News, by Graduating Year

Phyllis (George) Kirkwood (G59) and her husband, Jack, drew news attention in January after they found a letter while moving to Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg. The typed letter is from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dated Aug. 23, 1967. On Southern Christian Leadership Conference letterhead, the correspondence is in reply to a letter Jack wrote to the civil rights leader. The letter, now being kept in a safe place, touches on King’s commitment to nonviolence and a belief that dissent is a patriotic duty.

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Jerry Baker (G68, MDiv74), after 38 years of service at Netarts (Oregon) Friends Church, has retired as pastor. He served as assistant to the pastor at Hillsboro (Oregon) Friends before beginning his first full-time pastorate at Camas (Washington) Friends, serving two years. After working with youth and in worship ministry at a Friends church in Tacoma, Washington, he became the pastor in Netarts in 1978.

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Marilyn (Wilhite) Olson (G72) is a playwright/composer and the founder and president of MCO Productions, which this spring staged Hadassah, a musical she wrote based on the Old Testament account of Esther. It has been produced more than 90 times over 13 years, this year with five performances in Newberg and Salem, Oregon. Featured in the two-hour production is a cast of 55 and a 15-member orchestra that performs 19 songs in styles ranging from opera to rap. Founded in 1999, MCO Productions features family-friendly biblical entertainment. She retired last March after 16 years as office manager with Hiland Water Corporation in Newberg.

Stu Willcuts (G72) is now president and chief executive officer of Air Serv International – again. He assumed the job in January after previously filling the position from 2000 to 2006. Air Serv, with seven Cessna Caravans, specializes in air transportation in support of humanitarian programs and disaster relief operations worldwide. With international headquarters in Warrenton, Virginia, the not-for-profit provides services out of its Ugandan subsidiary, with operations based at Entebbe International Airport. Air Serv has provided air transport for government and non-government agencies ranging from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the United Nations to World Vision, Save the Children, and International Relief and Development. In 40 years of relief and development work, Willcuts has served with World Vision International, World Relief Commission, and most recently Mercy Corps in the West Bank and Gaza. George Fox’s 2004 Alumnus of the Year, Willcuts also is included in the university’s list of 125 notable people, created last year to commemorate its 125th anniversary.

Meyer Louie (G76), with 45 years of interest in the internationally followed D.B. Cooper airplane hijacking, had a role in telling the story earlier this year on the Travel Channel program Expedition Unknown. The hour-long program, “The Only Unsolved Hijacking in U.S. History,” aired nine times in January and February after being taped Aug. 28, 2016, at Tina Bar, 10 miles west of Portland on the Columbia River. At that location $5,800 of the $200,000 ransom given to Cooper was found by an 8-year-old boy in 1980. Cooper hijacked a Boeing 727 flight from Portland to Seattle, demanded the money and four parachutes, and said he had a bomb in the briefcase next to him. After landing in Seattle his demands were met, and he ordered the plane back south. Sometime during the flight he parachuted out of the plane with the money and has never been found. The FBI ended its investigation last year. The hijacking occurred Nov. 24, 1971, the night Louie (then a freshman) and friends drove through the Columbia River Gorge on his way to his home in Omak, Washington, for Thanksgiving. Louie, now a retired college math professor who divides his time between Penticton, British Columbia, Omak and Olympia, Washington, is one of about 15 “Cooper sleuths” who continue the search for the hijacker, concentrating in the area within a 40-mile radius of Ariel, Washington, where Cooper is thought to have jumped. 

Deborah Martin (G79, PS97, MDiv01) is completing her second year as policy analyst for the deputy director of the Oregon Department of Human Resources in Salem, Oregon. The office provides operational support for program areas, supporting the safety, health and independence of Oregonians. She has worked for the state of Oregon for 33 years. Previously, she was a performance coach within the DHS. A member of the George Fox University Board of Trustees since 2005 (currently vice chair), she also is a member of the Portland Seminary Board of Regents. In addition, she volunteers for various Oregon food-drive events, with the African American Health Coalition, and with the Agape Children’s Choir at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Portland.

