Class Notes

1950s

Lawrence (Larry) Flammer, 1956

Biological Sciences and Teaching Credential, taught high school biology at Del Mar. He was largely responsible for the creation and administration of the website for the Evolution and Nature of Science Institutes, which were founded (with the encouragement of the National Center for Science Education) “to improve the teaching of evolution in high school biology courses by encouraging teachers to teach evolutionary thinking in the context of a more complete understanding of modern scientific thinking,” according to the NCSE. He passed away at the age 83 on December 13, 2018.

1960s

Sanford “Sandy” Wilbur, 1963

Wildlife, published his latest book, Semi-Rough: A North Country Journal, about living off the grid in far northern New Hampshire. It has several wildlife, weather, environment, and people stories from the North Country. Available as a free PDF at symbios@condortales.com.

Carl S. Chavez, 1966

Wildlife, retired in 1998 after 33 years with California State Parks. He was the superintendent of Humboldt Redwoods State Park from 1979 to 1987 as well as all the other redwood parks south of Eureka. In 1985 he was named the department’s first Superintendent of the Year. Leaving the redwoods, he was appointed northern regional director and, later, the northern division chief. He authored A Pathway Through Parks and co-authored A Year in Bodie 1966-1967 with his wife, Margaret (1966). He retired to Graeagle near Plumas-Eureka State Park, a unit he once managed. He is president of the board of the Feather River Land Trust.

Ray Chips, 1969

History, was named one of Pepperdine University’s “40 over 40” recipients: pepperdine.edu/alumni/40over40. He is thankful for the support and academic success he received at HSU, which provided the foundation for his academic and professional future.

Thomas Eley, 1969

Wildlife, worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a refuge manager and refuge officer. He is now retired and lives in Alaska.

Lawrence E. (Larry) Liles, 1969

Politics, dropped out of law school over a conflict with the role of law versus justice, which he learned later was a moral position. He completed a four-year union electrical apprenticeship, taught the same for four years, and then was elected twice as business manager for IBEW Local 413 in Santa Barbara. He was appointed in 1992 as an IBEW international representative in the Washington, D.C., headquarters and worked primarily in the research department representing workers’ interests in many venues. He raised three stepchildren and two of his own. He retired early in 2010 to spend time with a late son. He’s now living in the Virginia Piedmont, the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, doing genealogy, and is active in Scouting and the SAR.

Beverly Ferne Wasson, 1969

Physical Education, taught high school PE in the Mt. Diablo School District from 1970-1980. She started the first co-ed PE classes. From 1980-2011, she grew wine grapes on her family’s vineyards. She was the first woman to head the county farm bureau and was on the North Coast Regional Water Quality Board 1999-2006. She is now retired and lives in her family home in Alexander Valley, Sonoma County.

1970s

Alan Daniel, 1970

History, is retiring after 28 years as an H&R Block franchisee in Hawaii. At the height of his career, he owned 11 franchise offices on three islands, had 86 tax pros under contract, prepared taxes annually for 14,000+ taxpayers, and provided bookkeeping/payroll services for 100+ small businesses. Between 2003 and 2005, he consulted with the IRS in the development of electronic filing that most of you use today. He and Kathleen Kenan recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in Seattle. They live on the beautiful island of Kauai. A hui hou.

Richard Mattson, 1971

Fisheries Biology, retired after more than 30 years with Douglas Island Pink & Chum, Inc. (DIPAC) in Juneau, Alaska. DIPAC is a major producer of hatchery chum and king and coho salmon in southeast Alaska. Mattson began in fish culture and then spent most of his career as an aquarist maintaining the visitor center marine aquariums and conducting education programs. He still works part-time maintaining aquariums on contract to the NOAA Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau. He also volunteers for various organizations and will be continuing to do more with his extra time. Travel with his wife, Peggy, is definitely on tap, and he also enjoys reading, learning Finnish, and outdoor activities.

