Amy Clay Ives had never touched an oar until she took up rowing in her first year at Lewis & Clark.

Oars poised for the pinnacle moment of her rowing career, Amy Clay Ives (at far left in photo) waited expectantly at the starting line at Beijing’s Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park on August 17. With the Women’s Final Sculling Quads mere seconds away, waves of adrenaline surged through her body.

“It’s a feeling like I’ve never had before and can’t imagine ever having again,” says Ives, a member of the Australian rowing team, which finished the competition sixth in the world. “Excitement heightened my senses and mingled with a deep sense of knowing and inner calm.”

Rowers engage in two main styles of rowing: sweep rowing and sculling. In sweep rowing, each rower plies one oar, using both hands. It’s usually done in pairs, fours, and eights. In sculling, each rower works two oars, one with each hand. It’s most often done in singles, doubles, and quads.

Ives had never touched an oar until she took up rowing in her first year at Lewis & Clark. An injury had previously ended her 12-year gymnastics career, so she was seeking an outlet for her athletic talents. At the college she participated in sweep rowing in four- and eight-person teams while pursuing an English major.

“I’d heard that rowing was a sport you could pick up at a later age–and one where my height would give me an advantage,” she says. Ives is five feet nine inches tall.

During Ives’ first year as a rower, Lewis & Clark’s coach was Hilary Gehman, who went on to compete in the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Summer Games. “She was my inspiration for wanting to someday go to the Olympics,” says Ives.

Two years after graduation, Ives moved to Sydney, Australia, and joined a competitive rowing club. “I started sculling using two oars in a single scull,” she says. “A single is much heavier than rowing an eight. But I slowly got used to it and grew stronger.”

Under the guidance of Nick Garratt, a renowned Australian coach with an impressive international and Olympic coaching history, Ives took the leap from intermediate to elite-level rowing.

In the months leading up to the Beijing games, she and her teammates trained every day except Sunday: two intense rowing sessions in the morning, topped off by weight training or 90 minutes of cross training–biking or running–in the afternoon.

Ives held the “stroke” seat, closest to the bow. With her back to her teammates, she was primarily responsible for setting up and maintaining a good rhythm.

“Rowing is the ultimate team sport,” she says. “It’s extremely physical and requires endless hours of endurance training to prepare for a six- or seven-minute race that pushes you to your absolute limits. However, I find these limits are often more mental than physical.”

On a purely aesthetic level, Ives loves the movement of rowing.

“It’s fluid and explosive all in one stroke,” she says. “And the natural beauty we observe out on the water is breathtaking.”

Now that the rigors of the Olympics are behind her, Ives plans to take a few months off from rowing. “Regardless of whether I continue to row internationally, I will stick with the sport for fun and exercise,” says Ives. “I hope it’s something I’ll do for many years to come.”

–by Pattie Pace

Births.

To Jacob Kosman B.A. ‘89 and Julie Urvater CAS ‘88, daughter Celia, in February. Celia joins brother Noah, 2.

To Jennifer LeBoutillier B.A. ‘96 and Stephen LeBoutillier B.A. ‘00, son Walter Blaine LeBoutillier, April 25. He joins brother Harrison.

To Nicole Arthurs Caputo B.A. ‘00 and husband Andres, daughter Gabriella Elizabeth Caputo, January 31.

To Sarah Laufer B.A. ‘01 and Justin Rae B.A. ‘00, son Avery Laufer-Rae, March 12, 2007.

To James Nelson J.D. ‘04 and wife Jessie Norris, son Gunnar James, January 3.

For someone who holds a prestigious appointment at a premier cancer research center, Brad Cairns spends a lot of time staring at zebra fish.

For someone who holds a prestigious appointment at a premier cancer research center, Brad Cairns spends a lot of time staring at zebra fish.

These aren’t just any zebra fish, however, and Cairns doesn’t regard them with the mesmerized gaze of an aquarium aficionado. When he studies them, he is researching how gene activation and suppression differ in cancer cells versus normal cells, how that difference leads to tumor growth, and how to design targeted therapies that may restore healthy cell development.

It’s research that puts him at the forefront of critical inquiry, and it demands collaboration, rigorous technique, and innovative thinking–qualities he first honed as a chemistry major at Lewis & Clark.

Two professors in particular provided “exceptionally important and formative scientific experiences” that helped shape his career. Chemistry professor Jim Duncan immersed Cairns in the rigorous technical demands of formal research, and Pamplin Professor of Science Janis Lochner introduced him to molecular biology and the world of interdisciplinary thinking. “The professors at Lewis & Clark provide inspiring teaching and training,” he says. “They are fully engaged in the forefront of scientific and medical research and knowledge.”

Building on his Lewis & Clark experiences, Cairns earned his Ph.D. at Stanford, with Nobel laureate Roger Kornberg as his advisor, and did postdoctoral research at Harvard. He is now a professor in the department of oncological sciences at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute.

His research has been covered in several scientific journals and earned him a prized appointment as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator in 2000. HHMI support has given him the freedom to take innovative approaches in unraveling the complex mechanisms and processes that contribute to leukemia, colon cancer, and developmental defects, especially in children.

So why study zebra fish?

Cairns and his colleagues had determined the ways genes switch on and off in normal development in the one-celled organism popularly known as baker’s yeast. Eager to extend their work to more complex organisms, they partnered with other researchers at Huntsman using zebra fish to study genes associated with blood-borne cancers.

“Collaboration is essential because many of our biggest discoveries and breakthrough moments come at the boundaries–the areas where different disciplines intersect,” says Cairns of his work with his colleagues. “We had isolated key factors that control gene expression in yeast cells–factors that have nearly identical counterparts in zebra fish and human cells. We have the tools to knock out and manipulate these factors in zebra fish and examine their impact on cell growth and cancer, and these tools are not readily available in human cells.”

