ALUMNI NEWS

Keep up to date with alumni on this page. If you or your classmates are doing something interesting or important, send Information and links to info@redwoodalumni.org and we will share it here. If you want to submit and read personal alumni information, click here.

Recent news about some of our grads:

Tom Malvino '72 has been selected as Businessman of the Year, receiving the "Spirit of Marin" award this September. The Bank of Marin is hosting the ceremony at St. Vincent's School in San Rafael. Tom is a member of the Corte Madera Chamber of Commerce and owner of Louis George Men's Clothing Store in the Town Center.

Eric Schmitt '78 has just published a book on counter-terrorism: "Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda" and will be speaking at Book Passage on Friday, September 23 at 7 pm. Read more.

Matt Doyle '05 is thriving in the world of theater and TV. He was in the original cast of Spring Awakening on Broadway and had had some appearance on the Gossip Girl TV Series. You can see him on YouTube.

Shoshanna Bush '06 is another successful Redwood drama student with parts in CSI:Miami, Ghost Whisperer and Dance Flick. You can see her also on YouTube.

Rebecca Burgess '96 is the author of the newly released book, Harvesting Color. Rebecca founded Ecologicalarts in 2005, an organization dedicated to creating, reviving, and teaching textile art forms that utilize botanical resources in a manner that promotes the health and regenerative processes of the ecosystem. Visit her website and read a recent article on her work in the Marin IJ.

John Weil '62 has created The Daily Geezer, a website of cool activities for those over 65 in the Bay Area. You may not be there yet, but if you have to entertain your parents, grand parents, check out the DailyGeezer.com.

Chris Detrick '01 has always loved music. He caught the rock ’n’ roll bug in sixth grade and by the time he was at Redwood he was “always scheming to be in a band.” He started the San Rafael–based MY AMP (Marin Youth Accelerated Music Program) in 2007 after years of being an instructor at the Oakland branch of the rock school BandWorks. Read more.

Lise Saffron '82 has just published her first novel. She recently spoke to a group of old friends and local enthusiasts at the Book Passage in Larkspur. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow. Her short fiction has appeared in a variety of literary magazines. She lives in Columbia, Missouri, with her husband and two sons. Read more.

Greg Behrent '81 is a brilliant lifelong comedian who accidentally became the best selling co author of the inescapable He's Just Not That Into You. He was the host of the weirdly named Greg Behrendt Show and he's the musical force behind America's instrumental surf and ska combo the Reigning Monarchs. He is currently taking part in the Sketchfest in San Francisco. Go to his website for more info.

Andrei Gorchov '99 is Administrator of the Marin Symphony Youth Program as well as the associate conductor of the youth orchestra. He is active teaching and performing as a flute soloist in the Bay Area.

Sue Hall '76 has been working as a DJ for over 30 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She's had stints with KOIT, KGO, KFRC and KMEL not only introducing music but reporting news and traffic. She'd really like to see the "classic-hits format (heavy on the '60s and '70s music) succeed. Read more.

Julia Shew '63 has sculled many miles over her lifetime, but none are as monumental as those she planned row at the end of the 2010 season. To celebrate her 65th birthday in October, Shew planned to complete her quest to scull 3,000 miles in one year -- the equivalent of going from her hometown of Larkspur, California to Fairfax, Virginia. Unfortunately, while training, Julie and her boat tragically capsized in rough waters.

Marcia Pizzo '78 continues to pursue her dream of acting. Getting her start on the Redwood stage, she has performed with ACT, local theater groups and made several movies. Currently she is receiving rave reviews as the bewitching Cleopatra with the Marin Shakespeare Festival.

David Strathairn '66 recentlyl won an Emmy for best supporting actor in a made for TV move Temple Grandin. He was also nominated for an Oscar in 2006 as best actor in Good Night and Good Luck, playing the role of Edward R. Murrow. Currently he is making an HBO movie about Ernest Hemmingway in San Francisco. He receives critical acclaim for all of his performances. Read more.

Cynthia Egger '70 continues in the family tradition with her Landscape Design business. She had been featured on KGO broadcasts, in Better Homes and Garden Magazine as well as on the nationwide TV station HGTV on "Landscape Smart" and "Curb Appeal." To learn more about her work, please go to her website.

Jim Rogers '67 was listed as one of the most prestigious Scouts a recent special section of the Marin IJ devoted to 100 Years of Scouting. Jim, CEO of Kampgrounds of America (KOA) was saluted along with Neil Armstrong, Michael Bloomberg, Michael Moore, and Stephen Speilberg. Read more and more.

