energy with the least environmental impact.” In developing energy-efficient programs, Schori and SMUD’s board of directors have had opportunities to innovate and experiment, often partnering with UC Davis to investigate potential solutions. The university recently completed a food waste survey for a program SMUD is calling “Leftovers to Lights,” which explores ways to turn table scraps into a viable source of power. Other initiatives include a partnership with UC Davis’ Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center and a joint effort to implement dairy waste digester projects in Sacramento. In addition to working with UC Davis, Schori has guided SMUD in its goal to diversify its energy sources, incorporating wind technologies and committing to more solar power. SMUD also has a close partnership with the Sacramento Tree Foundation, which has planted hundreds of thousands of trees in the capital to shade buildings and reduce energy. Life after hours: When Schori is not busy running SMUD, she enjoys traveling internationally wit her husband, especially to places “wherever you can see people making traditional textiles.” Schorie’s interest in textiles began when she took a weaving class at UC Davis Craft Center during law school, and her passion has continued ever since. Schori also enjoys playing the piano—though poorly, she admits—takes lessons when possible and even dabbles in home beer brewing. ”It’s easy to work in a place where your own personal values line up with the corporate values.”
1979Michael Allen, M.F.A., chair of the Adrian College theatre department in Michigan, was appointed president of the national theatre honors fraternity, Theta Alpha Phi. • Ellen (Heusinkveld) Holmgren, an English-as-a-second-language teacher living in Sacramento, reunites regularly with a group of friends who lived in Tercero’s K Building during the mid-’70s. They are Judy (Chan) Tow ’78, who is a sales representative for Novartis Pharmaceuticals and lives in San Ramon, Bobbie (Olmsted) Hewell ’77, Cred. ’78, a first-grade teacher who lives in Davis, and Marsha Mak ’75, M.S. ’76, Cred. ’76, a school counselor who also lives in San Ramon.
1980David Sandino, Cred. ’81, of Davis has been appointed chief counsel for the Department of Water Resources of California. Sandino had served as acting chief counsel for DWR since 2006 and previously was senior staff counsel. He is a member of the Davis Police Advisory Committee and a former commissioner of the Davis Planning Commission.
1981Kent Bradford, Ph.D., was honored by the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as “Outstanding Faculty.” Bradford, a UC Davis professor of plant sciences, is described by colleagues as one of the hardest working faculty members on campus. • Keith Mathews, M.A., has been named president of St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School in Watsonville. Mathews was a member of the institution’s founding board of directors. He has spent 28 years in Catholic education and was most recently with the Archbishop Mitty High School in San José. • Kim McCann-Lawson, M.F.A., became program director of Short Center South, a fine arts-based program for adults with developmental disabilities, in fall 2006. She retired from her position as resident director of the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival after 22 years with the group.
1982Mark Perkins, a lecturer in biological and agricultural engineering at UC Davis, helped coordinate a community service project in March that took students from Cario American College to the village of Gavazi in the country of Georgia, where they lived with local families and worked to improve their school and community. It was his third trip to the region with high school students. • James Reynolds, D.V.M., M.P.V.M., received the 2007 Animal Welfare Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association. He is chief of clinical services and dairy production medicine at the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, a satellite center of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. During the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001, Reynolds went to the United Kingdom to assist veterinarians. Additionally, he has consulted on dairy projects in Armenia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mexico and Tunisia.
1984The Elk Grove City Council voted unanimously to appoint Susan Burns Cochran to the position of city attorney. She had been the assistant city attorney for Santa Clara. • Anne Downs accepted a position with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s pest management and licensing branch as an environmental scientist. She now lives in Cool with her husband, daughter and many animals.
1985Bob 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.
1986Roland Portman, M.S., and his wife, Kim, have been living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1978, where they have raised three children. His oldest daughter, Megan, graduated from UC Davis in 2006 and his son, Jonathan, is a current UC Davis student. His daughter Whitney is finishing her nursing degree at California State University, Chico.
1987Erik Olsen, a winemaker with Clos du Bois, won the top prize for his 2005 Russian River Valley Calcaire Chardonnay at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. He won additional prizes for his Marlstone, Reserve Merlot and Reserve Tempranillo.
1988Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Molly Bigelow to a judgeship with the Shasta County Superior Court. She had served as a commissioner for the Shasta County Superior Court since 2004 and previously worked as a deputy district attorney for the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office from 1993 to 2004. • Robert Frye, M.F.A. ’02, was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding art direction on Hell’s Kitchen. He was additionally nominated for two Art Director’s Guild Awards for Hell’s Kitchen and Unanimous. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

1976Kim Myers was selected as the San Diego Community College District vice chancellor of human resources. Myers, a lifelong educator who has long been involved in human resources, had been vice president of human resources and employee relations for the San Joaquin Delta Community College District.

1977Tim Wright, M.F.A., had several of his plays produced this past summer across the country and in places as far removed as New Zealand, where his Pied Piper of Hamlin was performed at Golden Bay High School.

