'78 Journalism

Judy Hodgson moved with her young family to the Humboldt County in 1972.

Her husband, Robert, began teaching at Humboldt State University and Judy returned to college after a six-year absence. She graduated in 1978 with a degree in journalism.

Hodsgon's career spans more than 25 years. While at HSU she wrote a column on her new hometown of Fieldbrook for the Arcata Union newspaper. Her first professional job, as a county government reporter, came in 1981 for the Union. She became the editor in 1983.

In 1990, along with partners, she purchased the 6-month-old North Coast Journal monthly and grew the paper over the next eight years. In 1998 the Journal became a weekly and tripled in size.

Today the Journal has a circulation of 21,000 and 14 employees. The newspaper holds a respected position in the community for its fair, balanced and aggressive news reporting along with its comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage.

Hodgson has twice been named a Woman of Achievement by the American Association of University Women. Along with her staff, she has received more than a dozen California Newspaper Publisher Association awards in nearly every category including editorial writing and investigative reporting. She has been honored by the California Teachers Association for education reporting, won a Democracy in Action Award from the Humboldt County League of Women Voters and a Beacon Award from the California First Amendment Coalition.

In March 2005, the North Coast Journal is to receive the James Madison Freedom of Information Award in Community Media from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

'51

'69 Fisheries Management

He came to Humboldt in 1965 and graduated in 1969 in Fisheries Management. After that he went back to work in Hong Kong. In 1972, he joined DHL Express and co-founded the Asia Pacific division with his new partners. 

Po became involved in community service in the mid-80s when he was appointed to the board of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Since then, he has served leadership roles on the Hong Kong Tourism Development Board, the World Wildlife Fund, the Hong Kong Management Association, and Ocean Park. Along the way, he served as Chairman of the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation and Chairman of the Hong Kong Art Centre. 

Po is also the founding chairman of the Creativity and Education Foundation, the Creative Initiatives Foundation, and the Hong Kong - Pearl River Delta Foundation. At one time, Po Chung simultaneously served on 11 community and charity boards, councils and committees. 

In 2001 Po traded his DHL shares for shares in the German Post Office, which now owns DHL, and he retired from day to day leadership of the global business. He remains Chairman Emeritus of DHL Express, Asia Pacific. 

Since 2001, Po helped design and create the Hong Kong Logistic Development Council and the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council. His latest work in progress is the newly established Center for Asian Entrepreneurship & Business Values at Hong Kong University. His current plans include sharing his entrepreneurial experiences by writing a textbook on the subject and teaching at the university level. 

While at Humboldt, Po supported himself by working on campus as a calligrapher and graphic designer, creative interests he continues to develop and improve. He became a recognized Chinese calligrapher 1993; and last year collections of his unique mountainscape paintings were exhibited in Hong Kong and Paris. 

Po thinks his greatest accomplishments were marrying Helen and helping her raise three wonderful daughters: Yana (26), Anca (21) and Yangie (18).

'96 Business Administration

Eric Ramos is currently President of Business Operations for the Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe. Eric develops and manages the Tribe's diverse business interests, including the Blue Lake Casino - a 45,000 square foot gaming facility located in Blue Lake, California. He earned his B.S. in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Accounting and a Minor in Computer Information Systems at Humboldt State University in 1996.

Prior to working on Tribal interests full time, Eric held the position of Treasury Manager at Turnstone Systems, a large post-IPO start-up company, where he actively managed a cash and investment portfolio in excess of $270 million. His duties included international investments and management of transactions in dozens of foreign currencies. Before Turnstone, Eric was an auditor for KPMG in the Silicon Valley; where his client list included a number of high-profile public and private companies including Adobe Systems, Apple Computer and Daimler Chrysler Research & Development.

Eric has worked to channel the success of the Blue Lake Rancheria's business operations into widespread community involvement and investment. Most notably he has steered the Tribe's giving budgets into areas of education, community infrastructure improvements and public health and safety services.

Eric also represents Blue Lake Rancheria as their Tribal delegate in CNIGA - the California Nations Indian Gaming Association, where he works with other Tribes across California on legal, operational and planning issues affecting Indian Country.

'86 Theater Arts

Kevin Daum is an award winning and bestselling author of 5 books. He is a marketer, speaker, and columnist for Inc.com and Smart Business Magazine. As an Inc. 500 entrepreneur his sales and marketing techniques resulted in more than $1 billion in sales. Drawing on his background in theatre and business, Kevin is a compelling speaker who has engaged and inspired audiences around the globe.

