Cal Alumni Association

In February, the Cal Alumni Association’s UC Berkeley Black Engineering and Science Alumni Club (BESAC) hosted COVID-19 Vaccines: Science and Facts, a virtual discussion covering topics including how the virus replicates, the impact it has on the immune system, and the transmissibility of its variants. Cal Alumni Association Executive Director Cloey Hewlett ’76, J.D. ’79 joined the event, which took place during Black History Month, shortly after receiving her second vaccine dose. I can think of no greater calling during this historic month than to discuss how COVID vaccinations can make a difference in the lifespan of so many members of the Black community, she said. Far too many of our people have lost their lives to this deadly virus. Read more about the virtual event and watch the full discussion by clicking the link below.

In 2008, the Honorable Holly. J. Fujie ’75, J.D. ’78 became the third woman and first Asian American to serve as the President of the State Bar of California. While at Berkeley Law, Fujie served as the editor of the California Law Review. In her years since graduating, Fujie was chosen to serve on the Judicial Advisory Committee as an advisor on the nominations of U.S. District Court Judges and U.S. Attorneys, practiced corporate civil litigation, and was appointed to the Los... Angeles Superior Court in California. Learn more about Fujie here: http://ow.ly/6MPs50DNaKF. Throughout March, the Cal Alumni Association is honoring Women’s History Month by commemorating a few of the many alumnae in Cal’s history who made an impact in their communities and became trailblazers in their industries. #FellowCalAlum #BerkeleyforLife #WomensHistoryMonth

Amy Fan MBA/MPH ’19 co-founded Twentyeight Health while pursuing a Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Health dual degree at UC Berkeley. Deemed one of the Most Disruptive MBA Startups of 2020 and one of the Best Birth Control Delivery Services of 2021, Twentyeight Health aims to provide women from underserved communities with access to sexual and reproductive care. Read more about her incredible work below.

"What happens to art when our muses become mechanical? When inspiration is not divine, but digital?" AI has brought about a new frontier of language generation, as many of us are aware. But in recent years, some have been taking it further, actively using language-generating AI to craft literature. California Magazine editor Laura Smith talks to programmer/poet Allison Parrish and UC Berkeley student Liam Porr about the future of robot-generated writing.

Chien-Shiung Wu Ph.D. ’40, an experimental physicist who made significant contributions in the field of nuclear physics, now has her face featured on a USPS forever stamp. During her graduate studies at UC Berkeley, Wu worked at the Radiation Laboratory, directed by Ernest O. Lawrence. Wu later joined the Manhattan Project, where she helped develop the process for separating uranium into uranium-235 and uranium-238 isotopes by gaseous diffusion. Learn more about her remarkable contributions below.

"My involvement on campus has pushed me to not only gain a sense of purpose, but also a sense of happiness and strength. Helping others reach their full potential made me realize my own." Felicia Yamaguchi ’21 is a transfer student at Cal and an Alumni Scholar in the Cal Alumni Association's Achievement Award Program. Read more about Yamaguchi at bit.ly/feliciayamaguchi, and join us in lighting the path for Golden Bears eager to make a difference: bit.ly/TogetherWeRiseCAA #togethertuesday

Kurt Streeter, Cynthia Marshall, Thelton Henderson, Mika Hilaire, and Jaylen Brown are just a few of the names of many Black alumni who have made their mark in athletics. Learn more about their stories below.

"At Cal, I have so many people to learn from and so many stories to listen to." NCAA hammer-throw champion Camryn Rogers ’22, along with Sara East ’22 and Sydney Reid ’22, discussed the community of Black female student-athletes they've found on campus and the importance of this support system to them in the Cal Alumni Association's Who Are We Now? series. Join us in embracing unity: bit.ly/TogetherWeRiseCAA #togethertuesday Image by Mogli Maureal

Wishing a very golden birthday to our fellow alum Jean Mitoma, who turned 100 on New Year's Day. This amazing alum shared her story with the Mercury News, and reports that she still catches "every Cal game she can."

Happy New Year’s Eve, Golden Bears! Thank you for your support and dedication in 2020. We look forward to welcoming you to Alumni House as soon as we can. Go Bears! #BerkeleyForLife #UCBerkeley #FiatLux

As we near the end of 2020 it's time to start thinking about New Year's resolutions. Raise your hand if your resolutions include sporting more Cal gear than before : @colin.ridlon #ucberkeley #berkeleyPOV #berkeleyforlife

Calling all Golden Bears: Home Chef delivers fresh pre-portioned ingredients directly to your door with easy-to-follow recipes. From 15-minute meals to 30-minute masterpieces with options for veggie, low-carb or cal-conscious, you’ll find tons of meals that fit your schedule and lifestyle. Get $35 off your first box today! http://ow.ly/uqMy50CG6fb This is a message from our partner, Home Chef.

