Fall 2010 Class Notes

sunset at USD

1960s

[1969]

GARY LANE (JD) opened Consumer Protection Legal Services, a new law firm in Santa Ana, Calif., that helps homeowners preserve ownership rights. He serves as president of the firm. Gary recently helped the Orange County judiciary arrange new procedures to handle the large number of mortgage foreclosure cases. He is an advocate for change in other areas, including proposing legislation to open up the files of the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS), an electronic database firm that holds the names of investors who have purchased mortgages from major lenders. Gary served for 16 years as a law school professor and law school dean, during which he taught legal ethics and contracts, and he has served as general counsel to a national commercial real estate firm. He would love to hear from fellow USD classmates.

1970s

[1970]

MICHAEL MAHER (BA) was recognized in “America’s Top 1,000 Advisors: State-by-State,” a list issued by Barron’s. Senior vice president of investments for the Carlsbad office of Merrill Lynch, Michael is one of only two San Diego-area financial advisors included in the ranking. He has been with Merrill Lynch for more than 30 years. Michael was the 2008 recipient of the Mother Rosalie Clifton Hill Award, presented annually to an alumnus/a who personifies the spirit and philosophy of the University of San Diego.

[1971]

ROBERT ISRAEL (BA, EdD ’95) is the president and owner of R. Daniel Israel, EdD & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in organization change, leadership development and ethics.

[1979]

MICHELE FURR (BA) moved to Washington state in 1995 to be closer to relatives. “I have one very independent daughter who is in her mid-20s and works in the bank finance field,” Michele adds.

1980s

[1981]

PAMELA HERKNER-CHASSE (BA, MEd ’83) completed a master’s degree in education and then moved to Burbank, Calif., where she began her first teaching job. In 1987, she married her husband, Lou, and moved to Thousand Oaks, Calif., where she is an elementary school principal. Pamela also earned an EdD from the University of Southern California.

STEVEN VASQUEZ (BBA) completed a half-Ironman triathlon in 2009 and he plans to do his first full Ironman triathlon in 2011. He also ran the Los Angeles Marathon in 2010.

[1982]

CONSTANCE CAMPBELL EDWARDS was married in Founders Chapel in July 1987 to Gil Edwards from Seattle. She worked in pharmaceutical and hospital sales until 1991 and today has an interior design business. Constance has three boys: a 21-year-old son and twins who are 16.

ROB NORIEGA (BA) and his wife, Lindy, are pleased to announce that their son, Andrew, joined USD’s freshman class in the fall of 2010. “Andrew is looking forward to becoming a part of the USD community,” Rob says.

JAMES SPALTRO (JD) retired on Jan. 1, 2010, after 28 years of civil litigation. He now handles mediations, giving James and his wife more time to trek in the Himalayas and take other exotic adventure trips, he says. His website is www.spaltrolaw.com.

[1986]

ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ (BA, MA ’93) has been a high school teacher for the Sweetwater Union High School District since 1987. He currently teaches government and economics at Otay Ranch High School and is active in his local teachers union as well as the California Teachers Association.

JAY THOMPSON (JD) is a partner with Freeman, Freeman & Smiley in Irvine, Calif.

[1988]

BILL PARROTT (BBA) recently ran the Austin Marathon and qualified for the 2011 Boston Marathon. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Tonya, and daughter, Hannah.

1990s

[1990]

RICHARD BARKER (EdD) is retired from teaching and is writing a book called “Haunted Dubuque,” which is scheduled to be published by Arcadia Press in August 2011.

TERESA BECK (JD) is still a partner at Lincoln, Gustafson & Cercos. She says she enjoys her work immensely and is proud to have been elected to a board position with Lawyers Club of San Diego. She is also a board member with the San Diego-Imperial Council Girl Scouts. “My kids are all teenagers or pre-teen (they are 12, 13 and 15), so they are keeping me busy!” she writes.

KRISTINE BROWN (BA) is a stay-at-home mom with four children: Maddie, 10; Ethan, 8; Abby, 6; and Alec, 4. The family lives in Roseville, Calif.

JOSEPH LASTELICK (BBA) recently opened a dojo in Dallas and began teaching his own martial arts style, which he calls Shaolin Kempo Karate Practical Fighting Method. This is the culmination of 27 years of study in the martial arts, most of which took place in San Diego. “After evaluating the style I studied in all these years, approximately 10 years ago I began retooling the system to make it more practical in street-fighting situations, where it seemed to be lacking,” he says. “This meant keeping most of the forms, replacing hand-to-hand techniques that were impractical and modifying other techniques that were good, but not good enough.”

