Board of Directors 2013-14

Albert Lemus earned a bachelor of arts in history from UCLA in 1991 and an M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1997.

Lemus is a senior vice president in the Real Estate Group for Lowe Enterprises, Inc., responsible for expanding the organization’s mixed use, public-private partnerships and redevelopment in urban markets. He oversees investment opportunities through the Lowe California Community Fund and New Markets Tax Credits. Previously, he co-founded and was senior vice president of Telscape Communications, a national telecommunications firm.

In addition, Lemus is active in his community, serving on the Burbank Little League Board, Campbell Hall School Diversity Committee and the Burbank American Youth Soccer Organization.

As a UCLA undergraduate, Lemus was active in the Latino Business Association and Barrio Youth Alternative. A long-standing member of the UCLA Bruin Caucus, Lemus currently serves on the Bruin Caucus Council, the group’s steering committee. Lemus also participated in the UCLA Anderson School Riordan Fellows Program in 1994. He participates in UCLA Alumni Association programs such as Dinners for 12 Strangers and served on the UCLA Alumni Marketing Committee.

Robert Wallan is a litigation partner, and former Los Angeles office managing partner, of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Pillsbury is home to many Bruins, including the firm’s chairman and current Los Angeles office managing partner.

Wallan has tried dozens of cases in state and federal courts and in binding arbitrations across numerous industries involving merger and acquisition disputes, license and distribution agreements, dealership terminations, lending practices, bond defaults, insolvencies, real estate transactions, indenture trustee obligations and insurance coverage disputes. He also helps clients avoid litigation and manage risks in the context of transactions and corporate governance matters. His clients include major banks and technology companies, as well as hedge funds and several popular chain restaurants.

At UCLA, Wallan majored in history and was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He met his wife, Nancy ’82, in a sophomore English class. After graduating, he went on to earn his J.D. from the University of San Diego in 1986. His daughter, Julianne, graduated from Colgate University and attends Pepperdine Law School. His son, Jack, attends high school at the Buckley School and is a regular UCLA summer camper. The Wallans live in Westwood, enjoy Bruin Woods and are long-time UCLA football and basketball season ticket holders.

After graduating from UCLA, Grace Ng pursued a career in accounting and internal auditing at Texaco and AIG SunAmerica. She is currently a senior business intelligence specialist in the IT Department at DIRECTV, where she has worked in various finance and accounting capacities. She is responsible for developing models and reporting, using the enterprise planning system Cognos TM1. She works with business units to define reporting requirements in order to develop technical solutions, document processes and manage Cognos-related projects for their areas.

Ng was active as a UCLA undergraduate, participating in Student Accounting Society, Undergraduate Business Society and the Mardi Gras Committee. She is a member of Gold Shield and participates in network activities for the Westside and South Bay Bruins. She is well known for her passionate support of all things UCLA, bleeding blue and gold as a longtime football season ticket holder, enthusiastic cheerleader for basketball, donor to the Chancellors Associates and Wooden Athletic Fund, Dinner for 12 Strangers co-host, Bruin Woods camper and avid supporter of her fellow Bruins’ UCLA endeavors. She has been an active volunteer on a number of different committees, including the Alumni Association Finance, Governance, Nominations, Membership and UCLA Awards committees. She was chair of the UCLA Alumni Association Audit Committee for two terms prior to joining the Board of Directors in 2009.

While earning her degree in electrical engineering, Sharon Black held several leadership positions including president of the UCLA chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and vice president of Pi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a public service sorority. In addition, she was recognized as a Chancellor's Marshall.

Black later completed the UCLA Technical Management Program and earned an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, where she was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society as well as Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society.

Black is currently director of GPS and Navigation Systems at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. In this role, she is responsible and accountable for the successful execution of a diverse set of programs. She has 25 years of design, technical and program management experience implementing signal processing functions on military programs. She has led teams in the design and development of application-specific integrated circuits, embedded software, software development tools, field programmable gate arrays, circuit card assemblies, subsystems units and radar systems.

