Chapman AlumniSubmit a Class Note.
1960s
Don Barrett, B.A. communication ’64, was hired to take over the Orange County Register’s radio column for the late Gary Lycan.
1970s
Charles E. “Chuck” Bailey, M.A. education ’77, published If you fly…don’t crash! (Confessions of a White-Knuckle Pilot), a book about his experience as a United States Air Force combat pilot.
Keith Crane, B.A. government ’72, has been married to Pat (Hargis) Crane, Class of 1965, for 23 years. Keith and Pat reconnected at a Chapman Homecoming 1989. They have six children, 12 grandchildren and one great grandson.
Paul Crumby, B.A. political science ’71 (Ph.D. ’80), published an article titled, “From Social Security to Social Insecurity” in Career Planning and Adult Development.
Nancy Witte, B.A. physical education ’71, travelled to Chautauqua, N.Y. last summer with The New Horizons Band of Northwest New Jersey. New Horizons is a group for musicians ages 50 and older. Nancy plays the French horn.
John H. Wood, B.S. biology ’77, was celebrated at the Disneyland Resort as one of the Orange County Teachers of the Year 2013. John teaches science at Samuel E. Talbert Middle School in the Fountain Valley School District.
1980s
Dona Constantine, B.S. health sciences ’84, attended a screening of Much Ado About Nothing in June with director Joss Whedon and her son, Jason Constantine, president of acquisitions and co-productions for Lionsgate.
Sandra McDaniel, B.M. musical performance ’84, married Gregg Laughlin in May at the Chapman Chapel. Dr. William Hall gave her away and conducted the Chapman University alumni choir during the ceremony.
Max Ollendorff, B.A. English ’83, won amateur first place in a competition held at the Artist’s Reception for the Viewpoints at Chemers Gallery in Tustin, Calif.
Darryl T. Stevens, M.A. marriage, family and child counseling ’84, returned to Chapman in October 2012 after 11 years at U.C. Riverside. He now serves as the assistant dean for graduate and professional programs in the Argyros School of Business and Economics.
Lisbeth Welch-Stamos, M.A. English ’89, published her first children’s novel, Jeremy Bixtu and the Hillman Husky.
1990s
Jessica Ayo (McKinney-Morales) Alabi Ph.D., B.A. peace studies ’98, published her research on hip hop, social movement organizations, and urban youth in Strategies for Social Change. Jessica is a professor of sociology and gender studies at Orange Coast College. She also assists Chapman students in applying for the Truman Scholarship.
Susan Burden, MHA ’96, CEO of Beach Cities Health District, was recognized by the Association of California Healthcare Districts as the 2013 Legislative Advocate of the Year.
Christine Curry, B.A. sociology ’95, has led The Grenada Goat Dairy Project for the past 5 years. The project serves lower income individuals and farmers in Grenada and has developed a goat dairy product for the local market to help sustain the operational expenses of the non-profit.
Justin Massey, B.A. political science ’94, is a realtor with Reality One Group serving OC and LA. He lives in Seal Beach with his wife, Andrea, and daughter, Olivia Grace.
Matthew McCray, BFA theatre performance ’98, opened his original performance piece Eternal Thou at South Coast Repertory in June.
Joseph Modica, B.M. conducting ’95, conducted a performance of Mozart’s Requiem in Carnegie Hall, NY with the choirs from the University of Redlands.
Anthony Powell, BFA theatre and dance ’99, received a master’s in theology from Azusa Pacific University and is a pastor at a church in Los Angeles. He has seven-year-old triplets with wife, Bonnie Brocatto-Powell, BFA film and television production ’99, who received a master’s degree in leadership from APU this year.
2000s
Melody Bahu, B.A. public relations and advertising ’08, returned to Chapman for her masters in leadership development in summer 2013.
Daniella Beintema, BFA television and broadcast journalism ’09, married Kelly Murphy in July 2012. Members of the bridal party included: Haley Slusser ’08, Jessey Francies ’10 and Kristen Maloney ’10.
Misha Bouvion, BFA theater performance ’04, is working on an MFA in acting at the New School for Drama in New York City.
Mike Brown, B.S. business administration ’06, is the co-owner of ModBargains, an automotive enhancements and aftermarket products company he founded at age 19.
