John “Jeff” Jeffreys (BS Animal Husbandry ‘55, MA Education/Biological Science ‘56) has been married for 57 years and has three children and five grandchildren. He is currently a practicing psychologist, serves on the faculty of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and is the author of “Helping Grieving People: When Tears are Not Enough.”

Tom Avenell (Animal Husbandry ’57) is 88 years young and his fourth and present career is leading physical fitness and self-defense classes in order to make good use of his three Tae Kwon Do black belts. His most recent self-defense presentation was for three hundred employees of Ray Stone, Inc.

Darwyn Briggs (Animal Husbandry ’57) started his career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service (SCS) as a range management summer trainee in 1956. Following graduation, he worked for the SCS in several locations in California and in Washington, D.C. He retired from the SCS in 1994 after 38 years of service in natural resources conservation. Approaching his 82nd birthday, he and his wife Susie are enjoying their five grandchildren and he is continuing his interests in fly fishing and writing his memoirs.

Robert Osland (Agricultural Business ‘61), along with Lilia Sariecheva, just published their second book, “Voyages Through Time and Space: The Life of a Russian Psychic.”

Terry Jones (Diary Husbandry & Manufacturing ’65) is currently leasing out his dairy operation in Idaho and devoting his time to his Rotary Club. As of July 1, he is the Governor of District 5400 in Idaho and credits this in part to the leadership training he received at Cal Poly.

Chuck Sawday (Agricultural Business ’69) comes from a long line of Cal Poly graduates. His father and uncle attended Cal Poly in 1929-30 and both of his daughters graduated from Cal Poly. Chuck’s wife of 49 years helped him through his college carrier after his service in the U.S. Coast Guard. Chuck served on Cal Poly’s alumni board and enjoyed the opportunity to play a role for the best college in the west.

Clinton (Chris) Beebe (Mechanized Agriculture ’71) and his wife took a learning adventure trip to Peru and the Galapagos Islands in April 2017. They visited Lima, Cusco, Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and many other sites. At the Galapagos, they hiked and snorkeled for five days at several different islands and saw a wealth of wild and sea life.

John Putt (Dairy Husbandry ’74), after years of owning a general construction firm, is returning to his teaching career in a juvenile detention facility. He will be teaching construction skills and is excited for the opportunity to provide direction and positively impact disadvantaged youth. He credits Cal Poly as a pivotal chapter in his life and a continuing inspiration to pay his good fortunes forward.

Jim Voigt (Agricultural Business ’74) retired as the vice president of operations and engineering from the Archer Daniels Midland Company five years ago. He is now a co-owner and executive vice president of AgriSphere, a company that combines traditional management consulting with cloud-based software and mobile apps solutions to improve the performance of agricultural businesses. Voight and his wife, Becky, have four children and five grandchildren and have been able to travel to many exotic locales such as their 2013 trip to East Africa with other Cal Poly alumni.

William Crews (Agricultural Business ’75) published the book “Worth Saving,” about the challenges a family faces while caring for a special needs child.

Geri (Bielar) Byrne (Animal Science ’78) is the current chair of the Modoc County Board of Supervisors.

Delia (Dill) Barela Juncal (Ornamental Horticulture ’78) recently retired as an urban forester for the City of Oceanside, Calif., after 30 years of service. She now works part-time for Epicenter Management, a company that specializes in event planning and organization for the western chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture and other professional organizations.

Fred Clark (Agricultural Business ’83) has been named as senior counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Fred will be engaged in the committee’s consideration of the omnibus Farm Bill, focusing on reauthorization of federal crop, trade, research, credit, insurance and other policies. Fred is a native Californian who served as a state officer in California FFA before attending Cal Poly and going on to earn a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center. Most recently, Fred served as the volunteer director of global partnerships at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Va.
 

Diane Keddy (Dietetics and Food Administration ’84) recently moved to eastern Washington after years of always wanting to live in the Pacific Northwest. She converted her private nutrition counseling practice to tele-health and is grateful to live in such a beautiful place with the nicest people.

Charles Bauer (Soil Science ’90) has finally retired after spending 43 years of his life working and going to school. He says that his three years at Cal Poly were the very best years of his life.

Joia (Jones) Clebinger (Agricultural Science, ’01) was an agriculture teacher for eight years before become a staff member for a state affiliate of the National Education Association. She met and married her love in July.

Kelli Limi (Agricultural Business ’03) changed careers from agriculture into education. She is excited to be teaching first grade while completing her teaching credential.

Cherisse Lockerd (Animal Science ’06) launched a franchise wine and painting studio in 2014. Out of nearly 200 such studios, they are the number one location in the country.
 

Lindsey Liebig (Agricultural Business ‘08) participated in a Federal Advocacy Fly-In with California Farm Bureau, along with several other Cal Poly Alumni. They spoke on immigration, water, tax reform, forestry, infrastructure and other pertinent agricultural issues with both Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Kamala Harris, more than 35 of California’s Representatives, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials, and Department of Forestry officials including Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell.

Sarah Nisse (Food Science & Nutrition ’08) traveled to the jungles of Borneo to conduct holistic healing on wild and rehabilitated orangutans. She and her husband spent the trip cruising on the Sekoyner River in a klotok (house boat) while enjoying the peace of the jungle and hospitality of the Dayak tribesmen.

Tatyana Lee (Recreation, Parks & Tourism Administration ’11) founded a wedding photography business with her husband. After expanding The Lees Photography across California and Texas, they are excited to be moving back to San Luis Obispo County and would love to connect with any other wedding vendors or fellow alumni still living in the best city on Earth.

Alexandra Salch (Animal Science ’13) passed the national physical therapy exam and is now a licensed physical therapist working at a model spinal cord center.

Alexandra Rae Danell (Agricultural Business ‘14) is pursuing her passion to help farmers capture their work through photography. She recently launched her new website harvestjoydesign.com.
 

Jonathan Nelson (Agriculture and Environmental Plant Sciences ’14) was accepted into University of Florida’s graduate school of horticultural sciences in 2016. He’s currently working for and studying under the noted strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker. His research is focused on quantitative trait locus discovery for resistance to the disease Macrophmina phaseolina in strawberries.