InTouch
1950
Nancy Hoskins (1957, B.A., Elementary Education-Art History and Fine Arts/Weaving) presented a lecture on Coptic Fabrics at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. in October 2017. A former college weaving instructor, Hoskins has authored four books on weaving and other fiber arts, contributed to five other books and wrote numerous articles. Her art fabrics have been featured in several exhibitions around the country.
Howard Shapiro (1959, M.A. Art Education) continues to teach ceramics at a middle school in Portland, Oregon and working on his own art at home. Shapiro taught for 30 years at Hawthorne High before retiring in 1991 and moving to Oregon, where he was a substitute teacher
1960
Dorothy Sisk (1960, M.A., Educational Leadership/Psychology) holds an endowed chair in Gifted Education at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The author of 14 books, Sisk taught at University of Florida and directed the U.S. office of Gifted & Talented Children in Washington, D.C. She co-founded the World Council for Gifted & Talented Children.
1970
Keith T. Hardeman (1979 B.A. Speech Communication, 1982 M.A. Speech Communication) was recognized by the Missouri Delta chapter of the Alpha Chi student honor society as the 2017 Professor of the Year at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Professor Hardeman also received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2011 and was named Outstanding Greek Advisor in 2012 and ‘15.
Alan Mitchell (1971, B.A. Music, 1978, M.A. Music) retired from Andrews University in Michigan after teaching music for 29 years as assistant professor of Emerita of Music. In addition to teaching, he directed the Wind Symphony and was the Graduate Music Program Director. Before coming to Andrews University, he taught at Auburn Adventist Academy, Washington; Platte Valley Academy, Nebraska; John North High School, California; and in the Fountain Valley Elementary School District, California to complete a 45 year career in teaching music.
1980
Jean Knutsen Aguilar (1982, B.A. Fine Art) was inducted into St. Mary’s High School Hall of Fame in Stockton, where she has served as the art teacher for the past 20 years. When not teaching, Aguilar creates commissioned artwork.
Ira Gostin (1985 B.A. Journalism, 2005 M.A. Vocational Education) was named Best Chief Marketing Officer in the west by Corporate Vision Magazine. Gostin, founder and president of 120 West Strategic Communications in Reno, Nevada, also earned his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) credential following the certification of his comprehensive examination in December. The public relations and marketing agency was ranked No. 1 by Corporate Vision Magazine.
John Mark Edgemon (1980, B.A., Physical Education) was named President of the California State Athletic Directors Association and will serve on the CIF Southern Section Executive Committee. He has been an athletic director for 27 years, the past 22 years at Upland Christian Academy. He serves on the Awards Committee for the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and recently finished his third stint as the chairperson for the CIF Re-leaguing Committee.
Camille Lee (1988, B.S. Business Administration) was named Senior Vice President, Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Area of Biogen. In her new role, Lee will be responsible for the design and execution of commercial strategy for the company’s late-stage Alzheimer’s disease assets and will work in partnership with Biogen’s Research & Development function in overseeing Biogen’s entire Alzheimer’s portfolio. She will be based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Stanley A. Smith (1985, B.A. Music) currently is producing and scoring a documentary called “Make Up Women”, about the first women allowed in the motion picture makeup union.
Benjamin G. Ziff (1985 B.A. Political Science) took over as Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain last summer. He previous served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasia Affairs. He joined the Foreign Service in 1988
1990
Scott Levitt (1994, B.S. Business, 1995, M.B.A Business) was nominated president of the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce for the 2017-2018 term. Levitt has served as vice president for the previous two terms, and served on the board for the past five years. He was the 2016 Seal Beach Business Man of the Year, and the 2017 Sun News Newspaper Readers Choice Attorney of the Year. Mr. Levitt is an attorney at Levitt Law, APC, in Seal Beach.
Mary McKelvey (1990, B.A., Business), a shareholder with Am Law 100 firm Polsinelli, has been nominated and confirmed as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles. McKelvey previously served as an at-large member of the WLALA Board of Governors.
Charlene Dimas-Peinado (1990, M.S.W., Social Work) was selected by the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic as its new President and CEO and will lead the $21 million trauma-informed behavioral health organization. Dimas-Peinado, a licensed clinical social worker, comes to the Child Guidance Clinic from her previous position as CEO of The Whole Child, a Whittier based mental health and social services organization, which serves abused, homeless and at-risk children and families.