This year, 30% of the Cal Alumni Association's Alumni Scholars are transfers, and the second annual Transfer Success Dinner proved to our scholars who transferred to Cal that they have a support system of alumni and students to count on in these challenging times. From the Alumni Scholars Program to the Transfer Student Center, there is no shortage of resources for transfer students at Berkeley. Together, we rise. Join us: bit.ly/TogetherWeRiseCAA #togethertuesday

"[Shyamala] Gopalan spent much of her life fitting in where she wasn't supposed to. When she left India in 1958 to pursue a graduate degree at UC Berkeley, she was one of the few Indian women enrolled at the university. In fact, the 19-year-old was one of the few Indian women in the entire country. Five years later, she bucked the Indian tradition of an arranged marriage and fell for a budding economist named Donald Harris. They named their first daughter after the Sanskrit word for 'lotus': Kamala." Read about how Kamala Harris's mother shaped her life below.

Do you enjoy wine and travel? Join Cal Discoveries Travel for an exclusive, virtual wine tasting event January 28, 2021. Learn about Sicily’s viniculture and history as we sip and savor our favorite wines from this beautiful region during a happy hour conversation with UC Berkeley Professor Alex Saragoza. Registration is free and participants will receive a discounted wine tasting package from our CAA partners. ... **Please register by Thursday, December 10, 2020.

"It is a pivotal time in higher education and at UC Berkeley. There are many new campus leaders who are seeking new opportunities for Berkeley and working to address the challenges that we face. Now, more than ever, it is important to understand the issues facing our campus and engage together in developing solutions. Each month, a campus leader will share their vision for the future and invite you, the campus community, to ask questions and share your views. Bring your questionsand your lunchand join the conversation." Learn more below.

From home cooking with Samin Nosrat ’01, to visiting River City Drumbeat’s Louisville, Kentucky drum line with Anne Flatté ’90, to revisiting masculinity with Jesse Moss ’93 in Boys State, this all-Cal entertainment list will level up your fall.

We wanted to get these Berkeley Changemaker ideas in front of the Alumni Scholars because they are in so many ways the personification of the narrative: fired with the sense of agency and values that make Berkeley so distinctive in the first place. Rich Lyons As a continuation of its partnership with Berkeley Changemaker, the Cal Alumni Association held The Berkeley Changemaker Workshop: How Leaders Set Winning Culture! for its current Alumni Scholars. The workshop was ...facilitated by Rich Lyons, UC Berkeley’s first-ever chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer and former dean of Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. To hear more about the intentionality of setting strong organizational culture, the Berkeley Changemaker mission, and how Alumni Scholars embody the Berkeley values of innovation and social change, check out the workshop video and article: https://alumni.berkeley.edu//berkeley-changemaker-how-lead #ucberkeley #calalumniassociation #alumnischolarsprogram

"What would have happened if large-scale policies like shelter-in-place orders, travel restrictions, and business closures were not implemented early in the COVID-19 pandemic? According to a study from a Berkeley research team published in the journal Nature in June, shutdowns and other interventions prevented or delayed 61 million confirmed cases, which means that a total of 495 million infections were delayed or prevented in six countries including the U.S." Continue reading below.

Happy Halloween, Bears! : @acookieaddict #ucberkeley #CalCookies #berkeleyforlife

Since I’ve gotten old, I have wondered how I did all the things that I did then, Ida Louise Jackson reflected in 1984 at the age of 82. Ida Jackson ’22, M.A. ’24 was the president of the first Black sorority at Cal, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and California’s first Black educator. Read about the daring Ida Jackson, in her own words, below.

In this time of pandemic and social change, how can we exercise the same tools that we use in the theater? Well, here’s my take. Joe Spano ’67. Join host Joe Spano ’67 as he reflects on the meaning and search for identity in our fourth episode of our Who Are We Now? series. To learn more about the series, click here: http://ow.ly/yIbc50C6tfL

We want to thank the more than 700 of you from around the world who participated in our first Berkelium 5K Run/Walk. We hope that you enjoyed the experience as much as we did, and that for a shining blue and gold moment, you were connected back to your beloved alma mater. Special thanks to our sponsors Weatherford BMW of Berkeley, Bank of the West, Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel, Sennheiser, and Visit Berkeley. Comment why you roll for CAA below! Go Bears! Video Production by CreativeWest

Looking to develop your skills in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)? Hoping to see cultural change within your organization? Enroll in these timely workshops to develop your DEI fluency and ignite a culture shift in your organization. Facilitated by International House, the Robertson Center for Intercultural Leadership (CIL) invites you to our Global DEI in Action Series. Cal alumni receive a 20% discount! Use coupon code CAL when registering. http://bit.ly/GLOBALDEI This post is sponsored by the Robertson Center for Intercultural Leadership, I-House Berkeley.

Berkeley English professor Grace Lavery came out as a trans woman in 2018 and is currently teaching the first graduate-level course in trans studies. "My work is the teaching, the research, and the service. And if I can do that while being visibly trans, then that is an advantage to other people." When we embrace who we are, we rise and empower others to rise as well. Uplift with us: bit.ly/TogetherWeRiseCAA #togethertuesday

Health and medicine historian Elena Conis puts coronavirus into perspective in this Q&A about how COVID-19 could shape the future.

You might have heardBerkeley's still the #1 public university in the world. But we won't rest on these laurels: NFL head coach Ron Rivera '83 and the dedicated archivists of the Disability Rights and Independent Living Movement archives at the Bancroft Library are inspiring us to reach further this week.