47 Notable alumni of Chapman University

Mark R. Shepherd was a political consultant, strategist, activist, environmentalist and radio personality in California. He was a Congressional Field Representative for California's 46th Congressional District from May 2002 to October 2008. Active in Inland Empire Democratic Party politics, Shepherd was twice chairman of the San Bernardino County Democratic Central Committee and longtime officer of the Democratic Luncheon Club of...

Matthew Lessner is an American artist and independent filmmaker.

Carolyn Waters Broe is an American conductor, composer, violist and writer, who founded Four Seasons Orchestra in 1992.

Jeff Carnazzo is an American football coach and the current head coach at Palma High School, a position he has held since 2000. Carnazzo previously served as the junior varsity linebackers coach before his time as varsity head coach. In his first year as coach, Carnazzo guided his team to a championship in Division I of the Central Coast Section....

Noelle Hope Freeman is an American entrepreneur and founder of The DMS Agency.

Eldon Philip Regua is a retired major general in the United States Army Reserve, who last served as Deputy Commanding General/Chief of Staff (Wartime) (Individual Mobilization Augmentee) for Eighth United States Army headquartered in Yongsan, Korea, having just completed an assignment as Commanding General, 75th Division (Battle Command Training Division) in Houston, Texas in July 2011. As of 2010, he...

Rick Francona is an author, commentator and media military analyst. He is a retired United States Air Force intelligence officer with experience in the Middle East, including tours of duty with the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. He was under contract to NBC News and appeared regularly on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, as...

Nina Marion Armagno is a retired United States Space Force lieutenant general who served as the first director of staff of the United States Space Force from 2020 to 2023. She is the service's first female general officer and the only officer to have commanded both the 30th Space Wing and the 45th Space Wing. Before transferring to the Space...

Sanyukta Kaza is an Indian film editor best known for her work on Tumbbad, Bhediya, Paatal lok, Mismatched and Kohrra. Her films have won accolades at multiple film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Sundance, Toronto, Sitges, Screamfest, Palm springs etc. She has a Masters in Fine Arts from Chapman university.

Joanna Rosholm is the former press secretary and deputy communications director for First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama.

Major General Laura L. Yeager is an active officer in the United States Army National Guard. She became the commander of the National Guard's 40th Infantry Division on June 29, 2019 and served in that role until May 15, 2022. She is the first woman to command a United States Army infantry division.

Emmett Littleton Ashford, nicknamed Ash, was an umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB), working in the American League from 1966 to 1970. He was MLB's first African American umpire.

Linh Nga, is an American-Vietnamese film director, film producer, actress, and screenwriter. Linh Nga's 2019 documentary "Inside this peace" won "Award Of Merit" at the Impact DOCS Awards, won "Best Feature Documentary" at the California Women's Film Festival, and nominated for "Best Feature Documentary" at the Action On Film International Film Festival. Her 2003 film Up and Down the Dust...

Rebecca Jill Gordon Hunter-Reay is an American off-road racer, pit-reporter, and model.

Esther Veronin, is a Taiwanese-American director, singer, actress and CEO of entertainment startup Meimeiwawa Multimedia. She is the elder sister of singer Lara Veronin.

George Leon Argyros is an American former diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Spain. He is also a real estate investor and philanthropist. Argyros was the owner of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners from 1981 to 1989. He is the founder and CEO of property firm Arnel & Affiliates.

David Edward Bonior is an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1976, Bonior served as Democratic whip in the House from 1991 to 2002, during which time Democrats were in both the majority (1991–1995) and minority (1995–2002), making Bonior the third and second highest-ranking Democrat in the House, respectively.

Kelli L. Stavast is an American sportscaster who formerly worked for NBC Sports as a pit reporter for both their NASCAR and IndyCar Series coverage. She has reported for numerous other forms of motorsports throughout her career, as well as diving at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and freestyle skiing at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyongchang.

Octavio Zambrano Viera is an Ecuadorian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current manager of Venezuelan club Monagas.

Paul Harold Dunn was a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Dunn was widely considered one of the most dynamic speakers among the general authorities in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1991, Dunn stated that he had "not always been accurate" in his speeches and writings after it was reported that he "made...

Gustavo Arellano is a Mexican American writer and journalist. He is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and the former editor of Orange County's alternative weekly OC Weekly.

Martin Louis Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Al Hirt, Art Pepper, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Ray Charles and Mel Tormé. His long association with Tormé included one of the singer's earliest albums,...

Stephen Michael Lavin is an American college basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros men's basketball team at the University of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head coach of the St. John's Red Storm and UCLA Bruins. In eleven full seasons as a head coach, Lavin had led teams to...

Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor is an Indian actor. He is the son of actor Anil Kapoor. He made his acting debut with the romantic drama film Mirzya (2016). He has since starred in the action films Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018) and Thar (2022).

