Highlights from
2021 Class Notes

Class Notes chronicles important events in the lives of UCLA alumni – from changes in employment to accolades for achievement, from new Bruin unions to the passing of our valued UCLA family members. These Bruins are a small subset of the many whose accomplishments and memories we honored in 2021.

Joelle Gamble '12

Joelle Gamble '12

Joelle Gamble ’12 has joined the Biden administration as a special assistant to the president for economic policy, a position on the National Economic Council. Gamble, who majored in international development studies, was born in Anaheim, California, and raised in Riverside, about 55 miles east of Los Angeles. She was a first-generation college student and a UCLA Black Alumni Association/Legacy Scholarship recipient.

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James N. Yamazaki '39, M.D.

James N. Yamazaki '39, M.D.

James N. Yamazaki ’39, M.D., who survived the Battle of the Bulge and German POW camps to study the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan and become a professor in the inaugural UCLA Medical School class, passed away March 5 at the age of 104. Yamazaki attended L.A. High School and earned a B.A. from UCLA in zoology. When it looked inevitable that the U.S. would join World War II, he joined the military, receiving his papers a week before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

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Marion Wilson '50

Marion Wilson '50

Philanthropist, UCLA Medal recipient and beloved member of the Bruin community, Marion Wilson '50 passed away Dec. 12, 2020, at age 92. During her many years of service to UCLA, Wilson was president of UCLA Women & Philanthropy and served on boards for the UCLA Foundation, the Alumni Association, the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, the David Geffen School of Medicine and the UCLA Fund.

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Juri Watanabe '18

Juri Watanabe '18

Juri Watanabe '18 won the Miss Universe Japan 2021 title on Sept. 22, beating 31 other contestants at the event in Tokyo. She represented her home country at Miss Universe 2021 in Eilat, Israel, where she finished in the top 16. In 2016, Watanabe became the first Japanese delegate to win the Miss Asia USA pageant. An international development studies at UCLA, she has used her platform for raising awareness and clarifying any misconceptions many people have around mental illness in Japan.

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Ardem Patapoutian '90

Ardem Patapoutian '90

Ardem Patapoutian ’90 was one of two winners of the 2021 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. He was honored with UC San Francisco professor David Julius for their discoveries of receptors in the body that respond to temperature and touch. Specifically, their research explains how temperature and pressure are converted into electrical impulses in the nervous system.

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Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D. '96

Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D. '96

On Oct. 5, President Biden nominated Maria Rosario Jackson, Ph.D. ’96, as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. She was confirmed by the Senate on Dec. 18. Dr. Jackson has had a long career in strategic planning, policy research and evaluation with philanthropy, government and nonprofit organizations, her work appearing in a wide range of professional and academic publications.

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Charles R. Mortensen '49, M.Ed. '58

Charles R. Mortensen '49, M.Ed. '58

Charles R. Mortensen ’49, M.Eng. ’58, received the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, in the rank of Chevalier, at a ceremony at the Residence of France in Beverly Hills, California, on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Mortensen, 97, a Technical Sergeant in the U.S. Army, served in Europe during World War II, engaging in combat in France and Germany in the Rhineland and Central Europe Campaigns, and earning the EAME Campaign Medal with two battle stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Good Conduct Medal.

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Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, M.S. '61

Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, M.S. '61

Dr. John Brooks Slaughter, M.S. ’61, was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum (TKAAM) 2021 Trailblazers Hall of Fame this month. Among the many other honors Dr. Slaughter has received are the UCLA Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award, 1978; U.S. Black Engineer of the Year, 1987; American Society for Engineering Education Hall of Fame, 1993; Kansas Native Sons and Daughters, Kansan of the Year, 1994; and National Academy of Engineering, Arthur M. Bueche Award, 2004.

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Sandra Cano '99, Ed.D. '18

Sandra Cano '99, Ed.D. '18

Sandra Cano ’99, Ed.D. ’18, was recently featured on Spectrum News 1’s “LA Stories,” which highlights people who shape lives and create an impact throughout the community. Cano is executive director of City Year L.A., the first Latina to lead the organization. Cano is a life-long educator who grew up in many of the communities City Year L.A. serves and understands firsthand the struggles the students and communities face.

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Nellie Louise Jennings '54

Nellie Louise Jennings '54

Nellie Louise Jennings ’54, a proud Bruin for over 80 years, celebrated her 100th birthday on July 24. She left school in the early '40s to get married, then returned to complete her degree in education with a music minor. Jennings moved to Hawaii in 1966 with two of her minor children, where she continued her career as a school teacher while attending the University of Hawaii. She received her master’s degree in education administration in 1970.

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If you would like your story or that of another Bruin celebrated in a Class Note, please visit our website or email us at classnotes@support.ucla.edu. Please indicate your name and include the subject’s name and class year(s). And, if possible, email us a photo that we can use for the story.

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