Lisa Trivedi (Ph.D., history, ’99), a history professor at Hamilton College in New York, curated a Feb. 7 – March 31 exhibition at the Sacramento City Hall of Pranlal K. Patel photographs. Refocusing the Lens features Patel's images of women at work in Ahmedabad, a city in northwest India, in the early 20th century. Trivedi learned about Patel’s photos in 1996 while on a Fulbright Scholarship in Gujarat, India. She worked closely with him for two years before his death to organize the first U.S. exhibition of his work at Hamliton College in 2014. [Watch a video about the exhibition] The UC Davis Middle East/South Asia Studies (ME/SA) Program sponsored the Sacramento showing. Trividi is the author of Clothing Gandhi’s Nation: Homespun and Modern India (Indiana, 2007) and is currently working on a book titled Bound By Cloth: Women Textile Workers in Bombay and Lancashire, 1890-1940. 

José Quiñonez’s story starts in rural Mexico in 1971. Fast-forward to fall 2016: Quiñonez (B.A., Chicano/a Studies, ’94) is awarded a 2016 MacArthur Genius Grant for his innovative work in poverty alleviation.

Chris Petersen (B.A., psychology, ’87), head coach of the University of Washington football team, was recently featured in a Washington Post article, "At Washington, Chris Petersen is making noise with a quiet approach." The Dec. 28 story—published a few days before the Huskies lost their first College Football Playoff game to No. 1-ranked University of Alabama—traces Petersen's successful career back to his days at UC Davis, where he played for and assisted legendary coach Jim Sochor. The Post describes Petersen as "one of the best coaches of his era, a West Coast answer to Nick Saban and Urban Meyer." 

C. Matthew Snipp (B.A., sociology, ’74), a sociology professor at Stanford University, was recently appointed by President Barack Obama as a trustee of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, one of three of the nation's Congressionally chartered colleges. At Stanford, where he has worked since 1996, he is the Burnet C. and Mildred Finley Wohlford Professor of Humanities and Sciences and the director of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences’ Secure Data Center. He also serves on the National Institute of Child Health and Development’s Population Science Subcommittee. In addition to his UC Davis degree, Snipp earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

David Ashby (B.A., political science, and rhetoric and communication, ’99) was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown in December to the Sutter County Superior Court bench. Ashby, 39, of Yuba City, has been an owner and attorney at the Ashby Law Firm since 2002. After graduating from UC Davis, he earned his law degree from UC Berkeley. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Chris Chandler (B.A., English, ’73) last May. A former state Assembly member, Chandler served 23 years on the bench, including a 2006–12 stint as the court's presiding judge. 

Marc Greendorfer (B.A., economics and psychology, ’86) practices corporate law in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, he established the Zachor Legal Institute, a nonprofit foundation combating the Palestinian-based boycott movement against Israel. He also filed amicus curiae briefs in two U.S. Supreme Court cases — Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby Stores in 2014 (where the court ruled family-owned companies cannot be forced to provide contraceptive coverage against their religious beliefs) and Obergefell vs. Hodges in 2015 (which made gay marriage a national right). Language in his second brief was used by Chief Justice John Roberts in his dissent. Greendorfer has had several papers published in prominent law reviews. One article, “The BDS Movement: That Which We Call A Foreign Boycott, By Any Other Name, Is Still Illegal,” was cited by Israel’s Supreme Court in its 2015 decision upholding the nation’s domestic anti-boycott law. 

With the State Capitol right across the Yolo Causeway, UC Davis students and researchers have the unique opportunity to directly engage politicians and policymakers with their research. One such talented individual is Gabby Nepomuceno (Ph.D., Chemistry, ’15).

Just before completing her undergraduate degree in studio art and Italian in 2008, Sofia Lacin was hired to paint a mural at the Davis Crepeville restaurant where she worked. It was a big wall so she recruited her high school friend Hennessy Christophel to help.