AggieXtra Spring 2018

Thwarting the epidemic of violence PAGE 12 Solving water challenges PAGE 17

Get the most out of Picnic Day PAGE 20

Aggie first responders PAGE 30

Get to know our women's basketball coach PAGE 42

One Aggie network. Many connections.

Spring 2018 Volume 21 No. 2

IN THIS ISSUE

17

24 Cover Story

48 After beginning his career as an emergency room doctor, Garen Wintemute M.D. ’77 grew weary of seeing patients admitted due to violent acts. So he started the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, an interdisciplinary program that is finding ways to respond to the pervasive problem of violence — with the potential to do even more. Read more on page 12.

2

(800) 242-GRAD

20

Aggie Entreprenuers

FEATURE:

CHRIS SODERQUIST MBA ’98 RICHARD CHUANG ’79 DEBOARAH NEFF ’76 NOLAN DE GRAAFF ’05

Feature: Big Ideas VIOLENCE PREVENTION WORLD WATER INITIATIVE

Picnic Day 2018 EVENT RECAP:

Alumni Awards Gala

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UPDATE:

5

6 8 10 11

12 12 17

20 24

Big Picture

26 28 30 34

UC Davis the right fit for the Martinez Family

37

Sans Wine Co.

38

AGGIES MAKING A DIFFERENCE:

Volunteer Opportunities

40

Q&A with women’s basketball coach Jennifer Gross ’97

42

Professor John Eadie

44

#AGGIESATWORK:

46

University News

48 51 53

Seeking Justice in Education NETWORK UPDATE: FEATURE:

Active Aggies

Aggies in Action

FAMILY PROFILE:

WINE PARTER PROFILE:

ATHLETICS UPDATE:

OFFICE HOURS:

Darcie Houck ’94, M.S. ’97, J.D. ’97

Aggie Adventures Opportunities THE LAST WORD:

Patrick Sherwood ’86

30

28

26 8

4

(800) 242-GRAD

Aggie Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship is a pillar of UC Davis — students are challenged to think outside the box, push the boundaries of what is possible and imagine the next cutting-edge direction in their field of choice.

With an academic foundation from a top public research university, Aggies have a solid reputation of collaboration, innovation and commitment to solving the most pressing challenges of our time. Many alumni, parents and friends of UC Davis turn to the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s One Aggie Network to build relationships with UC Davis’ more than 250,000 living alumni, many of whom have

founded their own companies.

As part of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s #Aggiesatwork series, the following stories feature UC Davis alumni who are leading exciting careers and coming up with new, innovative concepts to share with the world.

Read on to find out how UC Davis helped push these entrepreneurs to launch their inspiring endeavors. alumni.ucdavis.edu

5

Aggie Entrepreneurs

Like Father, Like Sun Alumnus entrepreneur reduces the carbon footprint of Yolo County with affordable solar

By Trevor Stewart

C

hris Soderquist MBA ’98 knows his late father, Charles Soderquist M.S. ’73 Ph.D. ’78, cast a large shadow. Charles was seen as an entrepreneurial icon in Northern California and was heavily engaged with his alma mater, the University of California, Davis.

While Soderquist admits his father’s legacy could be intimidating, he believes it drove him to blaze his own trail. That’s exactly what he is doing with his most recent business venture, RepowerYolo, a solar company that helps his fellow Yolo County, California, property owners make the switch to solar energy.

Soderquist, a Cal Aggie Alumni Association Life Member and donor to the university, has started nearly two dozen businesses, ranging from tech incubators to software companies. In addition to his deep gratitude for his father, he credits the UC Davis Graduate School of Management (GSM) for providing him with top-notch education. (See video) “I love the Charles Mingus quote:

6

(800) 242-GRAD

‘Making the simple complicated is commonplace,’” Soderquist said.

“Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.”

With RepowerYolo, Soderquist put his creative juices to work, helping local home and business owners simplify going solar while reducing the carbon footprint of his community.

Yolo Shines gives back Charles, a former UC Davis Board of Regents member, former chair of the UC Davis Foundation and one of the university’s most ardent supporters, always valued philanthropy and implored others who had the means to be generous and invest in their communities.

“My dad believed anyone who was successful in the community — especially alumni — had a responsibility to give back and support the university,” Soderquist said.

Soderquist learned much from his father, including how to intersect business ventures and philanthropy.

He often employs a Venn diagram

Chris Soderquist inherited the entrepreneurial spirit and sense of philanthropy from his father, Charles J. Soderquist, who established the Charles J. Soderquist Faculty Chair in Entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Management.

to gauge whether a business meets the criteria of potential success. The typical business entrepreneur sees two circles: what they enjoy doing and how they can make money doing it. Soderquist said there is a key third circle: doing good.

With this in mind, for every customer who goes solar, RepowerYolo donates $500 to a local charity of their choice through their Yolo Shines program.

“Strengthening the fabric of our community is an imperative investment,” Soderquist said.

Soderquist’s dad is not his only family member with ties to UC Davis. He met his wife, alumna

UC Davis’ Graduate School of Management offers the following programs: Full-time MBA, UC DAVIS Part-time MBA, SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, OR SACRAMENTO, CA

Master of Professional Accountancy, UC DAVIS Master of Science in Business Analytics, SAN FRANCISCO, CA Non-degree open-enrollment and custom Executive Education programs Academies, workshops and programs for aspiring entrepreneurs If you’re interested in learning more about opportunities at the Graduate School of Management, click here.

Karen Soderquist ’90 MBA ’98, in the Graduate School of Management, and his mother, Julie McBride (Soderquist) ’75 M.S. ’78 earned her B.S. and Master’s degrees from UC Davis.

Potential among Aggies to be future pioneers Soderquist said the most pressing challenges facing our world are in food, water, energy, transportation, health and climate, and he believes no university on the planet is better equipped to engage these challenges than UC Davis. He has seen firsthand the spirit of Aggie innovation in the

dozens of full-time employees and student interns he’s hired over the years.

“Aggies have a humble, earnest and curious nature,” Soderquist said.

“They don’t feel like the world owes them anything, and they are eager to learn, grow and make a marked impact.”

He hopes the next generation of entrepreneurs will create innovative new businesses and reinvest in the community as he and his father have.

Recently Soderquist and David Hahn ’02, former president of GoFundMe and currently executivein-residence at two leading Silicon Valley investment firms, reunited

on stage to share their experiences with burgeoning entrepreneurs at the kick-off of this year’s UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition.

Soderquist led a fast-paced Q&A with Hahn, who offered lessons from his work in politics to his time as one of the first employees at LinkedIn. “Now is the perfect time to launch the company of your dreams,” Hahn said. “As your career progresses, you become more risk averse, and it only gets tougher to take these kinds of risks.”

Soderquist echoed, “If you’re afraid of failure, you will never succeed. Nothing great will ever be accomplished by those who don’t take risks.” alumni.ucdavis.edu

7

Aggie Entrepreneurs

UC Davis alumnus utilizes his passions in art and technology to tackle enterprise

By Ashley Han

Chuang received his second Academy Technical Achievement Award in 2016. He received his first Academy Technical Achievement Award in 1998 for pioneering the PDI proprietary animation system.

8

(800) 242-GRAD

R

ichard Chuang ’79 was raised and inspired by an entrepreneurial single mother that lifted him and his younger brother out of an impoverished life and eventually immigrated their family to the United States.

Chuang grew up in Hong Kong with his younger brother and mother.

His mother, with only a fourth grade education, decided to learn English and start her own clothing manufacturing company that would sell high-end, hand-beaded evening dresses to a family friend’s fashion business on Seventh Avenue in New York. Chuang said his mother’s determination to provide a better life for her children became a model that he follows.

Chuang is currently the founder of d1n0, a startup founded to leverage creative innovations using advances in technology. In 2008, Chuang founded Cloudpic, a technology company focused on creating digital content and multi-channel deliveries, until his departure in 2017. Through that period, he also started and ran multiple studios in Asia from gaming to real-time mobile content.

He continues to follow his mother’s wisdom.

“In the ’60s, being a woman in Asia was not easy because females were not viewed as somebody who should be running a business. I watched my mother struggle and learned from her at a very young age,” said Chuang, a Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) Life Member and donor to UC Davis. “I spent a lot of my time after school sitting in the factory doing my homework.

I witnessed firsthand my mother’s effort in building her company from scratch and her relationship with her employees and how well they respected her because she respected them — that’s how I built my company.”

Chuang’s interests were not always in engineering and technology.

As a student at UC Davis, he was passionate about the arts. As a child back in Hong Kong, he was taller than most of his classmates, so the teachers put him in the back of the room. Due to his poor eyesight, he struggled to read the board and began to doodle instead.

“As a kid, I really enjoyed painting

Chuang painted traditional Chinese landscape as a child and was always interested in art. His knowledge and background in art help him excel in his career in electrical engineering.

traditional Chinese landscapes — I wanted to be a medical illustrator. It was very difficult to get into medical school to study to become a medical illustrator in 1979. I developed a passion for building computers back in 1976 as a hobby so I got into electrical engineering and finished my degree early,” Chuang said.

Chuang did not know at the time that his interdisciplinary interests would kick-start his career. He started working at Hewlett-Packard’s Radio Frequency & Microwave Division immediately after graduating from UC Davis.

“I was shocked that I was hired at HP because I left the interview feeling like it was a complete disaster.

But before I even got to my hotel room, they called to offer me the job,” Chuang said. “I later found out that the oldest HP division wanted to hire their first engineer graduate from the digital realm. The variety of classes I took at UC Davis, including signal processing, helped me understand the interview questions better than the other candidates.”

After three years, Chuang left HP and co-founded Pacific Data Images

(PDI), which pioneered animated graphics in 1981 and eventually became PDI/DreamWorks in 2000, His career spanned 27 years while serving as CTO, director, animator and visual effects supervisor for 16 Hollywood motion pictures, including working with directors Steven Spielberg and Robert Redford.

Chuang won his first Motion Picture Academy’s Technical Achievement Award for PDI’s software in 1998 and won an Emmy Award for graphic design. Chuang said taking advantage of multiple disciplines at UC Davis provided the foundation in bridging technology and creativity. In 2016, he received his second Academy Technical Award for his innovation in collaborative video editing.

