2010s

Cierra Nalani Richards
Class of 2017
Cierra Nalani Richards
Class of 2017

Cierra Nalani Richards was named queen in the Queens for a Cure pageant, making her the face of Susan G. Komen cancer-research fundraising. Additionally, Cierra competed for the the title of Miss Washington/Pacific Northwest through International Junior Miss in February.

Future Lute - Kailey (Beard) Huber
Class of 2017
Future Lute - Kailey (Beard) Huber
Class of 2017

Kailey (Beard) Huber welcomed Hazel Suzanne Huber on Feb. 18.

Future Lute - Misty Lang
Class of 2017
Future Lute - Misty Lang
Class of 2017

Misty Lang welcomed twins, Lana Louise Lang and Phoenix Ray Lang, on Nov. 12, 2017.

Victoria Benson
Class of 2017

Victoria Benson attended Geological Society of America’s 2017 annual meeting and presented her research poster, titled “Identifying Influences on Glacial Meltwater Hydrochemistry Using Laboratory Simulations of Subglacial Chemical Erosion.”

George Duma
Class of 2017

George Duma was hired as an extraction technician at Cordant Health Solutions in Tacoma, Washington.

Genevieve Brandt
Class of 2017

Genevieve Brandt is attending Georgia Tech’s bioinformatics master’s program.

Brandon Tabor
Class of 2017

Brandon Tabor is pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy at Washington State University’s College of Pharmacy.

Maddie Smith
Class of 2017

Maddie Smith currently serves with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Interfaith Power and Light, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group devoted to “a religious response to global warming” in Washington, D.C.

Miles Radford
Class of 2017

Miles Radford is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Washington State University.

Ashlee McGovern
Class of 2017

Ashlee McGovern is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Penn State University.

Bryan Gutierrez
Class of 2017

Bryan Gutierrez is pursuing a Ph.D. in chemistry at Rutgers University.

Katie Caspary
Class of 2017

Katie Caspary is pursuing her Ph.D. in chemistry at Oregon State University.

Tom Kolibaba
Class of 2016

Tom Kolibaba is at Texas A&M University pursuing his Ph.D. in chemistry.

Lee Shaffer
Class of 2016

Lee Shaffer co-authored a paper published in the April issue of Molecular Metabolism, titled “Astrocyte IKKβ/NF-κB signaling is required for diet-induced obesity and hypothalamic inflammation.”

Alice Henderson
Class of 2016

Alice Henderson started working with the Washington Conservation Corps in the Washington Department of Ecology’s Coastal Monitoring and Analysis Program.

Christina Gray
Class of 2016

As a representative of Portland State University, Christina Gray attended Geological Society of America’s 2017 annual meeting and presented her research poster, titled “Regional Modeling of Glaciers in the Olympic Mountains, Washington.”

Allison Groseclose
Class of 2016
Allison Groseclose
Class of 2016

Allison Groseclose earned her master’s degree in political theory from the London School of Economics.

Shannon Reynolds
Class of 2015
Shannon Reynolds
Class of 2015

Shannon Reynolds married Corbin Edwards in Issaquah, Washington, on Sept. 22, 2017.

Ben Sonnenberg
Class of 2014

Ben Sonnenberg began his Ph.D. program at the University of Nevada, Reno in Professor Vladimir Pravosudov’s lab, which focuses on focuses on behavioral ecology with special emphasis on animal cognition.

Aaron Steelquist
Class of 2014

As a representative for Stanford University, Aaron Steelquist attended Geological Society of America’s 2017 annual meeting and presented his research poster, titled “Fluvial incision rates of the San Juan River using In-Situ Be, Mexican Hat Utah.”

Wendy Willis
Class of 2013

In April, Wendy Willis led PoetryFest 2018, “Poetry of the Moment,” at the Hoffman Center for the Arts in Manzanita, Oregon.

Alicia (Diesch) Lopez
Class of 2013
Alicia (Diesch) Lopez
Class of 2013

Alicia (Diesch) Lopez graduated with her Master of Science in Counseling from Lubbock Christian University in Lubbock, Texas, in August 2017. She is now pursuing her doctorate in the Counselor Education Program at Texas Tech University.

Picture Perfect
Class of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014
Picture Perfect
Class of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014

Gary “Phil” Rempe ’13 and Molly (Shade) Rempe ’12 were married in Buena Vista, Colorado, on July 29, 2017. Many Lutes were in attendance. Pictured from left to right: Jeffrey Linxwiler ’14, David Wirth ’13, Megan Buchholz ’11, Erica Boyle ’13, James Tupper ’11, Colin Zinnecker ’11, Alex McDiarmid ’12, Molly Rempe, Phil Rempe, Allison Danforth ’11, Jackson Mowe ’13, PJ Edds ’13, Courtney Karwal ’13 and Tessa Heck-George ’13.

