Volume 30 · Number 3 · Spring 2013
Alumni Profiles
Aimee Connor Hasson ’01
Film premiere
Artist and director Carter, M.F.A. ’97, answers questions about his new film, Maladies, at a news conference during the Berlin International Film Festival in February. The festival was the world premiere for the feature, which stars James Franco as an actor with a perceived mental illness and co-stars Catherine Keener, David Strathairn and Alan Cumming.
(Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin/ Brigitte Dummer)
Aimee Connor Hasson
Occupation: Founder of The Gift of Education, a Davis-based company that provides an online gift registry for educational funds.
Ultimate assist: Like a lot of things in Hasson’s life, her newest venture revolves around basketball. A Cal Aggie Hall of Fame inductee who played 1989–93 for the Aggies, Hasson was inspired by the dying wish of a former teammate to establish the Gift of Education. The site facilitates donations by family and friends who want to contribute to college savings accounts. Parents or guardians create secure profiles for their children, choosing the type and amount of information they want to display. Donors can make a gift to a child’s account, or sign up for recurring payments.
Helping hands: Hasson learned in 2009 that Ashley (Stevens) Gesler ’92 was battling gallbladder cancer in Kentucky, where she lived with her husband, David ’93, and their four children. “The last time I spoke to Ashley, I asked her, ‘What do you need?’ and she replied, ‘I don’t need anything right now, but if it keeps going like this, the kids will need you.’” Before Gesler died in April 2010, she asked a mutual friend to make sure her kids go to college. Hasson set up a college fund for them. Donations came from across the country, but the process of funneling them into one account proved cumbersome. Hasson thought there had to be a better way. “I got the idea to set up something online, and then started thinking that there were other people out there who could benefit from it. We needed something that could bridge the gap between college savings accounts and the people who want to contribute to them.”
Deep UC Davis ties: As an environmental design major, Hasson enjoyed a strong sense of connection to the city and the campus community. “I just remember the feeling of being safe, part of a warm community of people. The friends I made while I was a student here became lifelong friends; I would do anything for them and I know they’d do anything for me. These are people that I carry in my heart every day.” She maintains that connection today as a life member of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association.
Full circle: Hasson left Davis in 1994, just one class short of graduation. (She completed her coursework at UCLA in 2001). In the late ’90s, she worked as a Nike representative for the Women’s National Basketball Association, and played professional basketball in Israel. In 1997, she married Paul Hasson ’93, and they settled in Los Angeles. A year after their first child was born in 2003, she and Paul moved back to Davis. They have two boys: Adam, 9, and Alex, 7.
Wendy Weitzel, CAAA communications officer, contributed to this report.
“I want to try to share and encourage and build a sense of community about saving for college.”
Chris Johnson ’02
Chris Johnson's new microwave bowl shortens the cooking time for ramen noodles.
(Gregory Urquiaga/ UC Davis)
by Gheed Saeed ’15
Occupation: President and CEO of The Johnson Group, Inc., inventor of the Rapid Ramen Cooker.
Four-minute noodles: Johnson grew up eating ramen noodles. He credits his survival in college to the simple, fast, and budget-friendly meal. Today, Johnson has “boiled down” the cooking time from about 12 minutes, by traditional pot and stove, to four to six minutes in a microwave, making it easier to enjoy the dorm-room classic. He invented the Rapid Ramen Cooker, described on the packaging as the “fastest and easiest way to make ramen noodles.” Since its release last fall, the rectangular bowl has shipped to every state in the country. The company has been accepting orders to the tune of four per minute.
Humble beginnings: Johnson’s Rapid Ramen is his first invention, but not his first business venture. In 2006, with just a few thousand dollars in savings and a great deal of ambition, Johnson founded The Johnson Group Inc., a corporate recruiting company. The company has grown rapidly, posting $1 million in revenues over a recent 18-month period. Johnson credits his degree in communication for giving him the ability to “interface with billion dollar retail companies, negotiate complex contracts, and present [himself] and company professionally.”
Giving back: In March 2012, Johnson created the Chris Johnson Basketball Academy, which reaches more than 500 youths per year. “I love watching kids develop their game, while teaching them life lessons to be used on and off the court. Basketball is a powerful tool to encourage discipline, teamwork, work ethic, determination and integrity.” Johnson lives in Wilton with his wife and high school sweetheart, Shawna, and their three children.
“My grandfather . . . said, ‘The graveyard [is the richest place in the land] because most people die with great ideas and things that they never did out of fear.’ . . .I wanted to make sure I live my life on purpose every single day.”
Winemaker profile: Jason Ledbetter ’08, Pine Ridge Vineyards
Jason Ledbetter (Courtesy photo)
Jason Ledbetter ’08, assistant winemaker for Pine Ridge Vineyards in Napa, calls UC Davis the best school in the country for winemaking. He credits his education here with making his dream career possible.
“I was told by many people along the way that I would not make it, or that my dreams were ‘cute,’” he said. “But if you have a passion for something, it should be pursued to no end.”
Ledbetter grew up in the wine country, attending Vintage High School in Napa. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree in viticulture and enology, he found UC Davis challenging and enriching. “(UC Davis is) renowned for its sciences and, obviously, the V&E program,” he said. “Nothing can replace the friendships I made at UC Davis or the experiences the V&E program enabled me to participate in.”
Ledbetter interned at Cakebread Cellars in Rutherford and Trefethen Family Vineyards in Napa. He also worked as an enologist, directing and coordinating wine production at Pine Ridge Vineyards in Napa. Pine Ridge is best known for its Napa Valley cabernets, especially Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon — his favorite. He described it as an “elegant, nuanced, feminine-style cab that is ever-evolving, and represents the volcanic soils where it is grown.”
In May 2010, Ledbetter was promoted to assistant winemaker at Pine Ridge. He aspires to become a head winemaker in Napa Valley, saying there is no other region he would rather work.
Many of his classmates and friends also work in the wine industry. Although he has not had much time to return to campus, Ledbetter finds it essential to stay involved with UC Davis and share his story.
He encourages youngsters to get an education and pursue their dreams. “Education is truly the great divide in this world; with it, you are able to make better decisions that not only affect you, but also affect the world around you.”
For more information about the UC Davis Alumni Wine Program, visit CAAA.