Board of Directors 2011-12

Biographies last updated: June 2012

Chair

Van Schultz ’74, M.S. ’75 

Upon graduation, Van Schultz received the Outstanding Bachelor of Science Candidate Award from the UCLA Engineering Alumni Association. After completing his Master of Science degree, he began his career in the petroleum industry working for Shell Oil in Ventura, Houston and New Orleans. He is currently the senior vice president, Strategic Development and Innovation, for Aera Energy LLC in Bakersfield, Calif.

An alumnus of Triangle Fraternity, Schultz has remained involved at UCLA. He served on a variety of committees at the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and was president of the Engineering Alumni Association from 2004 to 2006. Schultz graduated from the Alumni Association Alumni Academy in 2001 and has participated on a number of Association committees since, most recently the Audit Committee. He completed two years as a director and one year as chair-elect on the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors before becoming the chair.

Schultz shares his Bruin pride with his wife, Susan ’75, and son, Stephen ’04, while daughter, Jennifer, graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2007 with a bachelor of architecture. The Schultz family enjoys following the Bruin football and basketball teams. They are members of the Chancellor’s Associates.

Chair-Elect

Randall Schnack ’82 

After graduating from UCLA with a degree in history, Randall Schnack went to law school at Southwestern School of Law, earning his J.D. in 1986. He joined West Publishing, where he was responsible for negotiating, drafting and executing licensing agreements, and later became the senior attorney (section chief) for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Schnack is now the managing attorney for the United States District Court, where he presides over the legal unit responsible for all legal services provided to the federal bench, clerk’s office and federal bar.

In addition to his civil duties, Schnack is active in his community, volunteering for the Manhattan Beach Police Department, the Mira Costa High School Parent Teacher Association and the American Youth Soccer Organization. He also contributes time to the Junior International Badminton Tournament through the Manhattan Beach Badminton Club, the Manhattan Beach Arts Festival and the Manhattan Beach Park and Beach Clean-up Crew.

As a UCLA undergraduate, Schnack was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. He is on the board of the South Bay Bruins and the regional chair of the Chancellor’s Associate Volunteer Committee. He participates in UCLA Alumni Association programs such as Dinners for 12 Strangers, Alumni Mentor Program, Bruin Woods and Freshman and Community College Transfer Scholarships.

General Counsel

Sally Ann Kay ’83 

Sally Kay graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in politi­cal science. Following graduation, Kay worked for a number of years in the restaurant and retail industries, then spent more than six years with Cadence Design Systems, Inc. as a program manager in the research and development group, and a project manager in the legal department. She attended law school at Santa Clara University where she earned her J.D., cum laude, in 1999. She joined Cooley Godward Kronish LLP in 1999, where she currently is a partner in the corporate group. At Cooley Godward Kronish, Kay has a general business and corporate law practice, representing both emerging and public companies in a variety of matters including venture capital financings, public offerings and SEC report­ing and compliance. She also represents investment banks and venture capitalists in a variety of equity transactions, including public offerings and private placements.

Currently, Kay lives and works in the San Francisco Bay area, and she continues to be involved in UCLA’s future. She has been active with Alumni Scholarships since 1994 and served as chair of the Scholarship Steering Committee from 2005 to 2008. In addition, Kay is a member of UCLA Women and Philanthropy and has served as the scholarship chair for Bay Area Bruins. Her commitment to students was demonstrated to an even greater level when she recently established an endowment for Alumni Scholarships.

Treasurer

Grace Ng ’94 

After graduating from UCLA, Grace Ng pursued a career in accounting with firms such as Texaco and AIG SunAmerica. Ng is a senior business intelligence specialist in the IT Department at DIRECTV, where she has worked in various finance and accounting capacities. Her areas of expertise include finance, accounting, auditing and management. Currently, she is responsible for developing models and reporting in the enterprise planning system Cognos, which includes working with Business Units to define reporting requirements, documenting processes, training end-users on developed tools, and managing Cognos related projects.

Ng was active as an undergraduate in the Student Accounting Society, Undergraduate Business Society and Mardi Gras Committee. She is a member of the Rose Bowl Bruins and has been an active volunteer on a number of different committees, including the Alumni Association Finance, Governance, Nominations, Membership and UCLA Awards committees. She was chair of the UCLA Alumni Association Audit Committee for two terms.