Although Chuang is an adjunct professor for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) at Cogswell College, he still stays connected with UC Davis by providing mentorship and judging contests for engineering students. In 2012, Chuang received the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Medal, and his first motion capture suit from his animation studio at PDI was on display in the

College of Engineering for several years. He recently donated four modern full-body motion capture suits to UC Davis for the students to explore new usage beyond visual effects and gaming.

“I’ve been involved with the College of Engineering’s Dean Executive Committee for many years now,” he explained. “I’m trying to help bridge the gap between the university and real-life careers, where it is more relevant than ever to combine technology and creativity.”

In the last year and a half, Chuang said he’s refocusing on his interest in biomedical engineering. He is working with many medical engineering startups ranging from virtual reality to ultrasound to genomics. He is doing all this while re-educating himself on the latest in machine learning.

“When people ask me what my secret to success is, I always go back to my mother’s advice — always follow your passion, and never stop learning,” Chuang said. “It’s also important to ask stupid questions and acknowledge failure because that’s where innovation truly begins.” alumni.ucdavis.edu

9

Aggie Entrepreneurs

Deborah Neff ’76 stands with new College of Biological Sciences Dean Mark Winey

Recognizing Opportunity, Balancing Risk

By Gregory Watry

R

isk is inherent in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation. For Deborah Neff ’76, chief executive officer of Evanostics and principal at DJN Consulting, risk is important, but not risk of a haphazard nature.

“You need to take risks, but in a calculated, thoughtful way,” said Neff, a physiology alumna and UC Davis Foundation trustee. “When an opportunity to try something new — where you feel your background will let you really make an impact or the opportunity will expand your overall foundation for career growth presents itself — go for it.”

For more than 30 years, Neff has been a player in the life sciences industry, holding positions at both early-stage small companies and large multi-billion dollar corporations.

She has provided mentorship to scientists, engineers and business leaders, including many Aggies, and has had a hand in developing cancer diagnostics and establishing a certified clinical laboratory, among other accomplishments.

“I have always been drawn to

10

(800) 242-GRAD

where the innovative, potentially high-impact technologies and products to the life sciences field have existed,” said Neff. “Often these are higher risk, which requires out of the box thinking, fast-paced decision making and collaborative efforts.”

Neff’s recent venture with Evanostics is poised to disrupt how forensic and clinical fields test for drug abuse. Based on patented and proprietary technology, Evanostics’ system provides highly sensitive, rapid and multiplexed diagnostic results from saliva. The product comprises three components: a sample collection device, a microfluidics assay test cartridge and sensor and an instrument to read and report results.

“I tend to be motivated by businesses and products that solve a problem, offer a solution and impact and improve health,” said Neff. “Evanostics does just that. The company is currently optimizing the core technology to apply it to the critical, unmet needs in the pain and addiction management markets, as

part of the solution to address the current opioid crisis,” Neff’s desire to create and develop innovative technologies in collaborative environments was born at UC Davis. Her laboratory classes provided her opportunities to apply what she learned in the lecture hall to real-life problems, and the open atmosphere fostered an incubator of creative problem-solving.

“UC Davis is a fabulous institution where innovation is encouraged and thrives. The multi-faceted education you can pursue because of the full breadth of fields of study at UC Davis allows you to be creative and not bound to a single field of study or point of view,” said Neff. “The results motivated me enough to further pursue creative solutions, which defines what’s at the core of the entrepreneurial spirit.”

Neff’s belief in UC Davis’ programs has led to her active engagement in the university’s philanthropic community. Neff is matching gifts of $500 or more to the College of Biological Sciences Annual Fund and Dean’s Circle.

Aggie Entrepreneurs An active member of CAAA's Arizona Network, Ice Now LLC Founder Nolan de Graaff found comfort in fellow UC Davis alumni after graduation and has remained involved ever since. “When you move away from family and friends, it’s nice to share the common bond of being an Aggie,” said de Graaff.

Ice Ice Aggie

By Trevor Stewart

N

olan de Graaff ’05, a Cal Aggie Alumni Association member, always knew he had an entrepreneurial spirit. In high school, de Graaff operated an eBay business from his home. His dad handled the mailing, and when de Graaff got home from school, he would work on the business development aspects of his company.

“Building something and working for myself was in my blood,” de Graaff said. “I just like to keep building, adding value and creating new things. It’s fun, like I am playing in a sandbox every day.”

De Graaff attended UC Davis for the prestigious academic reputation, as well as an opportunity to play football as a tight end and linebacker. As a student-athlete, he learned valuable lessons about time management, leadership skills and hard work.

Upon graduation, de Graaff moved to Arizona to pursue his dreams of playing in the National Football League. He had several tryouts and went to minicamp with the San Diego Chargers, but he did not make the final roster. As de Graaff realized

the next chapter of his life would not be on the gridiron, he became more eager to begin his entrepreneurial career.

Finding frozen success Soon after, he worked as a consultant advising small business owners on succession planning, until an idea of an ice company piqued his interest.

“Ice is a commodity, just like wheat or cotton,” said de Graaff. “You don’t see a lot of advertising for it — but we saw a spot in the market where we could make an impact.”

Now, his company, Ice Now LLC, has a diverse clientele ranging from restaurants, bakeries, culinary festivals, concerts and even construction. In 2014, the company expanded to Las Vegas and is currently pursuing other markets.

“One of the most interesting places we deliver is to cement mixers,” said de Graaff. “We dump the ice in the top, and they blend it with the ready mix. The final product helps cure the concrete.”

In the winter, when ice sales see

a sharp decline, Ice Now caters to a different segment of customers by offering snow production. They create snow hills for sledding and promotional purposes. A recent order for a community event called for 85 tons of snow.

De Graaff attributes his success to his tireless work ethic, but he also acknowledged that other business leaders have served as mentors for him along the way.

“As I get older and more seasoned in the business world, I want to bring someone under my wing and help them along just like people did with me,” he said. “I think everyone needs mentors they trust to bounce ideas off of and give them guidance.”

He advises aspiring entrepreneurs to reduce risk as much as possible when starting out, but also learn to take calculated risks for when opportunities present themselves later on.

“Overall, risk is good, and business is all about managing that risk,” de Graaff said. “If you are excited to get up every morning and get after it, you are on the right path.” alumni.ucdavis.edu

11

Big Ideas

By Trevor Stewart

12

(800) 242-GRAD

In a medical emergency, time is always critical. Imagine a patient with a gunshot wound — doctors, nurses and support personnel work in concert in an effort to stop the bleeding. They do all they can, but it isn't enough. And then it’s as though time stops — the medical staff is left with incessant noise from the monitors and the need to inform the family about their terrible loss.

Early in his career, as a doctor in an emergency room, Garen Wintemute M.D. ’77 saw a recurring theme — acts of violence stripping loved ones from their families and friends. He soon decided to devote his career to studying the issue of violence.

“I'd had enough of seeing patients come into the emergency department and die from acts of violence,” he said. “I had to do something about it.”

Story continued on next page...

alumni.ucdavis.edu

13

Big Ideas Violence Prevention

W

intemute, a professor of emergency medicine and director of the Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) at University of California, Davis, is the Big Idea champion for the proposed Center for Violence Prevention Research, which will provide a national model for understanding the causes, consequences and prevention of violence in all its forms.

Wintemute and his team span a wide range of backgrounds, something he believes is essential to success in preventing violence.

Colleagues at VPRP hold advanced degrees or expertise in epidemiology, sociology, economics, criminology, clinical medicine, policy analysis and biostatistics, just to name a few.

“Violence is a complex public health issue best understood from multiple points of view, and California, with its unique data environment and public sense of urgency, is a perfect testbed for

“Violence is a complex public health issue best understood from multiple points of view, and California, with its unique data environment and public sense of urgency, is a perfect testbed for violence research.”

Garen Wintemute M.D. ʼ77, PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE; DIRECTOR, VIOLENCE PREVENTION RESEARCH PROGRAM, UC DAVIS

violence research,” Wintemute explained.

A vehicle for change In the 1950s, automobile crashes and related deaths were a national epidemic. As a result of researchdriven policy and social change, motor vehicle-related mortality declined by nearly 60 percent.

Wintemute believes the Big Idea,

In 2016, there were 37,863 deaths from firearm violence in the U.S. and 3,136 in California alone.

14

(800) 242-GRAD

which expands upon the Center for Violence Prevention Research, can produce similar results with violence.

“It’s clear science has a role to play here,” he said. “We can use scientific data to inform public policy, which can reduce rates of violence. I’m positive we can accomplish this, we just need the opportunity to do it.”

VPRP provides objective analysis of firearm background checks, firearm restraining orders and what can be

Suicide is the most frequent form of firearm death. In contrast, only about 1% of firearm deaths in the U.S. are from mass shootings.

done in a community to prevent violence.

“There are more nuances than we think and quite a bit of variation among policies,” Kara Rudolph, faculty member at VPRP, said.

“The challenge is finding empirical evidence in order to suggest potential policy changes.”

Rose Kagawa, a post-doctoral fellow at VPRP, is interested in identifying social and environmental changes that can prevent firearm violence. A current project focuses on neighborhood revitalization efforts in two cities, Detroit and Cleveland. Both cities have high concentrations of vacant and blighted homes — as many as one in four homes are vacant in Detroit. Research shows these buildings can be prime areas for illegal activity including weapon storage and substance use, and their proliferation is associated with a reduced sense of community — all risk factors in future violence.

Risk factors for firearm violence include prior violence and substance abuse, among others.

Kagawa’s research will estimate the effects of demolishing or rehabilitating these properties on rates of firearm violence in the surrounding neighborhood.

“Understanding whether and to what extent changes to the built environment can prevent violence is a critical piece to understanding how to reduce rates of violence in our major urban areas. These neighborhood stabilization efforts hold a lot of potential for changing the social and economic trajectory of a neighborhood,” she said. “What I hope to learn is whether these efforts can help prevent firearm violence on a large scale.”

