Distinguished Alumni Awards

The Catlin Gabel Alumni Council recognizes distinguished alumni through an annual awards program, honoring four distinguished alumni each year. 

Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students for significant accomplishments in business or professional life.

Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students for extraordinary service to their community, state, nation, or the world.

Distinguished Younger Alumni Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students who have achieved much in the arena of professional accomplishments or social service before the age of 40.

Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leader Award: Granted to Catlin Gabel graduates or former students who have achieved much in the arena of professional accomplishments or social service before the age of 25.

Submit a Nomination Here

Portraits of Rick Hecht, Kristen Hege, Jolee VanLeuven, and Juma Sei

2025 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award - Rick Hecht '75

Rick Hecht is Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UCSF. He served as Research Director of the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health and Osher Foundation Endowed Chair for Research in Integrative Medicine from 2002 to 2023. He is trained in internal medicine, HIV medicine, and clinical epidemiology. His research focuses on rigorous testing of lifestyle interventions and the health effects of mind-body interventions. He is the author of over 300 peer-reviewed articles and has been the principal (lead) investigator of 20 National Institute of Health (NIH) grants. Mentoring has been one of his key commitments, including leading the UCSF NIH T-32 funded Training in Integrative Clinical Research Fellowship and serving as a mentor for 12 successful NIH K career development awardees. He has played a variety of leadership roles in the field of integrative medicine research, including serving as Chair of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health, and serving as Program Chair and Organizing Committee chair for the International Congress for Integrative Medicine and Health.

Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award - Kristen Hege '80

Dr. Hege retired from Bristol Myers Squibb and UCSF in March of 2023 to pursue her lifelong dream of thru-hiking the 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail. In her BMS role as SVP Early Clinical Development, Hematology, Oncology & Cell Therapy, she was responsible for advancing a pipeline of small molecules, biologics and cell therapies from first-in-human studies through clinical proof-of-concept. While there she led the 2Seventybio (formerly bluebird)-partnered BCMA CAR-T cell program (Abecma) in multiple myeloma from inception through FDA approval. Prior to BMS she held a similar role at Celgene as well as executive roles in biotech at Cell Genesys, Cellerant, and Theraclone.

Dr. Hege currently serves on the Board of Directors of Mersana, Adaptimmune, Kelonia, EvolveImmune and KSQ Therapeutics and as co-chair of the Biotech Committee for the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) along with advisory roles at cTRL, Moonlight, Dispatch, Cartography, Neomorph, Kamau, Generate, Shennon Bio and Avemi. In addition, Dr. Hege spent nearly three decades as a part time clinical faculty member in the division of hematology at the Univ. California, San Francisco (UCSF), most recently as Clinical Professor of Medicine, where she cared for patients with blood cancers and other hematologic disorders. 

Dr. Hege received her M.D. at UCSF and internal medicine and hematology/oncology subspecialty training at Harvard and UCSF, respectively. In 2015, she was recognized by Fierce Biotech as one of the top 12 women in Biopharma, in 2019 by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association as a “Luminary” and in 2021 by San Francisco Business Times as one of the most influential women in Bay Area business. In 2022, she was recognized by UCSD with the Duane Roth Career Achievement Award for advances in science and medicine. Her career path and long history with CAR T cell development was featured as one of 25 physicians and scientists recognized as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of Nature Medicine and by Forbes magazine in 2022 as one of “50 women over 50: entrepreneurs” in recognition of her leadership role in the development of Abecma.

Distinguished Younger Alumni Award - Jolee VanLeuven '05

Jolee VanLeuven is an accomplished executive and strategic leader in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) industry. As the Head of Shake Shack Canada, she is spearheading the brand's launch in Canada. Under her leadership, Toronto’s Union Station Restaurant has held the distinction of the highest-grossing Shake Shack in the world for nearly a year.

During her decade in leadership positions at Restaurant Brands International (RBI), she worked with global brands including Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs. As Divisional GM of Burger King Northwest, she drove revenue growth and a decrease in service times. Later, as Vice President of Operations for Tim Hortons, she oversaw the operational strategy and execution for over 5,000 restaurants.

Jolee graduated cum laude from Princeton University, where she captained the track and cross-country teams and earned Division 1 All-American honors. She holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is based in Toronto, Ontario, where she lives with her family and is training for the Chicago and NYC marathons.

Distinguished Alumni Emerging Leader - Juma Sei '18

In 2014, Juma entered Catlin Gabel as the only new student in eighth grade. He spent the next five years making the school more inclusive, founding the Black Student Unions, serving as Student Body President, and helping to launch The CENTER, a third space where students from across Portland gathered to discuss politics, culture, and community. His initiatives made space for students of color to thrive in an environment not built with them in mind.

