Notable Alumni

Mahershala Ali with current students

We're proud to call them Gaels.

There are many notable Saint Mary's alumni who are known for their professional excellence, service, and Lasallian values. We're proud of the big impact our small school makes.

To recommend an addition to the list, please contact alumni@vbj4.com.

Notable Alumni

Mahershala Ali with an Emmy
Mahershala Ali ’96, two-time Academy Award–winning actor
portrait next to brick wall
Jennifer Chambliss Bertman MFA 2001, author of New York Times bestseller Book Scavenger, The Unbreakable Code
Brandon Elefante
Brandon Elefante ’08, Hawai'i State Senator
Robert Hass black and white portrait
Robert Hass ’63, US Poet Laureate
smiling portrait
Rose Aguilar - a progressive journalist and radio host
Lisa Congdon
Lisa Congdon ’90, Artist
Carlos Torres
Carlos Torres ’16, Emmy Award-Winning Director
Kalina Bryant
Kalina Bryant ’14, Forbes “30 Under 30” Honoree and Founder of UnapologeTECH
Angelica Garcia
Angélica Garcia ’98, President of Santa Rosa Junior College

 

Arts

  • Jennifer Chambliss Bertman MFA 2001, author of New York Times bestseller Book Scavenger, The Unbreakable Code
  • Lisa Congdon 1990, fine artist, author and illustrator
  • Gaby Dalkin 2008, author, CEO and founder, What's Gaby Cookin'
  • Robert Hass 1963, poet Laureate of the United States, 1995-97
  • Mary Volmer 2001, author and Saint Mary’s professor

 

Athletics

  • Kyle Barraclough 2012, MLB pitcher, led all NL relievers in strikeouts per nine innings (2016)
  • Corbin Burnes 2016, MLB pitcher, NL Cy Young winner (2021), All-Start (2021, 22)
  • Tom Candiotti 1979, MLB pitcher (1983-99), famous for the knuckleball, Arizona Diamondbacks radio/TV analyst
  • Matthew Dellavedova 2013, NBA and NBL player, NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), SMC all-time leading scorer, Australian Olympic men's basketball team (2012, 2016, 2020)
  • Valerie Fleming MA 2003, Olympic silver medalist in women's bobsled (2006)
  • Jordan Ford 2020, NBA Player, Sacramento Kings (2006)
  • Todd Golden 2007, head men's basketball coach, University of Florida
  • Anthony Gonsolin 2016, MLB pitcher, All-Star (2022) and MLB Champion with Los Angeles Dodgers (2020).
  • Harry Hooper 1907, (dec.) National Baseball Hall of Fame
  • John Henry Johnson 1953 (dec.), Pro Football Hall of Fame
  • Bob Ladouceur 1989, head football coach, De La Salle High (Concord, Calif., 1979-2012), holder of longest high school winning streak in history
  • Tom Meschery 1961, pro and college basketball great; teacher and poet
  • Patty Mills 2011, social justice activist, founder, Team Mills Foundation; NBA player (2009- ), NBA champion with the San Antonio Spurs (2014), Australian Olympic men's basketball team (2008, 2012, 2016)
  • JR Payne 1999, head women's basketball coach, University of Colorado (2016-present)
  • Christina Roybal 2003, senior associate athletics director for sports administration / senior woman administrator, University of Northern Iowa
  • Tracy Sanders 2000, head women's basketball coach, Southern Utah University
  • Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins MA 2000, director of athletics, San Francisco State University
  • Mark Teahen 2003, MLB player (2005-11), SMC career batting average record holder (.386), featured in the bestselling Michael Lewis book Moneyball
  • Louella Tomlinson 2011, WNBL champion (2012), Hungarian league champion (2014)
  • Patrick Vincent HON 1983, SMC men's rugby coach (1968-83), founder of USA Rugby, US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee

 

 

Business

  • Mario Alioto 1982, executive vice president of business operations, San Francisco Giants
  • Paul Boschetto 1976, CEO, Able Services
  • B.J. Cassin HON 1997, philanthropist, founder of Xidex Corporation
  • BeBe Cassin HON 1997, philanthropist
  • Peter Corsa 2004, chief operating officer, At Home
  • Brother Timothy Diener, FSC 1933 (dec.), rebuilt Napa Valley as a global player in wine following Prohibition
  • Shirley Griffin 1993, executive vice president, Wells Fargo Bank (ret.)
  • Tiffin Groff 2003, vice president and general manager, Cold Craft Division, Peet's Coffee and Tea
  • James Guyette 1967, president & CEO, Rolls-Royce of North America, Inc. (1997-2015, ret.)
  • Catriona Harris 2000, chief executive officer, Uproar PR
  • Ken Hofmann 1945 (dec.), owner, Oakland Athletics; developer
  • John Koller 1995, global marketing executive, Twitch; former vice president for marketing, Sony PlayStation
  • Cristen Lunt 1997, VP of Accounting and Corporate Controller, ClifBar
  • Nicholas Moore 1963, chairman (ret.), PriceWaterhouseCoopers
  • Rand Morimoto MBA 1993, founder and president, Convergent Computing; cybersecurity consultant for three U.S. presidents
  • Tami Munns 1985, senior vice president of corporate services, Robert Half International
  • Tami Reller 1994, Chief Marketing & Experience Officer, UnitedHealthcare 
  • Quentin Reynolds 1929 (dec.), former chairman, CEO, Safeway Stores, Inc.
  • George Schmitt 1965, president (ret.), Omnipoint Communication & AirTouch International
  • Jason Shellen 1996, founding project manager of Google Reader, tech entrepreneur
  • Kris Snow MBA 1990, president, Cisco Systems Capital
  • Lynn Tolin 1980, MBA 1996, chief operation office, TMG Partners
  • Amy Vernetti 1990, chief operating officer, Lyte; former director of leadership recruiting at Moonshots at Google; founding board member at Envision Education
  • Kim Vogel 1989, CEO, Founder, Base Venture Investors
  • Barí A. Williams MA 2003, Head of Legal, Human Interest; named Five Innovative Black Women in Tech to Watch Out For (2019); formerly All Turtles, StubHub, Facebook