Assistant Professional Researcher Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz is heading up development of a statewide survey, gaining knowledge on firearm ownership and use, the benefits and risks of firearm ownership, exposure to and consequences of firearm violence, opinions on selected

UC Davis is now building upon its internationally recognized research on firearm violence to pursue a deeper understanding of violence in all forms.

violence prevention efforts and many other central questions. This will provide VPRP with a foundation of data on which future research and policy can be based. This type of survey is the first of its kind in California in 40 years.

“Being able to address the critical need for high-quality data on firearm violence and related topics is a necessary step in advancing violence prevention research and policy,” Kravitz-Wirtz said.

Cure Violence program a key piece in preventing violence Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis Magdalena Cerdá, along with her colleagues at VPRP, Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and the University at Albany, conducted a computer simulation of violence in New York City neighborhoods. They used this model to test the potential impact of two leading approaches to prevent violence – targeted policing, whereby police increase patrols in neighborhoods with violent hot spots, and a community-based strategy known as Cure Violence — could have on city-level rates of violent victimization.

The Cure Violence model was developed by epidemiologist Gary Slutkin and uses “interrupters” and outreach workers to work with the friends and families of victims to identify, mediate and prevent further violence and retaliation.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

15

Big Ideas Violence Prevention

“We have so many questions we need our research to answer as soon as possible — lives are literally at stake” Garen Wintemute M.D. ʼ77,

PROFESSOR OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE; DIRECTOR, VIOLENCE PREVENTION RESEARCH PROGRAM, UC DAVIS

Big Ideas are forward-thinking, interdisciplinary programs and projects that will build upon the strengths of UC Davis to positively impact the world for generations to come.

UC Davis seeks to partner with passionate donors to help shape the future with these transformative projects.

Learn more at

bigideas.ucdavis.edu

16

(800) 242-GRAD

“What we found in our simulation data, is that a combination of targeted policing and Cure Violence interrupters — investing in the community together — achieved greater results with fewer resources than either intervention did in an isolated approach,” Cerdá said.

“This suggests effective strategies to prevent urban violence must involve collaboration across multiple sectors, including public health and criminal justice.” Read more.

Right place, right time Wintemute believes UC Davis and VPRP is the ideal environment for research on violence and the ability to affect policy change to prevent future violence. No other state besides California could conduct some of the research being done by VPRP because they simply don’t have the data or will not allow it to be made available. And UC Davis' proximity to the California State capitol is an even greater advantage.

“This research often relies on administrative data, and in California we are in an environment where agencies, such as the Department of Justice, are open to providing this data,” Kagawa said. “On top of that, we have a legislature that is interested in using the evidence base to inform and evaluate policy.”

This willingness to examine public policy was evident in the recent study of a gun violence restraining order. California was the first state in the country to adopt this legislature.

“The gun violence restraining order allows firearms to be recovered from someone who may own them legally, but in that moment is at extreme risk of harming themselves or someone else,” Wintemute said.

Impacting the future Wintemute says future success of the Center for Violence Prevention Research Big Idea is multifaceted.

His team will need to prove certain interventions and policies can prevent violence and also build a future labor force to continue studying the issue for generations to come.

He says the future of the Center depends on philanthropy.

“The work simply couldn’t be done without philanthropy,” he said. “We have so many questions we need our research to answer as soon as possible—lives are literally at stake—and it just won't happen at the same rate or with the same level of interdisciplinary expertise without donor support.”

Big Ideas

By Trevor Stewart

In a state rife with water challenges, UC Davis experts have been integral in forming legislation and policies regarding water issues in California — from the Delta Reform Act of 2009, to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014.

UC Davis’ engaged expertise on water doesn’t stop there. UC Davis has long led extensive work on native fishes like salmon and Delta smelt, including the science of restoring flood plains to keep the fish alive and other important projects.

Story continued on next page...

alumni.ucdavis.edu

17

Big Ideas World Water Initiative

D

irector for the Center for Watershed Sciences and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Jay Lund believes it’s time to show California — and the world — the expertise of UC Davis water science specialists.

“People should understand that UC Davis is a world leader in water, as it is for agriculture,” Lund said.

“Our knowledge pertaining to water issues is among the best globally.”

Lund is the champion of the World Water Initiative Big Idea,

UC Davis’ location in the Central Valley and Sacramento agricultural region uniquely positions and drives the region to develop expertise in water issues. UC Davis is California’s leading academic institution on water and agricultural issues.

18

(800) 242-GRAD

which aims to provide a center of interdisciplinary research for solving the toughest water issues. He believes UC Davis can expand its reach beyond California and affect positive water change on a global scale.

“We have a great deal of experience and an ability to work with others, which can help us find innovative solutions to these difficult problems, not only in California, but all over the world,” Lund said.

Nicholas Pinter, professor in earth and planetary sciences, agreed. Pinter is also the Roy J. Shlemon Chair in

Applied Geosciences and associate director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.

“As we move forward with this transformational initiative, our experience serving as a brain trust for the most complicated water issues in California would be mutually beneficial on a national and international scale,” Pinter said.

Working together Pinter and Lund emphasized that complex water issues must be tackled

on an interdisciplinary basis. Partners include 12 different departments and centers at UC Davis, representing eight colleges and units.

“We are not just a university organization,” said Lund. “We don’t just serve our own community, we serve solving the problems— whatever and wherever they are.”

Students, staff and faculty from the Center for Watershed Sciences use the electroshock fishing technique, seines, and dip nets to sample and count fish in Putah Creek.

A Knowledge Hub The World Water Initiative is a threepronged strategy that builds upon the existing water expertise at UC Davis and in California and takes those strengths to a global stage.

“The notion of this, and all of the Big Ideas really, is that if you catalyze a major change you can make amazing things happen.”

Nicholas Pinter, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR WATERSHED SCIENCES

Global water education: The initiative proposes a university-wide hub to bring cohorts of international students to UC Davis for education in interdisciplinary water science and science-driven water policy. This educational model would follow and/or partner with UNESCO, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education – the worlds’ largest international graduate water education facility.

Global water engagement: UC Davis would launch a rapid-action program to address emergent water issues globally, particularly where severe environmental damage or social justice issues are at stake. Read more.

Science-driven water management and policy: The initiative proposed developing California Water Science Centers, which will serve as the unifying educational and research hubs of California’s water knowledge industry.

The Centers will unite the efforts of the state agencies, organizations and educational research entities and encourage innovation.

Director for the Center for Watershed Sciences Jay Lund and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences Nicholas Pinter at Putah Creek.

“The notion of this, and all of the Big Ideas really, is that if you catalyze a major change you can make amazing things happen,” Pinter said.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

19

Picnic Day 2018

What’s New with Give Day and Picnic Day

By Trevor Stewart

O

n Picnic Day, when Aggies everywhere are thinking of their alma mater, UC Davis will hold its second annual Give Day — a 29-hour fundraising drive that celebrates the theme, “Every Aggie Counts: Combined, we change the world.”

Join fellow Aggies online at giveday.ucdavis.edu and on campus from noon on Friday, April 20, until 5 p.m. Saturday, April 21, which is Picnic Day. Students and faculty members who have been supported by philanthropy will be joined by

20

(800) 242-GRAD

university donors to participate in the Picnic Day Parade and illustrate philanthropy’s impact on research and education at UC Davis.

Keep an eye out on social media for posts from Aggies everywhere about enjoying the weekend festivities and supporting the university. Grateful patients of UC Davis Health will also be encouraged to give to programs that have made a difference in their families’ lives, and likewise for pet owners grateful for UC Davis veterinary services.

The Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) is also a proud sponsor of Picnic Day and will be hosting a number of events and fun activities for alumni and their families in the Gateway District. See page 22 for a list of CAAA's Picnic

Meet the Key Players: Picnic Day Marshals and Student Chair

Day weekend events, including the annual Class of ’68 50th Reunion, the UC Davis Alumni Wine Tasting and a variety of attractions in the Authentic Aggie Zone on Vanderhoef Quad and the VIP Member Lounge at the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center.

For over 100 years, UC Davis’ annual Picnic Day open house has served to display the incredible achievements by students, faculty and Aggie community members. Come join us for a memorable and fun weekend!

Learn more about how to get involved with CAAA programs and activities.

The Famulas are highly engaged in the UC Davis community. Both are donors, and Thomas — now an emeriti faculty member — taught for 35 years as a professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, while Michelle was executive director of health and wellness for the Division of Student Affairs prior to her retirement. Their favorite Picnic Day traditions are the parade and the Battle of the Bands, so it's fitting that they’ll be leading the parade this year — and they couldn’t be more thrilled.

“This is a big deal for us and our family,” Michelle said. “We are truly honored to be selected as the parade marshals. It’s really humbling.”

“Picnic Day is a great way to showcase what UC Davis is all about,” Thomas said. “You can study anything at UC Davis, and the diversity of people and ideas is amazing. Anything humans are engaged in happens on this campus, and you can see a lot of it in action on Picnic Day.” Picnic Day is the largest student-run event in the nation.

Student Chair Grace Gaither ’18 said this year’s theme, “Where the Sun Shines,” was selected Picnic Day is an annual family event because Picnic for the Famulas, who have rarely Day shows bright, missed a Picnic Day in 35 years. happy expressions of students who are excited to showcase their Aggie spirit and shine as bright as the sun.

“Picnic Day is something that students hear about when they get here, like a myth or a legend,” Gaither said. “It makes sense Picnic Day is what UC Davis is all about — doing what you love in a place with people who are just as excited.”

Gaither believes pairing Picnic Day with Give Day makes it even more special.

“Give Day being a part of this wonderfully unique UC Davis weekend allows for students, alumni, visitors and prospective Aggies to show their support in more ways than just attending, and it means a lot to the students putting on the event,” she said.

Gaither loves how Picnic Day appeals to such a wide audience — from students to alumni to local families in the community.

“Picnic Day brings something for everyone,” Gaither said. “It’s a great place for memories to be made, cows to be milked and Doxie Derby races to be run. I highly recommend for anyone who has never been to Picnic Day to attend, participate in Give Day and take the opportunity to see UC Davis showcase their passions.”

alumni.ucdavis.edu

21

Picnic Day 2018

Six Activities in the Authentic Aggie Zone Join UC Davis Alumni and Affiliate Programs on Vanderhoef Quad for a variety of fun activities

Join in the Parade Sip, Sip Hooray!

