What’s new with you matters to us.
Have you been recently promoted or started a new job? Perhaps you are starting on a new educational journey. Maybe, you are newly married or recently added to your family. Let your fellow Ducks know what is happening in your life.
When you submit a class note, it will be considered for publication in the UOAA’s monthly Shout! newsletter, posted to the UOAA alumni website, or highlighted on social media.
Featured Class Notables
Paul Mouchakkaa
Class of 2000
PAUL MOUCHAKKAA, MBA ’00 (general business), was appointed senior managing director and head of real estate of Alberta Investment Management Corporation of Canada, leading a real estate investment team and responsible for $18 billion in domestic and foreign program assets.
Edniesha Curry
Class of 2002
EDNEISHA CURRY, BS ’02 (sociology), who completed her first season as an assistant coach with the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2021—22 season, was chosen as keynote speaker for the Oregon Girls Sports Leadership Summit.
Michael Kasahun
Class of 2002
MICHAEL KASAHUN, BA ’02 (sociology), organized a march in Eugene to raise awareness about civil war in Tigray, Ethiopia, his home country.
Steven Lent
Class of 1972
STEVE LENT, BS ’72 (history), retired after twenty years as historian of the Bowman Museum of Crook County.
Marjorie Yap
Class of 1979
MARGIE YAP, BA ’79 (journalism), was featured by Oregon ArtsWatch for her lifelong study of the Japanese tea ceremony and her business, Issoan Tea School, run from her home in west Portland.
Alex Kolodkin
Class of 1987
ALEX KOLODKIN, PHD ’87 (biology), a professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Michael Gaynes
Class of 1978
MIKE GAYNES, BS ’78 (journalism), was profiled in a California Public Television documentary titled More Than Skin Deep—Surviving Melanoma, as one of the earliest breakthrough survivors of stage 4 melanoma, a cancer that was often fatal prior to the recent development of immunotherapy.
Tom Williams
Class of 1993
TOM WILLIAMS, BS ’93 (physics), was featured in Atlanta magazine for his work as a sculptor.
Nicole Apelian
Class of 1993
NICOLE M. APELIAN, MS '93 (biology), published The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies: The Healing Power of Plant Medicine, a compilation of herbs and natural remedies offered as an alternative to chemically produced medication.
Martina Kolb
Class of 1993
MARTINA KOLB, MA ’93 (German), Martina Kolb, associate professor of German studies at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, received the John C. Horn Award for Distinguished Scholarship and Creative Activity.
Kevin Pitts
Class of 1989
KEVIN PITTS, MS ’89, PhD ’94 (physics), chief research officer at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory and a professor of physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was named dean of the Virginia Tech College of Science in Virginia.
Corey Schlosser-Hall
Class of 1992
COREY SCHLOSSER-HALL, BS ’92 (speech: rhetoric and communication), executive presbyter of Washington-based Northwest Coast Presbytery for 15 years, was named director of rebuilding and vision implementation for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, the ministry and mission agency of the Presbyterian Church.
Troy Jelinek
Class of 1992
TROY JELINEK, BS ’92 (planning, public policy and management), was named chief commercial officer for Minnesota-based Icario, a health care company.
Douglas Ramsthel
Class of 1986
DOUGLAS RAMSTHEL, BS ’86 (economics), coauthored the book, Access: Addressing the Obesity Crisis.
Aaron Walker
Class of 1991
AARON WALKER, BS ’91 (marketing), was hired as chief credit officer by Summit Bank of Eugene, central Oregon, and Portland.
Jon Wollmuth
Class of 1993
JON WOLLMUTH, BA ’93 (English), became principal at Island Park Elementary School in Washington state.
Brian Wright
Class of 1992
BRIAN WRIGHT, BS ’92 (speech: telecommunication and film, journalism: advertising), formerly the longtime chief merchandising officer for the Duck Store, became director of the VolShop at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, one of the top collegiate retailers in North America.
Laura Clarke
Class of 1996
LAURA CLARKE, MS ’96, PhD ’98 (physics), a physics professor in the College of Sciences at North Carolina State University, received the 2022 UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Yolanda Gibson
Class of 1996
YOLANDA SUAREZ, BA ’96 (speech: theater arts), played the title role in Alma, a play about a single mother and undocumented immigrant living in the US with her seventeen-year-old daughter, at ArtsWest in Seattle.
Joshua Gobel
Class of 1999
JOSH GOBEL, BS ’99 (environmental studies), a senior project manager with Olympia, Washington-based Thomas Architecture Studios, was promoted to associate principal.