39 Notable alumni of
Northern Arizona University
Updated:
Northern Arizona University is 1109th in the world, 402nd in North America, and 376th in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 39 notable alumni from Northern Arizona University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
-
Seamus Dever
- Occupations
- film actoractortelevision actor
- Biography
-
Seamus Patrick Dever is an American actor known for his role as Detective Kevin Ryan in the ABC series Castle.
-
Katie Hobbs
- Enrolled in Northern Arizona University
- In 1992 graduated with Bachelor of Social Work in social work
- Occupations
- social workerpolitician
- Biography
-
Kathleen Marie Hobbs is an American politician and social worker serving as the 24th governor of Arizona since 2023. Hobbs is the first social worker to be elected governor of a U.S. state and is Arizona's fifth female governor. A member of the Democratic Party, she was secretary of state of Arizona from 2019 to 2023 and a member of the Arizona Legislature from 2011 to 2019.
-
Clyde Tombaugh
- Occupations
- university teacherastronomer
- Biography
-
Clyde William Tombaugh was an American astronomer. He discovered Pluto in 1930, the first object to be discovered in what would later be identified as the Kuiper belt. At the time of discovery, Pluto was considered the ninth planet, but was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Tombaugh also discovered many asteroids, and called for the serious scientific research of unidentified flying objects.
-
Derek Mason
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
-
Derek Mason is an American college football coach who is currently the head football coach for Middle Tennessee State University. He previously served as head coach at Vanderbilt University from 2014 to 2020.
-
Michael Reeves
- Occupations
- Twitch streamersoftware developerYouTuber
- Biography
-
Michael Reeves is a Filipino-American YouTuber and Twitch streamer who produces “comedy-tech” YouTube videos. He is a member of OfflineTV, an online social entertainment group of content creators.
-
Kevin Hearne
- Occupations
- writernovelistscience fiction writer
- Biography
-
Kevin Hearne is an American-Canadian fantasy novelist originally hailing from Arizona, now residing in Ontario.
-
Lopez Lomong
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Lopez Lomong is a South Sudanese-born American track and field athlete. Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, came to the United States at the age of 16 and became a U.S. citizen in 2007.
-
Jonathan Nez
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Jonathan Nez is a Navajo politician who served as the 9th President of the Navajo Nation from 2019 to 2023. He previously served as Vice President and as a Navajo Nation Council delegate.
-
Case Cookus
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
-
Stephen Case Cookus, nicknamed the Chef, is an American professional football quarterback who is a free agent. As a true freshman at Northern Arizona University, he was named the recipient of the 2015 Jerry Rice Award and the STATS FCS Freshman Player of the Year Award, both of which are awarded to the most outstanding freshman player in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. He holds the record for most combined passing and rushing touchdowns in a USFL game with five, which he accomplished in a game against the Michigan Panthers on June 5, 2022.
-
Raúl Héctor Castro
- Occupations
- judgepoliticianlawyerdiplomat
- Biography
-
Raúl Héctor Castro was a Mexican American politician, diplomat and judge. In 1964, Castro was selected to be U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador, a position he held until 1968 when he was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia. In 1974, Castro was elected to serve as the 14th governor of Arizona, and resigned two years into his term to become U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. Prior to his entry into public service, Castro was a lawyer and a judge for Pima County, Arizona. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
-
Hobbs Kessler
- Years
- 2003-.. (age 22)
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Hobbs Kessler is an American middle-distance runner. He competes professionally for Adidas, having turned professional directly after high school. He holds the North American U20 record in the 1500 meters, having run 3:34.36 in 2021 during his senior year in high school. He briefly held the world record in the road mile set at the 2023 World Road Running Championships until it was broken by Emmanuel Wanyonyi on April 27, 2024.
-
Rick Renzi
- Enrolled in Northern Arizona University
- In 1980 graduated with Bachelor of Science
- Occupations
- businesspersonpolitician
- Biography
-
Richard George Renzi is an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing Arizona's 1st congressional district from 2003 until 2009.
