Alumni News

1970s

ALEXANDER KOLESZAR (BA, psychobiology, ’79) retired as an MD from Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, CT.

DAN WOODS (BA, English, ’74) a partner at Musick, Peeler & Garrett LLP in downtown Los Angeles, was honored with the 2021 Inner City Law Center Katharine Krause Award for his pro bono and volunteer service.

1980s

JULIE GREEN (BA, political science, ’80) has joined Weintraub Tobin as of counsel in the firm’s corporate group as a result of its merger with healthcare and business law firm Salem & Green.

PAUL JONES (BA, psychobiology, ’81; MPA, ’84), an anesthesiologist and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at University Hospitals for the past 26 years, was awarded senior attending physician status at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals Portage Medical Center in Ravenna, OH.

PAUL RICHARDSON (BA, political science, ’87) was named senior executive vice president and chief human resources officer of The Walt Disney Co.

FRED ROSS-CISNEROS (BA, psychology, ’83) co-authored the research paper “Human RGR Gene and Associated Features of Age-Related Macular Degeneration in Models of Retina-Choriocapillaris Atrophy” in The American Journal of Pathology.

ROBERT SARIA (BA, international relations, ’82) was appointed deputy director of the Sacramento County Conflict Criminal Defender’s office.

1990s

MILLICENT ACCARDI (MPW, ’93) was a featured writer at Writer’s Week at the University of California, Riverside. A National Endowment for the Arts fellow, she curates the Portuguese American literary group Kale Soup for the Soul and the Poets & Writers-sponsored Loose Lips poetry readings in Topanga, CA.

LAURA JOHNSON (BA, social sciences and communication (political science), ’92) was presented with this year’s Resident and Associate Society’s Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award.

EDOARDO PONTI (BA, creative writing, ’94) will direct the television adaptation of the bestselling 2010 historical novel Elizabeth Street.

DANNY STRONG (BA, theatre, ’96) was named executive producer of Freeform’s Trap Queen, a drama about a young gay man and the Puerto Rico trap music scene.

2000s

SHASHANK BENGALI (BA, French and political science, ’01) joined The New York Times London bureau as senior editor and correspondent for live news.

SHERRY-MARIA SAFCHUK (BA, art history, ’05) has been promoted to partner in the Los Angeles law offices of Buckley LLP.

2010s

KATHERINE BIGELOW (BA, Russian, ’14) received a master’s degree in human resources management from Georgetown University.

JULIA COOPERMAN (BA, English, ’12) is a writer on the Netflix series Jupiter’s Legacy.

CONNOR FLANAGAN (BA, narrative studies, ’12) was an executive producer for the movie The Water Man.

LETICIA GALLEGOS ESPINOZA (BA, political science and philosophy (ethics), ’94) received the Professional Achievement Award in June 2022 from the Mexican American Bar Foundation. She is the chief legal officer and corporate secretary at Cardenas Markets LLC.

MYTHILI MENON (MA, linguistics, ’12; PhD, linguistics, ’16) was awarded a National Science Foundation grant to study linguistic models of social engineering attacks on refugee populations.

ANTHONY SPARKS (PhD, American studies and ethnicity, ’12) is showrunner and executive producer of Choir on Disney+, a docuseries on the Detroit Youth Choir. He is also creating a scripted companion series.

SAAM TAKALOO (BA, international relations and global business, ’10) is an associate at Blank Rome LLP in the general litigation group in Los Angeles.

MAURICE TURNER (BS, chemistry and chemical biology, ’14) graduated from the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine in 2020 and is a resident at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

ALEXANDER YEBRI (BA, political science, ’13) launched Hillcrest Law PC in Los Angeles, which specializes in personal injury, business and real estate law.

2020s

TIFFANY WONG (BA, East Asian languages and cultures, ’20) and BONNIE WONG (SCJ, ’20) were part of a Pulitzer Prizewinning team at The New York Times for their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

YIWEI LU (MVA, ’21) opened Yiwei Gallery in Venice Beach, California, and was named to the 2022 “AACYF Top 30 Under 30” list by All America Chinese Youth Federation, the Los Angeles Post, and the Chinese American Institute for Public Diplomacy.