Juma refined this commitment at Yale University, where he earned a degree in American Studies with distinction. Beyond the classroom, Juma taught Black Studies seminars to high school students in New Haven, mentored first-year Yalies as a peer educator, and amplified student voices as a member of the inaugural Yale Daily News editorial board. As a Division I athlete, Juma captained the Varsity Track and Field team, set the school record at 500 meters, and received multiple awards for outstanding leadership, service and athletic ability.

Juma’s career as a storyteller began with Downtime, a student radio show exploring music, history, and identity. He went on to join NPR as a Kroc Fellow, reporting from Washington DC, Detroit, and Atlanta. His reporting centered student literacy, culturally-specific education in public schools, and Black voters in federal elections.

In 2024, Juma returned home to support his community and nourish a documentary practice. He now works with Portland’s 1803 Fund to strengthen Black life in the region through capital investment. Juma launched the firm’s communication arm; he now helps lead its community partnerships. For Juma, this role carries personal resonance: he hopes to spotlight transformational work in Portland for folks around the nation to learn from the city’s example.

2024 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Ryan Wiser ’90 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Alix Meier Goodman ’71 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Bianca Bosker ’04 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2023 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Marley Brown ’65 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Traci Rossi ’83 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Alex Bellos ’02 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2022 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Gus Van Sant ’71 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Tamara Chang ’99 MD - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Casey Michel ’06 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2021 Distinguished Alumni Award RECIPIENTS

  • Gil Kelley ’71 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Katie Sharff ’98 MD - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award
  • Sprinavasa Brown ’02 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2020 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Judge John H. Chun ’87 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Washington State Court of Appeals Judge
  • Ted Kaye ’73 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award, national leader in vexillology
  • Kevin Esvelt ’00 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, leader in evolutionary and ecological engineering

2019 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Rukaiyah Adams ’91 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Chief Investment Officer at Meyer Memorial Trust
  • Curt Ellis ’98 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award, leading voice in America’s food movement
  • Nadya Okamoto ’16 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, Founder and Executive Director of PERIOD

2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Mary Beebe ’58 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, arts administration
  • Liza Gadsby ’76 & Peter Jenkins ’70 - Distinguished Alumni Community Engagement Award, wildlife conservation: biology, ecology, social activism
  • Peter Chaille ’98 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, environmental education

2017 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Cynthia Johnson Haryuama ’77- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Se-ah-dom Edmo ’94- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • David Recordon ’04- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2016 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Margot Voorhies Thompson ’66- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Lyla J. Andrews Bashan ’98- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Andrew McCartor ’98- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2015 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • J Mary Taylor ’48- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Robin Schauffler ’68- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Nkenge Harmon Johnson ’93- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2014 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Dr. Phillip Starr ’79- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Dr. Derrick Butler ’86- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Amelia Templeton ’02- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2013 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Gretchen Corbett ’63- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Willard Rowland ’62- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Amani Reed ’93- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2012 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Philip Hult ’88- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Pippa Arend ’90- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Michael Manidberg ’91- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2011 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • David Shipley ’81- Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award
  • Roz Nelson Babener ’68- Distinguished Alumni Service Award
  • Dr. Angel Foster ’91- Distinguished Younger Alumni Award

2010 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Henry Dick ’65 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, marine geologist
  • Sally Bachman ’75 - Distinguished Alumni Service Award, child labor advocate
  • Rachel Cohen ’90 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, global health advocate

2008 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

  • Charlotte Coe Murray ’47 - Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, architect and historic preservationist, Vancouver, B.C.
  • Jordan D. Schnitzer ’69 - Distinguished Alumni Service Award, president and CEO, Harsch Investment Properties, Portland; longtime civic leader and philanthropist
  • Phil Buchanan ’88 - Distinguished Younger Alumni Award, president, Center for Effective Philanthropy, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Past Distinguished Alumni Award recipients (before the award restructure)

  • 2007 - George Wolfe Ettelson ’42, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2006 - Alfred Aya ’43, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2005 - Kate Rogers McCarthy ’35, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2004 - Spencer Ehrman ’35*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2003 - David Lawrence ’58, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2002 - David Bragdon ’77, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2001 - Barbara Farrow Walker ’53, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 2000 - Roger Meier ’43*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1999 - Nancy Neighbor Russell ’49*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1998 - Phyllis Cantrell Reynolds ’47, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1997 - Marian Wood Kolisch ’37*, Distinguished Alumni Award
  • 1996 - Philip Hawley ’43, Distinguished Alumni Award

*deceased