ClassNotes

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Kristi (Kjos) McKiney ’77 writes: "This year I celebrated my 30th anniversary of marriage to my wonderful husband Frank, and the graduation of my youngest daughter, Michelle, from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. As an independent technical writer, I specialize in writing documentation and online help for software and hardware products at Agilent Technologies. I love the challenge and learning opportunities, along with the freedom to work from home."

Arnie Maurins '77 is the Director of the Washoe County Library System based in Reno, Nevada. He and his wife, Cathy, live in Sparks.

Kristy Logan '77 opened her own studio in 2011: Water Lily Studio, in Walnut Creek, Calif. She teaches classes in yoga, yoga-dance, pilates mat, meditation, and yoga-&-poetry.

Steven Howell J.D. '77 will retire as a judge at the end of February 2011, after more than 24 years on the bench. Howell told the Mercury-Register he really enjoys his job, but heart surgery about a year ago prompted him to reflect on his future.

Howell was first appointed to the South Butte County Municipal Court in September 1987 and the Superior Court in May 1996, according to a court press release.

He was re-elected without challenge five times, most recently in 2011. Howell is believed to be the second-longest serving judge in the county. He was elected by his colleagues to serve as presiding judge for 14 years. Howell concluded his latest term last year.

Luis Hernandez '77 writes that twin grandsons Ethan and Owen Hernandez were born on Dec. 27, 2008 to son Erick in Stockton. Son Michael graduated from Notre Dame in May. Hernandez was interim city attorney in April 2008 and city attorney in September 2008 for the city of El Centro, where he has worked since February 1995.

James B. Hawkins ’77 has been appointed to the board of directors of Digirad Corporation, a leading provider of diagnostic imaging products and personnel and equipment leasing services, and will serve as chair of the Compensation Committee. Hawkins has more than two decades of experience as chief executive of successful medical device companies. Since April 2004, Mr. Hawkins has served as the president, CEO, and a director of Natus Medical Incorporated, a provider of healthcare products used for the screening, detection, treatment, monitoring, and tracking of common medical ailments such as hearing impairment, neurological dysfunction, epilepsy, sleep disorders, and certain newborn conditions. Prior to joining Natus Medical, Mr. Hawkins was president, CEO, and a director of Invivo Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of multi-parameter vital sign monitoring equipment, and its predecessor from 1985 through January 2004. Mr. Hawkins also served as Secretary of Invivo from 1986 until January 2004. Mr. Hawkins has served as a Director of IRIDEX Corp. since October 2007. Mr. Hawkins holds an undergraduate degree in Business Commerce from Santa Clara University and holds a M.B.A. from San Francisco State University.

 John Hardy J.D. '77 was appointed as General Counsel for Lee Enterprises of Little Rock, AR.

Valerie D. Hanson '77 has been employed as a RN at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital/Stanford for the last 11 years at the Level II nursery/special care.

Steve Gomo MBA '77 was appointed to the board of NetSuite Inc., a provider of cloud-based financials and ERP software suites. Gomo was most recently the CFO and executive vice president of NetApp, serving at the company from August 2002 until his recent retirement in December 2011. Gomo also serves on the board of directors of SanDisk, Enphase Energy, Inc. and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Foundation at Oregon State University.

Debbie Cucalon '77 writes: "I'm still doing property management & rentals for my family. In addition, I have just completed my debut CD titled, "Love Journey", an eclectic mix of jazz, sass, Latin, blues & inspiring ballads. There are 5 cover tunes & 6 originals. You can check it out @ cdbaby.com, Itunes. com or Amazon.com. Enjoy!!"

Jean H. Carter MBA '77 writes that she is enjoying the challenge of learning a new skill, after a career as a business analyst. Creative writing is her new passion, requiring a whole new approach to communication. 

Lisa “Lia” Cacciari ’77 is publishing the literary historic novel Hieros Gamos later this year. Cacciari, a medievalist and anglophile of longstanding, plans to follow with publication of the saga Fyr Boren. Both works are set in the north of England during the Middle Ages.

Larry Bogner '73, MBA '77 reports that he recently retired after more than 30 years as a civil engineer, the last 16 at Napa County's Public Works Department.

Lee R. Bissonette J.D. '77 is chair of Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC's Medical Malpractice/Catastrophic Injury Group in Minneapolis, where he assists families and individuals with a broad range of injury cases. He has more than 25 years of experience representing victims with catastrophic injuries, including those caused by medical malpractice. In 2006, Bissonette was named a "Super Lawyer", recognized among the top 5 percent of Minnesota attorneys by Minnesota Law & Politics magazine.

Dr. James Barrett MBA ’77 was honored by the Tech Council of Maryland with its Lifetime Achievement Award, in March. The award is given each year to a local individual who has gone above and beyond to serve the community at large over the course of his or her career. Recipients display commitment and leadership both in the field and within their company, fostering new ideas and encouraging creativity. The recipient also demonstrates generosity and compassion, making sure their work benefits others.

Barrett is a general partner at New Enterprise Associates, one of the world's largest venture capital firms. He focuses on investing in healthcare technologies and therapeutics as a pioneering figure in the field of biotechnology, during which he worked with companies that focused on gene therapy, targeted cancer therapies, rare diseases and the first implantable glucose sensor. In 2012, Barrett was on the Forbes Midas List.

Ron Ball J.D. ’77 announced he will retire at the end of the year after 26 years of service to the City of Carlsbad. Carlsbad City Attorney Ron Ball was hired the day before the people of Carlsbad adopted the Growth Management ordinance, which became the road map for guiding development for the next 26 years and beyond. At that time, the City was less than half of its current size. Ball worked as assistant city attorney until 1991, when the City Council appointed him as its second full-time City Attorney in the City’s history.

Judge Brian J. Back ’77 was elected by Ventura Superior Court judges as assistant presiding judge for 2011 and 2012. Back was appointed to the Ventura Municipal Court by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1997 and elevated to the Superior Court in 1998 by court unification. He has been a judge for 12 years. Back is assigned to the criminal division. Previous assignments have included juvenile delinquency, family law, guardianship, domestic violence and adult mental health courts. Back has presided over specialized juvenile drug and mental health calendars and served on numerous professional and community boards and commissions. In 2003 he was named Judge of the Year by the Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association. Before his appointment to the bench, Back was an attorney with Arnold, Back, Mathews, Wojkowski & Zirbel from 1990 to 1997; Arnold & Back from 1989 to 1990; and Nordman, Cormany, Hair & Compton from 1977 to 1989. Back earned a bachelor’s degree at Claremont Men’s College and a law degree from Santa Clara University Law. He also has a master’s degree in government from the Claremont Graduate School.

Javier Alcala B.A. ’77, J.D. ’82 was appointed to judgeship in the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Alcala, 57, of Mountain View, has been a deputy district attorney for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office since 1983.