Class Notes

Rebecca Bryant (Advert)  is a development and donor relations specialist at the California Community Foundation. Previously, she served as associate director of corporate relations at the J. Pail Getty Trust, where she created and launched its corporate partnership program. Rebecca lives in downtown Los Angeles with her fiance, Jon McAlpine (Econ'07).

Following a 34-year career, Richard Spiegel (MJour'07) retired from the U.S. Army in October 2019. He and his wife Polly (PolSci'90) then took a five-month road trip and tour throughout the United States. In March 2020, Rich joined the Veterans Administration as the chief for stakeholder engagement with the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. He and Polly live in Bethesda, Maryland.

Max Nelson (Comm) is the vice president of marketing communications at OpenX, a leading tech company focused on programmatic advertising. He previously held leadership positions at public relations agencies like Method Communications, and he was named to PR Week’s Innovation 50 list of rising stars in public relations. Nelson lives in Los Angeles with his wife and young daughter.

Amy Bower (Jour) was appointed as the assistant U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina. Before being appointed, she was a civil litigator in private practice. After graduating from CU, she went to the Charleston School of Law where she received her JD. She lives in Charleston, South Carolina.

Keryn Howarth Stauble (Jour) is an account manager with Convene, which provides meeting and event spaces in New York City and five other U.S. metropolitan areas. She and her husband, Casey, live in Jersey City, New Jersey, and welcomed a daughter in May. 

Jeff McAdam (Jour) recently joined FOX 5 San Diego. Before that, he was a TV reporter in Waco, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Los Angeles; and Salt Lake City. He has also worked for the Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Lightning and USA Soccer. 

Julia Waneka (Comm) recently founded The Story Dept., a creative communications consultancy in San Francisco, California, focused on consumer brands. She began her career working in the natural food industry in Boulder, consulting for brands including The Kitchen Restaurants, Niman Ranch, Whole Foods Marker and Smucker Natural Foods. In San Francisco, she supported brands such as MyFitnessPal, Birchbox and CreativeLive. 

Ted Vardell (Comm) and his brother Tommy Vardell, former NFL fullback started a Boulder-based nonprofit called Brotherbird Foundation in 2016 to encourage youth to explore art, music and sports. The organization has hosted programs at the Temple Grandin School of Autism, Denver School of the Deaf, Malley Elementary, OUR Center of Longmont, Columbine Spanish Immersion Elementary and Mountain Children's Foster Home. 

Eric Dieter (Advert) and Jason Mitchell (Advert’09) founded Movement Strategy when they were at CU Boulder. The company, which turned 10 years old last summer, is a social-led creative agencyand has offices in Denver, New York City and Los Angeles.

Cari Eastman (PhDComm) has continued her research on immigration and border-related issues and her second book, "Immigration: Examining the Facts" was just published by ABC-CLIO. Eastman continues to write as well as lecture at colleges and universities.

Christopher Bell (PhDMediaSt’09) is the director of creative inclusion at Skydance Animation. Before moving into this role, he served for 11 years as an associate professor of media studies in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Recognized nationally for his expertise in the area of children's culture, he teaches and has published in the areas of critical analysis of popular culture, rhetorical theory, representation theory and the history of mass media.

Jennifer Newell Davies (Comm) joined Trice Imaging as the marketing manager in January 2022. With offices in Del Mar, California, and Stockholm, Sweden, she is using both her journalism degree and Nordic studies minor.

Kim Fuller (Jour) is a co-founder of Jaunt Media Collective, a collection of print and digital lifestyle publications based in Colorado including the titles Spoke+Blossom and CO YOGA + Life. In 2021, Fuller, who lives in Vail, launched Covered Bridge, a print magazine for the Vail Valley.

Molly Rettig (MJour) published her first book through the University of Alaska Press, titled Finding True North: Firsthand Stories of the Booms that Built Modern Alaska. After moving to Fairbanks, Alaska, to work as a reporter for a local paper, Rettig explored the East Coast, where her assumptions about Alaska and herself were tested. She began writing her book, centered around one place that can be many things to many people—and how all of it can be true. 

Kim Fuller (Jour) is a co-founder of Jaunt Media Collective, a collection of print and digital lifestyle publications based in Colorado. In 2021, Fuller, who lives in Vail, launched Covered Bridge, a print magazine for the Vail Valley.

After producing Stephanie Ruhle Reports on MSNBC, Ariel Peele (Jour) has returned to NBC New York as the executive morning producer. While with Stephanie Ruhle Reports, Peele produced coverage of the pandemic, 2020 election, insurrection, impeachment and inauguration.

Brad Cochi (Jour) is the director of digital media for the Colorado High School Activities Association. Cochi has been covering high school sports for more than 12 years through multiple media outlets and was the sports editor for the CU Independent while a student at CU Boulder.

Andrew Woodruff (Advert, Mktg) is vice president in account management for TBWA WorldHealth, which specializes in pharmaceutical advertising. He has worked in telecom, cable and internet, health care, and new business. Andrew married his wife, Melissa, in September 2018. They live in Chicago and love to travel, golf, cook and take ski trips back to Colorado.

In August 2019, Kerstin Ulf (Advert) was named brand and marketing director for Protect Our Winters, a nonprofit based in Boulder that works with athletes, thought pioneers and forward-thinking business leaders to affect systemic political solutions to climate change. Kerstin previously worked at Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Levi Strauss. She is a passionate backcountry skier and mountain biker.

Allie Sandza (Jour) is a senior producer for NBC News’ Meet the Press, where she has worked since 2017. She lives in Washington, D.C.