Class of ’68 Celebration EVE OF PICNIC DAY FRIDAY, APRIL 20

11:30

A.M.

- 1:30

P.M.

Join CAAA in AGR Hall at the Buehler Alumni Center as we honor the class of 1968 at their 50th reunion. Alumni will enjoy a lunch as they are inducted into the Golden Society. Members receive special VIP perks on Picnic Day weekend, such as reserved seating at select Picnic Day events.

22

(800) 242-GRAD

EVE OF PICNIC DAY FRIDAY, APRIL 20

6-9

P.M.

Alumni and friends are cordially invited to enjoy delicious wines from our alumni vintners at our annual Picnic Day Eve Wine Tasting. We are proud to pour Sans Wine Company canned wine, showcase UC Davis alumni ’90s cover band Total Recall and line up various Sacto Mofo food trucks for you to try.

PICNIC DAY SATURDAY, APRIL 21

8

A.M.

- 12

P.M.

Alumni, friends and family members are invited to join CAAA and Development and Alumni Relations in Parking Lot 15 as we join the 104th Picnic Day Parade! This is your chance to show your Aggie Pride and help us showcase our Second Annual Give Day. All participants will receive a free t-shirt!

PetersenDean Drone Photo VIP Member Lounge PICNIC DAY SATURDAY, APRIL 21

11

A.M.

-3

P.M.

Members, join us in the Picnic Day VIP lounge, which will feature stylish cocktail tables, lounge seating and food provided by Woodstock’s Pizza. Come for the air conditioning, but stay for the delicious refreshments. There will also be free Davis Creamery ice cream and a live stream of the Doxie Derby! As always, members can bring guests.

PICNIC DAY SATURDAY, APRIL 21

12:45

P.M.

Join UC Davis alumni, families and friends in the Vanderhoef Quad for UC Davis Alumni and Affiliate Programs’ group drone photo in partnership with the UC Davis Drone Club.

The photo will be displayed on social media, so be sure to tag yourself and share it on your networks. It will also be put on display in the Alumni Center.

Authentic Aggie Zone and Traditions Competition PICNIC DAY SATURDAY, APRIL 21

11

A.M.

-3

P.M.

UC Davis alumni, friends and parents are invited to complete a list of 10 UC Davis traditions, allowing you to get to know UC Davis better in addition to helping you get the most out of the Authentic Aggie Zone. When you complete the list of 10, come back to the Vanderhoef Quad with photos of your completed traditions. There will be a limited number of prizes available.

A SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

AP Mortgage The Cannery Geico PetersonDean University Extension Follow the action and get involved on social media alumni.ucdavis.edu

23

Event Recap

Victory Bells Rang for this Year’s Alumni Award Recipients

By Laura Pizzo

T

his February, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association’s (CAAA) 45th Annual Alumni Awards Gala brought laughter, tears and Aggie Pride to the audience and awardees. This year’s theme “Celebrating Victorious Aggies” honored seven recipients who embody Aggie innovation and service.

The evening kicked off with a reception at the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center, where attendees sang the UC Davis Fight Song and rang their victory bells in celebration.

With a surprise performance by the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh!, everyone walked to the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, where they were greeted by KVIE’s Rob Stewart from Rob on the Road, who served as emcee. The audience had dinner on the stage while enjoying the show.

Watch a video recap of the 2018 Alumni Awards Gala

24

(800) 242-GRAD

Patrick Sherwood ’86 received the first award of the evening, the prestigious Jerry W. Fielder Award. As part of this presentation, Charles Melton ’08 — the youngest president-elect in CAAA board history — gave a bythe-numbers report about Sherwood’s impact on the university as well as on Melton’s own life and career.

Then, Director of the Internship and Career Center Marcie Kirk Holland and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations and Executive Director of CAAA Rich Engel ’90, CRED. ’91 made the crowd erupt into wild laughter as they performed like pirates while gifting Aggie Service Award recipient Cynthia Murphy-Ortega ’91 with a spyglass. The spyglass was a symbol of how Murphy-Ortega has helped seekout a pipeline for Aggies into fulfilling careers.

l-r: CAAA Board President Debby Stegura ’79, Patrick Serwood ’86, Chancellor Gary May, Liliana Ferrer ’87, Jesse Rodriguez ’13, Ernest Tschannen, Cynthia Murphy-Ortega ’91, Margaret Lapiz ’89, John Madigan ’70, M.S. ’72, DVM ’75

UC Davis’ largest individual donor Ernest Tschannen received the Friend of the University Award. In honor of his support of the UC Davis Eye Center, Stewart asked the audience to put blindfolds on while he explained the impact Tschannen’s support will have on eye health for generations to come.

The audience wiped tears from their eyes as Jesse Rodriguez ’13, CAAA’s Young Alumnus Award recipient, was reunited with his mentor Cathy Rodriguez ’99.

Rodriguez’s parents spontaneously stood up during his award presentation to tell him in Spanish how proud they were of all he has accomplished. Then, Chancellor Gary S. May and leaders from Student Affairs, CAAA and the Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association gifted Rodriguez with a set of blue and gold ties, noting that when Rodriguez was a child, he just wanted to wear a suit when he grew up.

Outstanding Alumni Award recipient Margaret Lapiz ’89, who led the creation of Prep Médico at UC Davis and has served on many volunteer boards, was honored with a white coat ceremony led by Prep Médico student Aubrey Alvarenga ’18.

Then UC Davis students played the score from Craig Armstrong’s “Love Actually” in honor of Liliana Ferrer ’87, the consul general of Mexico in Sacramento and this year’s Emil M. Mrak International Award recipient.

As a child, Ferrer wanted to devote her life to music and dance.

Lastly, the event concluded with an interview with Distinguished Achievement Award recipient John Madigan ’70, M.S. ’72, DVM ’75, as well as a video that captured his awe-inspiring, unique victories leading the Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT).

alumni.ucdavis.edu

25

School of Education Update

Seeking Justice in Education Faculty couple transforms the way communities think about education

By Ashley Han

Husband and wife Lawrence (Torry) and Maisha Winn ’94 co-direct the Transformative Justice in Education Center (TJE) at UC Davis, which officially opened in September 2017 after a soft launch during the 2016-17 academic year. TJE brings the community and university together to stop racial inequalities in education and strengthen UC Davis’ efforts to create a cohesive, justice-seeking community.

Maisha, the Chancellor’s Leadership Professor in the School of Education at UC Davis, has a rich background in the intersectionality of language, literacy and justice using critical participant ethnography methods. Torry, with over 15 years of experience in non-profit organizations, has worked with a variety of youth-serving institutions. His expertise includes race and equity, youth programs and education as well as community engagement and research.

Together, the couple works with the School of Education to create and sustain a restorative culture in the teaching and learning spaces.

The following is a conversation with the two visionaries and cofounders about restorative justice and transformative justice.

According to Maisha, restorative justice is a paradigm shift from a punishment approach to harmful behavior to a consensus-building process. Transformative justice looks closely at the reasons why an incident occurred, which is often rooted in unhealthy relationships and social systems. This creates a responsibility for the individual, social structures and institutional policies to resolve and prevent reoccurrences of harmful incidents.

26

(800) 242-GRAD

Q: Do people have misconceptions or false narratives about restorative and transformative justice?

TW: They’re buzzwords. Some people

think restorative justice is an easy-fix program where you sit in circles and that’s it. They don’t understand that before you sit in circles to repair the harm, the whole community needs to come together to restore that culture. A program can be here today and gone tomorrow, but restorative justice lasts generations, with the responsibility falling on everyone to restore that culture.

MW: One of the biggest myths is that

when schools use restorative justice, children aren’t being held accountable.

However, suspending and expelling children is not true accountability. I would argue when people say students are getting off too easy with restorative justice, then it is not being implemented in the correct way. To me, the highest form of accountability is when someone has to understand why they are harming others and engaging in inappropriate behaviors.

Most adults don’t even know how to do that.

Q: What are some inequities in

Q: What are your plans for

Q: What made it possible

MW: We are not addressing racist ideas that

TW: We are very excited

MW: You can’t do this kind of work

education today?

dictate our beliefs in others and ourselves.

For example, in Myosha Mcafee’s research in math classrooms, self-defined equity oriented teachers asked African American children lowlevel questions that weren’t going to build their mathematical skills, while asking white and Asian students more complex questions.

This is a part of a history of racist ideas in the United States about certain groups of people, which is referenced in Ibram X. Kendi’s award-winning book. We assume that some students won’t understand because they don’t have the foundation to comprehend.

TW: There’s other inequity: suspension rates,

lack of teachers of color and the curriculum.

Many students don’t get the chance to learn about different ethnicities and their histories.

This starts with children’s books. In a 2013 study, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin found that out of 3,200 children’s books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people. Children are reading books that don’t relate to them. That’s inequity.

restorative justice training?

about partnering with our Teacher Education Program because we want to train all of our elementary and secondary preservice teachers in restorative justice before finishing our programs. We need to build in a three-tofour day training session for these amazing folks who have come here to become teachers. We are also working with current teachers.

MW: And these trainings are

for schools that already made a commitment to end racial inequalities in education.

We’re not here to convince people that they need to do this. When we come in, people are present and ready for restorative justice training, and we support them.

to open TJE?

without support from leadership, and Dean Lauren Lindstrom at the School of Education has created space for TJE because she wants UC Davis to be a leader in equity oriented problem solving. She stands by us and wants our school to be guided by the principles of justice, which has been part of the School’s foundation since the beginning.

TW: In addition, the gifts we’ve

received from individual donors, corporations and foundations have gone a long way and allowed us to have visibility in our community.

These gifts allow us to partner with schools, train preservice teachers and bring in graduate and undergraduate students who are interested in this work. When folks talk about restorative justice from now on, they will mention UC Davis.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

27

Network Update

By Ashley Han

Active Aggies Kick Starts Mental and Physical Health A

Victoria Davis ’16 and a group of Aggies and friends explored local wildlife and houseboat residents at Sausalito’s waterfront.

