Class Notes

1960s

Jerry Shinkle (1962), a Central District School Board member in Dallas, OR, was quoted on vocational learning in a story in the Polk County Itemizer-Observer.

1970s

Kurt Madden (1976) is now CEO of Career Nexus, a local nonprofit focused on moving students into careers through internships and other work-based experience. He is the past president of the Fresno State Alumni Association board of directors.

Mary T. McFadden (1978) is now chief nursing officer at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID.

Paul Munter (1974, ’75) is now serving as acting chief accountant for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Susan O’Dwyer (1979), retired in March 2020 after 13 years as director of corporate citizenship and community relations for Aprio, a CPA-led business advisory firm in Atlanta.

Marilyn Shepherd (1978, ’79, ’96), a 34-year educator and administrator, is now interim superintendent for Selma Unified School District.

Gary Soto (1974) has received the Andrew Carnegie Medal and fellowships from the California Arts Council, The Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

1980s

Chris Chiames (1981), chief communications officer for Carnival Cruise Line, was featured in a podcast by New York public relations and marketing firm Lippe Taylor. He discussed how Carnival kept in touch with its customer base during the pandemic.

Ken Collum (1983) is now Carson Valley district manager for the Bureau of Land Management.

Jerry Dyer (1984) is now mayor of Fresno after serving 18 years as Fresno police chief.

David J. Eichhorn (1988), a major general in the U.S. Air Force, is commander of the Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

Mark Gilkey (1985), who spent about 30 years with the Tulare Lake Basin Water Storage District in Kings County, is now general manager of the newly formed Westside Water Authority.

Blair King (1979, ’83), who served as city manager of Coronado since 2010, is now city manager of Bainbridge Island, WA.

William McDonald (1984) is now fire chief for the Alameda County Fire Department.

Jim Schaad (1987), who spent 18 years with the City of Fresno (two as assistant city manager), is now city manager of Marysville.

1990s

Mark Borrecco (1993) is now CEO of Great Western Bancorp, based in Sioux Falls, SD. With 20 years of banking experience, he served the past five years as CEO of Rabobank North America, based in Roseville.

Tyrone Carter (1997) is now head football coach and dean of student-athlete success at Bethany College in Lindsborg, KS.

Cameron Frey (1991), vice president of winemaking at Ramey Wine Cellars in Healdsburg, produced the 2017 Sonoma Coast Syrah that won wine of the week honors from The Press Democrat.

Jennifer Greer (1991) published her first novel, a crime thriller titled “A Desperate Place,” and was a guest speaker at the Cannon Beach Public Library Northwest Authors Series in Oregon.

Nefertitti Jackmon (1994) is the first community displacement prevention officer in the City of Austin, Texas. She will develop and lead programming and outreach to prevent the displacement of vulnerable communities.

Matt Lee (1998) is now chef at Quail State, a downtown Fresno restaurant celebrating the flavors and cultures of the San Joaquin Valley and featuring Fresno’s first rooftop bar on the second floor of the Pacific Southwest Building.

Robin McGehee (1998), an activist and communications professor at College of the Sequoias, was one of six alumni from 23 California State University campuses selected for the online project “How I Got Here.” She received the Top Dog Alumna Award from the Fresno State Alumni Association in 2016 on behalf of the Division of Research and Graduate Studies. McGehee is also featured in the “Made in the
CSU” series.

Michele Meisch (1997), client services director for JP Marketing in Fresno, launched the Rebuild Our Sierra fundraising campaign, backed by the Shaver Lake Visitors Bureau, to assist communities and families affected by the Creek Fire.

Safiya Noble (1995), who earned the Top Dog Distinguished Alumna Award in 2018, is collaborating with the Archewell Foundation, a nonprofit established by Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, to establish a fund for the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry research center, which champions racial and economic justice in the tech sector.

Soma Norodom (1993), a Cambodian princess who moved to the U.S. at age 5, was featured on ABC in the Bay Area. She spoke about walking away from her life as a royal, before returning to Cambodia in 2010 to fulfill her father’s wish and claim her birthright as princess.

Jane Olvera (1990), the founder and president of JP Marketing, is now a board member for CVB Financial Corp., the holding company for Central Valley Business Bank.

Char Perlas (1997), is now acting president of College of the Siskiyous in Weed. She was previously the vice president for academic affairs.

Tim Rios (1993), a senior vice president who has been with Wells Fargo for over 23 years, transitioned to a new role as rural strategy leader.

Marc Schneider (1992), is now chief of the Santa Maria Police Department, where he has served since 1995.

Kathleen Scott (1995) is now vice president for leadership development and partnerships for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities in Washington, D.C. She previously served as director of organizational excellence and administrative operations at Fresno State.

2000s

Clayton Allison (2009), a pitcher who helped the Bulldogs win the 2008 College World Series, is now with the Fresno Fire Department.

Julianne Averill (2007, ‘09), is now chief financial officer for Alveo Technologies, a health tech company.

Anthony Cody (2004, ’20) was one of five finalists for the National Book Award for Poetry for his book “Borderland Apocrypha.”

