Alumni Updates
Jerre Winder Maurer, 2001 and 2002
Submitted: November 4, 2023 Jerre would like to thank the Cal Poly Humboldt credential program and biological science department. Jerre just finished her 20th year teaching science for the Bret Harte Union High School District in Angels Camp, California, and continues to love it! Jerre teaches biology and anatomy/physiology. She is also the science department chair and the recycling coordinator. She says it has been a great place to work all these years with wonderful staff and students! The credential program ensured she was prepared to teach! Thank you, Humboldt!
Marianne Lancaster, 1979
Submitted: September 14, 2023 After 30-plus years of serving as a high school biology teacher in Humboldt County and Riverside County, Marianne retired and took another job serving as the Nature Education Manager for The Nature Education Foundation at the Santa Rosa Plateau in Riverside County, which supports education programs on the 10,000-acre Reserve known as the Santa Rosa Plateau. Emphasis has been on helping high school students become citizen scientists by participating in data collection for the National Phenology Network, which collects data on the seasonal changes in plants and animals with the changing climate.
Richard Sayre, 1974
Submitted: August 10, 2023 Dr. Richard Sayre is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer for Mercury Bio Inc. (www.mercurybio.com) based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mercury Bio Inc. focuses on the targeted delivery of therapeutic RNAs and small molecular weight drugs to human cells to address various viral and genetic diseases. Dr. Sayre recently introduced Mercury Bio's platform drug delivery technology to the pharmaceutical industry at Boston's third mRNA-Based Therapeutics Summit.
Myshelle Charlon , 2000
Submitted: December 8, 2022 Myshelle Charlon ('00, Biology, Zoology) is now leaving in the Bay Area with her family. She is working to develop effective, tolerable, and durable treatments to help patients with cancer thrive.
Matthew Nelson, 2004, 2009
Submitted: August 18, 2022 Matthew Nelson ('04, Zoology, '09, M.S. Biology) has worked as a biological technician for Olympic National Park, a marine biologist for the City of San Diego, and is currently a Shellfish Biologist for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington. This position involves working closely with other state and tribal managers to maintain healthy and productive fisheries while ensuring that the resource will be around for the benefit of future generations.
Bob Freeman, 1976
Submitted: August 11, 2022 The third volume of the SciFi series "H2LiftShips - Bosons Wave" by local author, Bob Freeman, is now out in the wild. The author is a graduate of HSU with a Masters in Biology and a retired Public Health Laboratory Director (Imperial County). In the classic Space Opera SciFi style, he takes the reader from one end of California to the other. They ditch the red roadster and the trip continues to Luna, the asteroid belt, and beyond. More information, sample chapters, and the dreaded 'Trigger Warning' can be found here.
Cindy Purnell Frakes, 1981
Submitted: March 23, 2022
After 33 years in the high-tech industry, Cindy Purnell Frakes retired from her most recent position of 13 years as Senior Director, Information Development at Oracle. Her career journey prior to that included stints at Borland, PeopleSoft, Computer Associates, and the Paradigm Group. She's now happily retired, living in Ferndale, WA, and has picked up her binoculars to pursue bird #485 and beyond to add to her life list.
Cindy Purnell Frakes, 1981
Submitted: March 19, 2022 After 33 years in the high-tech industry, Cindy Purnell Frakes ('81, Biology) retired from her most recent position of 13 years as Senior Director, Information Development at Oracle. Her career journey prior to that included stints at Borland, PeopleSoft, Computer Associates, and the Paradigm Group. She's now happily retired, living in Ferndale, WA, and has picked up her binoculars to pursue bird #485 and beyond to add to her life list.
Jessie Perez, 2010
Submitted: March 2, 2022
Jessie Perez recently founded a company to help provide clean air during the global pandemic and the company would like to spread the word about a new technology that can keep people safe in the spaces they work, learn, and live. https://www.geekwire.com/2022/former-dod-nuclear-engineer-leads-new-seattle-startup-developing-air-purification-technology/
Richard T Sayre, 1974
Submitted: December 7, 2021
Richard Sayre was elected to the National Academy of Inventors.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-academy-of-inventors-…
David J Fisher, 1983
Submitted: November 5, 2021
After graduating with a biology degree from Humboldt State in 1983, Dr. Dave Fisher received his DVM from Washington State University and practiced at a small-animal clinic prior to his residency in clinical pathology at the University of California, Davis. Following board certification, he was a clinical pathology instructor at the University of Wisconsin. In 1995, he started working for IDEXX at the company’s reference laboratory in West Sacramento. Dave was recently awarded the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology’s (ASVCP) Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to the profession.
