In Touch

1980

City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif., named John Ohanesian (1980, M.P.A.) to its national board of directors in December. Ohanesian is president and CEO of Bosley, a nationwide medical hair restoration practice.

James Kocher (1981, B.A., communication theory) is co-founder of Backyard X-Scapes Inc. in San Diego that distributes tropical-themed garden materials such as fountains, artificial rocks and bamboo fencing to home supply stores.

In addition to being a graphic designer in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Dan LaVigne (1981, B.F.A., illustration; 1992, M.F.A.) has his own painting studio in Oxnard. He exhibits in area art shows and galleries.

Ralph Opacic (1981, B.M., choral/vocal music) is founder, executive director and president of the Orange County High School of the Arts in Santa Ana and also is president of the West Coast School of the Arts and the Pacific Coast Dance Fest.

The Orange County School Nurses Organization named Sharon J. Tipple (1981, M.A., nursing) as Orange County School Nurse of the Year in January. She is a nurse with the Orange Unified School District.

Brian J. Stone (1982, B.S., business administration–finance) is president of Loan Success Brokerage Co. in Folsom, Calif.

Laguna Beach High School hired Robert Billinger (1983, B.S., business administration– marketing) as assistant principal. He has been a teacher for 13 years and also has extensive experience in high school baseball and football coaching and officiating.

Richard Kleinman (1983, B.S., nursing) is a staff nurse at Catalina Island Medical Center and at the Hyperbaric Unit at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. In October, he completed the eight-day Amgen California Coast Classic Bicycle Tour from San Francisco to Los Angeles in support of the Arthritis Foundation.

1985

The Downey City Council promoted Capt. Roy Campos (1985, B.S., criminal justice; 1989, M.P.A.) to police chief in September. He is a 26-year veteran of the Downey Police Department.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland named Lisa McCoy (1985, B.A., journalism) as its new head men’s and women’s tennis coach. She has 12 years of athletic administration experience at campuses in Southern California and Michigan.

Tracy Stanhoff (1985, B.A., journalism) is interim tribal chair of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Tribal Council in Kansas. The owner of Ad Pro, a Huntington Beach, Calif. advertising and graphic design firm, she also is president of the American Indian National Chamber of Commerce and the American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California.

Veteran trial lawyer Tory Erickson (1986, B.A., geography) joined the law firm of Rice & Renshaw in Torrance, Calif., where he specializes in cases involving elder abuse and contested wills, trusts and conservatorships.

Karlos Steele (1986, B.S., industrial technology) and his wife, Cynthia, created Eleets Designs in Corpus Christi, Texas, that provides printing and accessories for special events.

Sharon Allicotti (1987, M.F.A.) developed and chairs the new M.F.A. program in painting at Laguna College of Art and Design in Laguna Beach, Calif. She has exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.

Joe Bento (1987, B.S., business administration–finance) is president of EGL Inc., a $3 billion global transportation and logistics company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company services regional, national and multi-national clients including Nike, Dell, Target and Cisco.

Ruby (Johnson) Obey (1987, B.A., sociology) now is a part-time schoolteacher near Houston, Texas. She previously taught in California public schools and community colleges, focusing on criminal justice.

The city of Corona promoted Scott Whyte (1987, B.A., geography) from interim to permanent director of its Redevelopment and Economic Development Agency. He previously worked for the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission.

Brian Zoldessy (1987, M.F.A.) is director of theatre arts at Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus in Highland Hills, Ohio. He was among recipients of the college’s inaugural Dean’s Award of Excellence in 2005.

Debbie (Ruiz) Barter (1988, B.A., English) is manager of Prevent Child Abuse Nevada and received the Best of the Best Award in October from the BEST Coalition for contributions to the field of violence prevention in Southern Nevada.

Imperial Valley College presented music instructor Van Decker (1988, B.F.A., music composition; 1990, M.M.) with the 2005 Rafael Santos Outstanding Professor Award for teaching excellence.

Rachel (Heller) Ibarra (1988, B.A., journalism) is the owner of NozNewz Communications on Singer Island, Fla. Ibarra and her husband, Tracy, plan to acquire an eco-tourism ranch and charter dive and fishing service on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Corrine (Alkofer) Kenner (1989, B.A., philosophy) is a certified tarot master and author of two books on the tarot, Tall Dark Stranger and Tarot Journaling. She also created the Epicurean Tarot, an innovative tarot deck, and edited the book Strange But True, an anthology of supernatural accounts.