The research is one more step in a long road toward building “a toolbox of concepts that can be applied to cancer formation in human cells,” says Cairns. “As cancer researchers, we’re all part of that process.”

–by Deanna Oothoudt

Class Notes: 1950s

1958

Elizabeth Zink Gordon B.A. ’58 writes in a note with a donation, “I have been enriched these last 50 years through my college experience”–including meeting her husband, Darryl Gordon B.A. ’55, who taught in the Springfield schools for 30 years. Highlights of her time at L&C included “Contemporary Poetry and Romantic Literature with Dr. Dusenbery, Shakespeare with Dr. Brooks, biology with Dr. Kozloff, Greek with Dr. Anderson, oil painting with Alice Asmar, and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.” She concludes, “Scholarships and stipends made college possible for me.”

Class Notes: 1960s

1966

David Waterbury B.A. has spent most of his time since graduation in Japan. Between 1966 and 1971 he taught English in language schools in Tokyo and Nagasaki, with a part-time teaching position at Nagasaki University. From 1971 to 1973 he taught part time in Portland-area schools. He went back to Japan, to Sapporo, for about a year before returning stateside to get his master of arts in English at Portland State University. He was an instructor in English at Sapporo Medical College from 1975 to 1984, when he moved to Okayama, where he is now a professor of English and chairs the foreign languages department at Kawasaki Medical School.

1967

Ray Benner J.D. has joined the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt as of counsel. He focuses his practice in employee benefits law, specializing in qualified retirement plans. He has practiced law for 41 years, most recently with Benner & Associates in Portland. Benner has written numerous articles for professional and legal publications and coauthored Qualified Retirement Plans, published by National Law Publishing. In addition, he lectures and has taught courses in the qualified retirement plan for several organizations. Benner is a member of the Western Pension Benefits Conference and the ABA Section on Taxation, as well as an adjunct member of the Employee Benefits Committee of the ABA.

1968

Michael Peterson B.A. says, “‘Kaitiaki’ is a Maori word that connotes ownership of the earth. It is a spiritual concept and might translate roughly to ‘gardener’ in the best sense. In that spirit, we’ve just released our website, wikigardens.com–a unique combination of serious gardener/landscaper/geek. Who knows where this will lead, but if you’re a serious gardener, drop by and let us know what you think.”

Class Notes: 1970s

1972

Marcia Munson B.A. recently started teaching a course in wilderness skills at Santa Rosa (California) Junior College. The course was inspired by her participation in Lewis & Clark’s 1970 Northwest-Hawaii field study program, and her recent backpacking on the Pacific Crest Trail.

1975

Emil Berg J.D. has become of counsel to Greener Burke Shoemaker in Boise, where his practice emphasizes appeals, civil motions, and insurance coverage issues in the state and federal courts of Oregon and Idaho. During his 32-year career, Berg has handled more than 150 appellate matters.

Marla Carlson B.A. earned her Ph.D. in theatre from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, in 2002. Her article “Looking, Listening, and Remembering: Ways to Walk New York after 9/11” won the 2007 David Keller Award from the American Society for Theatre Research. Her husband, Tony Dardis, teaches philosophy at Hofstra University, where their son Eli starts college in fall 2008 just as she starts a new job as assistant professor of theatre at the University of Georgia.

Gary Grenley J.D. has been elected to the board of directors of Oregon Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), a nonprofit organization devoted to assisting children in Multnomah and Washington counties who are abused or neglected. Grenley has been a CASA volunteer for nearly four years. For over 30 years, he has devoted his practice to business litigation, primarily in the areas of real estate, construction, and financial investments. He was recently recognized as one of Oregon’s “super lawyers,” an honor received by only 5 percent of Oregon’s lawyers. Grenley is cofounder of the Portland business law firm Grenley, Rotenberg, Evans, Bragg & Bodie.

Christine Lorentz-Gustafson B.A. received PMP certification from the Project Management Institute in spring 2008. From Portland State University, she received the advanced project management certificate also in spring 2008.

1976

Brian Gavin B.S. has returned to Portland after serving on U.S. senatorial and congressional staffs from Portland to Arizona to Indiana, and most recently for Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland. He earned his law degree from Whittier College School of Law in Los Angeles. Please feel welcome to write him at ckcbpg@yahoo.com.

1977

Cliff Bentz J.D. was the unanimous selection of the 12 county commissioners of Malheur, Baker, Harney, and Grant counties to fill the Oregon House of Representatives District 60 seat formerly held by Representative Tom Butler. Bentz served in the special session of the legislature that ended February 22. He is a senior partner at the firm Yturri Rose in Ontario.

Catherine Dowdle B.A. received a joint master of divinity degree from the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont and the Claremont School of Theology in May 2007. She was ordained to the sacred order of deacons in the Episcopal Church in December 2006 and ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in June 2007. She is a priest in charge of Christ the King Episcopal Church in Alpine, California.

1978

James Robertson B.A., since graduation, has worked as a Presbyterian minister, an insurance salesman (not the same thing), and an English teacher. He’s lived in Northern and Southern California, Tacoma, Denver, and Osaka, Japan. He’s married and “trying to help raise two wonderful but challenging daughters. Life has been mostly good.” In 1995, he says, he “morphed into a corporate lawyer (now a partner) in the Los Angeles office of Sidley Austin–a large international law firm. From 2000 to 2005 we lived in Tokyo, which was a wonderful place to raise a family.”

Vincent Salvi J.D. has been appointed senior assistant attorney general in the natural resources section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice.

Nancy Tauman J.D. is now of counsel to Jordan Schrader Ramis. After nearly 30 years of practice, her current area of focus is exclusively arbitration and mediation.

1979

Phyllis Oster B.A. was project manager for the successful application of Pacific Northwest College of Art to the U.S. Department of Education to acquire the 500 N.W. Broadway Building in Portland. The building, given to the college under a 100 percent public benefit allowance at no cost, will play a major role in the school’s expansion plans.