Doreen Virtue is an American author who formerly wrote exclusively about New Age topics. Virtue has said that in 2017 she rejected her New Age beliefs and became a born-again fundamentalist Christian.

Joan Staley was an American actress and model.

Justin Simien is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His first feature film, Dear White People, won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. It was later adapted into the Netflix series of the same name. Simien has also been named to Variety's 2013 "10 Directors to Watch" list.

Juliari Peter Batubara is an Indonesian politician, who served as Minister of Social Affairs in the 41st Cabinet of Indonesia from 23 October 2019 until his arrest in December 2020 for alleged corruption. He is a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Reba Sabrina Hinojosa, known professionally as Sabrina Bryan, is an American singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the girl group the Cheetah Girls, starring in the Disney Channel Original Movie The Cheetah Girls and its sequels, The Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls: One World. Before she appeared on television, Bryan was a dancer,...

Cooper Bradford Hefner is an American businessman. He is the managing partner of Hefner Capital. He has worked as the chief creative officer and chief of global partnerships at Playboy Enterprises, a company founded by his father, Hugh Hefner. He was also the founder and initial chief executive officer of the startup company Hop.

Roger Craig Smith is an American voice actor. He is known for his voice roles in video games such as Chris Redfield in the Resident Evil series (2009–2017), Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the Assassin's Creed series (2009–2011), Kyle Crane in Dying Light (2015) as well as in Dying Light: The Beast (2025), Sonic the Hedgehog, E-123 Omega, and the...

Utkarsh Sharma is an Indian actor. The son of director Anil Sharma, he made his first screen appearance as a child in the 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, which starred Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. As an adult, he made his debut with a leading role in the action thriller Genius and later worked in Gadar 2 (2023) and...

Kellan Christopher Lutz is an American actor, martial artist and model. He made his film debut in Stick It (2006), and is best known for playing Emmett Cullen in The Twilight Saga film series (2008–2012). He has since played Poseidon in the 2011 film Immortals, voiced the title character in the 2013 animated film Tarzan, also played John Smilee in...

Stewart Robert Einstein was an American actor, comedy writer, and producer. He created and performed the satirical stuntman character Super Dave Osborne, and was also known for his roles as Marty Funkhouser in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Larry Middleman on Arrested Development.

Jodie Lee Ann Sweetin is an American actress and television personality. She is best known for her role as Stephanie Tanner in the ABC comedy series Full House and its Netflix sequel series Fuller House.

Colin Lewes Hanks is an American actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his role as Gus Grimly on the FX crime series Fargo (2014–2015), which earned him nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Critics' Choice Television Award.

Annette Leslie Jones is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She was a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2019, and hosted the ABC game show Supermarket Sweep. She has also been a featured performer at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal and the Aspen Comedy Festival. In 2010,...

Justin David Everett is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 22nd district from 2013 to 2019, as a member of the Republican Party. During his tenure in the state house he was referred to as Dr. No for his opposition to large amounts of legislation with him being the legislator who voted against...

Loretta Lorna Sanchez is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1997 to 2017, representing parts of central Orange County, California. A member of the Democratic Party, she was first elected in 1996, when she defeated long-serving Republican U.S. Representative Bob Dornan by fewer than 1,000 votes. During her time in the House of...

Kevin Kwan Loucks is a Korean–American classical pianist, arts entrepreneur, and nonprofit executive. In September 2021, he was appointed chief executive officer of Chamber Music America in New York City. He previously served as Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County, a presenting organization in residence at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts...

Samantha Elizabeth Brown is an American television host who presented several Travel Channel shows including Girl Meets Hawaii, Great Vacation Homes, Great Hotels, Passport to Europe, Passport to Latin America, Great Weekends, Green Getaways, Passport to China, and Samantha Brown's Asia. As of 2012, Brown has marketed her own brand of travel luggage called Samantha Brown: Travel America. In January...

Randolph Edward Jones is an American disco and pop singer and best known as the cowboy from Village People from 1977 to 1980, and again from 1987 until 1990.

Christopher Kalani Cushman Lee is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Hawaii Senate. He was the youngest member and only millennial serving in the Hawaii State Legislature when elected in November, 2008. He currently serves as Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He also serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations and commissions.

Keith M. Givens is a retired United States Air Force Brigadier General who served as the 17th Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Quantico, Virginia. As the AFOSI Commander, Givens oversaw AFOSI's worldwide network of over 2,000 military and civilian special agents and over 500 unsworn members stationed at major Air Force installations and a variety...

Gustavo Alfredo Leite Gusinky is a Paraguayan businessman and politician, currently serving as Paraguay's ambassador to the U.S. since 2023.

Kit Armstrong is an American classical pianist, composer, organist, and former child prodigy of British-Taiwanese parentage.