Margot Genger, 1973

Communication, published Shift Happens—Breakdowns During Life’s Long Hauls in March 2018. Susan Bennett, Ph.D., English professor emeritus, writes: “Out of desperation to escape the confines of her small Northern California town, Genger breaks every rule of her 1970s social class, gender, and upbringing to become a long-haul truck driver. Shift Happens will make you laugh, cringe, and celebrate as Margot navigates the underground life of long-haul truck driving with 11 different driving partners. She crisscrosses the U.S. delivering everything from Hustler magazines to Washington State apples—sees both the beauty and the meanness that is America—and eventually realizes what she values in ‘home’.”

Vicki Bugbee-Reed, 1974

Psychology, retired in 2009. She taught in Australia, right from HSU for three years and taught in Oregon most of the remaining years (almost 30 total) before retirement. She also sailed a sailboat for six years from Newport, Ore., to Sydney, Australia.

Brian Miller, 1974

Art, retired from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) after a successful 40+ year career in the high-tech industry. Most recently, he served as director of marketing transformation at HPE, leading a worldwide team across Europe, India, and North and Latin America. He currently provides pro bono marketing and technology advisory services to the Northern California wine industry.

Gregory Gottlieb, 1976

Politics, retired in 2017 from the U.S. Agency for International Development as the assistant administrator for democracy, conflict, and humanitarian assistance. He’s now a professor at Tufts University and director of the Feinstein International Center, which researches international humanitarian assistance.

Gene Blankenbaker, 1977

Forestry & Wildland Resources, retired in January 2019 after over 41 years of service with the federal government. He spent approximately two years with the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resource Division as a groundwater hydrologist, and over 39 years with the U.S. Forest Service in a variety of locations in California, Washington, D.C., Arizona, Wisconsin, and New Mexico in positions that included hydrologist, forester, district ranger, forest supervisor, deputy regional forester, and deputy director of human resources for the agency.

Daniel Mandell, 1979

History, is a history professor and has been appointed Distinguished Research Fellow at the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri for 2018-2019. The Kinder Institute is an interdisciplinary effort of the history and political science departments, and since its creation in 2014 has blossomed into one of the most active intellectual centers in the region. During his year at the Kinder, Mandell will participate in its programs and begin a study of the evolving conundrum between individual and collective rights in the United States as highlighted by the history of Native American policies and laws.

1980s

Cynthia Glasgow-Ragus, 1980

Social Welfare, retired after teaching elementary school for 34 years to travel the world and check items off her bucket list.

Jim Peña, 1980

Forest Resource Management, is currently serving as regional forester of the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service. He will be retiring in July with 40 years of service. He has had the privilege of serving at all levels of the agency.

Matt Vallerga, 1980

Fisheries Biology, retired from teaching in 2018 after 20 years in the classroom. He has taught third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. Not bad for a third and last career. Prior to being an educator, he spent about 10 years working in environmental sciences (air quality control, trace metals analysis, water resources, etc.). His first career out of HSU was about 10 years in seafood marketing and aquaculture. He is looking forward to recreating outdoors and traveling with his wife, Barbara.

Paula Golightly, 1982

Wildlife, has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 24 years to restore aquatic and terrestrial habitats for fish and wildlife primarily on private lands in Humboldt County through voluntary programs within the agency. She was recently promoted as regional coordinator for the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program covering Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and the Pacific Islands and is now based out of Portland, Ore.

Dave Feliz, 1983

Wildlife, is the reserve manager for the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve in Monterey County, California. This is one of 30 reserves around the nation set up to conduct research, habitat restoration, and education on lands adjacent to and including estuarine habitats. These are all state/federal partnerships with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. The state partner at the Elkhorn Slough is the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, where he has been working since 1984, managing lands in various parts of California.

Jeffrey Rich, 1983

Wildlife, has a new book out, Bald Eagles in The Wild at jeffrichphoto.com.

Joshua McKinney, 1984

English, wrote his fourth book of poetry, Small Sillion, which was released by Parlor Press.

Maria Cecilila Avila, 1985

Biological Sciences, is living in Chile.

