Issue: Winter 2004

Class Notes

Who’s Doing What and Where

43
Philip Schlessinger PhD is a professor of American government and politics at Los Angeles City College.

48
Thomas de Paolo is the author of The Suddenly Single Chef, a cookbook that features simple and healthy recipes. He lives in South Laguna, Calif.

49
Milton Fenton LLB received the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services from the State Bar of California.

55
Marilyn Rudzik is the producer and director of the annual Mariposa (Calif.) Storytelling Festival.

56
S. Martin Shelton MA recently celebrated the opening of his photographic exhibition of Nevada ghost towns and mining camps at the Nevada State Library.

57
Joseph Cerrell was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to campaign consulting from American University’s Campaign Management Institute.

58
Dann Angeloff MBA ’63 was recently elected to the board of trustees, and also became a member of the audit committee as an independent trustee, of the Bjurman, Barry mutual funds.

59
E. Louise Larick recently retired from the University of La Verne in La Verne, Calif., after 17 years as head librarian and assistant professor and 19 years as a part-time librarian/archivist.

61
Fenwick English MS ’63 recently published his 23rd book, The SAGE Handbook of Educational Leadership, which showcases the work of more than 35 national scholars in educational administration. He is the R. Wendell Eaves Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

62
Hugh Helm JD ’69 was elected chairman of the board of the YMCA of Orange County, Calif.

64
C. Craig Carlson JD ’68 was appointed to the UC Irvine Medical Center Executive Council. He is the founder of the Newport Beach, Calif., law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth.

66
William Busby MS, DBA ’71 was recently named dean of Northwood University’s Richard DeVos Graduate School of Management in Midland, Mich.

Donald Speer MD is professor emeritus in the orthopaedic surgery department at the Arizona Health Sciences Center at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Richard Teichner is director of litigation consulting and business valuation services for Barnard, Vogler & Co., an accounting and business consulting firm in Reno, Nev.

67
Mike Mandala MS ’68 recently retired from the Charter Oak Unified School District in Covina, Calif., after 36 years as a history and physical education teacher.

P. Michael McDermott MA ’68 is vice president of corporate communications for Genesee & Wyoming Inc., a rail-freight transportation and services provider in Greenwich, Conn.

68
Carol Greenhalgh MS is the new president of Town and Gown of USC. She previously served as co-chair of the Town and Gown scholarship committee.

John Moohr was recently appointed executive director of the law firm Newmeyer & Dillion LLP in Newport Beach, Calif.

70
William McDermott MS, PhD ’77 was appointed superintendent of the Coalinga-Huron (Calif.) Unified School District.

71
James M. Dennis PhD, president of McKendree College in Lebanon, Ill., was honored by the college with a proclamation naming the 1994-2004 decade the “James M. Dennis Transformational Leadership Decade” in honor of his 10 years as president.

Jack Lewin MD was appointed to the advisory board of Keenan, the largest privately held brokerage firm in California. He lives in Granite Bay, Calif.

72
Doug Abney gave a presentation on the United States’ use of helicopters in law enforcement and homeland security at the International Aerospace Exhibition and Conference in Berlin, Germany, in May. He is a helicopter pilot and supervisor in the Los Angeles Police Department’s air support division.

73
Harry Holmberg EdD is president of Idaho’s National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. He lives with his wife, Ann, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Robert Kerlan MD ’77 recently received the Exceptional Physician Award from the UC San Francisco Medical Center. He lives in Kentfield, Calif., with wife Randi Kerlan ’74 and their four children.

Miles Swarthout MA recently won the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award in the Best First Western Novel of 2003 category for his book The Sergeant’s Lady. He lives in Playa Del Rey, Calif.

74
Dan Grodnik recently made his directorial debut with the science fiction movie Blue Demon.

Scott Herman completed training with United Airlines and now flies as captain on Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft.

75
David Burback is a senior investment advisor for the Pacific Northwest division of Sperry Van Ness, a commercial real estate investment firm.

Virginia Kennedy MS, PhD ’81 is president of the California Association of Professors of Special Education.

John Leeth recently won the Bentley College Scholar of the Year Award for his study in the field of economics. He is a professor of economics at the school and lives in Needham, Mass.

Robert McCaffrey, a homebuilder and developer in Fresno, Calif., was recently appointed chairman of the board for the Building Industry Association of the San Joaquin Valley.

Jacque Sokolov MD ’78 was recently elected to the board of directors of MedCath Corp., a national provider of cardiovascular services.

76
B.J. (Gallagher) Hateley is the author of Who Are “They” Anyway?, a book on personal accountability.

Joseph Lanza was recently elected president of the Channel Counties, Calif., chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Terry Mansky was named general counsel for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, overseeing the company’s legal activities.

Richard Nordin was named vice president of university advancement at Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif.

James Shepherdson MBA ’77 was appointed chairman, CEO and president of the John Hancock Financial Services mutual funds unit.

Rob Ukropina was recently awarded the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award by the Orange County Business Journal and Ernst & Young. He is founder and CEO of Overnite Express, a delivery service company.

