The City of Irvine will celebrate the induction of 52 new honorees to the Wall of Recognition Tuesday, June 9, 3 p.m. at Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park. A reception at Irvine City Hall will be held from 4 to 5 p.m., with a formal recognition at the Irvine City Council meeting at 5 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

The honorees represent individuals and organizations who have meaningfully contributed to the community and set a lasting precedent of excellence for future generations. They are elected officials; city leaders; organizations and businesses that contribute to the betterment of our City; or individuals who bring something unique to Irvine as the first to undertake a position, task, or industry of significance to the community.

The 2026 class of honorees join a select group of more than 500 individuals and organizations whose names have been added to the Wall of Recognition since it was established in 2006 at Colonel Bill Barber Marine Corps Memorial Park.

The following represent the 2026 class of honorees:

Perpetual Plaque Honorees

  •  Irvine City Councilmember William Go
  •  Irvine City Councilmember Melinda Liu
  •  Irvine City Councilmember James Mai
  •  Irvine City Councilmember Betty Martinez Franco
  •  City Manager Sean Crumby
  •  Irvine Unified School District Board of Education Member Connie Stone
  •  Irvine Unified School District Superintendent Cassie Parham
  •  Tustin Unified School District Board of Education Member Kathy Copeland, Ph.D.

Community Partners

  • I AM Movement

Roots of our Community

  • Families Forward
  • Tanaka Farms
  • City of Irvine Librarian Julie Zeoli
  • James Irvine I

Distinguished Citizens

  • Charlie K. Choi
  • Gail Daniels
  • Robert F. Dannenbrink Jr., FAICP
  • Sgt. Rick D. Darnall
  • Ken Dory
  • Clara Valerio Flores, In Memoriam
  • Avram Grossman
  • Candy Hammeras
  • Ann Hwu
  • Edward Sang Hyun Kim, M.D., M.B.A.
  • Ed McNew, In Memoriam
  • Annastasia Rose Myburgh
  • Robert “Bob” Pestolesi
  • Greg Pettit
  • Lorie Reed
  • Antoinette Rogal, In Memoriam
  • Colonel Edward Rogal, In Memoriam
  • Timorei Spaulding
  • Jane Stoever
  • George Varvas
  • Annette M. Walker
  • Charlie Zhang

Civic Leaders

  • Dr. Phyllis Agran, MD, MPH, MA, FAAP
  • Chuck Bozza, PhD, In Memoriam
  • Valarie Burlingame, In Memoriam
  • Avinder Chawla
  • Allyson Maddy Dierdorff, In Memoriam
  • Shawnn Gallagher, In Memoriam
  • Youssef Kaddeche
  • Henry and Mary King
  • Virginia Nicols, In Memoriam, and Joseph Krueger
  • Lisa Osmanian-Weinfurter, In Memoriam
  • Dick Owens
  • Rick Paikoff, In Memoriam
  • Jeffrey L. Pierson
  • William “Bill” Russell
  • Ron Scolesdang
  • Kevin Trussell
  • Christine Tully

Community members were invited to submit nominations for the Wall of Recognition between November 1 and December 30, 2025. To be eligible for consideration, individual nominees must be or have been someone who has lived, been employed, or attended school within the City of Irvine. Groups, businesses, and organizations must be or have been located in Irvine.

For more information, visit cityofirvine.gov/publicrecognition.