What’s Happening ALUMNI

Steve Zavattero ‘84 (A)

Steve has been named the new Executive Director of the San Francisco Art Dealers Association (SFADA). As the former Co-Owner/Director of the San Francisco Contemporary Art Gallery Marx & Zavattero, and Co-Founder of Startup Art Fair, he is very grateful for the opportunity to professionally rejoin the thriving Bay Area art ecosystem. Steve looks forward to activating dynamic experiences for SFADA’s Membership and fostering more awareness of the vibrant range of its member galleries to a wider group of potential collectors, curators, supporters and art enthusiasts.

Michael Steinbach ‘95 (B)

In 2021 Michael became a producer for The Muppets Studio and produced his first Television Special for Disney+, MuppetsHauntedMansion. The Halloween special mashup of two icons (Disney IPs of The Haunted Mansion and the Muppets) was a great success and he was awarded a Producers Guild Award and nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Fiction Special. In total, MuppetsHauntedMansion received four Emmy nominations and won an Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction and Scenic Design. In 2022 Michael produced 10 episodes of a new TV show, TheMuppetsMayhem. It will launch on Disney+ at a yet-to-be-announced date in 2023.

Tom Coughlan ‘97

Congratulations to Tom who was recently named Executive Director of Lasallian Christian Brothers Foundation (LCBF) in Napa, Calif. Tom previously served as president of Saint Michael’s High School in Santa Fe, N.M. LCBF raises funds for scholarships for underserved students to attend SFNO schools, as well as for the care and support of the SFNO Brothers who educate and serve them.

Brenton Del Chairo ‘97 (C)

Brenton, 43, begins his seventh season with the Brewers and his second as hitting coordinator after spending two seasons (2020-21) as assistant hitting coordinator. He joined the organization in 2016 as a hitting coach with the Arizona Brewers, a role he continued through the 2021 season in addition to his duties as assistant hitting coordinator. Prior to joining the Brewers, Del Chiaro spent nine seasons (2008-16) with the Los Angeles Angels organization. He also spent time with the Major League team as a bullpen catcher in 2007 after his retirement following a seven-year playing career in the Angels system (2001-07). Brenton resides in Claremont, California with his wife, Lindsay, and their two children, Beckett and Cora.

Noah Merl ‘01 (D)

In January 2023, Noah started his own private therapy practice, combining his past experience as a collegiate and professional soccer player with the last 10 years as a practicing psychotherapist. Noah is now providing therapy and mental skills services to athletes and performers throughout California via virtual appointments through “Athletic Acumen.” He says it is a welcome change to be working with the athlete population again after previously working at Kaiser Permanente in Mental Health and Addiction Medicine for seven years. Noah is enjoying the freedom of his own business and lives in Alameda with his wife Kelsey, their children Sierra (8), Easton (5), and Payton (2), and Australian Shepherd Donovan (12).

Nate Appel ‘10

Nate recently moved to the Windy City (Chicago) and is loving the atmosphere there! While he is not quite a Bulls fan yet, he is really enjoying the new environment, food scene, and city life. He’s also still enjoying a rewarding and fulfilling role at Google as a Legal Investigations Manager. In this role, he utilizes what he learned at De La Salle, Chico State (Bachelors), and USD (Masters) on a weekly basis. He directly manages a team of 10+ individuals, provides coaching/mentorship, and assists with career development. He also helps out with responding to domestic criminal legal requests for user data (e.g. search warrants) and participates in an on-call after-hours pager rotation, where he responds to emergency law enforcement requests (e.g. he provides information to officials when a hiker goes missing to help locate them).

Dr. John “Jeep” Baggett ‘11 (E)

John is a biochemist with expertise in scientific communication, data visualization, and data analysis. He completed his Biochemistry PhD at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2021. In graduate school, John did quite a bit of bioinformatics work and scientific communications (seminars, lectures, and conference presenting). Now he uses these skills in his role at Gryphon, which he joined in 2022. For instance, in March, John presented to members of the CDC and other government agencies in Washington DC. Jeep is an avid outdoorsman, gardener, and cook. You will often find him in the kitchen creating meals with ingredients he produced and harvested himself.

TJ Brassil ‘12

Clayton resident and 2012 De La Salle grad, TJ was recently awarded a 2021-22 Sports Emmy Award for his work as an Associate Producer for NBC Sports at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. The award was for Outstanding Interactive Experience – Event Coverage at the Games of the XXXII OLYMPIAD working on a show called Tokyo Gold hosted by Rich Eisen which streamed on Peacock. He says the Tokyo Games assignment, “Was an intense and hectic 20 days, but it was one of the most fun and gratifying experiences of my professional life.” After graduating from the University of Oregon, TJ got a job at the Pac-12 Networks, working his way up to a producer there. He has been producing a show titled TheITFactory for the past two years for Pac-12 Networks with lead football analyst Yogi Roth as host.

Kevin Koenig ‘14 (F)

Kevin recently finished all of the certification exams needed to become board certified in prosthetics and orthotics. He finished residencies last fall and continued on with Gillette Children’s afterward.

He is currently scheduled to present his residency research project at two national conferences in the next few months. He also got married last fall in Minnesota.

Eric Morgan ‘15

Eric made a move to Colorado in 2022. He is a

Max Schmidtbauer ‘18 (G)

Max recently started his PhD at Colorado State University, advised by Dr. Punya Nachappa. He will be investigating the differences in pest and predator insects, soil microbiome, and cannabinoid content with regard to the organic vs. conventional cultivation of hemp. He has also

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