In addition to her service to the UCLA Alumni Association, Black is active on the UCLA Electrical Engineering Alumni Advisory Board.

Ruthie Flores Retana has more than 13 years of experience in communications, public relations and community outreach with a demonstrated track record of developing and implementing strategic direction, community engagement, and building a broad coalition of partners. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from UCLA and a master’s in theological studies from Harvard University with a focus on liberation theology and social justice.

Retana’s experience includes being the associate director of public relations and marketing at Long Beach City College, and spearheading two national campaigns and a place-based health initiative. In these leadership roles, she advanced each organization by: spearheading the development and implementation of internal and external communications including social media; serving as the spokesperson for English and Spanish-language media; developing partnerships with state and local allies, policy leaders and funders; and delivering keynote speeches in urban cities and for state task forces, such as the mayor of San Antonio's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force and Healthy Futures Alliance.

Retana is a director of the UCLA Alumni Association Board and an advisory board member for the Girls Inc. Latina Initiative. She is an alumna of the HOPE Leadership Institute and Southern California Leadership, Class XIII.

During her free time, Retana enjoys practicing yoga, hiking and traveling. She has completed marathons in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. Retana is the co-author of the travel guide book Let's Go Mexico.

Irwin Golds is a second generation Bruin and a founding member of The Desert Network (formerly the UCLA Club of the Desert). After graduating from UCLA, Golds received his J.D. from Hastings College of Law in 1981 and thereafter became a partner in the law firm Best, Best & Krieger.

In 1994, Golds founded the law firm Criste, Pippin & Golds, and the same year he founded the real estate brokerage firm Fred Sands Desert Realty, which he sold to Coldwell Banker in 2003.

Golds was a founder of a state chartered bank. He was also a board member of a national bank, where in 2009 he received regulatory approval to serve as interim president, a position he held until 2010 when a permanent president was appointed. He is currently the owner and CEO of Capitis Real Estate, a real estate brokerage and investment company pursuing real estate opportunities in the Coachella Valley.

Golds serves on several charitable boards in the Coachella Valley, including the Desert Community Foundation. He and his family (Connie ’80; Kerry, UPenn ’09; Aaron, Georgetown ’11; and Jordan, UChicago ’13) are avid Bruin fans, who dislike anything USC and have attended Bruin Woods for more than 20 years.

Craig Kaplan grew up in Los Gatos, Calif., and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. Despite its proximity, he refused to consider CAL as a college choice and was accepted into UCLA in the fall of 1990. In his senior year, Craig had a premonition that UCLA men's basketball would win a national title and extended his undergraduate career through winter quarter of 1995 to experience this joy as a student.

Kaplan has worked with several start-up companies, initially in operations for quality assurance service providers improving technology products and preparing them for public release. He moved into sales in 1999 and currently hires, trains and manages the 18-person business development team for EdgeCast Networks. EdgeCast Networks provides content delivery network services to enable the highest performing web delivery for websites simultaneously through an infrastructure of 22 global data centers.

Kaplan previously served on the ASUCLA Board of Directors as the Alumni Association representative. In 2001, he married Madeline Biesty ’95, who was elected USAC facilities commissioner and president of Alpha Phi, and became a Coro Fellow post-graduation. Craig and Madeline have three children: J.T. ’29 (Communications), Jonny Rufus ’31 (Mechanical Engineering) and Casey Meghan ’33 (Political Science).

Joining the team in March of 2012, Christine N. Simmons brings 11 years of supplier diversity expertise to the role and has worked on all sides of this important initiative. As director of supplier diversity for NBCUniversal, she is responsible for the multi-faceted strategy and implementation of the program company-wide. Simmons serves as the primary liaison between NBCUniversal, the diverse supplier community and diverse supplier advocacy groups. She partners with Comcast on all joint supplier development initiatives.

