Alumni Updates
Roger J. Haro, Fisheries Biology, 1984
Submitted: December 8, 2015
Dear Fisheries Colleagues, I wanted to share that I was recently awarded the Wisconsin Professor of the Year award by CASE and the Carnegie Foundation. More details can be found at http://news.uwlax.edu/stellar-science/ My education at HSU and especially in the Department of Fisheries Biology helped me along this path to success. For that I will always be grateful. Thanks.
Lawson Snyder, Fisheries Biology, 1980
Submitted: December 7, 2015
Lawson Snyder, 1980 Fisheries Biology, was recently awarded the Louise Ireland Humphrey Achievement Award for outstanding career achievement by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Snyder spent 34 years with the FWC, having recently retired as Deputy Division Director of Habitat and Species Conservation.
Timothy E. Blewett, Fisheries Biology, 1966
Submitted: December 2, 2015
Timothy E. Blewett, 1966 Fisheries Biology, recently published nine novels on Amazon.com in a series is titled "A California Saga". The first five novels take place in northern and central California and two of the main characters are professors at Humboldt.
Gema Ortiz Lombardo, World Languages and Cultures, 2009
Submitted: November 25, 2015
Gema Ortiz Lombardo, 2009 Spanish, earned her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Bilingual Education from New Mexico State University in 2011. While pursuing her M.A., Lombardo worked with NMSU as a School Garden Curriculum Coordinator. Lombardo also served as a managing editor for the resource book, “Implementing a school and Community Garden.” In 2013, She provided college and career guidance to special-needs students at high school level. She is happily married and is currently an Admissions Counselor for Humboldt State and a recruiter for HSU’s College of Natural Resources & Sciences, focusing on promoting opportunities for hispanic students.
Mary Katherine Wicksten, Biological Sciences, 1972
Submitted: October 23, 2015
Mary Wicksten, 1972 Biological Sciences, is a Professor of Biology at Texas A&M University, College Station, and just published her book "Vertical Reefs: Life on Oil and Gas Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.” Published by Texas A&M University Press, it is the only non-technical book on the subject. The illustrated book discusses the biota of these structures, its origins, and what happens to these organisms over the lifespan of a platform. A copy is on its way to the Humboldt Library.
James Ronald Good, Wildlife, 1966
Submitted: October 8, 2015
James Ronald Good, 1966 Wildlife, spent the summer of 1964 and as range aide and range tech with the Bureau of Land Management on the Sheldon Refuge and Range in northwest Nevada. He spent summer of ‘65 conducting project inventories in southern Nevada. Good was later hired by BLM in 1966 as a range conservationist in Lewistown, Mont. He then transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services in 1967 as assistant refuge manager at the Kern-Pixley Refuges in California. From there, Good transferred to the Stillwater Wildlife Management Area in Fallon, Nev., and the Hart Mountain Refuge in Oregon before going on leave to attend Oregon State University, where he earned a Master’s of Science in Wildland Sciences with a minor in Rangeland Restoration. Afterward, Good worked at the Columbia Refuge in Washington, then in the Pierre Area Office in South Dakota, as the staff refuge manager and biologist. In ‘82, Good was selected as refuge manager at the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge in Utah. In '84, Good became the project leader for the Havasu Refuge, in Needles, Calif., before transferring to Galena, Alaska. After 33 years as a law enforcement officer, Good retired in 2000.
Wade Eakle, Wildlife, 1982
Submitted: September 17, 2015
Wade Eakle, 1982 Wildlife, spent 1982 and ‘83 working at the Institute for Wildlife Studies in Arcata, before serving at the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Station at Arizona State University, in Tempe, Ariz. He then completed a Master’s of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at the University of Arizona at Tuscon. In 1987 he worked for the engineering firm Dames & Moore in Phoenix, and then the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. Since 1990, Eakle has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the San Francisco District of the South Pacific Division.
Trevor Keiber, Physics & Astronomy, 2006
Submitted: August 25, 2015
Trevor Keiber, 2006 Physics & Astronomy, Chemistry, Math, is graduating in December 2015 with a Ph.D. in physics from UCSC, studying the structure of complex materials using X-ray spectroscopy. Keiber is currently seeking post-doctoral or assistant professor positions.
