JULIA CHANG BLOCH
Communications and Public Policy '64
 

A native of China who came to the U.S. at age 9, Julia Chang Bloch grew up to be a Cal grad and the first U.S. ambassador of Asian-American origin. Ambassador Bloch is the founder and president of the nonprofit US-China Education Trust (USCET), which sponsors education and exchange programs for Chinese and American students and scholars.

She started her 25 years of government service as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia in 1964, and after that worked in the corporate sector for the next quarter-century, becoming an executive vice president at Bank of America. Ambassador Bloch then moved into philanthropy, serving as President and CEO of the United States-Japan Foundation, a private grant-making institution.

"My Cal education gave me the confidence to be both Chinese and American and to know that I can make a difference if only I tried," says Ambassador Bloch, who shifted her focus back to China, as Ambassador in Residence at the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs at the University of Maryland.

As a member of UC Berkeley's Prytanean Alumnae organization, she participated in the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy (BRIE) and presented it with a grant for comparative analysis among the U.S., China, and Japan.

Photo courtesy of Julia Chang Bloch

SUSAN DESMOND-HELLMANN
Master of Public Health '88
 

An oncologist and biotechnology leader, Susan Desmond-Hellmann was named one of the world's seven most "powerful innovators" and "a hero to legions of cancer patients" by Forbes magazine. During her 14 years at Genentech, where she became head of product development, the company became the nation's leading producer of anti-cancer drug treatments, including Avastin and Herceptin.

"My training in the master of public health program gave me a valuable set of skills in epidemiology and biostatistics that I have used throughout my career in both clinical practice and drug development," Dr. Desmond-Hellmann says. "I hope that this knowledge and the decisions that it has informed has ultimately benefited many patients."

The solid foundation begun at UC Berkeley certainly helped earn her an impressive array of awards and acclaim: Dr. Desmond-Hellmann was named to the Biotech Hall of Fame in 2007 and has been listed many times among Fortune magazine's Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Business. In 2010, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and was also elected to the Institute of Medicine.

Since 2009, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann has been Chancellor of UC San Francisco, a national center of biomedical research and innovation. She is the first woman to lead the University.

Photo courtesy of Susan Desmond-Hellmann

BARBARA STAGGERS
Psychology '76, Master of Public Health '80
 

An authority on the psychosocial and psychobiological needs of adolescents, and a physician at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland, Dr. Barbara Staggers says she fell in love with Cal at a very young age.

"When I was 4 years old, I saw the University of California, Berkeley for the first time and knew I wanted to go to school there," Dr. Staggers says. "I never wanted to go anywhere else, because I knew I would get the best education in the world there. As an alumna, I know that what I thought at 4 years old was true. I have never been disappointed."

Dr. Staggers, who grew up in Oakland, has devoted much of her life to studying and helping high-risk urban youth, with a focus on her hometown. She co-founded the Faces for the Future internship program to inspire and support minority students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare. She is also a co-founder, medical director, and driving force behind the Chappell Hayes Health Center, a school-based health clinic at West Oakland's McClymonds High; the clinic is recognized as a national model for school reform.

Honored nationally for her work and achievements, Dr. Staggers's UC Berkeley honors include the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award (2004), the School of Public Health Alumna of the Year (2006), and the Regional Public Health Hero Award (2008).

Photo courtesy of Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland