Milestones

Peggy O’Toole Lamb '72

Peggy O’Toole Lamb, ’72 and MA ’87, has published “Darling Love: Letters from World War II.” It contains the letters sent from her uncle, Lt. Frank Frost from the World War II front to his wife, Catherine. The letters were censored during the war, locked away in a metal box, and only discovered in 2015. It is Lamb’s second book of nonfiction centered on letters. Her first was “Then I Won’t Seem So Far Away,” letters from an American traveling in Europe during the 1970s.

Petra Persolja '18

led a children’s concert at the UCSB Summer Music Festival. The event was virtual and featured Persolja’s piano virtuosos.

Susie Willett '88

Susie Willett, ’88, has been named director of development at the Santa Barbara Dream Foundation. For the past six years she has been the director and senior director of donor and corporate relations. She also worked with Visit Santa Barbara in their sales and marketing department.

Mike Magpayo '01

has been named the interim head coach of the UC Riverside men’s basketball team. Prior to that appointment in July he was the associate head basketball coach at UCR. His career has involved basketball positions at Columbia University, Campbell University, USF and finally UCR. He is the founder and president of the Asian Coaches Association and for seven years had a successful real estate business. He is the first NCAA Division 1 head coach of full Asian heritage.

Dave Forman '66

Dave Forman, ’66, has published a new book, “Fearless Talent Choices That Can Make or Break Your Business.” According to Amazon, the book is for “business leaders who want to capitalize on their most valuable asset—their talent—to drive business results.” The book identifies six major directional choices that can make or break your business. Forman has published several books on leadership, including his first one “Fearless HR.” He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the UCSB Alumni Association.

Victor Geraci '97

has published “Wine By Design: Santa Barbara’s Quest for Terroir.” Geraci’s doctoral thesis produced the book “Salud! The Rise of Santa Barbara’s Wine Industry.” After receiving his degree he worked as a wine expert for the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley. He is almost finished with a new book on John DeLuca and the California Wine Institute’s late 20th Century fight against neo-Prohibitionism. In 2017 he published “Making Slow Food Fast in California Cuisine.”

Stephanie Harris-Uyidi '97

is featured as The Posh Pescatarian on Emirates Airlines channels and has been featured in Cuisine Noir magazine. The Pescatarian diet is more of a lifestyle which eliminates pork, beef and chicken consumption. Pescatarians choose seafood as their primary source of protein. The diet is featured on Uyidi’s website and her YouTube Channel.

Diana Mittelberger '81

Diana Mittelberger, ’81, has retired after 37 years at AT&T. She continues to teach technical writing and career development at DeVry University. She has worked in marketing, information services and customer care at ATT.

Don Lake '65

Don Lake,’65, has just released his new book “One Lap Around San Diego Bay.” It features 100 different attractions around the San Diego region. He was a member of the first engineering class at UCSB and had a career in micro-electronics. He has published a number of travel and history books and took many of the photos for his most recent book.

Patty Flores '20

launched a new tech company called Festively. During the holidays the company opened an online marketplace featuring holiday gifts from more than 100 different women and minority owned businesses in Southern California.

Diana De Los Santos '14

Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science, founded a bilingual stationery company called Rose Splash Creations.

Terri Hillard Olson '82

Terri Hilliard Olson, ’82, was featured in the recent edition of the Pacific Coast Business Times as one of the “Who’s Who in Professional Services.” She is the president and founder of Terri Hilliard PC. Her legal practice centers on estate and business succession, asset preservation and special needs trusts. Her company has offices in Westlake Village, Burbank and Santa Barbara.

Bettelyle Westbrook '50

Bettelyle Westbrook '50, has helped 350 students with financial need for higher education costs with the The Bettelyle Westbrook Spirit Award.

Mayra Marquez '08

Earned in a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership & Organizations from UC Santa Barbara!