Alumni of Distinction

Young, talented students from around the world come to Pacific to experience a vibrant, student-centered learning environment. Once they graduate, they leave prepared to practice their professions at the highest level, engage in international affairs, and lead global businesses and organizations. Here are a few alumni who have left indelible marks throughout their careers.

John C. Beyer '62

Former Chair and CEO of Nathan Associates

Scott Boras '77, '82

Sports agent; founder, Scott Boras Corp.

Jaclyn Rann Cohen '91

Senior Vice President of programming and acquisitions for TV Land and Nick at Nite

Rebecca Jacoby '83

Senior Vice President of Operations, Cisco, retired

Constance X. Rishwain '79

President of Vionic Group LLC

Alex G. Spanos ‘48 (1923-2018)

Owner, Los Angeles Chargers; developer and founder, A.G. Spanos Companies; philanthropist

Allan Zaremberg ’78

President and CEO, California Chamber of Commerce (1998-present)

Steven D. Strauss '92

Small business expert; president and founder of The Self-Employed; author of 17 books, including "Small Business Bible;" syndicated columnist for USA Today's weekly "Ask an Expert"

John G. Red Horse '62

Former dean of Liberal Arts and Co-Principal Investigator of Indian Child Welfare Certificate Program, University of Minnesota Duluth

Lawrence Scadden ‘66

Senior Program Director, National Science Foundation Program for Persons with Disabilities (retired)

Chauncey Veatch ‘70

2002 National Teacher of the Year

Frederick A. Wentworth '77

San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools, 1991-2010; former president of the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association

Robert M. Widney 1862 (1838-1929)

Founding father and first President of the Board of Directors of the University of Southern California; founder, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce

Rear Admiral Paula C. Brown '82

Deputy Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Command and Deputy Chief of the Civil Engineers (retired)

Jose Hernandez ‘85

Former NASA astronaut, mission specialist STS-128

Ramzi Haidamus '87

Former president of Nokia Technologies

George Tchobanoglous '58

International expert in wastewater treatment, water reuse and solid waste management

Dean Butler '79

Actor; documentary film producer

Robert Culp ’49 (1930-2010)

Actor

Jamie Lee Curtis '80

Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning actress

Jeff Franklin '76

Award-winning producer, writer and director

David Gerber ‘50 (1923-2010)

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television executive and film producer

Ken Kercheval ‘57 (1935-2019)

Actor: stage, film, TV

Janet Leigh ‘47 (1927-2004)

Golden Globe award-winning actress

Darren McGavin ‘48 (1922-2006)

Actor

Robert Ulrich '76

Award-winning casting director; owner, Ulrich-Dawson Casting-Casting for Glee, The Mentalist, CSI

Jo Van Fleet '40 (1915-1996)

Tony and Academy Award-winning actress

Dr. Arif Alvi '84

13th president of Pakistan and accomplished orthodontist

John Doolittle '78

Congressman, U.S. House of Representatives (1991-2009)

Peter Knudsen ‘66

Utah State Senator, Dist. 17 (1999-present)

Bill Lockyer '86

32 nd Calif. State Treasurer, former Calif. Attorney General

George Moscone ‘53 (1929-1978)

California State Senator (1967-76), 37th mayor of San Francisco

Lawrence "L.B." Brown, PharmD '99

President-Elect, American Pharmacists Association (2014-15); Associate Dean, Chapman University School of Pharmacy

Jannet Carmichael PharmD '81

Pharmacy Executive, Veteran's Affairs Sierra Pacific Network; former President, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (1992-3)

Derric DesMarteau DDS ’80 (1951-2009)

Former Team Dentist to the Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors

William Dorfman DDS ‘83

ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover Dentist; founder, Discus Dental

Arthur Dugoni DDS '48

Dean Emeritus, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry; past President: ADA, ADA Foundation, AADS, CDA.

