'65 Forestry

Lyle Laverty is more than just an outdoorsman and registered professional forester; he is a man of professionalism, public service and leadership. Upon graduation from Humboldt State, Laverty began his 30-year career with the US Forest Service. During this time, Lyle served at the local, regional, national and even international levels, culminating in 2001 when he became the Associate Deputy Chief of the Forest Service at the USDA headquarters. While at the USFS, Laverty was involved in creating management plans to improve habitat and protect species listed under the Endangered Species Act.

From California he moved to the Rocky State to become the Director of Colorado State Parks. Under his leadership, two new state parks were created, and two more are now in the planning stage. Attendance increased substantially at the Colorado State Parks when under Laverty's guidance, including expanded opportunities for economically disadvantaged youths from urban settings to experience the great outdoors. Laverty also travelled to Lebanon several times on USAID missions at the request of the USFS and the Ambassador to Lebanon to provide technical assistance to the Lebanese on natural resource issues.

As a seasoned high performing public servant, in October 2007, Laverty was confirmed by the US Senate as the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, a position giving him the responsibility for overseeing policy for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service.

'64 & '66 Wildlife

Whether as a professional in the field of wildlife law enforcement or as a prolific writer, Terry Grosz has distinguished himself with a kind of passion, dedication, integrity and professionalism that often exemplify Humboldt State alumni. The beginning of his 32-year career in wildlife law enforcement came in 1966 with the California Department of Fish and Game in Eureka. After several years and a transfer to Colusa, he was hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), moving into increasing responsibility for conservation and wildlife law enforcement in successively larger geographic regions, from jurisdiction over the central half of Northern California to finally Assistant Regional Director for Law Enforcement where he supervised FWS's wildlife law programs covering 750,000 square miles.

When Grosz became the FWS Senior Special Agent, he wrote regulations, policy and procedures, responded to congressional inquiries, provided advice, guidance and expertise. But it wasn't just a desk job. He also traveled throughout Asia assisting foreign governments in curtailing the smuggling of wildlife and establishing cooperative international law enforcements programs. In all the various positions held by Terry, he supervised agents who protected wildlife from being smuggled or imported illegally into the US, protected eagles from being poisoned or trapped, and more.

In 1998, Grosz retired from the FWS and began a second career as a prolific writer, and has since authored and published seven books, with several more on the way. Clearly, he's got a lot of material to work with. Many of his stories have hilarious moments and hair-raising adventures, some others are sad and tragic, they are all about the men and women who work as wildlife conservation officers trying to preserve our natural heritage for future generations.

Visit Terry Grosz' website: www.terrygrosz.com

'62 Business Administration

Giving a century-old company a facelift was more than just a risky move, it was a brilliant one by Richard Cuneo. A man widely recognized for his career in the wine industry, Cuneo is currently Chairman of the Board of Sebastiani Vineyards and Winery, and credited with helping rebuild the Sebastiani image. In 2001, with Cuneo's diligent hard work and planning behind them, Sebastiani sold off its lower-priced, good value brands to focus solely on its premium wines. The upscale move gave Sebastiani just the desired boost in the market, thus establishing the name Sebastiani to be synonymous with Sonoma's finest wines.

While he may be most known for a successful and vibrant career in the wine industry, Cuneo is also strongly committed to community. Cuneo has served on the Board of Directors for several organizations including the Sonoma School Board, Hanna Boys Center, the Sonoma County Fish and Wildlife Advisory Board and the Governing Board of the California State Fair, for which he received the lifetime achievement award. Also a member of the Ducks Unlimited California Legislative Committee, Cuneo was appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to serve as a member of the U.S. Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee in Washington, D.C., representing the wine industry.

With such a large impact locally, statewide and nationally, Cuneo has also made many positive contributions to Italian culture. In honor of these accomplishments, he has been recognized by the Italian Government as a Cavaliere (Knight) Officiale, The Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta recognized him with, among other awards, the Croce di Grand 'Ufficiale Dell' Ordine (Cross of the Grand Official) one of the Order's highest honors, and in 2002, Prince Emmanuel of Savoy recognized Cuneo for his many contributions to Italy's history and culture.

'69 Economics

Richard Winnie has always had a strong sense of civic responsibility, from his college days in the political clubs of HSU all the way to advising newly-formed states in Central and Eastern Europe. In his distinguished career as an attorney, he has been solving complex regulatory problems as private and public counsel to all levels of government for over 30 years.