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Beth (Montgomery) Stallsmith (n81) is in her 25th year as an elementary school teacher, all but one at her current school, Lake Hazel Elementary in Boise, Idaho, where she teaches third grade. She is in her sixth year as a third-grade teacher after six years teaching fourth grade and 12 years teaching fifth grade. The 450-student school is part of the 49-school West Ada School District, until 2014 called the Meridian School District.

Susan (Barnard) Anquist (n82) has changed professional positions and graduate schools. She now is part of the ministry team with Oasis Ministries Canada, based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, where she lives. Oasis provides support to pastors and ministry leaders with retreats, workshops and individual-focused encounters. Previously, she was office manager for her husband’s pediatric practice, and prior to that a schoolteacher and principal. She transferred from Carey Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Portland Seminary to complete master’s degree studies in spiritual formation and spiritual direction.

Mark Ocker (G83) in September was awarded emeritus status by George Fox University as assistant professor of organizational leadership. He completed 17 years with the university.

Paul Almquist (G84, PS91) left his position as director of the Friends Center at Portland Seminary. The position is now within the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, incorporated with the position of recruiter of undergraduate Friends students for George Fox. He continues as a seminary adjunct professor, primarily teaching preaching classes and Christian studies courses. He is in his 33rd year of pastoral ministry with the Northwest Yearly Meeting and his 18th year as pastor of West Chehalem Friends Church in Newberg. His wife, Nancy (Smelley) Almquist (G93), is an independent beauty consultant and sales director with Mary Kay, a direct sales company for cosmetics and personal care products.

David Kochendorfer (MDiv86) is with Evangelical Church Missions as a missionary, pastor and field director. He is based in Kirtland, New Mexico, as part of the southwestern United States branch of the Evangelical Church, headquartered in Gladstone, Oregon. The mission outreach addresses the cross-cultural challenges of the Four Corners-area communities, focusing on youth needs and providing social and physical help in addition to worship center services. He and his wife were pastors in the Pacific Conference of the church for more than 20 years before beginning missionary work in Brazil from 2004 to 2011, followed by reassignment to their current work.

Craig Littlefield (G86) is facilities manager/associate director with Global Aid Network, the humanitarian aid branch of Cru, formerly Campus Crusade for Christ. The mission is to assist in reaching the most difficult parts of the world with the gospel. He has been with GAiN for a year, previously owning his own contracting and remodeling company, Big Meadow, for three and a half years in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he has lived for six years.

Andrew Elovich (G87) is administrator of Angelic Warlord, an online (angelicwarlord.com) music magazine that focuses on heavy metal and Christian rock music. He is responsible for all design and content coordination, including record reviews, news updates, artist interviews and current release dates. In its 11th year, it has the mission “to support Christians creating art within the metal and hard rock genres.” He lives in Glendale, Arizona.

Kristina (Croly) Kays (G87, PsyD94) and David Kays (G11, MA15) were in the unique position of being a mother-and-son duo at a national conference presentation in Chicago in March. Kristina, a George Fox psychology department faculty member since 2005, and David, a fourth-year psychology student in the Doctor of Psychology program, presented “Bridging the Gap: Pop Media as a Narrative Tool for Working with Millennials,” at the Christian Association of Psychological Studies meeting. The seminar identified current pop media resources as a means of exploring emotional issues resulting from trauma and abuse. Kristina, named recipient of the Faculty Achievement Award for Undergraduate Teaching in 2011, teaches undergraduate clinical psychology and works with PsyD students in their clinical training program. Her primary research interests are academic advising, sensitive topics in research, and resilience. David is focusing on trauma and addiction work and, for the last two years, has worked at Cedar Hills Hospital in Portland, in the active-duty military unit. In July, he will begin an internship at the White City, Oregon, Veterans Affairs Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center & Clinics. Of the mother-son/teacher-student relationship, Kristina says, “He took every one of my classes – weird and very cool.”