28

(800) 242-GRAD

ctive Aggies is a newly created Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) group that brings Aggies together to experience the outdoors.

Many of the events are in the Northern California, with plans on expanding the group to CAAA networks across the country and world.

The goal of Active Aggies is to encourage Aggies and their friends and families to be mentally and physically fit, as well as improve their quality of life while maintaining a sense of community with other members of the UC Davis family.

Previous events include biking in LA County, visiting UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC), kayaking in Sausalito, hiking in the Bay Area and experiencing the Bodega Marina Lab. Partnerships with the TERC, Bodega Marine Lab and the UC Natural Reserves allow alumni to experience exclusive and unique opportunities.

Al Lavassani MBA ’15, who created the UC Davis Hiking Group in 2012, leads a few hikes for Active Aggies. He is working to merge his hiking group with Active Aggies.

“Even before I attended UC Davis, I was a big fan of the outdoors and an avid hiker. When I met Ginger Welsh, CAAA Director of International Alumni and Special Interest Networks, we were both eager to grow Active Aggies and promote it to other chapters and networks,” Lavassani explained.

“I’ve had many fond memories of the hikes I led for my group, and I wanted to share my skills and experience with even more alumni through CAAA and Active Aggies.”

Victoria Davis ’16 found Active Aggies through the CAAA Facebook page. Davis previously interned for Presidio Trust at the Presidio of San Francisco, which sparked her interest and appreciation for the outdoors.

“The kayaking event in Sausalito was the first Active Aggies event I attended. I didn’t know what to expect so I invited my friend from UC Davis, and we both had a lot of fun!” said Davis. “We kayaked around little neighborhoods of floating houses, so it was really memorable.”

Members of Active Aggies are planning to create even more unforgettable memories in 2018.

A few upcoming events include stand-up paddle boarding at Half Moon Bay and launching a sport league for alumni to engage in friendly competition. Visit the network page for more information.

Davis said, “Active Aggies is a great way to meet people in all walks of life who have a common interest in staying active while being connected with your college roots.”

Get involved.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

29

UC Davis first responders share stories from times of crises

By Trevor Stewart

The flames engulfed the hills in Ventura County as the Yolo County strike team arrived on the scene.

30

(800) 242-GRAD

Life can change in an instant. Natural disasters come without warning, as evidenced by the recent Napa Valley and Montecito fires and the subsequent Montecito mudslides.

Amid these crises, brave Aggies have served as first responders in many capacities.

Whether it be rescue, firefighters or medical staff, the UC Davis spirit of service rises to the occasion in many forms.

The Thomas fire strike team

U

C Davis Fire Captain Joe Newman serves as one of the six fire captains for the UC Davis Fire Department. His team’s main focus is the UC Davis campus, but the firefighters at the station have an automatic aid agreement with the city of Davis and surrounding communities, partnering together and often assisting in emergency situations.

On the morning of December 4, 2017, the Thomas fire sparked and quickly became one of the largest wildfires in California history.

Newman got the call at 5:15 a.m. the following morning, with orders to join a strike team from Yolo County that was heading to Ventura County.

Fire departments from UC Davis, Woodland, Willow Oak, Yocha Dehe and Bear Valley, in Alpine County, formed a convoy down Highway 101 to assist the many units already fighting the fire.

When they arrived at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, the hills were illuminated with flames. The fire had spread so quickly that the base camp was not even set up yet. The camp served as a base of operations for hundreds of first responders.

The UC Davis unit team of four included siblings Fire Engineer Kyle Dubs ’10 and Firefighter Lindsey Dubs ’12, Firefighter Ryan Tooley and Captain Newman. The crew slept on cots that night and began their first 24-hour shift the next morning.

It’s hard to lose your home. You can’t plan for it, and you may “ only have a moment’s notice to leave. That is an example of the reality we deal with when we fight these fires. These are real people, and we feel for their loss.

- Joe Newman, UC Davis Fire Captain

”

They battled the dry, powerful Santa Ana winds as the gusts created a difficult environment in their quest to contain the fire.

“Once something is burning, the wind can be a huge factor,” Newman said. “It can blow the embers forward and start spot fires ahead of the fire, which is how it spreads so quickly.”

One of the crew’s assignments was tending to spot fires around a large property. The owner of the property was an older man with several structures, which he rented out to tenants. He had lived on the property for more than 25 years — and was now left with a pile of debris and rubble.

“It’s hard to lose your home. You can’t plan for it, and you may only have a moment’s notice to leave,” Newman said. “That is an example of the reality we deal with when we fight these fires. These are real people, and we feel for their loss.”

The crew worked 24-hour shifts, rotating on and off, for two weeks.

With the assistance of resources from California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the fire reached a level of containment that allowed the UC Davis unit to return campus. alumni.ucdavis.edu

31

Aggies in Action

Firefighter Lindsey Dubs ’12, Firefighter Ryan Tooley, Engineer Kyle Dubs ’12 and Captain Joe Newman were part of the strike team for the Thomas Fire in Ventura County.

Quality care in crisis In addition to first responders, UC Davis is also home to the Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center, which cares for individuals who have suffered severe burn injuries. The Reiff family experienced this care firsthand, after firefighter Richard Reiff suffered severe burns to his face, hands and arms, requiring surgery and a three-week stay at the burn center.

“The nurses thought I was a hero because I was out fighting the fires, but really the nurses at UC Davis are

the heroes in my eyes,” Reiff said.

Reiff and his crew from the Boggs Mountain Helitack team faced a daunting task in serving as the initial unit attempting to contain the 2015 Valley Fire, which eventually spread to more than 76,000 acres across Sonoma, Napa and Lake Counties.

The Boggs Mountain team is one of only 10 in California that deploys firefighters on helicopters to perform rescues and contain wildfires until more resources can arrive on the scene.

The fire surged unexpectedly, which forced the crew to deploy their

In a disaster situation, when people have to evacuate “ and leave animals behind, or when animals are injured, burned, hurt or submerged in flood waters, that’s an opportunity to do some direct good for animals.

- John Madigan ’70, M.S. ’72, DVM ’75

32

(800) 242-GRAD

”

emergency fire shelters for protection until help arrived. Unfortunately, even the dirt had caught fire and all four of the team members received second- or third-degree burns. They were quickly airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center for treatment.

Reiff’s wife, Leilani, an administrative analyst supervisor in student housing at UC Davis, was amazed at the level of care and attention her husband and family received. The family now gives to the burn center so patients in need can continue to receive excellent care and the center can develop new discoveries through research, ongoing education and community engagement.

“The Firefighters Burn Institute is like nothing else you will ever see,” she said. “These nurses became a part of our family. They not only took care of my husband, but me too. We will be eternally grateful.”

Richard and Leilani Reiff, with their children Allie and Trevor. Richard now works for the Woodland Fire Department and was a part of the strike team that was sent to the Thomas Fire in Ventura County.

Helping the helpless While brave firefighters and first responders battle blazes, helping humans and protecting buildings and homes, John Madigan ’70, M.S. ’72, DVM ’75 of the School of Veterinary Medicine helps in his own special way. He uses his expertise in times of emergency to rescue animals, who may be left behind or unable to escape the disaster — a pertinent issue in the wake of the recent Napa Valley fires.

Madigan is a distinguished professor in the department of medicine and epidemiology and a clinician in the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, where he practices equine internal medicine and neonatology. He also founded the Veterinary Emergency Response Team (VERT) and directs the International Animal Welfare and Training Institute (IAWTI).

Madigan, a CAAA Lifetime Member and donor, has had a profound impact on the UC Davis community.

He was honored at the CAAA Alumni Awards this year, receiving CAAA’s Distinguished Achievement Award for his groundbreaking work.

He notes that not only does UC Davis have the world’s leading veterinary medicine program, but there is also something undeniably special about the people who work as UC Davis veterinarians.

“In a disaster situation, when people have to evacuate and leave animals behind, or when animals are injured, burned, hurt or submerged in flood waters, that’s an opportunity to do some direct good for animals,” he said.

There are more than 140 students in the student Veterinary Emergency Response Team. During the Napa Valley fire, teams were out for six days rescuing animals.

The Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital allowed the team to bring in severely injured animals to receive critical care.

“The majority of the care is out in the field where others may not

Madigan’s heroic rescues have attracted news coverage around the world, raising the reputation of UC Davis and helping to educate veterinarians everywhere about emergency rescue. Watch the video.

be allowed to enter the disaster area,” Madigan said. “We are able to accompany emergency response personnel and have a chance to make a difference and help these animals.”

A culture of service As Newman remarked, and Madigan and the Reiff family echoed, UC Davis fosters a culture of service that inspires passion and forwardthinking.

“A lot of times we are helping people that are having the worst day of their lives, and it’s our calling as Aggies to help them the best we can,” Newman said.

Read more The stories presented in this article represent only a fraction of what members of the UC Davis community do to support people in need during natural disasters including wildfires.

Learn more about how the university makes a difference during and after wildfires.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

33

Big Picture

34

(800) 242-GRAD

A Sea-riously Unique Laboratory

The University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) is dedicated to understanding environmental processes at the land-sea interface on California’s North Coast — an area known for the productivity and diversity of its marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

BML’s history of research, training

and outreach has contributed invaluably to our knowledge of coastal systems and the policy that protects them. Through innovative research programs and teaching initiatives, the Bodega Marine Laboratory will lead the way to the multidisciplinary understanding required to solve complex environmental problems in California and around the world.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

35

36

(800) 242-GRAD

Family Profile Teresa and D’Angelo Martinez pose in front of all nine of D’Angelo’s degrees. His degrees include associate’s in arts and humanities, social and sciences, two in Spanish, business, interdisciplinary studies in business, math and science, retail management and merchandising and teacher education preparation.

Challenge Accepted UC Davis the right fit for the Martinez family

By Trevor Stewart

D

’Angelo Martinez ’21 holds nine associate degrees, and he accomplished all of that before stepping foot on the University of California, Davis campus as a firstyear student.

