Issue: Spring 2003

Class Notes

37
M.C. Gill was honored in August 2002 when the street leading to his company, M.C. Gill Corp. in El Monte, Calif., was renamed Merwyn C. Gill Way. He endowed the Merwyn C. Gill Composites Center at the USC School of Engineering.

42
Leo Pearlstein wrote Celebrity Stew, a candid tell-all reflecting on his 50 years as a Hollywood food publicist. Information on the book can be found at (www.celebritystew.com). He lives in Los Angeles.

48
Katie Harvey, who writes under the name Kay Boman, has published Swan and Mary, a novel set in coastal San Diego County. She and her husband live on Bald Head Island, off the coast of North Carolina.

49
James L. Cullen, of Westlake Village, Calif., published By the Numbers: A World War II Memoir, which chronicles his experiences as a POW after his plane was shot down over Germany.

51
Norman Adams works as a business broker in Southern California and also serves as a guest lecturer on cruise ships internationally, speaking on “Our Fascinating, Changing, Competitive World.”

Margaret Moody MA ’56, of Glendale, Calif., has published The Royal Poorhouse in 18th Century Turin, Italy: The King and the Paupers. It concentrates on the working poor who were driven into poorhouses or hospitals in the mid-1700s. It is based on research she originally conducted for her doctoral dissertation, which she received from UCLA in 1996.

55
Doris Berg MM ’69 is listed in the 2002 edition of Who’s Who of American Women in recognition of her work in music performance and post-secondary teaching. This is the third time she has appeared in the publication. She is also listed in Outstanding Musicians of the Twentieth Century.

John Goddard has published The Survivor, a collection of 24 stories detailing his most extreme exploratory adventures. He is best known for leading the first expedition down the 4,200-mile length of the Nile River.

57
Regina Leimbach of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., became president of the Friends of the USC Libraries in May 2002.

Carl Terzian of Los Angeles was honored at the Dubnoff Center’s Gala IV Garden of Dreams 2002 in Beverly Hills in November. He was recognized for his contributions to the organization, a nonprofit special-education day school, clinical treatment and residential care facility.

58
Terry Lee Ives came in second place in the ages 65-69 category of the Alcatraz Triathlon in August 2001. He works as an attorney and freelance writer in San Francisco.

59
Abe Gruber MEd ’59 is an emeritus professor at Palomar Community College in San Diego, Calif., where he has taught anthropology for 30 years. He also serves as secretary of the Southwestern Anthropological Association.

Lawrence Lichty was appointed chairman of the Department of Radio/Television/Film at Northwestern’s school of communication in Evanston, Ill.

61
Marvalee H. Wake MS ’64, PhD ’68 was awarded a 2002 fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. She is an evolutionary morphologist and a professor in the department of integrative biology at UC Berkeley.

62
Adrian Ruiz MM ’64 of Lancaster, Calif., recently released several new piano recordings: 24 etudes, three sonatas and two variations by Hiller, Raff’s Suite and piano sonata, and several Schulhoff concert pieces on the Geneses label; and Chopin etudes, four ballades, four scherzi and three sonatas on the AR label.

63
Mary Ida Phair MS recently was honored when the South Pasadena (Calif.) High School library was named after her. She served as the school’s librarian for 20 years.

64
Tod Anton EdD, professor of school administration emeritus at Cal State Stanislaus, serves on the accrediting commission for schools of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. He is also a member of the superintendency committee of the Association of California School Administrators and coaches cross country at Lincoln High School in Stockton, Calif.

65
Dale S. Gribow was appointed to the California Presidential Business Commission, a group of professionals and political strategists who advise the current Republican leadership on future elections.

Walter G. Reuter received a 2001 Fracture Mechanics Medal from ASTM International for significant contributions to the development of fracture mechanics. He is an engineer and scientific fellow with the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory in Idaho Falls, where he also resides.

Edward Stuart “Stu” Russell was elected to a four-year term as president of the USS Pueblo Veterans Association.

66
Fred Dear MS ’69, associate registrar at USC, was recently elected vice president for membership of the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers for 2003-05.

Al Qoyawayma MS of Prescott, Ariz., saw his sculptural pottery work featured in the August 2002 issue of Southwest Art.

Leslee See Leong is a trustee at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, Calif., and also serves on the Council of Scholars for the Chinese American Museum at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument.

