Santa Clara Magazine

Freshman Dorm: Swig

Russell W. Gill ’73 writes, "I owned and operated Russ' RV Service for 27 years in San Diego County, then moved to Kansas in 2010 for a change in scenery after my wife passed away with MS. In 2011 I was forced to retire after suffering a massive stroke and heart attack. Today I play darts for fun and money as well as support and work with several nonprofit charities, including the National MS Society, the Heart Association, and the American Stroke Foundation."

Bob Vogt J.D. ’74 is co-producer of BottleRock at Napa Expo, held May 9-12 this year. It's "the biggest rock festival to ever happen in Napa Valley," as the Napa Valley Register writes in their recent profile of Vogt.

Barbara Beard Stephan ’74, M.A. ’78 writes that she has recently assumed the position of Clinical Director at Windhorse Integrative Mental Health in San Luis Obispo, Calif. She is delighted to be working in an environment that is in line with her view of psychology—honoring humanistic and relational ideals, as well as an integrative/holistic approach to healthcare.

Mark Hyde J.D. ’74 formed a nonprofit organization to challenge what was proposed to be the largest shopping center in Maui County, Hawaii, and prevailed before the Hawaii Land Use Commission in January. In February he received the 2013 Malama Ka Aina award from the Maui Chapter of the Sierra Club for his work.

Patrice Koda Coyle '74, representing Dignity Health, was elected chair of the California Hospital Association's Governance Forum. She is a member of CHA's Executive Committee and Board of Trustees.

Julie Brooks J.D. ’74 was named one of the 100 “Women of Influence” by Silicon Valley Business Journal. As the executive VP, general counsel, chief compliance officer, corporate secretary at Conceptus Inc., Brooks oversees legal and compliance issues. Conceptus is a health care service company that focuses on women’s health. Founded in 1992, the company specializes in the design, development and distribution of medical products and services for use in the field of women’s health. Brooks is also president and director, Silicon Valley Association of General Counsel 2010–13. She received the president’s award for outstanding industry service, ARRDA, 1988.

Thomas Brooks M.S. '75 writes: "From Los Gatos to Vermont to New Mexico, now back to Connecticut. Survived Hurricane Sandy then a record nor'easter. What's left? Retired and repotted."

Lynne Yates-Carter ’72, J.D. ’76 is celebrating her 30th year as a certified specialist. She is a litigator and also serves as an expert witness on family law issues.

Gregory McNulty ’77 recently joined the Honorable Everett Alvarez Jr. ’60 as chief technology officer for Alvarez and Associates. Company founder and CEO Everett Alvarez Jr. was the first U.S. combat pilot shot down over Vietnam and held as a POW for more than eight years in the infamous "Hanoi Hilton" and later served under four U.S. presidents in senior level positions.

Dr. James Barrett MBA ’77 was honored by the Tech Council of Maryland with its Lifetime Achievement Award, in March. The award is given each year to a local individual who has gone above and beyond to serve the community at large over the course of his or her career. Recipients display commitment and leadership both in the field and within their company, fostering new ideas and encouraging creativity. The recipient also demonstrates generosity and compassion, making sure their work benefits others.

Barrett is a general partner at New Enterprise Associates, one of the world's largest venture capital firms. He focuses on investing in healthcare technologies and therapeutics as a pioneering figure in the field of biotechnology, during which he worked with companies that focused on gene therapy, targeted cancer therapies, rare diseases and the first implantable glucose sensor. In 2012, Barrett was on the Forbes Midas List.

Stephen P. Yost MBA '78 has been elected as a member of Pacific Mercantile Bancorp's Board of Directors. Yost also has been appointed as a member of the Board of Directors of the company's wholly owned banking subsidiary, Pacific Mercantile Bank. 