-
Carlton Mellick III
- Occupations
- writernovelistscience fiction writer
- Biography
-
Carlton Mellick III is an American author currently residing in Portland, Oregon. He is best known as one of the leading authors in the Bizarro movement in underground literature.
-
Howard Cannon
- Occupations
- politicianprosecutorlawyermilitary officer
- Biography
-
Howard Walter Cannon was an American politician from Nevada. Elected to the first of four consecutive terms in 1958, he served in the United States Senate from 1959 to 1983. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
-
William A. Stein
- Occupations
- engineeruniversity teachermathematician
- Biography
-
William Arthur Stein is a software developer and previously a professor of mathematics at the University of Washington.
-
Andreas Borgeas
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Andreas Borgeas is an American attorney, politician, and academic who served as a member of the California State Senate from the 8th district, which included parts of the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Prior to being elected to the state Senate, he was a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. He represented all or portions of Amador, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Sacramento, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties.
-
Anthony Kern
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Anthony Kern is an American politician and a Republican former member of the Arizona Senate, representing District 27 since 2023. He previously represented District 20 in the State House of Representatives from January 5, 2015, to January 11, 2021.
-
Geordie Beamish
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
George Beamish is a New Zealand middle- and long-distance runner, who won the 1500 metres at the 2024 World Indoor Championships. He holds the Oceania area record in the 3000 m steeplechase of 8:09.64 and the New Zealand record in the indoor 3000 m and 5000 m. He finished fifth at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the 3000 m steeplechase.
-
Ida Nilsson
- Years
- 1981-.. (age 44)
- Occupations
- ski mountaineerathletics competitorultramarathon runner
- Biography
-
Ida Nilsson is a Swedish long-distance runner who also competes in ski mountaineering. In 2003 – 2006 she won a total of ten gold medals in Swedish championships in track & field and cross country running, plus two NCAA gold medals. After many years away from training Nilsson won the Swedish championship in ski mountaineering in 2016 and a couple of months later won the prestigious Transvulcania ultramarathon.
-
Lattie F. Coor
- Biography
-
Lattie Finch Coor Jr. is an American academic specialising in public policy and the past president of two universities. He was the 15th President of Arizona State University (1990–2002) and the 21st President of the University of Vermont (1976–1989).
-
Charlene Fernandez
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Charlene Fernandez is an American politician who was the Democratic leader of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2019 to 2021. She was first elected to the state House in 2014 and represents Southwestern Arizona, specifically, the majority of Yuma County, western Pima County, southwestern Maricopa County and southwestern Pinal County. She resigned on November 15, 2021 to take a position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her son Brian Fernandez was appointed by the Yuma County, Arizona Board of Supervisors to succeed her in the Arizona House of Representatives.
-
Catherine Miranda
- Years
- 1964-.. (age 61)
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Catherine Miranda is an American politician and member of the Arizona Senate for the 11th legislative district, serving since 2023.
-
Ruben Boykin
- Occupations
- basketball playerbasketball coach
- Biography
-
Ruben Eugene Boykin Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who last played for the Sun Rockers Shibuya of the Japanese B.League.
-
C. Dean Andersson
- Occupations
- musicianwriterprogrammertechnical writer
- Biography
-
C. Dean Andersson was an American writer of fantasy fiction and horror novels since 1981, both under his own name and under the pseudonym Asa Drake.
-
Wilson Riles
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Wilson Camanza Riles Sr. was an American educator and politician from California. He was the first African American to be elected to statewide office in California.
-
Robert Maynard, Jr
- Occupations
- businessperson
- Biography
-
Robert Maynard is an American businessman. Maynard is the co-founder of LifeLock, Internet America, and SurchX, as well as of several smaller companies. Internet America and LifeLock both went public and were subsequently sold for large returns. His most recent company, SurchX, was sold to Interpayments in 2020.