Al Zapanta MPA ’73 of Annandale, Va., was appointed chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld in March 2002. The board acts as the principal independent policy adviser to Rumsfeld on all matters involving the reserve components of the U.S. Armed Forces.

67
Bill Altaffer MA ’70, of Mammouth Lakes, Calif., recently traveled to the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, considered the most remote island in the world with a historically documented population.

Paul F. Cummins PhD recently retired from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Calif., which he co-founded 32 years ago. He will concentrate on starting a new charter school and an educational village. His latest book, Keeping Watch: Reflections on American Culture, Education and Politics, is available from 1st Books Library at (www.1stbooks.com).

68
Lorna Zemke MA, DMA ’73 received the Organization of American Kodaly Educators Lifetime Achievement Award during the group’s annual conference in Austin, Texas. Additionally, she recently received an honorary membership to the board of the International Kodaly Society for her work in spreading the Hungarian composer’s ideas. She is the director of graduate music studies at Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, Wis.

69
Richard L. Field MS has retired from Lockheed Martin after 20 years of employment, most recently working on software used to analyze the Space Station solar arrays and batteries.

Christopher Parkening, considered one of the world’s preeminent classical guitarists, has been named a distinguished faculty member at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.

71
Bruce E. Singer joined Scott Wilson ’86 at Wilson Johnson Commercial Real Estate, headquartered in Palm Desert, Calif. He is a specialist in triple net and 1031 real estate exchange investments.

72
Larry D. Damron joined Aksys Ltd. as senior vice president and chief financial officer. The Lincolnshire, Ill.-based company develops and markets products and services for dialysis therapy. Previously he served as chief financial officer for Everest Healthcare Services Corp.

Robert DiChiara MA ’79 published Alas, Poor Yorick: The Tragic Force of Hamlet’s Fool, a comic novel speculating on the life of the Shakespearean character. He is an associate professor of English at Nassau (N.Y.) Community College. More information about the book can be found online at (www.geocities.com/rdeech/yorick.html).

73
Miles Hood Swarthout MA of Playa del Rey, Calif., published The Sergeant’s Lady, a Western romance novel about a rancher’s divorced sister and a white sergeant of Apache Scouts. The book is inspired by a short story written by his late father, novelist Glendon Swarthout, with whom he adapted The Shootist, John Wayne’s last film.

John H. Shirey MPA was named executive director of the California Redevelopment Association, based in Sacramento. The organization represents the interests of nearly 350 city and county redevelopment agencies. Previously he served as city manager of Cincinnati, Ohio.

74
John M. Manavian was promoted to vice president at Robertson Property Group, an owner, developer, investor and manager of commercial real estate based in Santa Monia, Calif. In the new position, he is responsible for developing activities throughout the firm, overseeing project teams and creating strategic long-term plans.

75
Leo Nestor MM, DMA ’80 was appointed the Justine Bayard Ward Professor of Music, director of choral activities and director of graduate studies in sacred music at the Catholic University of America’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music in Washington, D.C. He maintains his position as conductor and artistic director of the American Repertory Singers. Previously he served for 18 years as music director at Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He can be reached at <nestor@cua.edu>.

76
Craig Stern PharmD, MBA ’93 qualified as a fellow of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. ASCP Fellowship is bestowed on pharmacists who meet the highest standards in senior care pharmacy and have demonstrated an extraordinary level of service and dedication in professional practice activities.

77
Wayne Saldana joined the California-based commercial real estate firm Charles Dunn Co. as senior vice president/regional manager of the commercial real estate group. Previously he served as executive vice president at Newmark & Co. in its Los Angeles office.

Ralph Winge DDS was inducted into the Watts Hall of Fame for making discoveries in the dental field and for securing patents for new technologies, as well as for his longstanding community involvement in South Central Los
Angeles.

78
Al Beaudette was named senior vice president at Lowe Enterprises, a national real estate investment, development and managerial firm based in Los Angeles.

Wendy (Donine) Dawer recently became a licensed attorney in Texas. She has been licensed in California since 1986. She now lives in Texas, is the mother of three and works part-time in a business litigation firm.

79
Susan A. Brady was appointed director of education programs at the Merck Institute for Science Education in Rahway, N.J. She is responsible for designing and implementing professional development programs for teachers and educators, as well as programs that address equity issues, increase family involvement and represent MISE in local, statewide and national initiatives.

