1959
John Anderson (BFA ’59) of Yankton, South Dakota, is an artist whose work was featured in a January 2019 exhibit at Denver’s Skybox gallery.
1963
Kenny Crump (MA ’63) of Ruston, Louisiana, was selected as the 2019 distinguished alumnus for the electrical engineering program at Louisiana Tech University. His main area of research involved developing methods for quantitative assessment of health risks, primarily cancer, from exposures to toxic substances. Author of more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters, Kenny has served on science advisory boards of several organizations, including the USEPA and the National Toxicology Program. He also has served on six committees of the National Academies of Science.
1970
Don Betz (MA ’70, PhD ’73) of Edmond, Oklahoma, is president of the University of Central Oklahoma. He was honored in April with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
1973
Mel Muchnik (PhD ’73) of Olympia Fields, Illinois, was a founding professor of media communications at Governors State University in Illinois, where he received honors as professor emeritus and chair emeritus of the National University Technology Network. Now retired, Mel currently is on the board of directors of Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), where he chairs a communications team representing 84 global chapters. Mel has been on 12 humanitarian missions to Latin America and Africa, helping provide eye care and glasses to populations with limited access to vision care.
1976
Neil Gordon (BSBA ’76) of Sun City, Arizona, is the author of “Tony Accardo Is Joe Batters,” a book on the Chicago mob.
1983
Winnie Anderson (BA ’83) of Evergreen, Colorado, is the author of “Phoebe’s Heron” (Crispin Books, 2018), a middle-grade historical novel that details the origins of the Audubon Society in the West.
Dan Cohen (BSBA ’83) of Chicago is president of Freedman Seating, a manufacturer that designs seat-related products for different markets, including small bus, midsize coach, heavy-duty transit, rail, marine, delivery truck and para-transit.
Shelley Hammell (BSBA ’83) of Atlanta is an executive coach and team facilitator who recently published the book “You Think You’re Coaching But You’re Not!”
Patricia Karpas (MBA ’83) of Boulder, Colorado, co-founded the mindfulness app Meditation Studio and hosts the Untangle Podcast, where she has interviewed more than 150 experts, thought leaders and authors about mindfulness. Prior to starting Meditation Studio, Patricia was a media executive with companies including NBC, CNBC, AOL and Gaiam.
1985
Annie Hopper (MSW ’85) runs the rural human services program at University of Alaska Fairbanks. The academic program is designed to help further develop skills and credentials in the helping profession — including crisis intervention, suicide prevention and community development — for rural residents who are natural helpers and healers in their communities.
Dan Mulreany (BA ’85) is a purchasing agent with the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
1986
Victoria Amador (PhD ’86) of Silver City, New Mexico, authored “Olivia de Havilland: Lady Triumphant”(University Press of Kentucky, 2019), a biography of the actress and two-time Academy Award-winner best known for her role as Melanie Hamilton Wilkes in “Gone With the Wind.” Victoria has taught at a number of universities in the United Kingdom, United States and other countries. She also is the author of “The Gothic Portal: An Online Resource for Academics and Aficionados of Gothic Cultural Productions From 1976 to 2008.”
1988
Susana Cordova (BA ’88) in December was named superintendent of Denver Public Schools. Susana previously served as the district’s deputy superintendent.
Kathi Vosevich (PhD ’88) in March was named dean of humanities at Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Missouri. Kathi previously served as associate provost and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia.
1991
Joshua Platt (BA ’91) of Kirkland, Washington, in February joined online coupon site RetailMeNot Inc. as chief product officer. Joshua previously served as vice president of product for Nordstrom.com.
1992
Joshua McKinney (PhD ’92) of Fair Oaks, California, had his fourth book of poetry, “Small Sillion,” published by Parlor Press in November 2018. A professor of English and creative writing coordinator at California State University, Sacramento, Joshua also is co-editor of the online ecopoetics journal Clade Song.
1993
Eric Bosler (MBA ’93) is CFO of Minneapolis-based telemedicine startup Zipnosis. In November, he was recognized by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as Minnesota’s CFO of the Year.
1995
Angelo Ricci (BSBA ’95) of Denver is a former Pioneers hockey player who is now executive director and head coach for the Colorado Thunderbirds AAA hockey organization, as well as a skills coach for the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.
Megan Simpson (JD ’95) of Enid, Oklahoma, in January was named chief of administration for the state’s Department of Public Safety. Megan, who also is the agency’s general counsel, is the first woman to be second in command of the department since its inception in 1937.
1998
Catherine Ohura (BS ’98) of Tokyo in March was named CEO and executive director of the Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, an international public-private partnership that invests and manages a portfolio of development partnerships aimed at neglected diseases, such as malaria and tuberculosis, that afflict the world’s poorest people. Catherine previously served as executive officer and unit head of Japan commercial operations and customer experience at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
David Thomson (JD ’98) of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was named to the New Mexico Supreme Court in January. David previously spent five years as a judge in the 1st Judicial District Court. He previously worked for more than a decade in the state attorney general’s office, where he served as deputy attorney general and director of the litigation division.
1999
Patricia Aaron (MFA ’99) of Greenwood Village, Colorado, is an artist who shows professionally at Space Gallery in Denver and Globe Fine Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Her show “Open Water,” inspired by travels to Iceland, was on display in February and March at the Jewish Community Center in Boulder.
Jean Patrick (MBA ’99) in March was promoted to chief transformation officer at Colorado Springs-based Cherwell Software.