Recently the County Counsel to Alameda County, Winnie has also served as staff attorney to the California cities of Berkeley, Oakland, and Santa Rosa. Although his position sometimes inserted him in the middle of polarizing political debates, he consistently maintained his integrity and principles while making decisions that benefit the greater good.

In the international realm, he played a pivotal role as legal advisor on the establishment of new economic and governmental institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. He has advised such states such as Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Kazakhstan, among others.

Winnie volunteered for over 20 years with numerous organizations on projects ranging from governance models to waterfront studies. His interest in civic service dates back to his time at HSU, where he served on the Associated Students Council, volunteered with the campus Young Democrats, and gave the valedictory address to his graduating class.

'77 Journalism

Throughout his journalism career, John Diaz's work has been recognized for its excellence. Dating back to his time as a journalism student at Humboldt State, one former professor recalls, "You couldn't miss John in the classroom, given his effective in-class participation, excellent performance on assignments and sense of humor. My colleagues and I all expected greatness from him in his journalism career and he has met those expectations."

Diaz has been editor of the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial page since 1996 and has won numerous awards for editorial writing throughout his 30-year journalism career. His topics have been as diverse as the dysfunction of California Legislature, financial privacy, and untreated mental illness. Because of his reputation as an insightful communicator, he is frequently asked to offer commentary on national television news programs including NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. He has also served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize in both 2001 and 2002.

Diaz continues to give back to his profession by mentoring journalism students and young reporters in the San Francisco area. He regularly volunteers his time with young members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and served as guest Editor-in-Residence at HSU, where he critiqued the student newspaper and shared his years of experience with numerous journalism classes.

'77 Oceanography

Francisco Chavez has had an illustrious career in biological oceanography. He is a Senior Scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), where he has been on staff for 20 years.

Born and raised in Talara, Peru, Chavez graduated from HSU in 1977. At MBARI, he pioneered new types of research and played a pivotal role in that institution's success almost since its founding. He sits on numerous ocean and marine observation boards, contributing to our knowledge of and protection of coastal resources. Because HSU is also represented in many of these organizations, Chavez has directly and indirectly contributed to HSU developing effective regional collaborations.

In 2005, Chavez was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for his research on the impact of climate variability on oceanic ecosystems and global carbon cycling. Such Fellows are elected for "significant contributions in areas such as research, teaching, technology, services to professional societies, and the communication of science to the public."

'66 Forestry

Robert Powers passed though Humboldt State's Forestry program in an era when sustainable management and carbon sequestration were faint concepts. Today, the 1966 graduate is a renowned Forest Service scientist who, even in retirement, stays active in cutting-edge research.

Forests, he says, offer obvious environmental positives, from habitat to watersheds and, not inconsiderable, beauty. But he says the forests' most basic contribution is not apparent, but is basic to the well-being of the environment - locking up carbon.

"The fundamental thing that forests do is capture carbon from the atmosphere in creating vegetation," Powers says. The central question now, he says, is how modern management is affecting the land's ability to do this.

Forest soils are earth's largest terrestrial sink for atmospheric carbon. Soil, Powers says, is like an organism, with juvenile and mature stages, but with one major difference. "It takes millennia for the soil to develop," Powers says. "But poor management can degrade it in the blink of an eye."

In seeking to understand soil's survivability, Powers conceived the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Research Program. At more than 70 sites across North America, data is collected to improve our understanding of how soil changes affect plant growth and to develop means for measuring this. "Until now, it's largely been speculative and anecdotal," he says. Powers' research could yield key clues to crafting climate catastrophe countermeasures.

He credits his HSU experience with cultivating his curiosity. He initially considered U.C. Berkeley (where he eventually earned his Ph.D.), but decided on HSU for a more intimate undergraduate experience, and it paid off. "I enjoyed the hands-on experience with young, enthusiastic professors," he says. "You don't always get that at a larger university. They got students to look at the forest as more than a collection of trees."

'96 Social Work

With degrees in law and social work, a love for the natural environment and a commitment to her Yurok Tribe, Shaunna Oteka McCovey has no shortage of work.

McCovey grew up on the Yurok reservation outside Weitchpec without electricity or even telephones. So she busied herself with books.

On coming of age, she was "isolated and kind of floundering," but says, "I knew there was this big world out there and I wanted to be part of it." Then she attended Humboldt State's 1992 Commencement and saw her father graduate with his degree in social work.

"I said, 'This is what I want to do and this is where I want to go,'" McCovey remembers.

Four years later, she graduated from HSU with a bachelor's degree in social work, later earning a master's degree in social work from Arizona State.