Class Notes: 1980s

1981

Marianne Schimelfenig J.D. became general counsel for Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She has been practicing law in higher education since 1990, most recently as general counsel for Saint Mary’s College of California. Prior to that, Schimelfenig was a trial lawyer in the office of the general counsel for the regents of the University of California.

1983

Amy Alpern J.D. has joined Littler Mendleson as a shareholder. She focuses primarily on litigation and has tried numerous employment cases. Before joining Littler, Alpern was a shareholder with Amburgey & Rubin.

Paul Roth B.A. was named Businessperson of the Year for 2007 by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce in recognition of his community involvement. Roth owns and operates two businesses in the Eugene-Springfield area–Roaring Rapids Pizza Company and Camp Putt Adventure Golf Park.

John Schneider Jr. B.A. is president of W.D. Larson Companies in Bloomington, Minnesota, a dealer network for Peterbilt trucks. He and wife Rachel, married for 20 years, have two sons, John III, 11, and Jake, 7.

Douglas Stringer J.D. has rejoined the office of the prosecutor as a senior trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He worked there as a trial attorney from 1997 to 2002.

1984

Kay Wakefield Abramowitz J.D. has been awarded a certificate in family business advising with fellow status from the Family Firm Institute. The certificate with fellow status recognizes extensive experience and commitment to the field of family business advising. In her work as attorney and shareholder at Buckley LeChevallier in Lake Oswego, Abramowitz concentrates on estate planning, estate and trust administration, entity formation, and business advising with a special focus on family-owned businesses.

Barry Paisner J.D. has had an article published in the New Mexico Law Review. The piece, coauthored by Michelle Haubert-Barela, is titled “Correcting the Imbalance: The New Mexico Public Employee Bargaining Act and the Statutory Rights Provided to Public Employees” and can be found in the spring 2007 (Vol. 37 No. 2) issue of the review.

Cynthia Scharf B.A. has been blessed with an interesting, unpredictable journey since college, one that has taken her from Moscow, working as a journalist during the Gorby era, to Washington, D.C., London, Geneva, and now New York, where she is a speechwriter for the U.N.’s top humanitarian aid official. The best part, she says, has been her companions along the way, including her husband, Vladimir, and 14-year-old daughter, Nadezhda.

Dave Tilton J.D. has been appointed a commissioner for the Coos-Curry Housing Authority. He has also been elected president of the Bay Area Rotary Club for 2009–10. Tilton continues his law practice in Coos Bay.

1987

Peter Meza J.D. has been appointed to counsel at Hogan & Hartson in the firm’s Colorado Springs office. His legal practice focuses on intellectual property matters for U.S. and international semiconductor and high-technology electronics clients.

Helen Tompkins J.D. has joined the Lake Oswego firm of Buckley LeChevallier as senior counsel. Her practice focuses on civil appeals and complex civil litigation cases, both commercial and consumer. A former contact hearings officer for the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners, Tompkins is a member of the Oregon State Bar’s Products Liability Executive Committee and vice president of the board of directors for Pacific Youth Choir.

1988

Blair Bobier J.D. has joined the Reynolds Law Firm in Corvallis. He continues his work representing community groups, charter schools, and nonprofit organizations. Bobier served as media director for the Green Party’s 2004 presidential campaign and played an instrumental role in initiating the unprecedented statewide recount of presidential ballots in Ohio that year. In 1998, he was nominated as the first gubernatorial candidate of the Pacific Green Party of Oregon.

Leslie Ervin B.A. who lives with her husband, Chris Ervin, in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, says, “I somehow managed to retire–staying at home sure is nice!”

1989

Jacob Kosman B.A. and Julie Urvater CAS ‘88 live with their two children (see Births,) in Seattle, where Jacob works in software and Julie works in patent law.

David Weigel B.A. is living and working in Portland, for the last 10 years as vice president of marketing for Ecos, an environmental services firm. He still makes music and spends quality time with his two amazing kids.

Class Notes: 1990s

1990

William Hills B.A. recently transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, where he is the security attache. Previous postings were in Luanda, Bujumbura, and Berlin.

Cameron Shayegi B.A., who moved back to the States in November 2007, has found the transition smoother than he expected after living for 13 years in Asia, in Pusan, Korea; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Jakarta, Indonesia; Qingdao and Guangzhou, China; and finally Bangkok, Thailand.

1991

Dagmar Butte J.D. has been named a partner at Parker, Bush & Lane. She continues to advise clients on family and business immigration. Butte is an elected member of the board of governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, chair of AILA’s Removal/Detention/Due Process Committee, cochair of AILA’s Fee Increase Model Regulatory Comment Committee, and a member of its Publications Committee.

Jess Ford B.S. and wife Laura Ford B.A. have moved to Weatherford, Texas (west of Fort Worth). You can reach them through Lewis & Clark’s online alumni directory.

Michael Winans B.A. has changed his last name from Sterzel to Winans. His new e-mail address is  michaelwinans714@yahoo.com. He would like to hear from L&C friends.

1992

Charles Dunn B.A. is in his sixth year teaching at Linfield College. Now tenured, he was promoted to associate professor of mathematics this fall. He and Scott Hohman, his partner of 10 years, recently registered as domestic partners in Oregon.

Joelle Jensen B.A. spends her free time freelance writing for magazines and clients. The rest of her time is spent caring for her two children, Ripley (born in 2005) and Koen (born in 2007). Her husband, Edward, is in the U.S. Navy. They live in Hawaii.

Wendy Lucker B.A. says, “One of the things I learned at Lewis & Clark College and cherish to this day is the skill of critical thinking. As a counselor working primarily with youth at risk, I enjoy teaching and empowering people to use this skill. I fell in love with Oregon while attending Lewis & Clark and now call Bend home.”

Barry Needleman J.D. has been named chair of the management committee of the full-service McLane Law Firm in New Hampshire. Needleman has been practicing in the firm’s environmental department since 1993 and has been a director since 2000.

