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1950s
William Minshall (’51 Geog.) worked as a cartographer for 25 years with an aerospace firm in Glendale, California, where he also met his wife. After owning and operating an RV park near Tillamook, the Minshalls are now retired in Cloverdale, Oregon.
1960s
Northwestern Mutual honored Albuquerque financial representative William E. Ebel (’65 Ag. Econ.) with membership to its 2015 Forum Group in recognition of his helping clients plan for and achieve financial security. This is the fifteenth time Ebel has received the Forum honor.
Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht (’68 MA, ’70 PhD Socio.) announced his plans to retire. He will continue in his role until the search for a successor is complete. Albrecht’s tenure saw USU grow in terms of student enrollment and research programs, as well as the successful conclusion of a comprehensive fundraising campaign.
1970s
Bruce Mackey (’70 MA, ’73 PhD Ag. Econ.) was reelected to a three-year term on the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program board of trustees. The Washington Agriculture and Forestry Education Foundation is guided by its mission to advance the natural resource industries through enhanced understanding, education, and empowerment of future leaders.
The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Alumni Society named Jack Elliot (’75 Ag. Ed, ’78 MA Ag. Econ.) the recipient of its 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award. Before earning his doctorate at OSU, Elliot worked as a farmer and teacher. Since 2009, he has been at Texas A&M, the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, and the graduate faculty at Texas Tech.
Timothy J. White (’76 Arch.), AIA, joined Bernardo|Wills Architects as an architect. White, who has nearly 40 years of professional architectural design experience, is presently managing the renovation of the gymnasium at Fairchild Air Force Base’s Survival School.
California State University, Chico will have a new dean for its College of Agriculture beginning August 1, when John Unruh (’79, ’81 MS Animal Sciences) will leave his current position as chair of the Food Science Undergraduate Program at Kansas State University to head up the CSU Chico college. Unruh grew up on a farm near Warden.
1980s
John Korn (’80 MS, ’81 Civ. Eng.) retired from The Boeing Company at the end of 2015. Over the course of a more than 34-year career at Boeing, Korn held several engineering and management positions working on a variety of military and commercial aircraft projects.
The Vermont Department of Liquor Control and Liquor Control Board named Patrick T. Delaney (’82 Hotel & Rest. Admin.), a veteran of the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industry, the new commissioner of the Department of Liquor Control.
Humptulips native Tom Gwin (’84 Ag. Econ.) was elected as the Washington State Grange master and president, overseeing the state’s 250 granges. Gwin’s focus has been to bolster youth involvement in the longstanding agriculture-based organization. During his time at Washington State University studying agriculture and business, Gwin served for a year as a state grange youth ambassador.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States tapped Kraig Naasz (’84 History) to serve as president and CEO. Naasz previously worked as chief executive of the American Frozen Food Institute, the National Mining Association, the Fertilizer Institute, and the U.S. Apple Association.
Kyle Squires (’84 Mech. Eng.) is the new dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. Squires has served as vice dean and interim dean of the Fulton Schools since June 2015. Over the next five years, Squires has plans to raise the profile and impact of the Fulton Schools worldwide.
Michael Dreyer (’85 Psych., ’86 MBA) was appointed to the board of directors of Finisar Corp., a global technology company for fiber optic subsystems and components that enable high-speed voice, video, and data communications for a variety of applications. Dreyer is currently the chief operations officer of Silicon Valley Bank and is responsible for bank and non-bank operations worldwide.
Central Life Sciences named Ken Turrentine (’89 Comm.) director of marketing for the Zoëcon Professional Products Division. Turrentine oversees marketing planning and strategy for the vector and professional pest control business segments. Central Life Sciences acquired Syngenta Horticultural Services in 2012 where Turrentine held roles of increasing responsibility since 2006.
1990s
Rob Myers (’90 History) took up the mantle of director of sales for Phillips Industries. Myers has spent the past fifteen years in vice presidential roles at nonprofit organizations, including his last position as executive vice president of development for City of Hope National Medical Center.
Sam Thornton (’90 Hort.) joined Arysta LifeScience as a technical sales specialist for seed treatments in the northern plains region. Most recently, Thornton worked as a sustainable solutions lead for Syngenta, covering the western United States and Canada. He also is past director of research and grower relations with the Washington State Potato Commission.
Jim Hanna (’92 Enviro. Sci.), former director of environmental affairs at Starbucks, will lead clean energy projects across the widespread network of Microsoft’s cloud data centers. Hanna will address environmental concerns ranging from supply chain to energy and water reduction to policy engagements.
The Downtown Walla Walla Foundation has selected Cindy Frost (’93 Hotel & Rest. Admin.) as its new events and public relations manager. A 12-year resident of the area, she previously managed human resources and accounting for Walla Walla’s Courtyard by Marriott.