77
Marvin Fickle MD is superintendent and chief medical officer at Oregon State Hospital, and is also the top psychiatrist in the Oregon prison system.

78
Steven Valentine MPA was recently elected to the board of directors of Partners in Care Foundation, a nonprofit health and social services foundation based in Burbank, Calif.

79
Udo Wahn MD is the author of A Woman’s Guide to Surgical Options in the New Millennium: A Gentler Approach.

80
Silas Abrego MS, EdD ’87, associate vice president for student affairs at Cal State Fullerton, received the 2004 Estrella Award from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Orange County and the 2004 Hispanic Influential Award from the Orange County United Way.

Brian Guggisberg was appointed treasurer of California Portland Cement Company, a cement and concrete supplier. He lives in Redlands, Calif., with his wife and daughter.

Owen Newcomer PhD is the mayor of Whittier, Calif., and is also serving his second term on the Whittier City Council.

Van Parish was named state director of the California Democratic Party’s “Every Vote Counts” campaign.

Lisa Rawlins recently received the Frances E. Willard Award, honoring Alpha Phi International Fraternity members who have achieved outstanding success in their field. She is senior vice president of studio and production affairs for Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Richard Steffan EdD, deputy superintendent/principal of the Columbia Campus of the Maryland School for the Deaf, published an article in the Spring 2004 issue of American Annals of the Deaf.

81
Matt Bille recently published his book, The First Space Race, which recounts the competition between the U.S and U.S.S.R to launch the first Earth satellite in the late 1950s.

Stephan Poulter recently published his third book, Father Your Son – Becoming the Father You Always Wanted to Be. He lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif., with his wife and three children.

Daniel Ting PharmD was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society in April and received his MBA from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Penn., in May.

82
Cynthia Amador was recently elected to the board of directors of California Association for Local Economic Development.

Thomas Blair recently joined Peddle Thorp Architects, an international architectural group, to form the U.S. office of Peddle Thorp Blair & Chambers.

Cynthia L. Hunt was elected club director of the Union League Club of Chicago. She is the director of strategic relationships and marketing with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Mario Kahn MA is president of MK&A Inc., an international licensing management consulting firm.

Paul Kalil is the founder and president of Big Screen Network Productions Inc., the video board production company selected to produce the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.

Richard Karpeles PhD is director of technology for the elastomers research and development group of Crompton Corp., a producer and marketer of specialty chemicals.

Ben Sutherlin MPA was recently awarded the Legion of Honor by the National Sojourners, an affiliated body of the Masonic fraternity, for his years of contribution to the order.

83
Kelly Richardson JD was recently presented the Rising Star Award from the Community Associations Institute, a nonprofit real estate organization, for his leadership in the group’s Greater Los Angeles chapter.

84
Tom Chao MPW ’93 recently published his play, Cats Can See The Devil, in the New York Theatre Experience Inc. publication Plays and Playwrights 2004.

Judy Flynn MBA published Gumboots, Lesson Plans and Hot Rugby Nights, which details her adventures teaching English and accounting in New Zealand.

Andrew McTaggart EdD is assistant superintendent of the Nashville (Tenn.) Metro School District.

85
Jeff Geoffray is co-founder and principal of Blue Rider Pictures, a movie, television, Internet media and documentary production company.

John Griffiths of Los Angeles is a television critic for Us Weekly magazine.

David K. Hansen recently passed the project management professional exam and was named program manager for the Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad at Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, Va.

Cherie Martin MA was recently promoted to director of online services for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alumni Association.

Steve Mindel JD was recently recognized by Los Angeles Magazine as one of the region’s “Super Lawyers.” He is managing partner of the law firm Feinberg, Mindel, Brandt & Kline LLP.

Hassan Mohamed-Nour PhD, an electrical engineering professor at Cal State Long Beach, recently received the university’s 2003-2004 Distinguished Faculty Teaching Award.

88
Hwashik Bong is sports editor of the Los Angeles chapter of the Korea Daily.

Robert DeLaurentis recently formed Innorev Enterprises Inc. and Cyprias Enterprises LLC, two real estate companies in San Diego, Calif.

Robert Ng, Darryl Ng ’93 and Alan Ng ’00 recently opened Orchid Restaurant and Lounge, a Pan-Asian restaurant with private karaoke rooms in Los Angeles’ Koreatown.

Joanne Tortorici-Luna PhD received the 2004 Community Service Award from Cal State Long Beach for her social activism.

Robert Williams MA was named director of the national Episcopal News Service. He lives in South Pasadena, Calif.

89
Matt Heller is partner and co-founder of Willner & Heller, a registered investment advisory practice in Encino, Calif.

James Mercer JD is a special counsel at the San Diego office of Duane Morris LLP.

Kelly Moore served as a staff member on the 9/11 Commission, focusing on border security and terrorist travel. She previously served as deputy program manager for the terrorist interdiction program at the Department of State.

Jerry Zamora of Manhattan Beach, Calif., is vice president and chief trust officer at Merrill Lynch Trust Company FSB.

