Elaine Kuehn and Barry Gorden

The Marcia and Michael Fein Endowed scholarship was established by Elaine “Jinx” Kuehn and Barry Gorden, in memory of their dear friends and longtime Silicon Valley residents, Marcia and Michael Fein. The Feins’ support for this community inspired Elaine and Barry to establish a scholarship for students with financial need who are engaged in community service. (Pictured Marcia and Michael Fein)

After earning his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in electrical engineering, Michael Fein first worked at Owens-Illinois developing gas discharge displays and gas lasers. Michael and Marcia moved to Mountain View in 1978, where Michael worked for several employers in Silicon Valley and the East Bay, including Spectra-Physics (laser optics); KLA Tencer (optical inspection tools); and Nellcor/Mallinckrodt, developing and refining pulse oximeters, which have proved so essential during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Michael was a valued member of many teams throughout his career. He co-authored numerous peer-review journal articles, is listed as an inventor in more than 170 patents, and played an active role in creating U.S. and International Standards for pulse oximeters.

Both Michael and Marcia were active in the community and enjoyed hiking and mushrooming in the Bay Area. Marcia’s career focused on serving her community and, specifically, advocating for housing access. Marcia may be best known locally for her work in the early 1980s as Director of the Fair Housing Program at Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing. In 1991, she became the first Director of the Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County, where she played a critical role in developing this non-profit organization that works to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing to low-income people in Santa Clara County. For many years, she consulted with numerous government and non-profit organizations throughout California to help them initiate and develop fair housing programs. In retirement, she became a master gardener, supporting the Mountain View community gardens and was a founding member of the Mountain View Co-Housing Community.

After a career as a community organizer, Elaine Kuehn attended De Anza College to help prepare for a career change to engineering. She worked as a civil/environmental engineer, specifically on water-based projects (storm water treatment, stream restoration for salmon, etc.). She also taught pre-engineering mathematics at Portland Community College. Because of this and her connection to De Anza, she is passionate about supporting community college students. Barry Gorden worked to organize unions in the transportation sector, and later became a technical writer. Both support civil rights, economic fairness, and environmental causes.

Through this scholarship, Elaine and Barry would like to extend a helping hand to current students at De Anza who are pursuing engineering or other STEM-related careers and need financial assistance.