Northern California's Director/STAR Team/ERT Team, Dev Rugne

Ruben Jose Uriarte graduated from Cal State University at Hayward with a B.A. degree in Psychology and Latin American Studies and has taken M.A. courses in Public Administration. He has been a member of MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) as a Field Investigator, State Director for Northern California, and Deputy Director of Investigations/International Affairs. Ruben Uriarte has been involved with a large network of research organizations. He had served as a state coordinator for Crop Circle Phenomena Research International. He was also a former research director for Beyond Boundaries, a company specializing in taking tour groups to various UFO "hotspots" around the world. He also serves as a board member for OPUS(Organization for Paranormal and Support Understanding). Ruben has been interviewed on many local and national radio shows and television documentaries on the subject of the UFO Phenomenon, such as the Discovery Channel's "UFOs Over Earth", The Learning Channel, and the History Channel's "UFO FILES", "UFO HUNTERS" and "ANCIENT ALIENS". Ruben has been co-authoring a series of books with Noe Torres about major UFO crashes that have occurred along the border of the Southwestern United States, Mexico, and other historical cases. Their books include, “Mexico's Roswell - The Chihuahua UFO Crash”, “The Other Roswell – UFO Crash on the Texas-Mexico Border” and their recent book, "Aliens in the Forest - The Cisco Grove UFO Encounter". Please see their website: RoswellBooks.com You can contact Ruben at ruben_uriarte@hotmail.com

Assistant Director, Ruben Uriarte

Dev has over 45 years of UFO research and independent investigative experience. She became interested in UFOs at an early age and has had many UFO sightings. Her main interest has been the abduction phenomenon with a high interest in actual crafts being seen. In 1977, after talking with Betty Hill, she pursued her quest to become a UFO investigator and researcher. Dev joined MUFON in the mid 80’s, attending the Northern California meetings. After a hiatus with MUFON (but still independently researching and investigating UFOs), she concentrated on her career until she moved to Oregon in 2007. In January of 2008, she rejoined MUFON and became the Oregon MUFON Chief Investigator. In April of 2009, MUFON International launched the Star Impact Project (SIP), Dev was hired to conduct SIP investigations for Oregon MUFON. She was also hired for the SIP Dispatch Operator position, monitoring MUFON’s database for incoming sighting reports that met the criteria for rapid deployment. Moving back to Northern California in early 2010, she became a Section State Director for seven counties, then became the Chief Investigator later that year. Dev then became the Assistant State Director, a title she held for over ten years. She has spoken at several chapter meetings and conferences on completed cases. Dev has also been on a few UFO related radio shows, podcasts and a couple of TV shows. She trains the new field investigators, after they finish their required online MUFON classes. In 2021, she released her book on field investigations.

Field Investigator/ERT Team, Valerie Benko

Valerie Benko is originally from Laramie WY but moved to Rocklin CA in 1998, where she resides today. Valerie is a Support Group Leader for the Alpha-1 Foundation. Valerie decided to become a field investigator for MUFON because, on July 20, 2015, her son, Grandson, and herself witnessed a star-like object (orb) flashing colors in the distant sky, which seemed to be out of place. Valerie suggested they should walk out to the main street in order to get a better view. Valerie’s grandson spotted a very bright light in the sky separate from the orb. In the blink of an eye, a triangular-shaped craft with 3 bright white lights and a red one in the middle, was hovering over them. Not only was this craft gigantic, but it was also completely silent. When they looked away from it, the craft disappeared in a blink of an eye. Valerie has never seen anything like it before, and being a skeptic she wanted to learn more. So she is on a mission to search for the truth, whatever it might be, she keeps an open mind and is always open to learning new things. She joined MUFON to learn more about the UFO phenomenon, as well as educate herself on what is possible in this giant universe.

