1970s
The Ephrata High School Athletic Hall of Fame welcomed Jim Forrest (‘73 Gen. Studies) as a 2020 inductee. Forrest played football and basketball at WSU before a career with the Canadian Football League.
Veteran TV journalist Enrique Cerna (’75 Comm.) has joined WSU’s Board of Regents. Before retiring from Cascade Public Media’s KCTS 9 in 2018, he spent 23 years producing and hosting current affairs programs and documentaries. He also reported and produced numerous news segments for national PBS programs, provided election analysis for PBS NewsHour, and moderated senatorial, congressional, gubernatorial, and mayoral debates. He serves on the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees, Yakima Valley Museum Board of Directors, and King County Television’s Citizens Advisory Committee.
Sandra Stauffer (’77 Comm.) has retired after 29 years in law enforcement, most recently as a code enforcement officer in Lakewood.
Dan Larson (’78 Elem. Ed.) retired from the Arlington School District after 42 years. He was a third-grade teacher at Kent Prairie Elementary School, and taught and coached at middle and elementary schools.
Marsha Fletcher Morris (‘78 Microbiol.), who played with the Badminton Club at WSU, won a gold medal in mixed doubles badminton at the 2019 National Senior Games in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She also won a bronze in women’s doubles and finished fifth in singles.
Terry Peterson (’79 Ag. Econ.) is the CEO of the West Linn, Oregon-based Pacific West Bank.
1980s
Carrie Byles (’86 Arch.), a San Francisco-based partner of the international architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, has served on the company’s executive committee since 2016. During the current COVID-19 crisis, she helped get the entire company working remotely.
Frank Dooley (’86 PhD Ag. Econ.) is the new global chancellor at Purdue University, where he had served as senior vice provost for teaching and learning. He’s responsible for overseeing academics for more than 31,000 Purdue students earning online degrees.
The Society for Range Management recognized Maura Laverty (’87 Range Mgmt.) with a 2020 Outstanding Achievement Award for Land Stewardship. Laverty, range program manager for the Umatilla and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests and invasive species program manager for the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, is a career U.S. Forest Service professional who has worked in Washington, Colorado, Idaho, and Oregon.
Kathleen McChesney (’87 Lib. Arts), a leading expert in addressing the Catholic Church’s sexual abuse crisis, received the 2020 Laetare Medal, the oldest and most prestigious honor given to American Catholics. McChesney was recruited by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 to establish and lead its Office of Child Protection. She joined the FBI in 1978 as a special agent, eventually reaching the bureau’s third-highest position as executive assistant director.
Brad Rawlins (‘87 Comm., Spanish) has been named director of the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University. Rawlins will lead the academic programs in multimedia journalism, creative media production, KASU radio, printing services, and student media, including The Herald, ASU-TV, Red Wolf Radio, and the Delta Digital News service.
The Indianapolis-based architecture firm CSO has named Laura Schellinger (’87 Int. Des.) a partner. She has worked in marketing at the company for more than 15 years.
Deborah Gracio (’88, ’95 MA Elec. Eng.) has been named associate laboratory director for the National Security Directorate at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The directorate includes a $500 million research portfolio and 1,300 staff members. A recipient of the DOE’s Outstanding Woman in Engineering award, she serves on the executive advisory board for WSU’s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture as well as WSU’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Duane Fotheringham (‘89 Elec. Eng.) is president of Huntington Ingalls Industries Technical Solutions Unmanned Systems business unit, following the company’s acquisition of Hydroid, Inc. Fotheringham had previously served as Hydroid’s president and chairman of the board.
Mark J. Reid (’89 Agro.) is the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s new dean of the College of Education. He comes to the position from Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he was associate dean of the College of Education and Human Services, and associate professor of secondary education, department of curriculum and instruction.
Mark Wright (’89 Comm.) is a recipient of a 2020 Hall of Achievement Award from WSU’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. He’s a news anchor for KING 5 in Seattle.
1990s
Shauna Corry (’90 MA Int. Des., ‘02 PhD), a professor of interior design, is the new dean of the College of Art and Architecture at the University of Idaho. In 2007, Corry was the first to receive UI’s Hoffman Award in Teaching Excellence. In 2015, she won UI’s Outreach and Engagement Award of Excellence.
Aaron Sele (x’91) has been named to the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2020. Sele led North Kitsap High School’s baseball team to a state title in 1988 before pitching at WSU, where he helped the Cougars win three conference championships. Drafted by Boston Red Sox in 1991, Sele played for several teams—including the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets—before becoming a special assignment scout for the Chicago Cubs.
Architect Jerry Isaksen (’92 Arch.) has joined MBI Companies Inc. in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Rantz Hoseley (x’94) is the senior editor at Z2 Comics. Hoseley previously worked as managing editor at Heavy Metal Magazine. He won Eisner and Harvey awards in 2009 for Comic Book Tattoo, his anthology graphic novel based on 51 songs by Tori Amos. In 2018, he adapted Nikki Sixx’s memoir The Heroin Diaries into a graphic novel. Hoseley started his career as a storyboard artist, working on rock videos for bands such as Aerosmith. He also served as lead artist for Philips Media’s Realtime 3D initiative, art director on Aladdin: The Fate of Agrabah for Disney Interactive, and creative director of Star Trek: Tactical Assault and Master of Orion III for Quicksilver Software. At WSU, he served as graphics manager of The Daily Evergreen.