Brad Breithaupt '71 has been recognized by the California Newspaper Publishers Association as one of the "best in California" for his award-winning opinion pages in the Marin IJ. To read his columns go to MarinIJ.com.

Ghazaleh Khalifeh '04 is making her way in the fashion world. She is the recipient of a French exchange scholarship to study at the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, one of the top fashion schools in Paris. Maybe she'll be the next Project Runway star. Read more.

Lisa Block Sandberg '76 and Kalli Sandberg '09 have watched closely as their son/brother Gunnar recovers from a brain injury that occured when he was hit by a baseball from an aluminum bat. All MCAL schools have agreed to use only wood bats leading to legislation to ban the use of metal bats in high schools and little leagues. Gunnar’s recovery will allow him to return to his senior year of classes in August. To follow Gunnar Sandberg's progress, you can go to the CaringBridge blog that is maintained by Kalli.  

Marc Hershon '76 and Jonathan Littman '76 have teamed up to write a book titled "I Hate People." Both grad reconnected in Sausalito and have combined their talents to produce this book about the "negative stuff you have to deal with" inside companies. Read more.

Jim Clark '75 went to Haiti after the earthquake on a humanitarian mission. He has been with the Larkspur Fire Department for 33 years and is currently a Captain. He and Captain Matt Cobb are members of the Marin County Urban Search and Rescue team who took off on their own to help those traumatized by the quake. Read more.

Page Hodel '73, a local DJ, has published a book dedicated to her neighbor Madalene Rodriguez who died at 46 of ovarian cancer. "Monday Hearts for Madalene" contains photographs of 100 hearts that Hodel made, whimsical and ingenious, and full of life. The Chronicle shared her story in February. Read more.

Emily Pilloton ’99 showed up at Redwood High recently, along with the Design Revolution Roadshow, a traveling exhibition of products designed with a humanitarian bent - think water filters and low-cost adjustable eye glasses instead of iPads and foot massagers. In 2008, she founded Project H design, using her network of contacts to link with designers all over the country interested in volunteering to design products with a humanitarian focus.  She wanted to use the products as a way to spread the word about the importance of considering "humanity, habitats, health and happiness" as criteria for product design and development. Read more and more!

Steven Travers '77 is the author of WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A TROJAN: SOUTHERN CAL'S GREATEST PLAYERS TALK ABOUT TROJANS FOOTBALL, with a foreword by ex-USC coach (and Redwood graduate) Pete Carroll '69. The book was published in 2009. Travers's 2007 book ONE NIGHT, TWO TEAMS: ALABAMA VS. USC AND THE GAME THAT CHANGED A NATION is currently being developed into a major motion picture and will be released in paperback in August. Check out his web site.

Dr. Don Francis '60, one of our Distinguished Alumni, is a Bay Area scientist who has been recently recognized for his work on a new vaccine that showed the first partial success in preventing AIDS infection. He is a co-founder of Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases, the South San Francisco nonprofit that contributed half of the double-acting vaccine that proved 31 percent effective in preventing AIDS infections in a 16,000-person clinical trial in Thailand. Read more.

Doug Woodring '84 is Director and Coordinator for Project Kaisei, a group investigating the North Pacific Gyre, an ocean vortex estimated by Greenpeace to be the size of Texas, contaminated with the floating detritus of our modern lives. Project Kaisei plans to find a way to scoop up the plastic waste and devise a way to turn it into a future fuel source. This huge task is led by innovator and environmentalist Doug Woodring. Read more.

Suzi Eszterhaus '94 has roamed the globe in search of photogenic fauna. She has been to an East African bush camp and visited an Antarctic ice floe where she photographed a proud penguin for the cover of Time. All this adventure was just to capture great animal images. Her images have appeared in an impressive roster of magazines, including Smithsonian, Audubon, BBC Wildlife, Scientific American, National Geographic Kids and Ranger Rick. In 2008, Eszterhas was named Ranger Rick's first photographer of the year. Read more.

Dina Temple Raston '82, a 2009 inductee into the Avenue of Giants, is the Counterterrorism Correspondent for NPR. She most recently published a book called The Jihad Next Door (Public Affairs), about the Lackawanna Six, America's first so-called "sleeper cell" and the issues that face Muslims in America. Read more.

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Last updated 5.31.11