Formerly, Simmons served as vice president of strategic alliances for Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE). In this role she was responsible for identifying new areas of partnership and business opportunities for all MJE lines of business as a value added diverse supplier to the Fortune 500. Simmons also collaborated in the development of strategies for co-branded activation of strategic alliances and new lines of business through their private equity fund. Prior to joining the MJE team, she was a manager of supplier diversity and sustainability for The Walt Disney Company. In this role, Simmons was responsible for supporting the media networks, marketing, studio and new media technology teams in identifying qualified, competitive diverse suppliers for sourcing opportunities. Through these categories, she influenced over $135 million in diverse spending. Simmons also was responsible for the recruitment and outreach of African American owned businesses and green production sourcing initiatives. She has also worked with the Southern California Minority Business Development Council as director of marketing and programs.

Simmons holds a seat on the board of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce and the UCLA Alumni Association, among other community organizations. She also serves on the USC Supplier Diversity Advisory Council and the Advisory Board for the St. Michel Foundation. In 2008 and 2012 Simmons was named one of the Top 25 Women of Power Impacting Diversity by DiversityPlus magazine and named to the Who’s Who in Black Los Angeles. She was also named Woman of the Year 2010/2011 by the National Association of Professional Women, and Alumnus of the Year 2012 by the UCLA Black Alumni Association. Simmons received her Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA. She is married and the proud mother of Christian Grant Simmons.

Dave Crawford graduated from UCLA with a degree in mechanical engineering and is currently the director of Creative Advanced Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, Research & Development Inc., where he is responsible for the creative application of new technologies and strategic development of new ride systems and immersive experiences for Disney theme parks. He leads teams that generate new ideas for the creative use and application of technical systems while focusing development and prototype efforts on optimum solutions. He is a certified professional engineer and has more than 40 utility patents or pending applications.

A creative leader with a strong background in innovative engineering and problem-solving, Crawford thrives in cross-discipline and diverse environments. He is a positive and optimistic leader who learns from those around him and loves finding ways to achieve things others say are impossible.

Crawford has participated in a variety of UCLA volunteer opportunities, including the Nominations Subcommittee, Awards Selection Committee and Alumni Mentor Program. He lives in Long Beach with his wife and two sons and enjoys woodworking, scuba diving, and home tech projects that make it overly complicated for his family to do simple things like turn on the TV or make a phone call.

Erin Griffin received her bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA in 2002. She also earned an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University in 2009.

Currently, Griffin is the chief information officer (CIO) for the Screen Actors Guild, where she serves on the strategic senior management team and oversees technology-related operations.

Previously, Griffin served as vice president of information technology and chief information officer at Loyola Marymount University, where she transformed IT operations from an underperforming outsourced division to an award-winning technical support team. She worked in a similar capacity at St. John’s College and at the U.S. Naval Academy. She has lived and worked in Germany, Japan and Italy, serving in both diplomatic and professional roles with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Navy overseas.

Griffin’s key areas of expertise include global IT operations; aligning IT and business; uniting diverse stakeholders around a common goal; leveraging next-generation technology; and leading turnaround initiatives to accelerate growth, resolve business challenges and improve operational performance. In 2007, she was awarded both the CIO 100 Award and the CIO Decisions Leadership Award.

In addition to her service to the Alumni Association, Griffin is active on the boards of the UCLA Anderson School IS Associates and the Society for Information Management.

Nike Irvin leads the California Community Foundation’s (CCF) programs team, responsible for more than $14 million in annual grants that provide core operating support to priority program areas such as the arts, education and health care. She also leads three special initiative teams: Building a Lifetime of Options and Opportunities for Men (BLOOM), the El Monte Community Building Initiative, and Preparing Achievers for Tomorrow. Her areas of expertise include capacity building, branding, and program development and implementation.

Before joining CCF, Irvin served as president of the Riordan Foundation for seven years and as a consultant and coach for nonprofits and foundations. She has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and in consulting numerous nonprofit organizations, foundations and charitable arms of for-profit companies. She has extensive private sector marketing experience as well, for Nestlé USA and the Pepsi Cola Company.

A native of Los Angeles, Irvin serves on several boards of directors and is a trustee for the Riordan Foundation and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. She received a B.A. in economics and political science from Yale University and was named one of the 100 Most Inspirational Alumni by the UCLA Anderson School of Management, where she earned an M.B.A. She is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a Marshall Memorial Fellow and a Next Generation Fellow of the American Assembly.