Clifford M. Reston graduated from Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he received an AMDP in real estate development in the inaugural year of the program.

Joseph H. Unterreiner MPA ’80, president of the Kalispell, Mont., chamber of commerce, has received the William Hartwell Jr. Award, a national citation given annually for significant contributions by someone outside the workforce development system.

80
Gene Del Vecchio MBA of Valencia, Calif., released A Knight’s Code of Business, a guide for rising executives on how to achieve high moral character and competence in the corporate world.

Valerie Lynn Shaw MPA was elected president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, the city’s only full-time policy-making commission. In that capacity, she leads four fellow commissioners in serving jointly as general manager for the Department of Public Works.

81
Jacqueline D. Bowens-Jones is vice president for government and public affairs at Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Philip Holthouse MBT ’86 is managing partner at Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP, a West Los Angeles-based certified public accounting firm that he founded with fellow Trojan Jim Carlin MBT ’89. The company appeared on this year’s top-100 list of accounting firms in Public Accounting Report. He also serves as an adjunct tax lecturer at USC.

Jeanne Kelley is the author of High Paying Careers People Love: Profit from Your Passion, which presents a variety of career opportunities in the arts, finance, medicine, law, government, space, sports and more. She is a jobs and career columnist, journalist and public relations consultant based in Newport Beach, Calif. She frequently lectures on “Pursuing Your Passion and Profiting.”

Carol S. Nordahl was named executive director of the Carmel (Calif.) Public Library Foundation, which raises funds for the purchase of books and equipment to help Harrison Memorial Library maintain free library service for members of the greater Carmel community.

Tomson T. Ong MPA ’84, DPA ’92 is a superior court judge in Los Angeles County. He also received the Most Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Teaching Award for 2002 during Pepperdine University’s annual faculty dinner. He teaches business law in the university’s George L. Grazadio School of Business and Management and also teaches in the evening MBA program.

Michael Rojas and Scott Frasco ’82 are co-owners of Iron Grip Barbell Co. in Costa Mesa, Calif., the largest manufacturer of commercial free-weight equipment worldwide.

Valerie Lynne Shaw was elected president of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, the city’s only full-time policy-making commission.

Pat Wong MBA was appointed executive director of the Long Beach (Calif.) Day Nursery. Previously she served as director, workforce and training division, at the Valley Economic Development Center.

82
Laura Trejo MSG ’87, MPA ’87 was awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program Award, a national recognition honoring community health leadership. She is the director of the Los Angeles-based El Portal: The Latino Alzheimer’s Project, the first comprehensive program to serve Spanish-speaking families caring for loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

83
Patricia L. Murphy has joined RSM McGladrey’s Anaheim, Calif., office as managing director of tax services. Previously she was a member of the firm’s national tax practice.

84
Becky Nicolaides published My Blue Heaven: Life and Politics in the Working-Class Suburbs of Los Angeles, 1920-1965 in May. She is an associate professor of history and urban studies and planning at UC San Diego.

Perry Viscounty JD ’87 was recognized as an outstanding young litigator in the National Law Journal’s annual “40 Under 40” feature. He is co-chair of Latham & Watkins’ Orange County litigation department.

85
Blake E. Christian MBT is a partner at Holthouse Carlin & Van Trigt LLP, a West Los Angeles-based certified public accounting firm that appeared on this year’s top-100 list of accounting firms in Public Accounting Report.

Kelly M. Martin was elected to the board of trustees of Southwestern School of Law in Los Angeles. Previously she served as deputy mayor of the City of Los Angeles and chief of staff to then-mayor Richard Riordan.

Pablo Sanchez is the founder and CEO of High Performance Database Engineering, a consulting firm offering database services nationally. He lives in Colorado with his wife and two sons.

86
Julie Dickey joined the on-air team of WMBB-TV’s “News 13 This Morning” in Panama City, Fla., as the weather anchor.

Mike Dickey, who is Julie’s husband, is a partner in the litigation section of the Barron & Redding law firm in Panama City.

Patrick J. Ford has been named managing partner of KPMG’s Honolulu office. KPMG LLP is a global organization offering auditing, tax and advisory services.

Dale Frankhouse started a real estate development company with his wife in Corona del Mar, Calif. The couple has two children, Josef and Adam.