Sophi Buetens, 1985

Journalism, attended one year on the Cal State international program in Madrid, Spain. Since then she has worked as a journalist and elementary and secondary school teacher (Spanish). Her two adult children live in Oakland. One is a software engineer and the other is studying at Berkeley to be a science teacher. She and her husband were thrilled to move back to Arcata after many years in the Bay Area.

Bill (Sharky) London, 1985

Wildlife, recently retired from the Idaho Fish & Game after 32 years. The education, experiences, and guidance that he received at HSU made this fulfilling career possible. As a conservation officer, he patrolled vast wildernesses on horseback, boated rivers, chased poachers, taught kids to camp, hunt, and fish, trapped deer, surveyed big game and sage grouse, electroshocked fish, flew game counts, and dealt with lions and bears in town. It was an adventure. In 2004, he was promoted to district CO and worked from the Owyhee canyonlands to the Sawtooth Wilderness with an amazing group of officers. He recruited at HSU for 13 years to bring the best to Idaho. He is married (Shannon) and they have five children.

Ray Olson, 1986

Natural Resources, was appointed to a three-year term on the Arcata Wetlands and Creeks Committee by the Arcata City Council.

Gerald R. Jones, 1988

Fisheries Biology Aquaculture, has been working for ODFW for 14 years as a fish pathologist/fish health specialist.

Joe Foggiato, 1989

Business, participated in the Tokyo CSU Alumni Reception, which included CSU Chancellor Timothy White and presidents from CSU Northridge, Stanislaus, San Francisco, and Long Beach. Over 150 people attended with many on the waitlist. He proudly represented Humboldt State as the only alumnus at the venue.

Marshall Jett, 1989

Natural Resources, has been living in Washington since leaving Humboldt’s grad program in Biology in 1993. He worked as a park ranger for Olympic National Park and many other parks for years and was a science instructor at Catalina Island Marine Institute. In 2001, he began teaching elementary school in Seattle after graduating with a teaching certificate from Western Washington University. His passion for cooking finally won over and he founded Veraci Pizza, Inc. in 2004. He now has three busy Italian restaurants and a mobile catering department. He lives with his teenage daughter, Olivia, in Tacoma, Wash. and is an avid sailor, gardener, and musician.

1990s

Jana Lynn Rivers-Norton, 1991

English, graduated with a master’s degree in English from HSU in 1991 and earned a doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 2002 from Saybrook University. Since then, she has been teaching at-risk students in Sacramento, New Mexico, and Arizona, and writing and publishing a collection of essays titled The Demeter-Persephone Myth as Writing Ritual in the Lives of Literary Women by Cambridge Scholars Publishing (CSP) in 2017. Her next book, Transcending the Tragedy of Medea in Life, Love and the Literary Arts was accepted for publication from CSP for a fall 2019 release.

Suzanne Heck (Keck), 1992

Sociology, is married to Dave Heck and they have two children, Zoe and Dylan. They live in San Juan Capistrano in South Orange County. She is still true to her HSU campus recycling roots and is fighting the battle against single-use plastics.

Charlene Varney, 1993

Social Work, worked for California state agencies, county agencies, nonprofits, and tribal governments in various social services programs in support of families, disabled adults, and frail elderly. She currently lives and works in Sacramento with her eldest granddaughter.

JT Hayes, 1994

Nursing, retired from full-time nursing in 2018 but still teaches CNA classes and does p.m. shifts for Help for Health Hospice in Riverton, Wyo. where he lives with his wife, 17-year-old granddaughter, and four dogs.

Timi O’Malley, 1994

Anthropology, published Consuming Love: The Joy of Sharing Meals in December 2018. This is a memoir not only about food and the people that shared these meals with her, but the spiritual lessons learned along the way.

RG Davis, 1995

Art, is focusing on Cuban endemic birds for a paper movie scroll, based on the book Why Birds Matter.

Michael William Raftery, 1996

Oceanography, worked for Lockheed Martin Technical Operations as a satellite engineer (1996-2000), Loral Skynet as a spacecraft orbit analyst (2000-2004), and the Stevens Institute of Technology as a research engineer (2004-2012). He received a master’s degree in Ocean Engineering (Stevens 2009) and is the sole inventor on US Patent 8093736B2 (Wave Energy Harnessing Device) owned by Stevens Board of Trustees. He’s currently working for Martin & Ottaway in Tinton Falls, N. Je., working to commercialize the SurfWEHD based on US patent 8093736B2.

1990s Cont.

Colin Gallagher, 1997

Natural Resources, joined the U.S. Peace Corps after graduating. He returned to the United States in 2000. He worked various local government gigs and picked up a master’s degree along the way. He got into crypto and helped design cryptocurrencies and electronic wallets in a manner so as to foster efficient micro donations in the early years of decentralized cryptos (2009 - 2015). He also did a software QA gig. He is currently working for a crypto-fiat exchange and enjoying life.

Emily Murphy, 1997

Natural Resources Planning & Interpretation, was raised in Arcata and attended Pacific Union and Arcata High. Her first book, Grow What You Love, was released in 2018.

2000s

Cuauhtemoc Carboni, 2001

Kinesiology (Education), is working as a professor at Imperial Valley College in the Exercise Science Department. Married for almost 18 years to Anna Elizabeth (they met in Arcata in 1999), they have three children. Miroslava, 11, Cuauhtemoc, 9, and Olenna, 1. Last summer they took their children to visit HSU and they had a blast. They’re looking forward to their next visit.

Steven Steward, 2001

Politics, currently works as a deputy district attorney for the Humboldt County Office of the District Attorney.

Tamara Ann Su’eSu’e, 2001

Organizational Leadership Outreach, went on to get her master’s degree in Sociological Practice at CSU San Marcos and another master’s degree in Educational Counseling from Azusa. She was a high school counselor for 10 years before having her first child, Tomasi. She is married and currently lives in Prescott Valley, Ariz., where she is a full-time mom and works in logistics for her family business.

Ron L. Anderson, 2002

Physics & Astronomy, is working at the U.S. Naval Observatory with earth orientation and orbital scientists.

Shad Scalvini, 2003

Wildlife, previously worked for Green Diamond Timber and several consultants as a wildlife technician. Scalvini has been the lead wildlife biologist for Mendocino Redwood Company (MRC) since 2012 and is in charge of the Northern Spotted owl program. Scalvini has also started a mutual program with the Wildlife 311 techniques class where they hold their field trip on MRC property at Rockport Beach. They have conducted small mammal trapping, songbird, bat, and small owl mist-netting, track-plates, telemetry, herpetology surveys, etc.

Megan Jones Patterson, 2006

Wildlife, recently completed her Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in Emily DuVal’s lab at Florida State University. Her research focused on the costs and benefits of male cooperative display behavior in White-ruffed Manakins—a small bird living in mid-elevations in Central America. She continues her work as a staff scientist and science educator with the National Ecological Observatory Network.

Ruben Isaí Madriz Villanueva, 2007

Biological Sciences, embarked on a two-year bicycle trip from Chicago to the southern tip of South America, volunteering along the way at wildlife rehabilitation centers and parks. He then attended UNAM in Mexico City and received a master’s degree in electron microscopy. In 2011, he married HSU alumna, Kristina Lindsay (’06, Women’s Studies), and they moved from California to Iowa where he earned a Ph.D. in Entomology from Iowa State. He and Kristina are currently living in Patagonia, Chile, where he is a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow focused on rare insects.

Dora Mitchell, 2008

Art, published her debut novel, an illustrated children’s mystery titled The Haunted Serpent, in hardcover by Sterling Children’s Books in 2018. Kirkus Reviews says “fans of Dan Poblocki, John Bellairs, and R.L. Stine will all be right at home and smiling at the shivers (and the jokes).” Booklist says “Mitchell’s well-developed kid characters and excellent caricatures (both written and visual) of the evil adult despots make this paranormal read engaging and goosebump-inducing.” And School Library Journal called it “a spooky, high-interest adventure for reluctant readers and fans of action-packed tales.”