Citigroup Investment Research named Andrew Stotz (1989, business administration–finance; 1991, MBA) as head of research for Thailand. A variety of financial analyst surveys rank him and his teams among the top financial researchers for Asia, as well as Europe and the United States.

Mark Zemanek (1989, B.A., liberal arts; 1992, 1997, credentials) is the master teacher at Mammoth Olympic Academy for Academic Excellence, a charter school in the Mammoth (Calif.) Unified School District.

1990

The Lake Elsinore City Council named Robert A. Brady (1990, MBA) as city manager last June. He had been interim manager and previously was the city’s director of community development.

Michael L. Shapiro (1990, B.A., political science) recently observed 15 years as corporate librarian for Computer Sciences Corp. in El Segundo, Calif.

Mike Farrell (1991, B.A., history) has accepted a position as director of parks and recreation with the city of Monroe, Wash. He previously was director of parks and recreation for Hobart, Ind. Mike and his wife, Meagan (Macdonnell) Farrell (1992, B.A., interpersonal communication) are parents of a daughter, Lindsay.

After 16 years of corporate employment, Sandra (Marso) Fasano (1991, B.A., speech communication) now is studying floral design at Cal Poly Pomona. Her husband, Tom Fasano (2001, credential) teaches English and journalism at Buena Park High School.

Amelia Valinsky-Fillipow (1991, B.A., liberal studies; 1995, credential; 1998, M.A., education) not only is a third grade teacher at Long Beach Kettering Elementary School, but also competes on the intercollegiate cross country team at Long Beach City College, where she is taking additional coursework. Her husband, Mike Fillipow (1986, credential), is a science teacher and cross country coach at Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

Joe Cepeda (1992, B.F.A.) is a nationally recognized illustrator of children’s books and a past winner of the Pura Belpré Honor Book Award. The first book that he both wrote and illustrated, The Swing, will be published this fall.

Lake Forest, Calif.-based Del Taco appointed Shannon Keough (1992, B.S., dietetics and food administration) as director of research and development, where she is responsible for implementing new product concepts. She previously was a senior food technologist for Carl Karcher Restaurants.

Jodean (Atwell) Hudson (1993, B.A., social work; 2001, M.S.W.) is a manager with Goodwill Industries of Orange County. She and her husband, Brian, are the parents of daughters Kendall and Courtney.

Portasha R. Moore (1993, B.S., criminal justice) opened her own law firm in Los Angeles in the fall. She earned her law degree at Western State University, Fullerton and later practiced in the Law Offices of John E. Sweeney in Beverly Hills.

The Long Beach Press-Telegram appointed John Canalis (1994, B.A., journalism) as assistant editorial pages editor from city editor for business. He has been a reporter with several Southern California papers and also worked in public relations.

Chuck Stone (1994, B.A., art) is an artist in Seal Beach, Calif. In addition to painting, he creates statues and artwork from natural materials in what he calls a “twist on tiki, California style."

Tammy Ornellas (1995, B.S., business administration–human resources management) was promoted to manager of Disney’s El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. She has worked for Disney for 16 years.

Jeff Birkenstein (1996, M.A., English) received his Ph.D. in literature at the University of Kentucky in 2003 and a tenure-track position in English at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., in 2004.

San Diego Metropolitan magazine named Jaime Diego Chavez (1996, B.A., criminal justice) among its “Top 40 Under 40” honorees in September. Sweetwater Union School District in Chula Vista, Calif., named Chavez its 2005 Counselor of the Year.

Enrique Lavin (1996, B.A., journalism) is editor of the weekend arts and entertainment section of the Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J. He has long covered pop culture and Latin music for newspapers including the Los Angeles Times.

Erin Murphy (1996, B.A., history) has joined Prudential California Realty in Laguna Niguel, Calif., as a real estate sales agent.

Fatima Castaneda (1997, B.A., speech communication; 1999, credential) is a professor in the Department of Education at Occidental College, Los Angeles. She received her Ed.D. from UCLA in 2004.

Mario Aguirre (1998, B.S., business administration–management) was promoted to area manager for seven offices in the Claremont and Ontario, Calif., region of Enterprise Rent-A-Car.

The State of Hawaii Department of Education named Sheri Kojima (1998, M.A., occupational studies) as 2005 Teacher of the Year for the Hawaii District. She is a business education teacher at Waiakea High School on the Big Island.

Tracy Parker (1999, B.A., art) is the creator of the Questionetc. line of fashion accessories, available in Los Angeles area boutiques. She uses vintage materials to create handbags, brooches and other accessories.