Tyson wilofsky, Geology, 2008
Submitted: August 15, 2015
Tyson Wilofsky, 2008 Geology, has been doing environmental remediation (RCRA/CERCLA) work as a government contractor.
Kathryn Hedges, Biological Sciences, 2010
Submitted: July 28, 2015
Kathryn Hedges, 2010 Biological Sciences, started a handcrafting business in Silicon Valley at TechShop in 2011. She creates jewelry, holiday decor, and souvenirs and sells locally and globally online.
Gene Blankenbaker, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1977
Submitted: July 3, 2015
Gene Blankenbaker, 1977 Forestry & Wildland Resources, transferred to the position of Deputy Director for Human Resources for the U.S. Forest Service last spring.
Max Brunsfeld, Physics & Astronomy, 2011
Submitted: May 24, 2015
Max Brunsfeld, 2011, Physics and Astronomy, moved to Oakland after graduating from HSU and worked as a software engineer in San Francisco for three years. Brunsfeld recently started working for GitHub, a company that makes tools for collaborative software development, and whose employees are distributed all over the world. Brunsfeld has since moved back to Arcata to raise a family.
Lippincott, Wildlife, 2015
Submitted: May 22, 2015
Michael Lippincott, 2015, Wildlife, accepted a permanent position with the Department of Agriculture after graduating.
John Voris, Wildlife, 1955
Submitted: April 23, 2015
John Voris, 1955 Wildlife, died on March 19, 2015. He received a master’s degree in Wildlife Management from Iowa State University in 1957. Voris’s first job was with Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms in Sonoma, Calif., where he was employed for 25 years. In 1982, he joined the staff of the Animal Science Department at UC Davis as a Turkey Specialist. He provided research-based consultation to San Joaquin Valley turkey growers, and published papers in academic journals on land-use disputes, agricultural nuisance complaints, and turkey care practices. The poultry facility guidelines Voris developed with the industry were the basis for an ordinance in Fresno County and are used as guidelines in four other counties in the area.
Bruce Edwin Deuel, Wildlife, 1967
Submitted: April 21, 2015
Bruce Edwin Deuel, 1967, Wildlife, retired from the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife in October 2007 after more than 34 years. Since then Deuel and his wife, Kathy, have traveled to every continent chasing new birds, and spent a lot of time enjoying their nine grandchildren.
Jessica Taatjes, Oceanography, 2014
Submitted: April 6, 2015
Jessica Taatjes, 2014 Oceanography, joined AmeriCorps VISTA with the California State University after graduation. Taatjes currently works with COAST (Council on Ocean Affairs, Science & Technology) conducting student engagement across the CSU.
William, Wildlife, 2013
Submitted: April 3, 2015
William Goldenberg, 2013 Wildlife, completed a master of arts degree in wildlife filmmaking with the BBC Natural History Unit / University of the West of England. Since then, Goldenberg has worked as a freelance cinematographer for television shows including "David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities" and now operates a media production and consulting firm based in Arcata.
Deb (Lewis) Parker, Wildlife, 1976
Submitted: April 3, 2015
Deb (Lewis) Parker, 1976, Wildlife Management, retired from the federal government in 2014 after a 36-year career. She still works full time as a senior staff assistant with the nonprofit National Conference of State Legislatures, in Denver. Parker started her career as a rodent-control biologist with the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa. She then spent 24 years with the U.S. Forest Service as a wildlife biologist and public affairs specialist working in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, and Colorado. Parker’s next 10 years were with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Colorado, where she was the writer, editor and web manager for national wildlife refuge conservation plans in the service’s Mountain-Prairie Region. Parker and her husband, Andy (a retired wildland firefighter), adopted their daughter, Tai, from China in 1994. Tai is currently a junior at HSU with double majors in psychology and CRGS (Critical Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies). Parker’s weekends often involve competing in dog agility trials with her feisty terrier, Jagger.
Mark S Fesler, Chemistry, 1984
Submitted: March 20, 2015
Mark S. Fesler, 1984 Chemistry, worked for more than 25 years as an analytical chemist. For the last eight years, Fesler has worked as an environmental scientist and consultant with the engineering company CH2M Hill.
Marshall R Ligare, Chemistry, 2009
Submitted: February 5, 2015
Marshall R. Ligare, 2009 Chemistry, finished his PhD at University of California Santa Barbara and is starting a postdoctoral research position at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.