Distinguished Alumni 2010

Andre Birotte (JD '91)

Prior to his current position Mr. Birotte had been appointed by the Los Angeles Police Commission as inspector general of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), overseeing audits, investigations, and compliance with the mandates of the federal Civil Rights Consent Decree. He had been serving previously as an assistant inspector general. Mr Birotte's investigative and collaborative success with both the police and community groups as inspector general prompted U.S. senator Diane Feinstein to recommend him to President Obama for his current post.Andre Birotte, Jr., is the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. Nominated by President Obama in December 2009, Mr. Birotte was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and he was sworn into office on March 4, 2010. The Central District is the second largest U.S. Attorney's office in the nation, with approximately 275 assistant U.S. Attorneys serving seven Southern California counties (including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura) and their 18 million residents. His experience at the Central District ranges back more than 10 years when he first served as an assistant attorney general from 1995 to 1999.

Prior to his association with the LAPD and the Los Angeles Police Commission, Mr. Birotte worked for the law firm of Quinn Emmanuel where he represented clients in white-collar crime an commercial litigation matters. Previous to that he also served as a deputy public defender for th County of Los Angeles representing indigent clients charged with felony and misdemeanor offenses.

In 2008 Mr. Birotte received his bachelor's degree from Tufts University. He earned his J.D. from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 1991.

Andre Birotte, Jr., and his wife Rebecca reside in San Fernando Valley, California.

David M. Bowman (MS '98)

David "Dave" M. Bowman is vice president and general manager for Boeing's Global Mobility Systems Division (GMS), a part of Boeing Defense, Space, and Security. GMS consists of the C-17 military cargo aircraft, international tankers, and future mobility systems. Mr. Bowman assumed his current position in January 2010, his second assignment as vice president and general manager in the division. In this capacity he is the program manager of the C-17 with responsibility for all the business, technical, and production support of the program. He also has responsibility for the international tanker program, specifically delivering KC-767 aerial refueling tankers to Italy and providing support to tankers currently in Japan.

Mr. Bowman began his career at Boeing in 1979, holding a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in both technical and leadership roles in flight-test engineering and operations, production engineering, design engineering, and project management. Prior to taking his current assignment, he was vice president and general manager of the Boeing tanker programs. Prior to that assignment he had responsibility for mobility businesses including the C-17, C-40, C-27J aircraft systems.

Mr. Bowman is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astromatics and is a senior member of the International Society of Flight Test Engineers where he has served on the board of directors.

He is currently on the board of the California Conference for Equality and Justice, the Special Olympics of Southern California, and the YMCA of Greater Long Beach. He is also a Boeing Executive Focal for California State University, Long Beach

Mr. Bowman received his bachelor's degree in computer science, summa cum laude, from California State University, Long Beach. He received his master of science in technology management from the Graziadio School in 1998.

David M. Bowman resides with his wife Gail in Fullerton, California.

Tod A. Burnett (EDD '05)

Dr. Burnett also serves a California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's deputy appointments to state agencies, boards, and commissions. His public service has included positions within the EPA in Washington, D.C., and on the Board of Public Works for the City of Los Angeles. Dr. Burnett is the recipient of the Alumni Public Service Award from the University of California, Riverside for his work at the national, state, and local levels of government.Tod A. Burnett is the president of Saddleback College, located in Mission Viejo, California. The two-year community college founded in 1968, serves approximately 40,000 students each year in Orange County. Dr. Burnett was appointed to the presidency in August 2008, as CEO, managers 1,350 employees and a $95 million budget. Prior to assuming the Saddleback presidency, Dr. Burnett serves as vice chancellor of the California Community Colleges - the largest higher education system in the world, comprising 110 colleges and serving more than 2.7 million students each year. While he was vice chancellor, Dr. Burnett coordinated the implementation of the California Community Colleges' first system-wide strategic plan managing emergency planning, communication and preparedness efforts. He also facilitated a $70 million private philanthropic gift for scholarships, the largest ever made to a community college system in the U.S.

Dr. Burnett is a longtime supporter and two-term president of Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership, Inc., and has served on boards and committees of the Westchester Family YMCA, the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the California State Society.

Dr. Burnett received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Riverside and his MBA from the University of Southern California. He was awarded his doctor of education in organizational leadership from the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology in 2005.

Tod A. Burnett resides in south Orange County.