Chief Executive Officer

Ralph Amos 

Since 1990, Ralph Amos has gained progressive experience in alumni relations and marketing communications. He has been a leader in alumni relations nationally and internationally. He is a member of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and has served on its Committee on Opportunity and Equity, Commission on Alumni Relations and the CASE International Board of Trustees.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Amos received his bachelor of arts in interna­tional studies from Ohio State University in 1986. He received a master of public administration from Ohio University in 2004 and is pursuing a doctorate in higher education administration at Ohio University.

Directors

Alex Fay ’07 

After graduating with a history degree, Alex Fay joined the office of Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl as a legislative and envi­ronmental deputy. He was responsible for managing office online com­munications and serving as lead staff advisor for environmental policy with an emphasis on protecting the coastal ecology of Santa Monica Bay. In June 2009, Fay joined the Los Angeles mayor’s Office of Economic Development to work on the Clean Tech LA project and help establish Los Angeles as a leader in the research, production and deployment of environmentally friendly technologies.

While an undergraduate, Fay was an Alumni Scholar and received the Gold Shield Alumnae Scholarship. He has remained involved with UCLA as a member of the Order of the Golden Bruin, the School of Public Affairs Undergraduate Program, and as vice chair of the 2008-09 Alumni Academy. He is also an active member of the UCLA Downtown Committee.

Plinio Garcia ’82 

After earning his degree in economics and Latino American studies, Plinio Garcia worked briefly for the Brazil-California Trade Association. He next co-founded Chef Merito, Inc., a family-owned Hispanic specialty foods manufacturing firm based in Van Nuys, where he currently serves as president, CEO and director. Garcia is also a consultant for startup businesses.

As a student, Garcia was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity and participated in the UCLA Studies Abroad Program to Sao Paulo, Brazil. As an alumnus, he was a co-founder of the UCLA Latino Alumni Asso­ciation and Chef Merito Scholarship Fund. He continues to support the UCLA Latino Alumni Association. He has served on the UCLA Foundation Board of Counselors, Board of Governors and Board of Di­rectors. In 2005, he received the UCLA Award for Community Service.

Garcia lives in Los Angeles and has two sons, Luke and Zachary.

W. Brian Maillian ’71, M.B.A. ’74 

After earning two UCLA degrees, Brian Maillian joined Salomon Brothers, and later became vice president of First Boston Corporation. He is founder and managing partner of Olympius Capital, L.P., specializing in hedge funds, real estate and private equity. He also is founder and chief executive officer of Whitestone Capital Group, Inc., where he specializes in global and private capital markets, and advising the U. S. government. He is managing director of Rideau Lyons & Co.

A mentor to the next generation of African American financial leaders, Maillian is active in the Sponsors for Educational Opportunities Program, which offers employment and mentoring opportunities on Wall Street to African American youth.

Maillian serves on the Board of Trustees of Continuum Health Partners, Inc. in New York. He has served on boards of the National Urban League, Toyota Financial Savings Bank, National Association of Securities Professionals, New York Urban League and Bay Area Urban League.

In 2008, Maillian was honored as a Distinguished Champion at the UCLA Academic Advancement Program’s 35th Anniversary Celebration. He received the Jackie Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award from the UCLA Black Alumni Association in 2007.

Jennifer Poulakidas ’89 

While earning her UCLA degree in sociology, Jennifer Poulakidas participated in various campus organizations including the Student Alumni Association, USAC and Mardi Gras Committee. After graduation, she earned a master’s degree in public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

After obtaining her master’s degree, Poulakidas became the legislative director for science and research issues for the University of California Office of Federal Government Relations in the Washington, D.C. During her 11 years with UC, she was engaged actively in the federal science and research advocacy community.

Currently, Poulakidas is vice president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) for Congres­sional and Governmental Affairs. She works closely with the leadership of NASULGC’s 215 member institutions to promote public higher education positions to Congress and the executive branch.

Poulakidas continues to give back to UCLA. She is a past president and current board member of the UCLA Club of Washington D.C., and she participates in the Bruin Caucus, Order of the Golden Bruin and Alumni Association events such as Dinners for 12 Strangers.

Aris Tagle ’94 

Aris Tagle has held management and leadership roles in marketing, business development, strategic planning and technology in the Internet, consumer products, telecom, financial and advertising industries. He is currently director of marketing planning and analysis at Guthy-Renker, a leading direct response marketing firm based in Santa Monica, Calif.

While at UCLA, Tagle was president of the UCLA Samahang Pilipino student advocacy group. After receiving his Bachelor of Science from UCLA in mechanical engineering, he earned an M.B.A. from Yale University School of Management.