Brian Morse (n88), 29 years after his arrival at Cascade Christian High School in Medford, Oregon, is among the all-time winners in high school basketball in the state. With a 24-6 season this year, including a berth in the state’s Class 3A tournament, he now has 545 wins, making him the fifth-winningest coach among active boys’ basketball coaches in Oregon. His record is 545-217, a .715 winning percentage, at Cascade Christian, a school of 250 that plays in the Southern Cascade League. He also is owner and founder of The Sign Dude, producer of custom signs and banners, and manager at the Rogue Valley Swim and Tennis Club, both in Medford.

Jerry Sather (MDiv88) in January was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests in the Episcopal Church in a ceremony at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida. He is a U.S. Air Force chaplain, currently living in Lompoc, California, while serving as senior chaplain at Vandenberg Air Force Base, where he leads a team of eight in providing religious support to more than 9,000 service members, civilians and their families. Prior to his Air Force career, he was a pastor of Nazarene and Methodist churches in New Jersey and was a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve. His association with the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida began in 2012, when he was assigned as a command chaplain for Special Operations Command Central at MacDill Air Force Base.

Brett McGann (n89) was honored in February by the Emmett, Idaho, city council for his 25 years of service with the Emmett Police Department. Born and raised in the city, he started with the department in 1992 after a year with the Gem County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Department. He recently was appointed crime analyst for business burglaries, property crimes and crimes of violence, charged with developing tactics, techniques and procedures to reduce them. Previously a school resource officer, he also is a pistol, shotgun and rifle instructor, a chemical spray instructor and a breath-testing specialist, instructing other officers.

Dianne Sykes (G89) is associate professor of sociology in the Department of Social Services at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. In the position since 2007, she previously taught at Blinn College in Texas, Texas A&M University, Marian College in Indianapolis and Berea College in Kentucky. She received a PhD in sociology from Texas A&M in 1999. On campus she is a member of the faculty-staff choir and is sociology club advisor.

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Steve Fawver (G90, PS01, DMin11) and Gregg Koskela (G90) are involved in a leadership change at Newberg Friends Church, where Koskela has announced his resignation, leaving the position of lead pastor on July 1, one month short of 15 years. Fawver will become interim lead pastor while a search is underway for a permanent appointment. He has been on the pastoral team for 27 years and is currently pastor of spiritual health and care. Also leaving the church’s leadership is Eric Muhr (G96), who resigned in January after seven years as youth minister, saying he was taking a break from youth leadership. He continues in his part-time position as publisher of Barclay Press in Newberg and plans to resume graduate studies in spiritual development, started in 2012, at Portland Seminary.

Jay Hadley (G90) is the new manager of the Hillsdale branch of the Multnomah County (Oregon) Library, located in Southwest Portland. He began in April after working his way up through the library system the last eight years, first as a part-time page at Midland Library, then as a clerk at the Sellwood-Moreland Library, and finally in supervisory positions at the Gresham and Central libraries. He received a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of Alabama in August.

Rick Lewis (ADP91), a police officer in Springfield, Oregon, for more than 30 years, in April was named police chief for the city of 60,000. He now oversees a department of 123 employees, a budget of $20.6 million and the largest municipal jail in Oregon. A 2008 graduate of the FBI National Academy, Lewis began with the department as a reserve officer for one year before being hired full time in 1983. He has had assignments in patrol, detective work, narcotics, and special weapons and tactics, and was promoted to sergeant in 1999 and to captain in 2000.

Heather (Gurney) Commins (G92, MAT08) is a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at the 62-student Sisters (Oregon) Christian Academy. A February article in the The Bulletin (Bend, Oregon) featured her in her role as a basketball official. She is in her fourth year of officiating and is one of 10 women referees with the Central Oregon Basketball Officials Association. She is noted as a “self-described gym rat who grew up in the Lake Oswego area and carried that passion to the courts at George Fox University.”   

