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Celebrating Distinguished Alumni

2012 Alumni Awards Recipients:

College of the Arts

Robert Moses
Choreographer and Founder/Artistic Director,
Robert Moses’ Kin
1982, Associate of Arts, Dance, Orange Coast College
1999, Bachelor of Arts, Dance, CSULB

Robert Moses founded Robert Moses’ Kin (RMK) in 1995 as a way to create dances that speak to our times. Since then, RMK has premiered more than 80 works. Moses has choreographed for film, theater and opera, including the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, New Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Opera and Bare Bones (U.K.), among others. Since 2005, he has served as the Committee on Black Performing Arts artist-in-residence and artistic director at Stanford University, where he became a dance faculty member in 1995. In 1984, he began his performance career, which led to a position with the American Ballet Theatre. A highly regarded master instructor, he teaches on campuses throughout the U.S. and conducts performance workshops internationally. Moses is the five-time recipient of funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has received numerous honors for his work.

College of Business Administration

Charles W. Sewright
CEO, Quest Advisors
1969, Bachelor of Science, Accountancy, CSULB
1974, M.B.A., CSULB
1981, Certified Management Accountant

With more than 30 years of experience, Charles Sewright has used his business expertise to oversee numerous financial services companies. In 1995, he founded Quest Advisors, which provides advisory and outsourcing services for the mortgage banking industry. He was the president/CEO of three mortgage banking firms, including Avondale Funding.com, Inc. (1998-00); Anchor Mortgage Services, Inc. (1991-95); and Marine Midland Mortgage Corp. (1987-91), considered the largest U.S. wholesale mortgage bank during Sewright’s tenure. At the national level, Sewright served two four-year terms on the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Board of Governors. In the community, he has served on the Medaille College Board of Trustees in Buffalo, N.Y. Sewright has been a longtime CSULB supporter including the 49er Athletic Club, President’s Associates, President’s Board of Governors, and co-founder of CSULB’s New York Alumni Club in the early 1990s.

 

College of Education

Jana Echevarria
Author; Professor Emerita, Educational Psychology,
Administration and Counseling, CSULB
1978, Bachelor of Arts, Liberal Studies:
Spanish & English, CSULB
1984, Master of Science, Liberal Studies:
Bilingual Special Education, CSULB
1993, Ph.D., Education, University of California, Los Angeles

As a national expert, Jana Echevarria has authored and co-authored numerous books on helping teachers provide more comprehensible instruction to English learners.  Her work on the educational model, Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP), is utilized in schools nationwide and in several countries. Recently, she co-authored “California Treasures,” a K-6 reading and language arts program. She is the principal investigator for the Center for Research on the Educational Achievement and Teaching of English Language Learners.  From 1993-06, she was a tenured faculty member in CSULB’s Department of Educational Psychology, Administration and Counseling.  Echevarria has served on several boards and committees, including the National Center for Learning Disabilities, Grace Christian School and Opportunity Schools, CSULB’s 2010-11 NCAA Division I Athletics Certification Committee, and the College of Education Development Committee.

 

College of Engineering

Kent W. Peterson
Vice President and Chief Engineer, P2S Engineering, Inc.
1986, Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, CSULB

Kent Peterson’s award-winning design experience includes high-performance green buildings, energy-efficient central plants and innovative control strategies. In 1991, he and his twin brother, Kevin (‘86, B.S., electrical engineering), founded P2S Engineering, Inc.  He is an American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) past president, ASHRAE Associate Society Alliance chair, and is affiliated with multiple building and engineering related organizations. In 2011, he was appointed to the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings Advisory Committee. He is the California State University Mechanical Review Board chair and Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Green Business Council founding president. As an alumnus, he is the College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council vice-chair and Engineering Distinguished Lecture Series planning committee chair.

 

College of Health and Human Services

Samuel R. Ward
Associate Professor, Radiology, Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego
1997, Bachelor of Science, Physical Therapy, CSULB
2003, Ph.D., Biokinesiology, University of Southern California
2006, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Diego

Samuel Ward is impacting patient’s lives through treatment, teaching and research.  A leader in multiple disciplines, he has received numerous honors, including the International Society for Study of the Lumbar Spine’s 2011 Research Prize. He joined the UC San Diego faculty as a Department of Radiology in 2006. In addition, he works with the Center for Musculoskeletal Research in the Institute of Engineering in Medicine and the Clinical and Translational Research Institute. From 2003-10, he was a research biologist in the San Diego VA Medical Center’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Prior to being a scientist, he was a clinical physical therapist and taught at USC from 1998-99. As an alumnus, Ward serves as a Department of Physical Therapy guest lecturer and advisory board member, sponsors a scholarship, and funds an annual graduating student award for excellence in biomechanics.