Shirley “Sally” Lew is an organization management professional with more than 35 years of experience in nonprofit, for-profit, and primary and secondary school (public, private and institutional) settings. With nearly 20 years of experience in private and family philanthropy, Lew has designed, developed and implemented grant-making programs, strategies and initiatives for various foundations on the local, regional and state levels. She has supervised teams responsible for grantee convenings and events and provided on-the-ground logistical support for a national foundation.

Currently, Lew works as a foundation administrator at the Y&S Nazarian Family Foundation, providing direct support to the foundation president with respect to foundation business and related projects. She is also the regional network weaver in Southern California to a cohort of grantees for the Marguerite Casey Foundation. Additionally, she provides consulting services – including strategic planning, board and staff development and training, executive coaching, meeting and retreat facilitation, conference and event planning and logistics, proposal development and grant review, and prospect research as well as executive searches – to myriad nonprofits and foundations. Today, Lew is a director on the boards of Phillips Graduate Institute and the YMCA of Greater Long Beach, Community Development Branch.

A native of Los Angeles, Lew has a B.A. in English from UCLA and an M.B.A. from Pepperdine University.

Timothy McNeal is a vice president at the Disney/ABC Television Group (DATG), where he oversees talent development and diversity programs, including Walt Disney Studios and Disney | ABC Writing Fellowship, the Disney | ABC DGA Directing Fellowship, and the Television and Film Summer Workshop at the Institute of American Indian Arts among many others.

McNeal is responsible for further expanding the scope of these programs across DATG to include Disney Channel and ABC Family. Additionally, he serves as a liaison between DATG and diversity-related organizations, nonprofit arts institutions, entertainment industry guilds, and colleges and universities nationwide to identify and nurture talented, emerging writers, actors and directors.

Previously, McNeal served as senior vice president of development at the Tom Lynch Company, where he led the production company’s expanse from child-centered TV entertainment to primetime television. Earlier in his career, as executive vice president of HollywoodTicket.com, McNeal was responsible for the marketing and promotion efforts of the interactive entertainment start-up. In 1994, he joined The WB, where he eventually rose to the position of vice president of drama development, and was responsible for shepherding such hit series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek and Felicity.

A native of California, McNeal received his Bachelor of Arts in political science from UCLA.

Phil Bangayan ’94, M.S. ’96 has grown businesses for over 15 years through marketing, finance and engineering roles. Currently as Director at NBCUniversal, he heads a marketing team that increased annual pass revenue by 20 percent. Previously doing finance at The Walt Disney Company, Bangayan wrote the business plan for Mickey’s Halloween Treat, generating over $1 million. As an engineer, he co-authored over a dozen publications and secured $250,000 in grant funding. Bangayan uses this diverse skillset to build consensus among teams.

Bangayan’s UCLA volunteering activities include evaluating talent as Alumni Scholarship chair, developing potential through the Alumni Mentor Program and building presence as the inaugural UCLA Athletics webmaster. In the larger community, he has taken board and executive committee positions at the MIT Club of Southern California, the Caltech/MIT Enterprise Forum and the Los Angeles Business Technology Center to support technological entrepreneurship.

Bangayan holds both a B.S. and M.S. degree in electrical engineering from UCLA and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He lives in Southern California with his wife Marian and their children. In his spare time, he follows UCLA’s quest for banner 12.

Ali Haeri is currently marketing and communications manager for EdgeCast Networks, a content delivery network funded by the venture capital arm of the Walt Disney Company. Haeri oversees advertising initiatives, CRM implementations, design strategy, mobile app design, and marketing analytics and data modeling.

Previously, Haeri founded and sold CPA Mark, a NASBA-certified marketing startup targeting public accountants. In 2008, Haeri worked as an online marketing manager at ADD Marketing + Advertising, a renowned Hollywood-based advertising agency, working on campaigns for such companies as Ford, Sony/SCEA, Warner Bros, and Guitar Center.