Ron Wolfe (G92) is the new vice president and commercial relationship manager of the Newberg branch of First Federal Savings & Loan of McMinnville, Oregon. He manages the client base for commercial lending and business banking and assists in the introduction of new businesses, services and products to the local market. His appointment was announced in December as he left a position as vice president of commercial banking and branch manager at Premier Community Bank in Newberg, which he joined in 2010. In the community he is a member of the Newberg Planning Commission and the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

Rick Harrison (ADP96) in November started a new position as senior electrical designer with Wood Harbinger in Bellevue, Washington. His responsibilities include leading electrical power system and lighting design and managing the electrical design budget and small design teams. The engineering consulting firm provides mechanical and electrical engineering, technology consulting and commissioning services for the building industry. He moved from a position at Reyes Engineering in Happy Valley, Oregon, in 2016 after five years in Portland as a senior electrical technical specialist, including positions with MEC Electrical Engineering and CH2MHill.

Kevin Watson (ADP99, MBA03) is in his second year as regional marketing senior manager with the oncology business unit at Amgen in Portland. He started with the pharmaceutical company in 2010, beginning as senior sales representative in oncology. Previously, he was with Novartis, another pharmaceutical company, for more than seven years as a sales specialist and two years as a hospital specialist. His health care sales career followed three years of professional baseball. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1994 and played three seasons with the Everett (Washington) Giants and later the Burlington (Iowa) Bees.

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Olivia (Fromdahl) Pothoff (G00) in December released her latest album, Home Team Advantage, which touches on themes of gratitude, community, redemption and having supportive relationships in life. The four-track Christian/gospel music album of songs she wrote was funded by an Indiegogo campaign that raised more than $8,500 through 88 backers. She is worship arts director at Journey Church, launched in 2015 in Sherwood, Oregon. She lives in Dundee, Oregon, with her husband Mark Pothoff (G93), George Fox University’s dean of community life.

Sherry Watkins (MAT00) is in her 11th year at Mary Eyre Elementary School in the Salem-Keizer (Oregon) School District as a physical education teacher. Previously, for 11 years, she was with the Sherwood (Oregon) School District as a physical education specialist at Hopkins Elementary School. She also is an assistant coach with the Albany (Oregon) Aquatics Association, with the racing swim team since 2008 as coach of the fundamental swim group. In her summers and spare time, she works for the city of Albany as a water safety instructor and lifeguard and for the Albany Tennis Club as an aquatics supervisor.

Sandra (Gaskill) Wagner (G01) has been awarded Five Star Wealth Manager designation, listed in the financial planning section of the May edition of Portland Monthly Magazine. Of 811 persons considered, 223 were named. She is a financial consultant and certified financial planner, establishing her own firm, Wagner Planning, in 2001. Previously, she was with Morgan Stanley and A.G. Edwards/Wachovia Securities before becoming independent in 2009. A Newberg resident, her firm is in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Sarah De Groot (G02) is now a field botanist in the conservation department at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, California. She received a PhD in 2014 from Claremont Graduate University. Its scientific journal, Aliso, recently published her article, “Tomus Nominum Eriastri: The Nomenclature and Taxonomy of Eriastrum (Polemoniaceae: Loeselieae).” She previously was Seeds of Success coordinator for the conservation program at the botanic garden.

Margaret Fuller (ADP03, MA14) has earned the credential of registered play therapist from the national Association for Play Therapy. It requires a master’s degree, 150 hours of training in play therapy, 2,000 hours of clinical experience, and 500 hours of supervised experience. With 20 years of experience working with individuals, couples and families in faith-based environments, she is a licensed marriage and family therapist in Newberg.

Daleasha Hall (MDiv04) in January was promoted to system director of palliative and hospice care for the PeaceHealth system, which includes hospitals, clinics and outpatient hospice programs in Alaska, Oregon and Washington. Based in Vancouver, Washington, she provides direction, development and oversight for all inpatient and outpatient advanced care planning in addition to palliative and hospice care programs within the system. She has worked for PeaceHealth since 2004, beginning as staff chaplain, and previously was a holistic care manager for PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Hospice in Eugene, Oregon. She is a board-certified chaplain and ordained elder in the Free Methodist Church.