An active community member, Tagle has served on multiple nonprofit boards and managed numerous special events, fundraisers and community service projects. He was chair of the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association (PAA) and led many alumni mentoring, scholarship and career networking programs, including the annual PAA Scholarship Fundraising Benefit and Distinguished Alumni of the Year Awards, which he co-founded in 2000. He is a board member and past chair of FilAm ARTS, a nonprofit cultural arts organization that produces the annual Los Angeles Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture, and he was recently appointed to the UCLA PAA Community Advisory Board.

Tagle has also participated in the UCLA Anderson School Riordan Fellows Program, Yale M.B.A. Alumni Admissions Committee, Staples Center Foundation and ABC Unified School District Finance Advisory Committee in Cerritos, Calif.

Steve Chu ’81 

Steve Chu graduated cum laude from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1981. He has been working in Asia for more than 20 years, since being posted to Hong Kong in 1987 by Diebold Incorporated to establish the company’s Asia Pacific operations. He has held senior executive positions with international IT and software companies specializing in the banking, telecom and healthcare industries.

Chu established some of the first ATM systems and financial transaction switches in Asia. Later, he deployed some of the first Internet banking systems and modern core banking systems in Asia. When he co-founded Asia’s first and largest private IP-VPN network across Asia, his career diversified into telecom services.

Chu currently devotes his time to developing healthcare IT systems to serve elderly and chronically ill patients. Additionally, he is a management consultant for promising start-up companies in Asia.

In addition to his professional endeavors, Chu serves as first vice president and past president of the UCLA Association of Singapore, an international UCLA alumni network. He currently resides in Singapore with his wife, son and dog. His daughter will be a UC Santa Cruz graduate in 2012.

Erin Griffin ’02 

Erin Griffin received her bachelor’s degree in economics from UCLA in 2002. She also earned an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University in 2009.

Currently, Griffin is the chief information officer (CIO) for the Screen Actors Guild, where she serves on the strategic senior management team and oversees technology-related operations.

Previously, Griffin served as vice president of information technology and chief information officer at Loyola Marymount University, where she transformed IT operations from an underperforming outsourced division to an award-winning technical support team. She worked in a similar capacity at St. John’s College and at the U.S. Naval Academy. She has lived and worked in Germany, Japan and Italy, serving in both diplomatic and professional roles with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Navy overseas.

Griffin’s key areas of expertise include global IT operations; aligning IT and business; uniting diverse stakeholders around a common goal; leveraging next-generation technology; and leading turnaround initiatives to accelerate growth, resolve business challenges and improve operational performance. In 2007, she was awarded both the CIO 100 Award and the CIO Decisions Leadership Award.

In addition to her service to the Alumni Association, Griffin is active on the boards of the UCLA Anderson School IS Associates and the Society for Information Management.

Stephen Sauer ’74 

Steve Sauer received his B.A. from UCLA in 1974 and his J.D. from Southwestern University School of Law in 1977.

Founding partner and principal of MediaFour, Sauer is a successful personal manager, and packager and producer of motion pictures, television and live events. His management clientele, comprising actors, writers, directors and composers, are some of the biggest names in entertainment and include many winners of Academy Awards, Emmys, Golden Globes, Grammys and Kennedy Center Honors. One, Julie Andrews, was honored with The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Achievement at Spring Sing 2009.

Sauer has always been active in the Los Angeles community, especially at UCLA. He was a board member from 1999 to 2002, chair of the Career Services, Membership & Benefits and Marketing committees, and originator in 1996 of Entertainment Night, which has enabled thousands of UCLA students to network and seek jobs in the entertainment industry. He is currently inaugural co-chair of the UCLA Bruin Woods Advisory Committee.

Sauer is the proud father of Jonathan, a senior at UCLA, and Molly, a sophomore at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He and his family are 16-year veterans of Bruin Woods and have hosted Dinners For 12 Strangers for the past 18 years. He is also a Chancellor’s Associate and loves everything UCLA. He lives in Westwood with his beagles Waldo and Wiley.

Christine Simmons ’98 

Christine Simmons graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in physiological science in 1998. Currently, she serves as vice president of strategic alliances for Magic Johnson Enterprises, identifying new partnership areas and business opportunities for all MJE business lines. Previously, she was manager of supplier diversity and sustainability at The Walt Disney Company.

Simmons is a member of the board of directors of the UCLA Black Alumni Association and holds a seat on the board of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of the National Association of Female Executives and a founding board member of Endeavor College Prep Charter School. In 2003, BP awarded her a certificate of achievement for Contributions in Supplier Diversity.