D’Angelo attended Middle College High School in Stockton, California, which offers a unique opportunity for students who apply and are accepted into the program to take college courses in the morning, then report to high school curriculum for the afternoons.

When representatives from the school visited D’Angelo’s middle school class, a student in the program said she was on track to achieve six associate degrees during her high school years at Middle College High School. D’Angelo took that as a challenge.

“I wanted to beat the record of six degrees,” he said. “The guidance counselor said it was really only possible to do four degrees, but I just never gave up until I completed what I set out to do.”

D’Angelo aspires to go to medical school to become a physician either in emergency medicine or pediatrics and is currently a student in the

College of Biological Sciences. Not only is D’Angelo motivating himself to accomplish his goals, he inspired his mother, Teresa Martinez, to complete her associate degree at San Joaquin Delta College. Teresa finished second overall in her oral communications class rankings, with the top honor going to D’Angelo, who encouraged his mother to take the 6:30 a.m. course with him.

“At the beginning of the course, no one knew we were mother and son,” Teresa said. “When people found out later on, they thought it was pretty cool we were taking a class together. I know D’Angelo says I’m his inspiration, but really he is my inspiration.”

Home away from home When it came time to choose what university to attend, D’Angelo felt a level of comfort at UC Davis unlike any other university.

“UC Davis is really indicative of who I am,” D’Angelo said. “The education I am getting is invaluable, and everyone there wants to help me succeed.”

Teresa knew UC Davis was the best fit, but she let D’Angelo decide and

is thrilled to be an Aggie parent. She jokes that she knows as much about what is going on at the university as D’Angelo because she follows UC Davis on Instagram and loves to stay up to date with things happening on campus. She plans to visit for the upcoming Picnic Day and Give Day celebration on April 21.

“I love walking around campus and the city of Davis,” she said. “I don’t even live there, but I feel at home. It is comforting to know how great of a community it is for D’Angelo.”

D’Angelo said he enjoyed playing intramural flag football and hopes to continue to get involved with more clubs as his collegiate career progresses, but right now he wants to make sure his academics stay sharp.

D’Angelo has remained humble, despite his achievements. He is known for encouraging his younger family members to work hard to chase their dreams, and he never passes up a chance to inspire them, laying out challenges and providing encouragement.

“When my cousins say they want to get nine degrees, I tell them not to be like me,” D’Angelo said. “I tell them to get 10 degrees.” alumni.ucdavis.edu

37

Wine Partner Profile

Gina and Jake Stover, founders of Sans Wine Co., are excited to unveil the 2017 Sans Wine line.

It features a Riesling wine from a vineyard in Rutherford, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley and a Carbonic Carignan sourced from a single block of grapes referred to as ‘Coyote Rock’ from the Poor Ranch in Hopland, Mendocino.

By Trevor Stewart

G

ina Schober ’07 has pleasant memories of spending her summers swimming and boating with family and friends. Many enjoyed a refreshing beverage during play and relaxation, but options were limited for the wine-drinkers in the group. While bringing along a bottle of wine with some cups and a corkscrew was an option, Gina thought there had to be a more convenient way. Then, while driving past the Russian River, an idea came to her: Wine in a can.

In 2015, that idea became reality when she and husband Jake Stover launched Sans Wine Co., featuring their canned wine in order to increase wine accessibility without sacrificing quality.

The couple searches for organic, old vines from small local growers and don’t add anything to the wine, which is a key pillar in their company motto of “sans additives, sans chemicals, sans pretense.”

38

(800) 242-GRAD

“It was important to us to vintage date our wines, noting the harvest year of the grapes we used,” Gina said. “It’s not as commonplace to do that with canned wine, but we felt if we’re going to go all the way with single-vine, and single-varietal, we wanted the vintage expression to show through. There’s just so much variation every year between the weather and climate, among other factors.”

Neither Gina nor Jake anticipated having careers in the wine industry.

While studying communications at UC Davis, Gina took an introductory wine course. She later began her career in restaurant management as a sommelier, while Jake attended the University of Kansas and was planning to attend law school.

Unexpectedly, his plans changed when his brother invited him to work for a summer in the Napa area, where he developed an interest in wine. Read more about their story.

When the couple decided to launch their own wine label, they chose the wines in honor of Gina’s grandfather who owned a vineyard in Lake County, selecting a Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Rosé of Carignan.

Don’t judge a wine by its container The biggest challenge for Sans Wine is simply breaking the stigma that wine in a can is not quality wine.

But Jake explained the aluminum can is actually a very stable environment for wine. Since the container is not made of glass, there is no ultraviolet penetration through the glass and no oxygen is exchanged through a cork.

The smaller size of the cans also reduces waste, eliminating the issue of opened wine bottles oxidizing and affecting the taste.

“Our wines go through primary fermentation naturally, and our reds go through malolactic fermentation

Meet our Cal Aggie Alumni Association wine partners!

2016 Sans Wine collection

naturally from gentle pump overs – the process of pumping the wine up from the bottom of the tank and splashing it over the top of the fermenting must (or juice),” Jake said. “We won’t add preservatives in order to make it stable because the aluminum can helps us do that naturally.”

Sans Wine is a 2018 Picnic Day partner. Gina and Jake are excited to participate in a kickoff event on the eve before Picnic Day. During that event, their wine will be sampled in a blind taste test with renowned wine expert Hoby Wedler ’11, Ph.D. ’16.

Jake believes the blind taste test will “even the playing field” and showcase the quality of their wine.

“People see the can and have preconceived notions of what it should taste like, so for us to have this opportunity for people to taste our wine is awesome,” Jake said.

Gina said partnering with UC Davis and CAAA is a perfect fit.

“UC Davis helped shape who I am, and it’s an amazing feeling to be able to give back,” said Gina.

“UC Davis taught me that with hands-on learning and hard work you can succeed in anything — and it’s true!”

These partners are alumni of UC Davis who have found success in the winemaking and brewing industries and generously donate their wine for university events.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

39

Aggies Making a Difference

Big and Small Volunteer Opportunities at UC Davis

By Ashley Han

From mentoring students to reading scholarship applications, UC Davis alumni volunteer in countless ways that enrich the university and their lives while benefiting students.

P

atrick Sherwood ’86, this year’s Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award recipient, has been a longtime volunteer, including initially serving as the chair of finance on the CAAA board of directors, and eventually as president of the association from 2010-2012.

“Volunteering gives you different opportunities to expand your skills and experience outside of what you are building in your current career, all while having the additional benefit of giving back to UC Davis and making a meaningful difference in students’ lives,” said Sherwood, a CAAA Life Member, donor to the university and member of the UC Davis Foundation board of trustees. This article will give UC Davis alumni and affiliates ideas about how they can get more involved.

40

(800) 242-GRAD

Become a network leader Alumni looking for managerial skills can volunteer to be a network leader, helping to organize alumni programming in your area. Annie Ly MBA ’09 was the network leader in New York for four years and is now the San Francisco network leader after moving back to the Bay Area.

“I became a network leader in New York because it was an opportunity for me to connect with fellow Californians and Aggies thousands of miles away from home,” Ly said. “Connecting with alumni has created lifelong friendships for me, and I want to create those opportunities for other people, too.”

Volunteer on a committee Any Aggie can become a network leader and volunteer for a committee by first being a CAAA member.

The committees are involved with auditing, alumni programming, finance, scholarship, careers taskforce and more. Kyle Trinosky ’05 MBA

’12 currently serves on the career taskforce at CAAA after serving on the board for several years.

“I’ve always volunteered quite a bit because I felt that the university as a whole gave me a lot and added a lot of value to my life,” Trinosky said.

“I’ve also volunteered at Interview with an Aggie for about four years now because I’m able to interact with students and provide career advice.”

Mentor students Interview with an Aggie allows alumni to help Aggies by conducting mock interviews, assisting with resumes and giving advice about possible career paths. Similar careerrelated events include Aggie Dinner.

Aggie Dinner connects students with alumni over dinner in a professional setting.

“One of the things I think is really important in terms of my relationship with UC Davis and giving back is I’ve always been focused on what I can

Alumnus Jeff Jarvis ’81 rarely misses an Aggie Dinner networking event, where he recently provided career guidance to students Jeffrey Seidl ’20 and Cristal Gonzalez ’18.

Committed to improving the quality of the university experience for all UC Davis families, Parent and Family Council volunteers recently got to know Chancellor Gary S. May at a listening tour event.

do for current students,” Sherwood said.

“One of the ways I’ve done that for a considerable amount of time is through Aggie Dinner. I’ve actively participated in this event both as an alumnus and as a sponsor.”

Student Send-Offs While some alumni can volunteer through career-related events, there are still opportunities to help students, specifically incoming students. Student Send-Offs are welcome events that allow space for admitted UC Davis students to ask alumni, students, parents and family of current students and the alumni association staff any last minute questions about UC Davis. Alumni can open their homes for these events or organize another place to meet incoming first-year students or transfers.

Alumni and families are excited to tell incoming students about their own UC Davis experience.

Our send-off events provide students a fun and informal way to learn more about UC Davis and get prepared before they make the move to Davis.

Scholarship readers CAAA also looks for volunteers who are willing to read scholarship applications. Last year CAAA had more than 1,500 scholarship applications submitted from California, Oregon and Washington. Alumni volunteers who help read these scholarship applications often find themselves inspired by the remarkable potential of UC Davis students.

And even more!

There are still more ways to volunteer at UC Davis. With Picnic Day coming up, alumni volunteers will march in the parade and can attend events leading up to Picnic Day. The easiest and quickest way to volunteer and get involved is to share university related events on social media as it raises the profile of UC Davis.

To make a difference as a volunteer with UC Davis Alumni and Affiliate Programs, please email alumni@ucdavis.edu.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

41

Athletics Update

Aggie Accolades

Women’s basketball team caps off successful season with an Elite 8 WNIT appearance

By Trevor Stewart

Q: What is it like to be back

coaching at your alma mater?

A: It’s amazing! Honestly, I had

Coach Jennifer Gross is in her seventh season serving as head coach of her alma mater UC Davis. This year she was named 2018 Big West Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, after an impressive 28-7 record. The team would finish with a 14-2 record in conference play, winning the Big West regular season title.

