2016 CalSouthern Commencement Program

COMMENCEMENT AUGUST 6, 2016, IRVINE, CA

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT California Southern University’s annual commencement ceremony is a singularly moving and inspirational event. Of course, we gather to celebrate the outstanding academic achievements of our graduates. But it is much more than that.

It is about challenges overcome. Dreams that long lay dormant, now fulfilled. Sacrifices made so that goals could be achieved. The loving support of family and friends. A future without limits.

Today, as each graduate walks across the stage, you will learn a bit about their personal journeys and where they are headed—and you will see what I mean.

On behalf of the entire university, welcome to California Southern University’s 38th annual commencement ceremony!

Caroll Ryan, PhD President California Southern University

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CONTENTS UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION / BOARD OF TRUSTEES

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ADVISORY COUNCILS 4

FACULTY MENTORS 5

DOCTORAL GRADUATES 7

MASTER’S DEGREE GRADUATES 9

BACCALAUREATE GRADUATES 12

COMMENCEMENT PROGRAM 13

2016 CALSOUTHERN DIFFERENCE AWARD

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2016 PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR DOCTORAL PROJECT EXCELLENCE 15

2016 CALSOUTHERN FACULTY MENTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

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2016 STUDENT SPEAKER 17

KEYNOTE SPEAKER 18

SEATING PLAN 19 Note: This program is not an official transcript of studies. For official degree and honors verification, please contact the Office of the Registrar by calling 714.882.7806 or 800.477.2254 Ext. 4206, or by email at: registrar@calsouthern.edu.

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UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATION Caroll Ryan, PhD

President

Carol Stanton, DBA

VP and COO

John Minchin, DSc

CAO

Barbara Grimes, PhD

Dean, School of Behavioral Sciences

Gregory D. Herbert, EdD

Dean, School of Business

Judith D. McLeod, DNP, CPNP

Dean, School of Nursing

Ellen Sampong, JD

Dean, School of Law

Elna van Heerden, DEd

Dean, School of Education

Jeffrey D. Fazio, JD, LLM

VP and General Counsel

Erika Woldman Hecht

VP of Worldwide Business Development

Nicole Lesher

Director of Institutional Research and Assessment / Accreditation Liaison Officer

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Lady Branham, MA, Chair Donald Hecht, ScD J. Ramon Villanueva, MBA Hal Altshuler, MBA Mark Hecht, MBA James Farkas, PhD M. Kathleen Murphy Molly Mcginn, PhD Steven Beazley, PsyD Caroll Ryan, PhD (Ex-Officio)

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ADVISORY COUNCILS School of Business

School of Behavioral Sciences

Louise Brandy

Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD

Bashar Elkahtib, DBA

Jill Epstein, JD

Wing Lam

Joshua Taylor, PhD

Robbin Thomas

Julie Hayden, PsyD

David Tuyo, DBA

Graham Taylor, PsyD

Ed Wirth, PhD

James Sanders, MA Linda Fischer, EdD

School of Law

Sara G. Gilman, MA

Nick Ewell, JD

Enid Richey, MS

Shirley Chu, JD Tye Marshall, JD Keith Seagull, JD Mardy Sproule, JD Stephen Mashney, JD

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FACULTY MENTORS SCHOOL OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Sheila J. Mccabe, MS

Toby Spiegel, PsyD, Associate Dean

Patrick Mckiernan, PhD

Benton E. Allen, PhD

Ron P. Muchnick, PhD

Lori Aleknavicius, PsyD

Sherri Muchnick, PhD

Kathleen Andrews, PhD

Wendy E. Nickerson, PsyD

Barbaby Barratt, PsyD

Eileen Paniagua, PsyD

Steven Beazley, PhD

Nadira T. Pardo, PhD

Victoria Bloom, MS

Parul Patel, PsyD

Barbara J. Denny, MSW

Susan Pavone, MA

Stacie Dilts-Harryman, PhD

Jonathan Rich, PhD

Donna Dimatteo-Gibson, PhD

Enid Richey, MS

Guy Du Plessis, MA

Linda A. Salvucci, PhD

Linda Fischer, EdD

Roy Sumpter, NMD

Heather Gelhart, EdD

Christine S. Tanimura, PsyD

Bruce Gillies, PsyD

Amanda Tate, MSW

Asia J. Gorg, PhD

Kimberly Western, MA

Gia Hamilton, PsyD

Stephanie Witt, MA

Jann Mccord, PsyD

Suzanne M. Hunter, PhD Nicole Johnson-Nguyen, PsyD

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Colleen Kelly, MS

Chuck Bajaj, MBA

Thierry Kolpin, PhD

Janet Booker, EdD

Barbara Lackey, PhD

James Bowling, PhD

Nick A. Lazaris, PsyD

John G. Burchfield, MA

Jacquie E. Lewis, PhD

John Belt, DBA

Heidi Magyar, PsyD

Loth Chomnan, DBA

Patricia Mann, PsyD

Stephen W. Cogger, MS

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Mike Ewald, PhD

SCHOOL OF LAW

Jimmie Flores, DM/LST Joseph Gamaldi, MA

Bernadette M. Agaton, JD, Associate Dean

Luis Gamez, MS

John Bruegger, LLM

Geraldine Goodstone, DBA

Leonardo A. Canseco, JD

Brett Gordon, PhD

James Coulter, JD

Gyongyi Konyu Fogel, DBA

Mathilde L. Genovese, JD

Erica Hayes, MA

Christine M. Greene, JD

Gregory Herbert, EdD

Ana Hartman, JD

Lisa Herbert, MA

Erika Iler, JD

Stephanie Hoon, DMgt

Felicia M. Katsarov, JD

Clifford Kettemborough, MBA

Steven H. Klein, PhD

Mohamad Khatibloo, MA

Rita Ann Melnyk, JD

Ronald E. Monard, JD

Mike Neff, JD

Michael Morris, MBA

Sabrina Montalvo, JD

Nicholas Papazian, MS

Tracy Owens, JD

Patricia G. Phillips, Dsc

Pugatch Mark, JD

Thanasak Ruankaew, PhD

Diana M. Shropshire, JD

Joan L. Saunders, MBA Michael J. Schwartz, MA

GENERAL EDUCATION

Kyle Sokol, MS

James Bowling, PhD

Thomas P. Van Dyke, PhD

Alan Byrne, MA

Carlos Vazquez, EdD

Faryl Kander, PhD

Michael W. Washington, MS

Mark Lawler, MS

Penny Wilkins, DM

Diana M. Nightwine-Robinson, PhD

Edward Wirth, PhD

Mitchell Miller, DBA

Walter J. Witham, MS

Kim Dean Stanton, EdS Peter S. Thomas, MA Clynton Yarter, MBA

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DOCTORAL GRADUATES DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY

Megan Hundley

Kimberly Adams

Grace Hutchinson

Lisa Aguilar Slover

Bea Jaffrey

Stacey Attias

Ta Tanisha Jones

Lori Babbitt

James Joseph

Payal Baidwan

Suzette Lawler-Sankar

Ursula Bell

Sara Lopez

Lubov Belova

Sun Lui

Patricia Boyce

Dina Macaluso

Ann Brown

Heidi Magyar

Cynthia Chamberland

Patrick Manista

Juanita Chapman

David Marcello

Stacey Chernin

Theresa Markin Dey

Kristine Clay

Terry Martin

Leslie Cook

Michelle Martin

Joseph Crivello

Glen McCarty

Luis Cruz

Sonja McKenna

Benjamin Culhane

Paulos Mesmer

Virginia Curbelo

Nancy Miller

Nancy Derks

Chris Miller

Deborah Dueck

Esmat Moobed

Laura Duvall

Phumzile Moshoeshoe

Balasubramaniam Fischer

Jessica Neighbors

Lih-Jia Guo

John Nelliparambil

Denise Hall

Brittany Nelson

Gia Hamilton

Carolyn Ng

Amy Hopkins

John Panepinto

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Tonya Peavy

DOCTOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Trish Phillips

Linet Davidian

Elena Polenova

Brian Goodrich

Consuela Rogers

Stephen Holliday

Melissa Ross

Lam Le

Eylem Sahin

Pankaj Mital

Liza Sanderson

Patrick Ofei

Adalgiza Sandoval

Lori Schroth

Scott Savage

Mason Still

Pamela Schell Werschler

Martin Sullivan

Marla Schreffler

Sandile Tshazibana

Kaleb Singleton

Tommy Tunson

Gladys Smith

David Tuyo II

Matthew Snyder

Thomas Zhao

Mickey Parsons

Sharon Stines John Swyers

JURIS DOCTOR

Dianna Troutt

Frank Daugherty

Saverio Verduci

Lydia McClure

Christopher Walling

Jaehyon Shon

Trisha Wallis

Rachel Stevens

Veronica West

Jennifer Stokes

Rose Whitcomb

Mei Wang

Alina Williams Ronald Wilson Sandra Wilson April Wise Nanette Yavel

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MASTER’S DEGREE GRADUATES MASTER OF ARTS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Holly Whitmore

Bianca Agassi

Jill Zatyko

Jill Bekaert

Linda Zolty

Stacey Wilwerding

Michele Bernabe Brian Chapman Anni Christensen

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Sherwin Colaste

Rhonda Allen

Kristy Crownover

Shaun Byrd

Carla Delgado

Ricky Chali

Dolores Edwinson

Vance Chung

Natalie Espino-Palomo

Evangelina De Luna

Jolean Gonzales-Robles

Danushka Decker

Pamela Granick

Kelly Drew

Judy Hails

Dorlene Flowers

Juline Hobson

Eleanor Gilman

Maryam Jamili

Maria Hopkins

Trisha Leamon

Kurt Irons

Mitch Marinovich

Ruqaya Ismail

Tracey Nguyen

Emmanuel Odegbami

Jonathan Rackley

Alfred Ofili

Kristin Roberts

Oluwapelumi Olaniyan

Mary Rossi

Seohee Park

Asli Seyithanoglu

Jenny Pham

Patricia Shirley

Traci Pomrankey

Karen Strand

Celsus Robert Bernard

Elishka Trotta

Alok Sahai

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MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PSYCHOLOGY

Caroline Gonzales

Adetokunboh Afonja

Karen Hastings

Brent Albarado

Pedro Hernandez

Bibi Aliahmad

Damon Hopkins

Nicole Allison

Burton Hume

Philip Ang

Julie Hyun

Ardiana Bani

Caroline Johnson

Loriann Barber

David Jones

Jonathan Brown

Nashin Joseph

Bryanna Burke

Jacqueline Kelly

Alexander Cabot

Jung Hyun Kim

Kyle Chaddick

Philip Kimi

Nancy Chesley

Alison Kovach

Paula Colquhoun

Amy LaPierre

Juan Corral

Siu Ki Lau

Mary Craig

Chelsea Leeder

Julia Cucinella

Paul Livaudais

Eric Cunningham

Kanza Malik

Tami De Larkin

Rob Maroney

Kathlyn Del Hierro

Dennis Martino

Katerina Dewing

Alexa Mattox

Maureen Doherty

Matthew Mckeithan

Amy Dunn

Casey McMakin

Ashley Eddy

Atul Mehta

Kimberly Elias

Noha Michael

Jennifer Erilus

Juan Munoz

Angelo Ferrer

Cicily Naef

Barbara Gill

Thomas Olin

Esther Gonzalez

Lesley Goldthorpe CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 2016

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Kaitlyn Pahl

Brianna Zitlow

Alexis Pinero

Pamela Reeves

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN LAW

Clifton Reynolds

Cybill Aros

Jennifer Rodriguez

Marie Dizon

Junelle Romano

John Gloud

Jayne Rutledge

Ralph Johnson

Angela Ryder

Megan Krier

William Schantz

Tanya Kuza

Nicole Sebastian

James Lowe

Moshe Sender

Eric Monroe

Anton Serzhan

Kristoffer Paris

Katherine Shafer

Nicky Rossow

Ladan Shojaei Kavan

Patrick Sailors

Dolores Soler Caceres

Matthew Shutes

Rebecca Porras

Hanna Sparks

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN LAW

Lesley Starbuck Jeannette Swecker

Fidel Espinoza

Joseph Torres

Doug Griffith

Tammy Urey

Wesley Jones

Joseph Valery

Dang Nguyen

Carine Van Enoo Matthew Van Vliet Karissa Wallace Sarah Weiss Lynda Whelchel Christine Wilhoite Izabela Zackiewicz

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BACCALAUREATE GRADUATES BACHELOR OF ARTS IN PSYCHOLOGY

Dennis Marzec

Mitzi Archer

Delena McKire

Erik Bozman

Spencer Morris

Donrica Burrows

Donald Parker

Naquinna Cole

Rosa Romo

Jaime Francois

Bryan Willis

Naomi Matero

Rodney Griffith Laine Gutierrez Rachel Haack

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Kevin Hahn

Jaime Contreras

Griffen Halko

Jesus Cruz

Liza Jackson

Ashley Eclipse

Christopher Jeske

Vidal Lopez

Michel Lark

David Smith

Witney Oberdan

Matthew Ziemba

Kerry Ordoins

Kylie Watt

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN APPLIED TECHNOLOGY

Evelyn Wittenmyer

Micheal Malsed

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

ASSOCIATE OF ARTS IN LIBERAL STUDIES

William Carlisle

Sandra McClintock

Michelle Crane

Cynthia Sherer

Febe Ramirez-Silva

Lee Elmore Justin Fowler Vanessa Harris Christopher Hymore CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 2016

Kyle Joffe

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2016 COMMENCEMENT PROGRAM The graduation hall will open to guests at 1:00 p.m. and the processional will begin promptly at 2:00 p.m..

Processional National Anthem

U.S. Marine Corps Color Guard, Recruiting Station O.C.

Welcome Message

Dr. Caroll Ryan

Student Speaker

Nancy Derks, PsyD ‘16

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Robi Ludwig, ‘02

The CalSouthern Difference Award

Dr. Gregory Mabry, ‘12

Outstanding Faculty Mentor of the Year Award

Dr. Patrick McKiernan, School of Behavioral Sciences

President’s Award for Doctoral Project Excellence

Christopher Walling, PsyD, ‘16

Presentation of Candidates for Degrees

Dr. John Minchin Dr. Gregory Herbert Dean Ellen Sampong, JD Dr. Barbara Grimes

Conferral of Degrees

Dr. Caroll Ryan

Closing Remarks

Dr. Carol Stanton

Recessional Class Photo Reception

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2016 CalSouthern Difference Award Dr. Gregory Mabry Founded in 2012, the CalSouthern Difference Award is presented each year to an alumnus who has made a difference in his or her area of practice, field of study or local community through distinguished work, scholarship, innovation or service.

Past winners have made extraordinary contributions across varied and diverse settings. CalSouthern Difference Award winners are developing groundbreaking strategies for reducing recidivism among the prison population, dedicating their lives to serve the addicted, treating survivors of domestic violence and working to prevent child sexual abuse.

One has twice been named Arizona’s judge of the year.

This year’s winner, Dr. Gregory Mabry, is unquestionably worthy of inclusion in this impressive group. A major in the U.S. Army, Dr. Mabry is a 12year combat veteran who was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He currently serves as a Behavioral Science Officer and Deputy Chief for the Department of Behavioral Health, stationed at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. In this position, Dr. Mabry is responsible for the direct patient care of more than 30,000 soldiers and their families. He has also worked to enhance the mental health resiliency of soldiers throughout the training, deployment and redeployment cycles, and has developed plans to diagnose and treat highrisk solders, mitigating suicidal factors among this population.