Jennifer Castle Rotar B.A. balances her home-based freelance Web design business with a joyful family life in Berthoud, Colorado. In January she received the Berthoud Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year award for donating Web services to several community organizations, including Berthoud Cares, a fund-raising effort for two young men who lost their legs in a 2007 auto accident. The Berthoud Cares website was featured in the May 2007 issue of Parade magazine.

1993

Ingrid Brydolf J.D. has been named a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine. Brydolf specializes in health law at the firm’s Portland office.

Brigitta Lee B.A. finished her Ph.D. in East Asian studies at Princeton University in 2007 and is now an assistant professor of premodern Chinese literature at the University of Arizona.

1994

Mitchell Milby J.D. formed Clark Ashworth Milby in Dallas, Texas, in 2006. The firm consists of five attorneys and its practice areas include corporate/transactional law and litigation. Milby focuses on the defense of design professionals. He is currently the legal columnist for the American Institute of Architects’ bimonthly magazine, Columns.

J.D. Williams J.D. was appointed to a two-year term as an appellate judge for the Grand Ronde Tribal Court. Williams specializes in Indian and energy law in Oregon and Washington.

1995

Shoshana Gordon-Knight B.A. lives in Portland with her husband and two daughters. A personal trainer and life-style coach, she especially enjoys working with youth on issues to do with eating and exercising healthfully.

Joshua Norman B.A. is happily living with partner Elizabeth in Cincinnati, Ohio. He works around the globe doing design research and strategy for long-term innovation plans with Procter and Gamble, currently focusing on baby care products and sustainability programs. He still draws and takes pictures constantly and sculpts when he can. He reports, “My LC history degree paired with an M.F.A. in industrial design is oddly complementary, combining research, creative/lateral thinking, design execution, and clear written communication. History and industrial design … who knew?”

Tristan Nunez B.A. plans to explore academic and practical interests in ecology and environmental conflict resolution in graduate school in 2008 and 2009, and is currently in the great Pacific Northwest.

Leslie Perkins B.A. works for Farmers Conservation Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to finding, developing, and implementing resource solutions for rural communities. He is also serving in his second term as a Hood River County commissioner. Hood River County has been working to develop community renewable energy projects and has completed a resource assessment for the entire county. Their goal is to produce more renewable energy within the county than the county consumes.

1996

Jennifer LeBoutillier B.A. ‘96 and Stephen LeBoutillier B.A. ‘00 note that their newest addition, Walter (see Births) is growing fast and working out so he can start wrestling his big brother, Harrison. Only a couple more years until they will both be walking the paths of L&C, says Stephen.

Harlan Levy J.D. has been named the Oregon director of the National Federation of Independent Business. He previously served as government affairs director for the Oregon Association of Realtors.

1997

Mitch Baker J.D. has been elected to partnership at Fisher & Phillips in the firm’s Portland office. He has defended a variety of employers in labor and employment law matters in both state and federal courts, as well as before state and federal agencies. Baker is a frequent speaker at local and regional employment law seminars and has authored desk book chapters on federal civil litigation and civil trial procedure for the Oregon State Bar.

Jonathan Chinn B.A. works for an environmental consulting firm in Seattle, where he lives with his wife, whom he met in graduate school in California, and their year-old daughter.

Richelle Luther J.D. has been appointed chief governance officer and corporate secretary for NW Natural. She had served as assistant corporate secretary since joining the company in 2002, focusing primarily on corporate governance and financial reporting issues. In her new role, Luther has sole responsibility for board and corporate governance matters. Previously, Luther was a corporate attorney with Stoel Rives. She served on the board of the March of Dimes from 2003 to 2007 and is a mentor to current law students. She was recognized in 2006 as one of the Business Journal’s “Forty under 40.”

Holly Somers J.D. has been appointed presiding administrative law judge of the hearings division of the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board. Somers is chair-elect of the OSB Workers’ Compensation Section.

1998

Emily Cotton B.A. is a therapist living in rural southern Wisconsin. She does in-home family therapy for children with severe emotional difficulties and their families. She has a 2-year-old son named Sam.

Mackenzie Howard B.A. received her Ph.D. in February from the physiology and biophysics department at the University of Washington.

Class Notes: 2000s

2000

Jason Ayres J.D. has joined the law firm of Farleigh Wada Witt as an associate. His practice emphasizes commercial litigation, creditors’ rights, and bankruptcy.

Nicole Arthurs Caputo B.A. has been working as an HIV case manager at OHSU/Partnership Project for almost four years. She and husband Andres have been married since August 2002. (See also Births.)

Emily Davis B.A. ‘00, M.A.T. ‘02 is in her last year of Ph.D. work in curriculum and instruction at the University of Virginia and is the coordinator of a mentoring program for beginning teachers in a local school district. She lives with her husband, Jason Davis, near Charlottesville.

Cameron Hays B.A. recently found himself teaching American history, world history, government, geography, and music history at September High School (a school he attended briefly himself) in Boulder, Colorado. As the only social studies teacher at the school, he says, he is now the “default chair of the social studies department.”

Stephen LeBoutillier B.A. ‘00 and Jennifer LeBoutillier B.A. ‘96 note that their newest addition, Walter (see Births) is growing fast and working out so he can start wrestling his big brother, Harrison. Only a couple more years until they will both be walking the paths of L&C, says Stephen, who is associate director of Alumni and Parent Programs at Lewis & Clark.

Tim Revett B.A. earned his master of arts in teaching at George Fox University in 2003. He taught Spanish at Gregory Heights Middle School in northeast Portland for four years. Currently he serves as a missionary, teaching at Nuevo Horizonte School, in a suburb of Asuncion, Paraguay.

