Class Notes

Clem Korte ’55, TR Sullivan ’81, and Col. Bob Karlseng ’64 live in Plano, Texas (above), and they work out in the mornings at the local recreation center. All are in good health, they say, especially Clem who is 92 and played basketball for two years at USF as a teammate of Bill Russell. Sullivan is a longtime sportswriter in Texas, and Karlseng is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Army who did two tours in Vietnam.

’58 Bill Clotere writes, “I worked for Sears at Geary and Masonic for three years while going to USF and then had a 43-year career with the company before retiring as store manager of the Albany, Oregon, store. In 2024, I was recognized by the Albany Chamber of Commerce for my community involvement, which began with my arrival there in 1977. I served on the Albany Veterans Day Parade committee for 30 years and was a board member for Habitat for Humanity Restore for 25 years.”

’64 Richard C. Tobin is a retired American Airlines captain.

’68 Anthony Martinez is a fellow this year with the University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative. He is vice president of Berkeley Strategic Consulting.

’71 Devin M. McGilloway is semi-retired and sold his company. The CPA is living in Monterey and writes, “All good! My extended family in the SF Bay Area includes four grandkids. Two of my three brothers, Dan and Dennis, are USF alumni, as well as my daughter Shannon. Attitude of gratitude.”

’71 Deacon John Storm retired as executive director of the Office of Catholic Restorative Justice Ministries of the Diocese of Santa Rosa in 2024.

’73 Sheila P. Burke is a new member of the advisory board for the Peterson Center on Healthcare in New York City. “Shelia brings expertise in health care policy and innovation, and her guidance will be invaluable as we work to improve health care quality, access, and affordability,” the board said in a statement.

’73 Kevin Anthony Black writes he has been “sharing wonderful experiences with my wife, Victoria, for over 50 years. We have three sons (all Santa Clara alumni) and have pursued three careers:  SF dance/concert promoter/producer (first event at USF Memorial Gym in 1973), SF Recreation & Park Dept., and The Yes Co., an estate sale company. I enjoy reading, hearing, or talking about USF.”

’74 Victoria Katherine Wingett is a U.S. Air Force veteran and retired Southwest Airline captain.

’74 Susan M. Reynolds writes, “I had the pleasure of attending the class of 1974 50th reunion in October. So much fun to connect with classmates and other alums and to take in the changes to campus. I encourage you to reconnect with friends and the Alumni Association to participate in future events and news.”

’75 William S. Lawton III writes that he is retired. “Happily keeping bees.”

’75 Thomas W. Oertel lives in San Diego with his wife, Susan, of 36 years. They have two daughters and a granddaughter. He is a professor emeritus with Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.

’77 Jean Marie Clark writes, “Retirement is good! I spent 38 years in the investment management business and retired in 2022. I'd been senior vice president of an independent fixed income firm in Los Angeles for 33 years, constructing and managing securities portfolios for institutional clients (pension funds, Taft-Hartley, corporate cash accounts) across the country. Still living in Manhattan Beach and enjoying it!”

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Dennis Lucey ’63, the Rev. John P. Fitzgibbons, S.J., the Rev. Bill O’Neill, Dean Eileen Fry-Bowers, Ollie Johnson ’65, Frank Butler MA ’69, and Chris Clark ’93 attended Mass at St. Ignatius Chapel at Holy Trinity Church in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2.

’80 John M. O'Meara writes, “I recently retired after 31 years in professional marketing, followed by 12 more years as a professor of marketing at USF.”

’88 Kenneth H. Smith recently launched a new climate action nonprofit in Boston called Shovel Ready Capital that streamlines the flow of private capital to offset the rising cost of severe weather on communities worldwide.

’89 Edward J. Feser is the new president of St. Louis University. He is the 34th president of the Jesuit university. Previously he was provost and executive vice president of Oregon State University.

’91 Peter E. Saari joined Stubbs Alderton & Markiles LLP in Los Angeles as COO in charge of growth. He was formerly PWC managing director.

’92 Rocio Y. Garcia-Reyes is marking six years as assistant chief counsel for the California Department of Industrial Relations, division of occupational safety and health.

’93 Charlie Dwain Mariner writes, “I have moved from my home in Monte Rio, Sonoma County, California to discover the good life in Omaha, Nebraska.”

’95 Diana Lynn Kaysen is completing her fourth year of AmeriCorps national service, teaching reading skills to second graders in the California Central Valley.  She also represented AmeriCorps in the community by serving unsheltered families, low income and disabled senior citizens, and a youth recovery program. She attributes her leadership skills to her academic preparation at USF.

’97 Charles F. Lacson, senior manager for global games at Sony Playstation, is celebrating 25 years working there. He currently leads the U.S. marketing team promoting PlayStation's newest titles. He says he loves living in the Bay Area with his wife of 14 years, Julie, whom he met in an acting class. They both are active theater artists who have performed in various productions in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

’00 Kate E. Bueler MA ’12 has launched Bueler’s Day Off Consulting, with educational and professional coaching.

