Each year, the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Awards brings alumni, faculty, staff and supporters together to celebrate the accomplishments of our exemplary alumni. This year’s outstanding alumni honorees represent CSUN’s core values of service, leadership, academic excellence and collective pride in their alma mater.
Carmen Estrada Schaye ’75 (Sociology); M.A. ’79 (Education Psychology Counseling), M.A. ’85 Chicana/o Studies – Mexican-American Studies), a distinguished leader whose public service includes roles with the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and multiple Los Angeles County commissions, has excelled as an educator, administrator, and innovator, founding award-winning student success programs and serving in influential civic and political leadership positions. Today, she leads Historic Home Restorations and co-owns Grant Rivers Productions, continuing her legacy of impact across education, business and the arts.
Julio César Ortiz ’00 (Journalism and Speech Communication), an award-winning Univision reporter since 2001, built a groundbreaking career in journalism after founding the CSU system’s first Spanish-language newscast at CSUN. He is the recipient of 23 Emmy Awards, six Associated Press Writer of the Year Awards and multiple other top honors. As part of his commitment to CSUN, he has created a scholarship supporting student storytellers and forged a unique path as both a journalist and licensed psychotherapist serving the mental health needs of the Latino community.
Richard Schweitzer ’87 (Accounting Theory & Practice and Finance), has spent four decades transforming financial services organizations, most notably as co-founder and senior leader of Aristotle Capital Management, where he earned industry honors including Deal of the Year and Private Company CFO of the Year. He oversees major strategic and financial operations across a national team and is a dedicated CSUN alumnus and community leader, playing key roles on the college advisory and university foundation boards, bringing his expertise in finance, accounting, and strategic growth back to the institution that helped shape his career.
The evening started with Charles Humphrey ’86, the President of the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, welcoming the over 400 attendees and highlighting the strength, pride and unity of the CSUN community.
Stressing the importance of building connections and supporting student and alumni success, Humphrey praised the CSUN community’s commitment to creating “opportunities for mentorship, advocacy, career development … building synergy [and] sparking collaboration, to ensure that the Matador spirit continues to thrive long after graduation.”
CSUN President Erika Beck commended the Alumni Association and the impact of Matadors “at home and across the world.”
The honorees acknowledged CSUN’s influence on their lives and career trajectories. In an inspiring reflection on leadership, service and the transformative power of education, Carmen Estrada Schaye celebrated receiving the Distinguished Alumna Award as an affirmation of the values that have guided her from CSUN classrooms to global boardrooms. Above all, she championed today’s students, urging them to let compassion and integrity guide their path in a rapidly changing world and thanked CSUN for empowering generations of dreamers and changemakers.
