Class Notes Category: Career

  • Gary MacDougal ’58

    Gary MacDougal ’58

    Since selling his company, Mark Controls Corporation, in 1985, Gary MacDougal ’58 (www.macdougal.com) has been working in many ways to help people less fortunate move from dependency to self-sufficiency. He recently gave a speech at the annual meeting of the State Policy Network held in San Antonio to a national audience of policy “think tank”…

  • Matthew Nesburn ’89, J.D. ’04

    Matthew Nesburn ’89, J.D. ’04

    Matthew Nesburn ’89, J.D. ’04 was recently named partner at Akin Gump in Los Angeles. Nesburn is a member of the firm’s global project finance practice, where he represents companies engaged in the development, construction, financing, acquisition and disposition of solar, wind and other energy projects as well as in all aspects of corporate structuring.…

  • Alissa Miller ’98

    Alissa Miller ’98

    Alissa (Morris) Miller ’98 was recently named partner at Akin Gump in Los Angeles. Miller is part of the firm’s entertainment practice, representing financial institutions, other financiers, producers and distributors with respect to their film, television and corporate activities. Among her clients are borrowers, distributors, studios, independent production companies, equity investors, high-net-worth individuals, digital platforms…

  • Ladee Hubbard, M.A. ’98, Ph.D. ’03

    Ladee Hubbard, M.A. ’98, Ph.D. ’03

    New Orleans-based writer and academic educator Ladee Hubbard, M.A. ’98, Ph.D. ’03, has won the 2017 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence for her original debut novel “The Talented Ribkins.” An adjunct lecturer in the Africana Studies program at Tulane University, Hubbard’s novel was inspired by W.E.B. DuBois’ famous essay, “The Talented Tenth” and…

  • Melvin Orr ’93

    Melvin Orr ’93

    Melvin Oden-Orr ’93 was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to the Multnomah County Circuit Court, effective Jan. 1. Oden-Orr was previously Chief Hearings Officer for the city of Portland, where he had worked since July 2016. In that role, he adjudicated land use disputes, city code violations, and other municipal matters. From 2005 to…

  • Steve Jacobson ’69

    Steve Jacobson ’69

    Steve Jacobson ’69 (Life Member) was a Visiting Professional at four law schools in Krakow and Warsaw, Poland, this fall, teaching classes on “The American Legal System” and “Courts, the Rule of Law, and Democracy.” He recently finished hearing and resolving all of the appeals of unsuccessful applicants for medical cannabis dispensary licenses under Hawaii’s…

  • Nicole K. Serfoss ’02

    Nicole K. Serfoss ’02

    Nicole K. Serfoss ’02 has been elected to partner as a member of the litigation department at leading global law firm Morrison & Foerster LLP in Denver, CO. Serfoss has more than a decade of experience representing clients in SEC and DOJ enforcement matters, corporate internal investigations, securities class actions, derivative suits, and mergers and…

  • Libby Hsieh ’17

    Libby Hsieh ’17

    Libby Hsieh ’17, bassist in the band Girl Friday, comments in a Daily Bruin article on the release of the band’s six-song EP, “Tiny Hats,” and on the symbolism and messaging of the band’s music, videos, and name.

  • Jesus Martinez, M.F.A ’08

    Jesus Martinez, M.F.A ’08

    Jesus Martinez, M.F.A ’08, who has worked at Pixar Studios since 2009, was layout and animation manager of the recently released “Coco.” Martinez had just completed work as lighting manager for “The Good Dinosaur,” when he asked to work on “Coco,” which focuses on Mexican culture, and which had a character that, he says, looked…

  • James Franco ’08

    James Franco ’08

    James Franco, ’08 (Life Member) directs and stars in “The Disaster Artist,” a film that re-enacts the filmmaking process behind the infamous film “The Room.” Based on actor Greg Sestero’s book “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made,” Franco’s film explains the reasons behind the unintentionally comedic details…