Curious what your former classmates are up to? Find out here.
1960s
JEFFREY BULLOCK ’69 is president of the University of Dubuque, a Presbyterian university in Dubuque, Iowa. He pastored Presbyterian churches before becoming the dean of UD’s theological seminary and the vice president of UD. He accepted the presidency in 1998. Jeffrey holds a master’s of divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Washington. The Bullocks have three sons and live in Dubuque.
ROBERT “BOB” WALLACE ’69, CEO of Wallace Properties Inc., was featured in the October 2017 issue of 425Business magazine. He weathered three significant recessions in 41 years of business and worked with thousands of tenants in his commercial real estate ventures. Bob, who was SPU’s 1999 Alumnus of the Year, also serves on a handful of boards and writes a regular column for the Puget Sound Business Journal. He and his wife, JOAN RUSSELL WALLACE ’69, live and work in Bellevue, Washington.
1970s
JOHN BORTON ’72 graduated with a double major in business and chemistry and is a third-generation grower of apples, pears, and cherries in the Yakima Valley of Washington. The 7,000-acre farm keeps the Borton enterprise busy storing, packing, and shipping more than 10 million boxes of fruit each year. It began on 20 acres 106 years ago and is today one of the nation’s single largest producers of fresh fruit. John, CEO of Borton and Sons Inc., is married to Barbara, who attended SPU from 1970 to 1972 before graduating from Central Washington University in 1974 with a degree in education. The Bortons live in the Yakima Valley.
1980s
CHRISTY MILLER BUCHANAN ’82 is senior associate dean for academic advising at Wake Forest University. She is a professor in the psychology department and holds a master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Michigan. Christy lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
1990s
DENYC BOLES ’91 was selected in January to fill the vacant District 19 seat in the Oregon House of Representatives. The Republican has filed to run for re-election this November. Challenging issues that receive her attention are the lack of mental health care services, high adolescent suicide rates, and a struggling public education system. Denyc is employed at Salem Health, where she is in community relations. Called “a tenacious advocate for her community,” she lives with her husband, Jeff, and three children in Salem, Oregon.
JEONG-JU “JAY” YOO ’96 is associate professor of family and consumer sciences at Baylor University’s Robbins College of Health and Human Sciences. He was selected to receive the 2018 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences-Texas Affiliate Leader Award. He was recognized at the Best of Texas Banquet in Austin, Texas, in March. Jay, who has studied the risks of tanning in young adults, specializes in apparel merchandising with a focus on fashion and health, social responsibility, and issues involving consumer behavior. He is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and earned a master’s degree from Cornell University and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. Jay lives in Waco, Texas.
AMY ROBERTS ROHLER ’97 is the executive director of United Way of Southern Chautauqua County, with headquarters in Jamestown, New York. She was co-pastor at Bethesda Covenant Church in New York City from 2004 to 2009 and occasionally preaches at First Covenant Church in Jamestown, where her husband, ADAM ROHLER ’98, is senior pastor. Amy is also a member of the Chautauqua Lake Rowing Club and was executive director for Community Helping Hands Inc., an organization that provides emergency assistance to local families. The Rohlers live in Jamestown with their two children, ages 4 and 6.
2000s
JONATHAN CATHERMAN ’00 is the founder of the 1M Mentoring Foundation, a provider of skills and character mentoring resources for organizations working with youth. A motivational speaker and author, Jonathan’s newest book is The Manual to Middle School: The “Do This, Not That” Survival Guide for Guys (Revell, 2017). For his success in the development and delivery of youth mentoring resources and programming, Jonathan was awarded the 2016 President’s Volunteer Service Award and Martin Luther King Drum Major for Service award. He and his wife, ERICA SNELLEMAN CATHERMAN ’03, co-authored two books that will publish this year — The Girl’s Guide to Conquering Life and The Girl’s Guide to Conquering Middle School (both Revell, 2018). Jonathan, Erica, and their two sons live near Charlotte, North Carolina.
EDMUND ROBB ’00 is a strategic litigator and partner at Bracewell LLP, a leading law and government relations firm primarily serving the energy, finance, and technology industries worldwide. His practice has included work for public and nonprofit clients, such as the City of Houston, Lower Colorado River Authority, and Gulf Coast Water Authority. He also works in construction disputes. Edmund has defended a large pharmaceutical company and was lead associate for the plaintiff in a case alleging more than $100 million in damages arising from the purchase and sale of a natural gas storage business. He earned his graduate degree at Duke University School of Law and lives in Houston, Texas.
DENISE MARTINEZ ’03 is a clinical associate professor of family medicine and assistant dean for cultural affairs and diversity in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Her work entails increasing the number of underrepresented students who have access to health professional schools. She helped write the grant for and administers the Summer Health Professions Education Program at UI, one of 13 such sites hosted by universities across the nation. She was named one of 40 under 40 Leaders in Minority Health for 2018 for her work with The National Minority Quality Forum. Denise, a member of the Seattle Pacific University Board of Trustees, lives in West Liberty, Iowa.
CORY SHEPHERD ’08 is president of Sound Financial Group and president of SPU’s GOLD Council. Last year, he published a motivational e-book, Cape Not Required, available on Amazon and in bookstores. In it he shares some of his personal practices and strategies for accessing more of the possibilities in life. Cory lives in Seattle.
KIM DODRILL ’09 is owner and creative director of Swoon Floral Design in Portland, Oregon. An interior design graduate, she enjoys coordinating and designing all the aesthetic details of a wedding or other special event. Her style, she says, is romantic, organic, and lush, and has run the gamut from gothic to rustic tablescapes of stoneware and snowberry. Kim lives in Portland.
2010s
A.J. TEMPLE ’10 is president and head distiller at Temple Distilling Company in Lynnwood, Washington. The business administration major is celebrating the company’s Woodcut Barrel Rested Gin, named one of 2017’s top 100 spirits by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. A.J. and wife JAMIE ANDONIAN TEMPLE ’10 run the distillery and live in Bothell. They welcomed their second baby boy in February.
JEFFREY WALKER MAT ’10 teaches economics and computer science at Arizona’s Cactus Shadows High School and served as a 2017 Education Advisory Group Fellow for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He and 20 other high school and community college teachers advised the bank on best practices related to teaching about the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy. Jeffrey lives in Scottsdale, Arizona.
JACOB COMSTOCK ’13 owns Comstock Jewelers in Edmonds, Washington. He and his wife, Paige, who works for Facebook, live in Shoreline, Washington.