McCovey put herself through school by working at Arcata's Seventh Generation Fund, an Indian advocacy organization. That experience helped solidify her environmental values. "I was able to understand how environmental justice impacted minority communities," she says.

She earned a master's degree in environmental law, then eagerly accepted a First Nations Environmental Law Fellowship at Vermont Law School, later graduating with a law degree.

Returning to Humboldt, McCovey taught and helped the HSU social work department develop a masters program for work in rural and native communities.

But the needs of her people beckoned, so McCovey went to work as staff attorney for the Yurok Tribe, California's largest Indian Tribe with nearly 5,000 enrolled members. In that role, she assisted with issues like the Klamath Dam removal. Now, as deputy executive director and self-governance officer, she's working to ensure that the Marine Life Protection Act respects the Native American way of life.

McCovey celebrates native culture in literature as well. A published author, her book of poetry is titled The Smokehouse Boys, and she contributed to Eating Fire, Tasting Blood: An Anthology of the American Indian Holocaust.

McCovey says that, over the years, she has enjoyed tremendous support from HSU faculty members acting as mentors.

"I'm very proud to have gone to Humboldt State, and of going back to teach there," she says. "I had a great experience."

'79 Liberal Studies/Recreation Administration

Sue Grigsby has always been a blur on the landscape, but it wasn't until she came to Humboldt State that her track career really took off.

After high school in Los Altos, Grigsby had joined a community college men's track team. It was before women's sports began gaining equality under Title IX. "I was, fortunately or unfortunately, from an era when women were just starting out," she says.

As she contemplated her next step, her coach made a fateful suggestion: "You ought to check out Humboldt." She did, and ran with it.

By the time she graduated in 1979, Grigsby had left a trail of shattered records in her wake, in 800-, 1,500-, 3,000- and 5,000-meter events. Her accomplishments earned her admission to HSU's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987.

And she's still on the move. Now a Physical Education, Health and Wellness instructor at Everett Community College, Grigsby's educational philosophy focuses less on teaching and more on leading - encouraging students to reach their personal best.

That takes creativity and energy, things the enthusiastic Grigsby has in ample supply. She might hide poems around town and ask students literally run them down, or offer cryptic clues to area landmarks for students to locate.

"In some of my classes, I'm largely a cheerleader," Grigsby says. She is also a mechanic, supplying students with the nuts and bolts of healthy living. "I don't teach 'PE,'" she says. "That sounds like you just throw out the ball and play. I teach physical education, health and wellness, where you teach the how-tos and the whys."

Grigsby looks back in gratitude to her time at Humboldt State, and has never forgotten what instructor Larry Kerker told her: "You're on a scholarship from the State of California."

She's since augmented that for today's students, setting up the Sue Grigsby Scholarship Endowment for HSU kinesiology majors and the Sue E. Grigsby Women's Distance Running Endowment.

"I help students change their lives," she says. "It feels good."

'86 '89 Forestry, MBA, Business Administration

Michael Crooke's journey through corporate boardrooms is guided by values rooted firmly in the Earth.

Growing up in Oregon, he says he was always at home in the wilderness. "I was an outdoors person, always hunting, fishing, camping and hiking."

Little wonder that he was drawn to Humboldt State's Forestry program, graduating in 1986.

"I wanted to work outdoors," he says, and so he did - for a while. His career as a forester for the Pacific Lumber Co. ended during that company's acquisition by Maxxam Corp., a corporate maneuver he found unsettling - and interesting enough to draw him indoors.

"It rattled my cage," Crooke says. "I really wanted to understand the business side."

After earning an MBA from Humboldt State in 1989, he entered the corporate world, working for local outdoor equipment manufacturers Yakima and Moonstone, and later becoming CEO of Pearl Izumi, Revolution Living, Patagonia and prAna.

Crooke has since earned a Ph.D. in management and is now a business consultant specializing in corporate turnarounds. But his environmental activism continues to inform his corporate work.

"I found that I could incorporate my personal values into business," he says. His work is guided by what he calls "a mandala approach" of four equal principles: corporate citizenship, environmental responsibility, product/service quality and strong finances.

"When you have those four corporate macro values in place, 'flow' often occurs," he says, defining "flow" as "a rare state of consciousness that focuses the energies of those who experience it and helps lift them to peak achievement levels."

Crooke remains a board member of the Earth Day Network and has served as President of the Conservation Alliance. He remains an HSU supporter and delivered a rousing keynote address at the 2008 Commencement.