Alumni in the News - December 2009

Headliners

Abel MaldonadoMaldonado Tapped as Second-in-Command in State

The son of migrant farmworkers who rose from the strawberry fields to become land barons, Abel Maldonado (Crop Science, 1988) was selected by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as the state's next lieutenant governor. The nomination requires confirmation by the Senate and Assembly. Maldonado said, "If they think that there's limits on dreams, I'm here to tell them to look at me."
Read more in Hispanic Business

Alum Honored as an Experimental Flight Test Pilot

Cal Poly aerospace engineering alumnus Peter Siebold brought home high honors from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP). Siebold, an avid test pilot, was awarded the prestigious 2009 Iven C. Kincheloe award for his accomplishments as a flight tester. The award was presented at the 53rd annual SETP banquet in Anaheim earlier this fall. The 2001 Cal Poly graduate has 17 years of flight experience, logging 2,000 hours in 35 different fixed-wing aircraft.
More on Siebold

'Weird Al' Yankovic Proves He's Gog Legs with Current College Students

“Weird Al: The Poet of Our Generation" is how the University of San Francisco newspaper's music columnist has labeled Mustang alum "Weird Al" Yankovic (B.AR., Architecture, 1980). Wrote "Foghorn" music columnist Melissa Baron Dec. 4: "I reserve the term 'musical genius' for a very limited selection of musicians like George Gershwin, Chuck D and Bruce Springsteen. I add 'Weird Al' Yankovic to this list without hesitation. Weird Al spans genres from ska to hip hop to metal and topics from obesity to Star Wars to Santa."
Read the column in The Foghorn

Alum Gaining Fame for his Portraits of WWII Warriors

Nationwide, more than 250 World War II veterans have been photographed by Thomas Sanders (BFA, Applied Art, 2006) in a visual tribute to all men and women who serve our country in uniform. Sanders is criss-crossing the country in the effort, and his latest stop was a Houston retirement home where he photographed almost 20 residents just before Veterans Day. He has just signed a deal with a division of Random House to publish his work as a fine art book in 2011.
Read the Cal Poly Magazine Story on Sanders
Read about the WWII photography by Sanders
Visit Sanders' website to see more photos

A Tale of Alum's Journey from Japanese American Internment Camp to Success

Hitoshi (B.S., Crop Science, 1957) and Kathy Yamada have lived remarkable lives, from the internment camps and anti-Japanese hysteria of World War II to the jungles of Brazil, and more recently to the beautiful foothills of Arroyo Grande. Hitoshi was 7 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Despite being relocated to an internment camp in Cody, Wyo., he worked hard to keep up with schoolwork and later graduated from Cal Poly.
Read about the Yamadas in the SLO Tribune

Alum is Seeking State Senate Seat in Nevada

Gardnerville Assemblyman James Settelmeyer (B.S., Ag Science, 1994) will be seeking the Nevada's Capital District Senate seat. A member of a pioneer Nevada ranching family, Settelmeyer is already facing another announced contender, former Carson City Mayor Ray Masayko, for the soon-to-be-vacated seat.
Read more about the contender

Kerry KellyAlumna is a Designing Woman

Interior designer and author Kerrie Kelly (B.S., Home Ec/Interior Design 1994) recently released her second book, “Home Decor: A Sunset Design Guide." Kelly has created the interiors of thousands of homes along with hotels, restaurants, model complexes and sales pavilions throughout the west and wanted to share tips that home owners can implement without the expense of hiring a designer.
Read more about Kerrie Kelly's career in design
Courtesy Photo

Alums Coordinate A Home-Grown, Organic Effort in SoCal

The Ramona Certified Farmers’ Market opened for business in early March with five vendors. Now, eight months later, there can be as many as 20 sellers offering their wares every Saturday morning, thanks in large part of Lucy (B.S., Social Sciences, 2009) and Marshall (B.S., Ornamental Horticulture, 1980) Randol.
Read about the cooperative effort

