Alumni

Where Are They Now?

Below is a listing of alumni of the Communication Studies M.A. program at California State University, Los Angeles. Our COMS alumni have pursued careers in both academic and non-academic sectors and have continued their advanced studies in a variety of fields, both in the United States and internationally.

Academic Careers

Kamran Afary (M.A. ’98) – Instructor, CSU Los Angeles

Claudia Zepeda Anguiano (M.A. ’06) – Lecturer, Dartmouth College

Voiza Arnold Greene (M.A. ’02) – Instructor, Rio Hondo College

Allan Axibal (M.A. ’10) – Instructor, CSU Los Angeles and Mt. San Antonio College

Michael Brydges (M.A. ’88) – Forensics, Cypress College

Guillermo Caliendo (M.A. ’94) – Assistant Professor, Hofstra University

Libby Curiel (M.A. ’07) – Forensics, Rio Hondo College and Mt. San Antonio College

Michael DeCarbo (M.A. ’99) – Forensics, Santiago Canyon College

D. Robert DeChaine (M.A. ’96) – Professor, CSU Los Angeles

Nune Dervishian (M.A. ’08) – Instructor, Los Angeles Mission College

Josh Fleming (M.A. ’05) – Forensics, Pasadena City College

Samantha Garagliano (M.A. ’09) – Instructor, CSU Los Angeles and Antelope Valley College

Irene Grau (M.A. ’99) – Associate Professor, Odessa College

Damon Hines (M.A. ’08) – Instructor, Loyola Marymount University

Richie Hao (M.A. ’05) – Assistant Professor, University of Denver

Stephanie Hood Fleming (M.A. ’02) – Forensics, Pasadena City College

Stefka Hristova (M.A. ’04) – Assistant Professor, Michigan Technological University

Jennifer Huss Basquiat (M.A. ’95) – Professor, Community College of Southern Nevada

Javon Johnson (M.A. ’05) – Visions & Voices Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow, USC. 

Mike Kalustian (M.A. ’05) – Instructor, Los Angeles City College

Kidogo Kennedy (M.A. ’00) – Instructor, USC Rosser School of Education

Susie Keogh (M.A. ’99) – Instructor, University of La Verne

Michael Leach (M.A. ’96) – Forensics, College of the Canyons

Ken Lee (M.A. ’05) – Instructor, Antelope Valley College

Cora Leighton (M.A. ’05) – Instructor, San Francisco State University

John Matteson (M.A. ’05) – Forensics, Los Angeles City College

Tina McDermott (M.A. ’05) – Instructor, Antelope Valley College

Mary Mercado (M.A. ’10) – Principal, Rosie the Riveter Charter High School

Josh Miller (M.A. ’99) – Forensics, Los Angeles Valley College

Ulises Moreno (M.A. ’11) – Instructor, New Oriental Elite Center, Beijing, China

Kirran Moss (M.A. ’00) – Instructor, CSU Long Beach

Rachael Moss Tiede (M.A. ’04) – Instructor, North Lake College, Texas

Steve Nahabedian (M.A. ’98) – Instructor, Mt. San Antonio College

Heidi Mueller Ochoa (M.A. ’06) – Forensics, Saddleback College

Lucas Ochoa (M.A. ’08) – Forensics, Saddleback College

Mariusz Ozminkowski (M.A. ’92) – Instructor, Cal Poly Pomona

Cindy Phu (M.A. ’09) – Forensics, Chapman University

Larry Radden (M.A. ’94) – Forensics, Saddleback College

Carmen Rodriguez (M.A. ’07) – Instructor, Rio Hondo College and Mt. San Antonio College

Ed Schwartz (M.A. ’68) – Professor, Prairie State College, Illinois

Trisha Silva (M.A. ’11) – Director of Individual Events, CSU Long Beach

Duane Smith (M.A. ’99) – Forensics, Los Angeles Valley College

Maya Staylor (M.A. ’01) – Instructor, Mt. San Antonio College

Grace Stinson (M.A. ’04) – Instructor, Mt. San Antonio College

Jenna Watkinson (M.A. ’07) – Instructor, College of the Canyons

Sara Weintraub – Associate Professor, Regis College, Massachusetts

Mark Whitworth (M.A. ’91) – Instructor, Los Angeles City College

Elaine M. Wittenberg-Lyles (M.A. ’98) – Associate Professor, University of North Texas