Field Investigator, Hady Felfly

Since Hady was a child, he was always attracted to outer space, the unexplained, and the metaphysical. He has a lot of interest in ancient civilizations and considers that a major portion of our ancient history is still unknown to us. His curiosity made him realize that a vast universe must have a lot of exciting new things to discover, learn, and interact with. His interest in Astronomy and Astrobiology grew into an interest in UFOs that was complemented his background as a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, a field essential for the search of extraterrestrial intelligence. Some of his major interests include research about the forces of nature and energy fields, ancient structures and pyramids including underwater structures, crop circles, dreams, astral travel, telepathy, telekinesis, the afterlife, and others. Working as a Field Investigator has given him this opportunity to interact in real-time with various events which allows him to contribute to providing some answers to interesting topics. He can be reached at hfmufon@gmail.com. Furthermore, he has written numerous astronomy courses for the MUFON University, and published 4 eBooks, tackling subjects ranging from astrophysics to alien encounters to the evidence of UFO and alien presence in our solar system and its various bodies: "The Cosmic Heresy - Rewriting the Physics Laws of Space, Time, and Reality"; "They Were Always Here: Where the Sky Remembers the Alien Visitors"; "Echoes from Mars: The Forgotten Bloodline of Atlantis"; "Technological Evidence and Colossal Artificial Structures on the Moon: Our Next-Door Surveillance Base and Battle Station".

Field Investigator, Linda Cheechov- Brazelton

Linda has always looked at life as a puzzle. That’s probably why she likes accounting and taxes. It’s about processing all the pieces to see how they fit. Linda has seen and experienced a lot of different things in her life and was told not to tell anyone because people will think you are nuts. At times, she had to question herself if they were real and then accept the fact they were. Joining MUFON was one of the pieces to the puzzle. She says, “I think a lot of us question ourselves wondering if certain things are true or not. It is like finding those pieces that fit to see the whole picture. You can believe in your heart that something is real but until you have proof, no one is going to believe you. But the only one you really need to convince that something is true is you!”

Field Investigator, Joe Burgard

Joe Burgard brings a diverse and accomplished background to MUFON, combining over three decades of maritime expertise with a deep commitment to scientific inquiry. A licensed maritime captain and business owner, Joe has over 30 years of hands-on experience in commercial vessel operations. He is also a pioneer in sustainable maritime technologies, having co-founded a hydrogen fuel cell propulsion company and served as an early implementer of large-scale electric hybrid systems in the industry. Before his maritime ventures, Joe worked in education, where he cultivated a strong foundation in critical thinking and research—skills he now applies to his work in the field of UFO investigation. His involvement with MUFON stems from a lifelong fascination with unexplained aerial phenomena, particularly the testimonies of witnesses and contactees, and the profound implications these experiences have for science and human consciousness. Joe approaches every case with an open mind and a methodical, evidence-based approach, driven by a belief in the transformative potential of the technologies and encounters reported. His unique blend of technical knowledge, investigative rigor, and philosophical curiosity makes him a valuable asset to the MUFON investigative team.

Field Investigator, Alysse Roche

Alysse has had an interest in the unknown since early childhood, having many psychic experiences, dreams of past lives, and precognition. "I knew certain things were going to happen or knew things about people that I had no way of knowing." Her entire life she's had an insatiable curiosity about UFO's, cryptids, ESP, ghosts, the paranormal, the unexplained and astronomy. There were plenty of nights stargazing and pondering the possibility of life in the universe. Growing up in New York state, Alysse went to as many libraries as she could and checked out every book available on these subjects. "This was before the internet & podcasts so books and magazines were all we had, along with the occasional TV special." She was very intrigued with the research of pioneers like Budd Hopkins, Erich Van Daniken, Jacques Vallee, and Hans Holtzer. She states that she wanted to become a MUFON field investigator because . . . our planet is just a spec in our galaxy. Our galaxy is just a spec in our universe. Are we that naive to think that we are the first, or the only form of life? We know there are trillions of galaxies, stars, planets, suns, moons, etc. out there, some older than our sun, some younger. The universe must be teeming with life.