Northern Marianas Islands Lieutenant Governor Victor B. Hocog appointed John O. Gonzales (’93 Poli. Sci.) as his chief of staff. Gonzales previously served in various management positions at the NMI National State Library and NMI Department of Public Lands. He was a policy cabinet member in a prior administration with extensive policy, NMI-federal relations, and capital infrastructure improvement work.
Nathan F. Fahrer (’94 Poli. Sci.) was promoted to partner at law firm Perkins Coie. Based in Chicago, Fahrer represents commercial real estate clients in complex transactions involving acquisitions, dispositions, development, financings, and leasing.
Women of Distinction Magazine chose Shelley D. Richards (’95 Civ. Eng.) as a distinguished professional in her field. Richards, a licensed professional engineer, is a project manager with HDR, a civil consulting business that handles infrastructure, water, oil and gas, waste, and federal, power, industrial, mining, architectural, and construction projects.
The Moses Lake Samaritan Healthcare Board of Commissioners selected Julie Weisenburg (’96 Busi.) as its new board chair. Weisenburg has more than 15 years of experience in human resources work in the health care sector, 14 of which have taken place in Moses Lake.
Sonya Lenzi (’98 MA Interior Design) was named board president of the Idaho Botanical Garden. She is a longtime garden friend, donor, and board member. Lenzi is an interior designer at Carol’s Design House and president of the Boise Garden Club.
Hotel Zephyr, a Davidson Hotels & Resorts’ property and one of San Francisco’s newest boutique hotels, appointed Jill Plemons (’98 Hotel & Rest. Admin.) as director of sales and marketing. Plemons joins Hotel Zephyr after a distinguished 17-year career in hospitality and service operations with a specialty in boutique and independent hotels.
2000s
Michael Marcum (’00 MBA) joined the Anoto Group as senior vice president of product strategy. In this position, Marcum will oversee strategic planning of Anoto’s global product portfolio spanning all business areas and will collaborate on brand strategy and product positioning.
Soil surfactant company Aquatrols tapped Greg Kvistad (’01 MBA) as its new director of agricultural products. Kvistad spent the previous 19 years in sales leadership and account management positions at FMC Corporation, where he was highly instrumental in growing crop protection business.
Kelly Parker (’02 Busi.) joins the Idaho Independent Bank as its new vice president of community relations and product development. Parker most recently worked at the Boise nonprofit Create Common Good as director of community engagement and sales. She will continue serving on Create Common Good’s strategic advisory board.
The Middle East Forum appointed Clifford Smith (’02 Comm.) as director of its Washington Project. Smith will lead the Forum’s efforts to educate policy makers and opinion leaders in Washington, D.C. on policy recommendations.
Matt Wakefield (’02 Comm.) was named communications manager of Travel Tacoma + Pierce County. He will work with Travel Tacoma’s partners to promote Tacoma and Pierce County as a destination for visitors and conventions. Wakefield enjoys traveling and recently spent three years living and working in China.
David Abeyta (’05 Poli. Sci.) has been named a partner in the law firm Abeyta Nelson Injury law. He joined Abeyta Nelson in 2010, specializing in personal injury and wrongful death cases. The Yakima native serves on the board of governors for the Washington State Association for Justice. Abeyta is also active in the community with the Yakima Valley Community Foundation and United Way of Yakima.
Ciara Christensen (’05 Psych, ’12 PhD Coun. Psych.) is the new adult psychologist at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center. While at WSU, she focused on mind-body treatment interventions. As a licensed psychologist, she provides her knowledge and care to adults with a broad spectrum of needs including mood and anxiety disorders, trauma, pain management, sleep disorders, as well as evaluation and treatment of eating disorders.
Rebecca Aghakhan Shepard (Comm. ’05) joined the University of Idaho’s communication and marketing office as senior director of marketing. Shepard has extensive strategic marketing experience for a variety of industries. She has worked for Lucasarts Entertainment, Ubisoft, Sony Pictures, and Hasbro, Inc.
The American Society of Civil Engineers, Oregon Section, selected Dan Shafar (’06 Civ. Eng.) for the 2015 Young Civil Engineer of the Year Award for demonstrating good character and integrity, exhibiting a high level of technical competence, and helping advance the profession of civil engineering. Shafar is a project engineer with BergerABAM.
Global engineering, construction, and project management company Bechtel named David Wilson (’06 MTM) its new deputy chief innovation officer. Wilson will manage Bechtel’s Future Fund, a new program designed to encourage employees across the company’s global sites to create, share, explore and develop new ideas to enhance performance and competitiveness.
Chelsey Stewart (’07 HBM) is the new sales manager for the Fairmont Pittsburgh, a Four Diamond hotel. Before relocating to Pittsburgh, the Washington state native was the convention services and catering Manager at Motif Seattle.
2010s
Craig Meador (’15 EDD) is the new president of the American Printing House for the Blind. A former teacher and educational leader for blind and visually impaired children, Meador has served as APH’s vice president of educational services and product development since mid-2015.