’00 Kimberly Garrett, program assistant for the MFA program at USF, and Monique Reyes ’21 co-founded Writers of Discontent in 2020. It’s an annual fundraiser for organizations that oppose racism, sexism, homelessness, censorship, and gun violence. This year is the sixth annual fundraiser.

’02 Matthew Goudeau is deputy chief of staff under Mayor Daniel Lurie in San Francisco.

’03 Colleen Chawla MPA is San Mateo County’s new health chief. “She is pressure tested,” said San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller, who served on the search committee.

’05 Katherine “Kit” W. Rich’s debut feature film, Isabel’s Garden, about a small-town TV reporter whose life changes when her husband dies, leaving her to raise her 15-year-old stepdaughter, premiered in 2024 and is streaming on Amazon Prime and Apple TV.

’08 Michelle Sarrade MPA ’12 writes, “Some huge milestones last year!  I married my amazing husband, Patrick on 5/11/2024. I started my new role as the program director of Conscious Touch Teams, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization on 6/17/24. I ended the year by turning 40 on 12/21/24!”

’12 Dennis J. Walker founded the media platform Mycopreneur in 2020, and it has been featured in Rolling Stone, Forbes, Wired, and Vice. “It earned me a speaking opportunity at SXSW and an invitation to Harvard Law School for a delegation. The platform spotlights mushroom entrepreneurs around the world and my foundational education as an undergrad in the USF media studies department was fundamental to my success.”

’12 Robert Thomas Curl writes, “I have accepted a position that will begin as a senior assistant prosecutor and transition to the chief prosecutor within eight months for the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation in Toppenish, Washington.”

’13 Anthony Risucci JD ’17 is senior labor counsel at Patagonia. He is married to Isabella (Minoli) Risucci ’13.

’14 Mallory Heather Green writes, “After graduation, I worked as a copywriter for a few years for a hospitality company. Then social media really took off (thank you media studies professors!) and I learned all the ins and outs of social and found it super exciting (especially reels)! I married in 2018, started a family in 2019, and then in 2021 launched my own marketing agency, REINS Marketing.”

’15 Khuyen Tam Do writes, “I've been living in Paris for the past eight years and was working in luxury fashion but this year I pivoted and am currently writing a newsletter about food culture called ‘The Cakewalk.’”

’17 Mary Rose (Straughan) Johnson welcomed her first child, Callan Johnson, with her husband Hayden Johnson.

’17 Kimberly Hidalgo writes, “My education at USF and degree in international studies propelled me to pursue a career in the national security sphere, working at the Department of Defense. As a research analyst at the defense innovation board, I work in a creative space and advocate on innovative solutions for our military community.”

’18 Brooke Ashlee Yeager is an RN at a busy 40-bed unit at a downtown Los Angeles hospital that was the main COVID unit during the pandemic. She also trains new nursing graduates.

’71 Joseph N. Shahpar MBA writes, “Jesuit education is superb. I attended USF and am thankful for the experience.”

’81 Richard T. Garcia MA published a book, From San Jose to Vietnam and Back, a memoir of his two tours of combat in Vietnam and Cambodia from 1968 to 1970, followed by his post-traumatic stress disorder.

’89 Ann Naimark MA published a book, A Touch of Light, Opening to the Love that is You and All Creation.

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Ursula Jones Dickson ’98
The Hon. Ursula Jones Dickson JD, a superior court judge, is the newly appointed district attorney in Alameda County, California.

’91 Kristine M. Cirby JD was elected president of the Marin County Bar Association for 2025.

’92 Charles Francis Guthmann MS is a retired paramedic and working as an RN.

’93 Iris Qingyi Geng MBA writes, “Sorry I lost touch with USF because of relocation. Unfortunately missed the Tip-Off game [the first USF basketball game of the season] and the Tip-Off Gala due to travel.”

’94 Dennis Matthew Wong JD retired as regional counsel for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice, after 30 years. His next chapter starts as a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice.

’96 Cynthia Manalo Rapaido MA, EdD ’11 is an adjunct doctoral adviser at California State University, Hayward.

’98 Justin Joseph Fleetwood MA was appointed president of Holy Cross School in New Orleans, his high school alma mater. “I am blessed and grateful for the foundation that USF has provided me to prepare me for this role.”

’98 John S. Garrison MBA, a professor at Grinnell College, published a book, Red Hot + Blue. The book recounts the music's industry's first major response to the AIDS epidemic in the context of Garrison's own coming of age story.

’98 Doris Cheng JD, a lawyer with Walkup Melodia Kelly and Schoenberger in San Francisco, has been elected to vice president of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a national association of more than 7,300 lawyers.

’00 Colman G. Conroy MBA published No Special Hurry, a crime novel set in San Francisco.

’00 Mary Anne R. Brady EdD is a former USF instructor and mentor who is currently active in the St. Ignatius parish, as well as the Presidio National Park, the Commonwealth Club, and the San Francisco Bay Area Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR). A native of San Francisco, she frequently travels.

