Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient
2022 - Mari Metcalf
UCEAP Costa Rica, 1989-90, UC Berkeley
(watch the 2022 Alumni Awards celebration event)
Mari Metcalf is a bilingual and bicultural attorney, specializing in Spanish language investigations, and trauma-informed interviewing. Mari became fully fluent in Spanish as a result of her time in Costa Rica and has since dedicated herself to helping others. As a volunteer attorney with the Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, she assisted victims of violent felonies in their applications for U-Visa status and interviewed Spanish speaking victims of sexual assault and rape. As an attorney, Mari has also volunteered her legal services at Project Homeless Connect, a convention-like daylong event where homeless men and women receive a variety of free services. She also spent over a year volunteering as an immigration attorney assisting low-income Spanish-speaking clients applying for the U visa and asylum. As a bilingual attorney trained in trauma-informed interviewing, she served victims of violent crime who had survived extreme levels of trauma. At the International Institute of the Bay Area, she was the only trauma-informed volunteer attorney on staff, as well as the only fully bilingual attorney licensed in California. Mari says that a large part of her ability to serve Spanish-speaking clients, especially trauma survivors, is that as a result of study abroad she became bicultural as well as bilingual.
As an alum of American Field Service, Mari has spent over a decade volunteering with high school applicants who wish to study abroad. She has interviewed candidates and their families and served as a liaison to high school exchange students living here in the Bay Area. She has also spent more than ten years interviewing candidates for NSLI-Y (National Strategic Language Initiative for Youth) run by the US Department of State. She truly lives with a passion for bilingualism and study abroad, and never hesitates to tell young students and their parents that study abroad changed the course of her life and that her year abroad in Costa Rica was an incomparable experience that she wants every undergraduate to have.
2021 - Nell Irvin Painter
University of Bordeaux, France 1962-63
(watch Nell accept her award)
After returning from France, Nell graduated from UC Berkeley, received a MA from UCLA, and completed her Ph.D. in American History at Harvard University. Today, Nell is the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton University, and is recognized as an award winning author and artist. Her 2018 memoir Old in Art School reflects on her transition from a career in academia to attending art school and following her passion for art.
Nell Painter (the visual artist formerly known as the historian Nell Irvin Painter, Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, Princeton University, author of The History of White People, Old in Art School, Sojourner Truth, A Life, A Symbol and Old in Art School: A Memoir of Starting Over) lives and works in Newark, New Jersey. She writes opinion pieces for the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Paris Review and other journals when not painting self-portraits and artist’s books that visualize people and history.
2021 - John C. Williams
University of Göttingen, Germany 1982-83
(watch John accept the award)
John C. Williams is the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In that capacity, he serves as the vice chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee. From 2011 to mid-June 2018, Mr. Williams was the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Prior to that, he was the executive vice president and director of research at the San Francisco Fed, which he joined in 2002.
Mr. Williams began his career in 1994 as an economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In addition, he served as a senior economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisers and as a lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Mr. Williams holds a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University, an M.S. degree from the London School of Economics, and an A.B. from the University of California at Berkeley.
2019 - This year we awarded two UCEAP Emerging Leader Awardees. See info below.
2018 - Monique Kovacs Nathan
University of Padua, University of Bologna, Italy 1987-89
Monique is an International Volunteer Coordinator who has established lasting connections between maternal and child welfare non-profits in Nepal and the U.S., including Pushpa Basnet’s Early Childhood Development Center, One Heart World-Wide, Next Generation Nepal, and BlinkNow/Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School. She manages internship placement for international volunteers, and coordinated relief efforts after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. In addition, she successfully crowdfunded and currently manages a pilot program to provide nursing scholarships for disadvantaged young women from rural Nepal. Monique is also a professional photographer and business owner, who has collaborated with organizations in Nepal for product development in sustainable fashion and to promote the #MadeInNepal brand and campaign. She received a U.S. Department of State Professional Development Fellowship grant for photography in 2011. Monique received her B.A. in Political Science from UC San Diego, and spent two years abroad with UCEAP in Italy (University of Padua and University of Bologna). She later received her M.Sc. in Government from the London School of Economics. Monique is fluent in Italian and Spanish
2017 - Jule Osborn, Monteverde Institute, Costa Rica 1991
Julie is the co-founder of Ecology Project International, an education non-profit that empowers youth to take an active role in conservation through hands-on field science. The program engages both local and international high school students, who come together to work collaboratively. More than 30,000 students across five countries have participated in EPI’s science and conservation programs. Julie participated in the Tropical Biology & Conservation program at the Monteverde Institute in Costa Rica, and graduated from UC Santa Barbara.
