Class Notes

Joshua Colwell (PhDAstro) wants to know how the Solar System formed. And after several small experiments aboard NASA’s zero-gravity “vomit comet,” he landed a grant to study early planet formation as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initative. His thermos-sized experiment will live aboard a satellite for a year or more in low-Earth orbit. Joshua, a physics professor at the University of Central Florida, has explored how dust collides and forms bigger chunks in the protoplanetary disks where planets form around newborn stars.

Nissan hired David Englen (DistSt) as regional vice president of its Mountain Region. David is responsible for regional sales and marketing, incentive spending, distribution, dealer network development, financial controls and dealer and customer satisfaction. He has 25 years of experience from his previous employer, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Publications around the world have featured Michael Rieger’s (Art) images of catastrophes, including the 9/11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina and more than 30 other global disasters. His work also has been shown in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and is part of the Smithsonian’s Photographic History Archives. He took a break from his normal style with his latest book, Inspiration Exists – A Working Meditation, a year-long photo-a-day project.

Hank Adams (Fin, Hist) is CEO of Sportvision, the leading innovator of digital sports content and broadcast enhancements. The company produces televised content for more than 3,000 live events worldwide, with a viewership of more than 300 million annually. The co-founder and former CEO of Real Fans Sports Network was named to Sports Business Journal’s “Top Forty Under Forty” list of sports executives and to Crain’s Chicago Business “Forty under Forty.” He lives with his wife and three sons in Evanston, Ill.

Attorney Steve Fleischli (Econ, EPOBio) is director of the water program at the Natural Resource Defense Council. He focuses on water policy, climate change, curbing water pollution and water management. This spring he gave a talk at Southern California’s Hammer Museum about the threats to the world’s rivers.

Margaret McDonald (ArtHist) joined the design, architecture and planning firm HOK in St. Louis as director of interiors this spring. She has 15 years of experience designing projects for other major companies, including Ameren, Edward Jones, Wells Fargo Advisors, Boeing and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Michael Sherman (Fin) formed Schoolcraft Capital, a boutique wealth management firm in Boulder, in April. He counsels families and their foundations on innovative investments. Michael has more than 20 years of experience providing wealth management services to entrepreneurs who’ve built and sold businesses.

Brett Dolnick (AeroEngr) was named principal at Ernst & Young. He joined the company in 2011 in its IT transformation practice, where he focuses on ITIL processes, sourcing and IT infrastructure. He lives in California with his wife and two children.

The Denver office of Lewis Roca Rothgerber hired David Steinberger (MEPOBio) as a partner in the firm’s environmental and natural resources practice. His practice focuses on all aspects of environmental law, and he represents parties in compliance and permitting matters. He is licensed in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

In 2007 and 2011 Arturo Jimenez (A&S; Law’98) was elected to the Denver Public Schools Board of Education to represent northwest Denver. He will finish his current term in November. Arturo is also completing 17 years as an immigration attorney at the Law Office of Arturo Jimenez P.C. He continues to participate in Aztec dance and run races in addition to the Bolder Boulder each year. He can be reached at jimenez.arturo72@gmail.com.

The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, a memoir by Justin Hocking (Psych), won the Oregon Book Award in Creative Nonfiction this spring. The book details Justin’s move to New York and subsequent immersion in the surfing community at Far Rockaway, in Queens. He also won the Humanitarian Award from the Willamette Writers association for his work in creative writing, teaching and publishing. He teaches creative writing at the Independent Publishing Resource Center and Eastern Oregon University. Justin lives in Portland, Ore.

Life coach, speaker and author Jenn McRobbie (Comm) wrote the book Why Is She Acting So Weird? A Guide to Cultivating Closeness When a Friend Is in Crisis. The book was born of her experiences interacting with friends after her diagnosis with breast cancer. It was an Amazon best seller in three categories and the “#1Hot New Release” in the friendship category. Jenn also was selected as a finalist for the 2015 International Book Awards in the relationships self-help category. The book is available in paperback and digital format on Amazon.com. Jenn lives in Fairfax, Va.

Editor Katie Wilson Roberts (MJour) helped plan, write and edit the leadership book The Disciplined Leader: Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters for her client John Manning, the president/CEO of MAP Consulting.

Mick Correll (CompSci, MCDBio) is chief executive officer of Genospace, which provides a platform for genomic and other biomedical data. He has worked in genomics for more than 15 years. Prior to Genospace, Mick co-established the Center for Cancer Computational Biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He lives in Cambridge, Mass.

Chicago law firm Franczek Radelet named Amy Kosanovich Dickerson (PolSci, Soc) partner. She is a member of the firm’s education practice group and represents Illinois school districts, private schools and higher education institutions. Prior to law school at Loyola University Chicago, Amy taught fifth and sixth graders as a Teach for America corps member.

After too many frustrating beer spills, aerospace engineer Joe Hackel (MAeroEngr) found a way to preserve opened bottles of beer. His invention, Pop&Stop, is a two-in-one bottle opener and re-sealer that uses 3D printing for production. Check out his product at www.popandstop.com. Joe lives in Louisville, Colo.

This spring Kristin Macdonald (IntlAf) received the M&A Advisor “40 Under 40” Emerging Leaders Award, which recognizes leading mergers and acquisitions, financing and turnaround professionals. In her role in Denver law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s corporate and business department, Kristin focuses on mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity financings and public and private securities offerings.

The Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana appointed Brock Tessman (MIntlAf, MPolSci; PhD’04) as dean. Previously, Brock served the University of Georgia as an associate director of the Center for the Study of Global Issues, where he won numerous awards for teaching.

In April Sean Smiley (Math, CompSci) joined Cimation, a consulting firm serving the energy industry, as operations director for the Denver office. Among other duties, he is responsible for establishing the regional business unit’s vision and execution strategies.

Attorney R. Taylor Speer (Mgmt) has joined the firm Turner Padget’s litigation practice in Greenville, S.C. With more than seven years of experience, he handles corporate and employment litigation matters. When he’s not working, he is a musician who has performed throughout the Southeast in support of charities.