Distinguished Alumni, Faculty, Students, & Staff

Lisa William (’92, Journalism, ’96, English (Education)) is a professor at California State University, Sacramento and San Joaquin Delta College. William teaches more than nine courses a semester while maintaining a very active service and publication record. She has authored and co-authored nearly 25 academic journals, articles, book chapters, and other publications. Each semester, she teaches popular courses on topics like urban education, discourse on race and gender in educational settings, and social and psychological foundations of multicultural education. She is committed to improving opportunities for all her students.

Mike Radenbaugh (’12, Industrial Technology) and Ty Collins (’10, Journalism) are the co-founders of Rad Power Bikes, North America’s largest electric bike company. They make electric bikes that are accessible, affordable, and appealing to the masses, and continue to pioneer the world of sustainable transportation. Radenbaugh built his first ebike in 2007 as a way to get to school without breaking a sweat. His “frankenbikes” quickly caught the attention of his small town, and he started building ebikes for friends, family, and neighbors. Today he and Collins employ a team of nearly 100 with headquarters in Seattle, Washington, Vancouver, British Columbia and Utrecht, Netherlands. They’ve also been named to Forbes and Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30” lists.

Mark Andre (’79, Natural Resources Planning & Interpretation) is the Director of Environmental Services for the City of Arcata and a registered professional forester. In this role, he oversees Arcata’s environmental programs, natural resources, parks and recreation, community forest, wildlife areas, and public utilities. Because of his efforts the Arcata Community Forest, established in 1955, has grown considerably. He has worked closely with Humboldt State to allow use of the forest not just for field trips but also for research by faculty and students. The forest is nationally considered as a model community forest. Andre recently helped lead the acquisition of 967 acres of public forest in the Jacoby Creek watershed, of which 884 acres was given to HSU.

Mary Elise Conzelmann, Recreation Administration, has served the public and fostered collaborations to create healthy communities. She has presented at professional recreation conferences, published research, been a member of the HSU women’s rowing team, worked multiple part-time jobs, and volunteered throughout her undergraduate education.

Conzelmann has engaged in her community by volunteering with numerous groups. In her first year at HSU, for example, she re-activated the Recreation Administration Club and served as president for two years. During that time, she was awarded a grant to host a Cultural Diversity Workshop for campus and community members. She volunteered with the Redwood Community Action Agency and Humboldt County Association of Governments on a traffic stress assessment in McKinleyville. Conzelmann completed her degree in three years and will pursue her M.S. in Management at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Tanya Garcia, Environmental Resources Engineering and Math, has shown exemplary commitment to her majors and the broader STEM community. She co-founded the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, a student-run club that seeks to promote academic excellence among Latinx engineers, and has served a number of leadership roles.

Garcia is also committed to Engineers without Borders, and participated in a service trip to Nicaragua where she and fellow engineering students helped install a water well for a rural hospital. Fluent in Spanish, she also served as translator for the group. She was awarded the “Engineers without Borders Excellence in Service” award for her work.

Garcia currently works for the Schatz Energy Research Center on improving access to services among people who live off-grid. She wants to be a leader and an educator and expand access to energy and water in low-income communities in the country and abroad.