| 1997Johanna Hardin, M.S., Ph.D., '00, was recently tenured and promoted to associate professor of mathematics at Pomona College. She teaches statistics courses. Her research focuses on developing new statistical methodology for analyzing human genome data. • Jonathan Hart and Jason Hairston '99 founded Sitka Gear in 2006to manufacture high-performance hunting clothing. Their products have won awards from Field and Stream and Sporting Classics magazines and are now sold in more than 250 stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as online, with distribution in Europe planned. • Hilary (Mark) and Aaron McCarty celebrated the birth of their first child, "future Aggie alum" Samuel Aaron McCarty, in May. Aaron, a biotech worker, and Hilary, a teacher, were married in 2004 with many Aggies in attendance and live in Redwood City. • Stephen Moore, J.D., is general counsel at Navigenics, a new company in Redwood Shores that offers consumers genetic analysis for use in health planning. He most recently was associate general counsel with biotechnology company Affymetrix Inc. |
| 1998Susan Miller-Sylvia, M.B.A, with IBM's Global Business Services in Sacramento, was one of nine employees and the only woman in May to be named an IBM fellow, the company's highest technical honor. IBM described her as a pioneer in the development of image technology solutions, particularly for enterprise content management, document management, digital media and unstructured data. |
| 1999Raina Lee received a master's degree in media and film studies from the New School for Social Research in New York City. She is the author of Hit Me With Your Best Shot: The Ultimate Guide to Karaoke Domination, published by Chronicle Books in May. She is also founder and publisher of 1-Up MegaZine, an international art journal about video game culture and criticism. She lives in Los Angeles. • Jennifer Litsinger married Jason Stinebaugh in October 2007 in Lake Tahoe. Litsinger is a senior manager at Accenture, a global consulting firm, and Stinebaugh is a systems engineer at MDS Analytical Technologies. They live in Walnut Creek. |
| 2000Eric Beiswanger received a J.D. degree from Rutgers School of Law in May and is returning to California after being in South Africa. He had been selected by Rutgers to travel to that country and interview members of the Constitutional Court and drafters of the South African Constitution in order to write a policy paper on the country's approach to social change through recognition of human rights. This past summer, Beiswanger also externed for the Hispanic National Bar Foundation, helping organize mock trial competitions and mentoring at-risk students while meeting with leaders in Washington D.C. In addition, he plans to marry Jacki Quick, a fellow Rutgers law graduate, in Prague. • Former members of the UC Davis Hawaii Club (Na Keiki O Hawaii) got together in May in Honolulu for an annual reunion. Attending were Jason Dacumos '03, Tracie Kobayashi '00, Laurie Hirahara '03, Christina Tom '02, James Chan '02 and Richelle Nakata '03. They all currently live in Hawaii. |
| 2001Jaime Anschultz married Steven Nichols in Ventura in June. Bridesmaids included Vanessa Gatewood-Riggs '02 and Kristen Richardson Faber '01. Anschultz plans to return to school to become a labor and delivery nurse. The couple lives in Oak Park. • Ardie Zahedani has been hired as associate principal by the RCH Group, a real estate consulting and advisory service company in Sacramento. Zahedani's expertise is in public policy, political affairs and land-use advocacy. He was most recently the lobbyist and political director for the North State Building Industry Association and, before that, served as policy director for Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. He and his wife, Lauren, were married this May and live in Folsom. |
| 2002Emily Kerr married Matthew Bianconi in Maine in August. The couple lives in the Boston area where Kerr works as a nurse practitioner at a pediatric office, and Bianconi is the information technology communications director at a community health center. |
| 2003Erin McClelland married Dennis Liggio in April in Austin, Texas. They honeymooned in Maui. They live in Austin, where she works as an interpretive planner for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and he works for video game developer and publisher Trion World Networks. |
| 2004Diane Geng was honored for excellence as a young entrepreneur as one of five winners of a fundraising challenge hosted by the Global Engagement Summit and Northwestern University. Geng raised more than $8,000 for a project she co-founded that provides year-round professional development support for teachers in rural Chinese schools. • Jennifer Heguy, M.S. '06, is the new UC dairy advisor for San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. • Emily Beth Winston, M.S., was joined in civil union in August to Elinor Ann Granzow, D.V.M. '07 in New Jersey. Granzow is a veterinarian at the Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Tinton Falls, N.J., and Winston is the former manager of the Toyota fuel-cell vehicle demonstration program for the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. |
| 2005Rebecca Blatt married David Rendsburg in July. Blatt is going into her third year of teaching at Mott Hall High School in New York City, and Rendsburg works for Hazon, a Jewish environmental nonprofit organization. • During a Fulbright Fellowship that ended in September, Fiona Laurie helped Mayan women in Guatemala develop markets for their textiles. In June, a Davis gallery hosted a one-night exhibition of some of the weavers' work, as well as photographs by Laurie and Charlie Schneider documenting the women's daily life and traditions. Proceeds benefitted the Tejidos Cotzal Cooperative, started by women in San Juan Cotzal trying to rebuild their lives after Guatemala's 36-year civil war. • The Sacramento Public Relations Association has selected two UC Davis alumni to lead its board of directors: Jairo Moncada will be president, and Jana Sanders Perry '03 will be vice president. Moncada is communications manager for California Volunteers in the Office of the Governor, and Perry is a public relations account executive and events and promotions specialist for Merlot Marketing Inc. |
| 2006Elle Koleckar (who graduated from UC Davis as Elizabeth Weber) is co-developer of OneGate for UC Davis (www.onegate.com), an online resource for UC Davis students. OneGate is a collection of Web sites, activities on campus, ways to get involved, maps, program information, university news and search engines for potential and current UC Davis students. |