Seth Casteel, BFA film production ’03, is releasing his second book, Underwater Puppies in 2014. He also appeared on Duck Dynasty in March.
Adriana Chavez, BFA theatre and dance ’00, is nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Ensemble for her work in Homunculus: Reloaded, produced by Homunculus Mask Theater.
Erika Cohn, BFA film production ’09, is co-directing and producing the feature documentary In Football We Trust about the rise of Pacific Islanders in the NFL, and is directing and producing the feature documentary Three Judges, about the first female judges to be appointed to the religious courts in the Middle East. Erika has also been accepted into the CPB Producer’s Academy.
Nicholaus Corporon, MFA film production ’09, recently became manager of casting at Pilgrim Studios, Inc. His short, Barbie Boy, has gone on to win the Audience Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and the Best Short Award at the Kansas City Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
Whitney Claire (Kaufman) Coss, BFA theatre performance ’06, relocated to Santa Barbara with her husband Nick Coss, and will appear as a guest soloist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in December.
Chris Eggleton, B.A. economics and B.S. business administration ’02, and Chris Retzer, B.S. business administration ’01, acquired Newpark Resort Management, LLC in Park City, Utah.
Marna Farver, B.A. sociology ’00, is the operations manager at Grace Family Vineyards, a philanthropic winery in St.Helena, Calif. She lives with her husband, Mitch Moghaddasi, and son, Todd, who was born in December 2011.
Craig D. Forrest, M.A. film studies ’08, received doctor of fine arts degree in redemptive filmmaking from Kingdom Seminary in Edinburg, Va. in June.
Kelly Galuska, B.A. screenwriting and communications ’06,was hired as a writer for the new prime-time network comedy series, MOM.
Erin Gonzalez, B.M. performance ’08, has been chosen for a mezzo studio artist position in the Florentine Opera Studio in Milwaukee for the 2013 – 2014 season. She was also an Advanced Artist in the OperaWorks training program in Los Angeles in summer 2013.
Ashley Greene, MFA screenwriting ’11, is producing the film Rosco the Flying Rhino for fiancé Trevor Lincoln, MFA screenwriting ’07, who is serving as the writer and director.
Jennifer Guerra, B.S. business administration ’07, launched Elite Personal Health Coaching this year and is an American Association of Drugless Practitioners certified health coach.
Annelih Garciano-Holganza Hamilton, BFA theatre performance ’09, received a master’s of fine arts degree in theatre performance from the University of Florida and married Joshua Hamilton.
Brittany Hilgers, MFA screenwriting ’07, wrote the spec episode “Juliet Wears the Pantsuit” for the USA Network show Psych, which aired in April. Her recent projects have helped her become a full member of the Writers Guild of America.
Sarah Swensson King, B.A. communications ’06, married Stephen King at the Wallace All Faiths Chapel in September.
Matthew Ladensack, BFA film production ’09, and Niels-Christian Kielland, BFA film production ’09, produced the feature Blood Type: Unknown which was selected for Newport Beach Film Festival.
Greg Lammers, BFA film and television ’05, released a podcast, “The Fill in the Blank Podcast: Life After Film School.”
Sandi Logan, M.A. counseling ’07, is an instructor and doctoral student at the University of Florida and a blogger for the American Counseling Association.
Justin Lutsky, BFA film production ’05, directed the web-series Armed Response for Break Media which recently premiered at South by Southwest film festival.
Megan MacDonald, B.A. sociology ’02, runs a social enterprise that employs deaf women in Kenya. Megan finished her masters in development studies in Nairobi, Kenya.
Heather (Baldwin) McCurdy, B.A. communication ’03, is owner of Youth Talent Connection, a youth modeling and talent agency. Her husband, Michael McCurdy, B.A. political science ’05, finished his MBA at Chapman University in 2010 and was promoted to insurance supervisor with AAA.
Beau Menchaca, M.A. counseling ’02, was recognized with the Santa Ana Unified School District’s 2013 Support Staff of the Year award.
Lauren Miller, B.A. public relations and advertising ’06, opened her second location for Laurenly (a clothing boutique) in the Belmont Shores area of Long Beach, Calif. in March. Her first shop opened in Orange in June 2010.
