2010s

Hazar N. Bayindir (’10 M.A.) is the founder and chief designer at HNBeat Design.

Daniel Paulson (’11 M.M.), the director of music ministry for the Dixon United Methodist Church, has been honored for his 10 years of service.

2000s

Kathleen Atchison (’03 M.S.), a seasoned nurse educator and health care practitioner, recently became the director of simulation education at West Coast University. A registered nurse for 16 years, Atchison was instrumental in designing the first simulation center on the campus.
Alejandro Briseno (’00) is an assistant professor of polymer science and engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He recently spoke about nanotechnology and his personal path in education at California State University, Channel Islands and then Oxnard College, where he presented a keynote address during a diversity series.
Robyn Herrera (’03 M.A.), a doctoral student pursuing a Ph.D. in special education through the joint doctoral program between CSULA and UCLA, is the recipient of the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities Fellowship.
Kevin L. McClure (’09), a 30-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran, was unanimously selected as the police chief of the Montebello Police Department.
Juli McGowan (’04 M.S.) is doing her postgraduate work in palliative care at Oxford University. Previously, she spent six years as a full-time medical missionary in Africa.
Tina Nguyen (’02) recently completed a three-year Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
Nika Noumohammadi (’08) was named the new media specialist of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. Congress.

Alan Shaw (’00), an athlete, actor and teacher, is now working for Princeton’s Education testing service. He develops tests that specialize in English as a foreign second language assessment.

Adia Varn (’01, ’06 M.S.), the chief of staff in the county’s Department of Public Health, Information Systems, earned her juris doctorate from Glendale University College of Law in May. She returned to school, earning two degrees at Cal State L.A., after having worked for local government and the Los Angeles County for 20 years.
Maurice K. Williams (’08) was recently elected as the 2011-12 Second Circuit Governor of the American Bar Association, Law Student Division (ABA-LSD), making him the top law student executive in the State of New York. He also recently received a Silver Key from Brooklyn Law School in recognition of his work with ABA-LSD.

1990s

JosÃ© Blanco (’91 M.A.), an assistant professor and historic costume collection manager at the University of Georgia, was recently featured in a piece about childhood passions and career interests in the university’s magazine.
John Terry (’99, ’05 M.A.), a former Golden Eagle basketball player and track athlete, has accepted a post as an assistant principal at Diamond Bar High School.
Rod Uyeda (’91, ’01 M.S.) retired from his post as the Manhattan Beach Police Chief after five years on the job to spend more time with family. Under his leadership there was a fall in crime rates and increased interaction between law enforcement and the community.

1980s

Ekundayo “Dayo” Adelaja (’88 M.A.), a renowned Nigerian artist who has decorated Las Vegas’ streets, sidewalks and empty walls with his murals, was the guest of honor at a Black History Month Artist reception in the city.
Michael Bethke (’80), after just a year on the job as the chief executive officer and manager of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, has helped the city transform the annual event and increase attendance when other fairs are shutting down.
Warren Fletcher (’82) was elected president of the United Teachers of Los Angeles union.
Gerald K. Freeny (’83) has been named as the first African-American president of the Tournament of Roses Association. Freeny, who works in law enforcement and is involved with several of Pasadena’s civic and community organizations, will take the post in 2019, leading the 130th Rose Parade and 105th Rose Bowl.
Michael Haussler (’81) an instructor of graduate students in the Charter College of Education, has published a novel, Results May Vary, about teaching high school in Los Angeles. Haussler drew inspiration for the novel from his 20-year career as a high school teacher.
Ara W. Nazarian (’80, ’82 M.S.) drew upon three decades of experience as an engineer and technology industry executive to write Technical Minds: Leading and getting the best work from your technical-mind team.