2016 - Dr. Randy Schekman, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom 1968-69
(Watch Prof. Schekman talk about his time abroad at a UCEAP event on 8/29/15)
Nobel laureate Dr. Randy Schekman received this year’s Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award. As an undergraduate at UCLA, Randy participated in the University of Edinburgh program in 1968-69. He credits his year in Edinburgh as a key event in the development of his career aspirations as an academic scholar and teacher. Dr. Schekman has been a professor of molecular and cell biology at Berkeley for 39 years and in 2013 received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
2015 - Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, University of Bergen, Norway 1971-72
(Watch Dr. Sullivan accept the award!)
UCEAP is pleased to announce that Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, accepted the 2015 Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award in May. The award salutes the accomplishments of alumni who have demonstrated a record of service and extraordinary achievement in a particular discipline or organization.
Dr. Sullivan spent the 1971-72 academic year at the University of Bergen in Norway while she was a student at UC Santa Cruz. She went on to complete her doctorate in geology at Dalhousie University in Canada. Dr. Sullivan was one of the first six women selected to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978 and holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space. She flew on three shuttle missions during her 15-year tenure, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.
An accomplished oceanographer, she was appointed NOAA’s Chief Scientist in 1993, where she oversaw a research and technology portfolio that included fisheries biology, climate change, satellite instrumentation and marine biodiversity. She served for a decade as President and CEO of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) in Columbus, Ohio, one of the nation's leading science museums. Later, she was the inaugural Director of the Battelle Center for Mathematics and Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at Ohio State University.
2014 - Dr. Alice Kaplan, University of Bordeaux, France 1973-74
Dr. Alice Kaplan, the John M. Musser Professor of French at Yale University, is the recipient of the 2014 Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Kaplan is a professor of Romance Studies, Literature, and History and the Chair of the Department of French at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. While an undergraduate studying French at University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Kaplan participated in the 1973-74 UCEAP Bordeaux, France program. She completed her 1981 Ph.D. at Yale and her current research interests include World War II and post-war France, literature and law, biography/autobiography and French cultural studies. Alice Kaplan became a professor of French and an expert on the literature of French fascism. Dr. Kaplan was astonished and delighted to be the recipient of the first Duttenhaver award. "This past fall I celebrated the 40th reunion of my study abroad year in Bordeaux with a small group of friends from the UC program. It was an experience that sealed our friendship, enriched all of our lives, and continues to inform our thinking and our eye on the world." - Alice Kaplan
UCEAP Emerging Leader Award Recipients
2022 - Bridget Martinez
UCEAP Egypt 2009-10, Korea 2011-12, UC Merced
As the newly appointed field Director for the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Dr Martinez exercises her leadership position to inspire the next generation of students to purse higher education and provides them with the financial opportunities that allow them to follow their respective dreams.
Throughout her many talks with the association, Dr Martinez always outlines the importance and feasibility of working and studying abroad. Having traveled to many different countries as a student herself, Dr Martinez uses her own experiences to inspire those who believe such experiences are out of reach for them. As an NIH, Minority Health, and Health Disparities International Research Training Program Fellow (MHIRT); her academic and research training includes extended experiences from all around the world, skills which she uses not just to advance her training but also to relate with, and better connect with her diverse patient population! Her academic and research training includes extended experiences in Italy, Egypt, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, and Japan. She was most recently named Alumni of Year by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.
2020 - 2021 - Linda Duttenhaver Distinguished Alumni awardees only
2019 - Justin Hinton
American University in Cairo, Egypt 2010-11 and Yonsei University, Korea 2011
Justin is the Weekend Morning Anchor and Reporter for News 13 in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a 2016 winner of the National Associate of Television Arts and Sciences Southeast Emmy Award for Live News Reporting, and a 2019 Regional Murrow Award winner. He has covered big stories including Hurricanes Maria and Matthew from the Carolinas and Harvey in Southeast Texas, the Emmanuel AME Church shooting, riots in Charlotte following an officer-involved shooting, and historic flooding in Columbia. Born and raised in San Diego, Justin graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Mass Communications. He is a proud member of the National Associate of Black Journalists. Justin studied abroad with UCEAP in Egypt and Korea, and credits the footage he shot in both locations with helping him get his first job in journalism.
