 Darek DeFreece '93, JD '97 (Boston College Law School)
President
Senior Counsel, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.; American Bar Association; Massachusetts Bar Association; California Bar Association
CAA: Chair, UCGALA Special Interest Alumni Club; Scholarship Ad-Hoc Committee and Charter Gala Chair
On campus: President, Class of '93 Class Council; Resident Assistant; Co-Director, Cal-in-Sacramento; CAA Alumni Scholar; Director, Cal in Berkeley Internship Program; Kenneth Priestley Award for Outstanding Student Leadership.
In California magazine
Newly elected CAA President Darek DeFreece '93 studied political science at Berkeley before completing his law degree. Now a Wells Fargo lawyer, DeFreece lives in Oakland with his partner, Alan Croteau. They're expecting twins, a boy and a girl, in late August. He recently sat down with California editor Kerry Tremain to discuss his hopes and plans for the association.
Read more.
 Holly Lake '93
Vice President
Holly Lake majored in Spanish and Portuguese and later earned a master’s in public health and a law degree. Back in her native Los Angeles, she represents Fortune 500 employers in litigation related to employment matters, and advises them on how to avoid lawsuits and navigate agency audits.
Lake is active in a number of organizations, including the bar association, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Links International, and Great Beginnings for Black Babies, which promotes better prenatal care for African Americans. Through her nonprofit work, she’s helped mentor junior high girls and aided women in rehab centers. As a CAA board member and active member of the West Side alumni chapter, Lake says that she’d love to increase opportunities for incoming students, but wants to get a better feel for what’s most needed and tailor her efforts accordingly.
 R. Tucker Coop '67
CAA Executive Director
Pre-CAA/Lair life: For 20 years, Chairman/CEO of TRIAD Medical, a national Healthcare company. When the company was sold he went into semi-retirement until the Lair opportunity reared its head. Lair camper as a kid with parents and siblings and then 20 year Lair camper with wife and 2 daughters. Moved to Bay Area from Dana Point (Orange County) in February 2000.
Alias: Mr. Camp
Favorite quote: It's a process not an event (particularly true at CAA).
Passion: my family, my friends, the Lair.
In California magazine:
From camp to campus leader. The CAA Board of Directors has unanimously selected R. Tucker (Tuck) Coop '67 as CAA's Executive Director. Coop, who served as director of CAA's Lair of the Golden Bear family vacation camp for the past six years, plans to bring a new spirit to the independent, nonprofit organization. Read more.
 Jason McConnell '09
Jason McConnell is an East Bay native. The 34-year-old moved to Utah after high school to ski competitively for 12 years before coming to Cal, and calls himself an "unusual undergrad." He is studying nutritional science and integrative biology and plans a career in dentistry.
 Steve Azevedo ’77
Steve Azevedo is in a race. His team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory inspects optical components of the world’s largest laser, the aim of which is to achieve fusion ignition in 2010. “It’s the energy that drives the sun, a nearly inexhaustible power source that has yet to be controlled on earth,” he says.
Azevedo’s parents, both teachers, instilled a belief in him that public education is key to state, country, and world improvement. His wife and three children also attended Berkeley, and he believes serving the alumni association is an excellent way to give back, particularly through alumni scholarships. “It’s important for alumni to be involved, particularly as public money for UC and public education become more constrained,” he says.
 Brad Barber '68, J.D. '71
Brad Barber is senior vice president and chief development officer of Children's Hospital and Research Center in Oakland. He has served on the CAA board of directors before, including a stint as vice president. A fourth-generation Californian, he lives in Orinda with his wife and two teenaged daughters.
 Damon Connolly ’85, Boalt ’88
Damon Connolly is the first member of his family to go to a four-year college, and from early on, he knew he wanted to devote his life to public service. A “big moment” in his family came when President John F. Kennedy appointed his grandfather, an Irish immigrant, postmaster of San Lorenzo.
Connolly joined the Cal in the Capitol program, and then clerked for a semester during law school with the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy. He now works as a Supervising Deputy Attorney General on cases pertaining to California’s energy crisis, and has litigated against Enron and other companies to recover funds; he helped achieve one of the largest settlements on behalf of ratepayers in state history, $1.7 billion, from El Paso Natural Gas.
Connolly lives in San Rafael with his wife Dawn Chipman Connolly ’85 and their two children, and serves on the local school board. Next year, he will run in the Democratic primary for the 6th District assembly seat. At CAA, where he was involved in the mentoring program, he looks forward to strengthening student programs, providing great services, and encouraging new alums to join.
 Alan Mendelson ’69
Alan Mendelson says his big break came in 1980: “As a first-year law partner, I was handed a startup company that turned out to be Amgen.” He continues to represent biotech, medical device and other technology firms. “Helping to build companies out of the vision of a scientist or engineer is very rewarding,” he adds. “But when it is life sciences, I work with people who are striving to improve the human condition.”
Mendelson’s Berkeley experience was shaped by the traumas of People’s Park and the Vietnam war, but he found joy elsewhere, in the company of fraternity brothers, at football and basketball games, and in the classroom. He joined the Cal in the Capitol program, and then spent three summers working in San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto’s office, an experience that soured him on politics, “which was good for me and good for the world,” he says.
Married with two adult children, he has served on a number of commercial and nonprofit boards, including the National Kidney Foundation. He and his wife actively support the Lucille Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. Mendelson hopes to use these experiences on the CAA board as it implements reforms.
