1940s
Hobart G. Jenkins (’49 Ed., ’51 MA Ed., ’70 DEd.) was recently honored by the Board of Trustees of the Community Colleges of Spokane. They named a new medical vocational/technical building the Jenkins Wellness Center. Dr. Jenkins retired in 1982 and currently lives in Bayview, Idaho.
1950s
Jim Pope (’59 Bus. Admin.) is one of the eleven “Airmen of CHS (Clarkston High School)” who graduated high school between 1948 and 1954. After WSU, Pope went into the Air Force where he focused on fixed-wing training. Eventually he became involved with helicopters and stayed in the helicopter business for forty years. He has done game surveys for the government, helped the Nez Perce Tribe with fishery operations, and worked to fight fires for the Idaho Department of Lands. Pope is now retired but still flies for fun.
1960s
John Fabian (’62 Mech. Engr.) was the third astronaut to be named a Distinguished Member of the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) for his personal and professional efforts. For fourteen years, Fabian was the international co-president of the ASE and spent two years as the president of the U.S. chapter, where he is currently on the board of directors. He became the first Cougar astronaut in 1983 when he served as mission specialist on the space shuttle Challenger II. In 1985 he was the recipient of the WSU Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award and is now retired from his position as president of a nonprofit research corporation in Virginia.
June R. Aprille (’67 Zool.), provost and professor of biology at Washington and Lee University, will retire at the end of the academic year. She is a nationally recognized cell biologist and has held various positions at the University of Richmond and Tufts University and was a lecturer in biochemistry for pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is also the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Achievement, given to her by the Department of Integrative and Molecular Physiology at the University of Illinois.
Bruce Warman (’67 Ag. Engr.) is the recipient of the 2011 Quad City Engineering and Science Council Lifetime Achievement Award. Warman is a retired Project Engineer with John Deere Harvester Works and received four U.S. patents during his 35 years of working there. He is a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers.
1970s
Ronald F. Marshall (’71 Phil.) recently published two articles in International Kierkegaard Commentary, “No Quack Doctor: Kierkegaard’s Dialectical Understanding of God’s Changelessness,” and “The Traversed Path: Kierkegaard’s Complex Way to Religious Simplicity.” Marshall has also been the pastor of First Lutheran Church in West Seattle since 1979.
Peter Doumit (’72 Hist., Ed.) is the author of two books, What I know About Baseball is What I Know About Life and More Of…What I know About Baseball Is What I Know About Life. These books were inspired by notebooks that he would give team members, in which to keep inspirational quotes. Doumit has spent the last 38 years as a coach and administrator in the Moses Lakes School District. He is currently the coach for the basketball teams at Chief Moses Middle School and freshman baseball at Moses Lake High School.
Dee Baumgartner (’73 M.Ed.) has been teaching kindergarten since 1968. She teaches at Pullman’s Franklin Elementary School and in 2009 received the Miller-Manchester Teacher Mentor Award. She has participated in research grants and prepared for the National Board teacher certification through WSU in addition to being a part of WSU’s Northwest Writing Project.
J. Anthony (Tony) Fernandez (’75 PhD Plant Path.) has been named the 15th president of Lewis-Clark State College. He formerly held positions as provost and interim president of the college. He worked as assistant/associate professor at the University of Wyoming from 1977 to 1986. He was later an associate professor in plant sciences and the dean of the College of Continuing Education and Community Service at the University of Hawaii-Hilo and then dean of Educational Technology and Continuing Education and finally dean of the College of Health and Life Sciences at Fort Hays State in Kansas. Fernandez is a member of the Idaho Workforce Development Council, chair of the Governor’s Idaho Health Professions Education Council, and a member of the Regence Blue Shield Idaho Board of Directors.