During the span of his 35-year career in banking, spent mostly in credit administration, Yost held the position of Regional Chief Credit Officer for Comerica Bank, where he was the Executive in charge of its Special Assets Group for the western region. Mr. Yost was the Chief Credit Officer of Imperial Bank prior to its merger with Comerica. He was also a Senior Credit Officer with First Interstate Bank and Mellon Bank, N.A. Upon his retirement in 2006, he established Kestrel Advisors, a credit risk consulting firm that focuses on the banking, financial, and legal communities. 

Jeanine D. Tucker ’78, J.D. ’81 is the new court executive officer with the Tuolumne County Superior Court. Tucker had worked for the Stanislaus County Superior Court since 1991. She most recently served as the operations manager for eight years, managing a staff of about 140 employees.

Greg Meacham ’78 wrote that he's been promoted to account manager in the division AF Solutions, Cardiac Rhythm Device Management, for Medtronic.

Nancy (Gerlach) Lee ’78 recently celebrated 30 years of marriage to husband LTC Anthony Lee M.S. ’86. They have three grown children—Jessica, 29, Michael, 26, and Stephanie, 22—and in October 2012 they were blessed with their first grandchild, Autumn Jade. They live in White Lake, Mi.

Freshman Dorm: Day Student/Off Campus

Phil Iatomase ’78 spent more than 20 years in the semiconductor business in Supply Chain Management and as an Information Technology professional. In 1997 he co-founded Ariba, a pioneering business-to-business Internet commerce software company.  He writes, "We took the company public in 1999 and at the peak of the market in 2000 had a higher market capitalization than General Motors and employed more than 2,300 people around the world. I left Ariba in 2001 and have spent the last 12 years as a high-tech retiree. Most of my time is spent volunteering/fundraising for various causes I beleive in—particularly education. I have been married to JoAnn Cardinale for 29 years and we have one daughter Marina Iatomase ’14, a junior finance major at SCU."

Jeff Ferriell J.D '78 has taken over as director of Capital University Law School's Academic Support Program, and also teaches contracts, bankruptcy, and commercial law. The third edition of his law school hornbook, Understanding Bankruptcy (with co-author Ted Janger of Brooklyn Law School), was published this spring by LexisNexis. He is currently working on the third edition of Understanding Contracts and continues to serve as a member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, from Ohio.

Mario Cordero J.D. ’78 has been designated the new chairman of the nation's most powerful maritime governing body, the Federal Maritime Commission, by President Barack Obama. A former Long Beach harbor commissioner, Cordero has practiced law for 30 years, including as a workers' compensation defense attorney. He was on the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners for about seven years before heading to the federal commission in 2011.

Steve Bennett J.D. ’78 writes that he has joined the Portland, Ore., law firm Farleigh Wada Witt (FWW). Bennett was a partner of the Portland law firm Powers, McCulloch & Bennett, LLP, which merged with FWW effective January 1, 2013. He continues to focus his practice in the areas of business and estate planning.

Charles "Chuck" Berger MBA ’80 is the new president and CEO of Extreme Networks, a tech company. He's also been elected to the board of directors.

Berger is joining Extreme Networks following the successful sale of ParAccel, a privately held software analytics company to Actian. He is an established CEO and director with 30 years of experience in the technology sector, including extensive P&L, general management, marketing and financing experience in high growth, large and mid-sized companies. Prior to ParAccel, Berger served as the CEO of DVDPlay, Nuance Communications, Vicinity Corporation, AdForce, and Radius. He has also held executive positions in sales, marketing and finance at Apple and Sun Microsystems.

Dr. Rich Mounce ’81, a full-time private-practice endodontist in Rapid City, S.D., writes that MounceEndo LLC is marketing American-made nickel titanium in both a Controlled Memory and standard nickel titanium variety. The MounceFile line has an extensive array of tapers, tip sizes, and pack assortments. MounceEndo LLC is also a fully authorized dealer for Mani, Inc. Dental products of Japan featuring premium quality stainless steel hand files and burs, and reciprocating hand piece attachments from W&H of Austria.