Highlights from
2022 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 2022.
Rachel Robinson '42
Rachel Robinson '42, who met her husband, Jackie, on the campus of UCLA, celebrated her 100th birthday on July 19. Credited with being an essential part of Jackie Robinson's color-barrier-breaking career in Major League Baseball, Mrs. Robinson earned her AA degree in nursing at UCLA, her bachelor's degree at UC San Francisco in 1945 and her master's degree at New York University in 1959. She was awarded the UCLA Medal, the University's highest honor, in 2009.
Mo Ostin '51
Mo Ostin ’51, a legendary music industry executive and philanthropist who played a vital role in music history, died Sunday, July 31, of natural causes. He was 95. The Edward A. Dickson Alumnus of the Year in 2019, Ostin, who graduated from UCLA with a degree in economics, was known for encouraging creativity, respecting the artistic process and being willing to take risks. He generously shared his talents with UCLA, and his philanthropic support helped and inspired countless Bruins.
Winny Dong '94, M.S. '98, Ph.D. '00
Winny Dong '94, M.S. '98, Ph.D. '00, has received the highest U.S. award for excellence in science, mathematics and engineering mentoring from the White House, one of the 117 teachers, mentors and mentoring organizations named by President Joe Biden on Feb. 8 as recipients of the 2022 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) and Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM). Dong is one of only 12 individuals who received the PAESMEM award.
Celeste Drake '89, J.D. '02, M.P.P. '02
The White House has brought on Office of Management and Budget official Celeste Drake '89, J.D. '02, M.P.P. '02, as the new deputy director of the National Economic Council for labor and economy, a White House official told Politico.com. Drake, a former union official and trade expert, was appointed last April as OMB’s first Made in America director, helping shape and implement federal procurement and financial management policy. She’ll replace Seth Harris, who left the administration last month.
Bob Wilson '53
Robert “Bob” Wilson ’53, whose decades of philanthropic effort on behalf of his alma mater have had a transformative effect on the UCLA community, passed away Jan. 24, surrounded by his family members and loved ones at his home in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He was 93. In partnership with his wife, Marion ’50, who died in December 2020, Wilson’s generosity toward UCLA spanned five decades. The Wilsons personally endowed student fellowships and scholarships, funded a lounge for UCLA medical students, and made many other financial contributions to units across the campus.
Jessica Watkins, Ph.D. '15
Jessica Watkins, Ph.D. '15, will make history as the first Black woman to live and work on the International Space Station, starting in April next year. She is scheduled to spend six months on the ISS as a mission specialist. For her Ph.D. research, Watkins studied the “emplacement mechanisms of large landslides on Mars and Earth” through orbital data analysis and field research. While at UCLA, Watkins was a teaching assistant and won the UCLA Chancellor’s Prize and her academic department’s Harold and Mayla Sullwold Scholarship for Academic Excellence and Outstanding Original Research.
Branden Brough '00, M.S. '03, Ph.D. '06
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office announced Branden Brough '00, M.S. '03, Ph.D. '06, as the new director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO). Brough joins the NNCO from the Molecular Foundry, a U.S. Department of Energy-funded nanoscale science research center that provides users from around the world with access to cutting-edge expertise and instrumentation.
Anastasia Ali, MBA '14
The Walt Disney Company has named Anastasia Ali, MBA ’14, to the position of Vice President, Enterprise Commercial Inclusion Strategy, reporting to Jill Estorino, president and managing director, Disney Parks International, and the company’s executive champion of the Black consumer experience team. Ali will develop and manage a comprehensive, enterprise-wide strategy that deepens The Walt Disney Company’s relationship with Black consumers, in partnership with existing marketing and commercial business leads. She begins her new role on Aug. 22.
Kristina Wong '00
"Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord," by Kristina Wong '00, is a 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist in drama. The work is described as "A humorous and moving performance piece detailing how the author became the founder of a homemade face mask operation in the early months of the COVID epidemic, reflecting on the significance of women of color performing an historically gendered and racialized form of labor at a time of rising anti-Asian bigotry."
Bob Moore '53
Bob Moore '53, the oldest living former Bruin football player, celebrated his 95th birthday Oct. 11. Moore, a fullback on the team in the early 1950s and a former high school football coach, was honored by the UCLA Athletics during the recent UCLA-Utah football game and received a birthday message from Martin Jarmond, Alice and Nahum Family Director of Athletics. Glen Lewis '80, who was coached by Moore at Willows High School in the 1970s, was involved in organizing the tribute.
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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