 

College of Health and Human Services

Cynthia Mirsky
Co-Owner, Pacific Rim Capital, Inc.
1996, Bachelor of Science, Dietetics and Food Administration, CSULB

In 1990, Cindy Mirsky, her husband David, and Marc Mills created Pacific Rim Capital, Inc. (PRC), which is one of the fastest growing U.S. general equipment leasing and asset management providers. Since 2006, Mirsky has served on Mission Hospital’s Foundation board of directors, with time spent on the Strategic Planning, Executive and Stewardship Committees. In 2011, she joined the Heritage Pointe board of directors, presently serving on the Governance Committee and assuming the chairpersonship this summer. A Temple Beth El of South Orange County past president, she sits on the National Board for the Union for Reform Judaism. She also teaches reading to children through the organization, Reading Partners. She frequently consults with Department of Family and Consumer Services faculty, and refers students to the undergraduate and graduate programs.

 

College of Liberal Arts

George Gascón
District Attorney, City and County of San Francisco
1977, Bachelor of Arts, History, CSULB
1996, Juris Doctorate, Western State University, College of Law

In January 2012, George Gascón began his term as the first elected Latino district attorney of the City and County of San Francisco. Gascón has over three decades of law enforcement experience. He was hired in 2009 as San Francisco’s chief of police and, during his tenure, created the city’s first Brady Policy. Previously, he was the police chief for Mesa, Ariz. for three years. Gascón joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1978, holding various positions from officer to assistant chief. The Cuban native is a member of the Harvard University/Kennedy School of Government's Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety and an FBI's National Executive Institute graduate. Gascón also sits on the Council of State Governments' Justice Center and California Peace Officers' Memorial Foundation boards of directors.

 

College of Liberal Arts

Richard W. Bryson
President and CEO, Bryson Financial Group
1966, Bachelor of Arts, Economics, CSULB

A Long Beach native, Richard Bryson is president and CEO of the Bryson Financial Group, one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the nation. Bryson is very active in community activities, serving as past president of the Boys & Girls Club of Long Beach, Pacific Hospital Foundation, Virginia Country Club, and presently sits on the Memorial Medical Center Foundation board of directors. In recognition of his contributions, he was named the Junior Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year and the National Boys and Girls Foundation Golden Boy. He was inducted in the CSULB’s 49er Athletic Hall of Fame for football and baseball. His connections to the university remain strong, including past  49er annual fund drive chair, 49er Athletic Club president, and a member of the Athletics Director’s Circle.

 

College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

John E. Leonard
Senior Vice President, Development, Vaccinex, Inc.
1969, Bachelor of Science, Chemistry, CSULB
1973, Master of Science, Chemistry/Biochemistry, CSULB
1978, Ph.D., Biochemistry, University of California, Riverside

During his career, John Leonard helped develop 25 biologic or small molecule drugs for treating cancer or autoimmune disease. Of these drugs, Rituxan, Zevalin and Tysabri received commercial use approval. In 2009, Leonard, who holds five therapeutic antibody patents, joined Vaccinex, Inc. After the 2003 IDEC Pharmaceuticals and Biogen merger, Leonard served until 2005 as vice president and program executive leading the Tysabri development team. His community service includes membership on UC Riverside’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences board of advisors, American Association for Cancer Research, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.  In 2011, he and his wife, Elizabeth, formed the John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation to continue their philanthropic giving. In 2010, they established a scholarship in CSULB’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.  

 

Do you know a CSULB graduate who been recognized and accomplished in his/her field, has made significant contributions toward the betterment of society, and supports CSULB?

If so, nominate this person for the Distinguished Alumnus/a Award. Deadline is Oct. 22, 2012 for the 2013 awards.

For more info, please see the Guidelines and the Nomination Form for
non-employees.

Distinguished Alumni Nomination form, submitted by non-employees

Guidelines for
non-employees

 

Distinguished Alumni Nomination form and guidelines, submitted by CSULB faculty and staff only

Recipients

For a full list of past recipients of Distinguished Alumni Awards categorized by college, please click on the college banner below.

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