Matthew Ito PharmD was promoted to full professor and vice chair of the Thomas Long School of Pharmacy at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.

Elizabeth Olson has been elected president of Trojan Junior Auxiliary. She is currently manager of the National Education Center at OAOHS, a health insurance software vendor located in Woodland Hills, Calif.

87
Glenn Cote MFA ’90 works as a production coordinator on “Star Trek: Nemesis.”

88
Karl Brier was appointed vice president of global accounts at Transamerica Distribution Finance. He heads the IT financial solutions group in the southwest.

David Garcia MS was named vice president of sales for the Americas at AMD, a global supplier of integrated circuits for personal and networked computer and communications markets. Prior to joining AMD, he was a client partner and practice head for electronic manufacturing services at Korn/ Ferry International.

Susan Herbst MA, PhD ’89 was named dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia. She assumes her position in June 2003. Currently she is associate dean for faculty affairs of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University.

Donald B. Hoffman MS recently retired after 25 years of service in the U.S. Navy. He served on the staff of the deputy chief of naval operations for fleet readiness and logistics in Washington, D.C. He was the recipient of several campaign ribbons and medals during his career, including the Legion of Merit, two Defense Meritorious Service Medals and the Meritorious Service Medal.

Jim Martois PhD was recently appointed dean of workforce development at Long Beach (Calif.) City College.

89
Wendell Chun EdD, superintendent of the Oakdale Joint Unified School District, received an Administrator of the Year Award from the California Science Education Advisory Committee. The award recognizes the importance of administrative support for systemic reform in science education. He was honored at the annual State Convention of the California Science Teachers Association in October 2002 in San Francisco.

90
Thomas Garrett is president and CEO of Garrett & Associates, a privately held consulting firm that was honored as one of Inc. magazine’s 500 fastest-growing, privately held companies in 2000. He lives in Ripon, Calif., with wife Michele.

Eril Melchiorre is a professor of geology at Cal State San Bernardino. He recently published Rich Hill, the Story of Arizona’s Most Amazing Gold District, a guidebook for tourists exploring the histories of ghost towns, mine sites and graveyards in Arizona.

Mark S. Meskin PhD has been promoted to full professor of human nutrition and food science at Cal Poly Pomona. He was also named Advisor of the Year in the College of Agriculture there. In March 2002, he co-edited his third book, titled Phytochemicals in Nutrition and Health.

Priscilla Porter EdD is co-author of American Heroes of World War II, recently published by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. The book is a standards-based curriculum guide with activities designed for elementary, middle school and high school students.

Lee Straus was promoted to vice president, business affairs, at NBC Studios in Burbank, Calif. Previously he served as director of business affairs.

91
Thomas A. Long, a recently promoted lieutenant commander, finished his tour as a T-34C instructor pilot in Pensacola, Fla., training Navy and Air Force navigators. He is currently flying the C-130T Hercules with Fleet Logistics Support Squadron Five Three in Washington, D.C. He also completed a 30-day detachment to Sigonella, Italy, flying missions in the Mediterranean.

Larry Vincent MBA ’98 recently published Legendary Brands: Unleashing the Power of Storytelling to Create a Winning Marketing Strategy, a book on marketing and consumer branding. He resides in Pasadena, Calif.

92
Ravi Chatwani MS ’94 is the president and CEO of the Los Angeles-based Prosum Inc., a professional services firm providing information technology solutions. The company was recently ranked 163rd on the 2002 Inc. magazine’s 500 list of fastest-growing companies.

Michael J. Donovan III was elected the 78th president of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is also president of the Trojan Coaches Club. He works at RWR Homes Inc. in Van Nuys, handling land acquisitions.

Todd Shinohara PharmD was promoted to manager of marketing services at Merck & Co. Inc., based in West Pont, Penn.

93
J. Andrew Douglas JD became an associate at Richardson & Harmon LLP, a Pasadena, Calif.-based law firm that specializes in major litigation and business, real estate and construction law.

Joseph W. Koletar DPA of Glen Rock, N.J., published Fraud Exposed: What You Don’t Know Could Cost Your Company Millions. The book argues that traditional methods of dealing with occupational fraud are inadequate and suggests how an organization must change to deal effectively with the problem.