Rob Smith J.D. has joined the Seattle office of Ater Wynne as of counsel. He has served as counsel to numerous Indian tribes and is an adjunct professor of federal Indian law at Seattle University School of Law. Smith works with tribes throughout the Pacific Northwest, Southwest, and Oklahoma, advising Indian tribal clients and those doing business in Indian country on all aspects of federal law, including economic development, natural and cultural resource protection, taxation, tribal sovereignty, and gaming.

Cam Tredennick J.D. has joined Western Rivers Conservancy and opened a WRC office in Sacramento. Half his work takes place in California, half in other Western states. Prior to WRC, Tredennick worked for 15 years in land conservation law, public land management, and land acquisition, most recently as a project director for the Nature Conservancy in San Diego.

2001

Tonya Alexander J.D., owner of the Alexander Law Office, practices family law in Beaverton. She focuses on cooperative and collaborative family law cases in the tricounty area.

Jason Guchereau B.A. is in the MBA+ program at Portland State University. (See also Marriages.)

Kent Hymel B.A. is in his fourth year of the economics Ph.D. program at the University of California at Irvine. He spends most of his free time gardening, cooking, and playing soccer with his wife, Julia Boehm B.A. ‘03, but has also taken up sailing keelboats and golf.

Kristian Roggendorf J.D. has been named a partner at the Portland firm O’Donnell Clark & Crew. His areas of focus include condemnation law; environmental compliance and administrative law; initiative and election law; governmental relations; civil rights litigation in the areas of education, property, and firearm rights; and obtaining justice for the victims of child sexual abuse.

Ian Townley B.A., winding up four years of dissertation research at the University of California at Santa Barbara, is just about finished with school … “for good this time! My wife and I will be moving to where we can both find jobs. So, who knows … the world is our oyster and we brought sauce!”

2002

William Allen B.A. and wife Katie, married for more than three years, live in Portland. He is with American General Financial Services and she works for BPN in Portland. He would welcome a note or visit from friends.

Susan Cohen B.A. moved 3,000-plus miles southeast in August 2007 and now lives in Durham, North Carolina. She works as a mental health therapist with children and their families and is enjoying the sunshine and seasons immensely.

Lorne Dauenhauer J.D. has been elected a shareholder at Lane Powell. Dauenhauer practices exclusively in the areas of employee benefits, ERISA, and executive compensation.

Sean Driscoll J.D. has joined the Portland office of Fisher & Phillips as an associate. Previously, he practiced labor and employment litigation law with a Salem firm. Driscoll’s practice includes the defense of claims involving discrimination and harassment, wage and hour laws, and disability and leave laws. He also assists employers with the enforcement of non-competition agreements and prosecuting Trade Secrets Act violations.

2003

John Crenshaw-Gardner B.A., having earned his master’s degree in education from Iowa State University, has accepted a position as assistant director of residence life at Truman State University. He and wife Tarasa Gardner are looking forward to their new life in Kirksville, Missouri.

Perry Heitman J.D. has formed Perry Heitman Attorney in downtown Portland. He provides business, real estate, and commercial law and litigation services for individuals and corporate clients, as well as contract services to the legal community.

Jonas Lerman B.A. is enjoying law school at the University of California at Berkeley more than he’d expected he would. This summer, he worked for a federal judge on the U.S. District Court. He can be reached at  jonas@jonaslerman.com.

Christopher Lombard J.D. has been named legal editor for Portland-based Business Valuation Resources, which provides specialized information publishing geared toward the business valuation industry.

Suzanne Newman J.D. has become a permanent member of the Multnomah County office of Legal Aid Services of Oregon, where she works as office administrator.

Patricia Pearson B.A., after earning her master’s in history from the University of Texas at Austin, moved to Seattle in summer 2007. She shares an apartment with Jason Voss B.A. ‘05 (“but we are not dating!”) and her cat, Monkey.

Erin Haick B.A. ‘03 and Amanda Gassett B.A. ‘04 live in the same apartment building, and she also sees Anna Bellersen B.A. ‘03 often. During 2007 she worked with now-deceased history professor David Savage on his final manuscript, which she is committed to continuing. She has a chapter in a book on the Atlantic world coming out this year, is working for Seattle University, and is preparing to return to graduate school in 2009. She welcomes any clarifying questions.

Zackary Ross B.A. completed his master’s degree in educational theatre at New York University in September 2007 and begins doctoral study in theatre history this fall.

Sheree Rybak J.D. has been elected to partnership at Klarquist Sparkman in the firm’s Portland office. Her practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications, with an emphasis in the fields of biotechnology and plants.

Courtney Winkfield B.A. helped to open a brand-new public high school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in 2006. The school, Academy for Young Writers, focuses on writing and publishing throughout the disciplines. She taught 9th- and 10th-grade English there for two years before becoming assistant principal this summer. She lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, with husband David and their chocolate lab, Garp.

2004

Casia Freitas B.A. has moved back home to California to begin a new job as a researcher at the New Teacher Center at the University of California at Santa Cruz. She misses the Red Sox and the T, but enjoys living a block from the Pacific Ocean. Over the past year she has been collaborating on a forthcoming book on strategic philanthropy.

Ursula Kienbaum J.D. has joined Littler Mendleson as an associate. Previously, she was an associate at Amburgey & Rubin.

Rachel Rogers Safadi B.A. (see Marriages) lives in Saratoga, California, and is a marriage and family therapist at EMQ Children and Family Services.

Stephanie Thompson J.D. has joined the Oregon Department of Justice in the business transactions section.

2005

Amy Jamieson J.D. has joined the Portland firm McDowell & Rackner as an associate. She previously practiced energy and telecommunications law at Ater Wynne.

2006

James Harreld B.A., immediately after graduating, took a job as a consultant for IBM. He works with the Institute for Business Value, providing thought leadership on the Chinese marketplace. Based in Beijing, he expects to continue to develop a career in Asia.

Kristin May J.D. has been appointed assistant attorney general in the natural resources section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice. She joins the department after working with a private law firm in Lake Oswego.