Kevin has authored several books, including Amazon #1 Best Sellers Video Marketing For Dummies (Wiley) ROAR! Get Heard in the Sales and Marketing Jungle (Wiley), and Green$ense For the Home: Rating the Real Payoff on 50 Green Home Projects (Taunton), which is the 2011 winner of the American Society of Journalists and Author's (ASJA) Outstanding Book Award. He also penned the best selling Building Your Own Home For Dummies (Wiley), and What the Banks Won't Tell You (Grady Parsons).

Kevin uses his expertise to help individuals communicate effectively and reach their personal and business goals. He has built multiple businesses, including Stratford Financial Services, an Inc. 500 company; Mystery is Served, an entertainment company; and most recently TAE International, which helps companies provide their customers The Awesome Experience by mastering compelling messaging, intentional marketing and memorable delivery.

Kevin consults to numerous companies and non-profit organizations. He speaks regularly in the areas of marketing, communication, creativity, strategy, and execution. He also coaches executives on book development and thought leadership, as his most recent book proposals went from concept to contract in a few short months with major trade publishers.

Drawing upon a degree in theatre arts and involvement in more than 150 theatre productions, Kevin is changing the way corporations use the arts as a training ground for business and entrepreneurship. Kevin's ROARing Video Seminars help companies develop effective and entertaining video marketing programs. As head of business development for Americans For the Arts' Creativity Connection, he facilitated unique arts-based-learning programs for Fortune 500 companies. Kevin has been instrumental in the development of interdisciplinary arts and entrepreneurship curriculum at Baylor University. He has published several articles on marketing and the managerial relationship between the arts and entrepreneurship.

Kevin is a graduate of the MIT Entrepreneurial Masters program and has received the Global Learning Award 3 times from the Entrepreneur's Organization, where he held several board positions. Kevin has designed, produced, and led award-winning executive training programs and events for C-level executives and entrepreneurs on four continents. Previously, Kevin was named one of the 40 people to watch under 40 in San Francisco by the Business Times and in 2006 was named Distinguished Alum of the Year by his alma mater, Humboldt State University.

'83 Environmental Resources Engineering

Richard L. Corsi is the ECH Bantel Professor of Professional Practice, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas. He received his B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering at HSU in 1983, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at UC Davis. He has established internationally-recognized research programs in (1) emissions of toxins from wastewater, and (2) physics and chemistry of indoor air. Richard has served as principal investigator on 60 projects, including a recent $1.4 million study involving building disinfection chemistry in response to anthrax attacks in 2001. He has served as advisor to 45 graduate and 35 undergraduate students.

Richard and his students have published over 220 journal/conference papers and reports, and have been featured on the Canadian television series The Nature of Things, The Economist, Business Week, National Wildlife, Prevention, Men's Health, the San Francisco Chronicle, and more. He teaches courses in Fluid Mechanics, Air Pollution Engineering, and Indoor Air Quality, and in 2001 taught a course on indoor air quality at HSU. Richard has been honored with several awards for excellence in teaching and service to students. He has been married to Regina Benzonelli (1983 HSU graduate) for 23 years.

'85 Nursing

Many people dream of using their education to serve people in other parts of the world. Michelle Kelly made that dream a reality. As a nurse practitioner, educator and expert in war zone relief operations, Kelly has helped civilians affected by war over the last 20 years. Her volunteer humanitarian work has taken her from her first job as an RN on the nearby Hoopa reservation to Afghanistan, Angola, Iraq, Kashmir, Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Kosovo and Uganda.

"Relief work is not glamorous, I deal with the warring parties, which are usually both rebel and government forces. Civilians are caught in the middle and the challenge is to provide aid to those in need. It can be dangerous," Kelly explains. "Having said that, I knew ever since I was young that I wanted to help others. I was raised with the belief that if you are doing well and have something to spare, that you turn around and help someone else. It's a belief that's served me well."

Somehow, despite an incredibly busy schedule of ongoing humanitarian work, Kelly also manages to inspire a new generation of HSU students as a dedicated lecturer in the Department of Nursing. "More students are coming to Humboldt State these days with a global view--they're interested in international work," says Kelly. "I'm glad I can bring them that experience."

'72 Economics

Ken Fisher is one of the world's leading financial advisers. Fisher Investments-the global money management firm he founded less than a decade after graduating from HSU-manages tens of billions of dollars for prominent global institutions and affluent individuals. His success has landed him on the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list.

Ken Fisher regularly appears in the financial media and widely recognized as a financial guru. In 2011, he ranked in the top 5 most accurate market forecasters on CXO Advisory Group's Guru Grades* list. In 2010, he was named to Investment Advisor's 30 for 30** list-recognizing him as one of the most influential investment advisors in the previous 30 years.

