Alumni in the News - February 2012
Career Moves
LA County Teacher Finalist For National Teacher Of The Year
Rebecca Mieliwocki (B.A., Speech Communication, 1990) was announced as one of four finalists nationwide for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year award. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today said he is extremely pleased that Mieliwocki, a 2012 California Teacher of the Year from Los Angeles County, has been selected as one of four finalists nationwide for the 2012 National Teacher of the Year award.
Read more about Mieliwocki on KHTS
Read more about Mieliwocki on the
California Dept. of Education site
Consultant Partners With Accounting, Consulting Firm
Jon Adkins (B.S., Business Administration, 1999) recently joined San Francisco-based accounting and consulting firm Novogradac & Company LLP. Adkins joined as a partner to the firm and will work in San Francisco. He provides audit and tax services for various real estate partnerships.
Read more about Adkins in the San Francisco Chronicle
Plant Expert Joins Management Team
Angela Mekjian (B.S., Ornamental Horticulture, 1986) joined PlantHaven International's project management team. PlantHaven is an independent agency providing service to plant breeders worldwide in bringing their new plant varieties to market. Mekjian will be responsible for PlantHaven's annuals and perennials.
Read more about Mekjian in Lawn & Landscape
Read more about Mekjian in Perishable News
Real Estate Agent Selected to Lead Silicon Valley Realtors
Suzanne Yost (B.S., Business Administration, 1983) recently became president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. Yost has practiced real estate for 32 years. She has chosen the theme of 2012 as "A Year of Possibilities." During her time as a real estate agent, she has witnessed three housing market downturns and each time the market has bounced back -- something she foresees happening once again.
Read more about Yost in the San Jose Mercury News
New Account Manager of Ag Marketing Agency Announced
Sharlene Garcia (B.S., Agricultural Business, 2002) was announced as account manager of AdFarm's Sacramento office. AdFarm is an integrated marketing, branding and digital agency with expertise in agriculture. Garcia has eight years of experience in communications and California agriculture and was previously communications director for the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG).
Read more about Garcia in AgriMarketing
Attorney Makes Partner in Law Firm
Michael Sweeney (B.S., Business Administration, 1997) was elevated from attorney to partner at Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP, a preeminent litigation and business law firm that works both nationally and internationally. Sweeney has been an attorney with the firm since 2007. He represents his clients from pre-litigation counseling through the first chair at trial.
Read more about Sweeney in
the Jaffe Legal News Service
Wine Marketing Company Appoints Vice President/Partner
Natalie Wassum (B.S., Agricultural Business, 2000) has been appointed vice president/partner for marketing at Canopy Management, a Napa Valley wine brand creation, sales and marketing company. Wassum was part of the founding team at Canopy in 2008.
Read more about Wassum in the Sacramento Bee
New Interim High School Principal Named
Wade Lawrence (Education, 1993, CRD, Credential-Social Science, 1993) is Coast Union High School's a new interim principal. Lawrence was most recently a social sciences teacher for Coast Unified School District, where he had taught since September 1993.
Read more about Lawrence in The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)
Engineering Grad is New Executive VP of Investment Management Firm
Nicholas Johnson (B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 2003) was recently promoted to executive vice president in the Newport Beach, Calif., office of PIMCO, a portfolio manager focusing on commodities. PIMCO is a global investment management firm, with offices in 11 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Johnson joined PIMCO in in 2004 and previously managed the portfolio analyst group.
Read more about Johnson in Market Watch
New Santa Maria Winemaker is Food Science Alum
Clarissa Nagy (B.S., Food Science, 1995) was announced as the new winemaker of Riverbench Vineyard and Winery in Santa Maria, Calif. Nagy has 17 years’ experience in the Central Coast wine industry.
