For more than two decades, Kellie Jo Brown has shared the story of Cal Poly Humboldt as the official University photographer. Her career as a photographer and artist began at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she graduated in 1990 with a B.S. in Applied Art & Design with a Photography emphasis. In 1993 she started at the Modesto Bee as a photo lab tech and over the next seven years worked her way up into a graphic designer position. In 2000, she was the graphic designer and photographer at Cox Rasmussen & Co. Advertising Agency, and two years later, she joined the University.
Since then, she has captured authentic moments that reveal Cal Poly Humboldt, and the place Humboldt, in the best imaginable light—from the fiery glow of molten bronze poured by Art students at the foundry to the radiant morning at the Arcata Bottoms where Wildlife majors banded birds of prey.
“I get to see rare glimpses of all aspects of campus life. This doesn’t feel like work when the campus community is doing amazing things. It's an honor to share the Humboldt story,” Brown says.
Her work reflects her commitment to supporting the success of students, faculty, and staff. That shows in her passion for collaborating with diverse members of the campus and local communities. She is an equally dedicated artist, playing with angles, shadows, depth, and colors that reflect the wonders of the world in the classroom and beyond.
Karen Diemer, longtime City Manager for the city of Arcata, has dedicated her 30-year career to public service. Building a better community drives Diemer to create a livable, equitable, and prosperous community that values its natural and cultural resources, and that supports the well-being and growth of people who live here.
A proud alum of Cal Poly Humboldt (‘91, Wildlife Management), each of the positions she has held made connections with the campus. She worked in Parks and Recreation where she worked to build a deep partnership with the University, leading to the employment of hundreds of interns and staff. During her time as the deputy director of environmental services—overseeing water, sewer, natural resources, energy, solid waste/recycling—-she partnered with the University to build programs to improve the water quality of local creeks and the Bay through continuous study of the city’s waterways and wastewater system.
In her current role as City Manager, she has been grateful to assist in the founding of Equity Arcata, a program designed to remove racial barriers and ensure students, staff, and faculty of all backgrounds feel safe and welcome in Arcata.
“I have always joked that a Humboldt degree in Wildlife Management is the perfect education to run a city, but there is a lot of truth in my joking. The science of understanding nature’s complex ecosystems,where elements interact and depend on each other, is much like our cities where the community needs are interconnected and must be balanced,” Diemer says.
Jenny Harris, President and CEO of American Hydroponics, believes Cal Poly Humboldt is all about opportunity—it opens doors to meaningful careers and new ways of thinking and understanding the world. That belief underscores her commitment to Cal Poly Humboldt students through the largest comprehensive campaign in Cal Poly Humboldt history, Boldly Rising.
The former board chair of the Cal Poly Humboldt Foundation, which ran the campaign, Harris helped work through the decision to start the campaign during the pandemic and then doubling the fundraising goal from $25 million to $50 million. Under her leadership, the Foundation purchased property, holding it as an investment until the University needed it. The property is now the future site of a new student housing complex that will house nearly 1,000 students.
“I’m excited to help students achieve their higher education dreams at a top-rated university and, at the same time, absorb the local environment and community. Their experience here helps shape the type of people they are becoming as they enter global society,” says Harris, a member of the Boldly Rising Campaign Cabinet.
She is passionate about the vision for American Hydroponics, which designs and builds hydroponic systems, and the role it’s playing in food production throughout the world. A native of Northern California, she received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management & Secondary Education from Point Loma Nazarene University. She has over 40 years of experience working in finance and strategy—from long-established General Electric to Silicon Valley start-ups—resulting in their rapid growth and constant innovation.
Jim and Sharon Redd, retired owners and brokers of Four Star Realty for over 44 years, are recognized as local business and community leaders who believe in the power of Cal Poly Humboldt athletics to build character and shape the future of students.
Jim (‘74, Rangeland Resources Management) was born in Gilroy, California. Raised in the ranching and farming country of southern Santa Clara County, he is a strong advocate of rural communities. Jim used his degree to specialize in brokering large ranches in California and Oregon throughout his career. He and Sharon owned a small ranch in Northern California and hired many athletes to work on their ranch. He served as president of the Humboldt Association of Realtors and various committees at the state and local levels. In 2020, he and other business partners formed Redwood Acres Raceway LLC to upgrade and support the local Eureka raceway.
Sharon is a member of the Cal Poly Humboldt Boldly Rising Campaign Cabinet, the past president of the Humboldt Association of Realtors, and previous state director of the California Association of Realtors. She was awarded Realtor of the Year in 1997 and 2011. She is currently treasurer and a 35-year member of Soroptimist International of Humboldt Bay. Sharon also helped oversee a charitable fund at the Humboldt Area Foundation, which regularly supported women’s athletics at Cal Poly Humboldt.
The Redds became involved with Humboldt’s football program in the late 1980’s. They have since regularly hosted the football and basketball teams at their home for team dinners. The Redds have courtside seats at basketball games and in 2022, and they helped establish an endowment fund for basketball, which raised $400,000 to name the Tom Wood Court in Lumberjack Arena. They have also made a commitment to support athletics scholarships.
To the Redds, being a student athlete at Cal Poly Humboldt is something special.
Sharon says, “I’ve seen for myself, throughout the years, how being an athlete at Humboldt can make a huge difference in a student’s future life.”
Jim says, “Being a Lumberjack and bleeding green and gold is a life changer. It means so much to me to help make a difference in a student athlete’s life.”