Amy Miller J.D. has joined Multnomah Defenders Incorporated in Portland. Previously, she worked as a staff attorney for the Juvenile Rights Project.

James Murphy J.D. has been appointed assistant attorney general in the natural resources section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice. Previously, he clerked for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the U.S. Department of the Interior, as well as private firms.

Nicholas Strychacz B.A. is working toward his master’s degree in international economics and European studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Natalia Yegorova J.D. has been elected to the board of advisors of the World Affairs Council of Oregon. Yegorova is an associate with Black Helterline.

2007

Jessica Asai J.D. has joined Farleigh Wada Witt as an associate in their Portland office. She is a member of the firm’s corporate, securities, and employment practice groups. Previously Asai clerked for the firm for two years.

Marjorie Berger J.D. has joined Harrang Long Gary Rudnick in its Portland office as an associate. Her focus is business and litigation. In 2006, Berger was awarded the American Bankruptcy Institute Medal of Excellence.

Scott Devlin B.A. has relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he is textbook manager for Barnes & Noble College Booksellers at St. Mary’s College of California. He misses the Portland area and Palatine Hill especially.

Erik Eklund J.D. has joined the Southern Oregon Public Defenders in Medford.

Mami Fujii J.D. has joined Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt as an associate in their Portland office. She has taught in race and ethnicity education and directed social science research projects. Fujii is a member of the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association and the Multnomah Bar Association. Her practice focuses on tax and estate planning.

Susan Graf J.D. has joined Klarquist Sparkman as an associate in the Portland office. Her practice focuses on patent preparation and prosecution.

Noah Horst J.D. has joined the Metropolitan Public Defender and works in their Multnomah County office.

Peter Janci J.D. has joined the Portland firm O’Donnell, Clark & Crew as an associate. He works primarily with new partner Steve Crew in the firm’s business and commercial litigation practice area and also assists partner Kelly Clark on public law cases.

Connie Kong J.D. has joined Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt as an associate in their Portland office. Her practice focuses on intellectual property.

Diane Lloyd J.D. has been appointed assistant attorney general in the natural resources section of the general counsel division with the Oregon Department of Justice.

In Memoriam.

1940s

Clifford Comisky J.D. ‘40, February 16, age 91. He attended the law school’s evening program and passed the Oregon bar in 1940. Comisky began his career as a police officer in Portland and was a Multnomah County assistant district attorney for two years. In 1947 he joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers legal staff. He worked there for 32 years and was named Federal Man of the Year for Oregon in 1958. After retiring to Cannon Beach, he served as a municipal court judge for 10 years. Comisky always found time for professional, charitable, fraternal, civic, and religious activities, both in Portland and at the coast.

George Palmer B.A. ‘40, February 11, age 95. Palmer was born and raised in Idaho and earned a degree from Cascade College before attending Lewis & Clark. He taught business, economics, and sociology while serving as business manager at Cascade College from 1938 until 1957. He was business manager for an architectural firm from 1957 to 1960, then joined Far West Federal Savings in 1960, retiring as assistant vice president in the loan department in 1976. Palmer enjoyed softball, golf, badminton, racquetball, and photography and was active as a recorded minister in the Friends Church.

Marguerite Ordway Nicholson B.A. ‘46, March 13, age 88, of complications from a stroke. She and her husband, Rev. John Nicholson, were Baptist missionaries after World War II in Japan. They raised their family there and she taught music and he taught English. Her lifelong dedication to music dated to the age of 4, when she learned to play the piano. On furlough from missionary work in Japan, she earned a master’s degree in sacred music at Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1961. In her later years she played and sang in retirement homes, continuing despite health challenges until the end of her life.

Edwin “Ted” Smith B.A. ‘48, May 4, age 83. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps in Europe. After the war, he returned to Portland, where he was an expeditor for Topline Equipment. He moved to Centralia, Washington, in 2007.

George William Hudson B.A. ‘49, March 29, age 82. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He moved in 1970 to Canby, where he owned Hiway Auto Parts and later sold real estate. He served on the Canby Utility Board.

1950s

Eugene Cook B.A. ‘50, January 28, age 80. He earned his master’s degree from the University of Oregon and pursued a career in education. He taught in elementary school in the David Douglas School District, became a principal, and retired in 1984. He also found time to coach Tri-County Junior Baseball in Rockwood for six years in the ’60s, leading his teams to the state playoffs each of those years, winning the tournament twice and finishing second twice. In his retirement, Cook continued to mentor new school administrators, played golf, and volunteered in his community and church.

Edward Arndt B.A. ‘51, March 2, age 88, of a stroke. During World War II, he served in the Army in Europe and North Africa, winning the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for action during the Battle of the Bulge. He was a longshoreman for the Pacific Maritime Association.

Charles “Bud” Stolte Jr. B.A. ‘51, February 6, age 80. He was a fleet salesman for Francis Ford, retiring after 27 years.

Stanley Clark B.A. ‘52, April 21, age 78. He was a stockbroker for more than 30 years, first with Foster & Marshall and later with Smith Barney. He and his wife, Patricia Boals Clark B.S. ‘52 (now deceased), raised four sons in a farmhouse in Washington and were active in community affairs. He especially loved sailing and sharing sea adventures with his family.

Joan Hill B.A. ‘52, April 10, age 77. She was a turkey rancher, a real estate agent and developer, and a charter pilot and had two sons. In 1981 she married John W. Hill.

Dean Alexander Binn B.A. ‘54, April 19, age 76. He served in the Army and for 25 years was an account executive for TransAmerica Insurance.

Perry Johnson B.S. ‘54, March 25, age 88, in Wasilla, Alaska. He earned a Purple Heart while serving in the Navy during World War II. He was a teacher and a school principal in California and Oregon before moving to Alaska in 1969 to continue his career in educational administration.

