Cupcake Brown was not born into a life of privilege, intellectual stimulation, or professional dynamics. Her younger years were not a model for achieving success; her youth was interrupted by violence and emotional turbulence. At 11, she regularly engaged in prostitution, drugs, and alcohol. By age 13, she had graduated to gang activities and street crime.
Most people would have been daunted by the hurdles she faced. Yet, despite enormous fear and grave self-doubt, Cupcake climbed the long, difficult, and steep ladder to transformation, sobriety, positive change, self-improvement, and triumph. Cupcake graduated from San Diego State University magna cum laude without a high school diploma or G.E.D., and attended the University of San Francisco School of Law. Author of the best-selling memoir A Piece of Cake, Cupcake speaks all over the country as an author, attorney and advocate, sharing the triumphs of her story and the power of a dream.
Jack Williams ('72, Speech Communication) was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award. Mr. Williams recently retired as President and COO of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises to pursue his philanthropic and humanitarian efforts. His work has benefited such organizations as the Homeland Security Advisory Council, the Andre Agassi Foundation, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from which he received the CFF's highest honor, the "Breath of Life" Award.
Seven-time Emmy Award winner Armen Keteyian (’76, Journalism) is widely regarded as one of the finest sports journalists in the country. Currently Mr. Keteyian is a special features reporter for CBS Sports in New York where, for the last seven years, he has covered top NFL games. He also regularly covers the NCAA Basketball Tournament and has anchored the network's coverage of the Tour de France for the last four years. Since 1997 he has also been a featured correspondent for HBO Sport's award-winning magazine show “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.”
Prior to joining CBS and HBO, Mr. Keteyian worked as a network correspondent for ABC News. He wrote and reported more than 400 stories on a wide variety of sports-related issues for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Nightline,” and other ABC News broadcasts. Mr. Keteyian also worked as a writer-reporter specializing in investigations for Sports Illustrated and has written or co-written nine books. He began his career as a sports and feature writer in San Diego, and is a native of Michigan.
MaryLee Sachs (’81, Journalism), President and CEO of Hill and Knowlton USA, is PSFA’s Outstanding Alumna of the Year for 2003-04. Widely recognized as a leading professional in the field of public relations and marketing, Sachs spent 17 years overseas before returning to the US to become President and CEO of one of the largest public firms in the nation. During her extensive career, she has worked with many blue chip organizations such as Kellogg’s, Kodak, Proctor and Gamble, Anheuser-Busch, and Motorola.