Jon Dohlin, 1992
Submitted: October 12, 2021
After 25 years with the Wildlife Conservation Society-- including 12 as the Director of the New York Aquarium, Jon accepted a new position as CEO of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo in Fresno CA
Leigh-Ann King, 2005
Submitted: September 23, 2021
Leigh-Ann King transferred after 2003 to Fresno State and majored in Natural Science with a teaching credential obtained from Fresno State. She is now teaching Biology, Honors Biology, and AP Biology at her old high school in the Central Valley of California.
Kevin Morris, 1996
Submitted: July 8, 2021
Kevin was leader of a team that recently developed the first-ever virus specific targeted therapy for treating COVID-19.
https://www.cell.com/molecular-therapy-family/molecular-therapy/fulltex…
And the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMYpKVs1fQg
And some of the press:
https://www.cityofhope.org/breakthroughs/city-of-hope-researcher-helps-…
https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dbgab/scientists-remove-covid-19-from-…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9589611/Queensland-researchers…
The work is now being developed into a Phase 1 trial in Australia and works as a therapy for all beta coronaviruses.
Tim Kellison, 2005
Submitted: May 20, 2021
After a brief stint with the National Park Service, Kellison began working for the US Forest Service. He had spent the last 15 years working as a Botanist on the Lassen and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests. The past five years he has lived in Carson City, NV working as the Sierra Zone Botanist for the Humboldt-Toiyabe managing Rare Plants, Native Plant Community and Pollinator Habitat, and Native Plant Materials Program Development on the Bridgeport and Carson Ranger Districts.
Bob Freeman, 1976
Submitted: April 8, 2021
Bob is retired from Imperial County as a Public Health Lab Director, He is also supporting his Laboratory Information System while writing more SciFi Novels
H2LiftShips Vol 1-3 Beyond Luna
H2LiftShips Vol 4 A back Story
And Vol 5 is a slow slog forward
Links to books:
https://www.h2liftship.com/beyondluna
https://www.h2liftship.com/backstory
The stories take place in the Desert, Humboldt, Yosemite, Phobos, the Asteroid Belt, and beyond with Solar Sail Ships and a few rockets thrown in for good measure.
Charles Lamb, 1983
Submitted: December 11, 2020
After graduation from HSU, Charles Lamb completed a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology at Louisiana State University in 1991. During his doctoral studies he spent one year conducting research at Kagoshima University School of Dentistry in Kagoshima, Japan. He then completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center from 1991-1995. Since 1995, he has been a faculty member at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. His positions there have included Professor of Biology, Chair of the School of Natural Sciences, and Chief Research Officer for the university.
BOB Freeman, 1976
Submitted: November 6, 2020
I am continuing my writing career.
Vol 3 of H2LiftShips has just been released:
"Gigging the Void"
Available on Smashwords or Amazon
Kent K Willis, 1969
Submitted: September 9, 2020
Kent Willis, Biological Sciences, 1969, earned his teaching credential the next year at Humboldt State. He taught middle school in Fortuna, California for 42 years, as an 8th grade teacher, basketball and track coach, and vice principal. He earned two master's degrees and a doctorate over these years. His wife Marsha (Gallon), who is also a teacher, graduated from Humboldt State as well. They have two children, one who also graduated from Humboldt State. He retired from teaching in 2013, but has continued to coach 8th grade boys' basketball. A memoir, Teaching 42+, of his years of teaching has been published by Amazon, as has his most recent book, An Auto Biography, that has stories of him driving the bus for biology class field trips at Humboldt State.
Jon Mann, 2014
Submitted: July 9, 2020
Since leaving HSU Jon Mann, Biological Sciences, 2014, has created and launched his own business, a laboratory calibration company.