Dr. Jessica Rendon, 2008

Environmental Science, recently received her Ph.D in entomology from the University of Idaho. She currently works for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, working to protect Oregon’s agriculture and natural resources from invasive species. She was recently promoted to Japanese beetle eradication specialist. “Experiencing HSU education, student life, and its inspirations greatly shaped my desire for further education, and future career, which I so enjoy. It also made me fall in love with the Pacific Northwest,” she says. Having begun volunteering experiences at HSU, she continues to volunteer on habitat and riparian restoration.

Heidi Bowman, 2009

English, helped open the “sister charter school”: CSArts-SGV in 2017. The free, public comprehensive high school in California’s San Gabriel Valley embeds seven hours of conservatory arts instruction following the academic school day. She has the distinct honor of being the department chair, and because of HSU’s English Education program, the department is the “Literature, Language, and Composition” team. The linguistics courses, the not-old-dead-white-guys literature courses, and the pedagogy-built-into-my-soul courses, shaped her into an English teacher to be reckoned with.

2010's

Zachary Haitkin, 2010

International Studies, lives in San Francisco and works at the headquarters for the rideshare company Lyft. He began his career by making the transition from a Lyft driver to customer support associate. Since then, he has worked on the operations team and led the effort to build a competitive intelligence network in an effort to improve Lyft’s visibility into what competitors are doing at a market level. Most recently, he has moved over to Lyft’s growth team as a project manager to help lead the charge in the localization of the Lyft platform into Spanish and other languages.

Janine Silvis, 2012

Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, is the coordinator for residential education for College Ten at UC Santa Cruz. After graduating, Silvis served four years as a student affairs administrator at UCLA, UC Berkeley, and the University of Oregon and then obtained a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration at the University of Vermont. Silvis applies their experiences and education to formulate interdisciplinary approaches to ending campus sexual assault, developing residential curriculum, and supporting minoritized students in higher education. Silvis has received several awards and recognition for national conference presentations and has published in scholarly journals.

Christine Messer (Orlowski), 2013

Wildlife, worked for the California Department of Food and Agriculture before deciding to continue her education. She obtained a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from California State University, Fullerton, in 2017. While completing her graduate degree, she worked for the County of Santa Barbara in the sustainability division. She currently works for the City of Lompoc as the city’s recycling coordinator. She married Kirk Messer (‘11, Biology, Zoology) in October 2017. They live in Santa Maria, Calif., and recently returned to HSU for a visit after five years away.

Ana Veronica Parra, 2013

Biological Sciences, fell in love with astronomy after watching “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson. She is currently taking math and physics courses at San Diego Mesa College and plans to apply to the University of Colorado’s Astrophysics and Planetary Science Ph.D. program in December 2019.

Jonathan Baer, 2014

Environmental Science & Management, got married the year he graduated from HSU. Two weeks after graduating, he and his wife moved to Shenyang, China where they taught English for a year. This experience convinced him to become a teacher for good. He applied to several schools for graduate programs and eventually decided to go with Southern Oregon University in Ashland. He received his master’s degree in teaching with a K-12 teaching license with endorsements in elementary education and secondary social sciences. He subbed for a while and now is starting his second year teaching 6th grade in Baker City, Ore. We also had a daughter, Isabella, in October of 2017.

Brian Galvez, 2014

Fisheries Biology, graduated from Delaware State University with a Master of Science in Natural Resources with a focus on Fisheries Biology. His thesis was titled “Trophic ecology of juvenile Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) from the Delaware Bay using stomach content and stable isotope analyses.” He is currently writing a manuscript for publication in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society with the work presented in his thesis. He represented Humboldt State Fisheries Biology department by having the best thesis defense in the Delaware State University Natural Resources graduate program according to multiple people, including a Delaware State fish biologist and the department chair of his program.

Shayna Nagel, 2014

Social Work, graduated from the University of Michigan with a master’s degree in Social Work with an emphasis in IP health. Since graduating, she has worked at a foster care agency in Los Angeles where she created a placement program for foster youth with health issues. She has also worked at a children’s hospital in Los Angeles after hours in the house and ER. She is now following her dreams by working with people of all ages and backgrounds in hospice care.