1978Richard Moreno received a 2007 Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award. The award recognizes emerging or mid-career writers of achievement who have demonstrated a connection with Nevada in their work or by living in the state. Moreno is director of student publications and an instructor at Western Illinois University. He has written seven Nevada-related books. • Vicki Burich Wallace was named to the Parks and Pathways Development Committee in Eagle, Idaho, by the mayor and the Eagle City Council. • Jan Schori by Anna Hennings Occupation: general manager and chief executive officer of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District Touching lives: shortly after graduating from the UC Davis School of Law, Jan Schori, J.D. ’78, joined the legal team at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a non-profit, publicly owned utility that provides electricity to Sacramento County and parts of Placer County. After 15 years, she had moved up from junior attorney to general counsel, and in 1994, Schori became SMUD’s general manager, responsible for all of the company’s operations. Though she never imagined working for an electricity company, once she got her foot in the door, she discovered how much the industry touches everyone around her. “It has been very rewarding to be able to work while also helping the environment and doing something that is essential for people’s lives and businesses,” says Schori. Going green with UC Davis: “Fundamentally, we want to preserve people’s quality of life and even improve it,” she says. “But we have to come up with ways to make the most efficient use of energy with the least environmental impact.” In developing energy-efficient programs, Schori and SMUD’s board of directors have had opportunities to innovate and experiment, often partnering with UC Davis to investigate potential solutions. The university recently completed a food waste survey for a program SMUD is calling “Leftovers to Lights,” which explores ways to turn table scraps into a viable source of power. Other initiatives include a partnership with UC Davis’ Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center and a joint effort to implement dairy waste digester projects in Sacramento. In addition to working with UC Davis, Schori has guided SMUD in its goal to diversify its energy sources, incorporating wind technologies and committing to more solar power. SMUD also has a close partnership with the Sacramento Tree Foundation, which has planted hundreds of thousands of trees in the capital to shade buildings and reduce energy. Life after hours: When Schori is not busy running SMUD, she enjoys traveling internationally wit her husband, especially to places “wherever you can see people making traditional textiles.” Schorie’s interest in textiles began when she took a weaving class at UC Davis Craft Center during law school, and her passion has continued ever since. Schori also enjoys playing the piano—though poorly, she admits—takes lessons when possible and even dabbles in home beer brewing. ”It’s easy to work in a place where your own personal values line up with the corporate values.”

1979Michael Allen, M.F.A., chair of the Adrian College theatre department in Michigan, was appointed president of the national theatre honors fraternity, Theta Alpha Phi. • Ellen (Heusinkveld) Holmgren, an English-as-a-second-language teacher living in Sacramento, reunites regularly with a group of friends who lived in Tercero’s K Building during the mid-’70s. They are Judy (Chan) Tow ’78, who is a sales representative for Novartis Pharmaceuticals and lives in San Ramon, Bobbie (Olmsted) Hewell ’77, Cred. ’78, a first-grade teacher who lives in Davis, and Marsha Mak ’75, M.S. ’76, Cred. ’76, a school counselor who also lives in San Ramon.

1980David Sandino, Cred. ’81, of Davis has been appointed chief counsel for the Department of Water Resources of California. Sandino had served as acting chief counsel for DWR since 2006 and previously was senior staff counsel. He is a member of the Davis Police Advisory Committee and a former commissioner of the Davis Planning Commission.

1981Kent Bradford, Ph.D., was honored by the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as “Outstanding Faculty.” Bradford, a UC Davis professor of plant sciences, is described by colleagues as one of the hardest working faculty members on campus. • Keith Mathews, M.A., has been named president of St. Francis Central Coast Catholic High School in Watsonville. Mathews was a member of the institution’s founding board of directors. He has spent 28 years in Catholic education and was most recently with the Archbishop Mitty High School in San José. • Kim McCann-Lawson, M.F.A., became program director of Short Center South, a fine arts-based program for adults with developmental disabilities, in fall 2006. She retired from her position as resident director of the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival after 22 years with the group.

1982Mark Perkins, a lecturer in biological and agricultural engineering at UC Davis, helped coordinate a community service project in March that took students from Cario American College to the village of Gavazi in the country of Georgia, where they lived with local families and worked to improve their school and community. It was his third trip to the region with high school students. • James Reynolds, D.V.M., M.P.V.M., received the 2007 Animal Welfare Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association. He is chief of clinical services and dairy production medicine at the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, a satellite center of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. During the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 2001, Reynolds went to the United Kingdom to assist veterinarians. Additionally, he has consulted on dairy projects in Armenia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mexico and Tunisia.

1984The Elk Grove City Council voted unanimously to appoint Susan Burns Cochran to the position of city attorney. She had been the assistant city attorney for Santa Clara. • Anne Downs accepted a position with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation’s pest management and licensing branch as an environmental scientist. She now lives in Cool with her husband, daughter and many animals.

1985Bob 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.

1986Roland Portman, M.S., and his wife, Kim, have been living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1978, where they have raised three children. His oldest daughter, Megan, graduated from UC Davis in 2006 and his son, Jonathan, is a current UC Davis student. His daughter Whitney is finishing her nursing degree at California State University, Chico.

1987Erik Olsen, a winemaker with Clos du Bois, won the top prize for his 2005 Russian River Valley Calcaire Chardonnay at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. He won additional prizes for his Marlstone, Reserve Merlot and Reserve Tempranillo.

1988Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Molly Bigelow to a judgeship with the Shasta County Superior Court. She had served as a commissioner for the Shasta County Superior Court since 2004 and previously worked as a deputy district attorney for the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office from 1993 to 2004. • Robert Frye, M.F.A. ’02, was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding art direction on Hell’s Kitchen. He was additionally nominated for two Art Director’s Guild Awards for Hell’s Kitchen and Unanimous. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

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