Alumni Updates

Rick Williams

Wildlife, 1977

Rick Williams ('77, Wildlife) retired in July 2022 after a 45-year career that began with the USFWS and CDFW. He transitioned through PG&E and various consulting firms and then culminated with a return to PG&E in 2015. He has had career-long involvement with The Wildlife Society (TWS), including service as President of the TWS-Western Section (TWS-WS) representing wildlife professionals in California, Nevada, and Hawaii, and the TWS Executive Council. He attributes his long involvement with TWS to the mentorship of former (now deceased) Humboldt professors, Dr. Chuck Yocum and Dr. Stan (Doc) Harris, true giants of the Wildlife Profession.

Timothy Hamaker

Fisheries Biology, 1977

Timothy Hamaker, 1977, Fisheries Biology, retired after 37 years as Fisheries/Aquatic Biologist in August. Hamaker began his career in 1977 and worked for four years as a Biologist for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf Breeze, Fl., environmental research lab. Hamaker then moved to Environmental Research and Technology Inc., in Ft. Collins, Colo., working as a Fisheries Biologist. From 1986 to 1988 Hamaker acted as President and Principal Scientist at Aquatic BioSystems Inc., also in Ft. Collins. He then spent more than 25 years with CH2MHILL Inc. as a consulting Fishery Biologist, spending the last 23 years in Redding, Calif. Hamaker is married to Hoagy (Gilliam) Hamaker. The couple has six children including two HSU grads Nicholas ('02, '03) and Robin (Ray) Hamaker ('11) and five grandchildren. The couple resides in Redding, Calif.

Gene Blankenbaker

Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1977

Gene Blankenbaker, Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1977, is retiring in January 2019 after over 41 years of service with the federal government. He spent approximately 2 years with the U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resource Division as a groundwater hydrologist, and over 39 years with the U.S. Forest Service in a variety of locations in California, Washington D.C., Arizona, Wisconsin and New Mexico, in positions that included hydrologist, forester, district ranger, forest supervisor, deputy regional forester, and deputy director of human resources for the agency.

Raymond J. Bogiatto

Wildlife, 1977

Raymond J. Bogiatto, 1977 Wildlife, received his Master of Science in Biology from California State University, Chico in 1986. Bogiatto then worked at Eagle Lake Station as a station manager from 1989-2009. Bogiatto has been serving as a faculty member teaching biology at CSU Chico since 1987 to present day.

Raymond ("Jay") Joseph Bogiatto II

Wildlife, 1977

Jay died of brain cancer July 4th. He was so proud of his HSU experience and education. Here are links to the obituary and a write-up by CSU, Chico.

https://today.csuchico.edu/fond-farewell-jay-bogiatto/

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicoer/name/raymond-bogiatto-obit…

Gene Blankenbaker

Forestry & Wildland Resources, 1977

Gene Blankenbaker, 1977 Forestry & Wildland Resources, transferred to the position of Deputy Director for Human Resources for the U.S. Forest Service last spring.

Marilyn Taylor

Mathematics, 1977

Marilyn Taylor, Women of the Year, 1976, HSU, passed away on March 15, 2023, in Spokane, Washington. Marilyn, and her 99 Humboldt State teammates, broke the old record of a 100-mile Relay Race, with the time of 12:26:13 (1976). Marilyn set the PA-AAU record for a One-Hour Run on the track (1977) and holds the Avenue of the Giants Women's Marathon record, 2:45:40 (1984), which stands today. Despite her many winning races, Marilyn Taylor felt the highlight of her track career running in the historic First Olympic Women's Marathon Trials, on May 12, 1984, in Olympia, Washington.

Patricia (Patty) Brown

Natural Resources, 1977

Patty retired twice, but you might not know it from how busy she still is. Her first career was as a park ranger for California State Parks in the redwoods and the desert, the National Park Service in Alaska at Katmai and Lake Clark, then on the Kenai Wildlife Refuge, ending in 1995. She then decided to pursue a less itinerant life as a middle school science teacher in Alaska. Currently, she volunteers on the ambulance crew and does humanitarian work in winter at the U.S.-Mexico Border. She was recently elected to the local planning commission in Haines.

Tim Hamaker

Fisheries Biology, 1977

Has been on an assignment to Southern California since March, 2010 acting as the Environmental Compliance Manager for a 1+ billion dollar wind energy project near Tehachapi-Mojave.

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.