Jolene Zigarovich (1992, B.A., English) authored a book called “TransGothic in Literature and Culture” that provides new perspectives on ways in which Gothic literature, visual media and other cultural forms explicitly engage gender, sexuality, form and genre. She currently teaches in the department of Languages & Literature at University of Northern Iowa.
2000
Gianna M. Assereto (2001, B.A. Political Science/History) will spearhead the opening of a second office in San Francisco for Hanson Crawford Crum Family Law Group LLP, a premier Silicon Valley law firm. Assereto graduated from Long Beach State summa cum laude.
Marjorie Keyantash (2007, B.S., Biology) participated in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions global field course in Baja, studying desert and marine landscapes. Keyantash currently is working on her master’s degree at Miami University.
Craig Miller (B.A. Civil Engineering) was appointed General Manager by Western Municipal Water District’s (Western) Board of Directors. Miller, who joined Western in 2014 as the Deputy General Manager, currently oversees operations, engineering and water resources, including the District’s capital improvement projects focused on local water reliability.
Usama Kahf (2003 B.S. Finance) has been elevated to partner in the Irvine office of employment law firm Fisher Phillips. Kahf represents employers in matters of workplace privacy, data security, unfair competition and trade secret theft and corporate espionage. He also has been selected for inclusion in Southern California Super Lawyers – Rising Stars every year since 2013.
IN MEMORIAN
Gerald W. Doyle, former Chino police chief died in Rocklin, California on Sept. 27, 2017 at age 81. He served as the city’s top officer from 1975-80 after spending 15 years with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. Doyle graduated from Long Beach in 1972 with a B.A. in vocational education and a master’s of public administration from USC in 1974.
Stephen Gregory Perry, who taught creative writing for many years at Long Beach City College, died Sept. 5, 2017 at age 66. After graduating from Long Beach State with a B.A. and M.A in English in 1973 and ’75, Perry devoted himself to poetry. He is survived by his wife Susan Perry, his brother Scott, sister-in-law Janet, stepsons Simon Lakkis and Kevin Lakkis, and his beloved grandchildren Naomi Lakkis and Elliot Lakkis. His gentleness and playful imagination will be missed by everyone who knew him.
William C. Garrigues, a longtime Boy Scout master and car enthusiast, died Sept. 12, 2017 in his hometown of Fallbrook. Garrigues founded his own aerospace business shortly after graduating from Long Beach State in 1969 with a B.S. in Operations and Statistics. He later worked at Hughes Aircraft in Carlsbad as a senior scientist. Garrigues and his wife, Beverly, were married 54 years. He is survived by his wife, two children, Jonathan Garrigues and Trisha (Garrigues) Frazier and two grandchildren, P.J. and Sarah Frazier.
Dorothy Fenn Pearson, a longtime teacher, passed Dec. 16 at the age of 83. She was living in the town of Duvall, just outside of Seattle. She received her B.A. degree in elementary education from Long Beach State University in 1956. After teaching a year in Okinawa, Pearson was an elementary school teacher in the LBUSD for more than thirty years. Pearson is survived by her sons Andy Pearson of Monroe, Wash., (wife Robin), and Scott Pearson of Austin, Texas. Her twin brother Donnelly Fenn of Ashland, Ore., her sister Margaret “Peggy” Fenn of Arlington, Va, along with her grandchildren Linnea, Leif, Sky, and Isabelle Pearson of Monroe, Wash. Her husband Andrew “Rudy” Pearson, Jr. passed in 1984.
Anne Ambrose was a beloved fixture at Long Beach State, having served as a long-time member of Staff Council as well as staff representative and secretary for the International Education Committee and Advisory Council on Enrollment Management. The Long Beach State graduate (1976 B.A., 1990 Master’s) also served as interim Academic Senator, an Alumni Association Commencement volunteer and member of the Friends of the Earl Miller Japanese Garden. Ambrose spent 13 years as Senior Editor in the Marketing and Communications department before her retirement in 2016. Overall, she spent more than 33 years in higher education marketing and communications.
