Alumni Updates


Rebecca Beard, 2001
Submitted: December 1, 2022 Rebecca Beard ('01, Art) is currently on the Privacy Leadership Team at Meta where she focuses on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Device spaces. She leads a team of global managers who develop privacy practices to protect users' data in the development of the Metaverse. She completed her MBA from SFSU and EMBA from Yale. 

Brian Benfer, 2000
Submitted: September 28, 2022 Brian Benfer ('00, Studio Art) was named a Fulbright Scholar and Associate Professor of Art at the Art Academy of Latvia. His research revisits the history of the exchange program between the Art Academy of Latvia and Cal Poly Humboldt, one facilitated by the late Latvian-American Sculpture Professor, Maris Benson. Living in Riga, Latvia during the invasion of Ukraine, he also co-authored a publication with Dr. Courtney Queen on the impact of the occupation on the local community.   

Jenna MacFarlane, 2002
Submitted: September 12, 2022 Jenna MacFarlane ('02, Studio Art) moved to the east coast in 2005 and since that time has owned a marketing company. In early 2022, she published her first novel entitled "Hardware Stories," and has since released an award-winning feature called "Adopting Audrey" nationwide.

Brittany Britton, 2012
Submitted: June 24, 2022 Brittany Britton ('12, Art) received her Master of Fine Arts in Craft from the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2015. Britton moved back home to Humboldt County and worked as an Art History lecturer at the College of the Redwoods at the Klamath-Trinity Instructional Site in Hoopa. From 2018 to 2020 Britton was the Curator/Registrar of the Native American Collection at the Clarke Historical Museum. In June 2020 Britton became the Gallery Director of the Reese Bullen and Goudi'ni Native American Arts Galleries at Humboldt State University.

Pamela Schwartz, 1994
Submitted: March 16, 2022

Pamela Schwartz recently started a business working freelance as a presentation design specialist at www.butterflypam.com. A Powerpoint design pro, Schwartz specializes in helping business present a professional presentation. Schwartz also still paints and has a thriving art career.


Gloria Miranda, 2008
Submitted: May 21, 2021

Gloria's most recent accomplishment is that she is now a recent graduate from Claremont Graduate University Masters of Science in Information Systems Technology in Data Science as well as a Masters of Business for the Arts through Sotheby's Institute of Art at Claremont Graduate University.


Brittany Britton, 2012
Submitted: July 7, 2020

Brittany Britton, Art, 2012 received her Master of Fine Arts in Craft from the Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2015. Britton moved back home to Humboldt County and worked as an Art History lecturer at College of the Redwoods at the Klamath-Trinity Instructional Site in Hoopa. From 2018 to 2020 Britton was the Curator/Registrar of the Native American Collection at the Clarke Historical Museum. In June, 2020 Britton became the Gallery Director to the Reese Bullen and Goudi'ni Native American Arts Galleries at Humboldt State University.


Barbara Muskat, 1975
Submitted: January 18, 2020

Barbara Muskat, Art, 1975, has been teaching in a public school setting for the last 26 years. She taught as a secondary art teacher and for the last 15 years taught kindergarten where she includes the arts in many ways. Muskat will be retiring at the end of the 2020 school year.


Kristen Van Ausdall, 1976
Submitted: January 7, 2020

On Saturday Oct. 27, 2019 Professor of Art History Kristen Van Ausdall, Art, 1976, passed away. She died at the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California. While Van Ausdall had been on medical leave at the time of her death, her passing came as a shock to those who were close to her. She is survived by her husband, Scott Pringle. Van Ausdall had been a resident of Mount Vernon, Ohio, teaching at Kenyon College. After completing her B.A. in Studio Art and English at Humboldt State University in 1976 (inspired by Art History Professor Max Butler), she went on to attain an M.A. from the University of Oregon in 1981 and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 1994.


RGDavis, 1995
Submitted: August 7, 2018

RGDavis, Art, 1995, is focusing on Cuban Endemic Birds for a paper movie scroll, based on the book "Why Birds Matter" 2016.