-
Jamescita Peshlakai
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Jamescita Mae Peshlakai is a former Democratic member of the Arizona State Senate, serving from 2017 to 2021. She previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 until 2015, and served as co-Minority Whip for the 2018 sitting of the state senate. Peshlakai is a member of the Navajo Nation. She served in the Persian Gulf War. Before her legislative service, Peshlakai provided agricultural outreach to Native Americans on behalf of the USDA.
-
Heather Carter
- Born in
-
United States - Occupations
- politician
- Biography
-
Heather Carter is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Arizona State Senate representing District 15 from 2019 to 2021. She previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 15 from 2013 to 2019. Carter also previously served consecutively from 2011 until 2013, in the District 7 seat.
-
Dennis Van Roekel
- Born in
- United States
- Occupations
- teachertrade unionist
- Biography
-
Dennis Van Roekel is an American labor leader who served as president of the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the United States.
-
Diego Estrada
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Juan Diego Estrada Constantino is a Mexican-American long-distance runner. He competed in the 10,000 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London for Mexico. After some confusion about his eligibility after becoming a U.S. citizen, he was excluded from the U.S. Olympic trials even though it was later known that Estrada was misinformed on his eligibility possibilities. Estrada resides in Flagstaff, Arizona.
-
John Marzluff
- Enrolled in Northern Arizona University
- Graduated with Master of Science in biology
- Graduated with Doctor of Philosophy in zoology
- Occupations
- university teacheracademicbiologistornithologist
- Biography
-
John Marzluff is a professor of wildlife science at the University of Washington and an author.
-
Latif
- Occupations
- professional gamer
- Biography
-
Abdullatif Alhmili, better known as Latif, is a Saudi Arabian electronic sports player. Primarily a Guilty Gear and King of Fighters player, Latif competed in the Street Fighter IV tournament at EVO 2011, coming out of nowhere to claim second place. Latif is known for his skill with Street Fighter character Crimson Viper.
-
Chad Campbell
- Occupations
- businesspersonpolitician
- Biography
-
Chad Campbell is an American politician from Arizona, who represented the 24th district in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2007 to 2015 and served as minority leader during the final four years of his tenure. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
-
Doug Coleman
- Enrolled in Northern Arizona University
- In 1989 graduated with master's degree
- Occupations
- businesspersonpoliticianteacher
- Biography
-
Doug Coleman is an American politician from Apache Junction, Arizona, who served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from January 2013 to January 2019. He also served as mayor of Apache Junction from 1995 to 2007 and was the first mayor of the city to be re-elected by the people.
-
Víctor Castillo
- Occupations
- athletics competitor
- Biography
-
Víctor Manuel Castillo Petit is a Venezuelan track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump. His personal best jump is 8.34 metres, a Venezuelan record achieved in May 2004 in Cochabamba.
-
Paul Genesse
- Years
- 1973-.. (age 52)
- Occupations
- nursewriterchildren's writernovelist
- Biography
-
Paul Genesse is a writer of young adult fantasy novels and a cardiac unit nurse at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. His first book, The Golden Cord, was a best seller for Five Star Publishing.
-
Samantha Monahan
- Occupations
- association football player
- Biography
-
Samantha Monahan is an American professional soccer player who plays for Ballerup-Skovlunde Fodbold of the Danish Elitedivisionen.
-
Brad McRae
- Years
- 1966-2017 (aged 51)
- Occupations
- ecologist
- Biography
-
Brad McRae was an American wildlife ecologist.
-
Earl Insley
- Years
- 1911-1958 (aged 47)
- Occupations
- American football player
- Biography
-
Earl Frank "Jiggs" Insley Jr. was an American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at his alma mater, Arizona State College at Flagstaff—now known as Northern Arizona University—from 1954 to 1955, compiling a record of 3–15. Insley was also the athletic director at Arizona State–Flagstaff from 1949 to 1958.