As a musician, Haeri has produced hit records internationally and performed as a DJ globally. He signed his first record deal to the UK’s Innovate Recordings as a teenager. While a student at UCLA, Haeri was the head producer of a nationally syndicated radio show featuring music personality DJ Spinderella of the music group Salt-n-Pepa.

Haeri is a volunteer at the Mattel Children’s Hospital, and served a term on the UCLA Fund’s Young Alumni Development Council. As an undergraduate, Haeri was a sports contributor to the Daily Bruin.

Haeri received his B.A. in English (American literature and culture). He is a UCLA football season ticketholder and the second Bruin in his family.

Upon graduation from UCLA, Lynn O’Connell ’83 immediately put her design degree to work, honing in on the nonprofit arena. As an art director, she designed successful fund raising campaigns focusing first on museums and performing arts centers across the nation. O’Connell’s passion quickly turned to the social service sector where she garnered support for organizations that aid underserved communities.

With a strong background in creative strategy, content development and brand alignment, O’Connell is a creative director at Grizzard Communications Group, an Omnicom Agency. Leading a multi-disciplinary team of designers to create successful integrated campaigns, she feels fortunate to be able to turn her commitment to nonprofits into measurable impact and has raised over $1 billion on behalf of her clients.

A member of the South Bay Alumni Network, O’Connell serves on the board of the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club, a nonprofit that supports the local high school badminton team. She also advises an animal rescue nonprofit, Beagle Freedom Project and Nutrition and Education International, which works to eradicate malnutrition in Afghanistan by developing a self-sustaining soy industry.

Terrance “Terry” Tumey was named director of UC Davis Athletics in July 2012, bringing expertise in financial planning and analysis, and his personal experience as a successful student athlete at UCLA.

Tumey boasts nearly two decades of coaching and administrative experience in collegiate and professional athletics. After earning his bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA in 1988, then adding a master’s degree from the UCLA Anderson School of Business in 1993, he served as an assistant coach for UCLA Football until 1998. He then assisted Mike Shanahan on the Denver Broncos’ staff during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, before moving his career from the field to the front office.

Tumey joined the San Francisco 49ers as a player personnel assistant in 2001, and moved up to director of football administration. As a senior manager, he supervised the fiscal responsibilities for the team’s football operations, with a budget of more than $35 million. Tumey served in that role until April 2009.

He returned to collegiate athletics as director of athletics at Dominican University in San Rafael, Calif., and guided the Penguins’ athletics program from NAIA to NCAA Division II. Tumey also created Dominican’s institutional strategic plan for the athletics department, and he led a $4.5 million capital campaign. His athletics program captured back-to-back Pacific West Conference Academic Achievement Awards for compiling the highest student-athlete GPA. DUC is the first league member to achieve such a feat.

Originally from Tulsa, Okla., Tumey earned three All-Pacific 10 Conference honors as a nose guard at UCLA. The Bruins went 36-10-2 in his career, capturing two conference titles.

For more than two decades, José Villalobos has served as the senior vice president of government affairs/business development for TELACU, a large community development corporation (CDC) with assets of $600 million. TELACU, whose mission is rebuilding and enhancing underserved communities, has developed $1 billion in real estate projects representing 4 million square feet of commercial space and more than 3,600 housing units, creating more than 16,000 jobs.

Villalobos is responsible for identifying, analyzing and accessing government programs/legislation at federal, state and local levels to be used to expand the company’s operating subsidiaries and acquisition/start-up of new business enterprises. He has successfully identified and accessed more than $200 million in government funds over the past 15 years, including $145 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations from the U.S. Department of Treasury/CDFI Fund. As part of managing the NMTC program, he serves on the executive committee and board of the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition.

Villalobos also oversees TELACU Community Capital, a nonprofit community lender and certified CDFI with a small business loan fund of $8.0 million. He was instrumental in TELACU’s efforts working with the Small Business Administration to disseminate and issue the regulations allowing CDCs to participate in the 8(a) Business Development and HUBZone programs, to help small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the marketplace. Three TELACU subsidiaries have participated in the 8(a) program, one of which is currently active.