Beyond serving as Fisher Investments' CEO, Ken Fisher is a prolific author. His "Portfolio Strategy" column has run in Forbes magazine since 1984-making him thefourth longest-running columnist in the magazine's over 90 year history. He has written 8 finance books, including 5 national bestsellers: The Only Three Questions that Count (originally published in 2006 and re-released in 2012), Ten Roads to Riches (2008), How to Smell a Rat (2009), Debunkery (2010) and Markets Never Forget-But People Do (2011).

Ken Fisher is also regarded as one of the world's foremost experts on 19th century logging and has documented more than 35 abandoned logging camps in the northern Santa Cruz Mountains. His passion for redwoods led him to endow the Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology at HSU. It is the first named chair in Humboldt State's history and the first endowed chair in the world devoted to a single species of tree. (Read more about the Kenneth L. Fisher Endowed Chair.)

Ken Fisher and his wife, Sherrilyn, have three adult sons.

Leader of a major company, famous author and columnist, father, husband-Ken Fisher clearly has a lot on his plate. How does he manage to stay so productive? "I relaxed once and I never want to go through that again," Fisher says with a wry smile. "When I was young," he continues on a more serious note, "I got in my bones how compound interest works. Compound interest deployed right is magic, not just in finance, but in all of life. I compound my human capital at a slightly higher annual rate than most folks do because most don't try to-and I never, ever stop compounding."

*www.cxoadvisory.com/gurus. As of 5/29/2012. Fisher Investments has no affiliation with CXO Advisory Group. Ken Fisher's market forecasts in Forbes represent his personal forecasts of the overall market and are not an indication of the performance of Fisher Investments. Not all forecasts may be as accurate as those in the past. Investing in securities involves the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
**Thirty for Thirty, Investment Advisor, 5/1/2010

'69-'73 Natural Resources

Who would have predicted that Wesley Chesbro's stint in Humboldt State's student government would prove the beginning of a career in public service that would span over 37 years and include two terms in the California State Senate? Actually, if you knew Chesbro in those early days, you probably wouldn't have been surprised one bit. After all, he was elected to the Arcata City Council at the tender age of 22.

Chesbro served on both the city council and the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors. During that time he helped to found both the Arcata Community Recycling Center and the Northcoast Environmental Center, serving as the first Executive Director of both organizations.

In 1990 Chesbro became a founding member of California's Integrated Waste Management Board, where he successfully helped guide California to a 50 percent reduction in waste going to landfills through recycling and waste reduction programs.

As a state Senator Chesbro achieved the Chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee, where he was a champion for higher education, K-12 education, environmental protection, local government and rural health care.

Upon leaving the State Senate last year due to term limits, Chesbro was re-appointed to the Integrated Waste Management Board and is now working to push waste reduction beyond 50 percent and focusing on reducing the contribution waste management makes to global warming.

What inspired Chesbro to devote so much of his life to serving the public? "I was raised in a family where I was taught that your actions speak louder than your words," the former senator explains. "My father was a minister and my mother was a school teacher and they spent their lives serving others. It was their example that led me to a life of public service."

Wesley Chesbro and his wife Cindy have two sons, Alan and Collin. Chesbro is very proud that his son Alan is currently a junior at Humboldt State University, majoring in political science.

'85 Geology

A man known for studying the history of rocks is also making a history of his own as man with a passion for change, public outreach, and of course, geology. Rob Thomas' childhood summer trips to National Parks first ignited his interest in geology, something that still burns strongly today. As a professor at University of Montana Western, his professional passions are still field geology and geological education. During his tenure at Montana Western, he helped the campus evolve from a traditional state 'normal school' into an experiential learning university, that uses an immersion scheduling system where students take one course at a time. Thomas teaches most of his courses where the class' lab is the natural lab of southwestern Montana.

With another strong passion for public outreach, Thomas has helped run 10 "Geo Venture" field trips for the Geological Society of America, for which he was awarded the Society's Distinguished Service Award. The Geo Venture trips provide both scientists and the average person with enriching learning experiences of each unique destination, such as the Canadian Rockies and the Yellowstone, Teton and Glacier National Parks. In addition, he has also co-authored 25 geological road signs that have been placed along the Lewis and Clark trail in Montana, and is co-writing a layperson book entitled "Geology Underfoot in Montana." He has also organized numerous symposia and authored and co-authored numerous publications. With such a long and extensive resume of accomplishments, Thomas still thinks his most important contributions are his two daughters, Abbey and Haley, and his nearly 20-year marriage to Anneliese Ripley.