Food & Wine

Alums' Wine Shop Features International Flavors

Since opening her retail wine shop, 15 Degrees C, two years ago, Ali Rush Carscaden (B.S., Rec Admin, 2002, M.S., Agriculture, 2004) has expanded offerings to more than 500 wines from around the world and more than 30 international beer brands. She’s also added a panini maker, a professional meat slicer for her expanded charcuterie selection and a wide assortment of artisanal cheeses. Just last month, Carscaden became a certified sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Read more about the sommelier and her offerings in the SLO Tribune

Alum Opening Lucky Number Seven

Vahid Keshtgar (B.S., Business Administration, 1995) and his brother, Saeed, will soon open their seventh Central Coast restaurant in Atascadero. The family now operates Round Tables in Morro Bay, Los Osos, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria and Lompoc. They are also considering a location in Paso Robles.
Read more about Keshtgar in the SLO Tribune

Career Moves

Norup to Lead Collabrus

Kimball Norup (B.S., Civil Engineering, 1989) has been selected to lead Collabrus, a consultanting company specializing in payroll, managed services, and independent contractor compliance services. He assumes the post of senior vice president and general manager after having served two years as the chief marketing officer for both Collabrus and its parent company, M Squared Consulting.
Read more about the appointment on PRweb.com

Former TRW Exec, Humes, to New Post

Sidense, a leading developer of Logic Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) IP cores, has appointed Todd Humes (B.S., Electronic Engineering, 1987) as the company's new vice president of product engineering. Humes will work with the engineering team to optimize the cost, quality, performance, reliability, manufacturability and user features of Sidense's NVM IP products.
Get more info on Humes new position

Martin is New App Market Master

David Martin (B.S., Computer Science, 1988) has been appointed to serve as vice president of enterprise and OEM sales at Mark Logic Corporation, a provider of software for information applications. Martin was the president of legacy modernization solutions company, TmaxSoft, during the company's expansion into the North America. He specializes in revenue generation and penetration into new markets.
Read more in Marketwire

Alum is New President for Technology at Tech Firm

FMC Technologies, Inc. has appointed Bradley D. Beitler (B.S., Engineering Technology, 1976) to vice president of technology. The company designs, manufactures and services technologically sophisticated systems and products such as subsea production and processing systems, surface wellhead systems, high pressure fluid control equipment, measurement solutions, and marine loading systems for the oil and gas industry.
Read more in TransWorldNews

Alumna Selected for Prestigious California Agricultural Leadership Program

Alumna Sarah Charter Reynolds (B.S., Ag Business, 2007) has been selected from a statewide pool of applicants for the next session of the California Agricultural Leadership Program, one of the premier educational opportunities in the United States. Reynolds, who lives in Colusa County, will take part in seminars, trips and other activities over the next two years as part of the program. She works at T&P Farms in Arbuckle and has taken many roles on the family farm since graduating from Cal Poly.
Read more in the Colusa Sun-Herald

New UC Cooperative Ag Adviser Holtz is Familiar Face in Delta Region

Being named San Joaquin County director for University of California Cooperative Extension is a real homecoming for Brent A. Holtz (B.S., Biological Sciences, 1986). In addition to his Cal Poly degrees, he is a graduate of Modesto Junior College. After earning his doctorate in plant pathology from UC Berkeley in 1993, Holtz worked as a post-doctoral research associate at UC's Kearney Agricultural Center in Parlier before becoming a farm adviser in Madera County.
Read more about Holtz in the Stockton Record

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut - an Almond, in Particular

After graduation last December, Ashley Gunlund (B.S., Agribusiness, 2008) was chosen to participate in the first Almond Industry Leadership Program. The program is a year-long course of study, observation and participation in settings that range from a job shadow at the state Capitol and board rooms to almond growing and processing facilities, gaining a farm-to-fork education in the almond industry. Gunlund intends to put the experience to work in the family business, Four Bar C Farms, growing almonds and grapes.
Read more about Gunlund

