Notable Sac State grads and their accomplishments

= Alumni Association Member

= Alumni Association Life Member

1980s

Mark W. Covington ’82 (Criminal Justice) has a new position as Sr. Project Manager, Sr. Associate with DLR Group. As a senior project manager in the K-12 Education Studio, Mark leads design teams serving educators, learners, and communities across Northern California.  

Michael J. Castro ’85 (Accountancy) has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Delta Dental of California and Affiliates. He previously served as Delta Dental of California’s CFO between September 2004 and October 2018.  

Garth M. Stapley ’86 (French), an award-award winning reporter for The Modesto Bee for the last 25 years, has been named Editorial Page Editor for The Bee.  He is best known for his work covering the Laci Peterson case and is the winner of two prestigious McClatchy President’s Awards and several California Newspaper Publishers Association honors. 

David J. Bugatto ’86 (Business Administration) has been recognized in the Sacramento Business Journal in the article  “A 20-year journey in north Natomas” for his role in being a critical driving force in central to north Natomas development.  

Glenn Mayol ’89 (Finance), the former Yuba College head coach, has been selected as the first head coach of women’s basketball at Folsom Lake College. With opening intercollegiate play in November, Mayol is busy recruiting for the
 inaugural team. 

1990s

Steven H. Lee ’92 (Business Administration) has been named new Senior Vice President, business development for Genesis Credit. He has over 20 years’ experience in the financial industry, most recently he served as Senior Vice President - Client Development Director at Citi Retail Services. 

Mark R. Essick ’93 (Criminal Justice) was sworn in as the new Sonoma County Sheriff in January after more than 20 years serving in Sonoma County.  

Dennis Kauffman ’93 (Business Administration) was recently promoted to Chief Financial Officer, City of Roseville. As chief financial officer, he will also serve as city treasurer and continue serving as finance director. 

Raed A. Al-Haqhaq ’94 (Business Administration) was named Chief Executive Officer, Kuwait Operations for Burgan Bank, in December. Mr. Al-Haqhaq played a vital role in shaping and executing the strategic direction of Burgan Bank - Kuwait under his previous role as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and will continue to lead the bank into the next phase. 

Richard A. Guilbault ’94 (Public Policy and Administration) was recently named Vice
President of Training to Scale Training Operations with Wrap Technologies. He will be scaling the Company’s Training Department nationally and internationally to meet the training needs of law enforcement partners. 

Matthew F. Kritz ’96 (Criminal Justice) was recently promoted to Senior Associate Athletic Director at UC San Diego. Through his leadership, they pursue an integrated sports science approach to assist with the holistic athletic development of every UC San Diego scholar-athlete.  

Cristina Mendonsa ’96 (Government/Journalism) has joined NewsRadio KFBK as the new co-anchor/host of The KFBK Morning News to deliver new, weather and traffic. She most recently served as anchor at ABC 10 (KXTV) Sacramento where she spent more than 21 years. 

Lisette E. Henderson ’97 (Preliminary Admin. Services) recently began her first four-year term as Solano County Superintendent of Schools. She has served as an educator for over 32 years in the county. 

Richard R. Scangarello ’97 (Business Administration) was named the new Offensive Coordinator for the Denver Broncos in January. He spent the spent the last two years as the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterbacks coach.  

Trevor M. Joseph ’98 (Geology) has joined global engineering, consulting, and architecture firm Stantec as the Hydrogeology practice lead for California, strengthening the firm’s groundwater service capabilities across California and the West.

Ryan T. Chance ’98 (Finance) has been appointed President of Bay Area Concretes, Inc. and PolishedCrete, effective January 1, 2019. 

Marie K. Jachino ’99 (Social Work) has been recognized with an award from the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce for her work with the Elk Grove Food Bank Services and her dedication in helping those who are “Food-insecure”. 

2000s

James J. Kim ’00, MBA ’11 (Accountancy) has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Central Valley Community Bank. He joined the bank in 2018 after spending more than 15 years in financial and bank leadership positions in the Sacramento Region. 

Chris Wong ’01 (Finance), with more than 20 years of business banking experience, has joined American River Bank as the Vice President/Relationship Manager for the Rancho Cordova Commercial Banking Team. He also serves on the board for the Folsom Historical Society. 

Robert A. Rivas ’03 (Government) recently took the oath of office to serve as the Assemblymember for the 30th State Assembly District. Prior to his election, he served two terms on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors. He has also worked in K-12 education and as an EMT/firefighter.

Travis Taylor ’04 (Communication Studies) was recently appointed to his new role as Senior Vice President of Lucas Public Affairs. He previously served as executive vice president at Fineman PR in San Francisco. 

Rachelle S. Doyle ’06 (Communication Studies) was recently hired as the Director of Advancement for Sacramento County Day School. She previously served as the Director of Development for Sacramento Waldorf School. 

Ryan K. Coogler ’07 (Finance) made the short list of finalists for Time Person of the Year, coming in at #6 in recognition of his work through movies to bring people together. Award season has been active, seeing Coogler’s work recognized by the 25th Screen Actors Guild Award, a Grammy Award, and three Oscars for his film “Black Panther.”  

2010s

Brian Perry ’10 (English) has joined the Roseville office of Lyon Real Estate as a Broker Associate. Most recently, he was affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, where he was ranked in the top 2% nationwide. 

Erik R. Johnson, MPPA ’11 (Public Policy and Administration) has been promoted to Deputy Executive Director for Operations with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG). 

Tyler Nielsen ’12 (History) has been promoted to Associate Broker at Colliers International. He has also joined the Northern California Healthcare Advisory Group with a focus on medical office clients. 

Xochitl Rodriguez Murillo, MA ’13 (Spanish) has been named the new mayor for the City of Woodland and is to be the city’s first woman mayor in nearly 20 years and its first Latina mayor. She also serves as a Principal Consultant to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. 

Brandon Smith ’14 (Business Administration) has joined Finance of America Mortgage as a Mortgage Advisor, specializing in helping veterans and first time home buyers. He is also a small business owner in the health and fitness industry. 

Daisy Castellon ’15 (Government/Journalism) has been promoted to Account Executive at Lucas Public Affairs. She also serves on the Board of the Sacramento Public Relations Association. 

Melissa Hurtado ’15 (Government) has been sworn in as state senator of the 14th Senate District where she will serve a four-year term in the upper house of California’s Legislature. She is California’s youngest state legislator and previously served as a Sanger city councilwoman. 

Alma Delia M. Rosas Gomez ’15 (Criminal Justice) was recently sworn in as a new officer for the Woodland Police Department, she is one of just nine female officers. Prior to joining the department, Alma was a residential counselor for the Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento and also worked as a victims advocate. 

Jordan Stout ’16 (Communication Studies) was recently promoted to Account Executive at Lucas Public Affairs. Prior to joining Lucas Public Affairs in 2017, he worked for the California Department of Social Services. 

Anthony A. Sadler ’17 (Health and Human Services), who helped prevent an act of terror on a train in France in 2015, was recently granted dual citizenship to France at a naturalization ceremony in January along with his two friends that have been heralded as heroes. 

Monica M. Hernandez ’17 (Social Work) was recently promoted to Director of Innovation & Partnership with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG).  

11/12/18