42

(800) 242-GRAD

the best experience playing here and was fortunate to play for great coaches, including Jorja Hoehn and Sandy Simpson ’81, and I also got to know Jim Sochor very well. I also got to be part of a winning program for my entire playing career. Now, I get to be part of providing a similar positive experience to our student athletes.

Our coaching staff is really big on positive coaching. We realize there have been successful coaches who scream and yell and have constant consequences, but we feel like there is another way.

We prefer to build a rapport with our players where there’s trust and respect. They know we’re all in this together.

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges of being a basketball coach?

A: You can’t hide anything anymore, and

there are no surprises because everything is on film and easily accessible. The opposing players and coaches know what you want to do, so it really comes down to who can make the best ingame adjustments and who can execute their game plan. That’s the fun and the challenging part for me.

Q: What makes UC Davis’ studentathletes unique?

A: Our student-athletes have to be

serious about academics to get into UC Davis. They are self-motivated and strive for greatness on and off the court. They have a full-time job playing basketball, going to weights, going to film, practicing, going to class and then doing the homework for those courses.

With women’s basketball coach Jennifer Gross ’97

It’s a lot to balance, but they emerge as strong, amazing women who have competed at a high level for basketball and excelled in a tough academic environment while learning about leadership, cooperation and teamwork. Our hope is that it makes them awesome candidates for any job they apply for post-graduation. UC Davis prides itself on positioning our student-athletes for very successful careers. We teach them to use athletic mastery to highlight skills that translate to their career goals.

We also help by opening as many doors as we can for our athletes, so they get the best chance at success in life, beyond the court or the field.

Q: If someone is gearing up to

attend their first UC Davis women’s basketball game, what should they expect?

A: The fans are going to see an exciting group of young women who play their hearts out, above all. I hear a lot from people who say, “Wow, you guys share the ball like crazy. You move the ball and make the extra pass. Your players are very selfless.”

That is something our program is really big on. We are searching for a great shot, not just a good shot.

Our players are also extremely skilled. From point guards to our posts, we look for players who can do a little bit of everything. By doing this, we give ourselves mismatches against teams with players who may not be as versatile.

Q: What do you hope to build on

from this season for next season?

A: Our hope for next season is to

be able to maintain the same high level of performance at both ends of the floor. I feel we have displayed this effort consistently over the last two seasons. Our former and current players have built a winning culture with their continual effort, selflessness and commitment to excellence. I am confident that next year’s group will continue to embrace the team style of play that has become our identity on the court. In addition to our basketball goals, we want to continue excelling in the classroom and contribute in a positive way within the Davis community.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

43

Office Hours

Hooked on Hockey

UC Davis professor continues to play his childhood sport from Canada Growing up on a rural farm thriving with wildlife influenced not only Professor John Eadie’s research in waterfowl ecology, but it brought him a life-long hobby of hockey.

“I grew up in British Columbia where we had a lake and small ponds on our farm. Every winter, I would skate on the frozen lake and ponds and hit a hockey puck around.

Eventually, I began playing organized hockey,” said Eadie, a CAAA Life Member and donor to UC Davis.

Despite starting a family and building his career at the University of Toronto, Eadie and his family left in 1996 when he received the unique opportunity to be the new Dennis G. Raveling Endowed Chair in Waterfowl Biology at UC Davis.

Eadie’s work focuses on research that explores how we can manage our water and agricultural landscapes to enhance habitat for waterfowl and other wildlife, in addition to theoretical work on basic behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology.

However, finding a hockey team in Davis was not easy. Eadie said in the ’90s and early 2000s, ice hockey was not as easily accessible in California, so he started to play inline hockey. Now, he plays with an adult hockey team in Sacramento once a week.

“My team is called Assassins — I don’t know why,” Eadie laughs. “Last season my team won our league championship. Here I am, a 62-year-old guy playing with 20-year-olds and still able to keep up! It was really fun.”

Along with his research and hockey, Eadie is the faculty athletics mentor for the women’s gymnastics team.

He continues to give and support UC Davis and collegiate athletics because he values team building and being part of a bigger collective.

— Ashley Han

44

(800) 242-GRAD

CAAA Did You Know?

The Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) hosted more than 350 events last year, including national and international gatherings.

There are more than 50 alumni networks worldwide.

CAAA also has a number of special interest networks, including the African and African American Alumni Association, the Chicano Latino Alumni Association and the LGTBA Alumni Association.

Network events are great opportunities to meet fellow Aggies and make lifelong professional connections.

CAAA offers a variety of special events for alumni and parents both on campus and in network areas.

Additional events include art walks, culinary tours, expert speaker events and sports games.

Check out our event calendar today!

alumni.ucdavis.edu

45

#AggiesAtWork

By Trevor Stewart

Aggie alumna honors her family heritage

A

sk most five year-olds what they want to be when they grow up and an array of answers will follow, ranging from astronaut or firefighter to professional athlete. Darcie Houck ’94 M.S. ’97 J.D. ’97 knew she was going to be a lawyer.

“My grandfather told me I had to grow up to be a lawyer so I could advocate for Native American rights and issues,” Houck said.

Houck is of Native American descent, Mohawk and Ottawa on her mother’s side, along with French and English, and wanted to make a difference.

Houck worked as a law student with California Indian Legal Services and interned with the Department of Justice prior to graduating from law school at the University of California,

46

(800) 242-GRAD

Davis. She previously worked 12 years for one of the largest boutique Native American Law firms, Fredericks Peebles & Morgan.

Houck said there has been progress made in the relationship between tribal law and United States government law, but there is still much work to be done.

“Sometimes there are misconceptions on what a worldview means and how do we take into account tribal practices or have discourse where we can understand each other’s worldviews,” said Houck. “We need to continue increasing collaboration and maintain an open dialogue.”

Now, Houck serves as an administrative law judge with the California Utilities Commission,

working on cases pertaining to nuclear power or providing affordable energy to disadvantaged communities, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley. She is also finishing her J.S.D. (Doctor of Juridical Science) dissertation in international water law, exploring the human right to water in the context of indigenous peoples and indigenous communities’ cultural values to sustainable ecological development.

Paying it forward Although Houck knew what she wanted to do since she was five years old, her studies at UC Davis reinforced the desire to help others in her career aspirations.

“The Native American studies program was amazing and gave me

CAAA Life Member Darcie Houck received degrees from UC Davis’ College of Letters and Science, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and School of Law.

“Students graduate from UC Davis with the knowledge to change lives, and this is a perfect time for them to take that knowledge, evaluate what is important to them and help make the change they want to see in the world.”

Darcie Houck ’94 M.S. ’97 J.D. ’97 opportunities to work with different communities in California,” she said.

“I got an education that I wouldn’t have been able to receive anywhere else.”

Houck said law professors Arturo Gandara and Kevin Johnson (the latter of which is now dean) were integral to her success. Both were crucial in reviving the Native

American law course, which had not been offered for a number of years. She credits them, along with many others, for opening doors and creating opportunities for students.

Houck went on to co-teach with Professor Beth Rose Middleton a graduate law school class on indigenous ecological law and policy at UC Davis, as well as serve as an

instructor for a Native American law course.

“Students graduate from UC Davis with the knowledge to change lives, and this is a perfect time for them to take that knowledge, evaluate what is important to them and help make the change they want to see in the world,” she said.

Houck has also stayed connected to the university through her former service on the CAAA board and as a CAAA Life Member.

She explained, “There are many students who could benefit from this amazing education. And as an engaged member of CAAA, I came to know their stories intimately and now understand how important it is to give back by being a volunteer and donor.” alumni.ucdavis.edu

47

University News

The AvenueE Program is investing in the future of Aggie engineers, benefiting twice as many students in the next two years.

UC Davis continues to be ranked first in the world in veterinary science and second in agriculture and forestry, according to the 2018 QS World University Rankings.

Galindo

Men’s and women’s basketball teams win Big West Conference, with the women making a run to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament, before being eliminated.

48

(800) 242-GRAD

Reed

Chancellor Gary S. May announced a plan to reorganize the Office of Student Affairs, naming Emily Galindo and and Rahim Reed as interim leaders.

Chancellor Gary S. May is encouraging the UC Davis community's participation in the university's strategic planning effort, "To Boldly Go." Check out the video!

Check out this video showing recent improvements to the Arboretum Waterway.

Heather M. Young, the founding dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, will step down in July to assume the roles of professor and dean emerita.

She is also the champion of the Healthy Aging in a Digital World Big Idea.

University of California President Janet Napolitano, in a speech marking UC’s 150th anniversary, called on UC and state leaders to help meet the growing demand for a UC education.

Spirit Halloween Superstores donated $73,878 to UC Davis Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy Department.

alumni.ucdavis.edu

49

Welcome!