1970s

Anthony Fellow (’70), the chair of the Department of Communications at Cal State Fullerton and author of American Media History, was recently published in the Whittier Daily News with a guest view column on appreciating former President Ronald Reagan.
Jeannie Flint (’70) had a 28-year career in the Glendale Unified Schools, serving as a principal for 17 years in elementary and middle schools. She is currently the president of Philanthropic Educational Organization, membership coordinator of Las Candelas, and a volunteer with many other community and educational organizations.
David Huwiler (’73 M.A.) is the president of the American University in Bulgaria, said to be one of the most diverse universities in the world and a top pick by Americans for overseas studies.
Tony McDonald (’71), a music director for one of the country’s largest Unitarian Universalist churches, is in the process of editing a soon-to-be-published catalog of music that was written in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
George Nakano (’70, ’79 M.A.) was recently elected as the chairman of The Go for Broke National Education Center’s board of directors.
Simon Rutberg (’71), the former owner and operator of Hatikvah Music, a world-famous Jewish music store, now runs the web site Hatikvahmusic.com and is about to release a compilation of Jewish classics.
Maurice Salter (’72 M.A.), president, CEO and founder of LoanAmerica, was appointed to the board of directors of ECMC Group, a nonprofit corporation that provides service to students, families and schools in support of higher education finance.
Richard Wemmer (’70), a retired Los Angeles Police Department captain, is the new security chief for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kenneth L. Zimmerman (’72 M.S.) has had more than 1,850 opinion letters published in more than 80 publications. Zimmerman has been writing letters since he was 17.

1960s

Frank De Santis (’57, ’72 M.S.) was honored with a ”Professor for a Day“ plaque by the University after presenting to faculty, administrators and students in the College of Business and Economics.
Olga Loya (’64) is a highly-regarded author who has told thousands of stories in English and Spanish in Mexico and the United States, bringing people of all generations together and keeping cultural traditions alive. Her bilingual book, Momentos Magicos/Magic Moments, tells 10 stories from Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia and Puerto Rico.
Alice Petrossian (’69, ’79 M.A.), the former chief academic officer for the Pasadena Unified School District, accepted a post as the president of the Association of California School Administrators for the 2011-12 school year.
Yvonne Savio (’69), a master gardener coordinator, is a program manager of the Common Ground Garden Program for the University of California Cooperative Extension in Los Angeles, and manager of the Los Angeles Bounty Urban Garden Program.
Joseph Wambaugh (’60, ’68 M.A.), author of a collection of highly-regarded crime novels, has released a fourth book in a series about uniformed cops in Los Angeles. The book is titled Hollywood Hills.

