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
John Anderson
Class of 1971
A former Los Angeles Times editor, John Gottberg Anderson, BA ’71, is now a full-time freelance travel writer living in Bend. The North American Travel Journalists Association honored him in 2016 and 2017 with its Gold Award for best self-illustrated travel story.
Susan Phinney
Class of 1963
Susan Greenlund Phinney, BS ’63, moved to Seattle right after graduation and spent 44 wildly wonderful years writing ad copy for Nordstrom; 28 years as a reporter, editor, and feature writer at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer; and a stint of corporate PR. Retired for 10 years, she loves traveling, spending time at a cabin in the San Juan Islands, and volunteering for writing projects.
Tyler Elliott
Class of 2009
Tyler R. Elliott, MA ’09, JD ’09, launched a new financial planning firm, Watershed Wealth Planning LLC, in Portland. He began his career as a bankruptcy attorney, and then shifted to a financial planning focus. WWP will specialize in planning for legal, medical, tech, and other professionals who are members of generations X and Y.
David Rankin
Class of 1960
David Rankin, BS ’60, MS ’68, and Dianne McKrola Rankin, BS ’60, MS ’69, were announced as Oregon’s 2016 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. They have owned their 194-acre forestland just outside of Florence for 43 years.
Ronald Wigginton
Class of 1968
Ron Wigginton, MFA ’68, recently published “Cloud Of Uncertainty” (Land Studio, 2016) containing a series of his paintings. The book’s preface is written by Peter Ruddick, whom he met at the School of Architecture and Allied Arts in 1965, and its introduction is by Peter Clothier, an art critic and writer living in Los Angeles.
James Lassiter
Class of 1975
On March 18, the Bamasaaba Cultural Institution hosted the launching of a new book by James E. Lassiter, MS ’75, PhD ’83, Circumcision and Coffee in Uganda: Bamasaaba Responses to Incursion, Colonialism, and Nationalism 1840—1962. The book is an account of the prehistory and cultural history of the Bamasaaba (Bagisu) ethnic group of eastern Uganda.
Dianne Rankin
Class of 1960
David Rankin, BS ’60, MS ’68, and Dianne McKrola Rankin, BS ’60, MS ’69, were announced as Oregon’s 2016 Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. They have owned their 194-acre forestland just outside of Florence for 43 years.
David Hercher
Class of 1977
David Hercher (BA 77) became a U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in Portland on 1/23/17.
Kevin McCarey
Class of 1980
KEVIN McCAREY, MA ’80 (speech: telecommunication and film), published his third book, Moonglow Bay, a collection of fictional tales inspired by the filmmaker’s journeys from the ruins of Machu Picchu to the islands of the Spanish Caribbean, and beyond.
Richard Schanche
Class of 1978
Richard Schanche, BFA ’78, has created art from Minneapolis to Anchorage where he has several galleries showing his work. In May, he held an Art in the Courtyard event in McMinnville where he and two other artists displayed their work.
Frank Burkhartsmeyer
Class of 1990
Frank Burkhartsmeyer, MBA ’90, has been named CFO of Northwest Natural. He previously served as the president and CEO of Avangrid Renewables, as well as senior vice president of finance at Iberdrola Renewables US.
Karen Maltzahn
Class of 1995
Karey Maltzahn, BS ’95, has recently been named the head of feature production at visual effects company Digital Domain Studios in Los Angeles. Karey previously had been a VFX producer on such movies as Captain America: Civil War, Antman, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Fate of the Furious.
Brett Campbell
Class of 1996
Brett Campbell, MS ’96, is coauthor with Bill Alves of “Lou Harrison: American Musical Maverick” (Indiana University Press, 2017), a biography of the Portland-born composer who became one of the pioneers of world music. Campbell is also a former School of Journalism and Communication instructor, "Flux" magazine faculty adviser, and”Oregon Quarterly” assistant editor.
Jason Lewis-Berry
Class of 1999
Jason Lewis-Berry, BA ’99, a former official at the US Department of State, was appointed as economic and jobs policy advisor to Oregon governor Kate Brown. Previously, he worked for a humanitarian relief organization and as a consultant on homeland security and disaster preparedness.
Lauren Strauss
Class of 2016
Quinn Evans Architects announced that Lauren Strauss, MArch ’16, has joined as staff designer in their Detroit, Michigan office. Strauss is a year-five Challenge Detroit Fellow focusing on community impact projects. Strauss is currently working on the renovation of the historic Crapo Building in Bay City, Michigan.
Catherine Such
Class of 1991
First Sterling has named Catherine Such, BA ’91, head of distribution and investor services for Regions Affordable Housing LLC.
Jesse Barton
Class of 1980
Jesse Barton, BA '80, recently presented, on behalf of the Oregon Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, a Zoom-based webinar titled "#BlackLivesMatter: Reducing Racial Disparities in Oregon’s Criminal Justice System Via Sentencing and Jury Reform." Dr. Rosa Colquitt, co-chair of the Oregon delegation to the DNC Convention, served as webinar moderator.
Laura Bock
Class of 1967
Laura Bock, BA ’67, published a memoir, Red Diaper Daughter: Three Generations of Rebels and Revolutionaries. Her parents were committed left-wing radical activists, and their political involvement was the inspiration for her participation in the civil rights and antiwar movements at the UO in the 1960s, and in the feminist movement in the 1970s.
Clark Santee
Class of 1963
Clark Santee, BS ’63, retired after a 50-year career as an independent producer and director of performing arts programs for television. He continues his television activities as a volunteer, producing programs on Portland’s music scene and videos about the history of the UO track team.
David Lippoff
Class of 1971
David Lippoff, BS ’71, is coordinator for Solutions Journalism Network’s Portland-based community of journalists, who report rigorously on responses to social problems.