’01 Donald Asher MA, managing partner of Asher Associates in Nevada, has released the 5th edition of Graduate Admissions Essays, his guide to the graduate admissions process.

’02 Jay Miles DeGooyer JD joined SingleStore, Inc., as the company’s chief legal officer and corporate secretary. The company’s data platform allows customers to transact, analyze, and contextualize data in real time.

’04 Timothy J. Foley MFA published Tales Nocturnal, a collection of short stories.

’05 Sriya Chakravarti MBA EdD ’11 is the academic program chair of the HR Diploma program at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai.

’06 Justin Ribeiro MBA co-authored a research paper, “Is Agile Software Development Innovative? A Software Developer Perspective” in the 2024 conference proceedings for the Association for Information Systems ICIS.

’07 Sean R. Tilton JD writes, “I was selected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit as Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Michigan.”

’08 Alfonso Rey MBA joined Tune AI, a generative AI platform based in Chennai, India, as an adviser.

’08 Anna T. McDonald    EdD is the board-certified educational therapist at Sacred Heart Preparatory and is celebrating 28 years as an educator. She teaches psychology and is moderator of the Asian American and neurodiverse affinity groups. She presented on “Building Affinity Groups That Thrive” at the AsEA Conference 2024 and is consulting with TeachAAPI.org.

’08 Kerry Donoghue MFA writes, "My debut short story collection, Mouth, which I worked on during my time in the USF MFA in Writing program, is now out with Unsolicited Press. I'm also in a fiction cohort for the 2025 Poets & Writers Get the Word Out publicity incubator.”

’10 Alex Walden JD is the global head of human rights at Google. She builds partnerships to promote free speech and expression and to combat internet censorship and filtering around the globe.

’11 Kate Folk MFA, an adjunct professor at USF, has a new novel out called Sky Daddy.

’12 Hassan Alaaeldin Hassan Abdelfattah Elkamah MA is commercial director of the Confederation Africaine de Football. “My key duties include TV rights, sponsorships, and marketing for the confederation which is in charge of managing the biggest competitions in Africa with our 54 member nations.”

’15 Sarah Anne Thompson JD is a partner at Ryther Law Group, LLP, which practices animal rights law in Southern California. Sarah married Chris Szadkowski in May 2023. Together, they founded a nonprofit group called Red Wolf Rescue in 2024.

’15 Tsitsi Michelle Zawaira MA published a collection of essays called Unzip My Skin about being both African and Black and as an immigrant woman in the U.S.

’16 Maura Maia Amaral MA writes, “I created a family-friendly, admission-free series of events in San Francisco to promote wellness, build community, and increase socialization through activities involving rhythm and movement.”

’17 Rowena Tomaneng EdD was named deputy chancellor of the California Community Colleges. She formerly was San Jose City College president.

’17 Erica P. Roth JD writes, “I’m proud to have been elected to represent Assembly District 24 in the Nevada State Legislature. Outside of my role as a state representative, I maintain my appellate practice with the Washoe County Public Defender’s office, practicing in front of the Nevada Supreme Court.”

’18 Olivia M. Munoz EdD published a collection of poetry called These Women, They Carry Purses Full of Knives. “I studied in the International and Multicultural Education program at USF, and I loved my courses, faculty, and fellow classmates during my time there, especially because my experience was so enriched with storytelling, art, and culture.”

’20 Brenda Thammavong MPA writes, “Since graduating, my career has been driven by a passion for justice and service‚ values rooted in my Jesuit education. After earning my master’s in public administration, I joined a nonprofit law firm, California Appellate Project, to advocate for death row inmates.”

’20 Bin Chen MS founded a company manufacturing affordable luxury women’s underwear called Sukurai.

’21 Elizabeth Stephens MA published Building a Resilient Digital Future, a guide to protecting your digital assets and staying ahead of cyber threats.

’22 Swetha Amit MFA published an interview with Lewis Buzbee in the Oyster River Pages literary collective about his book, Diver. Buzbee is an adjunct professor in the MFA program.

’22 Natalie Daniele Koenig MA works as the senior membership manager at San Francisco Zoo & Gardens.

’22 Alex Min MSEI works at the Pacific Island Fisheries Group, a nonprofit based in Honolulu, Hawaii, whose slogan is "fish today for fish tomorrow."

’22 Kevin Steve Tellez Ramos MA, writes, “I completed one year in my first official role in public service as an urban planner for the city of Detroit. This has been the career path that I was dedicated to for many years. And I am proud of the training and research that led to my expertise to work with the buildings, safety engineering, and environmental department. I have found the most fulfilling community in Detroit, but do miss the fog in San Francisco.”

’23 Pierce Stanley JD joined the law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP as an associate attorney in Burlingame where he litigates consumer protection, elder abuse, mass tort, and commercial and antitrust matters.

’24 Shennel Henries attended the 2024 University Scholars Leadership Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand on behalf of USF’s Change the World From Here Institute.