Erin (Carlsen) Hofseth (G04) is starting her second year as a teen intimate-partner violence specialist with The Harbor in Astoria, Oregon. As coordinator of teen outreach she visits Clatsop County high schools, the Tongue Point Job Corps Center and area youth, supported by a four-year Safer Futures grant from the Oregon Department of Justice. She provides prevention information, education about healthy relationships, and describes what abusive relationships and dating violence look like. She also covers the topic of digital abuse. The Harbor is a nonprofit domestic violence/sexual assault agency offering emergency assistance. She also is a writer, published in a variety of magazines and websites, mostly with Hipfish Monthly, a local alternative newspaper.

Misty Wharton (MAT04) in January became interim superintendent of the Nestucca Valley School District on the Oregon Coast. She also continues her position as Nestucca Valley Elementary School principal. A third-generation resident of south Tillamook County, she returned for the 2002-03 school year to teach one year in an alternative education school, then returned to Nestucca Valley, teaching in the high school for nine years before serving the last five years as elementary principal.

Crystal Farnsworth (G06) is a communications officer with the city of St. Helens, Oregon, providing information to the 13,000 residents of the county seat of Columbia County, 30 miles northwest of Portland. Featured in a February front-page story in the city’s The Chronicle newspaper, she is in her ninth year with the city. She started as a utility billing specialist before becoming planning secretary and later taking on communication duties, using her degree in writing and literature. She works with city hall and also creates materials for the city library and public works department and selected public relations items for the police department. She also manages the city’s social media accounts, produces its e-newsletter, and coordinates media contacts.

Steve Parnell (MAT06) is now with Economic Development for Central Oregon as La Pine-area economic development manager. In January he was tasked with helping the area develop into a cost-effective and friendly place to do business. He leaves 11 years of teaching business, marketing and customer service classes at La Pine High School. He also has more than 25 years of private industry experience in natural gas, water and electric utilities, computer software and publishing. Economic Development for Central Oregon is in its 35th year, a nonprofit corporation with the mission of creating middle-class jobs in the area (including Sunriver) by recruiting new employers and working with businesses to grow their operations.

Janis Tyhurst (MBA06) is senior science and technology subject specialist with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Opened in 2009, it is a graduate-level-only research institution with a Western-style, English-only program and is the only gender-mixed institution in the country. She calls the library “phenomenal” and “probably the most fully resourced science and technology library in the world; up to 98 percent of it is electronic.” In her position since 2011, she works directly with mathematics, electrical engineering and computer science department members to develop the library collections, resources and programs. She previously was associate reference librarian at George Fox University for 13 years.

Lindsey Franz (G07) is one of two veterinarians with Oceanside Veterinary Hospital in Florence, Oregon. She earned her veterinary degree at Oregon State University in 2012, then had a one-year internship at Sisters (Oregon) Veterinary Clinic before joining the eight-member coastal veterinary team. Her passion is general practice for small animals.

Steve Fulton (MAT07) received recognition in November with a feature in the Tigard Times newspaper that noted his goal of inspiring young women to join the male-dominated STEM field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He is in his ninth year of teaching computer science, technology and robotics at Tigard (Oregon) High School, where he has developed a program that has students receiving off-campus professional certification along with their degree. He has a previous background of 25 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a commander.

Jessica Maslen (G07), in her fifth year with Busalo Children’s Home in Zambia, Africa, received a big boost in December when her home church, Northside Community in Newberg, gave all of its Christmas offerings and conducted a toy drive to help in her work. Now director of development and international relations for the project, she helped establish the home for unmarried women and their children, serving those who have been socially outcast. She started in the nation in 2009, serving for more than three years with the Peace Corps as a forestry extension officer.