Ashley Marshall
Class of 2012
Ashley Marshall
Class of 2012

Ashley Marshall graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder with her Ph.D. in chemistry in May 2017. She moved to Oxford to begin work as a post-doctoral researcher.

Mercedes (Begley) Leahy
Class of 2012
Mercedes (Begley) Leahy
Class of 2012

Mercedes (Begley) Leahy ’12 married Ryan Leahy on Sept. 30, 2017, in Arlington, Washington. Lutes in attendance included Anna (Stewart) Koonce ’12, Sonja Ruud ’12, Meagan Wehe ’12, Nick Oglesby ’12, Hannah Walton ’16, Harmony Young ’12, Alex Domine ’12 ’17, Michael Clark ’13, Kiersten Bowers ’13, Paige Griffith ’13 and Meg (Randich) Newton ’12.

Phillip Dixon
Class of 2012

Phillip Dixon received his Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Lindenwood University in December.

Preston Taylor
Class of 2012
Preston Taylor
Class of 2012

Preston Taylor ’12 married Kailynn Taylor on July 22, 201,7 in Santa Barbara, California. Lutes in the wedding party included James Clegg ’12, Klayton Fletcher ’13 and Steven Swanke Hedback ’12.

Luke Terwilliger
Class of 2011
Luke Terwilliger
Class of 2011

Luke Terwilliger recently celebrated one year at i2i Population Health in Nashville, Tennessee, managing software implementation projects that enable health care providers to perform population health analytics and enhanced care coordination. He’s pictured here with his 8-month-old son, JT.

Kevin Knodell
Class of 2011

The U.S. Navy framed and displayed a comic by Kevin Knodell aboard the USS Michael Monsoor. The installment is part of Naval History Magazine’s “Acts of Valor” series.

Anneliese Kellogg
Class of 2011

Anneliese Kellogg recently finished her second year with the Empire State Youth Orchestra’s CHIME – an El Sistema USA after-school program for economically disadvantaged students (first- through eighth-graders) in Schenectady, New York. This year, she was promoted to lead teaching artist and helped start a new CHIME program at Van Corlaer Elementary.

Matthew Kim
Class of 2010
Matthew Kim
Class of 2010

Matthew Kim ’10 and Jennifer (Emerson) Kim ’13 married on Aug. 26, 2017, in Spokane, Washington. Lutes in the wedding party included Stephanie Hatch ’12, Lesley Gardner ’13, Pat Carlisle ’09, Scott Posey ’10, Rayan Carter ’12 and Chase Mesford ’12.

Phillip Schmitt
Class of 2010

Phillip Schmitt, teacher at Gray Middle School in Tacoma Public Schools, was honored as a MESA Teacher of the Year.

Steve Barnett
Class of 2010

As Horton the elephant, Steve Barnett, starred in Tacoma Little Theater’s production of “Seussical the Musical.”

Tyson Bendzak
Class of 2010

Tyson Bendzak inspired others with a “shot of encouragement,” a trick basketball shot with a unicycle, basketball and bridge, dedicated to his dad and others struggling with cancer.

Rocky Bilyeu
Class of 2010

Rocky Bilyeu joined the The Doty Group — an accounting office in Tacoma, Washington — as a valuation analyst.

Future Lute - Carrie (Draeger) Gubsch
Class of 2010

Tyler and Carrie (Draeger) Gubsch welcomed their first child, Henry George Gubsch, on Feb. 6.

Karly Siroky
Class of 2010

Karly Siroky is founder and CEO of Karma Design, one of the first woman-owned and operated studios for brand strategy and visual design in the Pacific Northwest.

2000s

Future Lute - Alex Eli
Class of 2009
Future Lute - Alex Eli
Class of 2009

Alex Eli and wife, Kat, welcomed twins, Addison Marie and Avery Lilly Eli, on Oct. 25, 2017.

Zach Parsons
Class of 2008

Zach Parsons recently was named shareholder with DP&C, an accounting firm in Tacoma, Washington.

Future Lute - Krystal (Anderson) Serrano
Class of 2007
Future Lute - Krystal (Anderson) Serrano
Class of 2007

Krystal (Anderson) Serrano and husband, Rodrigo, welcomed Luna Angeline Serrano on Jan. 8.