Villalobos also is responsible for the oversight and management of TELACU’s faith-based initiative, which seeks to strengthen local faith-based and community organizations serving low income communities. Prior to joining TELACU, he worked in finance with several private sector firms including Prudential-Bache Securities and Mattel, Inc.

Upon graduation, Van Schultz received the Outstanding Bachelor of Science Candidate Award from the UCLA Engineering Alumni Association. After completing his Master of Science degree, he began his career in the petroleum industry working for Shell Oil in Ventura, Houston and New Orleans. He retired from his position as the senior vice president, Strategic Development and Innovation, for Aera Energy LLC in Brea, Calif. in 2012.

An alumnus of Triangle Fraternity, Schultz has remained involved at UCLA. He served on a variety of committees at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and was president of the Engineering Alumni Association from 2004 to 2006. Schultz graduated from the Alumni Association Alumni Academy in 2001 and has participated on a number of Association committees since, most recently the Audit Committee. He completed two years as a director and one year as chair-elect on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors before becoming the chair.

Schultz shares his Bruin pride with his wife, Susan ’75, and son, Stephen ’04, while daughter, Jennifer, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2007 with a bachelor of architecture. The Schultz family enjoys following the Bruin football and basketball teams. They are members of the Chancellor’s Associates.

As the Undergraduate Student Body President, John Joanino hopes to inspire Bruins through service and advocacy. By advocating for an affordable, accessible, diverse education, John hopes to protect higher education for generations of future Bruins. John is also a Scholar with the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy in New York City and a Public Policy & International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow with the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. Coming from a low-income Pilipino immigrant family, John has been a passionate advocate for immigrant rights, human rights, and access to higher education. In the past 3 years, John has served as a Resident Assistant, member of the Student Fee Advisory Committee, and Board Member for the University of California Students Association. As a firm believer in public education, John has advocated alongside the UC Regents and UC Office of the President for increased funding to the UC, increased financial aid programs, and equitable admissions policies.

As a member of Samahang Pilipino, Students for Justice in Palestine, and the Afrikan Student Union at UCLA, John is passionate about cross community building and advocacy. In his free time, John enjoys practicing yoga and traveling.

From Riverside, Calif., John is a proud son to Zonneth Joanino and brother to Jacklyn Joanino.

Hope McCoy is currently completing the second year of a Ph.D. program in higher education and organizational change in the UCLA Department of Information Studies at UCLA. She plans to pursue a future in educational research, teaching and policy analysis. Her research interests include nontraditional students, community colleges, proprietary institutions, educational evaluation, Russian comparative education, and organizational behavior.

McCoy began her GSA service as a graduate student representative on the Campus Programs Committee working with UCLA administrators, graduate students and undergraduates on budget requests for student activities. Winter quarter, she was invited to serve as the GSA director of communications. In April, she traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress on behalf of graduate students, in partnership with student leaders from other tier-one public institutions. The coalition met with legislators and leaders and discussed student debt and taxation, immigration reform and research funding.

In addition to her work in student government, McCoy serves as a teaching assistant in UCLA Communications Studies and a graduate student research assistant at UCLA Department of Information Studies.

Prior to graduate school, McCoy worked as an administrator at the Kellogg School of Management while completing her bachelor’s degree at Northwestern University on a part-time evening basis.

McCoy is a native of Chicago, Ill.

Sheena Sharifi is a fourth-year student majoring in biology and global studies. As a fourth-year SAA volunteer, she has previously held positions on the Career Networking and CASE ASAP committees, and served as the executive director for public relations 2012-13. Sharifi is excited to serve as SAA president for 2013-14. She looks forward to continuing the unique campus traditions and opportunities created by SAA and to providing opportunities for growth and leadership for SAA volunteers. On campus, she is also involved with nonprofit health education with Support for International Change and volunteers with the UCLA Mobile Clinic Project and Global Medical Brigades. She also works as a resident assistant and has helped develop a new internship program for USAC. In her free time, Sharifi enjoys travelling, volunteering abroad, reading and trying new foods. After graduation, she plans to pursue a career in the field of medicine and international health advocacy and development.