Cathryn J. Kingsbury ('97, MPP '99)

Prior to her tenure at Livingston, Ms. Kingsbury serves as a consultant with the Solomon Group, founded by the late U.S. representative Gerald B. H. Solomon. Her areas of specialization have been appropriations, education, financial services, foreign affairs, immigration, and transportation. Her prior clients have included the Republic of Azerbaijan and Virgin Nigeria Airways.Cathryn J. Kingsbury is a principal lobbyist for the Livingston Group, a bipartisan government relations and affairs firm in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1999 by former House Appropriations Committee chair Robert L. Livingston, the Livingston Group provides public affairs, government relations, and lobbying services worldwide to a select clientele of businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. Among the clients that Ms. Kingsbury represents are the Arab Republic of Egypt, addressing issues in the U.S.-Egypt relationship, and the Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., focusing on partnerships to bring Latina volunteers and members into girl scouting. Since joining the firm in 2002, her responsibilities have expanded and she is currently lead proposal writer and strategist for Livingston's new business development team.

Ms. Kingsbury has served on the board of Delta Delta Delta sorority alumnae in Virginia, for which she has lead a team in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure each year since 2004. She provides counsel for the Election Monitors Institute that provides former legislators opportunities to serve as election observers.

Ms. Kingsbury received her bachelor's degree in 1997 from Seaver College. She received her master of public policy in 1999. Fully engaged in alumni life, she has served as president of the D.C. Waves chapter of the Pepperdine Alumni Association. She provided the alumni address at the recent dedication of the 2001 Pennsylvania Avenue campus in Washington, D.C., and in 2009 she was honored with the University's Wave of Excellence award.

Cathryn J. Kingsbury resides in Arlington, Virginia.

Elizabeth A. Laugeson (MB '00, PYD '04)

One of Dr. Laugeson's current projects is the development of PEERS, an evidence-based social-skills intervention for teens that is scheduled for publication in May 2010. Her work has been featured on many national and international media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, CBS, and Channel 4 in England.Elizabeth A. Laugeson is a licensed clinical psychologist and a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Dr. Laugeson is the director of The Help Group-UCLA Autism Research Alliance, a collaborative research initiatives of the Semel Institute and The Help Group, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit dedicated to developing and expanding applied treatment research for children and adolescents with autism=spectrum disorders. Dr. Laugeson is the director of the UCLA Early Childhood Clubhouse Program, a partial hospitalization program designed to improve social and behavioral functioning in pre-school children with high-functioning autism. She is also the associated director of the UCLA Parenting and Children's Friendship Program. 

Prior to her current appointments, Dr. Laugeson was principal investigator and collaborator on a number of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, investigating social skills training for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Among her numerous professional accolades are the Nathan and Lily Shappel Foundation Donor Award from the Friends of the Semel Institute, the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, an the Ann Chaplin Award form the Psi Chi National Honor Society in Psychology.

Dr. Laugeson received her bachelor's degree in psychology from California State University, Long Beach. She earned both her M.A. in psychology and her Psy.D. from the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

Elizabeth A. Laugeson resides with her husband, Lance Orozco in Sherman Oaks, California.

John T. Lewis ('83) & Deanne Lewis ('84)

The Lewises exemplify lives lived in devotion to family and extraordinary commitment to community service. Mr. Lewis has been board chair for High Point Academy, a K-8 school in Pasadena, and Pioneers, a missionary agency serving in 40 countries. He is a trustee of the Henry Parsons Crowell Trust, a foundation serving Christian causes, an elder at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, and a longtime leader in the Boy Scouts. Deanne has likewise been active in service to the Boy and Girl Scout organizations, the National Charity League, and her church. Both Lewises are supporters of World Vision, and have participated in many international field projects.John and Deanne Lewis are Seaver College alumni, married for 25 years, living and working in Southern California. Mr. Lewis, a CPA, is president of Eugen Lewis & Associates in Arcadia, an accounting and financial management firm specializing in services and planning for multi-generational high-net-worth families and Fortune 500 executives. Mr. Lewis speaks to industry conferences and has been a presenter at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. Prior to her becoming a full-time mother and homemaker i 1988, Mrs. Lewis had worked in the real estate industry, managing special projects.

In the Lewis household, the Pepperdine connection is a strong, defining, and enduring presence. The Lewises were married in Stauffer Chapel, with then-Pepperdine President David Davenport officiating. Son Timothy is a 2010 Seaver College graduate. Mr. Lewis served on the Pepperdine University Board from 2000 to 2009 and is on the President's Campaign Cabinet. Mrs. Lewis is a founding member of the Alumni Leadership Council and serves on the Pepperdine University Board.

Mr. Lewis received his bachelor's degree in 1983. He has also pursued graduate study at Talbot and Fuller Theological seminaries. Mrs. Lewis received her bachelor's degree in 1984.

John and Deanne Lewis reside in Sierra Madre, California.