Class Notes
The latest news and successes of Toro alumni.
Contents
1980s
Viki Copeland (BS ’88) was honored by the Hermosa Beach City Council for her more than 50 years with the city. Copeland started in April 1973 as a clerk and eventually worked her way up to finance director. Copeland helped consolidate the city’s Human Resources and Finance departments to form the Administrative Services Department.
David Dumais (BS ’83) has been the Fire Chief of the City of Torrance since December 2022. With 36 years of experience in firefighting, Dumais is an adjunct fire technology instructor at El Camino College and was recently appointed to the California Fire Chiefs’ Association as the Certified Unified Program Agency Forum Board representative for Southern California.
Pamela Munson (MS ’89) has been appointed as in-house Laboratory Planner and Medical Equipment Planner for Corgan, a global architecture and design firm. Munson has over 25 years of experience as a microbiologist and is a certified interior designer.
Adam A. Porter (BS ’86) has been named co-executive director of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing, an academic health research institute. Porter is also a professor of computer science at the University of Maryland, College Park, and executive director of the Fraunhofer USA Center Mid-Atlantic, an applied research center.
Mary Roberts (BS ’84) has been named Chief Financial Officer at Valley First Credit Union. Roberts brings more than 40 years of accounting experience to her new role.
Renata E. Valree (BS ’89, MPA ’98) an associate professor in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding at CSUDH, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who, reflecting her notable contributions in the field. She is CEO of Peace in Education and owns and leads Ambassadors of Peace.
Karl Waller (BS ’84) opened The Brass Tap, a craft beer bar and entertainment venue franchise, which had its grand opening in June 2024. Waller, along with his wife and sister, are co-owners of the franchise, which is located in the Promenade at the Dunes in Marina, Calif.
1990s
Susan Engle (BS ’96, MS ’00) has been included in Marquis Who’s Who. With over 45 years of experience, Engle currently serves as an assistant professor at Unitek Learning, which oversees learning institutions in the areas of health care, nursing, and emergency medical services.
Terry Walker (BA ’93, CRDT ’01) was appointed Superintendent of the Adelanto Elementary School District. Walker has more than 30 years of experience in education, which includes classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal at the elementary and secondary level.
Ural Yal (MBA ’99) has been appointed as CEO and member of the Board of Directors for Shimmick Corp., a leading water infrastructure company. Yal brings over 26 years of experience in water and critical infrastructure construction.
2000s
Edd Bond (MA ’05) has been named Superintendent for the Templeton Unified School District. Prior to his appointment, Bond served nine years as a teacher and 18 years in administration. Bond is an Army veteran and a longtime American Legion member.
Jennifer Branning (BS ’09) has been appointed to the Board of State and Community Corrections, an independent statutory agency that provides leadership to the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems. Branning has served as a probation officer for more than 10 years in Lassen County.
Tyais Dial (BS ’06) is the new principal for Spangdahlem High School in Germany within the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) – Europe West District. She has worked as a both a DoDEA teacher and administrator during her time with the organization.
Lawton Gray III (CRED ’02) was honored as an Excellent Educator at the 35th annual NAACP Ruby McKnight Williams Awards dinner. Gray is the principal at John Muir High School in Pasadena. He has worked in education for 26 years and was named the 2011 Administrator of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors.
Krisse Kelly (MA ’07) is the new principal at Laguna Elementary School in Scottsdale, Ariz. She has worked at Laguna Elementary School in various capacities, including as an assistant principal and a fourth-grade teacher.
Jason Kusagaya (MS ’02) has been appointed as product catalogue manager in the aftermarket division of Hitachi Astemo Americas Inc. Kusagaya has more than 25 years of experience in automotive sales, marketing, and product planning.
Monica Lomeli (BS ’07) was named a Keynote Speaker for the 4th Annual Pomona Valley Pride Gayla. Lomeli is Manager of the Hate Documentation and Data Analytics Program with the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations and leads the production of the annual L.A. County Hate Crime Report.
Tai Ho Lee (BS ’06) was named a partner at KPMG. KPMG provides tax services globally in the form of auditing and ad services and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms in the United States.Greta Vines-Douglas (MS ’06) was appointed Director of Physician Assistant Studies at Marshall B. Ketchum University. Vines-Douglas’ priorities include supporting faculty development, increasing the program’s visibility, and ensuring students have robust service-learning experiences.
Candy Higgins Di-Meo (BA ’08) received the Distinguished Women Award from El Camino College. She is an artist, singer, and musician who performs as Candy Paula. In addition to performing, Di-Meo is a librarian who contributes to the community through volunteer work in art museums and working with high school students.
2010s
Matthew Hayes (MS ’19) was hired as Program and Events Director at the Fresh Produce & Floral Council (FPFC). Hayes joins FPFC after spending five years in the same role at California Workforce Association. In that position, Hayes helped secure more than $4 million in funding to bolster California’s workforce and economic development system.
Alejandro Reynaga (BA ’19) was ordained as one of 11 new priests for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on June 1, 2024.
Alexis Zamarripa, MSN, RN (MS ’14) has been named Chief Nursing Officer at PIH Health Downey Hospital. In this capacity, she is responsible for executive oversight of the hospital’s nursing practice and operations. Zamarripa has been with PIH Health for 27 years.
2020s
Cynthia Nava (MA ’23) has been appointed city clerk for the Cerritos City Council. Nava brings 22 years of administrative experience in city government. She first joined the City of Cerritos in 2002 in the Building and Safety Division and joined the City Clerk’s Office in 2018.
In Memoriam
Alumni
Jean Anderson (BA ’09) 1942-2024
Christine Banks-Anders (BA ’90) 1941-2024
Oscar Barreda (BA ’88) 1923-2024
Kenneth Carroll (MA ’93) 1946-2024
Ashley Severson Cox (BS ’17) 1994-2024
Eileen Delaney (MS ’09) 1954-2024
Janet Fletcher (MS ’77) 1936-2024
Bertha Ichinaga (MA ’75) 1929-2024
Carol Lee Janich (BA ’72) 1948-2024
Oliver J. Johnson (BS ’80) 1945-2024
Marcella M. Keyes (MA ’92) 1942-2024
Louis La Regina Jr. (MA ’02) 1962-2024
Maria De Fatima Manning (BA ’21) 1932-2024
Stephen Martinez (BA ’73) 1950-2024
Marian J. Miller (MA ’82) 1932-2024
Edwin P. Ott (BA ’82) 1959-2024
Gemma Denise Cofield Oyewole (BA ’88) (MA ’98) 1965-2024
Iris Pygatt (MA ’88) 1934-2024
Saundra Ann Shodiya (MS ’94) 1949-2024
Michael Corey Smith (BS ’82) 1955-2024
Christi Wood-Flentie (BA ’03) 1964-2024
Faculty
Delores “Dee” Stevens (CAH, Music Department)
Daniel Cutrone (CNBS)
Share your own Class Note! Share your career, family, or personal news with us at alumnirelations@csudh.edu.