KATHRIN MAUTINO (JD) is one of only 150 California attorneys certified as a specialist in immigration and nationality law by the State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization. She is the managing partner of Mautino and Mautino, a San Diego law firm providing immigration services to its clients, and a recognized expert in American citizenship law and priority date issues. She writes and speaks on immigration issues for such audiences as the American Immigration Lawyers Association. A native of Finland, Kathrin speaks Spanish, Swedish, Finnish and English, and she serves as honorary consul in San Diego for the government of Finland.

DAVID SILVAGGIO (BBA) and his wife, Laurie, live in Las Vegas with their 8-year-old triplets, Dominic, David and Olivia. David is working toward a master’s degree in horticulture and grounds management. He works in the horticulture department at City Center.

[1991]

RICK EYMAN (BA) is stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, flying in support of the secretary of the Navy, the chief of naval operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps. “Retiring in a year,” he adds. “Need a J-O-B!”

DAVE HOILES (BA) and his wife, Theresa, welcomed their third child and first daughter, Mia Elizabeth, on Jan. 28, 2010. Dave is a partner at Jackson Lewis, where he specializes in employment-related litigation on behalf of management.

VICKI (MORGAN) PROUTY (BAcc) and her husband, Cmdr. Marshall Prouty ’91, have been living in Japan since August 2007.

KATHRYN SPELMAN (JD) is a principal at Mount & Stoelker; she focuses her practice on business and intellectual property litigation. Kathryn also serves on the boards for Foothill Securities Inc. and Happy Hollow Foundation.

LISA CHEUNG WANG (BAcc) is the internal tax manager at East West Bank in Pasadena, Calif. She lives in Monterey Park, Calif., with her husband and their children: Jaxon, 8; Jacob, 5; Jared, 3; and baby Jenna, who turned 1 on April 16.

[1992]

BLAISE JACKSON (JD) is in private practice, representing local special districts and businesses in litigation matters. He serves as board president for the San Pasqual Union School District in Escondido. He and his wife, Theresa, recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary by renewing their wedding vows at their home parish.

SCOTT KAWALL (BA) has three daughters. His oldest daughter is a high school freshman in Illinois and finished her first season of varsity girls basketball, with softball season close behind. “Time sure flies!” he says. “The younger ones will also be playing softball with me coaching, and with my wife, Kimberly’s, help.” Scott is senior director of admissions at Westwood College.

[1993]

ERIK BASIL (JD) was elected first chairperson of the Mira Mesa Cluster Schools Council, an advisory body to the San Diego Unified School District that develops local school standards and an advocacy program. He is a lector for the Immaculata Parish on USD’s campus, crossing guard for his son’s elementary school, and cubmaster of Mira Mesa Pack 1209, which serves four elementary schools and has more than 60 boys. His firm, The Basil Law Firm, practices land use and condominium law.

JUAN CABANAS (BBA, MIB ’95) is senior vice president of investments for Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) in San Diego. Juan is a financial advisor for the international community in San Diego and Tijuana/Mexicali.

JAMES ELLIOT (MBA) is vice president of technical operations, which includes network operations and network engineering, for WildBlue Communications, now a ViaSat Inc. company. The ViaSat headquarters is in Carlsbad. WildBlue provides broadband Internet over satellites to 425,000 customers.

RICHARD MATHEWS (BA) has been with the New Mexico State Police Department for 11 years. He is currently an agent in the Investigations Bureau in Albuquerque, N.M. Richard is married with three children, ages 15, 7 and 6.

LISA (DREISBACH) SPIRO (MBA) is senior director of marketing for Monogram Biosciences, a biotechnology company in San Francisco that is developing and commercializing innovative products that advance individualized medicine.

HOWARD STILLMAN (MIB) operates auto dealerships, a finance company and insurance entities in and around the Chicago area through Car Outlet, the largest independent, privately held group of auto dealerships in the state of Illinois.

KRISTIN TILLEY (BAC) is a self-employed certified public accountant. She and her husband, Brinnon, welcomed their first child, a son named Brinnon, on Oct. 3, 2008.

[1994]

CMDR. DEBORAH BRIGADIER (MSN) retired from the U.S. Navy in 2003. She moved to upstate New York to build a home with her husband, who was born and raised there. She now works as a substitute school nurse and a volunteer paramedic. “Love retirement,” she says.

COLLEEN (MURPHY) HOBBS (BBA) joined Biosite, an Inverness Medical company, in San Diego as product director, cardiovascular marketing. She lives in La Jolla with her husband, Chris, and two children, Karynn, 8, and Connor, 6.

