Kevin Quashie, 34, ‘97 M.A., ’00 Ph.D.

Expressions soft and loud

A year before completing his Ph.D. in English from ASU in 2000, Kevin Quashie, now 34, had begun his teaching career at Smith College, and he was editing his first book, “New Bones: An Anthology of Contemporary Black Writers in America.” The volume, and its companion audio CD, "Living Words: An Audio CD of African American Oral Traditions,” received strong praise from artistic and literary critics.

"It was the first anthology of its kind to look holistically at writing in black America since the ‘70s,” he said. “There was a flourishing of black women writers at that time.”

Six years later, Quashie is a tenured professor, in the Afro-American Studies Department at Smith. He also teaches in the women’s studies department. “It is very unusual to get tenure so early,” he said. “Editing a major anthology certainly helped.”

Quashie is working on his second book, a non-fiction piece focusing on “quiet” and its relationship to black culture. “So many think of black culture as loud, which prevents us from seeing other aspects,” he said. “There is a difference between quiet and silence.”

Felisa Israel, 35, ’94 B.S.

That’s (her) entertainment

Felisa Israel loves a challenge. After several years as the director of entertainment for the Phoenix Suns, she was charged with entertaining the fans for the Phoenix Mercury, the Valley’s upstart WNBA team. “I didn’t even know who the fan base was,” she said. “But it was a terrific challenge.”

After graduating from ASU in 1994, the former dancer entered the world of sports. Ironically, at the Suns organization, entertainment opportunities began to surface – she soon found herself in charge of the dance team and the national anthem performance. Even though the performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is a staple at most professional sports contests, Israel, 35, found her job exciting. “I was so excited to audition people to sing the national anthem,” she said.

Her enthusiasm and hard work paid off, and her passion for making basketball games an entertainment experience has taken her to a national-level position. She is now the director of production development for NBA Entertainment. Israel, now based in Los Angeles, travels the country, helping pro basketball teams produce live entertainment for the fans. She couldn’t be happier doing what she does, she said.

"This has been more than a dream job,” she said. “My passion is entertainment.”

Edwardo Portillos, 35, ‘97 M.S. ’04 Ph.D.

Understanding gangs

"Gang members are like every other kid,” says Edwardo Portillos ‘04, who worked with young gang members and police in western and southern Phoenix as part of his Ph.D. program in justice studies. “They are down-to-earth, nice kids who want to be police officers and firefighters.”

Portillos, 35, says he wants the community to better understand the relationship between gangs and criminal justice policy. A criminologist, he studies normal social behaviors and the factors that influence deviation from that norm.

As assistant professor of sociology at his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and previously at California State University San Marcos, Portillos has taught courses in criminology, juvenile delinquency, immigration and justice, and youth gangs.

His ability to see both gang members’ and police officers’ perspectives has served Portillos well. At Cal State San Marcos, he served as a mediator between campus police and students during a highly publicized racial discrimination case. As an M.S. and Ph.D. student at ASU, his research was published in the magazine Criminology, and in “Images of Crime, Images of Color,” a book of essays edited by eminent criminologists.

The father of one teenager and two toddlers, Portillos says that working with gangs isn’t frightening. “In Latinos, I see my cousins – they look familiar to me.”

John Seibel, 34, ‘97 B.A.

Centered on sports

John Seibel’s career climb up the mountain of sports reporting opportunities happened fast. Less than 10 years after graduating from ASU with a degree in broadcast journalism, he is working in what many consider the Mecca of sportsdom, ESPN. Hired by the cable giant in 2000, Seibel has served as anchor for ESPN News, and last year, transitioned seamlessly from TV to ESPN Radio.

Fresh out of ASU, the broadcast journalism graduate took a job as a sports reporter as KQTV in St. Joseph, Mo. But the rookie anchor’s stint at the midwestern station was brief. After three months, he was recruited for a job as sports anchor and sports director at KIMO-TV in Anchorage, Alaska.

After a three-year run in 49th state, he received the call from ESPN, a moment that he had dreamed about throughout college.

Today, Seibel shares his love of sports with his wife of two years, who also works for ESPN.

Seibel feels lucky to be right where he is. “If you want to get into sports broadcasting, ESPN is the authority,” he said. “The network people trust.”

Profile credits:
Quashle, Israel and Seibel written by Phoenix freelance writer Michael Hammett
Portillos written by Phoenix freelance writer Melissa Crytzer Fry

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Kevin Quashie

Felisa Israel

Edwardo Portillos

John Seibel