Eric Lindsay (’95 History) is vice president and legislative director for the Paralyzed Veterans of America Texas Chapter and member of the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities. Lindsay retired as a lieutenant colonel after serving in the U.S. Army for 21 years.
Eric Johnston (’98 Civ. Eng.) is the new public works director in Bellingham. He had served as interim public works director since August 2019. Before that, he was an assistant director of public works, in charge of the operations division, and—from 2001 to 2012—he served as city engineer in Oak Harbor.
Convergence Architecture has promoted Allen Kabanuk (’98 Arch.) to associate principal. He has 21 years of professional design experience in all phases of commercial, industrial, and public projects.
Janie McCauley (’98 Comm.) is a recipient of a 2020 Hall of Achievement Award from WSU’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. As a sportswriter for the Associated Press in San Francisco, she’s covered three Summer Olympic Games, two Winter Olympic Games, the World Cup in Brazil, a Super Bowl, and four World Series. Her beat includes the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, and Golden State Warriors. In 2006, she was named AP’s Sportswriter of the Year.
Kenneth R. Colman (’99 Soc. Sci.) has stepped down from his position as commanding officer of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven Zero. He earned a commission through Officer Candidate School in 2000 and was designated a naval aviator in 2001. Colman deployed in support of Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief Operations in Sumatra, Indonesia, following the tsunami in 2004, as well as in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2013, he was the HSM-75 Officer of the Year. His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, three Navy Commendation Medals, three Navy Achievement Medals, and numerous unit and campaign awards.
2000s
Paul Mattfeld (’00 Psych.) is the new administrator of Hale Makua Wailuku, a skilled and intermediate nursing and rehabilitation center and adult residential care home on Maui. He was recognized as the 2015 Washington State Administrator of the Year by the Washington Health Care Association, and has been working on quality initiatives on a national level as a member of the American Health Care Association’s Quality Committee since 2016.
Woodland Public Schools has appointed Tom Guthrie (’01 Gen. St., Soc. Sci.) as an interim board director.
Jessie Kane (’02 Comm.) is the new executive news director of Spokane’s KREM-TV. Kane began her career as an intern at the station and was a producer there from 2002 to 2005. She’s also worked in TV news in Seattle, Sacramento, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dwayne Mack (’02 PhD History), the Carter G. Woodson chair in African American history at Kentucky’s Berea College, was appointed vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the school, where he’s taught history since 2003.
Robin K. Payne (’02, ’04 MA Hist.) has been named associate director of the Honors Program at West Virginia’s Fairmont State University.
Marcus Yzaguirre (’03 Comm.) is the new football coach at Federal Way High School.
Stephanie Bennett (’04 Crim. Jus.) is a Basic Law Enforcement Academy trainer advisor counselor officer at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Academy.
Lewis-Clark State College history professor Amy Canfield (’04 MA, ’08 PhD History) has been appointed as state coordinator for the National Votes for Women Trail. In 2019, she was honored with the Idaho Brightest Stars Award. She also was a 2019 recipient of the LC State Women’s Leadership Award. On campus, Canfield advises the Women In Lasting Leadership Club and organizes Women’s History Month activities. She also serves on the Idaho Historic Sites Review Board and boards of the Lewiston Civic Theater and Idaho Humanities Council.
Dale Green (’04 Lib. Arts) has been promoted to commander of the Aberdeen Police Department.
John Lamanna (’04 Kinesio.) has been hired as head coach for men’s basketball at Whitman College.
Ursula Perkins (’04 Busi.), a certified public accountant, joined Opsahl Dawson in 2010. She manages the individual tax group in the firm’s Vancouver office and specializes in individual, trust, and estate tax returns.
Jim Lawless (’07 Soc. Sci.) is the new police chief in Edmonds. He had served as assistant chief since 2008. In 2013, he was the department’s officer of the year.
Emily Wicks (’08 Comm. and Poli. Sci.) has been appointed to the Washington state House of Representatives for the thirty-eighth legislative district. She’s also president of the Washington chapter of the National Women’s Political Caucus and has been involved with the Marysville YMCA, Marysville School District Foundation, and Leadership Snohomish County.
2010s
Marquis Who’s Who has presented Rita Marie Kepner (’10 PhD Comm.) with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. In nearly 30 years, Kepner, of Marrowstone Island, has served as a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster affairs responder for more than 70 disaster relief efforts, including fires and earthquakes throughout California, Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Maria, and more.
Linebacker Deone Bucannon (x’13) has signed with the Atlanta Falcons. He started the 2019 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and ended it with the New York Giants. Drafted as a safety out of WSU, the former first-round selection of the Arizona Cardinals tallied 406 tackles in 70 games in his five seasons with the team.
Jessica Huntington (’13 Civ. Eng.) is a civil engineer and lieutenant at the U.S. Navy base Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti.
Hennebery Eddy Architects has promoted project accountant Stacy Rutherford (’13 Int. Busi.) to associate.
Walsh Construction has promoted Abby Anderson (’16 Civ. Eng) to assistant superintendent.
Jordan Nesbit (’18 DVM) has taken over Ark Animal Hospital in Heyburn, Idaho.
Tom Murgatroyd (’19 Mech. Eng.) has joined the sales team at Colmac Industries as an applications engineer.