Paige Diggs (2008), a former basketball standout for the Bulldogs, joined the West Virginia football program as director of its 5th Quarter program, which positions student-athletes for off-the-field success in life beyond graduation.

Derek Elrod (2008), a certified financial planner and partner at Bridgewealth Advisory Group, was featured in a segment about 401(k) investments on KMPH Fox 26.

Elisha Henderson (2002) received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Things that Matter Award from the Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce.

Sherrie Holzer (2006) is now a wine chemist sensory specialist at the Paso Robles-based Baker Wine & Grape Analysis.

Lawrence F. Lihosit (2003), former teacher and urban planner, announced the release of his 16th book, titled “Neighbors: Oral History from Madera, California, Volume 2.” Like Volume 1, this book includes interviews with a diverse group of Maderans who describe their lives. Local newspaper publisher Chuck Doud called it “the best of its kind in print.”

Ben Maddox (2002) is now western food, agriculture and wine executive for Bank of America.

Scott Miller (2005) was named interim CEO of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce. He is also the CEO of Gazebo Gardens, Inc., Miller-Clark Landscape & Nursery Co. and a partner to several local businesses. Miller serves on the board of directors for the Fresno State Alumni Association.

Angie Nguyen, (1996, ’02) was named interim CEO of the Housing Authorities of the City and County of Fresno. She was previously the chief program officer.

Bear Pascoe (2008), a former Bulldogs tight end who played seven seasons in the NFL, is now a rancher in Morro Bay who competes in professional rodeo.

Jeff Pisoni (2002), winemaker for Pisoni Estate and Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery, was featured in a story on his family of winemakers in PaperCity Magazine.

Mark Sanchez (2004) is now superintendent/president of Southwestern College in Chula Vista.

Randy Duran, Ryan Munoz (2010) and Ryan Thissen (2008) launched a golf tips, analysis and entertainment podcast, “Sandy Pars.”

Lindsey Wander (2004), owner of WorldWise Tutoring in Chicago, was interviewed as a part of this series called “How I Was Able To Pivot To A New Exciting Opportunity Because Of The Pandemic.”

2010s

Jonathan Cadiente (2013) is now a nurse practitioner at Adventist Health Physicians Network Hanford.

Guy Debbas and Max Debbas (2010) have launched a national line of chocolate called A’cappella Chocolate.

Ervin Hernandez (2010), is now head football coach at Sweetwater High School in National City.

Katelyn Jones (2010), a pest control adviser and certified crop adviser, is now a technical sales manager for OHP.

James D. Martinez (2010) is now a trustee for the Fresno County Board of Education.

Christopher McComb (2012), assistant professor of engineering design at the Penn State School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs, received the James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Professorship.

Elisa Navarro (2018) is now a multimedia journalist for ABC 30 in Fresno.

Lucca Petrucci (2011) celebrated the second anniversary of his inspirational podcast about life’s journey, “Living In Your Passion Place.” To date, he has done 28 podcasts with listeners from 47 countries and over 12,000 downloads.

Shawn Plummer (2011), a former standout linebacker for the Bulldogs’ football team, is now a detective for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. He spent three weeks on the search and rescue team helping to evacuate people during the Creek Fire.

Wilma Quan (2013) is now Fowler’s city manager. She previously served as Fresno’s city manager.

Karmjot Grewal Randhawa (2005-2009; 2009-2011) joined UC ANR in September 2019 as the UC Cooperative Extension director for Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare counties. As County Director, Karmjot Randhawa is responsible for the coordination and overall operations of Cooperative Extension programs in these Central Valley counties.

Erica Stancliff (2010) is the head winemaker at Pfendler Vineyards.

Tian Tian (2015) is now a viticulture adviser in Kern County.

Mark Torres (2008, ’11) is now senior director and head of West coast operations for DSPolitical in San Francisco. He is enrolled in the executive program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice.

Kali (Conlon) Weaver (2017), a former standout on the swim and dive team, had her photographs of the firefall (featured image above) at Yosemite National Park featured on CNN.

Blake Zante (2018) is now press secretary for California State Senator Andreas Borgeas. He formerly served as ASI student-body president, and is an alumnus of the Smittcamp Family Honors College. He serves on the board of directors for the Fresno State Alumni Association.

Jennifer Zenovich (2010, ’13) is a lecturer in the Department of Communication at CSU East Bay.

The Pitch of a Lifetime

Trophy Smack on Shark Tank

Matt Walsh and his business partner, Dax Holt, made an appearance on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” Season 12 Episode 9. Walsh, an alumnus of the Craig School of Business at Fresno State, had the experience of a lifetime when his company, TrophySmack, a customizable fantasy sports trophy company, made a deal with well-known entrepreneur and investor, Mark Cuban.

“They opened the doors, no music playing like on the show, and it was surreal,” Walsh says. “Once we did our pitch and the questions started to flow in, I was in my element. All of the practice and repetition paid off. We spent 90 minutes with the sharks discussing our venture and ended up making a deal with Mark Cuban.”

Cuban agreed to a $600,000 investment for 17% equity in TrophySmack, which is based in Southern California.