Dora Mitchell, 2008
Submitted: May 2, 2018

Dora Mitchell, Art, 2008, has a debut novel, an illustrated children's mystery titled "The Haunted Serpent," which is being published in hardcover by Sterling Children's Books on June 5, 2018. Kirkus Reviews said "Fans of Dan Poblocki, John Bellairs, and R.L. Stine will all be right at home and smiling at the shivers (and the jokes)." Booklist said, "Mitchell’s well-developed kid characters and excellent caricatures (both written and visual) of the evil adult despots make this paranormal read engaging and goosebump-inducing," and School Library Journal called it "a spooky, high-interest adventure for reluctant readers and fans of action-packed tales.”


Brian Miller, 1974
Submitted: February 8, 2018

Brian Miller, Art, 1974, recently retired from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) after a successful 40+ year career in the high tech industry. Most recently, he served as director of marketing transformation at HPE, leading a worldwide team across Europe, India, and North and Latin America. He currently provides pro bono marketing and technology advisory services to the Northern California wine industry.


Justine Quijano, 2014
Submitted: August 2, 2017

Justine Quijano, 2014 Art, moved back to Southern California, had a child, and finally applied to grad school. Now, she is finally on her way to start her master's program. All happened a little out of order but like her sorority sisters said, she is a "Luchadora" for a reason. She is making her way back to her career goals at Marylhurst University, where she'll work toward my masters in art therapy.


Ian Thomas McDonald, 1998
Submitted: July 2, 2017

Ian Thomas McDonald, 1998 Art, will soon celebrate a his 10 year wedding anniversary with another HSU alumni (Natalie Covert, '97 Art). The couple’s daughter, Haddie, is turning 4 years old, and McDonald is starting a new job running the Ceramics department at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.


Mildred J. Correa, 2017
Submitted: June 6, 2017

Mildred J. Correa, 2017 Art, had been offered and accepted an incredible full-time career opportunity at a non-profit in her hometown, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, Calif. Correa's prior positions during her time at HSU including at the Academic and Career Advising Center, the Library, the Learning Center, and Student Access Gallery guided her to realize that she value working for organizations that positively impact community through design. Correa is happily employed at the Armory where everyday she is spreading awareness about this education and gallery space.


Mildred (Milly) J. Correa, 2017
Submitted: March 28, 2017

Mildred (Milly) J. Correa, 2017 Art, has begun a full-time graphic design job doing what she loves for an amazing non-profit, the Armory Center for the Arts, in Pasadena, Calif. Correa writes, “Thanks to my family, friends, and mentors who all encouraged me to pursue my goals to do what I love as a career. Contributing to my community while being able to do what I love is vital, which led me to take the Graduation Pledge. This is just the first step in my post-graduation life but I really look forward to it.”


Brittney Cathey-Adams, 2010
Submitted: March 3, 2017

Brittney Cathey-Adams, 2010 Art, received her Master of Fine Arts from San Jose State University in 2014. With the support and mentorship of many of her art professors, and especially Professor Emeritus Don Gregorio Anton, Cathey-Adams has achieved one of her goals of teaching photography at the college level. She has had the opportunity to teach four courses in digital and darkroom photography with San Jose State University, create photo curricula for youth programs, exhibit her artwork, give lectures, participate in conferences for her regional chapter of the Society for Photographic Education. She currently works in the San Jose Museum of Art’s Education Department.


Kelly Curtin, 2012
Submitted: January 31, 2017

Kelly Curtin, 2012 Art, joined Teach for America right after graduation and taught high school Special Education and English in San Jose, Calif., for the past four years. This past year, Curtin made the switch to Montessori education, and currently teaches middle school humanities at a Montessori middle school in Campbell, Calif.


Hero Burke Smith, 2003
Submitted: June 24, 2016

Hero Burke Smith, 2003 Art, is working in the media and textile industry, developing mad lib scripts for newish products.


Peggy Molloy, 1993
Submitted: February 18, 2016

Peggy Molloy, 1993 Art, has performed with the Joffrey Ballet, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Opera Company of Boston, and the Dell Arte Christmas Players. She is the current Chairman of the local Advisory Board for the Salvation Army.