John Meves DeKoning B.A. ‘56, March 28, age 75, in Palm Springs, California. Born in Australia, DeKoning grew up in Portland and served in the U.S. Air Force. His career spanned 45 years working for the textile companies Jantzen and Wamsutta, and finally owning the Desert Bootery in Palm Springs. After retiring in 1990 he kept busy with computers and photography.

John Dougherty B.S ‘58, March 13, age 73. He served in the Navy from 1952 to 1954. After a long career at the Clackamas County Juvenile Department, he retired in 1997 as its assistant director. He enjoyed vacationing at the Oregon coast, cooking, listening to classical music, and collecting Northwest Native American art and literature.

Robert Sells B.A. ‘58, March 19, age 81, of Alzheimer’s disease. He served in the Navy during World War II in the Mediterranean. After graduating from Lewis & Clark, Sells worked as a sales representative in the photo finishing industry. In 1965, he and his wife, Clarana, opened K&K Color Lab; they operated it for 25 years. Three of their children continue to own and operate the business in Sellwood. Sells enjoyed hunting, fishing, and gardening.

1960s

Earl Martin Benson B.A. ‘63, November 26, 2007, age 68. Benson went from singing in the school choir at Jefferson High School to become a pivotal presence in Portland’s coffeehouse/folk scene in the 1960s, where he sang and played autoharp. At the 9th Street Exit coffeehouse, with Steve Bradley and Bill Wyatt, he formed the Sleezy Pieces, one of Portland’s legendary bands of the ’70s. Benson was a prolific songwriter and the band performed over a hundred of his originals. Sleezy Pieces fans will remember Earl, stage left, shades on, cigarette in hand, dancing to the music.

Kathryn Nilles B.A. ‘68, January 16, age 61, of cancer. She taught music in elementary schools in the Ashland School District and later devoted her life to raising her children. She loved singing, sunshine, and reading.

Thomas Boyle B.A. ‘69, March 12, age 61, of cancer. He worked as a teacher and coach at West Linn High School, and ran the family automotive business for many years before retiring to spend time with family and friends. In 2006, he was inducted into the Lewis & Clark Sports Hall of Fame along with other members of the 1966 football team.

1970s

Dennis Henninger J.D. ‘70, October 15, 2007, age 68, of cancer. He was a self-employed Lake Oswego personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney. After serving in the U.S. Army in Texas and Korea from 1957 to 1960 Henninger attended Portland State University and then the law school while working for Standard Oil. An active member in Tualatin Rotary, he was named a Paul Harris fellow. He also volunteered with Franciscan Enterprises to rehabilitate homes and with St. Vincent de Paul’s food bank, taught English as a second language at church, and sang in his church choir and the University of Portland Community Choir.

Linda Newman Johannsen B.A. ‘72, J.D. ‘90, March 11, age 57, of ovarian cancer. She met her husband, Cliff Johannsen B.S. ‘71, M.Ed. ‘74, on an overseas program to Austria; they were married in 1971 and raised two daughters. After earning her law degree she worked as a bankruptcy attorney. In 2006 Johannsen was honored with an award of merit by the debtor-creditor section of the Oregon State Bar for her work in bankruptcy law. A volunteer with the Cascade AIDS Project and Outside In, she was also an avid reader of mystery novels, enjoyed many kinds of music, liked to travel, and especially loved white-water rafting.

Dana Taylor J.D. ‘77, in January, age 57. Taylor was a litigator for Duffy Kekel and a legal champion for children with special needs. He enjoyed photography, exotic travel, sailing, and the company of great friends. He was a member of the law school’s Alumni Board of Directors.

Jill Ellis M.Ed. ‘75: Serving the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Television anchor Kate Kelly spent 40 minutes practicing in front of the camera, determined to coordinate the sign language she had just learned with the speed and inflection of her voice.

“I don’t know how your teachers do this all day long,” she said to Jill Ellis, cofounder and executive director of the Center for Early Intervention on Deafness (CEID) in Berkeley, California.

Kelly was preparing a news segment on Ellis, who received a prestigious Jefferson Award in March for her more than 30-year commitment to detection of early hearing loss and intervention for babies, children, and families.

The Jefferson Award, founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft Jr., and Sam Beard, originated as a way of honoring public service on a national level. In 1977, the program established media partnerships to identify and celebrate local unsung heroes.

Unlike many of her colleagues, Ellis had no personal experience with deaf family or community members prior to adulthood. Instead, she traces her interest to college roommates who were taking courses in sign language and rehabilitation.

“I always had an affinity for languages,” she says. Ellis had also studied dance, so she was comfortable in her own skin. “Signing came naturally to me.”

After earning her master’s degree from Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling, she received advanced training from Good Samaritan Hospital–Infant Hearing Resource (now part of the Portland Hearing and Speech Center). She then worked with babies and parents in Oregon and California.

When California’s Proposition 13 limiting property taxes passed, Ellis recognized that funding for early special education was in jeopardy.

She and a colleague, Mary Molacavage, after obtaining a three-year federal grant from the Handicapped Child Early Education Program, launched their new family-centered program in the basement of the United Methodist Church in San Francisco.

When the grant ended and referrals from the San Francisco East Bay began to rise, they located new funding sources and moved their program to Berkeley.

Currently, the center serves about 70 babies and young children every year, but the number of people actually served–including siblings, parents, grandparents, bus drivers, nannies, and babysitters–is closer to 350, Ellis says. CEID also trains about 80 to 100 pediatric residents from several area teaching hospitals each year.

Success stories at CEID abound.

One involves 6-year-old Nicole, who came to the program with severe bilateral hearing loss. She walked around the classroom touching things, but made no eye contact and couldn’t communicate.

“She reminded us of a young Helen Keller with vision,” says Ellis. “On initial observation, we were concerned she might be autistic or cognitively delayed.”

Fortunately, Nicole turned out to be a candidate for a cochlear implant, a device that stimulates the auditory nerve.

