Portland State Magazine Winter 2016

winter 2016 pORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 27 P S U A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N make the final decision. His response was disappointing: “Well, I don’t love it, but maybe it will grow on me.” It was, of course, the curved, swooping mark that came to be called the Nike “swoosh” and is now one of the most identifiable commercial logos in the world. Davidson hadn’t taken any classes in the business side of graphics. She billed Knight $35 for her work. Davidson worked with Nike for about six years—they were getting so large, they needed full-scale advertising agencies. A few years after she left, Davidson was invited to meet at Nike and go out to lunch. When she arrived, she was treated to a surprise reception and given an undisclosed amount of Nike stock. Nearly 45 years later, the Nike swoosh lives on exactly the way Davidson drew it. When asked how she feels about being the one who created a logo that appears on millions of shoes, T-shirts, NFL and college football jerseys, ad campaigns and storefronts, she answers with typical understatement: “Amazing, isn’t it?”  FOR MORE ALUMNI NEWS follow us @PSU_Alums on Twitter and PortlandStateAlumni on Facebook. Have news you would like to share? Email psu a lum@pdx.edu or mail your information to Portland State University, Office of Alumni Relations, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. To submit your own alumni news online, go to www.pdx.edu/alumni/contact . Gina Michel ’73 has retired from the motion picture business, where she was script supervisor on CSI Las Vegas . She is now a professional fused glass artist, and the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles has acquired one of her sculptures for its permanent collection. Dave Erickson ’74 is director of credit for NW Natural in Portland. Ramon Torrecilha ’84, MA ’86 is set to become the president of Westfield State University, Westfield, Massachusetts, in January. He received the PSU Alumni Achievement Award in 2014. Lisa Massena ’89 was named executive director of the state’s new Oregon Retirement Savings Plan in September. She has worked in financial and investment analysis for more than 20 years. James Floyd MPA ’90 was elected chief of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in Oklahoma in November. Kimberly Larsen ’95 is executive director of Families for Community, a Medford, Oregon, nonprofit that supports families and children who experience disability. Todd Schweitzer ’04 is high school principal for Oregon Virtual Academy based in North Bend. His wife, Katie (Winning) Schweitzer ’02, MEd ’04 , is principal of Kelso Elementary School in Boring. Betty L. Chan ’11 is a community account manager with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. She lives in Portland. Ashley Newman ’15 is working in the talent acquisition department at Nike in Beaverton. Ramon Torrecilha James Floyd Betty Chan