In Memoriam

Madeline “Mandi” Antonovich (’69) was an English teacher and deputy probation officer who linked her two interests by working on the Operation Read Program as a community-based field organizer and supervisor.
Robert Charles Bradley (’68 M.A.) worked as test officer at Cal Poly Pomona as well as a pastor of Faith Community Inland Empire, through which he was involved with prison ministry at several state institutions.
Gerald W. “Jerry” Beard (’63) was a veteran of the U.S. Army, who went on to work in manufacturing and real estate, founding Gerald W. Beard Realty Inc. in Rialto in 1973.
Beverlee Bruce (’59) was a social anthropologist, development specialist and educator. She participated in many organizational delegations that assessed the needs of refugee and displaced women and children, served on the board of the Women’s Refugee Commission and was heavily involved with the International Rescue Committee.
Marlene Byrne (’86), a longtime resident of Arcadia, was active in numerous community and charitable organizations, including the Assistance League of Arcadia, the Arcadia Music Club, Girl Scouts and a number of the local Parent Teacher Student Associations.
Chao-Li Chi established a Taoist Sanctuary in Los Angeles in 1975, and is credited as being one of the first to introduce Taoism to America. A former instructor at Cal State L.A., he was also one of the first native Chinese actors to break into Hollywood, appearing in more than 51 movies and television programs, such as The Joy Luck Club, The Nutty Professor, and Wedding Crashers.
James H. Dodd (’67) served in the U.S. Army in Korea, and continued on with a career teaching English for 17 years in California and Maine’s secondary schools. He also taught English at the University of Maine at Machais, and developed a second career in real estate investment and property management.
Rex Maurice Dye (’63), an instructor at Cal State L.A. and UCLA, served as the president of the YMCA and the president of the Insurance Agent’s Association. He was also active in the Junior Chamber of Commerce and on the board of directors for the Red Cross.
Charles ”Chuck“ Gurth (’87 M.A.) dedicated his college studies and career to social services, working to improve the lives of young people throughout L.A. County. A talented pianist and composer, he helped other emerging artists find their way in the music industry.
Richard Lee Harris (’90 M.S.) had a 34-year career at George Washington Preparatory High School, teaching music and drama as well as serving as choral counselor and mentor to thousands of students.
Gloria Hazelwood (’70) was a self-employed freelance graphic designer, and a volunteer, member and office employee of the Beaver Creek Baptist Church.
Thomas Vernon Hill (’65) was a champion of youth, who became a L.A. County juvenile probation officer.
Martha Loise (Sherman) Hood (’70) taught at Edward Kemble and Jefferson elementary schools.
Selmer “Lynn” Iverson (’60) was a sales person for Honeywell, selling commercial fire evacuation systems for 25 years.
Nathaniel Jackson (’77), a civil rights activist who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., played a meaningful role as a professor in boosting the presence of underserved populations of students at the University of Southern California. For almost three decades, he also served El Camino College as a psychology professor, a dean and a four-term board trustee.
Jo Jean (McCall) Johnson (’67) was retired from the L.A. County Bureau of Adoptions and Red Carpet Realty. She supported two children through World Vision.
Arthur LeBlanc (’65) led the Coronado Police Department for more than a decade, and then continued his career as the chief of the San Diego Unified Port District Harbor Police from 1980 to 1991.
Leadell Lee (’72) was a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent, who dedicated 25 years to the agency and was awarded the FBI’s Shield of Bravery. He also rose to the ranks of sergeant in the Riverside Police Department, becoming the city’s first African-American officer to be promoted to detective and sergeant.
Edmund McCullough Jr. (’59) joined the U.S. Marine Corps and served in the evacuation of Shanghai, China as the communists forces came to power, before rising to the rank of sergeant and eventually enrolling at Cal State L.A. Later in life, he worked in accounting and the financial services industry.
Debra Moya-Escobedo (’74) was a first-grade teacher for nearly 30 years at the Pico Rivera School.
Thomas Clarence Price, Jr. (’85) served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and U.S. Air Force during the Cold War and Korean War. He retired from Boeing after more than 38 years as an electrician and maintenance supervisor.
Joanne Edith Saeta (’84 M.A.), a grants administrator and curriculum director, was the president of the South Pasadena Educational Foundation, on the board of Pacific Oaks College and chair of the board of Sequoyah School. She was responsible for starting a consortium of school district educational foundations.
John L. Shelton (’61), a regular contributor to the gospel music community, was also a real estate loan officer for many years in major California banks, a choral music teacher and college English instructor. He lived in Hollywood for several decades, before returning to Oklahoma in the 1990s.
Lawrence Tolliver III (’00), a U.S. Navy serviceman and Houston police academy trainee, died after a 3.5-year battle with brain cancer.
Geoffrey Alan Turnbull (’69, ’73 M.A.) oversaw and cared for a one-acre grove of 90 California Coastal Oak trees in Goleta Valley for more than 20 years, teaching children in the area about the importance of tending to plants and seeing them grow. In 2009, the land was formally named Turnball Grove in his honor.
William Jih-Seheng Yang (’58) was the founder of Yang Management, Inc., an engineering, consulting and construction management firm.
Charles Yoho (’83), under the stage name Buddy Chambers, found success as one of L.A.’s local rock pioneers. He also was a stuntman for Corriganville Movie Ranch, a tireless advocate for people with disabilities, and the coauthor of the book, The world who said nothing, which has become an important tool for teaching children about the tragedy of the Holocaust.