2019 - Justin Yee, National University of Singapore, Singapore 2013
Justin is an emerging leader in environmental conservation and public lands management. He began his career with the National Park Service in 2014 as a vegetation intern for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. After graduating from UCLA (Class ’15) with a B.S. in Biology, he served as a biological science technician leading habitat restoration, native plant nursery, volunteer stewardship, youth training, and native seed banking programs in partnership with Los Angeles-based non-profits. Since 2016, he has coordinated the Urban Waters Federal Partnership, a coalition of agencies, NGO’s, academia, and community organizations whose common goal is to revitalize and restore the Los Angeles River. Now working as a management assistant for the Santa Monica Mountains, he coordinates post-Wooley Fire recovery projects.
2018 - Christine Liboon, University of Santo Tomás, Chile, 2008
Christine is the Employment Services Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego. She coordinates the Vocational ESL Plus Program for nearly 500 refugees every year, many newly arrived from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She started with IRC four years ago as an instructor in the VESL instructor, and has taught English to over 450 adult refugees. She works in San Diego, home to a large resettled population, to educate the greater community about the barriers faced by people forced to leave their homes due to war and violence and shape a more positive understanding of what it means to be a refugee. She has also advocated for enhancing trauma informed care processes within the IRC programs. In addition, Christine volunteers with the United Nations Association of San Diego, and has worked as an interviewer and evaluator for non-profits conducting evaluations of educational organizations. Christine received her B.A. in Ethnic Studies from UC Riverside, and she spent a semester abroad with UCEAP at the University of Santo Tomás, in Concepción, Chile. She received her CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in Barcelona in 2012, and speaks Spanish, Castellano, and Tagalog.
2017 - Jeremy Hessler, Queen Mary, University of London, 2005-06
Jeremy is a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, representing the United States in environmental law cases that involve endangered species and other wildlife. He also counsels federal agencies on how to best comply with environmental statutes in carrying out their missions. Jeremy studied at the Queen Mary, University of London in the United Kingdom, and graduated from UC Riverside.
2016 - Alicia Sabuncuoglu, Paris Center for Critical Studies, France 2005-06
After returning to UCSD, Alicia gave back to the program by working with the campus office on student outreach and other activities. Currently, Alicia oversees Strategic Partnerships at Google. In her spare time, she has dedicated herself to the Google Art Project, a stunning global cultural experience online that brings the world's richest institutions and rarest collections into an open digital ecosystem. “My UCEAP experience abroad permeates nearly every facet of my life, and I would be proudly honored to express my thanks to the organization and help continue alumni efforts and the current program today.” Alicia was a recipient of the UCEAP Dan Wise Scholarship, a scholarship funded by Linda Duttenhaver, for year long participation in a UCEAP program. Alicia was honored to be introduced and receive this award from Linda at our annual conference!
2015 - Jessica Price Petrilli, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain 2004-05
After graduating, Jessica joined Teach for America in 2006, where she began teaching English at Richmond High School in Richmond, CA. She has been a passionate urban school educator for the past 9 years. She continued teaching at the same school for 6 years. During her last year of teaching, she attended UC Berkeley’s Principals Leadership Institute, where she earned a master’s degree in education and her administrative credential. The next year Ms. Petrilli became an administrator at the neighboring Helms Middle School, and now, in her third year at that school, she is ending her first year as principal. Jessica says of her work, “Teaching and leading in a high need school like Richmond High and Helms Middle School is my passion. I believe that education is the key to freedom, so I take the responsibility to provide an excellent education for our students very seriously. As a first generation college student myself, I live and breathe the belief that through education you are free to discover who you are and what potential is waiting to be fulfilled. I am committed to staying in public education, and will continue serving the communities of Richmond and San Pablo through my work as a school leader.”
2014 - Josue Lopez Calderon, Thammasat University, Thailand, 2010
Josue Lopez Calderon is the 2014 recipient of the UCEAP Emerging Leader Award. Josue graduated from UCLA in 2010 with a B. A. in International Development Studies. He studied abroad with UCEAP at Thammasat University, Thailand in 2010 where a blog of his experiences attracted the attention of the U.S. Department of State. Upon returning from Thaliland, Josue has pursued a career in Washington D.C. and is currently a U.S. Department of State Gilman International Scholar, focusing on a proposal on how to implement financial and technological growth and innovation in the Latino community by using Asia's educational model for science and technology. Currently, Josue works for the U.S. Treasury Department, as a Business Development Specialist. Josue published an article earlier this year for The Huffington Post in English and Spanish to raise awareness about the need for diverse candidates and the scholarships and fellowships available for study and intern abroad programs.