Tim Alvey (G08) and Rebecca (Whitley) Alvey (G10) are living in Keizer, Oregon, where she is a self-employed graphic designer and he is an institutional technology systems administrator with the Salem office of Boldt Carlisle + Smith, a 23-person certified public accountant firm.

Violet Read (G09) is director of the Family Outreach Center in Killeen, Texas, opened in September as one of 13 offices of the Methodist Children’s Home operation, headquartered in Waco, Texas. She oversees community outreach and recruitment, supervising 33 staff. She most recently was with the AmeriCorps program, serving two years in Oregon, including one year on the George Fox campus as part of the Oregon Campus Compact program. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Baylor University in 2015.

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Jeremy Bahr-Worley (MBA11) is wine club manager at Gibbston Valley Wines in Queenstown, New Zealand. The company is 45 degrees south of the equator, has its storage in a man-made mountain cave, and has seven vineyards in the Central Otago region, noted as one of the top-three pinot noir regions in the world, along with Burgundy, France, and the Willamette Valley in Oregon.

Kaitlin (Christiansen) Wade (G11) is an early childhood special education teacher working for the Multnomah County (Oregon) Early Childhood Program, operated by the David Douglas School District in Portland. She started in July 2015 after completing a master’s degree in special education at the University of Oregon.

Sheleen Wytcherley (G11) completed a master’s degree in nursing (family nurse practitioner) at Simmons College in Boston and graduated in May with honors. She is an operating room registered nurse at Providence Health and Services in Newberg, in that position since 2012 after a year as a medical-surgical nurse.

Laura (Gotthardt) Sage (G12) in September started as a medical technologist at Providence Newberg Medical Center after eight months in a similar position at Providence Seaside (Oregon) Hospital. She completed work in clinical laboratory science at Oregon Institute of Technology in December 2015. Previously, she was a missionary teacher with village schools in Tanzania.

Bobby Sands (MBA12) is with Thomson Reuters in Bellevue, Washington, as director of professional services, managing a portfolio of projects and a team of 35 implementing legal products. The firm combines industry expertise and innovative technology to provide information for decision makers in the financial and risk, legal, tax and accounting, and media market fields. Previously, he was with Client Network Services, Inc. for nearly three years.

Joel Schutter (G12) left the George Fox University plant services staff in March after more than nine and a half years – five years full time in the electrical department after four years working part time as a work-study student. He now is with IES electrical contractors in Portland, a commercial and industrial electrical design and construction company that did the electrical work for the university’s new Canyon Commons.

Christie Petersen (EdD12) has been named new principal of Sunset Elementary School in the Hermiston (Oregon) School District. The school has 580 students in kindergarten through fifth grades. She is leaving her position as assistant professor of education at Corban University in Salem, Oregon, where she has taught the last five years. Previously, for 12 years, she was with the Hillsboro (Oregon) School District, her final two years as principal of Groner Elementary School. 

Ben Tissell (n12) received regional attention in November when he was the subject of a feature article in The Valley Times (Beaverton, Oregon) and its monthly sister publication the Regal Courier (Tigard, Oregon). It said he “has already made a name for himself in Portland theater,” citing his role in the Broadway Rose production of A Very Merry PDX-mas, closely following a major role in Fly By Night by the same production company. He also has directed productions and is the singer/songwriter of two full-length albums and five EPs. This is in addition to his work as a resident teaching artist at Clackamas (Oregon) High School and service as youth minister, guiding youth and young adult groups, at Eastridge Church in Clackamas, Oregon.

Chris Benjamin (G13) received news attention in April when he was the subject of a story in the Herald and News (Klamath Falls, Oregon) newspaper for codirecting a 70-student volunteer elementary honor choir that performed on the Ross Ragland Theater stage for the Klamath Falls School District’s annual Crystal Apple Awards program. More than 200 students auditioned for the choir, from a district that has an elementary band program but not an elementary vocal music program. Students practiced in two-hour weekly rehearsals for six weeks in addition to home practice. He is choir director for both Henley High School and Henley Middle School, starting in the fall after completing a master’s degree in education.

