1970s
Sue Rahr (’79 Crim. Jus. & Crim.) is interim chief of the Seattle Police Department. Previously, she was King County sheriff, executive director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, and a member of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
1980s
Don Collins (’x80) was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2024. Collins was the only WSU men’s basketball player named conference MVP in 1980. He had a number of awards before a professional NBA and European career.
Phil (’80 Ag.) and Max Hinrichs (’79 Ag.) were named Pulse Family of the Year at the 35th National Lentil Festival in Pullman. The Hinrichs brothers owned and operated Hinrichs Seed Company before retiring in January. Max is past president of the American Dry Pea and Lentil Association and former director of international trade for the family company. Phil, his wife, and their three children also established Hinrichs Trading Company, the largest independent chickpea processor in the nation, in 1996.
Terry Kelly (’80 Accounting) was inducted to the Hooptown USA Hall of Fame. Kelly was a founding board member of Hoopfest, an outdoor basketball tournament with 425 courts that span 45 city blocks in Spokane every year. Kelly scored the highest points per game in the state as a high school student in 1976, and later led the WSU basketball team to the NCAA tournament in 1980 under coach George Raveling.
Theresa Elliot-Cheslek (’82 Socio.) will retire after leading WSU’s Human Resource Services team for the past decade. Since 1999, Elliot-Cheslek has been a consultant, assistant director, and associate director at WSU before being promoted to vice president and chief human resources officer.
Paul Bucich (’84 Civ. Eng.) is public works director for the City of Sequim. Previously, he was public works engineering director and city engineer for the City of Lakewood. He has more than 30 years of experience in managing public works projects across the Puget Sound region.
Tammy Crawford (’85 Ed., Biol.,’04 MA, ’07 PhD Higher Ed. Admin.), an associate professor of sport management in the WSU College of Education, received the Richard G. Law Excellence Award for Undergraduate Teaching.
Dave Gibney (’86 Gen. Stu.) retired from WSU information technology after 43 years of service. Gibney was the senior mainframe systems programmer from 2002 to 2022, and previously a systems analyst and programmer.
David Marek (’87 Busi.) is CEO of ReAlta Life Sciences, a Virginia biotech company focusing on acute inflammatory and rare diseases. Marek was CEO and a member of the board of directors for biopharmaceutical company Myovant Services, and held roles at WebMD Health, Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare Advertising, Eli Lilly and Co., and AstraZeneca.
Gary Anderson (’88 Mktg.) was appointed to the board of directors at Regency Centers Corporation, a real estate investment trust in Jacksonville, Florida. In June, Anderson retired from Prologis as chief operating officer, where he held leadership positions including CEO.
John White (’88 Busi.) is CEO of Ha–ma–kua-Kohala Health Center in Hawai‘i. Previously, he was CEO and superintendent of Mid-Valley Hospital and Clinic in Omak and CEO of North Hawai’i Community Hospital in Waimea. He has 30 years of experience in rural hospitals and clinic systems.
Carmen Green (’89 Comm.) is chief operating officer of Providence Medical Group in Spokane. Previously, Green was clinical operations director for the pediatrics division at Providence. She has more than 20 years of health care experience.
Gary Marshall (‘89 DVM) is vice president of the American Veterinary Medical Association for 2024-26. Marshall owned two small-animal clinics and is the founder of Island Cats Veterinary Hospital on Mercer Island. Marshall was president of the AVMA and served on its board of directors. He received an American Animal Hospital Association Visionary Award and a Washington State CVM Distinguished Alumni Service Award.
Dan Peterson (’89 Hosp. Busi. Mgmt.) is senior vice president of operations at national hotel management company Avion Hospitality. Peterson was executive vice president of operations with CSM Corporation in Minneapolis and has more than 25 years of experience in hospitality operations, including with Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt.
1990s
Devdatt Kurdikar (’91 MS Chem. Eng.) has been appointed to the board of Zimmer Biomet, a global medical technology company. Kurdikar is president, CEO, and a member of the board of directors of diabetes management company Embecta Corp.
Adam Rimmer (’93 Psych.) is managing director for the operations team at private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital.
DeWayne Patterson (x’94) was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2024. Patterson holds the WSU records of 52.5 tackles-for-loss and 37.5 sacks. He was named Football News All-America First Team and Associated Press All-America Second Team and was a two-time All-Pac-10 Conference First Team selection. After graduation, he played three seasons in the Canadian Football League.
Pat Waer (’95 History) is regional sales manager for Northern California at AstroTurf, the leading provider of synthetic turf. Previously, Waer served as an assistant baseball coach at Fresno State University, contributing to six WAC championships and a 2008 national championship.
David Wenger (’96 DVM) is a veterinarian with the Virgin Islands Department of Agriculture in St. Croix.
Assaf Onn (’97 Busi.) is CEO of Anaergia, a global renewable fuels company. Onn has been chief operating officer of Marny Investissement since 2008 and has more than two decades of experience in managing large operations throughout central and eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Nancy Rodriguez (’98 PhD Poli. Sci.) was recognized as a distinguished alumna at Sam Houston State University. Rodriguez was appointed director of the National Institute of Justice by President Barack Obama in 2015 and is a professor in law and criminology at the University of California Irvine.
Doug Skurski (’98 Zool.) is senior vice president and Southeast regional director at Environmental Science Associates. He has more than 24 years of experience in natural resources management.
