Alumni Highlights
Michelle Yerke (Class of 2010)
Social Services Supervisor
Senior Center in Central Park, Community & Library Service, City of Huntington Beach
Michelle first discovered her passion for working with older adults through a CSUF Human Services internship. After the internship, Michelle secured a position and worked as a lead Care Manager with the local senior center for several years. Ultimately she returned to CSUF and earned a Master’s in Gerontology which helped round out her knowledge base and provided great connections with others in the field of Gerontology.
Currently she is the Social Services Supervisor at the Senior Center in Central Park and oversees the Care Management, Home Delivered Meals, Transportation, and Volunteer Services, all of which are possible through exceptional staff and volunteers. Go to the Huntington Beach website to learn more about the programs that Ms. Yerke runs.
Denise Noguera (Class of 2012)
Call Center Manger (Program Administrator II)
Ventura County Area Agency On Aging
Denise has worked for VCAAA almost 9 years. She started as a Case Manager for Care Transitions, then a Program Coordinator for the Fall Prevention Program, followed by the position of Case Manager for the Housing + Program with Housing Authority, and then became a Program Manager I where she supervised staff & managed several of short term case management programs within the agency: Title IIIE Family Caregiver, Title IIIB Social Model Case Management, DA Elder Abuse XE, Alzheimer's Disease & Related Dementias & PEARLS (Program to Encourage Active Rewarding Lives). She also worked as their Grants Administrator and now as the I & A Manager (Call Center Manager).
She has found that her degree in Aging Studies has rewarded her with many opportunities to do the work she loves. She enjoys being a part of new projects and watching her staff learn and grow.
Ryan Dickey (Class of 2015)
Information Technology Project Manager
CSUF Information Technology Department
Ryan leverages his BA in Sociology from UCSB and his MS in Gerontology from CSUF to on a daily basis understand and bridge gaps between team members while he managing various projects both on and off campus. Age differences are one of the key leaders to miscommunication and disconnection among groups, and his background allows him to navigate those intricacies to mitigate potential issues.
A father of 2 and currently pursuing an MBA with an Information Systems emphasis from CSUF, he continues to look for opportunities to grow his knowledge in the management of people, processes and projects. Ryan is also a leader and moderator of an online community of over five thousand individuals of all ages, ethnicities and genders. He found having the ability to understand and emphasize across all age ranges that he gained through his Gerontology degree has been key to keeping order through the potential discord of a large community.
Ryan was also the president of the CSUF chapter of the Sigma Phi Omega Gerontology Honors society from 2014-2015.
MSG Program Alumni
These alumni have let us know how they are using their Master of Science in Gerontology. If you are an alumnus and would like to be listed here, please email agingstudies@fullerton.edu.
Graduating Class of 2016
- Rosa A. Garcia
Organization: Orange County Children Therapeutic Art Center (OCCTAC)
Title: Case Manager, Early Intervention Services for Older Adults (EISOA)
In addition to work at OCCTAC, Rosa Garcia also works at Santa Ana College as and Instructor for Older Adults.
Email: rosag@occtac.org, Garcia_Rosa_A@sac.edu
Graduating Class of 2014
- Olga Quezada
Organization: California Department of Public Health
In addition to working for the State of California, Olga Quezada has recently published a book, Olga's Loving Grandmother. If you have comments or questions, you may write to Olga at:
P.O. BOX 90034
Industry, CA 91715
Graduating Class of 2013
- Harmony Kenny
Organization: Morningside of Fullerton Retirement Community
Title: Marketing Coordinator
Harmony Kenny helps clients and their families transition from home to the retirement community.
Email: kennyh@msretirement.com
Graduating Class of 2011
- Jena Chomchavalit
Organization: Council on Aging Orange County
Title: Community Relations Coordinator - Maricela Villa
Organization: County of Orange, Social Services Agency
Title: Employment and Eligibility Specialist
Graduating Class of 2010
- Lauren Short
Organization: Acacia Villas & Cambridge Court (both facilities are owned by the same company)
Title: Activities Director
Responsibilities: Oversee the activities department, the activities assistants, volunteers and interns at both communities.
Email: Lauren.short@hotmail.com - Jessica Litchfield
Organization: Atherton
Title: Director of Life Enrichment/Volunteers
Email: jessicalitchfield17@gmail.com - Marilyn Fedorow
Organization: Council on Aging Orange County
Title: Editor, Program Director, Answers Guide
Email: mfedorow@coaoc.org
Graduating Class of 2009
- Lori Davis
Organization: Attentive Home Care
Title: Director of Care Management
Responsibilities: Assessment, Care Plan, Care Management, Training
Email: lori@attentivecare.com - Michelle Fox
Organization: St. Joseph Heritage Health
Title: Social Worker
Responsibilities: Medical Social Worker
Email: Michellefox12@yahoo.com; michelle.fox@stjoe.org - Ruth Ledesma
Organization: Adult Protective Services
Title: Senior Social Worker
Email: raledesma14@roadrunner.com - Anne Uhlig
Organization: (unemployed in profession of either OTA or MSOT)
Title: Occupational Therapy Assistant
Responsibilities: Teach Tai Chi in community
Graduating Class of 2008
- Lauren Anderson
Organization: South County Adult day Services
Title: Geriatric Care Manager
Responsibilities: Social services and referrals for older adults in a supervised setting and their families
Graduating Class of 2007
- Susie DiGiovanna
Organization: City of Newport Beach OASIS Senior Center
Title: Social Services Supervisor
Responsibilities: Information and Referrals, Transportation Program, Education and Outreach
Email: sdigiovanna@newportbeachca.gov - Rosaneli Loza
Organization: SCAN Health Plan
Title: Geriatric Care Manager
Email: RLoza@scanhealthplan.com - Benjamin Surmi
Organization: Washington State Vancouver; Koelsch Senior Communities
Title: Professor; Director of Life Improvement; National Program Specialist
Email: bms@koelschsenior.com
Graduating Class of 2006
- Yun Choi
Organization: Project Access Senior Resource Center
Email: yooniyayo@yahoo.com - Di Patterson
Organization: Success in Aging Centers, Inc.
Title: CEO; Gerontologist
Job description and Bio at: www.successinagingcenters.com
Email: di@dipatterson.com
Graduating Class of 2004
- Katherine Herreid
Organization: Alzheimer's Association-South Dakota Chapter
Title: Program Director
Email: kherreid08@gmail.com