“She’s made dramatic progress and now shows a tremendous capacity for academic success,” says Ellis. Nicole is now reading books, reciting poems, and developing close friendships with several peers. “She’s one of the many reasons my work is so rewarding.”

–by Pattie Pace

Marriages.

Jason Guchereau B.A. ‘01 and Biljana Risteska B.A. ‘03, September 2, 2006.

Rachel Rogers B.A. ‘04 and Scott Safadi, October 13, 2007, in Calistoga, California. Andrew Meade B.A. ‘04 attended.

Waugh has created more than 100,000 captivating images of water in flight–on purpose–using ultra-highspeed digital cameras and self-designed timing and flash devices.

Startled, Martin Waugh stared in wonder and disbelief. The liquid sculpture he was orchestrating suddenly shifted shape into a random yet alluring image.

“I realized a second drop of water had collided into a rising splash, and I thought, ‘That should happen on purpose,’” he says.

Seven years later, Waugh has created more than 100,000 captivating images of water in flight–on purpose–using ultra-highspeed digital cameras and self-designed timing and flash devices.

His creativity has not gone unrecognized.

Waugh has been profiled by the Discovery Channel; he’s exhibited his artwork in Paris’ acclaimed Capital of Creation trade show; and he’s received recognition from Yahoo for his website (www.liquidsculpture.com). Smirnoff Vodka ran his images of martini, highball, and whiskey “glasses” created from water in a recent advertising campaign. Not to mention the attention he’s received from photography and marketing magazines and blogs from around the world.

A scientist by training, a tinkerer by nature, and an artist by accident, Waugh says he found his way to Lewis & Clark at the suggestion of a guidance counselor at the small experimental high school he attended in Colorado.

“I was always precocious in math and had eclectic tastes and interests,” he says. “Physics caught my attention during sophomore year, and I switched majors with plans of teaching high school.”

But he didn’t find a fit in public education, so he taught himself computer programming and turned it into a lucrative 30-year career that also allowed him time to play.

Inspired by A.M. Worthington’s 1908 book, A Study of Splashes, and by Harold Edgerton of M.I.T., who invented the xenon flash tube in the 1930s, Waugh began experimenting with high-speed digital photography in the basement of his southwest Portland home.

“Serendipity and chance are my constant companions,” says Waugh, who shoots hundreds of images–making slight adjustments in timing and placement of drops of water to capture the moment he loves.

He positions a light source behind the water to mimic the way natural light reflects clouds in a mud puddle. And by adding glycerin to increase viscosity and make the water “gooier,” he’s able to catch crisp pictures of disturbances on the surface.

Setting up the equipment is the easy part, says Waugh. The challenge lies in calculating the timing and manipulating liquid. He sometimes adds food coloring or dyes to evoke a mood. With PhotoShop, he crops and cleans up the background and adjusts color balance–but refrains from using the software to manipulate shapes or adjust droplet placement.

“Physics reveals infinite beauty–if you just know where to look,” he says. “I still dance and chortle when I’m successful in creating an image I’ve envisioned in my mind.”

Along with sustaining his corporate clientele, Waugh hopes to move his work deeper into the field of fine art.

“At art shows, it always strikes me when I see people looking at my work with an expression of wonder on their faces,” says Waugh. “It’s so clear that the images tap into something pure and elemental in them. That’s unbelievably satisfying to me.”

–by Pattie Pace

Every spring and fall, waves of salmon swim up the Columbia River to spawn. Roy Elicker strives to protect, enhance, and balance their biological and habitat needs with those of other fish and wildlife–while also keeping in mind the needs of people.

“We could solve a lot of problems in the Northwest if we had more salmon,” says Roy Elicker, director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

Every spring and fall, waves of salmon swim up the Columbia River to spawn. Elicker strives to protect, enhance, and balance their biological and habitat needs with those of other fish and wildlife–while also keeping in mind the needs of people.

In mid-August, his department closed the Columbia River fall fishing season early because of complex interspecies-impact issues.

“Closing early affects a lot of people–motel, dock, and gasoline station owners and employees–and, of course, vacationers,” he says. It’s just one example of the many difficult decisions Elicker faces on the job.

Elicker has worked for ODFW since 1993, including two stints as acting director, before taking the helm in August 2007. He manages one of the five largest fish and wildlife agencies in the United States, with approximately a thousand employees and a budget of $261 million.

Planning for his dream job began at an early age.

As a young teen in the mid-1960s, he roamed throughout the wilds of central New Jersey, hunting and fishing and stoking his passion for the great outdoors. Following advice he read in wildlife and outdoor magazines, he decided to make a living doing what he loves.

Before heading to Lewis & Clark Law School in 1979, Elicker was already working in the fish and wildlife field in New Jersey. A professor at Rutgers University, where he was pursuing a master’s degree in wildlife biology, convinced him that a law degree would open doors for him.

“Making the tough decision to leave what I was doing and attend law school was a career-defining moment for me,” he says. “That training was priceless. It’s why I’m the director today.”

Understanding the nuances of state and federal laws helps him craft department policies and handle legal issues.

“When I sit down with lawyers, I have the background to ask the right questions and the insight to know how potential lawsuits might impact the department,” he says.

Another constant is budget planning. In January, ODFW will ask the Oregon State Legislature to increase fees for hunting and fishing licenses, a request Elicker doesn’t take lightly. About one-third of his budget comes from these fees. But as recreational opportunities expand each year, the number of anglers and hunters declines, putting pressure on Elicker’s budget.

His goal is to find an equitable way to apportion costs.

“The impacts of what we do go far beyond hunting and fishing,” he says. “We deal with broader issues like wind power, energy development, and water quality and quantity.”

He also wants to foster a more diverse workforce in the department and continue to present training opportunities for a staff he calls incredibly competent and committed.

“I love this job,” says Elicker. “I interact with many different types of people in some of the most beautiful areas in Oregon.”

–by Pattie Pace