At UCLA, Simmons is involved with the Academic Advancement Program Scholarship Council, Women & Philanthropy, Government Relations, Bruin Caucus and Bruins in Business. In 2008, DiversityPlus Magazine named her one of the Top 25 Women Impacting Diversity, and she was recently included in Who’s Who in Black Los Angeles.

Sharon Black ’87 

While earning her degree in electrical engineering, Sharon Black held several leadership positions including president of the UCLA chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers and vice president of Pi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, a Public Service Sorority. In addition, she was recognized as a Chancellor's Marshall.

Black later completed the UCLA Technical Management Program and earned an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, where she was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society as well as Alpha Sigma Nu, the Jesuit honor society.

Black is currently the program director of Special Projects at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. In this role, she is responsible and accountable for successful execution of a diverse set of programs.

Black has 24 years of design, technical and program management experience implementing signal processing functions on military programs. She has led teams in the design and development of application-specific integrated circuits, embedded software, software development tools, field programmable gate arrays, circuit card assemblies, subsystems units and radar systems.

In addition to her service to the Alumni Association, Black is active on the UCLA Electrical Engineering Alumni Advisory Board and the Clarissa Manuel Foundation Board of Directors.

Ruthie Flores Retana ’94 

Ruthie Flores Retana brought more than 10 years of experience in communications and public affairs to her position as hub manager for Building a Healthy Boyle Heights, a 10-year, $1 billion initiative of The California Endowment designed to create places where children are healthy, safe and ready to learn.

Previously, Flores Retana was senior manager and consultant for the Latino Initiative at the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. She also was a spokesperson for both English- and Spanish-language media, and she developed and implemented strategic communication plans to garner media coverage for a national Hispanic public relations agency and the California State Senate.

Flores Retana was a member of the Girls Inc. Latina Initiative Advisory Board, a graduate of the HOPE Latina Institute, and an alumna of Leadership Southern California. She also served as a commissioner for the City of Norwalk Social Services.

Flores Retana earned her bachelor degree in mass communications from UCLA and a master’s from Harvard University. She has completed the Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. marathons, and co-authored a travel guide book called Let’s Go Mexico 2000. She and her husband reside in Los Angeles.

Irwin Golds ’78 

Irwin Golds ’78 is a second generation Bruin and a founding member the UCLA Club of the Desert. After graduating from UCLA, Irwin received his J.D. from Hastings College of Law in 1981 and thereafter became a partner in the law firm Best, Best & Krieger.

In 1994, Irwin founded the law firm Criste, Pippin & Golds, and the same year he founded the real estate brokerage firm Fred Sands Desert Realty, which he sold to Coldwell Banker in 2003.

Irwin was a founder of Desert Commercial Bank. He also is a board member of Palm Desert National Bank, where in 2009 he received regulatory approval to serve as interim president, a position he held until 2010 when a permanent president was appointed. He is currently the owner and CEO of ProNet Properties, a real estate brokerage and investment company pursuing real estate opportunities in the Coachella Valley.

Irwin serves on several charitable boards in the Coachella Valley, including Shelter from the Storm and the Desert Community Foundation. Irwin and his family (Connie ’80; Kerry, UPenn ’09; Aaron, Georgetown ’11; and Jordan, UChicago) are avid Bruin fans, who dislike anything USC and have attended Bruin Woods for more than 20 years.

Craig Kaplan ’95 

Craig Kaplan grew up in Los Gatos, Calif., and attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. Despite its proximity, he refused to consider CAL as a college choice and was accepted into UCLA in the fall of 1990. In his senior year, Craig had a premonition that UCLA men's basketball would win a national title and extended his undergraduate career through winter quarter of 1995 to experience this joy as a student.

Kaplan has worked with several start-up companies, initially in operations for quality assurance service providers improving technology products and preparing them for public release. He moved into sales in 1999 and currently hires, trains and manages the 18-person business development team for EdgeCast Networks. EdgeCast Networks provides content delivery network services to enable the highest performing web delivery for websites simultaneously through an infrastructure of 22 global data centers.

Kaplan previously served on the ASUCLA Board of Directors as the Alumni Association representative. In 2001, he married Madeline Biesty ’95, who was elected USAC facilities commissioner and president of Alpha Phi, and became a Coro Fellow post-graduation. Craig and Madeline have three children: J.T. ’29 (Communications), Jonny Rufus ’31 (Mechanical Engineering) and Casey Meghan ’33 (Political Science).