Keith Lantz (’75 Comp. Sci.) is now the new vice president of SMART Labs for SMART Technologies Inc. He has held senior positions with companies including Cisco Systems and Olivetti Research Laboratory. Lantz was also a researcher and professor at Stanford and the University of Rochester, and a founder of Avistar Communications Corporation. He is a named inventor on 36 U.S. patents and 21 international patents and holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science.
Tom Tidwell (’76 Forest and Range Mgmt.) received the Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Award. He has spent the last 32 years working for the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah, and in 2002 was the forest supervisor during the Winter Olympics. Some of his positions have included district ranger, forest supervisor, and legislative affairs specialist. Tidwell became the 17th chief of the U.S. Forest Service in 2009, and works to protect forests and communities alike.
James A. Dias (’77 MS Animal Sci., ’80 PhD Animal Sci.) is vice president for research at the University of Albany. He was chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences in the School of Public Health at the University of Albany (2002-2009). He was in the Department of Biochemistry at Albany Medical College (1981-1988), fulfilled various roles at the Wadsworth Center of the New York State Department of Health, and served on editorial boards, study sections, and external advisory panels. Dias has also received several National Institutes of Health (NIH) career development awards and published many research articles while also receiving funding from the NIH.
1980s
Bill Sharpsteen (’80 Comm.), a Los Angeles-based writer and photographer, has written a book called The Docks. The book, recently published by the University of California Press, tells the story of the Port of Los Angeles, one of the nation’s largest and most active ports.
Kevin DeMoss (’81 Bus. Admin.) is vice president of product development at Aran Insurance Services Group of New York, which offers diversified insurance and financial services to the United States and Canada. DeMoss has over 25 years of commercial and agricultural underwriting and management experience. He was previously the vice president of QBE Agriculture Product and Pricing and has held management positions with OneBeacon Insurance and Fireman’s Fund Insurance. In addition to his business administration degree he holds AIM and AFIS designations.
Dennis Ng (’84 MBA) is regional vice president, sales, Asia Pacific, for MACH, a leading provider of hub-based mobile communication solutions based in Luxembourg but with offices around the world. Ng has over 25 years in telecommunications experience, information technology, content, and media sectors and has had roles at Progress Software and AT&T.
Debra Call (’86 MBA) is the first president and CEO of the recently formed Calista Heritage Foundation, the second largest for-profit Alaska Native regional corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. The foundation wants to increase the amount of money given to scholarships and is considering providing money for burials. Call was the former vice president of operations and human resources at the Alaska Native Heritage Center and Alaska Native program manager with Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.
Tim Nichols (’86 Ag., ’93 MCE) received the Dorothy and Eugene T. Butler Human Rights Award on January 26, 2011, in South Dakota. He was recognized for significant volunteer efforts concerning human rights. Nichols is a dean of the Honors College and interim director of diversity enhancement at South Dakota State University, where he has worked in various positions for over sixteen years. Among his accomplishments, Nichols has secured more than $2 million in grant funding, been a leader in the establishment of the American Indian Education and Culture Center, and been involved in the creation of SDSU’s first Black studies course. He supports the Flandreau Indian College Success Academy Project and has advocated for diversity efforts throughout the state and region.
Steven Karras (’87 Vet. Sci., ’89 DVM) received the 2011 Virginia Distinguished Veterinarian Award from the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association, which recognizes him for his community leadership and his contributions to veterinary organizational activities on national, state, and local levels. Karras is a participating/consulting veterinarian with the St. Francis of Assisi Service Dog Foundation and Virginia Police Work Dog Association.
Jim Drinkwine (’88 Comm.) was given tenure at Renton Technical College. Since 2008 he has taught office management and added an entrepreneurship option to the program this past fall.
Loretta Tuell (’88 Pol. Sci.) is staff director/chief council for the U.S. Senate’s Indian Affairs Committee. Tuell has considerable experience regarding Indian law. Her accomplishments include serving as a counselor to the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, director of the Office of American Indian Trust, and acting director of the Office of Tribal Services at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She is also a former board member for the National Native American Bar Association and a former board member of the National Native American Law Student’s Association. She received the prestigious American Bar Association’s Margaret Brent Award in 2009. Tuell has served on the board of trustees of the United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) since 1998 and became chair of the board in 2007.