94
Stuart Bernstein was appointed community banking district manager for east San Diego at Wells Fargo & Co.

Brian Cruver of Houston, Texas, wrote Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth from an Enron Insider, which chronicles the collapse of Enron Corp. through the eyes of an employee. The book has been optioned by CBS.

Maria G. Ott PhD was appointed senior deputy superintendent of educational services for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Previously she was superintendent for the Little Lake City School District in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., and an administrator for the LAUSD.

95
Robert Kurkjian MA ’00 was recently named senior project manager for the Civilian Research and Development Foundation in Arlington, Va. Previously he worked in the assurance and business advisory services group of Pricewaterhouse Coopers and, prior to that, for former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. He lives in Washington, D.C., and serves on the USC Nation’s Capital Club executive board.

Jeffrey S. Nast joined the Environmental Protection Agency as assistant regional counsel in Philadelphia. He is in the waste and chemical law division. Previously he spent two years in a clerkship with U.S. District Court judge Richard P. Conaboy in Scranton, Penn.

Tyler A. Vachon, a navy reserve ensign, recently reported for duty at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

96
Trevor Fernandez started the full-time MBA program at Columbia University in New York last fall. Prior to returning to grad school, he spent two years working for the Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, Calif., and four years at the Los Angeles office of Ernst & Young LLP.

Kent Keith EdD was featured in the December 2002 issue of The Writer, discussing his writing career and his book, Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments.

Markos Kounalakis GCRT is president and publisher of The Washington Monthly.

Joe Niesen PhD was selected as an associate technical fellow at Boeing Corp., based in Orange County.

Jennifer Rubhardt is president-elect of the Trojan Junior Auxiliary. In addition to her involvement with TJA, she is an advisor for Kappa Alpha Theta Omicron chapter at USC. She started the Los Angeles-based Precision Planning and Events in 1998; the company offers special event and conference/meeting support to corporate, nonprofit and private accounts.

Rebecca Shore EdD of Winston Salem, N.C., has produced two sets of educational CDs, the “Bach & Baby” series and the “Bach & Kids” series. Both highlight the importance of developmental neural network stimulation in young children. She also recently published Baby Teacher: Nurturing Neural Networks from Birth to Age Five.

97
Lorena C. Banuelos is in the second year of studies towards her Ph.D. in education, with an emphasis in cultural perspectives, at UC Santa Barbara.

Rebecca Lynn Wilke EdD published The First Days of Class: A Practical Guide for the Beginning Teacher. She is the president of LEADon Inc. (www.leadon.biz), a leadership development corporation, and is also an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego.

98
Jennifer Malloy is the co-owner of Achy Breaky Toys, based in West Hollywood, Calif. The company produces a line of toys called the Mullet Heads.

99
Kim Hayashi won the Miss Orange County Japanese American title in July 2002, qualifying her to compete in the Nisei Week pageant, held in Los Angeles one month later.

Alexis Sheehy EdD was appointed assistant superintendent for instructional services in the Burbank (Calif.) Unified School District. In her new position, she oversees the work of secondary principals and district level coordinators and directors. She joined the Burbank school system as director of secondary education in 2001, having previously served as principal of West High School in Torrance, Calif.

00
Susana Smith Bautista MA was sworn in as arts commissioner for the City of Pasadena, Calif., in October 2002. She is currently executive director of the Mexican Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, a nonprofit cultural and arts organization.

Erin E. Flannery MFA wrote, produced and directed the documentary Judy’s Time, which won in the short category for nonfiction films at the 18th Annual International Documentary Association Distinguished Documentary Achievement Awards Gala Benefit, held in Hollywood in December 2002.

Lisette Gavina has been elected vice president of programs of Trojan Junior Auxiliary. She currently works for her family’s specialty coffee roasting business, F. Gavina and Sons Inc., located in Vernon, Calif.

01
Jeff Wadlow MFA of Philadelphia, Penn., won a $1 million feature film production deal at the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival, held in Toronto, Canada, in September. He wrote and directed his winning film, Living the Lie, which is a modern-day retelling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

02
Dennis La recently received his commission as a naval officer after completing Officer Candidate School at Naval Aviation Schools Command, Naval Air Station, in Pensacola, Fla.

Rachel Madsen MEd, former basketball coach at Caltech in Pasadena, has joined the staff at Roger Williams University in Bristol, R.I., as the women’s basketball coach and senior administrator.

Sian Leong is a curatorial assistant at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, Calif.