Central Coast Native Jeanette Trompeter Returns to KSBY News

Jeanette Trompeter (B.S., Journalism, 1987) will re-join the KSBY News team beginning in January. This is a homecoming for Trompeter, a Central Coast native who began her television career at KSBY, where she worked as a newscast producer and general assignment reporter. During her two decades as a television anchor and reporter, Trompeter has been honored with multiple prestigious journalism awards. These include two Edward R. Murrow awards and six regional Emmy awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
See the KSBY story on Trompeter's return
Read about her return in The Tribune

J- Alumna Elliott is New Editor of Porterville Recorder

Claudia Elliott (B.S., Journalism, 1972) is joining the Porterville Recorder as editor. Elliott brings decades of experience as a journalist and editor to the job. She joined the Recorder after the close of The Southern Sierra Messenger, where she was editor and publisher.
Read about Elliot in the Porterville Recorder

Biz Alum is Handling Banking Between Friends

Jaron Reyes (B.S., Business Administration, 2006) has been promoted from credit analyst to relationship manager at Santa Cruz County Bank's downtown Santa Cruz office. He joined the bank in 2007 from Wells Fargo, where he was credit manager.
Read more about Reyes

Communications Alum's New Position Has a Higher Calling

Rev. Timothy Boyer (B.S., Speech Communication, 1987) has accepted a position as pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Mountain View. With a career that spans 30 years, all in the same state, Boyer credits his involvement in the local YMCA, for leading him into the ministry.
Read about Boyer in the Los Altos Town Crier

Alumna is Overjoyed with Golf Career

Growing up in a golfing family, it's no surprise that Jilayne Lovejoy (BS, Business Administration, 2006) has taken to the family preoccupation. Lovejoy was promoted to the product manager for women's and junior categories at Cleveland Golf/Srixon.
Read more about Lovejoy on WorldGolf.com

Alum in the Navy, Heading to Med School

Navy Ensign Ryan Austin (B.S., Biology, 2009) has entered into the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., as a first-year medical student of a four-year program. Austin is from Santa Cruz.
Read about Austin in the Santa Cruz Sentinel

Alum Joins Mission Produce Sales Force

Mission Produce Inc., headquarted in Oxnard, is a global avocado and asparagus supplier. The company has hired Joe Nava (B.S., Agribusiness, 2009) as sales representative. Nava received received the Pack Career Pathways Fund scholarship through PMA. He interned in sales with Driscoll’s and Famous Software, then came to Mission, where he initially worked in operations.
Read about Nava on FreshPlaza.com

Watermere at Southlake Names Alumna Kristen Kearnaghan Executive Director

Kristen Kearnaghan (B.S., English, 1997) has been named executive director of Watermere at Southlake, a master-planned development for homeowners over 55.
Read about it on Healthcare.dbusinessnews.com

Awards

Continuing the Family Tradition

Lauren Scheller (B.S., Animal Science, 2008) was named the 2009 Cowbelle of the Year by the Santa Barbara County CattleWomen’s Association. A ninth-generation Californian, she is helping her family manage the ranch that was part of a Mexican land grand in the early 18th century.
Read more about Scheller's outreach efforts

Alum is Ann Arbor's Emerging Architect Awardee

Ann Arbor architect David Lewis (BAR, Architecture, 1994) makes an effort not to specialize in one type of building, and that may be a major reason for his success, despite a tough time for the construction and housing industries in Michigan. Receiving the Emerging Architect Award from the Huron Valley chapter of the American Institute of Architects, he says he has persevered by doing half his work in California.
Read more about David Lewis at AnnArbor.com

Passings

Paula Blanchard McDougal

Paula Blanchard McDougal, 81, died Thursday, Oct. 1, at her Arroyo Grande home. McDougal (Business Administration, 1977) had a varied and interesting career after graduating from Stanford in 1949. In addition to raising a family of five children, her careers included working as an adoptions caseworker with the San Bernardino County Social Services Department in the 1960s and as a bookkeeper for the Gateway Borough in Ketchikan, Alaska, in the 1970s. At the age of 48, she returned to college at Cal Poly and became a Board Certified Public Accountant in 1980.
Read more about McDougal in the SLO Tribune