Class Notes

The Sweetness of Water, written by NATHAN HARRIS, BA ’14 (English), has been selected for Oprah Winfrey's 2021 book club list, former president Barack Obama's summer 2021 reading list, and as a New York Times Book Review editors' choice.

SAMANTHA CHIANG, MBA ’18 (general business), a lieutenant commander with the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps, was featured by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, which provides media organizations access to US military service members and commanders.

DANIELA NASSER, BS ’19 (business administration), became assistant coach of women's tennis at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.

JOY L. RUPPERSBURG, BS '75 (elementary education), MEd '84 (special education), a former teacher, principal, and superintendent in Oregon and California, moved her private practice as an education therapist from San Rafael, California, to her home in Petaluma, where she also enjoys organic gardening and maintaining a wildlife habitat she has dubbed, "Joy's Jungle Petaluma."

JOY L. RUPPERSBURG, BS ’75 (elementary education), MEd '84 (special education), a former teacher, principal, and superintendent in Oregon and California, moved her private practice as an education therapist from San Rafael, California, to her home in Petaluma, where she also enjoys organic gardening and maintaining a wildlife habitat she has dubbed, “Joy's Jungle Petaluma.”

RUBY HAUGHTON-PITTS, BS ’77 (speech: rhetoric and communication), wrote an opinion piece for the Oregonian in which she argued the state must examine workplace biases that sideline women of color.

Erin Watkinson, a proud Duck and At-Large UOAA Executive Committee member, recently took a new role as the VP of Strategic Solutions & Training for Avetta, a fast growing leader in Supply Chain Risk Management software based out of Orem, UT. After adjusting to working from home during the pandemic, this serves as Erin's first completely remote role. She is particularly proud to be one of the only women in an senior leadership position and plans to work alongside her peers and with the Leadership team to push for continued opportunities for women and POC.

Dr. Howard Wang, B.A., Biology ('71 Oregon), MA and Ph.D. Higher Education Administration ('92 UCLA), retired in 2018 from high education after many years of dedicated services in Student Affairs. Currently, he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of the West, a liberal arts university that provides a whole-person education informed by Buddhist wisdom and values to facilitate cultural understanding and appreciation between East and West. Previously, having served as a consultant to numerous universities in China since 2005, Dr. Wang was appointed by Duke University in 2014 to serve as the Associate Dean for Student Affairs at Duke Kunshan University (Kunshan, China). He also served as an adjunct professor in Higher Education at Beijing Normal University, as well as at Duke Kunshan University. He also served as an Assistant VP, and then as an Associate VP of Student Affairs for over 20 years at two California State University campuses, after having served, for 11 years, as the Executive Officer to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Development and Health Division at UCLA Student Affairs. Dr. Wang has been a frequent presenter or co-presenter at international conferences in Asian and S.E. Asian countries; and most recently in 2019, also presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association. He frequently published research papers on student affairs, and served as authors, co-authors, as well as Associate Editors in various journals related to student programs and services. Briefly from 1974 to 1976, Dr. Howard Wang served as a Research Associate conducting mycology research and as a teaching assistant in clinical microbiology at the Mayo Clinic Medical School. He is currently devoting most of his time in serving several Asian American community organizations, as well as a part-time consultant on international student services and leadership development.

ELDON ALBERTSON, BS ’61 (education), is writing an autobiography and family histories after traveling to China in 2017 and 2018.

Sally Stender Kesey became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional.

Recently helped establish and launch the Saudi East chapter of the entrepreneurs' organization along with several fellow local entrepreneurs. Our chapter is one of the fastest growing in the MENA region. Currently serving my second term as marketing and communication chair of the chapter.

Reid Carr was elected Board Chair for the Voice of San Diego, the pioneering nonprofit investigative local news organization dedicated to increasing civic participation by giving residents the knowledge and in-depth analysis necessary to become advocates for good government and social progress.

After 18 years in sports broadcasting, media and digital media, Alexa Tieu Whippo, '10, has gotten a new job with Deloitte Consulting! She is a Communications Solution Specialist in Deloitte's Human Capital vertical. This allows for more flexibility and time for Alexa to spend with her husband, four children and dog.

I'm hanging up my well-worn size 13 Waffle Trainers on October 1, retiring from Nike after 29+ years, the last 17 as the company's first corporate historian. Because the history of Nike intersects repeatedly with the University of Oregon, I've had the good fortune to interview and capture the stories of many Oregon alumni who have made an impact on Nike. Now it's time to pass the baton and celebrate what has been an amazing ride.

BA '15 (Psychology) became a Licensed Professional Counselor and was promoted to Mobile Crisis Supervisor. He currently serves four rural counties in Colorado, and is working closely with law enforcement agencies to utilize Co-Responding Clinicians for mental health emergencies.

Brian Malloy, BA '01, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2020 and for Super Lawyers (Northern California) for 2019. He is with The Brandi Law Firm in San Francisco, where he lives with his wife Aimee.

STEPHEN COHEN, BA '82 (fine and applied arts), served as a curator, organizer, and performer at the 2020 Be About Love Virtual Performance Festival at Blackfish Gallery in Portland.

Jadi Campbell is a 2024 Best American Essays nominee for Red Red Roses which appeared in the International Human Rights Art Movement Literary Magazine.

https://humanrightsartmovement.org/ihraf-publishes

I am nominated for America's Best Essays 2024 by International Human Rights Art Movement Magazine for my published essay 'Red, Red Roses'.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D8851TB5?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520

My collection of short stories The Trail Back Out was named Winner in the category of General Fiction of the 2023 San Francisco Book Festival. This is the sixth award distinction for my book. It was also selected as 2020 American Book Fest Best Book Award Finalist Fiction Anthologies, 2021 IAN Book of the Year Award Finalist (Short Story Collection), 2021 Top Shelf Award Runner-Up, and 2021 Wishing Shelf Red Ribbon. The title story was longlisted for the 2021 Screen Craft Cinematic Short Story Award.