Mark Miller, BFA film production ’06, is the vice president of Clive Barker’s company, Seraphim Inc. Mark co-created a comic book with Clive Barker that was released in May.
Marla Noel, MBA ’01, was elected to board of directors of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association in April in Tampa, Florida.
Kate Karyus Quinn, MFA film production ’06, released her debut young adult novel, Another Little Piece, published by HarperTeen, in June.
Brian Reinsch, B.S. chemistry ’06, moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, to study the environmental effects of uranium mining in Kazakhstan. He conducts his research through the environmental engineering department at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
Rob Selway, B.S. business administration ’07, accepted a position with Citizens Business Bank.
James Smith, BFA film and television production ’01, was the executive in charge of physical production on the feature, The Way, Way Back, which premiered in July.
Roger Craig Smith, B.A. film and television ’04, voiced the Disney villain, Ripslinger, in the new feature, Planes, which premiered in August.
Brynn Terry, B.M. voice performance ’06, was invited to perform with Opera Theater Pittsburgh this summer as a resident artist in the role of Anne Egerman in Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.”
Lisa Valentino, B.A. sociology ’04, passed her first section of the Social Worker’s Union test in April.
Jennifer Weinstein, MA human resources ’01, won the Benefits Professional of the Year award. She will be featured on the front cover of Benefits magazine in September and will be presented the award at their National Benefits conference in New Orleans in September.
Brian Wilcox, J.D. ’04, is the president of Once Innovations, Inc., an LED lighting technology developer for the agricultural sector.
2010s
Kellie Albrecht, Ph.D. education ’13 was hired on the faculty at Concordia University, Irvine as an assistant professor of education.
Michael Aronson, MFA in film production ’11, was hired to produce a show for Tasted.com called Cook Up a Hook Up.
Veronica Bane, BFA creative writing ’11, released her book, Mara, in August.
Lauren Benke, B.A. creative writing and BFA dance ’12, is currently completed her masters in Irish literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and begun her Ph.D. in English at the University of Denver this fall.
Alvaro Berrios, B.S. business administration ’10, and Clara Bostwick are getting married in April.
Jessica Browne, B.A. political science ’12, and Jason Boninger, BFA film production ’12, moved to Scottsdale, Arizona in April. Jason works full-time for TiLite, a high-performance wheelchair company, and Jessica is a freelance event planner.
Lauren Bruschi, B.A. communication studies ’11, was promoted to assistant account executive at Morgan Marketing & Public Relations, LLC.
Elke Calvert, BFA dance performance ’11, won the Division II Grand Prize Award at the Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival with her original choreography, Framed.
Mariajose Cienfuegos, B.S. business administration ’12, is engaged to Severin Quaranta, B.S. business administration ’12. The couple plans to marry in May 2014.
Leon Cheo, BFA creative producing ’12 of Chapman’s Singapore campus, is serving as co-producer on the feature film Singapore Cowboy.
Jing Du Chua, BFA creative producing ’12 of Chapman’s Singapore campus, directed eight episodes of the teen web-series Click and is developing a Thailand-Singapore co-production titled Man from the North.
Samantha Cortese, BFA television and broadcast journalism ’11, is the morning reporter for the ABC and CBS affiliates in Palm Springs.
James B. Cox, MFA film production ’11, was hired to write the feature, Mimesis 2, the sequel to Anchor Bay Entertainment’s Mimesis.
Daniel J. Dodd, MFA producing ’12, is working as a story producer for Hot Snakes Media’s Amish Mafia on the Discovery Channel. He has also signed development deals with 2C Media, Lapdog Entertainment and Monkey Time Media for three different unscripted television shows.
Azriel Dror, B.S. biological sciences ’13, was accepted into the Fulbright program in Spain. He was also accepted into medical school at the University of Arizona.
Kate Ellwanger, B.A. music ’13, was featured on the front page of iTunes in June for her debut full length album, Evolve or Dissolve.
Sarah Faulkner, B.A. English ’12, is completing her masters in literature and society at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Sarah and Lauren Benke ’12 traveled together to London, Paris and Edinburgh.