Kelsey Bennett (G13) has been promoted to senior accountant with American Metals Corp. in Canby, Oregon, a supplier and processor of metal products. She started with the firm in 2014 as a staff accountant following eight months as an accounting specialist at George Fox.

Joseph Byrnes (G13, MBA14) is in his third year as director of the CXO executive community program of Evanta in Portland. He facilitates the exchange of best practices ideas between business leaders (corporate executives with “chief” as part of their title), who share their experiences with others hoping to improve their personal and organizational performance.

Sergio Cisneros (G13) received attention in February as the subject of a newsmaker feature (“Sergio Cisneros – Contributing to the Community”) in the Herald and News (Klamath Falls, Oregon). Now a business and computer science teacher at Mazama High School, part of the Klamath Falls School District where he grew up, he is teaching a class of 37, active with students on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. In the community he is assisting with his family restaurant, Sergio’s; is a member of the board of the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce; and sits on the Herald and News editorial board.

Jessi (Fink) Freitag (G13) and Daniel Freitag (G14) have the same employer: Adidas. She started at the Portland location of the international shoe and clothing manufacturing firm in November and is an assistant manager in marketing operations. He started with the company in July after nearly two years with Frito Lay in Portland as a sales financial analyst. He is a marketing financial analyst in his new position. Although on the same side of the business, they are in separate departments and rarely interact with each other in their work roles. They live in Wood Village, Oregon.

Brian Neely (ADP13) may hold the distinction as one of George Fox’s most northern alumni. He is assistant professor of vocational and technical trades at Ilisagvik College in Barrow, Alaska. It is the northernmost accredited community college in the United States and the only tribally controlled college in Alaska. Located on tundra, there is no road or rail access to the area, which is ice-locked nine months of the year. He is in his fourth year at the college after previously serving as a juvenile services specialist with the Douglas County (Oregon) Juvenile Department for two years. He is certified as a millwright and as an instructor of welding and carpentry.

Sarah Klatt (G10, MDiv14) and Samuel Neff (G13) recently collaborated on a film, Redemption. The movie is based on Klatt’s poem of the same name and tackles themes of grief, trauma, despair and the seeking of redemption. They recently crowd-funded and raised enough money to submit the film to top film festivals around the country, including Sundance, Tribeca and the Portland International Film Festival. Neff directed and Klatt acted in the film, after the two had talked over time about combining their artistic talents on a project. Watch the film here: tinyurl.com/WatchRedemptionFilm

Jordan Reed (G13) and Nathalie (Hort) Reed (G14) have new positions. He is now assistant manager of the Hillsboro, Oregon, Enterprise Rent-A-Car location after being a management trainee, and she is with Oregon Health & Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland as a pediatric registered nurse in the pediatric acute care medical unit. Previously, she was with Nursingale, providing in-home medical care for children and young adults in the Portland area.

Kathryn (Annett) Saunders (G13) is the new community life department director at Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg. She started volunteering at Friendsview while a student and, upon graduation, accepted the position as Friendsview’s activities director and social services coordinator. A year later, she was promoted to social worker/transitions coordinator. She is completing a master’s degree in social work through the University of New England (expected August 2017). In her new position she facilitates activities and events for residents, including programs that connect Friendsview residents with George Fox students and activities. Saunders replaces another alumna in the position: Peggy (Swaim) Hanson (G74). She retired in April after five years in the position and 10 years at Friendsview.

Heather DeRosa (G14) is now part of the marketing and communications department at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. She manages project timelines, approvals and work flow for the 13-member staff. Previously, for 18 months, she was a staff writer with the Puyallup (Washington) Herald.

Shane Sebastian (DMin14) has released a new book, This Change is Everything: The Hope and Future of Gospel Mission. Published in November, the 152-page paperback shows how God, throughout history, has used young people in global missions to transform individuals, communities, cultures and nations. He is executive director of global missions with Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ), with the organization for 23 years. He works with U.S. campus ministry in heading a team focused on sending students to reach college students around the world, and he gives leadership to the international component of the ministry, sending staff and students to more than 80 nations. He and his family live in Aguadilia, Puerto Rico.