Eddie Shin, 2014

Psychology, got married a year ago to the love of his life who loves doing what he loved to do most when in Humboldt—hike and spend time outdoors! He moved to Orem, Utah, shortly after graduating and in 2016 landed a job at a residential treatment center where he became their neurofeedback practitioner. He says it has been awesome working with these kids in improving their emotions and behaviors through a holistic intervention in their treatment. He is currently working on his master’s degree toward becoming a marriage and family therapist. He misses the redwoods and Humboldt coast dearly and thinks about that beautiful place every day. He lives his life the Humboldt way still and stays green.

Karlee Jewell, 2015

International Studies, is a local Americorps member who was recently recognized alongside 30 young people, ages 30 and under, by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE). The NAAEE 30 Under 30 highlights the work of young professionals of various backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, and communities around the globe who are using education to help protect the environment. The program was started by a partnership between NAAEE and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Dylan Karl, 2016

Wildlife, completed two years of service as a Peace Corps environment volunteer in Guyana, South America. He volunteered as a community conservation promotor. Now that his service is complete, he is looking into going to Bowling Green State University for its Leisure and Tourism program.

Fernando William Manzanera, 2016

International Studies, moved to the Czech Republic in 2017 to be with his girlfriend. He works as a teacher and in IT support for a Swiss insurance company. Life is pretty great.

James A. Seward, 2016

Oceanography, was an environmental services intern for California Coastal Conservancy from July 2017 to January 2018. He is currently a technician with the Central & Northern California Ocean Observing System.

John Soener, 2016

International Studies, completed two years of Peace Corps service in Nicaragua and will be attending graduate school at Indiana University. He will be pursuing a master’s degree in Public Affairs, focusing specifically on nonprofit management and policy analysis. His International Studies and Spanish degrees were a great way to start his career in public service and Peace Corps was an incredible career booster that provided him incredible opportunities to fund graduate school.

Diana Argueta, 2017

Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, returned to the world of immigrant rights after many years of being away, and she loves it. She is currently a social worker case managing two programs housing children in custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement and Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. She advocates for children who have no one to care for them in their country of origin or in the U.S. as they start their life over in this country and apply for political asylum.

Jacqueline Heinzen, 2017

Anthropology, has started work as a user experience researcher with Binary Defense, a cybersecurity firm based out of Hudson, Ohio. It’s her first full-time job where she was hired specifically to apply her research skills as an anthropologist.

Holly McLaughlin, 2017

Liberal Studies Elementary Education, teaches fifth grade at Washington Elementary school.

Jolene Saldivar, 2017

Biological Sciences, has committed to the University of California, Riverside’s Plant Biology Ph.D. program and will begin this summer. She is also the recipient of the Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, which is the most prestigious diversity fellowship offered at UC Riverside.

Jessica Elaine Sepulveda, 2017

Biological Sciences, had an opportunity to work in startup using stem cell technology to reduce human impact on the environment. Unlike most stem cell technology that focuses on medicine, VitroLabs Inc.’s goal is to reduce our ecological footprint by making ethical leather in a lab. Her job entails making induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), differentiating our stem cells into skin cells and generating leather. By producing leather in a lab from iPSCs we can eliminate the need for cow hides while still supplying the market with this particular textile. She finds her work satisfying and is able to fulfill her graduation pledge in several ways: the product is ethical and ecological.

Jennifer Werthman, 2017

Politics, was engaged in January 2018 and had a baby boy named Jack on June 30. She began substitute teaching and will obtain a credential soon to become a high school government teacher.

Jesus Pascual Cisneros, 2018

World Languages & Cultures, is a Spanish immersion teacher at Dow’s Prairie Elementary in McKinleyville, California.

Aaron Pudlicki, 2018

Forestry & Wildland Resources, obtained a full-time job as a forester living in Portland, Ore., and managing timberland throughout western Oregon within three months of graduation.