Diane Watanabe Deyerler, '93 BS Hotel Administration, joined the Washington State University professional education team as a conference manager in June. Previously, she had her own meeting planning business, Deyerler & Watanabe. She has been in the meeting planning industry since graduation, working for both corporations and associations in New Jersey and Arizona. In 2005 she obtained the certified meeting professional (CMP) designation. She likes to travel, enjoys crafts such as crocheting and cross-stitch, and is looking forward to starting a vegetable garden. She reconnected with her childhood sweetheart after 40 years; they married in June 2016. The couple lives in Renton, Washington.

Sal Gugino, '71 BA Political Science, has been appointed vice president/assistant general counsel for Boyd Gaming Corp. He has practiced law in  Las Vegas for 36 years, having earned his law degree from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. A former member and chairman of the state Employee-Management Relations Board and former president of the Clark County Bar Association, he is married to Deborah Ann Bichsel Gugino, '81 BS Education, '86 Master of Education. They are the grandparents of Ashley Gugino, '17 BA Communication Studies.          

Stephanie Miranda-Dumas, '11 BSBA-Accounting, was promoted to senior accounting specialist at VTM Group, a consulting firm providing management services for not-for-profit organizations, primarily in the tech industry. Earlier this year, she received the Most Valuable Professional award, which is chosen by the directors from all VTM departments. Her hobbies include live music, card games, backpacking, hiking, kayaking, and everything the Pacific Northwest has to offer. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Nicole Musolino, '06 BA Journalism and Media Studies, is a public relations assistant at Henderson-based Imagine Communications. She had been a seasonal employee since 2013. Musolino, who earned a minor in film, has worked in a variety of jobs in television and radio since graduation. She also is an internationally certified health coach.

Tara Ferro Eck, '04 BS Secondary Education, is a full-time artist and entrepreneur. She is the founder of Hipster Gypsy Designs and a fashion consultant and stylist with LuLaRoe. Previously, she worked for the Clark County School District, teaching art and photography at Liberty High School for 10 years and serving as the art specialist at Rogers Elementary School for 3 years. Travel, concerts, art, fashion, and photography are her hobbies. She and her husband, Scott, have been married for nine years and have three rescue dogs. They live in Minneapolis.

Cristina Hernandez, ’10 BS Political Science, was named a 2017-18 White House Fellow. One of just 14 people chosen, she will be working in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Cristina is an Army veteran and has served in the national security sector for over 15 years. She has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, led teams, delivered policy recommendations, and utilized innovative technologies to ensure the safety of those protecting our nation. She has received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal and continues to serve underprivileged communities today. Cristina was a Next Generation National Security Leaders Fellow at the Center for a New American Security and holds a Master’s of Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mark Bacon, '93 MA Communication Studies, is an author whose latest book, a mystery titled Desert Kill Switch, was published by Black Opal Books in September. Set against the backdrop of Nostalgia City, an Arizona retro theme park that recreates, in meticulous detail, an entire small town from the 1970s, the book features stressed-out ex-cop Lyle Deming. Some of the action takes place in Nevada. Bacon, who began his career as a newspaper reporter in Southern California covering crime and city beats, also is the author of Death in Nostalgia City. He and his wife, Anne, live in Reno with their golden retriever, Willow.  

Ralph Hollingshead, '78 MS Math, retired from JT3 in 2014 after more than 33 years as a software engineer and configuration manager. He and his wife, Joanna, moved to Kyiv, Ukraine, in March to serve a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there, they are creating a community tree for the village of Ridkivtsi, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, where Joanna's father was born. They are combing Orthodox Church birth, marriage, and death records to build the tree, which will cover the years 1840 to 1935.

Lorena Martinez Montenegro, '01 BSBA – Management Information Systems, works in the accounting field. She recently took up photography and spends time taking photos of her two daughters, Janessa Montenegro, a freshman majoring in biology at UNLV, and Jessenia Montenegro. She says the three of them enjoy the photo shoots and working as a team. She has been married for 20 years.   

Mahika Chandrasena, '96 BS Hotel Administration, is director of public relations for the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Among her previous jobs have been serving as director of marketing communications at Galle Face Hotel, group manager of corporate communications for the Mount Lavinia Hotel Group, head of corporate communications in GMR Airports in the Maldives, team leader of public relations for the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, and as a public relations executive for SriLankan Airlines. Along the way she earned a master's degree in public administration. She received the Professional Woman of the Year Award in corporate communications for 2011-12. She finally has built her own home, which had been a dream. Travel, both domestic and international, is her hobby. She has one adult son, Daniel.

Michael Newman, '86 MA English, teaches English at Desert Rose Adult High School. Previously, he taught freshman composition at UNLV for 17 years, worked as a dealer and boss in the gaming business for 40 years, was a member of the Culinary Union and the Laborer's Union, worked as a substitute teacher in the Clark County School District, and taught English at CSN. He also is a freelance writer and the author of Vegas: An Imploded Life, a memoir about growing up in Las Vegas from the time of the atomic explosions until the hotel casino implosions. He and his wife, Paula, have been married 45 years and have two adult children. Hobbies include swimming; watching classic movies, including film noir and Westerns; and reading. He particularly likes the post-Word War II British "angry young men" writers.

Albert "Berto" Pahang, '13 BSBA - Finance, after more than two years in upper retail management, has switched gears and become a Realtor. A broker-salesperson for the VanZant Group of Simply Vegas Real Estate, he specializes in residential real estate. His spouse is Ryan Golub, '11 BS Hotel Administration.