 Woodrow "Woody" Clark II, PhD ’77
Woodrow "Woody" Clark II grew up in Connecticut and completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the Midwest. Deciding college there was too conservative, he decided to come to Cal. Here he grew his interests in climate change and global warming and served as the vice president of the graduate assembly. Now a senior fellow at the Milken Institute and former advisor to Gov. Gray Davis, Clark wants to connect graduate students with CAA because “often, they are overlooked.”
 Patrick Fisher ’03
Patrick Fisher came to Cal to be close to his mother and play soccer. A concussion in his sophomore year almost shattered his dream, but Fisher captained his final year and went on to play for two Major League Soccer teams. The young alumnus also helped develop a company that creates headgear to prevent concussions during soccer games, and raises funds for Cal Men’s Soccer. He joined the CAA board to help “figure out how to bring in more young alumni.”
 Clothilde Hewlett ’76, JD ‘79
Clothilde Hewlett grew up poor in San Francisco and never thought she would attend Cal. Now a partner at Preston Gates & Ellis, Hewlett attributes her success to the university. Having served under both Govs. Gray Davis and George Deukmejian, Hewlett brings public policy experience with her to CAA. She hopes to improve ethnic and socio-economic diversity at Cal. “We must support the richness and beauty I experienced when I was an undergraduate,” she says.
 Jerry Miller ’01
Jerry Miller was born and raised in Los Angles. The first member of his family to attend university, at Cal Miller became a tour guide, student leader, and member of the Cal marching band for five years. He now works for Deloitte & Touche. Miller served two years on the Young Alumni Council, and wants to make sure “we are building a group of people who love the university.”
 Phil Ting '92
Phil Ting began his career as a real estate financial advisor and has helped identify cost-saving opportunities and evaluated key organizational processes and streamlined operations for The State of California, Applied Materials, Sun Microsystems, and various technology-based Fortune 500 Companies. Phil has served as the Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, founded in 1972 to advance and promote the legal and civil rights of the Asian Pacific Islander community. Since assuming office in July of 2005, Phil Ting has been working to reform the Assessor-Recorder office and find new revenue for San Francisco.
 Douglas Boxer '88
Douglas Boxer grew up in nearby Marin County but it was a high school trip to pick up a slice of Blondie's Pizza that sealed the deal for him to come to Cal. The son of Senator Barbara Boxer says, "The highlight of my Cal career was having my mom speak at my own graduation." He is a renewable energy consultant.
 Karen Leong Clancy '76
Karen Leong Clancy grew up in San Jose. At Cal, she served as a resident advisor, CalSO coordinator, and, in her senior year, secretary-general of the Model United Nations. Now a mother of two Berkeley students, Clancy says, "We need all Californians to be supportive of our state university system, especially the alumni, who directly benefited from a UC education."
 Michael Nguyen '02
Michael Nguyen was the first in his family to attend college. Nguyen, who grew up in Hayward, majored in cognitive science and psychology and played clarinet with the Cal marching band for five years. After earning his master's degree and teaching credentials from UCLA, he began work as a fifth-grade teacher at a low-income Los Angeles school. He wants to increase alumni outreach to underrepresented groups.
 Anne Pedersen '90
Anne Pedersen was born in Denmark and grew up in the Bay Area. While at Cal she was a member of the Californians, and she went on to earn her law degree from Loyola Law School of Los Angeles. Now an entertainment attorney and on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, known for its Emmy Awards, Pedersen hopes to create a "stronger and more active alumni network" in Southern California.
 Frank Sperling '75, MBA '77
Frank Sperling was born and raised in San Francisco. A Moraga resident since 1987, he has served as town mayor and now sits on the Moraga-Orinda Fire District Board of Directors. Sperling owns a private management consulting firm and hopes to "improve efficiency and effectiveness" at CAA.
 Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau
Robert J. Birgeneau became the ninth chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, on Sept. 22, 2004. An internationally distinguished physicist, he is a leader in higher education and is well known for his commitment to diversity and equity in the academic community.
Before coming to Berkeley, Birgeneau served four years as president of the University of Toronto. He previously was dean of the School of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he spent 25 years on the faculty. He is a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences, has received many awards for teaching and research, and is one of the most cited physicists in the world for his work on the fundamental properties of materials.
 Debbie Cole '72
Alumni Regent and Immediate Past President
Middle school teacher in Incline Village, Nevada.
On campus: Lair of the Bear-Camp Blue Staff (1970-73); Camp Gold Manager (1983); CAA staff (1972-77); Bear Booster and Bear Backer boards, Charter Gala Committee (current). Received the Rosalie M. Stern Award (1984), Bear Booster Award and the UCBF Award for Service. Kappa Alpha Theta (President) and Order of the Golden Bear (member). Bear Backer Board and Bear Booster Board member.
CAA: Lair Reunion Chair/Committee, Lair of the Bear Alumni Club, Awards Committee, Nominating Committee and Charter Banquet Committee.
Volunteer: Lair of the Bear, Capital Campaign Steering Committee (current); Truckee Community Chorus, Board President (current); Tahoe Truckee Youth Theater Board of Directors (current); Junior League of Oakland-East Bay since 1982, President 1991-1992; St. Luke's Hospital Junior Auxiliary member 1981-1991, President 1989-1990; Children's Learning Center board member 1995-1998.
Siblings: Greg, Doug, and Wendy have all attended CAL; Connie Cole (aunt) '52; Terry Cole (uncle) '59; cousins Cathy Cole Haworth, Lisa Cole Kennedy, Trisha Cole and Bryan Cole all attended Cal.
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