Santa Clara Magazine

Nicholas Murphy, eldest son of Brendan ’91 and Nina ’91, graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif. in May 2013. His brother Matthew completed his freshman year at the same school.

Ron Hansen M.A. ’95, M.Div. ’04 is this year’s recipient of the Evil Companions Award, which honors a writer who hails from the West or writes about it. Hansen is an Omaha native who teaches literature at Santa Clara University. He has earned numerous honors in his four decades as a novelist, essayist and short-story writer, including the status of creating one of the longer and more intriguing titles in contemporary fiction: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

Colleen Blake ’97 was named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “100 Women of Influence.” As sr. director, Global People Operations, Brocade Communications Systems Inc., Blake is a key partner in driving the company’s involvement in community initiatives for young girls and women, and is responsible for the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy, including the expansion of Brocade’s Women In Networking (WIN) initiative across the globe. Blake was named to the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 2012 "40 Under 40" list, and she is active in youth and women's organizations.

On July 7, 2012, Steve O'Brien '98 wed Julianne (Visbal) O'Brien '04 in the Santa Clara Mission Church with over 40 fellow Broncos in attendance. It was truly a great day to be a Bronco! Today, the couple resides in Annapolis, MD, where Julianne works as a civil engineer with Bay Engineering, and Steve serves as the Naval Academy Athletic Association's Associate Athletic Director-Development at the United States Naval Academy. The O'Briens enjoy regularly returning to the Mission Campus for a variety of SCU events and are looking forward to making their next trip back this October for Steve's 15-year reunion.  

Front row: Anthony Zamora '98, Matt McNelis '98, Frank Lico '52, Julianne (Visbal) O'Brien '04, Steve O'Brien '98, Bill O'Brien '70, Chris Brady '98, Stephan Vernaelde '05, Fr. Art Liebscher '69, M.Div '84  Second row: Tom McDermott '52, Lisa (Sacco) Swendsen '98, Matt Giudice '98, Jack Grimes '98, Ryan Dunn '98, Joe Delucchi '98, John Maloney '85, Francisco Zepponi '05 Third row: Lauren Prehoda '03, Damien Swendsen '98, MA '00, Erahm Machado '98, Keith Marshall '98, Dan Romanski '98, Chris Yamashita '98, Barbie Graver '98, Brandon Kitagawa '98, Aaron Uchikura '05, MA '11  Fourth row: Paul Neilan '70, Kimarie (Reasons) Manfre '79, Sallie Krochalis '04, Rebecca (Levy) Corwin '04, Steve Heyn '98, Jason Sarich '98, Nicole (Tung) Sarich '98, Cinde Quint '73, Mike Quint '72, Teddie Page MA '98, Tom DeNatale '73, MS '79, Cynthia (Page) Teeple '96 Fifth row: Nick Livak '59, J.D '63, Rich Giorgetti '70, Terry Giorgetti '71, Jim Obot '77, Lynsey (Yeakel) Kehrli '04, Bob Kehrli '04, Dan Turner '98, James Dallosta '04, Jeff Herbage '04, Jen Zamora '98, Paul Page MA '95

Meredith McKenzie J.D. ’98 was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown ’59 to the Dental Board of California. McKenzie has been vice president and deputy general counsel at Juniper Networks since 2012. She was senior director of intellectual property at Symantec Corporation from 2006 to 2012, director of litigation, licensing and IP for Cypress Semiconductor from 2001 to 2006 and corporate counsel and director of IP at Enuvis Inc. from 2000 to 2001. McKenzie was an associate for Howrey LLP from 1998 to 2000 and patent agent and design engineer at Intel Corporation from 1993 to 1998.

Olga Diaz ’98 was named Civic Leader of the Year at U-T San Diego’s second annual San Diego Latino Champions Awards ceremony.

Pallie Zambrano J.D. ’99 has been honored by the YWCA of Silicon Valley with a 2013 Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) Award, one of the most prestigious awards given by local and regional YWCAs nationwide. Zambrano is a partner at McManis Faulkner, a leading Northern California trial firm.

The TWIN Award program was established in 1984 to honor the outstanding achievements of female executives who have demonstrated excellence in business leadership positions and to pay tribute to the companies in which they work. Zambrano joins a group of honorees selected from Silicon Valley technology, legal, communications, nonprofit, and healthcare organizations that have acted as successful role models for other women in business, exhibited top-level responsibility in a major functional role, and who have had a substantial impact on the organization’s growth, profitability and innovation.

Alexander Nestor JD '99 was elected to a partnership at Allen Matkins, a California-based full service real estate and business law firm.

Nestor practices in the labor and employment group in Allen Matkins' San Francisco office, where he represents some of the nation's largest technology and financial services companies. He represents employers in litigation proceedings in state and federal court, in arbitration, and before administrative agencies on a broad range of employment matters, including discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, defamation, wage and hour, trade secret misappropriation, and unfair competition claims.

He also counsels and assists employers in resolving a variety of employment issues, such as compliance with state and federal employment laws, developing employee policies, reductions in force, executive employment agreements, and restrictive covenants.

Richard Lucero J.D. ’99 was appointed Fremont's chief of police.

Lucero, a 26-year veteran of Fremont police, has spent his entire law enforcement career in Fremont, where he has worked with several units, including SWAT, narcotics, street crimes and internal affairs.

He has served as commander of Fremont police's two major departments: the Patrol Division and the Special Operations and Investigations Division.

Lucero is a graduate of San Jose State University and Santa Clara University School of Law, and is a member of the State Bar of California. He is a volunteer with Officers Give Hope, a nonprofit organization that encourages officers to join the National Marrow Donor Registry. He also is first vice president of the California Peace Officers' Association.

Read the full story in the San Jose Mercury News.

Renu Bhatia MBA ’99 was named one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “100 Women of Influence.” As VP of Sales and Business Development, Marvell Semiconductor Inc., Bhatia is responsible for developing the  company’s data communications sales strategy. Bhatia is board director of the San Jose Children’s Discovery Museum; active member of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, the Anita Borg Institute for Women in Technology and The Indus Entrepreneurs. She teaches at local temple and was selected to guide and develop Stanford University’s international student graduate program. Bhatia appeared as a panelist at the 2011 WIE Symposium, speaking on philanthropy, social enterprise and corporate social responsibility. She was awarded the YWCA Tribute to Women in Industry in 2011.