MARTIN KAISER (BBA, MBA ’95) is married with two children: Gabriel, 12, and Jeanne, 9 years. He is director of innovation and new services for Bouygues Telecom in Paris and a professor at IEP (Sciences Po Paris).

PAUL KLINE (JD) was a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State from 1976 to 1999, retiring as consul general. His assignments included Portugal, Guatemala, Bermuda, Mexico desk (Washington, D.C.), Guadalajara, Harvard University, Tijuana, London, Panama and Monterrey (Mexico). In 2000, Paul founded California Business Immigration, a San Diego law firm specializing in U.S. immigration and nationality law. His daughter and fellow USD School of Law graduate, Samara Kathryn Kline, is also an attorney in the firm. Another son, Joseph Nathaniel Kline, is a current USD student.

[1995]

GENEVA (JONES) ANDERSON (MSN) is a nurse practitioner at Scripps Coastal Medical Center in Oceanside.

MARGARET McDONALD (BAcc) and her husband, Steve, welcomed a son, Gavin William, on Sept. 9, 2009. Gavin joins older sisters Megan and Emily. Margaret is a special investigator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority  (FINRA) and lives in New York. Margaret and Steve have been married for more than 10 years.

SHANNON PARSON (BA, MEd ’97) works at Carmel/Del Mar Elementary School in San Diego.

CHRISTINE (BURGER) PISTEK (BA) and her husband, Peter, welcomed their daughter, Milena Lucie, into the world on June 8, 2009. Christine is a senior quality control analyst at Illumina Inc.

[1996]

TAMI (DAHL) DECKER (BBA) married Mark Decker in Golden Valley, Minn., on Sept. 25, 2009. The couple lives in Madison, Wis. Tami enjoys representing a fashion designer for women’s clothing.

CMDR. MATTHEW DOLAN (JD) is a captain in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General Corps and senior legal advisor at the United States Naval Academy. He is married to Karin Dinan Dolan ’91; they have three beautiful children, ages 14,
12 and 10.

BRIDGET (GORMAN) YOUNG (JD) opened the San Diego branch of Samuelsen, Gonzalez, Valenzuela and Brown in 2007. In 2009, the firm moved to a larger location and Bridget continues to serve as managing attorney. “I spend my free time with my family – husband, Wayne, and kids: Jonah, 9; Alec, 7; and Emily Grace, 4,” she says. “We can usually be found at the soccer and baseball fields in La Jolla!”

[1997]

KENNETH CHAPMAN (BBA) received an MBA in international marketing from California State University, San Marcos, in June 2001. He oversees the spirits division for Stansfield Scott, which manages and develops wine, spirits and health supplements in 33 countries and the Caribbean. Kenneth is in charge of 17 markets and 35 distributors, and he travels 22 weeks a year outside of the United States. In their off-time, Kenneth and his fiancé, Kelly, work with Florida Big Dog Rescue.

ERIC GARFIELD (MBA) and his wife, Robin, live in Redondo Beach, Calif., with their daughters — Kylee, 2, and Morgan, born on Jan. 25, 2010 — and their dog. He is the practice leader for real estate valuation at Wealth and Tax Advisory Services (WTAS), a national tax consulting firm with 14 offices and more than 500 employees.

GEORGE KUNEY (MBA) is a W.P. Toms Distinguished Professor of Law and the director of the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Blaine is the controller for Pilot Power Group and Brenda is the accounting supervisor at ResMed Corp. The family lives in Rancho Bernardo.

MATTHEW BALLARD STRAUHAL (BA, BBA ’98) and his wife, Natalie, welcomed their first son, Desmond Fiel, into the world on Nov. 22, 2009. He weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 21 inches long.

[1999]

TANYA CABLAYAN (BA) was a social worker in a convalescent center after graduation and later earned a license from the state of California as a nursing home administrator. Since 2002, she has been the administrator of the Bradley Court Conval-escent Center, a 56-bed skilled nursing facility that cares for residents with multiple acuity levels, including Alzheimer’s. Tanya is married with two children; the family lives in Escondido.

MATTHEW DENTE (BA, BBA ’99) married Nicole Harris on March 21, 2009. Matthew graduated from Boston College Law School in May 2002. In January 2010 he became a shareholder with Littler Mendelson, the world’s largest law firm specializing in representing management in labor and employment matters. Matthew’s practice focus is wage and hour class/collective actions.

JANNA (SIMONE) DOWNING (BA) is a high school special education teacher. She is married and has two children: Colton, 4, and Beckett, 4 months. The family lives in Scituate, Mass.

JAIME (KRUPNICK) GEFFEN (BA) and her husband, Jason, celebrated the birth of a beautiful baby boy, Cole Robert, on Jan. 3, 2010.