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2016 President’s Award For Doctoral Project Excellence Dr. Cristopher Walling The President’s Award for Doctoral Project Excellence is presented each year to a graduate whose doctoral project is deemed most outstanding. And while a number of excellent doctoral projects were nominated this year from both the School of Business and the School of Psychology, the work of Dr. Cristopher Walling was truly exceptional.

Dr. Walling’s project is titled “Somatic Experiencing Praxis: Applications of Proprioception and Interoception in Psychotherapy”.

This project is a fascinating study of somatic experiencing, a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. Simply put, it is an approach designed to release traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early development attachment trauma.

Dr. Walling’s study explored the themes of somatic experiencing’s origins and its consequential clinical applications. It also illustrated how it supports the client’s ability to experience a biological completion of sorts, discharging psycho-motor patterns that are often held incomplete within the human nervous system for years.

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2016 CalSouthern Faculty Mentor of the Year Award Dr. Patrick McKiernan CalSouthern’s faculty mentors are gifted scholars.

They are skilled professionals and innovators in their fields. Most important, they are educators who demonstrate an unwavering dedication to their students.

Dr. Patrick McKiernan is the very personification of these qualities. He is devoted to the study of the behavioral sciences, in particular the field of addiction and its treatment. He has been regularly published on addiction-related topics, in nationally respected, peer-reviewed journals. Dr. McKiernan has developed academic programs in addiction, and was instrumental in the creation of CalSouthern’s Certificate in Addiction Studies.

His career as a practitioner is equally impressive. He is the founder of Sober Solutions, which operates transitional treatment facilities in Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, as well as in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also has designed addiction treatment programs for pregnant women and their children, as well as for the HIV-positive population. He helped start the first “halfway back” program in Kentucky, a long-term treatment for prisoners who had left the corrections system, but who were considered technical violators of their parole due to their addiction. Most recently, Dr. McKiernan has developed an innovative website and smartphone application that gives those in recovery a quick and easy way to assess their daily risk of relapse, and which provides their support system with an opportunity to intervene.

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2016 STUDENT SPEAKER DR. Nancy Derks From Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Nancy sought a doctorate for years, but couldn’t find a school that offered an online learning environment and a quality clinical psychology program. She finally found this, as well as a wonderfully supportive staff, in CalSouthern.

She thanks Dr. Fred Saba, who provided the right amount of push, but with supportive encouragement.

Sara, Margaret and Susie were there with friendship and encouraging words. Her son Matthys assured her that she could do it, reminding her that she had overcome bigger challenges. Nancy hopes to present on her dissertation topic, The Impact of Moral Injury in Veterans, at an upcoming APA conference.

Finally, she thanks her husband John for encouraging words, unyielding support, and belief that she could do anything that she set her mind to.

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KEYNOTE SPEAKER Dr. ROBI LUDWIG Dr. Robi Ludwig is a nationally known psychotherapist and award-winning reporter and television expert commentator. A graduate of CalSouthern’s PsyD program, she also holds a post-master’s certificate in advanced clinical work from Hunter College, a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Cedar Crest College.

In clinical settings and in her private practice, Dr. Ludwig has treated all forms of mental illness, substance abuse, grieving, sexual identity issues, job stress, emotional and sexual abuse problems, as well as common social and parenting issues.

Dr. Ludwig began her work in television as a psychology reporter in upstate New York. Today, she is a regular on CNN, CNN Headline News and The Fox News Channel, where she talks about psychological and lifestyle issues, as well as the criminal mind. She also appears on national shows including TODAY, 20/20, ABC World News, The View, Fox and Friends, Entertainment Tonight, The Steve Harvey Show, Wendy Williams, The Bill Cunningham Show, Lou Dobbs Tonight and many others, helping audiences and guests alike to understand the complexities of the human condition. She has also contributed to popular shows on The Learning Channel and the Investigative Discovery network.

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GRADUATION HALL SEATING FACULTY SEATING GRADUATE SEATING All grey colored seats are available for guests.

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California Southern University - 800.477.2254 - www.calsouthern.edu 930 Roosevelt, Irvine, California 92620 CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 2016

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