Commodore Kenneth Colman (’99 Soc. Sci.) is commander of the US Naval Air Force’s Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific. He oversees the operations, training, and administration of more than 3,400 military and civilian personnel and 152 aircraft.
Jim Harbour (’99 Hosp. Busi. Mgmt.) is director of the WSU School of Hospitality Business Management. Harbour is co-owner of South Fork restaurant, Porch Light Pizza, and frozen yogurt shop Sweet Mutiny in Pullman.
2000s
Hao Feng (’00 PhD Eng. Sci.) was named a 2024 IFT Fellow by the Institute of Food Technologists. Feng is the Blue Cross Blue Shield Endowed Professor of Urban Food Systems in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Jessi Hall (’00 Mech. Eng.) is vice president of vertical integration at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Hall has held various engineering and leadership roles at SEL since 2011 and has over 23 years of experience in engineering. She also serves as chair for the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Advisory Board and is president of SEL Women in STEM.
David Delafield (’01 Busi., ’02 MBA) is chief financial officer of Perkins Coie, a global law firm headquartered in Seattle. Previously, Delafield was CFO at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and Providence Health & Services. He also worked at Deloitte and Microsoft in consulting and corporate accounting roles.
Bryan Jones (’02 History) is assistant superintendent of elementary education in the Richland School District. Previously, Jones was assistant superintendent at the Burlington-Edison School District. He has worked as a coach, teacher, principal, and administrator.
Jack Skinner (’02 MS Mech. Eng.) is interim dean of the Lance College of Mines and Engineering at Montana Technological University. Skinner was previously a principal member of technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories.
Brian Jensen (’03 PhD Physics) is director of WSU’s Institute for Shock Physics. Jensen is a physics professor and a former physicist for Los Alamos National Laboratory. His honors include a Fellowship in the American Physical Society, Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellows’ Prize for Leadership, and NNSA Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations Excellence Award.
Leah Brueggeman (’04 Soil Sci.) received a Smith Teaching and Learning Award at WSU. Brueggeman is an assistant professor in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.
Kevin Murphy (’04 MS, ’07 PhD Crop Sci.) is the Clif Bar and King Arthur Baking Company Endowed Chair in Organic Grain Breeding and Innovation at WSU and will lead the WSU Breadlab. Murphy helped establish WSU’s organic wheat breeding program and leads the Sustainable Seed Systems Lab.
Tracy Ryan-Borchers (’04 PhD Human Nutr.) is a registered dietitian at the Great Falls Clinic in Montana. Previously, Ryan-Borchers worked for Fresenius Kidney Care in Great Falls. She was an assistant professor and dietetic internship director at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland and held a clinical position with the Portland VA Medical Center.
Daniel Rieck (’05, ’08 MA, ’14 PhD Chem. Eng.), webmaster for the WSU Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement, received an excellence award.
Jaclyn Gotch (’07 MEd Higher Ed. Admin.) received an excellence award from the WSU Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement. Gotch is program coordinator for the Office of Undergraduate Research.
Anna Whitehall (’08 MA Human Dev.), with Jessica Perone, received a Smith Teaching and Learning Award at WSU. Whitehall is a scholarly associate professor, and Perone is assistant director of engaged learning in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.
2010s
Karen Schwartz (’10 Soc. Sci.) is the Pacific Northwest employee benefits market leader at Parker, Smith & Feek, an insurance broker in Bellevue.
Zoey McKenzie (’12 DVM) is the county veterinarian for Doña Ana County, New Mexico. Previously, McKenzie worked with the Indian Health Service as an injury prevention specialist and acting Navajo area emergency manager. She was also an associate veterinarian for Navajo Technical University, where she provided health care to herds and organized preventive medicine clinics for dogs, cats, and horses in remote areas.
Micaela Castain (’14 Soc. Sci.) was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2024. Castain was a forward on the WSU soccer team and is the only Cougar to be named Pac-12 Player of the Year for soccer. She was the 2013 NSCAA All-American Second Team and Madness Soccer All-America First Team selection, a two-time All-Region and two-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection.
Ellen Woods Potter (’15 Anthro.) is executive director of the Dalles Art Center in Oregon. Previously, Potter was education and program manager at the art center and co-owner and general manager at Working Hands Fermentation in Hood River.
Bryan Brooks (’16 MBA) is vice president of student affairs, enrollment management, and strategic communications at Florida Polytechnic University. Previously, Brooks was vice president for communications and community engagement at Northwest Florida State College.
Olivia Reynolds (’17, ’19 MA, ’22 PhD Chem. Eng.), with Gary Offerdahl, received a Smith Teaching and Learning Award at WSU. She is a scholarly assistant professor in the WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.
Alissa Brooks-Johnson (’18 Sport Mgmt., Apparel, Merch. & Textile Des.) was inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2024. Brooks-Johnson was a two-time All-American and a three-time Pac-12 champion in the heptathlon at WSU, where she holds top 10 records in four different events.
Dino Dodig (’18 Human Dev.) is assistant coach for the University of Arizona track and field program. Previously, Dodig coached multiple NCAA finalists and helped achieve school records at Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania. Dodig is a four-time national champion in Serbia and holds track and field records at WSU.
Omar Urbano-Rendon (’18 Crim. Jus.) received an excellence award from the WSU Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement. Urbano-Rendon is employer relations coordinator for the Academic Success and Career Center.
2020s
Madelyn Calderon (’20 Vit. & Enol.) is a winemaker at the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center.