DONOVAN GERMAN (BA) married his longtime girlfriend, Lisa, in 2001 and they now have two children: Merrick, 4, and Charlotte, 1. Donovan and Lisa both received their PhD degrees in biology from the University of Florida in 2008. Donovan is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Irvine, in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The family lives in Laguna Nigel, Calif.

TRAMY HUYNH (BA) is in graduate school at Seton Hall University, pursuing a master’s degree in public administration.

CYNTHIA HARF KAIDEN (LLMT) is pleased to announce her move to associate at Ashworth, Blanchet, Christenson and Kalemkiarian. Cynthia will continue to provide family law services as she has been doing for 16 years.

KEVIN McPHEE (JD, MBA ’00) and Seda Evis McPhee ’00 welcomed their baby daughter, Alara, in September 2009. Alara joins big brother Kaya, born in 2005.

BRIAN ROSARIO (BBA) finished his third season as the assistant women’s basketball coach at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He also coached for two years at Cornell University in New York, four at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky, and a year at McNeese State Univesity in Louisiana. “I love my job and the players I’ve coached along the way,” he says. “I believe it’s my opportunity and responsibility to prepare our kids for the next stage/level of their lives. It’s surreal to coach against our alma mater, but it’s always special to go down there and be able to see what new things are happening.”

MELISSA JOVAN SIMMONS (BA) is the lead teacher at Mira Costa College’s child development center in northern San Diego County. She is also a private tutor for ages pre-K through adult. Melissa has a 7-year-old son, Isaiah, and 3-year-old twins, Dominic and Cassandra. She has an AA degree in child development and plans to earn a BA in education as well as a teaching credential.

2000s

[2000]

MOLLY (FOSTER) BORG (BA) and her husband, Sean, were married on June 27, 2009. They have known each other for 12 years and live in St. Louis Park, Minn. Molly teaches kindergarten and Sean works for Oracle Corp. Molly is working toward a master’s degree in education and Sean is working on his MBA.

GARRETT PATRICIO (BA) and his wife, Ashley (Vodra) Patricio ’00, announce the birth of their second daughter, Peyton, on March 20, 2009. Garrett is the vice president of operations and general counsel for Westside Produce, a grower, packer and shipper of cantaloupe and honeydew melons in California and Arizona.

[2001]

MOLLIE JONES (BA) married Miles Robertson on Sept. 17, 2010 at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina in San Diego. The couple has been together for seven years. Mollie’s maid of honor was fellow alumna Samantha (DeVore) Dunbar. Other alumni in attendance included Katherine (Hill) Rehder, Renee (Duma) Vigo and Jason Dunbar.

MARC RAMME (JD) became the national government affairs manager for McKinstry, a leader in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout the United States.

[2002]

OLGA ALVAREZ (JD) was named one of the Top Young Attorneys for 2009 by The San Diego Daily Transcript. She is an attorney with the Achtel Law Firm in San Diego, where she focuses her practice on estate planning, elder law advocacy, probate and trust litigation. Olga is married and the mother of twins.

MALTE FARNAES (JD) owns the Law Office of Malte L.L. Farnaes in Solana Beach and he is of counsel to the law firm of Grant & Morasse. Malte specializes in civil litigation matters involving intellectual property, employment and construction. He and his wife, Erin, have two children.

DORON OHEL (JD) and his wife, Jaclyn, welcomed their first daughter, Avani Ya’arit, on Jan. 23, 2010.

[2003]

PABLO MALDONADO (BA) was recently named director of database management, annual giving and online giving, for the California Province of the Society of Jesus in Los Gatos, Calif. His duties include helping the advancement staff to build the annual giving program, streamlining the online giving program and initiating the organization’s entry into online social networking. With 10 years of experience in the fundraising field in San Diego, Pablo has worked with the Boys and Girls Club of San Marcos, the University of San Diego, Life Perspec-tive and Unity World Headquarters. An active member of The Immaculata parish when he was in San Diego, Pablo was the coordinator of adult faith sacramental formation for two years.

KRISTIN (QUARTUCCIO) SCHOPAC (BA) moved back to the East Coast in 2006, where she met her husband, Jonathan. Kristin received her master’s degree in counseling from Providence College in May 2009.

RYAN STACK (BA, JD ’06) and his wife, Heather (Barnes) Stack ’04, welcomed a daughter, Lydia Joan, into the world on Feb. 7, 2010. Lydia was born weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces, and was just over 20 inches long. “What a blessing she is!” Ryan says.