Read more about Nagy in the Santa Maria Times
Read more about Nagy in PRNewswire
Grad Creates Urban Farm
Taylor Newton (B.S., Ecology & Systematic Biology, 2000) was recently recognized for making a difference through the creation of an urban farm, Newton Cultivation, in Morro Bay. Newton’s motto, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune: “Get back closer to the land. Get up, work hard, love hard, eat right, be humble and learn … then get up and do it again.”
Read more about Newton in The Tribune
Just for Fun
Home Ec Grad Joins Windsor Rotary Club
Diane (B.S., Home Economics, 1970) and her husband, Larry Maddox, recently joined the Windsor, Colo., Rotary Club. Maddox previously was a member of the Rio Grande Rotary in Las Cruces, N.M.
Read more about Maddox in the Coloradoan/Windsor Beacon
A Look Back at Grad's Many Accomplishments
Don Morris (B.S., Physical Education, 1952, M.A., Physical Education, 1958) has led a full and successful life. Morris was a star on the Cal Poly track team who volunteered for service in the U.S. Navy when he graduated. In 1954 he earned his wings at Naval Air Station Pensacola (Fla.) and became a naval aviator in both carrier-based aircraft and lighter-than-air airships. He served a total of 42 years in the Navy (active duty and the Navy Reserve Program), retiring with the rank of commander in 1990. Since his retirement, Morris has continued to serve his community and been honored in many ways.
Read more about Morris in The Military Order of the World Wars
Photographer Captures America's Stunning Landscapes
Clyde Butcher (B.S., Architectural Engineering, 1964) rang in the new year during a cross-country road trip. Butcher's mission is to chase natural light and capture some of America's most stunning yet threatened landscapes. He is an environmental and conservation movement activist who has brought international attention to the environmental issues facing the Florida Everglades.
Read more about Butcher on LAist.com
Morro Bay the Focal Point of Grads Career
Bill Peirce (B.S., Journalism, 1973) has time and time again made Morro Bay the determining factor directing his career and lifestyle. Peirce has done a bit of everything during his life, from co-owning a commercial abalone diving business, being a reporter, photographer, news director for the local news stations and serving 12 years on the Morro Bay City Council. He currently presides as president of Morro Bay Rotary.
Read more about Peirce in The Tribune
Honors & Awards
Shell Beach Lawyer Wins Pismo Chamber’s Business of the Year
Brian "Craig" Kreowski (B.A., Political Science, 1988) a Shell Beach, Calif., lawyer who runs his own law firm, Shell Beach Law Group, was named the Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce's business of the year. Since forming in May 2005, Kreowski's firm has worked diligently to get mutt-mitt stations and trash cans placed along Shell Beach Road, and the firm helped develop a master plan for Shell Beach Road, which was approved by the city in 2009, among many other accomplishments.
Read more about Kreowski in the Santa Maria Times
Lodi Chamber of Commerce Honors Resident for Volunteer Efforts
Charley Hauner (B.S., Physical Education, 1973) was named Ray A. Hirning Street Faire Volunteer of the Year by the Lodi Chamber of Commerce. A volunteer at the Lodi Street Faire in Lodi, Calif., for decades, Hauner began working as a volunteer for the event when it began at the Grape Festival Grounds as a way to raise income for Downtown Lodi’s Christmas lights.
Read more about Hauner in the Lodi News-Sentinel
Passings
Deborah Irene Tupac-Yupanqui Reis
Deborah Irene Tupac-Yupanqui Reis (B.S., Agricultural Business, 1984) died Jan. 5.
Read more about
Reis in The Tribune
Martha Devine Powers
Martha Devine Powers (M.S., Social Sciences,1959) died Jan. 11.
Read more about Powers in The Tribune
John Carl Stechman
John Carl Stechman (Microbiology, 1979) died Jan. 8.
Read more about Stechman in The Tribune
Joseph Bede Prochot
Joseph Bede Prochot (B.S., Business Administration, 1978) died in January.
Read more about Prochot in EdHat (Santa Barbara)
San Luis Obispo, California 93407