Susan Gordon (’89 Phys. Ed.) is the women’s head volleyball coach at Centralia College. Previously, she was head volleyball coach at Onalaska High School and the director of the Onalaska Youth Volleyball program. Gordon has also worked in the Tri-Cities area, where she coached junior varsity at Columbia-Burbank High School, was head coach at Kennewick High School, and coaching director of the Tri-Cities Volleyball Club. Since 1989 she has achieved a 353-87 win-loss record and obtained eleven league titles and five district titles. She has also received the Coach of the Year Award three times.
Shelly K. Redinger (’89 Ed., ’92 M Ed.) is the new superintendent of Spotsylvania School District in Virginia. She worked for four years as superintendent of Oregon Trail School District. Before this position, she worked for six years as the executive director of teaching and learning for Richland School District in Washington, elementary principal, and assistant principal and elementary and middle school teacher. She was the recipient of the Phi Delta Kappa International Emerging Leader, Washington State Curriculum Leadership Award, and was the Washington Library Media Association Supervisor of the Year.
1990s
Ryan Hart (’93 Comm.), who was recently Clark County’s GOP chairman, will become the district director for newly-elected U.S. Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler in southwest Washington. Beginning in 2012, Hart will also become the Rotary Club of Vancouver Metro Sunset president.
Ken Lisaius (’93 Pol. Sci.) is senior advisor and director of public affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). His responsibilities will include overseeing the development and implementation of BIO’s education and industry branding campaign. In the past, Lisaius held the position of senior counselor at Virginia-based Brightline Media, and before that he spent several years as deputy director of the Office of Media Affairs, special assistant to the President of the United States, and deputy White House press secretary under President George W. Bush.
Randy C. Frisch (’94 Bus.) is president and publisher of the San Diego Business Journal. Frisch was most recently the vice president of operations and information technology for the San Diego Union-Tribune after serving as that newspaper’s chief financial officer. Frisch has also worked for the Salt Lake Tribune and Tribune Publishing Co. of Idaho (where he is on the board) and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News among various other executive roles in the newspaper industry over the past thirty years. He is also a member of the boards of directors for the United Way of San Diego County, YMCA of San Diego County, and American Red Cross—San Diego/Imperial Counties Chapter, and is a member of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce’s public policy and finance committees and a member of the Idaho and California State Bar.
Jason Hare (’94 Anth.) administers and oversees all web properties and projects for the Durham Public Schools, where he has worked since 2005. In 2010, his title was changed from webmaster to web analyst because of his added duties. Hare’s study of anthropology has helped him understand how users interact with tools and text. In 2009 he received an achievement award for his service.
Gail Stearns (’95 Lib. Arts) has been appointed the new dean of the chapel at Chapman University, a private school in Orange, California. Stearns is currently director of The Interfaith House on the Pullman Campus and is adjunct faculty in the WSU Honors College and previously taught in the Women’s Studies Department. She has written two books and is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church.
Patrick Sheehan (’96 Comm.) was elected to the Oregon State Legislature as state representative in November 2010. He is a Republican member and represents Clackamas District 51. He is also owner of Crazy Fingers Design Group Inc., an advertising agency, is a licensed realtor, and has taught computer graphics at Clackamas Community College.
Russell Kembel (’97 Bus. Admin/HBM) is the new director of industry relations and national accounts for Hilton Waikoloa Village. In this new position he will concentrate on market development in the United States, Canada, and Australia and act as a resource for the resort’s in-market sales team. Kembel’s extensive experience in the hotel industry includes working for Westin Cincinnati, O’Hare Hilton, and the San Francisco Hilton and Towers. He currently lives in Seattle.