Rebecca (Creamer) Stark (G14) is in her third year as a third-grade teacher at Garfield Elementary School in Corvallis, Oregon, a dual immersion school. She and her teaching partner, who teaches in Spanish, share 40 students in two classes of 20, each having a class for one week and then switching. Outside of teaching, she and her husband are middle-school youth pastors for the Corvallis Foursquare Church.

Elisabeth Tissell (G14) is now a legal advocate with Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County (Washington). The nonprofit agency provides emergency shelter, food, clothing, counseling, other supportive housing, and legal advocacy. She helps with legal information and education, referral for legal representation, assistance with protection orders, and criminal and civil processes. In her previous position she was in Alamosa, Colorado, as a volunteer with AmeriCorps on a two-year assignment helping low-income families with Adelante, a self-sufficiency and transitional living program.

Heidi Tschan (G14) is a receptionist at Action Equipment Company in Newberg, in that position for two and a half years. Living in Salem, Oregon, she also has been active in the Pentacle Theatre there, and with Gallery Theater productions in McMinnville, Oregon, as actor and director. Action Equipment is headed by two George Fox alumni: Andy Laveine (G89), president, and brother Dan Laveine (G91), executive vice president. The company, founded in 1972, manufactures vibratory equipment, primarily mechanical screeners and separators used in a variety of applications.

Luke Willis (G14) has been promoted from software consultant to associate with Pariveda Solutions in Bellevue, Washington. It is a technology strategy and solutions consulting firm. He and Elisabet (Moseng) Willis (G11) live in Newcastle, Washington.

Megan (Kays) Kriz (G15) and Mason Kriz (G16) live in Salem, Oregon, where she recently started as gift processing coordinator for Willamette University and he will enroll this fall at the Willamette University College of Law.

Tiana Tucker (EdD15) is principal of Sam Case Elementary School in Newport, Oregon, part of the Lincoln County School District. The school has 450 students in grades three though five. She is in her sixth year as a principal, previously working as an English teacher, with 10 years of experience in Oregon and Idaho. She also is an adjunct professor for curriculum, instruction and assessment for the University of Oregon, and in March was a finalist for the position of superintendent in the Central School District (Independence, Oregon).

Caleb Turner (G15) and Maria (Green) Turner (G16) leave in August for Kandern, Germany, where they will be serving at Black Forest Academy for a two-year term with TeachBeyond. He will be a guidance counselor for the high school, and she will teach drawing and painting. Black Forest is an international Christian school providing an English language education for 340 students in grades 5-12, serving international Christian missionaries, workers and business families. He served at the academy as a boarding home resident assistant last year. The Turners currently live in West Linn, Oregon. He is a mobilization coach, recruiting and hiring on the West Coast for TeachBeyond, and she is a full-time artist.

Ryan Lackey (G16) is a graduate teaching assistant in the School of Journalism and Communication at Oregon State University, where he is studying for a master’s degree in contemporary American literature, hoping to teach at a small university in the Pacific Northwest. He previously was a reporting intern with The News-Times in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Janine Manny (ADP16) in January was named CEO of the YMCA of Southwest Washington, located in Longview. She served as interim CEO for nearly two years, moving into that role in early 2015 from her position as aquatics director. She was confirmed as CEO after earning a bachelor’s degree in management and organizational leadership from George Fox in December, completing the YMCA’s education requirement for the position. During her time as interim CEO the YMCA grew its membership units (individuals and families) from 2,800 to 3,351. Open to men, women and children, the Longview YMCA has seven full-time employees, 50 part-time employees and a budget of $1.4 million. With the YMCA since 2009, she previously was a newspaper reporter in Oregon, most recently with the Longview Daily News.

Becca Olson (G16) is back in her hometown as the new certified athletic trainer at Redwood High School in Visalia, California. The school of 2,200 has 450 participating in its sports programs.

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