David Zuckerman (M.A. ’98) – Associate Professor, CSU Sacramento

Other Careers

Dustin Lee Abraham (M.A. ’96) – Executive Producer and Writer, CSI:  Crime Scene Investigation

Sandy Bo Lin (M.A. ’09) – Editor, China Radio International

Shelly Block (M.A. ’08) – Service Learning Coordinator and General Education Program Chair, Globe University

Thomas C. Burkhart (M.A. ’98) – Senior Counsel, MetLife

Brian Calle (M.A. ’08) – Political Opinion Columnist and Senior Editorial Writer, The Orange County Register; Senior Fellow, Pacific Research Institute

Nur Cogenli (M.A. ’08) – Digital Project Manager, Grey Worldwide

Beville Constantine (M.A. ’10) – Enrollment Counselor, USC

Summer Douglass Williams (M.A. ’07) – Alumnae Coordinator, Alverno High School

Peter Kent (M.A. ’04) – Enterprise Architect and Business Analyst, G&B Solutions, Inc.

Meghan McPartland (M.A. ’06) – Director of Publicity, Piers Morgan Tonight

Hiro Nakayama-Hosseinzadeh (M.A. ’00) – Marketing Communications Specialist

Charles Regan (M.A. ’84) – Senior Corporate Vice President, Nestle

Unalome Techamuanvivit (M.A. ’94) – Knowledge Engineer, Alcatel-Lucent

Ceyla Doral Turhan (M.A. ’07) – Iconisus Visual Communication Systems

Michelle Waiters Martinez (M.A. ’01) – Director, McNair Scholars Program, CSU Dominguez Hills

Jenna Watkinson (M.A. ’07) – Coordinator, Corporate Initiatives, Disney/ABC Television Group

Amber Wright (M.A. ’10) – Meeting and Event Services Coordinator, CSU Los Angeles

Advanced Graduate Studies

Kamran Afary (M.A. ’98) – Ph.D., Northwestern University (completed 2007)

Claudia Zepeda Anguiano (M.A. ’06) – Ph.D., University of New Mexico (completed 2011)

Thomas C. Burkhart (M.A. ’98) – J.D., University of Iowa College of Law (completed 2003)

Guillermo Caliendo (M.A. ’94) – Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh (completed 2003)

D. Robert DeChaine (M.A. ’96) – Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University (completed 2001)

Diana Fisher (M.A. ’97) – Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University (completed 2004)

Josh Fleming (M.A. ’05) – M.A. Theatre Arts, CSU Los Angeles

Heather Gilmore (M.A. ’11) – Ed.D., Walden University

Irene Grau (M.A. ’99) – Ph.D., University of Iowa (completed 2006)

Richie Hao (M.A. ’05) – Ph.D., Southern Illinois University (completed 2009)

Marie Haverfield (M.A. ’08) – Ph.D., Rutgers University

Stefka Hristova (M.A. ’04) – Ph.D., University of California Irvine (completed 2010)

Jennifer Huss Basquiat (M.A. ’95) – Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University (completed 2001)

Javon Johnson (M.A. ’05) – Ph.D., Northwestern University (completed 2010)

Amy Jung (M.A. ’03) – Ph.D., Arizona State University

Kidogo Kennedy (M.A. ’00) – Ed.D., USC (completed 2008)

M. Zakir Khan (M.A. ’11) – J.D., Loyola University of New Orleans College of Law

Cora Leighton (M.A. ’05) – Ph.D., Louisiana State University (completed 2009)

Theresa MacNeil (M.A. ’08) – Ph.D., University of Connecticut

Heidi Mueller Ochoa (M.A. ’06) – M.A. Theatre, CSU Los Angeles

Carmen Navarro (M.A. ’03) – Ph.D., Regent University

Jenny Robinson (M.A. ’07) – Ph.D., Arizona State University

Clariza Ruiz De Castillo (M.A. ’07) – Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin

Sara Weintraub – Ph.D., Boston College (completed)

Elaine M. Wittenberg-Lyles (M.A. ’98) – Ph.D., University of Oklahoma (completed 2004)

David Zuckerman (M.A. ’98) – Ph.D., University of Oklahoma (completed 2003)

If you’re an alumnus of the COMS program and you don’t see your name listed here, please contact us. We would love to include you. If you’re currently listed, please contact us if you have updated information.