Tom Schroeder (’98 Comm.) is the new sales manager at Bob Byers Volvo in Seattle. He has worked at two other Puget Sound area Volvo dealerships.
Ben White (’98 Comm.) is now the director of student conduct at the University of California, San Diego. He previously worked six years at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In his new position he will serve as senior conduct officer for the campus where he will advise students, staff, and faculty concerning student disciplinary matters. He and his wife, Karie, had their first child in March.
2000s
Maricela Alvarado (’00 Spanish, Engl.) was named Woman of Innovation by the YWCA Greater Lafayette (Indiana). Since 2004, Alvarado has served as the first director of Purdue University’s Latino Cultural Center at Purdue University. She also created the Latino Leadership Retreat and helped create Humanigration, a course that includes an immersion trip to the Mexico/U.S. border. Alvarado is a volunteer at the United Businesses Serving the Community, the Lafayette Commission for Latino Affairs, and the Indiana Latino Higher Education Council (as founding member and vice president), among other involvements. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Purdue.
Matthew Weston Groves (’00 Bus.) and his wife Rebecca have a daughter, Alexandra. He works for Navilyst Medical, an East Coast medical device manufacturer.
Tim Kerns (’00 Bus. Admin.) received the Rusty Hauber Award as Yakima’s firefighter of the year. He has worked with this fire department for almost seven years in addition to being involved in community activities.
Alanna (’01 Human Dev.) and Evan Ellis (’99 Comm.) welcomed son, Ethan Harold Ellis, into their family on January 19, 2011. Alanna is the compliance coordinator for the Athletics Department at WSU, and the family lives in Colfax.
Kevin Charap (’03 Const. Mgmt.) has been promoted to design and installation manager at Northwest Wind & Solar in Seattle. He is certified as a solar PV installer by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. In his new position he is responsible for client consultations, system design, and project management for solar installations.
Ursula Perkins (’04 CPA) is working at Opsahl, Dawson & Co P.S., an accounting firm in Vancouver. She has experience in banking and public accounting, including work with individual and business clients in taxes, accounting, and payroll. Perkins graduated summa cum laude from WSU Vancouver.
Nathanael Whitworth (’05 Engl., Span. Lit., ’07 MA Engl.) has recently joined the business development team at EcoAnalysts Inc., a biological monitoring and consulting company in Moscow, Idaho. Whitworth has experience writing and editing literary journals as well as teaching university-level reading. He speaks Spanish fluently, is proficient in German and French, and has studied Arabic and Chinese. In his new position, Whitworth will work with the sales and marketing team and with scientists to provide technical editing of scientific reports.
Jon Coyne (’06 Psych.) works with autistic and disabled youth at Mariner High School in Everett. He started a nonprofit organization three years ago called Acts of Kindness Friends which routinely serves meals at Seattle’s “Outdoor Meal Site,” underneath the freeway by Sixth Avenue and Columbia Street.
Bryan McKinney (’08 Ed., ’09 TC) will marry Ashley Brown in June 2011. He is currently attending Idaho State University and will graduate with a master’s degree in administration in 2013.
Russ Martin (’09 Soc. Sci.) became the executive director of the Helena Symphony in January 2011. Before accepting this position, he was the director of the Walla Walla Symphony and had a musical career that involved being nominated for a Grammy and working with Capitol Records. During his years in the music business, he worked with famous musicians including Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Bob Seger, Al Stewart, Alan Parsons, and John Sebastian.
Ahmad Baitalmal (’10 Bus.) has been accepted into the competitive Sloan Master’s Program at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Only 57 students each year are accepted into this program.
2010s
Samuel Hap Shaddox (’10 Pol. Sci.) was appointed to serve on the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board. At WSU he served as director of legislative affairs for the Associated Students of WSU, where he advocated and advanced student interest in the Legislature. Shaddox is currently studying law at the University of Washington.