Serena Felsher, BFA television and broadcast journalism ’12, was hired by Authentic Entertainment as a story editor for Bravo’s Flipping Out with Jeff Lewis.
Lance Frantzich, B.A. theatre and psychology ’12, appeared in Belz! The Jewish Vaudeville Musical at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Alexis Garcia, B.A. psychology ’12, is attending USC Rossier’s online graduate program for teaching and credential.
Sherica Grande, B.S. computer science ’13, married Brian Chuchua, B.S. computer science ’13, in May. During their time at Chapman, the couple developed Quaternion: The Game and won the Best Space Game award from the first IEEE GameSig Competition hosted at Chapman.
Angelo Jackson, A.A. general education ‘10, graduated from the police academy and was hired as a police officer. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Chapman.
Tyler Jensen, BFA film production ’10, Christian Heuer, BFA film production ’10, and Cameron Clark, BFA film production ’09, won the Latin Grammy for Best Short Form Video for their work on Jesse & Joy’s Me Voy.
Katharine (Jacobs) Keigher, B.A. English ’10, and Aaron Keigher, B.A. dance ’07, were married in front of the Bellagio in Las Vegas in March.
Katie Kroko, B.M. performance ’10, won the concerto competition at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she is a master’s candidate.
Anna Lisa (Baison) Lukes, MBA ’13, presented on social entrepreneurship at Cal State Fullerton’s Gianneschi Center Summer School for Nonprofits in July.
Shana Makos, B.A. communication ’10, is pursuing a master’s in organizational communication at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, CO.
Desiree Montalvo, BFA film production ’11, was central production assistant on the DreamWorks Animation film, Turbo, which premiered in July. She is also part of the FX department of How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Deborah Nodelman, Ph.D. education ‘13, was named Teacher of the Year in Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District.
Damon Peoples, MFA screenwriting ’11, was signed at Creative Artists Agency.
Elaina Perpelitt, B.A. screenwriting ’13, wrote a play, Sewer Rats at Sea, that was performed in June as a part of Hollywood Fringe. She wrote the play while still a senior at Chapman under the penname ZK Lowenfels.
Robert Pitts Jr., M.A. counseling ’10, is the facility administrator at Crestwood Behavioral Health Center in Eureka, CA. His youngest son William is 14 months old and his eldest, Robert Allen, is three years old.
Mike Rotstein, B.S. biological sciences ’11, co-authored two biotech books: Thrombotic Syndrome and Deep Vein Thrombosis and Treatment Options for Chronic Venous Insufficiency.
Kara Rutkin, B.A. public relations and advertising ’11, was promoted to assistant account executive at Kirvin Doak Communications, a public relations firm in Nevada.
Lexi Sakowitz, BFA screen acting ’12, made her debut on the FX series Sons of Anarchy and will appear on several episodes throughout the season.
Kara Sargent, B.A. English ’10, got engaged to Bear Kennedy.
Natasha Shahani, B.A. public relations and advertising ’11, is the head of learning and director of communications for the inaugural Life is Beautiful Festival in Downtown Las Vegas in October.
Efrain Solis, B.M. in performance ’11, was in the top 10 of the finals for the National Council Auditions at the Metropolitan Opera in March.
Nick Snyder, MFA film production ’12, was hired to direct a commercial/short film project for the chocolate company, Agatha Savage.
Brett Sprague, B.M. performance ’10, was accepted into the competitive apprentice program at Chautauqua Opera for the 2013 summer season. He performed the role of Rector Adams in Peter Grimes.
Raelyn Tepper, BFA film production ’10, was involved with two films shown at the Newport Film Festival in April. She did production design for Pasadena and set decoration for Geography Club.
Lauren Uranga, B.A. sociology ’11, is the development associate for the Southern California Hospice Foundation.
Elizabeth Vysin, B.M. music education and musical performance ’11, was admitted as a master’s theory candidate at Hartt College of Music in addition to her M.M. in performance study.
Brandon Eddy Wade, MFA film production ’10, was accepted into three film festivals for his film Choice of Flight. He also teaches children the art of filmmaking in Fullerton.
Malia Wright, BFA theatre performance ’12, performed the role of Dorinda in The Beaux’ Stratagem at A Noise Within in Pasadena, CA.
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