Brig. Gen. Gerald Dieter Griffin '71

Chair of the U.S. delegation of the Interallied Confederation of Medical Reserve Officers, which advises NATO on the development of military medicine, pharmacy and security policy; an expert in emergency and military medicine

Captain Boyd Robinson DDS ‘76

Dentist to U.S. Presidents; former Chairman of Presidential Support Team

Martín Burt '80

Founder and CEO of Fundación Paraguaya; former Chief of Staff to the President of Paraguay; Vice Minister of Commerce and Mayor of Asunción

Dolores Huerta '10 (Honorary Degree)

Labor Leader/Civil Rights Activist; co-founder, National Farmworkers Association

Tom Mohr '86

Deputy Chief of Party for Project HOPE, Kazakhstan

Sakena Yacoobi '77

Founder, Afghan Institute of Learning; Nobel Peace Prize nominee (2005); National Endowment for Democracy Award for Democracy recipient (2005); Opus Foundation Unsung Heroes Award recipient (2014)

Robert Buccola ’83

Personal Injury attorney, Rated by SuperLawyers.com (2004-14)

Connie Callahan ’75

Judge, U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Morrison England '77, '83

Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Calif.

John Gerrard ’81

Judge, U.S. District Court for the State of Nebraska

James W. Hardesty ’75

Nevada Supreme Court Justice

Theodore B. Olson ‘62

Attorney, 42nd Solicitor General of the United States

Johnnie Rawlinson ’79

Judge, U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

Ronald B. Robie '67

Associate Justice, California Third District Court of Appeals

Arthur G. Scotland '74

Presiding Justice, Calif. Third District Court of Appeals, retired

Dave Brubeck ’42 (1920-2012)

Jazz musician; founder, The Brubeck Institute

David Giovannoni ’76

President, AudiGraphics, Inc.; Grammy Award winner 2006 (Best Historical Album)

Larry Groupé '79

Award-winning composer (Scores include The Contender, Resurrecting the Champ, Straw Dogs)

Chris Isaak ‘80

Rock musician and actor

Terry Maple '68

Former President/CEO of Zoo Atlanta; behavioral research scientist; educator; author

Balazs Erdelyi '13

Olympic Athlete-Water Polo (Hungary 2016); two-time winner of Peter J. Cutino Award

Craig Healy DDS ‘86

Olympic Athlete, Sailing Champion

Jennifer (Joines) Tamas ‘03

Olympic Silver Medalist, Women's Volleyball (2008)

Jayne McHugh ‘82

Olympian, Women's Volleyball (1988)

Alex Obert '16

Olympian, Men's Water Polo (2016, 2016, 2020)

Elaina Oden ‘90

Olympic bronze medalist, Women's Volleyball (1992)

Bradley Schumacher ‘97, ‘05

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Swimming (1996) and Water Polo team participant (2000)

Pete Carroll ‘73, ‘78

NFL head coach, Seattle Seahawks

Dell Demps '92, '98

General Manager, New Orleans Pelicans

Tom Flores ‘59

Former NFL head coach and general manager

Malia Kamisugi ‘98

Nationally-ranked open ocean outrigger canoe racer

Eddie LeBaron ‘50 (1930-2015)

Former All-American football player and sports executive

Gary Nelson ‘68

USF Golf Coach/Player, U.S. Senior Open

Michael Olowokandi ‘98

First Overall Pick, 1998 NBA Draft; played for LA Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics

Heather Cox '92

Sportscaster and sports reporter for NBC

Matt de la Peña '96

Best-selling author of young adult novels and children's books; first Latino author to receive the prestigious Newbery Medal

Sharon Ito '82

Former Television anchor, newscaster, KXTV and KCAL

George Knapp '77

Investigative journalist, two-time Peabody award recipient; 19 Emmy Award recipient; AP Mark Twain Award recipient for best news writing

Steve Martini ’74

Attorney and best-selling novelist

Patrick McDowell '81

Southeast Asia Bureau Chief, Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswire

Kate Moses ’84

Co-founder, Salon.com; novelist

Carla Norton ’76

Award-winning novelist and best-selling true crime writer