Bob Williams, "The Voice" of SSU, Leaves for CSU East Bay

After nearly 22 years on the campus of SSU, Bob Williams, Associate Director of the Sonoma Student Union Corporation, is leaving to take a new position as Executive Director of the Associated Students Incorporated at California State University, East Bay. 

Williams was instrumental in the planning, development, and eventual construction of the Student Recreation Center and a number of other capital projects under the umbrella of the Student Union. Along with his usual duties with the Student Union Corporation, Williams has been a visible fixture on campus in a number of different capacities, not the least of which is his participation with other talented staff members in the annual Halloween Show. He has also lent his voice to numerous campus events and activities such as the Green Music Festival (as announcer and MC) and the annual Commencement ceremonies.

In his "free time," Williams pursues a life as a professional musician and has performed many times on campus with his string quartet, as a violin solo, and with the Santa Rosa Symphony. He performs throughout the Bay Area as a back-up player for shows such as Smokey Robinson, Natalie Cole, and Dionne Warwick.  He also conducts two youth orchestras for the Santa Rosa Symphony and freelances as a conductor, arranger and producer. Williams was a founding member of the Cotati Philharmonic (now known as the American Philharmonic Orchestra, Cotati.)

"It’s a bitter sweet situation as I contemplate leaving this beautiful campus and the wonderful people with whom I have worked over these many years.  But the challenge of this new position is just something I can’t walk away from," says Williams. His last day is June 15 and a party in his honor is being planned for late afternoon on June 14. For further information, contact Peter Neville at the Student Union.

Sarah Charukesnant is Newest
Member of Development Team

Sarah Charukesnant joined Sonoma State University's development team in March 2007 as the new Associate Director of Development. She has worked in the development and fundraising field for more than four years, serving first as the Development and Communications Coordinator for Hispanics in Philanthropy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting equity and social justice for minority populations. More recently, she worked as the Development Manager for Environmental Traveling Companions, a nonprofit organization that provides accessible outdoor adventure courses for people with disabilities and at-risk youth. Charukesnant also serves as a Board Director for Refugee Transitions, a nonprofit organization that assists refugee and immigrant families in becoming self-sufficient in the US. She is presently working with faculty, deans and chairs to develop a comprehensive Annual Fund to communicate and to obtain gifts on a yearly basis to support academic programs and general operations. The Annual Fund will rely heavily on the support of alumni, staff, faculty and friends of the University, and local businesses. Its goal is not only to raise funds but is also to build relationships through ongoing communications and engagement.

Charukesnant received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in English from Cal Poly, and continues to work on and share her love for the written word. She works on her own fiction writing, is the co-founder and literary editor for Bullfight Review (a Bay Area literary journal), and has served as an adjunct professor teaching literature and writing. She is "a huge advocate of education and looks forward to being a professor one day."