Future Lute - Sean McIlraith
Class of 2007
Future Lute - Sean McIlraith
Class of 2007

Sean McIlraith and wife, Bekah, welcomed Sullivan Thomas McMilMac on Nov. 1, 2017.

Future Lute - Nick Page
Class of 2007
Future Lute - Nick Page
Class of 2007

Nick Page and wife, Christie, welcomed Adley Iris Page on Dec. 29, 2017.

Future Lute - Kimberly (Wood) Franzke
Class of 2006

Kimberly (Wood) Franzke and her husband, Josh, welcomed Justin Jay Franzke on March 11, 2017.

Future Lite - Lindsay (Tozier) Storby
Class of 2006
Future Lite - Lindsay (Tozier) Storby
Class of 2006

Lindsay (Tozier) and Seth Storby ’07 welcomed Brayden David Storby on Dec. 21, 2017.

Anthony Webb
Class of 2005

Anthony Webb made his Opera Idaho debut in a production of Giacomo Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly.”

Future Lute - Laine Walters Young
Class of 2005
Future Lute - Laine Walters Young
Class of 2005

Laine Walters Young and husband, Michael, welcomed their first child, Theodore James Walters Young, on Feb. 9.

Shella Biallas
Class of 2004
Shella Biallas
Class of 2004

Shella Biallas ’04 married Sigurd Grimsby ’04 — an exchange student from 2001 to 2002 — on Nov. 2, 2017, in a small ceremony at the Orange County Courthouse in Santa Ana, California. The ceremony was witnessed by longtime friends and PLU classmates Tamara Lynn Schaps ’04 and Andrew Sternard ’03.

Tamara Lynn Schaps
Class of 2004

Tamara Lynn Schaps now serves as the assistant dean of graduate strategic initiatives at the University of California, San Diego, where she works on cross-campus collaboration and new program development.

Future Lute - Alison (Stark) Leiman
Class of 2004
Future Lute - Alison (Stark) Leiman
Class of 2004

Alison (Stark) and James Leiman ’05 welcomed Siena Claire Leiman on July 24, 2017. Siena joins her brother, Miles.

Frank Jackson
Class of 2004
Frank Jackson
Class of 2004

Frank Jackson recently accepted a position with St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute Physiatry Practice in Spokane, Washington.

Future Lute - Molly (Banks) Kennedy
Class of 2003
Future Lute - Molly (Banks) Kennedy
Class of 2003

Sean and Molly (Banks) Kennedy welcomed their daughter, Elizabeth Anne Kennedy. She joined her brother, Gavin, six weeks early on Oct. 31, 2017.

Eric Parks
Class of 2003

Eric Parks recently played T. Stedman Harder in an on stage production of “A Moon for the Misbegotten.”

Future Lute - Peter Bonifaci
Class of 2002
Future Lute - Peter Bonifaci
Class of 2002

Peter Bonifaci ’02 and Jessica Darling ’03 welcomed their first child, Elena Rose Bonifaci, on Jan. 30.

Tiffany (Stone) Cook
Class of 2002

Tiffany (Stone) Cook recently was promoted with Wells Fargo to the position of regional services consultant for Southeast Alaska. Tiffany works with 11 branches, overseeing compliance, mentoring and management, and also acts as a resource officer.

Brandy (Hedger) Halprin
Class of 2001

Brandy (Hedger) Halprin became a licensed clinical social worker in October 2017. She works as an on-call medical social worker for the Shriners Hospital for Children – Portland and at Providence ElderPlace.

Kelly (Kearsley) Johnson
Class of 2001

Kelly (Kearsley) Johnson’s StartupBend, a blog about startup companies in Bend, Oregon, was featured in Bend Source.

1990s

Future Lute - Kari (McGrath) Matthews
Class of 1999

Kari (McGrath) Matthews ’99 ’01 and her husband, John, welcomed Luke Jameson Matthews on Jan. 8. He joins sisters Grace and Gwen.

Marty Mogk
Class of 1998
Marty Mogk
Class of 1998

Marty Mogk recently celebrated his second year with the Kodiak Cakes, a pancake company in Park City, Utah. He works from home in Burlington, Iowa, and volunteers at The Capitol Theater and Restoration Station.

Amy Stack
Class of 1998

Amy Stack recently was featured in Astoria Characters for her baking prowess and work with Pink Canary Desserts in Astoria, Oregon.

Lisa Cole
Class of 1997

Lisa Cole recently was hired as an assistant coach for the Houston Dash, a professional women’s soccer team.

