Class Notes
1940s
Bob Wills (1946) retired from architecture firm Bernardo|Wills Architects PC.
1950s
Elvin C. Bell (1959), author and former Fresno councilmember, donated a dozen of his books to Central Unified School District.
Robert Brigham (1951) was featured in a Bloomberg opinion piece on reparations in regard to the graduate thesis he wrote in 1956.
David Krehbiel (1957) wrote a memoir titled “Through the Door: A Horn-Player’s Journey,” which was nominated for the Writer’s Digest Self-Publishing Book Awards in the categories of memoir, nonfiction and electronic book.
1960s
Tim Vaux (1968) was honored in an article by Produce Business for his work with the DuPont Company and the United Fresh Produce Association’s Industry Leadership Program.
Keith Woods (1968), CEO of North Coast Builders Exchange, will retire in December.
1970s
Susan Abundis (1976) is now director for Bank of the Sierra.
Marie Baker (1977) is now director for Southwestern Idaho of the Idaho Small Business Development Center.
Carol Chandler (1972) received the Western Growers 2021 Award of Honor.
Carolyn (Clark) Loder (1977) was appointed to the board of Integra Resources and K2 Gold Corp, mineral exploration companies based in California and Idaho. She is past president of the California Mining Association and was a Top Dog Alumni Awards recipient.
Judy Lund-Bell (1972) co-authored the book “Flying with a Dragon on Our Tail” with her husband Jim Bell about their adventure of flying a single-engine Cessna from Paris to Beijing and back in a historic 1987 air race.
Tom Taggart (1979) retired after 34-year career in financial services in leadership roles with Charles Schwab, Barclays, Union Bank and Franklin Templeton. He is a volunteer and musician.
1980s
Frank P. Barajas (1988, ’91) authored his second book, “Mexican Americans with Moxie: A Transgenerational History of the El Movimiento Chicano in Ventura County, California, 1945-1976.”
Rogelio Fernandez (1983) is now medical director for the Kaweah Health Tulare Clinic.
Mindy Hamlin (1986) is now vice president of engineering for Crown Electrokinetics.
Robert A. Jensen (1988) is a crisis management expert and chairman of Kenyon International Emergency Services.
Daniel Silva (1983) appeared on the TODAY show, discussing how the Jan. 6 riot influenced his latest book, “The Cellist.”
1990s
Barry Belli (1991), a former kicker for the Bulldogs football team, is CEO and co-founder of Atlas Vineyard Management.
Julia Dudley Najieb (1995) was awarded 2020 Producer of the Year from Central Valley-based public access TV station CMAC for her endeavors in reporting regional ethnic news.
Yami Rodriguez (1998) was appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees and has been both a national trainer and consultant for the Youth Leadership Institute since 2020.
Douglas C. Verissimo (1995) will be assigned as director, Assessment Division, N81, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington, D.C.
Moses Diaz (1999), was appointed by the City Council as the City Attorney of the City of Corcoran.
2000s
Jamila Dugan (2008) authored a book, “Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation.”
Cindy Gray (2003) is a water treatment specialist for the National Guard and a California Highway Patrol officer.
Brenna Hughes (2006) founded a private speech-language pathology practice, Central Cal Speech.
Joe Larranaga (2007) is the owner of Larranaga Vineyard.
Mark Sánchez (2004,’10) is the superintendent and president of Southwestern College.
Mike Sholiton (2001) is now the director of college scouting for the Minnesota Vikings.
Singleton Thibodeaux-Yost (2009) works for the University of Arizona as an operations engineer for the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Stephen Trembley (2008, ‘11) is now director of strategic communications for Fresno State athletics. He has worked in the department for 14 years.
Stacy Wise (2000) is now director and chair of the Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing at Campbell University.
Anthony Witrado (2005) is now public relations lead for diversity/inclusion and membership at PGA of America.
2010s
Joe Bernardi (2010), a former Bulldogs offensive lineman, is now athletics director for Immanuel Schools.
Lauren Billys (2013) competed in equestrian at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Camille MacDermott (2017) graduated from Western University in 2021 and has started a rotating internship at Equine Sports Medicine & Surgery in Weatherford, Texas.
Garrett McIntyre (2010), the former WAC Defensive Player of the Year as a defensive lineman for the Bulldogs who went on to play for the New York Jets, is co-founder of the commercial real estate company, RIZE Equity Group.
Fidel Moreno Meza (2021) is now a morning reporter for CBS 4, based in El Paso, Texas.
Audrey K. Monke (2015) published her book, “Happy Campers: 9 Summer Camp Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults.”
Andrew Rich (2015) is now the head softball coach for Idaho State. He previously served as an assistant coach for Boise State.
Mikey Stallings (2013) is now an advocate supervisor with CASA.
Kacie Thomas (2010) is now vice president for media strategy at Hotwire, a website that offers unsold travel inventory at discounted prices.
Timothy VanderPloeg (2016) is now working in the launch services program for NASA at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc.
Jacob Vazquez (2018), a former Bulldogs offensive lineman who teaches agricultural business, was voted 2020-21 Butte College Teacher of the Year.
Shaela Warkentin (2018) appeared on “Say Yes to the Dress.”
Bulldog Born, Bulldog Wed
(A) Anthony Chacon (2009) and Arianne Chacon welcomed their daughter, Arizeia, on March 11.
(B) Chris Gonzales (2008) married Nick Hanneman on Aug. 28 in Lynchburg, Virginia.
(C) Jaime A. Moncayo (2012, ‘12) married Beth Edelblute on Sept. 18 in Brooklyn, NY.
(D) Staci (Miller) Rich (2014) married Andrew Rich (2015) on Dec. 19 in Sanger.
(E) Lyndsey (Besser) Roach (2008) and Jeff Roach welcomed their second child, Brooks Russell, on Aug. 20.
