A leader in equine health, one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World and one of America鈥檚 Top 50 Givers are all among this year鈥檚 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Cal Aggie Alumni Association award winners. These award recipients 鈥 along with other outstanding individuals 鈥 will be honored at the 45th Annual Alumni Awards Gala on Friday, Feb. 2, at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
CAAA 鈥 which serves more than 250,000 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis alumni 鈥 selected these exceptional individuals to recognize the amazing impact they have on 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and the world:
- Liliana Ferrer 鈥87 of Sacramento, California
- Margaret Lapiz 鈥89 of Alamo, California
- Jesse Rodriguez 鈥13 of Elk Grove, California
- Ernest E. Tschannen of Orangevale, California
- Cynthia Murphy-Ortega 鈥91 of Vallejo, California
- John E. Madigan 鈥70, MS 鈥72, DVM 鈥75 of Woodland, California
- Patrick John Sherwood 鈥86 of Danville, California
Emil M. Mrak International Award: Liliana Ferrer 鈥87
Ferrer began her international career working for the Association of National Olympic Committees, and has been a Mexican career foreign service officer since 1992, serving in roles including head of the Section of Political and Boarder Affairs at the Mexican embassy in Washington D.C., congressional affairs officer there, and later, as the deputy chief of mission at the Mexican embassy in Paris. Having lived in various parts of the world, Ferrer has recently taken the reins of the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento. In this role, she continues to help build on California鈥檚 multibillion-dollar relationship with Mexico and protect the 1 million Mexicans living in her 24-county jurisdiction in California, which affects 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students and families. Ferrer was involved in the recent delegation that went to Mexico City to act as a liaison to build partnerships between Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis to increase diversity and support of Chicano/Latino students, and she looks forward to advancing existing partnerships with the , nongovernmental organizations and other universities to provide free legal advice for Mexican immigrants.
Outstanding Alumna Award: Margaret Lapiz 鈥89
Named one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World by the Global Filipina Women鈥檚 Network, Lapiz is recognized as an outstanding alumna, in part, because of her creation of , a pipeline program focused on building the next generation of physicians who will advance Latino health. She was instrumental in advancing the , which allows a select group of eligible students to complete medical school in three years. After majoring in economics at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, Lapiz received her MBA and MPH from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Berkeley. In 2016, the Aspen Institute selected her for its Health Innovators Fellowship, and she is also a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She currently chairs the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Chancellor鈥檚 Club and is a trustee of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Foundation Board. In partnership with 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Health, Lapiz helped sponsor a conference to educate health professionals about health care reform in Latino/a communities, advancing the reputations of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis and Kaiser Permanente (where she had served as a senior executive) as experts in Latino/a health. In 2014, she was named to Diversity MBA Magazine鈥檚 鈥淭op 100 Under 50鈥 Diverse Executive and Emerging Leaders list. The child of immigrants who worked as farm laborers in California, she established the Lapiz Family Scholarship Fund in 2003 in honor of her parents and her family鈥檚 experience pursuing the American dream. With 30 scholarship recipients to date, the fund provides tuition assistance to the children of farmworkers attending a 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 campus, the majority of whom have been 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis students.
Young Alumnus Award: Jesse Rodriguez 鈥13
Since graduating from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis with a bachelor鈥檚 in economics and a minor in sociology, Rodriguez has dedicated his time to working for the community and empowering youth. Rodriguez is currently pursuing his MBA at the and is the director of Latino Affairs and a communications consultant in the California State Senate. In these roles, Rodriguez helps members understand issues facing the Latino community and builds partnerships with Latino organizations across the state. He also serves as the co-chair for the California Latino Capitol Association Foundation and mentors community college and high school students through the Puente and Improve Your Tomorrow programs. He has made a positive impact on 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis by helping to plan the Cesar Chavez Youth Leadership Conference.
Distinguished Friend Award: Ernest E. Tschannen
Tschannen鈥檚 support of the and the Sacramento region has been extremely transformative and has made him the largest individual donor in the university鈥檚 108-year history. Tschannen, a successful real estate entrepreneur, grew up in a small town of Aarwangen, Switzerland, before ultimately moving to the United States. Tschannen is a grateful patient of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Health, a member of 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 and of the . His generosity includes a $1.5 million gift to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis to expedite optic nerve research and find a cure for glaucoma and other eye diseases, as well as an $18.5 million gift to name the future home of the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Eye Center. Tschannen was also named one of America鈥檚 Top 50 Givers by Forbes in 2016. He is a supporter of several other Sacramento-based organizations and says, 鈥淢y primary goal in life is to give to society what the United States has given me.鈥
Aggie Service Award: Cynthia Murphy-Ortega 鈥91
After graduating from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis with a bachelor鈥檚 in chemical engineering, Murphy-Ortega continues to volunteer and donate to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis. Murphy-Ortega is in her 26th year with Chevron and is currently a manager in the University Partnerships and Association Relations group of the company. Her role is to develop strategic relationships with universities and national associations, including 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, to help support the curriculum, faculty and facilities that are needed to lead students to success after college. She also serves on the Engineering Dean鈥檚 Executive Committee and the program advisory committee for the program at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, where she was influential in Chevron鈥檚 founding partnership of the program, as well as (community college transfer) programs designed to recruit, retain and graduate diverse populations of students. Further, she directed Chevron鈥檚 support to establish 22 scholar awards for deserving engineering students.
CAAA Distinguished Achievement Award: John E. Madigan 鈥70, M.S. 鈥72, DVM 鈥75
Madigan鈥檚 academic career has made a profound impact on the advancement of equine health and animal welfare worldwide. Madigan earned both his bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 in animal science and his doctoral degree in veterinary medicine from 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, where he is now a distinguished professor of equine internal medicine. As an accomplished equine internist, infectious disease specialist, and equine neonatologist, Madigan has spent his career devoted to research discovery of disorders and diseases affecting large animals, and developing equipment and methods for animal rescue while expanding the field of veterinary disaster medicine. He also founded and serves as director of the International Animal Welfare Training Institute. Madigan acts as the principal liaison for the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis School of Veterinary Medicine in disaster planning and established the , a volunteer rescue team that is trained and educated on Madigan鈥檚 protocols serving local animal emergency response and disaster management.
Jerry W. Fielder Memorial Award: Patrick John Sherwood 鈥86鈥
The recipient of the most prestigious alumni award, Sherwood has stayed connected and contributed significantly to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis since his graduation. A 30-year veteran of Wells Fargo Bank, he is currently executive vice president and Western regional manager of the U.S. for the bank鈥檚 Financial Institutions Group. Sherwood鈥檚 many connections to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis include previously serving as an officer of the Central Coast chapter of CAAA, finance committee chair of the board of directors, and as CAAA president; actively recruiting students to 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis; and donating to the university as a Leadership Giving Society member, including supporting current students through the CAAA Scholarship program and the Student Alumni Association. Joining the Dean鈥檚 Advisory Council for the College of Letters and Science in 2014, he has endowed additional undergraduate scholarships in his family鈥檚 name, leaving a lasting impact on students and faculty. Sherwood is a trustee for the 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis Foundation, where he is a member of the Global Campaign Leadership Council. He also serves as co-chair of the Conservation Society of California, which oversees the operations of the Oakland Zoo, where enjoys a partnership where students can work at the zoo鈥檚 new, state-of-the-art veterinary hospital.
Visit the One Aggie Network to for this black-tie event.
Media Resources
Laura Pizzo, Development and Alumni Relations, 530-750-3115, lpizzo@ucdavis.edu
Kimberly Hale, 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis News and Media Relations, 530-752-9838, klhale@ucdavis.edu