 

Education

  • Brother Mel Anderson 1951 (dec.), president, Saint Mary's College for 27 years
  • Brother Alfred Brousseau 1928 (dec.), mathematician, widely-renowned authority on the Fibonacci numbers
  • Mark DeMarco 1982, president, De La Salle High School
  • Angélica Garcia 1998, EdD, president, Santa Rosa Junior College; previously president of Berkeley City College
  • David Holquin 2003, president, De La Salle HS
  • Odell Johnson, Jr. 1958, president of Laney College (1981-1998), former SMC Trustee and Regent
  • Herman Lujan 1958 (dec.), vice president for academic affairs, Cal State Stanislaus
  • Ronald McArthur 1949, founder, St. Thomas Aquinas College
  • Brother Leo Meehan 1908 (dec.), famed academian; author; orator
  • John Scudder 1977, president of Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (San Francisco, 2002-14), 33 years at school 
  • Jenny Olin Shanahan 1991, assistant provost for high-impact practices, Bridgewater State University
  • Mary Spellman, EdD 2007, executive director, The Fletcher Jones Foundation
  • Brother Jerome West 1940 (dec.), Christian Brothers Provincial; founder of 3 high schools

 

 

Entertainment

  • Mahershala Ali 1996, actor, two-time Academy Awards winner, Golden Globes winner
  • Sterling Norman Anderson 1980, Emmy-nominated screenwriter, three-time NAACP Image Award nominee for best screenwriter
  • Jon Bertain 2007, writer and editor, Academy Awards winner (2018) for Best Documentary Feature Icarus
  • Margaret French Isaac 1985, president, Denise Di Novi Pictures
  • Peter Kelly 1998, senior animator, Amazon Lab 126, former Industrial Light & Magic lead animator
  • Tony Martin 1935, entertainer; member, Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • Brian Doyle-Murray 1968, actor, most known for Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Wayne's World
  • JP Richards 1998, President Worldwide Marketing, Lionsgate Films
  • Raymond Syufy, Sr. 1940 (dec.), founder, Century Theaters
  • Herman Wedemeyer 1949 (dec.), football star, Hawaii legislator, original cast of "Hawaii 5-0"

 

Media

  • Laura Garcia 1991, anchor NBC Bay Area
  • Michael Collopy 1982, photographer and author, published Works of Love are Works of Peace, a photographic documentation of Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity
  • Matt Ginella 1995, Golf Channel analyst
  • Katie Lippincott 1998, Sr. Motion Graphics/Video Producer, Apple
  • Carolina Marquez 2007, host, Cali Mornings, Cali 93.9 Los Angeles
  • Jason Murray 2001, Sports editor, The Washington Post
  • Tim O’Rourke 2003, Vice President of Content Strategy, Hearst Newspapers

 

 

Public Service

  • Joseph Alioto 1937, (dec.) former mayor of San Francisco
  • Angela Averiett 2014, police chief, San Leandro
  • Camera Chatham Bartolotta, 1986, Pennsylvania State Senator
  • Jessica Binzoni 2010, founder and executive director, Hope and Future International
  • Brandon Elefante 2008, Hawaii State Senator
  • Maria Elena Durazo 1975, general vice president of immigration, civil rights and diversity, UNITE HERE; California state senator (Los Angeles)
  • Sparky Harlan EE 1979, CEO, Bill Wilson Center and White House Champion of Change
  • Jack Henning 1938, former U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand; California labor leader
  • Rosalind Hudnell 1998, vice president of corporate affairs, president, Intel Foundation
  • Jennifer Kent 1995, director of the California Department of Health Care Services (2015- )
  • Manuel Lujan 1950, former Secretary of the Interior, 1989-1993; Congressman (NM), 1969-1989
  • Tom Lyons 1950, activist, Catholic Relief Services; detention minister
  • George P. Miller 1912 (dec.), Congressman from California, 1945-1973
  • Yusuf Nessary 2013, founder of Zam Zam Water, invited to speak at Vatican for World Water Day
  • Mony Nop EE 2004, founder, Mony Nop Foundation; co-founder, Tri-Valley Nonprofit Alliance
  • Troy Nunley 1986, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of California
  • Don Perata 1967, California State senator (1998-2004), president pro tempore (2004-08)
  • Jennifer Rainin MA 1991, executive director, Kenneth Rainin Foundation
  • Melanie Stansbury 2002, New Mexico State House representative; served two years on US Senate Committee on Energy and Resources
  • Dan Whitehurst 1969, mayor of Fresno (1977-1985), California Healthy Cities Steering Committee

 

Sciences

  • Brad Andrews 1971, chief zoological officer, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
  • Dr. Karl Beutner 1971, former chief medical officer, Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences; co-founder, DermBiont 
  • John Macken 1962, scientist, inventor with numerous patents; developed LaserCraft technology
  • Dennis Meiss 1969, founder of ProThera
  • Dr. Andrea Pernell-Sawicki 1983, surgeon; member, SMC Athletics Hall of Fame
  • Melissa Stafford Jones 1993, executive director, Lesher Foundation; former Region IX Director, U.S. Department of Human and Health Services
  • Dr. Carl Wu 1974, distinguished cancer researcher, scientist emeritus, National Cancer Institute

 

 

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