CAAA is excited to recognize the following new Life Members who joined between September 2, 2017 and March 5, 2018: Barbara Abeling M.S. ’13 Ph.D. ’17

Juan Espinoza ’09

Allison Kino ’17

Thomas Rowe ’18

Bridget Eutenier ’00

Glenna Klepac ’94

Tricia Sanguinetti

Lanae Faciane ’03

Sawsan Knobel ’83

Justin Schlageter ’01

Molly Fluet ’09

Lakshminarayana Kota ’10

Jonathan Short MBA ’08

David Fung ’17

Colin Lee ’17

James Sickles M.S. ’74

Melanie Giedlin ’17

Jonathan Lerner ’17

Kevin Smith ’92 MBA ’94

Harfateh Grewal ’14

Alejandro Leyva

Ronald Smith

Alexander Grigoriev ’17

Samantha Lostia ’15

David Hand ’17

Dinglong Ma Ph.D. ’17

Kurt Snipes M.S. ’78 Ph.D. ’85

Kathryn Hanks M.S. ’15

Jennifer MacLean ’03

Elizabeth Bishay

Brian Hinck ’14

Santa Maldonado ’15

Shannon Bouldin ’03

Brian Hodgens ’07

Joshua Martin ’16

Aubrey Brown ’17

Julie Hooper ’09

Susana Mateos ’17

Edward Bui ’18

Marlee Horwitz ’17

Diane Mc Kernon ’99

Stephanie Chee ’17

Jason Iness ’92 M.S. ’95 Ph.D. ’97

Emilie Merckling ’17

Taji Abraham M.P.V.M. ’00 Amin Afshar MBA ’15 Ph.D. ’17 Timothy Ainsworth ’76 Kimberly Amyouny ’01 Jack Bath ’61 Timothy Benton ’15 Kristi Bernhardt ’04 M.A. ’07

John Clayton Nicholas Dao ’16 Ridgway Deanna Heather Deaton-Brown ’17 Helene Dillard M.S. ’79 Ph.D. ’84 Victor Dillard Allison Dong ’17 Grant Einhorn ’03 Wendy Einhorn

Pia Iness ’92 Debra Israel ’78 Anupreet Johl ’04 Abram Jones ’02 M.A. ’12 ’16 CERT. ’14 Cydney Jones ’18 Lisa Jostock ’18 Tariq Kadir Taryn Kilgore ’17 Susan Kim ’95

Cynthia Murphy ’91 James Murphy ’88 Christine Ng ’18 Susan Norris ’02 Victoria Noto ’17 Jose Olasa ’11 Elijah Ontiveros ’17 Maria Ramos ’14 Brian Ridgway ’99 Edgar Ross ’74

Membership dues allow CAAA to offer a wide variety of programming and alumni networking locally, across the United States and around the world. Thank you for your continued support and dedication, both to your alumni association and to UC Davis.

50

(800) 242-GRAD

Fernando Socorro Antonio Sosa ’14 Abhinav Thakur ’07 Derek Tjeerdema ’17 Emily Vasquez ’74 Judith Watt Barbara Weisbrod ’86 Jay Weisbrod ’88 Aaron Yang ’17 Hongjie Cui MBA ’04 Craig Dandridge ’92 Josephine Tam ’11 Ishan Thapar ’17 Helen Theodoropoulos ’89 Ph.D. ’90 Michael Tung ’02 Yue-On Yuen ’94

National Parks of the Southwest DATE:

Umbria, Italy: Culture, Food & History

August 27 - September 7, 2018 per person

COST: From $3,695 (AIRFARE FROM SFO)

September 16-24, 2018 COST: From $3,995 per person, double occupancy DATE:

T

he Cal Aggie Alumni Association is pleased to announce that Dr. Joe DiTomaso will be hosting this special trip!

Joe DiTomaso received his B.S. degree in wildlife biology from the University of California, Davis, his M.S. degree at Humboldt State University in Plant Taxonomy and his Ph.D. in Weed Science at UC Davis in 1986. Throughout “My goal is to his career, he has immerse you in the received many awards culture, history, art and prior to retiring in and food of Umbria.

June 2017, he served Umbria is a hidden as the Chair of the treasure of Italy, with Department of Plant far fewer tourists compared to its neighbor Sciences at UC Davis.

Tuscany. Yet, it is some of the most beautiful Joe grew up in landscapes in all of Italy, with many hilltop an Italian family – towns perched on the top of rocky cliffs.” his grandparents - DR. JOE DITOMASO immigrated to the United States in the early 1900s from southern Italy. He has traveled to Italy on numerous occasions, taking cooking classes and studying wine.

A highlight of the trip will include a visit to Localita il Piano, a working farm in the remote hills of Spoleto. The farm is owned and operated by an alumna of UC Davis, Darcy Gordon, and her husband, Spoleto native Adolfo. You’ll enjoy a walking tour of the farm followed by a cheese-making demonstration and lunch made from the farm’s harvest. Experience Italy’s legacy with a journey to the scenic region of Umbria in Tuscany, which is dotted with ancient ruins, medieval villages and natural wonders. You will spend your days exploring the cultural treasures of Umbria and your nights in awe of the natural beauty of the region. Let Italy sweep you away on this enchanted tour of Umbria.

Cape Cod and the Islands DATE: COST:

September 16 - 22, 2018 From $2,625

China Connoisseur and Tibet DATE:

October 3 - 18, 2018 per person

COST: From $5,499 (AIRFARE FROM SFO)

For a full list of Aggie Adventure travel opportunities, full brochures, early booking discounts, and up-todate deadlines and cost, visit alumni. ucdavis.edu/travel, call 530-752-4502, or email aggieadventures@ucdavis.edu Price and dates are subject to change NOTE: Airfare not included unless otherwise indicated

alumni.ucdavis.edu

51

Privacy Notice

CAAA Staff Adrianne Bataska

Becky Heard

Facility Manager

Stephanie Shimada

Director of Affiliate Relations

Val Bishop-Green ’05

Wine and Business Partnership Manager

Jasmine Herrera ’15

Director of Partner and Member Services

Amanda Crisman

Data Administrator

Jamie Dixon ’05

SAA and Parent Membership Manager

Jennifer Thayer ’02

Charlie Hildeburn

Ginger Welsh ’95

Assistant Director of Programs

Interim Chief Business Officer

Director of California Engagement

Director of International Alumni Programs and Development

Kayla Lickey ’17

Rich Engel ’90, CRED. ’91

Membership Coordinator

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations and Executive Director, Cal Aggie Alumni Association

Carrie Wright ’99

Associate Executive Director and Chief Programs Officer

Soledad Sanchez ’04 Program Coordinator, Parent and Family Programs

Coming back to campus?

Drop by and see us. We’re in the Walter A. Buehler Alumni Center — the building with the blue roof, next to the Mondavi Center. From Interstate 80, take the UC Davis exist and head north. Follow the signs to your campus home.

Mail

Cal Aggie Alumni Association University of California One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616-8517

Web

Phone

alumni.ucdavis.edu

Email

530.752.0286 800.242.GRAD

alumni@ucdavis.edu

Fax

530.752.3395

To enrich the lives of alumni, students, families and friends worldwide and develop lifelong ambassadors for UC Davis.

CAAA Board of Directors Debby Stegura ’79 President

William Cochran ’73, CRED. ’74 Vice President/ President Elect

Sandra Frye-Lucas, Ph.D. ’03

Unit Vice President, Programs

Charles Melton ’08

Unit Vice President, Revenue Generation

Ron Van De Pol ’72

Unit Vice President, Administration

Neptaly Aguilera ’73 Bridget Bugbee ’13 Diane Carlson Biggs ’81 Alex Chan ’01 Brian Ebbert ’92 Molly Fluet ’09 Stacie Frerichs ’01 Anu Johl Singh ’04

Scott Judson ’09, J.D. ’13 Alex Kang ’09 Paul Keefer ’89 Ron Maroko, J.D. ’86 Jill Miller ’97 Algie Mosley ’96 Molly Mrowka ’93 Karla Stevenson ’93 Scott Stevenson ’92 Fred Taverner ’87 Kyle Trinosky ’05, MBA ’12 Jon Weiner ’85

Advisors To The Board

Richard R. Engel ’90, CRED. ’91 Executive Director of CAAA and Assistance Vice Chancellor for Alumni Relations

Ramak Siadatan ’99, M.B.A. ’06 Past President

Bruce Bell ’85

Chair, UC Davis Foundation at Large

Michael Sellens

Parent Co-Council President

Bret Hewitt ’77, M.A. ’83

Alumni Council Member (College of Letters and Science, Arboretum and Public Garden)

Please read the following privacy information so we may follow your wishes for handling your data. This opt-out is only for affinity partner services and will not impact the other communications you receive from UC Davis.

Important Privacy Notice You have the right to control whether we include you in product and service offerings provided by our affinity partners. Please read the following information carefully before you make your choice:

Your Right You have the following rights to restrict what you receive from us. This includes sending you information about the alumni association, the university and other products and services. You have the right to restrict the sharing of your name, address and electronic mail address with our affinity partners. This form does not prohibit us from sharing your information when it is required by law.

Your Choice Restrict Information Sharing With Affinity Partners: You can restrict information sharing with affinity partners, but unless you say “No,” we may include you in product and service offerings provided by our affinity partners. Our affinity partners may send you offers to purchase various products or services we have agreed they can offer in partnership with us.

Time Sensitive Reply

Chancellor

Alumni Council Chair (School of Education)

You may decide at any time that you do not wish to receive product and service offerings provided by our affinity partners.

Shaun Keister

Lori Madden, Ph.D. ’14

If you decide that you do not want to receive information from our partners, you may do one of the following:

Gary May

Alumni Council Member (Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing)

Editor

Writer

Photographers

Senior Writer

Senior Designer

Aggie Xtra Staff

Trevor Stewart

Affinity programs are agreements between the Cal Aggie Alumni Association (CAAA) and our business partners that offer products and services. In addition to offering discounts, these partners may also give a portion of their profits to CAAA, which uses these funds to support UC Davis alumni programs.

Sandi Redenbach ’72, CRED. ’73

Vice Chancellor of Development and Alumni Relations

Laura Pizzo

Affinity Programs

Ashley Han ’19 Sam Sellers ’07

Karin Higgins Gregory Urquiaga Alana Joldersma ’19

1. Fill out this form and mail it to us at the following address. You may also want to make a copy for your records.

Cal Aggie Alumni Association One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616 2. E-mail us at optout@ucdavis.edu.

3. Call 1 (800) 242-4723.

52

(800) 242-GRAD

The Last Word

ne of UC Davis’ most dedicated volunteers, Patrick Sherwood ’86 has served in many capacities — including as the former president of the CAAA board of directors, a current UC Davis Foundation trustee and a member of the Global Campaign Leadership Council. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the College of Letters and Sciences, where he has endowed a scholarship. Additionally, he has endowed a scholarship with CAAA and is largely responsible for what CAAA fondly calls the check-off program, which has resulted in a momentous increase in participation of the Student Alumni Association. He is pictured here with his daughter, Caitlin Sherwood ’14, who was the first student to enroll in SAA under this new program.

“What makes me passionate about UC Davis is the impact it has on each individual’s life, and the impact it has on the broader community,” said Sherwood, who was honored as this year’s prestigious Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award. “I think helping both the local and worldwide community is very important. It’s something I feel passionate about and want to be a part of.” alumni.ucdavis.edu

53