Annual Report 2009-2010 - Graduate School of Education and ...

Distinguished Alumni2010 Education Distinguished Alumnus Award RecipientDr. Tod Burnett (EdD ’05) received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the GSEP Education Division Commencement on June19. He is the president of Saddleback College, located in Mission Viejo, California. The two-year community college, founded in1968, serves approximately 40,000 students each year in Orange County. Burnett was appointed to the presidency in August2008 and, as CEO, manages 1,350 employees and a $95 million budget. Prior to assuming the Saddleback presidency, Burnettserved as vice chancellor of the California Community Colleges—the largest higher education system in the world, comprising110 colleges and serving more than 2.7 million students each year. While he was vice chancellor, Burnett coordinatedthe 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, thelargest ever made to a community college system in the U.S.Burnett also served as California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s deputy appointments secretary, advising the governor onmore than 300 appointments to state agencies, boards, and commissions. His public service has included positions withinthe EPA in Washington, D.C., and on the Board of Public Works for the City of Los Angeles. Burnett is the recipient of theAlumni Public Service Award from the University of California, Riverside for his work at the national, state, and local levels ofgovernment. Burnett is a longtime supporter and two-term president of Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership, Inc., and has servedon boards and committees of the Westchester Family YMCA, the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, and the CaliforniaState Society. Burnett received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside and his MBA from theUniversity of Southern California.2010 Psychology Distinguished Alumnus Award RecipientDr. Elizabeth Laugeson (MA ’00, PsyD ’04) received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the GSEP Psychology Divisioncommencement on May 23. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry andBiobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, and the director of The Help Group-UCLA Autism Research Alliance, a collaborative research initiative of the Semel Institute and The Help Group, a Los Angelesbasednonprofit dedicated to developing and expanding applied treatment research for children and adolescents with autismspectrumdisorders. Laugeson is also the director of the UCLA Early Childhood Clubhouse Program, a partial hospitalizationprogram designed to improve social and behavioral capacity in preschool children with high-functioning autism, and theassociate director of the UCLA Parenting and Children’s Friendship Program.One of Laugeson’s current projects is the development of PEERS, an evidence-based social-skills intervention for teens. Herwork has been featured on many national and international media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, the New YorkTimes, CBS, and Channel 4 in England. Prior to her current appointments, Laugeson was principal investigator and collaboratoron a number of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, investigating socialskills training for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. Among her numerous professional accolades arethe Nathan and Lily Shappell Foundation Donor Award from the Friends of the Semel Institute, the Ruth L. Kirschstein NationalResearch Service Award from the National Institutes of Health, and the Ann Chaplin Award from the Psi Chi National HonorSociety in Psychology. Laugeson received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from California State University, Long Beach. Sheearned both her MA in psychology and her PsyD from GSEP.