Breadcrumb
Alumni Updates
Rich Torquemada
Fisheries Biology’92 MS, Natural Resources, 1982
Torquemada recently stepped down after four years as a Board Director of the Montana Grape and Winery Association, serving as President for three years. Rich continues to own and operate Luna Llena Vineyards, producing cold-climate hybrid wine grapes to several local wineries and cideries in western Montana. Prior to establishing Luna Llena, he enjoyed a 34-year career as a fisheries biologist and Field Supervisor with the Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, working throughout the western US.
Dennis Halligan
Fisheries Biology, 1980
Prior to and following graduation, Halligan fished in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea for 12 years. During that time he also owned and operated an oyster mariculture company in Humboldt Bay. Halligan has been a fish and wildlife biologist for the past 30 years and has worked on hundreds of projects including the decommissioning of the Humboldt Bay nuclear power plant, permitting the Klamath Dam removal, and a wide variety of construction, watershed restoration, fish and wildlife survey. Halligan hopes to retire in a couple of years, but loves his job and will probably work part-time until he drops. Cheers!
David Justice
Fisheries BiologyCriminal Justice, 1995
David Justice, Fisheries Biology, 1995, moved back to southern California after graduating from Humboldt State and worked in retail as a regional ranager for aquatic systems at a large pet retailer. He then went back to school to earn a MBA in Finance. After graduating, he began a career in banking, starting as a teller and working his way up to the executive level. Last November, he was promoted to President/CEO of Alta Vista Credit Union. "Go Jacks!'
Jim Craig
Fisheries Biology, 1985
After graduation Jim Craig, Fisheries Biology, 1985, worked as a Foreign Fishery Observer in the Bearing Sea. Next he took a job with the Washington Dept of Fish & Wildlife. Craig then joined the US Fish & Wildlife Service where he worked at fishery offices in Red Bluff, Stockton, and from 1987 to 2000 at the Arcata Fish & Wildlife Office. Craig then took a job as Deputy Project Leader at the USFWS's Mid-Columbia Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (MCFWCO) in Leavenworth, Washington. In 2008 he became Project Leader, and in 2020 he became Manager of the Leavenworth Fisheries Complex which consists of the MCFWCO and Leavenworth, Entiat, and Winthrop National Fish Hatcheries. Craig lives with his wife Lisa in Cashmere, Washington.
Chris Brey
Fisheries Biology, 1987
After earning his degree, Chris Brey, Fisheries Biology, 1987, served as an aquaculture extensionist in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. After that he worked for several years as a field biologist and a fish culturist, and then went on to earn an MS in Environmental Management at the University of San Francisco. He currently heads the Facilities and EH&S department at a Bay Area biopharma company, is married and has two children in college.
Aneesh Kumar KV
Fisheries Biology, 2014
Aneesh Kumar, Fisheries Biology, 2014, is currently working as Project Scientist at Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology. Their area of research is Eco-morphology of deep sea fishes and Otoliths.
David Justice
Fisheries Biology, 1995
David Justice, Fisheries Biology, 1995, was promoted to CEO of Alta Vista Credit Union in Redlands, California in November of 2019. Justice married a College Professor who teaches Geography and they have two adult boys who are off to college next year.
Colin Savage
Fisheries Biology, 2018
Shortly after graduating, Colin Savage, Fisheries Biology, 2018, started working with Washington Fish and Wildlife as a hatchery specialist. During his senior year he worked in rearing many species of salmonids and White Sturgeon.
Claudia Carlson Cottrell
Fisheries Biology, 1974
In 1991 16 years after graduating from Humboldt State, Claudia Cottrell, Fisheries Biology, 1974, graduated from Northwestern Health Sciences University with a doctorate in Chiropractic. After 23 years of running a human chiropractic practice, she went to Options for Animals School of Animal Chiropractic. She now practices exclusively on horses, dogs, cats, and any other animals that are presented to her. Cottrell, says she feels like she has come full circle. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota (her native state) with her husband, Harry Cottrell, who is a native of Arcata, California, and is also a graduate of Humboldt State. They have two adult sons, have always had pets, and still visit Humboldt County.
Thomas Cappiello
Fisheries Biology, 1986
Thomas Cappiello, Fisheries Biology, 1986, has retired from Alaska Department of Fish and Game after 21 years of service. Cappiello has been working in fisheries in Alaska for over 30 years. He still lives in Alaska and says he probably won't leave. Cappiello is a steering committee member of the Matanuska Susitna Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership, president of the MatSu Birders Club, and home baker of Artisan sourdough breads and pizza.