Albert Lemus ’91 

Albert Lemus earned a bachelor of arts in history from UCLA in 1991 and an M.B.A. from Stanford University in 1997.

Lemus is a senior vice president in the Real Estate Group for Lowe Enterprises, Inc., responsible for expanding the organization’s mixed use, public-private partnerships and redevelopment in urban markets. He oversees investment opportunities through the Lowe California Community Fund and New Markets Tax Credits. Previously, he co-founded and was senior vice president of Telscape Communications, a national telecommunications firm.

In addition, Lemus is active in his community, serving on the Burbank Little League Board, Campbell Hall School Diversity Committee and the Burbank American Youth Soccer Organization.

As a UCLA undergraduate, Lemus was active in the Latino Business Association and Barrio Youth Alternative. A long-standing member of the UCLA Bruin Caucus, Lemus currently serves on the Bruin Caucus Council, the group’s steering committee. Lemus also participated in the UCLA Anderson School Riordan Fellows Program in 1994. He participates in UCLA Alumni Association programs such as Dinners for 12 Strangers and served on the UCLA Alumni Marketing Committee.

Immediate Past Chair, Alumni Regent Designate, UC California

Lori Pelliccioni M.P.H. ’96, Ph.D. ’02 

Lori Pelliccioni’s career has taken her from the courthouse to the classroom. She received her juris doctorate in 1986 and worked as a litigation associate with Katten Muchin and Zavis. She moved on to the United States Attorney’s Office where she served as an assistant United States attorney prosecuting health care fraud cases. Since leaving government service, Pelliccioni has been a partner in PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Care Practice, the chief compliance officer and acting general counsel for DaVita, Inc. and health care consultant and interim corporate counsel for Amgen, Inc. She currently serves as the acting general counsel and chief compliance officer for Simplex Healthcare, Inc.

At UCLA, Pelliccioni studied health law, examining regulatory compliance, health care fraud and abuse. She is currently an assistant professor in the School of Public Health.

Pelliccioni is the immediate past chair and the alumni regent designate of UC California for the UCLA Alumni Association Board of Directors, a member of the School of Public Health’s alumni board and a past president of the UCLA Health Policy and Management Alumni Association. She is also a member of the Delta Omega Society.

President, Student Alumni Association

Josh Aulakh 

Josh Aulakh is a fourth-year political science major and urban and regional studies minor. This is Aulakh’s fourth year as a Student Alumni Association (SAA) volunteer. He served previously on the SAA board of directors as the Bruin spirit executive director. As president, he is excited to continue enhancing the student experience through SAA events and programs.

Aulakh also serves as communications director for the Bruin Real Estate Association, and he supports the fight against pediatric aids as a member of the Pediatric Aids Coalition at UCLA. His involvement in campus life shows his dedication and passion for the university.

Currently, Aulakh works as a web assistant for the UCLA Alumni Association. After graduation, he plans on pursuing a career in real estate development and obtaining his M.B.A.

President, Alumni Scholars Club

Max Belasco 

Vice President - External Affairs, Graduate Students Association

David Chilin M.S. ’10 

David Chilin is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering, conducting research in the area of fault tolerant control of model predictive control systems.

Chilin already has a wide range of experience. As an undergraduate at UC Irvine, he had the opportunity to perform research in molecular biology, creating plasmids for gene integration into yeast cells, while simultaneously working at a semi-conductor research facility characterizing and maintaining equipment for vendors. Prior to joining UCLA, he held an engineering position at biotech giant Amgen, where his duties included leading a process characterization team and technology transfer of protein harvest operations, as well as developing new technologies for protein purification.

While at UCLA, Chilin has been the forum representative for the engineering council, a volunteer for the GSA Orientation, external vice president and treasurer for the engineering GSA, and a teaching assistant for various courses within the department of chemical engineering.

When not in the lab, Chilin enjoys traveling, hiking, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and attending music shows.

President, Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC)

Emily Resnick 

Emily Resnick is a fourth year psychobiology major and environmental systems and society minor at UCLA.

Resnick couldn’t be more excited to be USAC president, through which she hopes to unite and excite this incredible campus. Among many other initiatives, she wants to increase student pride, institutionalize UCLA’s Farmer’s Market and increase general awareness of the role of USAC.

At UCLA, Resnick sings and beatboxes in her a cappella group, Random Voices; is a member of Delta Gamma Sorority; has worked as a camp counselor at Bruin Woods, UCLA's alumni family camp; and served as a general representative on USAC.

