Breadcrumb
Alumni Updates
Gary Newman
Environmental Resources Engineering, 1977
After graduation, Gary Newman, Environmental Resources Engineering, 1977, went to Utah State University and earned a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Upon graduation from USU, he was hired by Brown and Caldwell Consulting Engineers (BC), in their Pasadena, California office. Newman has continued working with BC for the past 41 years saying "they have treated me well and provided some wonderful professional opportunities." His specialty has been wastewater treatment. Besides, Pasadena, he has lived and worked in Salt Lake City, Dallas, Seattle, and now Phoenix. He has also worked on projects in Vancouver, B.C., Washington D.C, New York, Nashville and San Francisco. Newman says he will be mostly retiring in the next year or so but will continue working part-time.
Drew Coe
Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1996
Drew Coe, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1996, began working in the forest industry following graduation. After several years he returned to school, graduating with a MS in Watershed Science from Colorado State University. Coe currently works as the Forest Practice Monitoring Coordinator/Hydrologist in CALFIRE's Watershed Protection Program. He lives with his wife and two children in Redding, California.
Cristine Gill
Natural ResourcesMinor: Recreation Administration, 1989
Cristine Gilliland, Natural Resources, 1989, moved to New York City and worked as the Adult Development & Training Administrator for the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York. She left to become a Senior Administrator for a private independent camp in the Adirondacks. During that time, she worked on her Master of Arts in teaching and biology 7-12 credential. Gilliland spent the last 20 years in New York teaching science and ecology, in middle schools . She has now retired to Western Washington, where she has been working with the local college in their fish lab. Gilliland says she has mostly been enjoying retirement and exploring her new environment with her adventure cat and kayak.
Kaelie Pena
Forestry & Wildland ResourcesRangeland Resource Science, 2017
Kaelie Pena, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 2017, converted to a full-time permanent position with the Forest Service upon graduating and is coming up on her two year anniversary as a Rangeland Management Specialist with the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in the Bridgeport Ranger District.
Garrett John Costello
Environmental Science & Management, 2014
Over the last two years Garrett Costello, Environmental Science & Management, 2014, and his wife (fellow alumni) got married and started an environmental consulting business. As the business has grown they have turned their attention to constructing low-tech beaver dam analogs to help restore critical stream and meadow ecosystems. This year Symbiotic Restoration installed over 100 beaver dams across north-eastern California. As the business expands they hope to be able to employ and incorporate Humboldt State students in to these programs. Their current plans include looking for land so that they can move back to Humboldt County and build their home back where their journey began.
Thomas Cappiello
Fisheries Biology, 1986
Thomas Cappiello, Fisheries Biology, 1986, has retired from Alaska Department of Fish and Game after 21 years of service. Cappiello has been working in fisheries in Alaska for over 30 years. He still lives in Alaska and says he probably won't leave. Cappiello is a steering committee member of the Matanuska Susitna Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership, president of the MatSu Birders Club, and home baker of Artisan sourdough breads and pizza.
Sylvia Lynn van Royen
Environmental Science & ManagementEcological Restoration Emphasis, minor in GIS, 2019
After graduating from HSU Sylvia Lynn van Royen, Environmental Science & Management, 2019, was hired by the Karuk Tribe Department of Natural Resources based out of Orleans, California. The Tribe's DNR has ground breaking management goals that she feels honored and blessed to be learning from. Van Royen was originally hired to supervise the summer youth crew working on manual fuels reduction units, but is now working as a GIS Technician making maps and other spatially-oriented technology to support field crews.
Ernest Casperson
Fisheries Biology, 1956
Ernest Casperson, a Fisheries Biology, 1956, passed away March 5, 2019, in Helena, Montana. He was a teacher in several small California communities. He later started his career with the Bureau of Reclamation on what was then the Auburn Dam and Reservoir project. When the project ran into some structural and political hurdles, it failed to get the needed funding, he retired to Montana where he could spend his leisure time fishing for trout.
David J. Lenhart
Wildlife, 1956
David J. Lenhart, Wildlife Management, 56, passed away on February 7, 2019 at the age of 88 in Portland, Oregon. Upon graduating Lenhart started his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Umatilla, Oregon working with waterfowl. He later transferred to the Division of River Basin Studies, in Portland, Oregon. During his career he worked on projects in Washington, Oregon and California. He later served as Branch Chief of Environmental Contaminants in the USFWS’ Regional Office in Portland. He retired after 33 years of dedicated service.
Carla Fisher
Environmental Resources Engineering, 1985
Carla Fisher, Environmental Resources Engineering, 1985, retired in 2014 after 29 years at the Environmental Protection Agency and became a part-time technical writer/editor for Akana, an environmental consulting firm in Bellevue, Washington.