90
John Burman was recently promoted to international general manager for the Hollywood Reporter.

Cayler Carter MPA was promoted to deputy chief with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Pier (Seymour) Harvey MFA ’93 is a writer/producer in television marketing and promotions, producing on-air promotions and marketing campaigns for network television series.

Peter Sabido MS ’95 recently published the article “Defending Against Patent Infringement Suits in Standard-Setting Organizations: Rabus, Inc. v. Infineon Technologies AG” in the Federal Circuit Bar Journal. He is an intellectual property attorney at the Portland, Ore., office of Kolisch Hartwell PC.

Sharon Valente PhD of Los Angeles received a 2004 National American Nurses Association Award and a 2003 Clinical Writing Award from the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

John Whalen-Bridge MA, PhD ’93 received tenure and was promoted to associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

92
Jean Patterson is the co-author of Cooking Outside the Pizza Box: Easy Recipes for Today’s College Student.

Joseph Quarles EdD was recently named vice chancellor for human resources for the Coast Community College District in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Paul Weiland was recently awarded the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his role on the litigation team that successfully defended federal agency decisions made regarding the management of dams and reservoirs along the Missouri River. He lives in Rockville, Md.

93
Amy (Staats) Brandt of Canyon Country, Calif., was recently promoted to president and COO of WMC Mortgage Corp. She was also featured in the June issue of Womensbiz.US magazine.

Lisa Miller is president of the Junior League of Los Angeles, a women’s volunteer organization.

Alfred Martino MBA is the author of Pinned, a coming-of-age novel for young adults.

Alex Sassani recently published a paper on sleep apnea in the May issue of the journal Sleep. He is a radiology resident at UC San Diego.

94
Thomas Haire is vice president of SSA Public Relations in Encino, Calif., and is also editor-in-chief of Response magazine, a publication for direct response marketing professionals.

Lisa Kalustian MPA was appointed chief deputy director of the Los Angeles Office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Michele (Follero) Kolostian recently launched www.goodsforgranny.com, a Web store offering gift items for the elderly.

John Mattos MBT, an adjunct professor at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, recently received the 2004 Adjunct Excellence in Teaching Award. He is an international tax manager for tax and legal services at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

95
Margaret Kosal was recently selected as Science Fellow for the 2004-2005 school year at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

James D. Nguyen JD was elected partner at the national law firm Foley & Lardner LLP. He is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Tim Poster is the owner of the Golden Nugget hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nev., and recently co-starred on the Fox TV reality series “The Casino.”

96
William Atwood EdD is principal of Mariposa (Calif.) Middle School and a radio host for KAAT-FM and KTNS-AM.

Kristina Berg MA ’99 of Costa Mesa, Calif., was promoted to manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP, a financial service firm.

Marie Ebersbacher was elected president of the Bakersfield chapter of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Abraham Flores is the track and field coach for Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.

97
John Allred recently joined the San Diego, Calif.-based real estate development firm Douglas Allred Company after five years playing in the National Football League.

Christina Linhardt of Los Angeles recently released her solo album Circus Sanctuary, co-produced with USC alumnus and jazz faculty member Bruce Eskowitz MM ’93. Also featured on the album are Dino Meneghin ’00 and Marco Meneghin ’00.

Jorge Martinez JD was elected trustee for the Orange County (Calif.) Hispanic Bar Association. He is an attorney at Snell & Wilmer LLP in Irvine, Calif.

Marielle Neri was recently promoted to senior graphic designer at Perkins Eastman, an architectural design firm in New York City.

98
Debra Cheverino received a 2004-2005 Fulbright Grant to Florence, Italy.

Eric Freedman PhD is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Communication at Florida Atlantic University.

Ha Ho received his MBA from Duke University in May and is currently a finance and accounting manager with Procter & Gamble in Oxnard, Calif.

Athena Perrakis MA, PhD ’03 recently accepted a tenure-track assistant professorship in the leadership studies program at the University of San Diego.

99
Rani Maline-Bertsch EdD of Downey, Calif., is vice principal of Rio Hondo Elementary School.

00
Monica Lutgendorf graduated from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences at F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine in May. A lieutenant in the Navy, she is in her first year of residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Portsmouth (Va.) Naval Hospital.

Stephen M. Sheldon was recently appointed assistant marketing and advertising director for KABC-AM Radio in Los Angeles.

Danny Whetton EdD is the superintendent/principal of the Di Giorgio School District in Kern County, Calif.

01
Dan Conway MBA was recently named managing director of FocalPoint Partners LLC, a Los Angeles-based independent investment banking firm.

02
Omar Asensio was appointed to the executive committee of the Southern California section of the American Chemical Society. He is a research chemist for a photovoltaics company working in renewable energy.

James Jack MPA was appointed chief of staff to California State Sen. Bruce McPherson. He lives in Sacramento, Calif.

Michael Patmas MMM was recently elected to a three-year term on the American College of Physician Executive’s board of directors. He lives in West Linn, Ore.

03
Michael Schneider was recently honored with the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. He is owner and president of Fluidesign, a Los Angeles-based design firm.