2001
Mickey Dragash (MS ’01) in February was named executive vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary at Phoenix-based Cavco Industries, which designs and produces factory-built housing products. Mickey previously held positions at Swift Transportation, Gordon Trucking, DHL Supply Chain and Walmart.
2002
Maritza Dominguez Braswell (BA ’02) of Castle Rock, Colorado, is Colorado deputy attorney general for civil litigation and employment law. She was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
Matt Huelskamp (BSBA ’02, MBA ’16) of Littleton, Colorado, is president at Hyder Construction Inc. He was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
Rachel Johnson (BA ’02) in March was named collections manager at the National Buffalo Museum in Jamestown, North Dakota. Rachel previously worked for the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and for Andrew Merriell & Associates, a Santa Fe-based museum exhibit design firm.
Lindsay Smart (BA ’02, MA ’06, PhD ’09) of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is director for leadership in the HSC Office for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where she also serves as an assistant professor and clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Additionally, Lindsay is training director for the American Psychological Association Accredited Clinical Psychology Internship Training Program and provides clinical services at the UNM Children’s Psychiatric Center.
2003
Mark Rycroft (BSBA ’03) of Denver is a former Pioneers hockey player who now is a Colorado Avalanche broadcaster on Altitude Sports and Entertainment. Mark also owns and operates SOBO Liquors on South Broadway in Denver.
2005
Keri Herman (BSBA ’05) of Breckenridge, Colorado, is a former competitive freeskier who in February launched a women’s line of ski and lifestyle outerwear through outdoor retailer Virtika. As a freeskier, Keri won five X Games silver medals, landed on three Dew Tour podiums, won three World Cup titles and a Grand Prix gold and represented Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Lindsey Schmid (MBA ’05) of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has been promoted from director of marketing to vice president of tourism and marketing at economic development agency 1Berkshire. Lindsey previously worked as marketing manager for SCS Interactive in Denver.
2006
Paula Bovo (JD ’06) of Denver is attorney and owner at Bovo Law. She was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
2007
Jessica Glaser (BA, MA ’07) began a position as healthcare performance measures analyst at Evergreen Health Services in Buffalo, New York, in January. In July 2018, she was commissioned as a provisional deacon in the United Methodist Church. She and her husband, Mathew, welcomed their first child in September 2018.
Julian Sanders (BSBA ’07) of Santa Barbara, California, teamed with his wife, Katherine Guzman, and executive chef Ryan Whyte-Buck to open Café Ana, a restaurant, wine bar and coffee shop in Santa Barbara.
Carolyn Witkus (JD ’07) of Lone Tree, Colorado, is president at Griffiths Law. She was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
2008
Kelsie (Stone) Jas (BBA ’08) in March was appointed director of revenue cycle management at Assure Holdings Corp., a provider of intraoperative neuromonitoring services. Kelsie previously served as revenue cycle manager for Arapahoe House in Thornton, Colorado.
Brooks Kirchheimer (BSBA ’08) in December opened contemporary restaurant Hearth and Hill in Park City, Utah. Brooks has worked in the restaurant industry in California, Utah and Hawaii.
Al Matulis (MBA ’08) in March was named vice president of sales at Boulder, Colorado-based Quinn Snacks, a natural foods company known for its microwave popcorn and gluten-free pretzels. Al previously was vice president of sales at Chicago Custom Foods; before that, he spent five years with the Kellogg Co.
2009
Donnyale Ambrosine (MBA ’09) of Fort Collins, Colorado, is the publisher of Culturs, a quarterly digital and print publication dedicated to cross-cultural identity.
Brianna Borin (BSBA ’09) of Denver is senior vice president of people at Snooze: an A.M. Eatery. She was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
Sara Castellanos (BA ’09) of Brooklyn, New York, is a reporter at the Wall Street Journal, where she covers emerging technologies for the newspaper’s CIO Journal.
Maranda Compton (JD ’09) of Denver in January became a partner in law firm Van Ness Feldman. Maranda, a leading member of the firm’s nationally recognized native affairs practice, is the first Native American to be elected partner from within the firm’s ranks in its history. She is an enrolled member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians and the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
2010
Scott Laband (MA ’10) of Denver is president at Colorado Succeeds, a nonprofit organization that brings business leaders across the state together to ensure that Colorado children are educated to their greatest potential. He was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
2011
Amanda Gonzalez (JD ’11) of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is executive director at Colorado Common Cause, an organization that promotes public participation in government and defends civil rights by protecting the right to vote. She was recognized in March as one of the Denver Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 for 2019.
Ellie Lockwood (JD ’11) of Littleton, Colorado, in January was named a partner at law firm Snell & Wilmer. Ellie is a trial and litigation attorney who focuses her practice in commercial, intellectual property and trust and estate litigation.
2012
Kiandra Foster (BA ’12) of Pittsburgh is program director of United for Families at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The United for Families program assists low-income families in transitioning from crisis or survival mode to a state of positive well-being and financial self-sufficiency.
2015
Kate Alderete (MLIS ’15) of Taos, New Mexico, became director of the Taos Public Library in June 2018.
Jesus Ivan Hernandez (BSBA ’15, MBA ’16) of Denver is president and CEO of Banner Signs & Decals, a custom signage solutions company that serves clients across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
2018
Pete Levine (MS ’18) of Denver has been promoted to real estate acquisitions and development manager for Brinkman, a Colorado-based development and investment company.
Stephen Venneman (MA ’18) recently had his first piece of flash fiction published online.