Rashi Singh is a native of Santa Barbara, Calif., and a fourth-year student majoring in psychobiology with a minor in biomedical research. Before becoming president of the Alumni Scholars Club (ASC), she served on the executive board as the director of the Alumni Mentor Program, expanding the program to the entire UCLA student body and managing the mentor-mentee pairs throughout the year.

As president, Singh is eager to increase the visibility of ASC on campus and throughout UCLA’s vast alumni network. She is looking forward to meeting this year’s incoming scholars and see them develop academic excellence, leadership skills, professionalism and a commitment to service.

When not working in her neuroscience lab on campus or in the Emergency Department at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Singh enjoys playing tennis, swimming and exploring Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA, she hopes to attend medical school to eventually become a neurosurgeon.

UCLA Foundation Governor Steven Klosterman chairs The UCLA Foundation. Previously, he chaired the Audit, Finance, Investment, Investment Management and Nominations committees. He currently serves on the UCLA Investment Company Board of Directors and The UCLA Foundation Investment Steering Committee.

A regional director with Halbert Hargrove in San Diego, Klosterman is a fee only investment advisor to affluent individuals and institutions and has a diverse client base including a family office, entrepreneurs, professional athletes, radio personalities, executives and non-profits.

Klosterman serves on several non-profit investment committees and is a member of the Investment Advisory Group (IAG) for the UC Regents. He also supports the Chancellor’s Greatest Needs as a Chancellor’s Associate Cabinet donor and is a lifetime member of the Alumni Association.

In conjunction with the Association and San Diego Network, Klosterman is integral to fundraising for the Amy Rose Memorial Scholarship Fund. A donor himself, his and other key Bruins’ leadership and the generosity of numerous family members, friends and colleagues have made this one of the Association’s largest scholarships.

Klosterman received his bachelor’s degree with honors from UCLA in political science and was an Honorable Mention and second team Academic All-American football player. In 1977, he earned an M.B.A. from Stanford, where he later served on the Business School Fund Leadership Council and as president of the Alumni Association.

Rhea Turteltaub was appointed Vice Chancellor, External Affairs at UCLA in March 2008.

As vice chancellor, Turtletaub oversees a diverse, yet integrated department comprising Development, Alumni Relations, University Communications & Public Affairs, Government & Community Relations and The UCLA Foundation.

Leading a team of nearly 500, Turtletaub is actively working with campus leadership on the preparations for the University's 100th anniversary celebration which include plans for a Centennial Campaign.

Turtletaub previously served as associate vice chancellor for Development with management responsibility for one of the most successful development programs of its kind. The campus has averaged more than $400 million in annual private support during the past three years.

Campaign UCLA, completed in 2005, generated a record-setting $3.052 billion.

Turtletaub began her UCLA career in the Office of Planned and Major Gifts. During the last 28 years, she served in varying capacities in annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, research, alumni and donor relations, regional development and campaign planning.

Prior to arriving at UCLA, Turtletaub held leadership positions at Otis College of Art and Design and The University of Chicago, as well as campaign positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in political science.

Turtletaub resides in Encino, California, with her husband, Adam, and their two young sons.

Dr. Gene Block became chancellor of UCLA in August 2007. As chief executive officer, he oversees all aspects of the university’s three-part mis­sion of education, research and service.

A biologist, Block holds UCLA faculty appointments in the David Gef­fen School of Medicine and the College of Letters and Science. He also leads a research lab funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Block previously served as vice president and provost of the University of Virginia. There, he headed an NIH graduate training program designed to increase the number of scientists from under­represented groups. He also received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Public Service Award for his work with Virginia’s business community.

A native of Monticello, N.Y., Block holds a bachelor’s degree in psychol­ogy from Stanford University and a master’s and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon. He is a fellow of the American Associa­tion for the Advancement of Science.

The inventor of a number of devices, Block holds a patent for a non-contact respiratory monitor to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.