Sirine Fodstad
Class of 1997

Sirine Fodstad was promoted to chief human resources officer for the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Lisa Skari
Class of 1993

Lisa Skari recently was appointed as the 11th president of Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.

Kim Malek-Harnish
Class of 1993

Kim Malek-Harnish’s renowned ice cream company, Salt & Straw, was recently featured in The Seattle Times for its expansion from Portland to Seattle.

Duke Paulson
Class of 1993

Duke Paulson was named executive director of Tacoma Rescue Mission in April.

Gerda (Wagner) Hunter
Class of 1992
Gerda (Wagner) Hunter
Class of 1992

Gerda (Wagner) Hunter received the Scandinavian Cultural Center Outstanding Service Award at the Nordic Jul Banquet on Dec. 16, 2017.

Michael Standish
Class of 1991
Michael Standish
Class of 1991

Michael Standish and his wife, Tracy ’92, retired from the U.S. Army on Jan. 31 after 28 years of service. Michael last served as the chief of CBRNE (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives) defense operations for the United States Army Central Command. He intends to hike the Pacific Crest Trail this summer.

Mohamed Dobashi
Class of 1991

Mohamed Dobashi was named as the new CEO of the Washington Farm Labor Association (WAFLA) this spring.

Tim Hein
Class of 1991

Tim Hein recently was appointed to the position of vice president, sales for Paradigm Spine, LLC, which provides motion preservation solutions for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

1980s

Keith Achepohl
Class of 1989

Keith Achepohl’s art exhibit “Vision of Nature/Vessel of Beauty” was displayed at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon, earlier this spring.

Annie Ryan
Class of 1988

The Byram Township Board of Education recognized Annie Ryan as a district recipient of the Governor’s Educator of the Year award.

James Johnson
Class of 1988

James Johnson was recently appointed CEO of Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Jeff Rounce
Class of 1985

Jeff Rounce and his wife, Jill, recently sold their business, Business Examiner Media, to Premier Media Group.

Mike Larson
Class of 1983

Mike Larson, designated broker and owner of Allen Realtors, was re-elected to the board of directors of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service as representative of Pierce and Thurston counties.

Geir Hansen
Class of 1983

Geir Hansen left Silicon Valley Bank after two decades of service.

1970s

Douglas Becker
Class of 1979
Douglas Becker
Class of 1979

Douglas Becker was recently elected as a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. Doug is a tax lawyer in Denver, Colorado, and an adjunct professor at the University of Denver Graduate Tax Program.

Darcy Johnson
Class of 1978

Darcy Johnson’s wealth management firm, Fulcrum Capital, was ranked No. 7 in the nation on RIA Channel’s list of Top 100 Emerging Wealth Managers for 2017.

Dale Nordin
Class of 1976

Dale Nordin died Feb. 22, 2018.

David Johnson
Class of 1974

David Johnson retired from his position with the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, but plans to continue volunteering.

Bob Vernon
Class of 1973

Bob Vernon retired from Providence Health and Services in Everett, Washington, where he worked as a health care business intelligence analyst. He also served 22 years, both active and reserve, in the U.S. Navy as a health care administration officer.

John Olson
Class of 1971

John Olson and his wife now “snow-bird” in Sun City Oro Valley, Arizona.

Lee Wayne Davidson
Class of 1970

Lee Wayne Davidson died Nov. 29, 2017.

1960s

Ken Knutsen
Class of 1965

Ken Knutsen died March 8.

John Oliver Ruud
Class of 1964
John Oliver Ruud
Class of 1964

John Oliver Ruud died Feb. 5.

View his obituary.

Bill Lessley
Class of 1963

Bill Lessley and his wife, Deanne, spent three months exploring Europe in the spring of 2017. They enjoyed hiking in the Dolomites Alps of Northern Italy.

Marta Berg
Class of 1960

Marta Berg died March 9, 2017.

1950s

Jack Holl
Class of 1959

Jack Holl received the Founder’s Award from the National Council on Public History in Indianapolis on April 22, 2017, in recognition of his lifetime contributions to the field of public history. Jack was the founding president of the Society for History in the Federal Government and the third president of the National Council on Public History.

Conrad Mandt
Class of 1959

Conrad Mandt died July 29, 2017.

Allen Moen
Class of 1955

Allen Moen died Jan. 24.

Paul Labes
Class of 1955

Paul Labes died Sept. 12, 2017.

Burton Foreman
Class of 1950
Burton Foreman
Class of 1950

Burton Foreman retired from university teaching after a 30-year career teaching English language and literature, as well as music composition. Burton’s career also featured time as an educational missionary, English teacher abroad and interpreter.