JENN UHEN (BA) moved to Piura, Peru, in January 2010, to work with her uncle, a Catholic priest, at his nonprofit, which serves 35,000 poor people. The St. Joseph Peruvian Mission Fund offers spiritual, psychological, medical, social and legal aid, while Santisimo Sacramento delivers food packages to adopted Peruvian families. There is also a hospice, drug rehab center, women’s shelter and clinic. “Piura is a special place for me,” Jenn says. “The ability to make a difference in someone’s life with something as little as their first new set of school supplies or a bag of rice, puts everything in perspective. We invite everyone to come help us in the work. Come help share food, build a house, distribute clothes and visit the poor.”

[2004]

ALMA (BONILLA) BEHAR (BA) married Benito Behar ’03 in November 2004 and they have a beautiful son, Andres, who is nearly 3. After graduation, Alma worked in mental health research through projects involving children with behavioral problems and adults with schizophrenia. In her research, she used her bilingual (Spanish/English) skills, and she has been working as a freelance translator since 2007 in the fields of law, communication, business and software localization. She plans to begin graduate studies in English and comparative literature in the fall of 2010.

JILLIAN MATHIAS (BA) married Kevin Kyde on Aug. 29, 2009, in a beautiful ceremony in Covington, Ky. The couple met at the Kentucky Derby and now live in Jillian’s hometown of Las Vegas. Jillian is a corporate event planner for Masterplan Inc. She travels around the world planning incentives and meetings in addition to heading operations in the firm’s new Las Vegas office. Jillian and Kevin enjoy being close to San Diego and coming back to USD for homecoming weekend festivities.

KIMBERLY NAMEK (BA) married fellow USD alum Eric Namek ’02 on June 18, 2005. “We added a baby girl to our family on Sept. 10, 2009,” she writes.

[2005]

JONATHAN NOWLING (BBA) founded Rock Hill Lavender at The Fountains in Roseville, Calif., in October 2009. The company features lavender products handmade in California. To get the business started, Jonathan worked with Timothy Payne, his O-team leader at USD. “Timothy worked for Wells Fargo and spent a lot of time working with me to get the funding I needed to open a startup business in today’s economy,” Jonathan says. “Rock Hill Lavender has been in operation for four successful months and I now employ another fellow alumna and hope to work with other alumni in the near future.”

 

[IN MEMORIAM]

ANNACHERI DIRKS (’89 BA) died on Jan. 24, 2010.

ANITA FIGUEREDO, USD trustee emeritus, died peacefully on Feb. 19, 2010 in her La Jolla home. She was surrounded by her loving children and family. Anita served on USD’s Board of Trustees from the university’s inception in 1949 until her resignation in 2002. She was one of the first two women residents at Memorial/Sloan Kettering in New York, and the first female surgeon in San Diego County. Anita worked as a surgical oncologist until 1975 and retired from medical practice in 2000. A pioneer in philanthropic endeavors, Anita was described as “San Diego’s most decorated woman” in recognition of her many honors, which included the Papal Medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice. She was a founding member of the San Diego Sacred Heart Alumnae/i Association and the founder and president of the Friends of the Poor Inc. A longtime friend of Mother Teresa, Anita was instrumental in bringing her to Tijuana and San Diego.

GAIL GIULIANI (’87 BA) passed away on Dec. 27, 2009, in Boulder, Colo., where she lived with her husband, Jeff Zadow, and their children, Ellie and Hayden.

CONNIE HANSEN (’94 PhD) passed away on Oct. 27, 2009, in Lakewood, Wash., at age 68. After earning her doctorate in nursing, she became a certified nurse midwife and delivered more than 500 babies in addition to teaching in Montana, Nevada and Washington. She took great joy in her family, which included her husband, Jim, their three children and three grandchildren.

DONALD P. SHILEY passed away on July 31 after a prolonged illness. Shiley, beloved husband of USD Trustee Darlene Marcos Shiley and great friend and benefactor to the university, leaves a transformational legacy evident throughout our campus: in great buildings like the Donald P. Shiley Center for Science and Technology, the Shiley Theatre and Shiley Tower in Mother Rosalie Hill Hall; in generous, sustaining scholarship support of students; and in extraordinary leadership and encouragement of USD’s faculty and students.

KAYE WOLTMAN passed away peacefully on Aug. 27 after a courageous battle with cancer. The University of San Diego trustee was an ardent supporter of many civic causes, healthcare and education. She was a generous benefactor for a host of academic programs and scholarships ranging from endowed professorships in the Schools of Business Administration and Law to foundational funding for the Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN). Woltman is survived by her beloved husband, USD Trustee Emeritus Richard Woltman. She leaves behind an indelible legacy of altruism, grace and compassion.

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