Profiles - Portland State Magazine

Peggy graduated Portland State in 1959 with a degree in education. She had majored in music for two years singing soprano, however her parents urged her to get a teaching degree as “something to fall back on.” That had a lot to do with social conditions; it was only a year before she graduated that the first African American woman, Gloria Davy, sang at the Metropolitan Opera. During her time at Portland State, Peggy was the only African American in the music department.

Coming from hardworking, blue collar, supportive but poor families, the Yadens both received scholarships during their time at Portland State and remained integral to their future successes. This year two undergraduate students in the College of Urban & Public Affairs will be the first recipients of the Yaden family endowed scholarship; their goal for this endowment is to help students from similar backgrounds. “It makes me really happy to think that someone like me whose father had maybe finished 8th Grade could get a university degree with a little financial help.” Janice says.

Portland State Alumnus Douglas Soesbe is a story analyst and editor working for NBCUniversal. He recently wrote a feature film entitled “Boulevard.” It is being shot in May of this year with Robin Williams starring. It will be directed by Dito Montiel, whose film, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, is a previous Sundance winner.

Sasikarn Paankate

Tingting Wang

Tianjing He

Yertai Tanai

What do the Kardashians, women’s college basketball, and a Notre Dame study on income and agreeableness have in common? Goel Auzeen Saedi ’07.

Ramon Torrecilha ’84, MA ’86 was recently appointed provost, the second highest academic post, at California State University - Dominguez Hills. But back when he began his education at Portland State—as a farm worker who spoke little English—this appointment would be too fantastic to even consider.

Olga Lafayette ’98 remembers loving language so much as a 6-year-old in Siberia that she concocted a foreign language. Later, she begged her sister, who was learning German, to teach it to her.

Dahyang Lee

Lingling Zhuge

Rahulkumar Koche

Fadak Alsaleh

KeunYoung Jang

Bhuvana Krishnaswamy

Ahmed Raeisi

Eunhee Kim

Saelin Ho

SoHee Gu

Nhi Vu

Thai Bui

Anouksha Gardner

Ashour S. Abdulaziz

Hanyang Zhang

Fabian Wiederin

Sang B Le

Minh Ho

Huy Cao Thai

Hanh Nguyen

Efe Yildirim

Needa Lingga

Khadija Al Mousa

Soufiane El Moussi

Abdussalam Alawini

Azusa Ogawa

Tomoko Shinohara

Shimpei Tsurumaki

Yueer Yang

Yan Zhang

Danxi Li

Aditya Bhutada

Mazen Alobaid

Sudin Maharjan

Perla Orozco

Nicolas Hinsinger

Nour Abboud

Min Cai

Chang-Yu Hong

Fadil AlQatari

Katharina de Biasi

Judith Waswa

Patrick Mok

Abdulrahman Yousuf Al-Homaid

Amani Aljamid

Hiroshi Hada

Yaquob Aljumaan

Zahed Reza Khurasani

Yuko Amano

Bader Alharthi

Bandar Alsaif

Fraya Zanora Saquina

Outstanding young alumnus Nabil Mistkawi earns international acclaim.

Alumni service winner Amber Fowler opens doors for low-income women.

Alumna Angela Wykoff blazed a path for female engineers.

Alumnus Andre Craan advocates for consumer safety.

From Source to Sky - Tracking greenhouse gases

Shannon Burley '00

Racial disparity in Multnomah County, Portland State Magazine

A partnership between the Coalition of Communities of Color & PSU reports the disparities and experiences of communities of color in Multnomah County.

Rosanna Bowles ’77

Behzad Hosseini ’96, MBA ’97

Chad Honl MED '07

Kristin Wells '97

Adam Reid '03 helps keep a local public charter school running

Businesses looking to stay afloat seek out Renee Fellman, MBA '85

Michaelangelo Aust pursues dental realties over Ferrari dreams.

Kristin Rencher transforms scientific discoveries into beneficial products.

Marshall Simmonds '95 orchestrates search engine strategy to yield maximum traffic for the New York Times and its online properties.

Lorie Wigle MBA '89 oversees strategies for green prduct design and manufacturing as well as Intel's energy efficiency

Stephen Johnson hopes to produce fuel that is carbon neutral.

Products made by women around the world are sold through KJ Lewis' company.

Who would have thought to grow edible plants on rooftops? Erin Altz did.

By age 19, Pakistani native Saba Ahmed had earned a double major at Portland State.

Nova Newcomer has developed an efficient software program for employee communication.

Bob Sutton MA '73 is now chief historian of the National Park Service.

Tyson Foods convinced Oregon native Michelle Bond to move to its Arkansas offices.

Based in Cairo, Abeer Etefa is a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

As a Portland State student, Sahra Vanderkin Rahimtoola, co-founded the Student Ambassador program.

Support from Judy '86 and Scott South helps PSU's Hydrology Lab evaluate, treat and recycle rainwater.

When John Wykoff, Jr., was editor of the Vanguard student newspaper, it was in boxes downtown.

Erin Hulme '06 loves living and working in Washington, DC.

Leslie Goodlow-Baldwin is the youngest-ever president of the Portland Rose Festival.

It's a troubling fact that many youth in our society are at risk for homelessness, school dropout, substance abuse, teen pregnancy and delinquency. What can we do?

David Cowsert heads a new publishing group in Portland.

Mark Prater is the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance's chief tax counsel.

Oregon Teacher of the Year (2006-07) Jackie Cooke describes herself as an optimist.

Alum Ryan Christensen uses "eco-friendly" clothing as his "weapon of choice" to convey a social message.

MaryLou Wendel Webb passes on the Homecoming Queen crown after 35 years.

Paul De Muniz, who graduated from PSU with a degree in sociology, is chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court.

Elizabeth Bara runs a nonprofit that helps people in Africa become self-reliant.

Tammy Kimball and her family lived onboard their boat, the Anjuli, for two years.

Deirdre Lorenz lives a high-velocity lifestyle.

Garett Croft Stenson '04 sits in his north Portland bungalow among boxes stacked full of wallets, tape, stickers, and promotional posters, all ready to be mailed to retailers.

Last September, a quarter horse owned by Dr. Ray '69 and Wendy Norgaard '67, MST '72 set the world's record for the fastest 300 yards in a derby trial at Yellowstone Downs in Billings, Montana. Although the couple didn't make any money, they had something better.

Julie Beals '96 keeps the coffee and tea world abuzz

Paresh Patel '96 gets an early start as a successful entrepreneur

Revealing his life as a corporate spy

Chief Financial Officer Scott Davis '74 likes to keep his learning curve growing at a steady pace, and helping to chart the future of UPSa $36 billion corporationgives him that opportunity.

Carolyn Cole '76 has accomplished what most aspiring artists dream of her work is shown in six galleries nationwide and her boldly colored contemporary paintings are held in over 500 private and corporate collections.

Teresa Neva Tate '94, MA '97 Creates Living History for a New Museum

John Stephens MIM '03 Helps Tsunami Victims in India

Joy Hirsch MS '71 Studying Brain Function at Columbia University

Ali M. Al Ali '83 Delivering Mail at a Profit in Qatar

Gloria Lohman Feves '72 explores the history of Oregon's Jewswhy they came, what they found, and how they changed through the years.

Dan Vance '97 has made an independent film in Arizona with a camera of his own design.

Vince Dimone's, MS '03, cost-conscious counseling benefits his clients and himself.