Santa Clara University

Royce Roberts J.D. ’85 explores the public's misconception of public defenders, as well as the importance of our public defense system, in his new book Public Pretender. A public defender for more than 20 years, his book began as a way of understanding what he was experiencing at juvenile court with his clients and the child-welfare system. He works as a public defender in Washington state for the King County–funded nonprofit agency, the Society of Counsel Representing Accused Persons (SCRAP).

Susan Mauriello J.D. ’85 of Aptos, has been appointed to the California Board of State and Community Corrections by Gov. Jerry Brown ’59. Mauriello has been the county administrative officer for Santa Cruz County since 1989.

Omar Habbas J.D. ’85, the managing partner at Habbas & Associates law firm in San Jose, has been nominated for the 2012 San Jose Best of Business Award. Mr. Habbas earned this nomination through the outstanding legal prowess he demonstrated while representing clients in personal injury cases. 

Heidi Gansert ’85 has joined the University of Nevada, Reno as special assistant to the president for external affairs. Said university president Marc Johnson, "Heidi will serve as a catalyst for opportunities and partnerships that will result in productive outcomes for Nevada. She will help connect the expertise of our faculty and resources of the University to result in solutions. The University's connection to economic development will be a priority, and Heidi has worked closely with economic development agencies throughout the state."

Barbara Esquivel '85 has returned to Northern California and is living in Roseville having accepted the Assistant Vice President of Workers' Compensation Claims with York Risk Services Group. Barbara was most recently Claims Manager at Keenan & Associates in Torrance, Calif. Her daughter Courtney now lives in San Diego and works for Gallagher Bassett, and her son Nathan lives in Lakewood and works for New York & Co.

David Drummond ’85, Google’s chief legal officer, will speak at the SCU law school commencement on May 25. 

Helen Elizabeth Williams J.D. ’86 was appointed by Gov. Gerry Brown ’59 to a judgeship in the Santa Clara Superior Court. Williams, of Santa Cruz, has worked as an appellate court attorney at the State of California Court of Appeal, Sixth Appellate District since 2004, frequently serving in the lead position. She served as an attorney at Robinson and Wood Inc. from 2001 to 2004, at Olimpia Whelan and Lively from 1999 to 2001 and at Williams and Williams from 1987 to 1999. Williams is certified as an appellate specialist by the California State Bar. She earned a Juris Doctorate degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Douglas K. Southard. Williams is a Democrat.

Lori Pegg J.D. ’86 has been named Lori Pegg acting county counsel by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, making her the county's chief legal adviser. The veteran government lawyer, age 50, has been a deputy in the county counsel's office, which has about 60 lawyers. She previously worked for a number of law firms, specializing in labor, education and government law.

Tina (Hughes) Nelson '86, M.A. '98 and Thomas—the adoption of their daughter, Antonia (Toni) Rose Nelson, on May 18, 2011. The family resides in Willow Glen/San Jose, Calif. Tina is currently the school library coordinator with the San Mateo County Office of Education while Tom is a senior system engineer with Lockheed Martin.

Patricia Murphy '86 is vice president of EMEA Professional Services at McAfee Inc., and she is based in Paris.

Matthew C. McGlynn '83, J.D. '86 is now serving as a judge on the Superior Court of Tehama County.

Jack D. Kuehler ’54, MSEE ’86  was selected as a School of Engineering Centennial Award recipient for his many contributions to the field of engineering and for leading by example, furthering not only the engineering profession, but the School of Engineering at Santa Clara as well. Kuehler worked his way up from the position of associate engineer at IBM’s San Jose Research Laboratory in 1958 to become president of the international giant in 1989. In industry and here at SCU, Kuehler was revered for his leadership, intelligence, warmth, and mentoring.  Over the years, he was named a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, IEEE Fellow, Santa Clara University Trustee, and School of Engineering Distinguished Alumnus Award recipient. He was a dogged promoter of innovation and creativity in the technical arena as a means for ensuring national security and technological competitiveness for the United States. As such, he and his wife, Carmen, created a research fund allowing promising SCU engineering undergraduates to join faculty in summer research.

Wally G. Badley '86 and wife Elizabeth welcomed their fifth child, a baby boy, Silas Boone, on September 14, 2012. Silas joins sister Kate (14) and brothers Alan (12), Lincoln (9), and Nathaniel (5). The family lives in Everett, WA.

Garrett S. Yee '87 was recently promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserve. Garrett, who just returned from a year-long deployment to Afghanistan, lives in Fremont with his wife, Maria and their three children.

Michael Williams ’87 and his wife Heidi Huhn adopted their eight year-old son Justin on November 16. They live in Alameda, Calif. and have two children from Michael's first marriage, Eli (21) and Hannah (18).