Marriages and Births

CORY ANDERSON (BA, international relations and global business, ’14) married Melanie Kaplanek (MED, ’14).

RUSSELL HANDLER (BA, economics, ’14) married Megan Cunningham in May 2022.

JEFFREY JANCUSKA (BA, biological sciences, ’11) married JENNIFER CRISP (ENG ’13).

MELISSA MASATANI (BA, creative writing, ’07) and Jon Christensen welcomed their firstborn son, Sosuke Christensen, in June.

KIP PAYANE (BA, international relations, ’07) and his wife Liz Payne welcomed Mary “Polly” McKinnon Payne on Oct. 4, in Alexandria, Va. Polly and her 2-year-old sister Adaline are 6th-generation members of the Trojan Family.

M. BEAUMONT SHAPIRO (BA, religion (Judaic studies), ’05) and Ashley Shapiro welcomed a daughter, Jacqueline Merris.

ANNIE (FAULKNER) WAGNER (BA, social sciences (psychology), ’11) and BRIAN WAGNER (SCJ, ’12) welcomed a son, Finengan Matthew Wagner.

In Memoriam

STANLEY BARLOW (BA, international relations, ’61) of Laguna Woods, CA (05/19/21) at age 94; served in the U.S. Navy; became a firefighter in 1947; retired in 1980 as Chief Deputy.

RICHARD BENESH (BA, ’78) of Pasadena, CA (11/28/20) at age 64; worked at Jet Propulsion Laboratory; traveled extensively in Europe and Australia.

GEORGE LONGAN BERONIUS (BA, international relations, ’49) of Tuscan, AZ (9/28/22) at age 94; had a 30-year career at the Los Angeles Times, starting as a copy boy in 1949 and completing his writing career in 1978 as a columnist for the newspaper’s Sunday Supplement, Home Magazine; then moved to Santa Barbara where he served as an account executive for a local advertising agency.

SALLY BRANT (PhD, biochemistry, ’66) of Los Angeles, CA (4/23/22) at age 89; pursued a successful career in residential real estate sales in West L.A., mainly at John Douglas and Coldwell Banker.

BEVERLY CARL (BA, ’55) of Green Valley, AZ (1/22/22) at age 89; law professor at Southern Methodist University; traveled worldwide dealing with international law issues; helped many developing nations write or revise their constitutions.

FRANK DE MARCO, JR. (BA, political science, ’48) of Los Angeles, CA (4/20/22) at age 96; blended his passions for the law and thoroughbred horse racing, culminating his career as vice president of regulatory affairs, secretary and general counsel of the Los Angeles Turf Club at Santa Anita Park, before retiring in 2020.

ANNE “NAN” HIBBARD (BA, ’48) of La Jolla, CA (11/19/21) at age 93; started her own interior design business, Anne Hibbard Interiors, decorating a number of real estate projects developed by her husband Dick.

CAROL JEAN HOWE (BA, ’60) of Camarillo, CA (3/14/22) at age 83; beloved mathematics teacher and community volunteer; sought out adventures such as bird-watching in Africa and communing with penguins in the Antarctic.

PETER MARKOS (MS, chemical physics, ’74) of Dover, NH (12/6/20) at age 71; specialized in sports medicine and rehabilitation; served as an assistant coach for USC’s swim team and a team physician for USA Swimming’s National team; loved aquatics training, competing, volunteering, directing, coaching, lifeguarding, sailing and traveling; enjoyed many summers volunteering as an American Red Cross Water Safety instructor at Camp Tevya in Brookline, NH.

RICHARD SETLOWE (BA, political science, ’46) of Los Angeles, CA (8/25/22) at age 89; volunteered for U.S. Navy flight school then served as an officer aboard the aircraft carrier Midway; a journalist at the San Francisco Examiner, he became a columnist for Variety, writing about film, music and drama.