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Nicole Linder, a assemblage person and advocator against home violence, is among this year’s Top Dog Alumni Award honorees.
The Top Dog Alumni Awards admit a prime radical of Fresno State alumni who person made important contributions to their community, and whose accomplishments, affiliations and careers person enriched the bequest of excellence astatine Fresno State.
This year’s Top Dog Alumni Award honorees volition beryllium celebrated connected Oct. 24 astatine the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union astatine Fresno State.
Linder, CEO of the Marjaree Mason Center, volition person the Distinguished Alumna Award — the highest grant bestowed by the Fresno State Alumni Association. She is recognized for her dedicated and unwavering enactment to empower adults and children affected by home unit successful Fresno County. The Marjaree Mason Center is 1 of the largest home unit services agencies successful California, offering a assortment of lawsuit services including harmless housing, counseling, ineligible services, grooming and education.
A Fresno autochthonal and Fresno State graduate, she earned a bachelor’s grade successful wide connection and journalism successful 1998. Throughout her career, Linder has driven philanthropy to enactment assemblage organizations specified arsenic Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation and Fresno Pacific University. Under her leadership, she has enhanced the Marjaree Mason Center work transportation system, improved resources for clients, and participated successful statewide argumentation advocacy to make alteration for survivors of home violence. She has besides led a $20 cardinal fundraising run to physique the organization’s caller Community Resource Center.
Each twelvemonth astatine Fresno State individuals who person completed a minimum of 30 units of coursework tin beryllium nominated and considered to person a Top Dog Outstanding Alumni Award. One honoree is selected from each of the university’s 8 world schools and colleges, positive the Department of Athletics. The Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes Fresno State alumni for exceptional achievements successful their fields.
The Arthur Safstrom Service Award honors alumni and friends of the assemblage who person made a important interaction done the dedication of time, talent, and/or treasure. The 2024 Arthur Safstrom Service Award recipients are Gary and Marlene Peacock.
Bulldog sweethearts, the Peacocks met astatine Fresno State arsenic students successful the 1970s and were joined conscionable days aft graduation. Now, 46 years later, aft palmy careers successful the Bay Area’s exertion industry, the Peacocks passionately enactment pupil occurrence done scholarships and mentoring. Together, they person spent countless hours gathering beardown relationships with students and fostering lasting connections.
Additionally, they person been champions of caller projects aimed astatine advancing Fresno State to the forefront of cultivation exertion successful the portion and person invested successful aboriginal Bulldogs done a $7 cardinal committedness done their property plans to money further scholarships from their endowment.
Fresno State’s 2024 Top Dog honorees:
- Distinguished Alumna: Nicole Linder (1998), CEO, Marjaree Mason Center.
- Arthur Safstrom Service Award: Gary Peacock (1977), retired vice president of sales, KLA-Tencor and Marlene Peacock (1977), retired manufacturing programme manager, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Outstanding Alumni by assemblage oregon division:
- College of Arts and Humanities: Jim Boren (1972), enforcement director, Institute for Media and Public Trust astatine Fresno State. Boren is an award-winning writer who is wide recognized for his expertise successful newsroom management. With a vocation spanning 4 decades of paper experience, helium has established himself arsenic a salient fig successful the nationalist quality scene. He has covered nationalist authorities and served arsenic enforcement exertion and elder vice president of The Fresno Bee until his status successful 2018.
- College of Health and Human Services: Carol E. Scott (1973, ’76), owner, Carol Scott Consulting. Scott is simply a salient person successful the children’s depository profession. Scott has been instrumental successful the improvement of respective museums and nonprofit groups crossed the country, including the Children’s Museum of the Upstate South Carolina and astir precocious the Modesto Children’s Museum.
- College of Science and Mathematics: Tami Lundberg (1987), main exertion officer, Fresno Unified School District. With implicit 30 years of acquisition successful backstage practice, Lundberg has an extended inheritance successful accusation exertion and merchandise development. In her existent role, she serves 74,000 students, 11,000 unit and 106 schools successful the Central Valley. She has a passionateness for engaging students with affluent exertion experiences, and for providing students with equitable exertion resources.
- College of Social Sciences: Lee Brand (1973), erstwhile mayor, City of Fresno. Brand, a palmy businessman and erstwhile Fresno mayor, has a agelong past of nationalist service. During his tenure arsenic mayor, the City of Fresno achieved its lowest unemployment complaint and besides established its highest reserve successful history. Brand ended his governmental vocation leaving his bequest by donating astir $400,000 from his run relationship to enactment pupil scholarships advocating the value of higher education.
- Craig School of Business: Allysunn Walker (2008), president and CEO, Southwest Fresno Development Corporation. Walker is simply a salient fig successful the assemblage economical improvement field, focusing her vocation connected creating wealth-building opportunities for communities of color. As CEO, she has implemented strategies to alteration communities and empower residents of Southwest Fresno. Additionally, Walker is simply a consultant, tiny concern owner, capitalist and author.
- Department of Athletics: Sandi Taylor (1982, ’88), retired athletics director, Bakersfield College. Taylor is simply a highly respected manager and person successful the realm of assemblage athletics. During the people of her 30-year vocation astatine Bakersfield College, she oversaw aggregate facilities projects and secured galore Western State Conference championships crossed the 20 sports nether her purview. She solidified her estimation arsenic a person successful women’s athletics and enhanced opportunities for student-athletes during her tenure successful higher education.
- Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology: Lloyd Fagundes (1979), Ralph Fagundes (Alumnus) and Fred Fagundes (1986), owners and partners, Fagundes Brothers Dairy. The Fagundes brothers are third-generation farmers, businessmen and entrepreneurs. Their web of six autarkic dairy farms is the largest shaper of beverage for Horizon Organic Milk, a Danone company. They besides ain and workplace much than 10,000 acres of almonds that are sold domestically and exported internationally to Europe, Japan, India and China. Their philanthropic scope and assemblage engagement are extended and diverse.
- Kremen School of Education and Human Development: Phouangmala Diane Phakonekham (2005, ‘11), president and CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central California. Phakonekham is simply a passionate advocator for children successful the Central Valley. She encourages collaboration and shared resources wrong section nonprofits. Under her leadership, the enactment has expanded its programming to service much than 1,000 children successful 4 counties and has built its precocious schoolhouse programme to supply services to 19 schoolhouse sites.
- Lyles College of Engineering: Tony Akel (1983, ‘85), president, Akel Engineering Group, Inc. With 38 years of nonrecreational experience, Akel has led much than 300 strategy maestro readying and peculiar survey projects passim California and the United States. His steadfast is an manufacture person successful integer h2o engineering, offering expertise successful creating integrated infrastructure maestro plans for water, sewer and tempest systems.
“The Top Dog Alumni Awards is an inspiring lawsuit that recognizes the achievements of our astir accomplished alumni,” said Jacquelyn Glasener, enforcement manager of the Fresno State Alumni Association. “This year’s people of honorees correspond what it genuinely means to beryllium a Bulldog. We are excited to observe their achievements and to animate others done their impactful stories.”
For much information, oregon to nominate your Top Dog, please, visit fresnostatealumni.com. For sponsorship opportunities, interaction Peter Robertson astatine probertson@mail.fresnostate.edu or 559.278.4669.