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Anne Weldon ’87 received her teaching credential from UC Berkeley in 1988 in K-8 education with endorsements in English, French. She taught Language Arts/Social Studies at Sequoia Middle School in Pleasant Hill, Calif. for two years before moving to the Northwest. She substitute taught in Seattle and Gig Harbor and worked as a tour guide in Alaska before joining World Teach where she taught English at the University of Loja in Ecuador for one year and stayed an extra year living in Vilcambamba, Ecuador in the Southern Highlands of the Andes. She returned to Gig Harbor where she taught Spanish at Peninsula High School for 4 years before moving to Olympia, Wash.—the land of water, mountains, rainforests, volcanos, where she now resides with her two children, Allie-18 and Casey-13. This will be her 12th year teaching Spanish at Nova Middle School, a private school for gifted and talented students.

Kathleen (Mitchell) Simpson ’87, M.A. ’90 married Robert Simpson on October 2, 2010, at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasanton, CA. Kathy and Bob were second-grade friends and classmates in Pleasanton. They currently reside in Brentwood, Calif. SCU alums in attendance were bridesmaid Christine Fierro ’88, Wes Bliven ’88, Brendan Lewis ’88, Michelle Matsumoto ’88, Diane Zilliotto ’88, John Scardamaglia J.D. ’09, and Jim Mitchell ’83.

Shannon Potts ’87, the coordinator of assessment in the Santa Clara Unified School District for the last seven years, is La Entrada Middle School's new principal. Her earlier work in the Santa Clara district office included a stint as the instructional, materials, library and technology specialist at the middle school and high school levels, according to a press release issued by the district. Ms. Potts, who has also taught first and sixth grades, has technology and bilingual credentials, according to the district. She served as a summer principal at both the middle school and high school levels for several years, working closely with the Stanford Teacher Education Program, or STEP, the district said. She received her bachelor's degrees in history and Spanish from Santa Clara University and her master of arts degree in educational leadership from San Jose State University.

After departing from the Rose Garden, I headed straight to Belize, Central America, for a year-long stint as a PE coach to 750 primary schoolkids. Had no idea what I was getting into, but it was a hoot. Upon re-entry, driving back to the Bay Area for an indoor job, I stopped by a friend's house in LA and never quite made it any farther north. Through a course of unpredictable events, I eventually acquired my wonderful wife (Paula), two fantastic boys (Andy, Kevin), a hefty mortgage, and a dog (which I tried to get rid of). Along the way, I kept moving south and currently live in the Los Alamitos/Seal Beach area. Someday I might find myself in Central America again--who knows?Education, with the exception of UCLA grad school, has been all Jesuit training since kindergarten--I kid you not. So I've been conditioned to always ask why. Why am I here? Why not? How did I get here?, somewhat like that Talking Heads song, "Once in a Lifetime." This is probably more than you need to know. Perhaps I'll find answers at the 25th Reunion. Perhaps not. Either way, I'm excited about attending with Paula. For work, I'm currently with a company, DealerTrack, none of you have heard of unless you're in the automotive industry. I've been on the client side, the agency side, and the marketing partner side. When asked which I liked best, I tell people they all have their up sides. My interests: At this moment, I'm interested in figuring out how not to forget to wind up the cuckoo clock. Due to the fact that kite boarding was no longer conducive to my lower back, I've become an avid stand-up paddleboarder (what's SUP?), and one can frequently find me on the water at 7:00 am. The key to all of this is trying to keep a balance in life. If you know how, please share (cmcycle@gmail.com).  Music-wise: Still living in the '80s. For favorite movies there are four: Field of Dreams; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; How to Train Your Dragon; and Dumb and Dumber because I can't believe something so stupid could be so entertaining.

Michael Krupa ’87 joined Mercer as the technology strategist for its global talent business. In this role, based in Portland, Ore., he will be responsible for further enhancing the vision and strategy for client-facing technology solutions that support product and consulting offerings across Mercer's Talent business. He will also advise senior leadership on all aspects of technology-driven market changes that can meet the needs of clients and support business growth.

He has more than 20 years of experience in all facets of HR and IT applications and is a well-known speaker and blogger regarding HR technology. He joins Mercer from Knowledge Infusion, where he was director of technology, responsible for designing the technical architecture and planning service offering for the firm's deployment practice as well as consulting in this area for numerous clients.

Prior to Knowledge Infusion, he held a number of technology-related senior management positions of increasing responsibility at such leading organizations as Charles Schwab, InfoBox, Inc. (where he was the founder and CEO) and Kaiser Permanente.

Freshman Dorm: McLaughlin

Steven "Blue" Jay ’87 has been living in Chicago since 2010 where he works as a Consultant/Project Manager for Infor Global Solutions. Married to Laura, whom he met at fellow alum Jay Holmes' ’87 wedding, Steven and Laura have three children, Sarah(9), Margaret(8) and Griffin (5). Steven still cant believe the hockey team he followed since his youth, the LA Kings, are Stanley Cup Champions!

Kelley Handshaw (Sessions) ’87 received her MBA from Averett University in December 2011 and was inducted in the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society. She lives with her husband, Harry, and daughter Emily in Richmond, Va.