From Palos Verdes, Calif., Resnick has two brothers (Henry and Mike), an adorable Husky (Dakotah) and lovely parents (Mark and Debra M.N. ’87). She wants to share one very important message with everyone: Goooo Bruins!!!

Chair, The UCLA Foundation

Maurice Salter ’69, Ed.D. ’77 

Maurice Salter is chair of The UCLA Foundation and the Executive Committee. A volunteer leader at the UCLA Foundation since 1990, he also served as chair of the Board of Directors’ Audit and Nominating committees, and as a member of the Finance, Investment, Nominations and Philanthropy committees.

Salter graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in English in 1969 and a doctorate in higher education in 1977.

He taught English at El Camino College and was director of grants and research at the University of California, Irvine, before founding Maurice M. Salter and Associates in 1980. For 15 years, the nationwide college counseling company provided admissions and financial aid information, test preparation instruction and tutoring to college applicants, becoming one of the largest companies of its kind in the U.S.

In the late 1980s, Salter co-founded XAP Company, which developed the first electronic college application, and was first to integrate the student loan application process into college admissions applications.

In 1997, he founded School Loans Corporation, Inc., which generated approximately $2 billion annually in federal and private student loans. In 2008, he helped found Aladdin Two (“A-2”) DBA LoanAmerica to address changing needs, primarily in the postsecondary career education market.

A member of the UCLA Bruin Caucus, Salter serves on the advisory board for UCLA’s School Management Program and previously was a faculty resource for the Kaufman Foundation’s Entrepreneurial Education programs. He is also a board member of Phoenix House, the nation’s largest substance abuse treatment program.

Board representative, UCLA Academic Senate

Robin Garrell 

Robin Garrell is the vice provost for graduate education and dean of the graduate division at UCLA. She holds a biochemistry degree from Cornell and advanced degrees in macromolecular science and engineering from the University of Michigan. In 1991, she joined the faculty of the UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. She was chair of the UCLA Academic Senate in 2009 and chair faculty of the College of Letters and Science from 2003 to 2007. She is PI/director of the UCLA NSF-IGERT materials creation training program and a member of the CNSI and biomedical engineering faculty. She is also a charter member of the NIH enabling bioanalytical and imaging technologies study section.

Garrell received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, Herbert Newby McCoy Award for Outstanding Research at UCLA, Iota Sigma Pi Agnes Fay Morgan Award, Hanson-Dow Award for Teaching Excellence at UCLA, 2003 UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award and UCLA Gold Shield Faculty Prize in 2009. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an honorary fellow of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy.

Vice Chancellor, External Affairs

Rhea Turteltaub 

Rhea Turteltaub was appointed Vice Chancellor, External Affairs at UCLA in March 2008.

As vice chancellor, Turtletaub oversees a diverse, yet integrated department comprising Development, Alumni Relations, University Communications & Public Affairs, Government & Community Relations and The UCLA Foundation.

Leading a team of nearly 500, Turtletaub is actively working with campus leadership on the preparations for the University's 100th anniversary celebration which include plans for a Centennial Campaign.

Turtletaub previously served as associate vice chancellor for Development with management responsibility for one of the most successful development programs of its kind. The campus has averaged more than $400 million in annual private support during the past three years.

Campaign UCLA, completed in 2005, generated a record-setting $3.052 billion.

Turtletaub began her UCLA career in the Office of Planned and Major Gifts. During the last 28 years, she served in varying capacities in annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, research, alumni and donor relations, regional development and campaign planning.

Prior to arriving at UCLA, Turtletaub held leadership positions at Otis College of Art and Design and The University of Chicago, as well as campaign positions at the University of California, Berkeley, and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in political science.

Turtletaub resides in Encino, California, with her husband, Adam, and their two young sons.

Chancellor

Gene Block 

Dr. Gene Block became chancellor of UCLA in August 2007. As chief executive officer, he oversees all aspects of the university’s three-part mis­sion of education, research and service.

A biologist, Block holds UCLA faculty appointments in the David Gef­fen School of Medicine and the College of Letters and Science. He also leads a research lab funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Block previously served as vice president and provost of the University of Virginia. There, he headed an NIH graduate training program designed to increase the number of scientists from under­represented groups. He also received the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Outstanding Public Service Award for his work with Virginia’s business community.

A native of Monticello, N.Y., Block holds a bachelor’s degree in psychol­ogy from Stanford University and a master’s and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Oregon. He is a fellow of the American Associa­tion for the Advancement of Science.

The inventor of a number of devices, Block holds a patent for a non-contact respiratory monitor to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

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