Class Notes

The Pew Charitable Trusts’ named Matthew Milios (Jour’93) vice president for communications in January, where he leads digital strategy and content creation. Matthew has 25 years of experience in content production and has led creative projects at for-profit, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. He started his career as a director of photography before working in video and multimedia production for NBC News Digital and Microsoft. 

Rob James (Biochem, MCDBio’95) opened the Ramblebine Brewing Company in Grand Junction, Colorado, with a business partner in July 2020. The brewery is an integral part of the Grand Junction business community and is housed in a historic building that honors Grand Junction’s past. The brewery aims to be creative in both its style and recipes. Rob lives with his wife, Amanda Bailey James (EPOBio’95), in Grand Junction.

Last fall, astrophysicist Will Kinney (PhDPhys’96) released the book An Infinity of Worlds, which delves into the origins of the universe through a theory called cosmic inflation. Will is a professor of physics at the University of Buffalo, SUNY.

Jordan Maness (Jour, Mktg’99) is the career advising specialist in CU’s Division of Continuing Education. He created a Coursera course, “Thriving 101: Designing a Fulfilling Life & Career,” which is self-paced and open to anyone. He lives in Arvada, Colorado.

Former magazine editor and writer Kyle Duford (A&S ex’00) is president and executive creative director of The Brand Leader, an online marketing and advertising agency that has worked with brands like Dr. Martens, Speck Products and KEEN Footwear. His book, Twice Found: Getting a Second Chance at Life, Love, and Understanding God, is a memoir of his struggle to find God while simultaneously searching for the love of his life after not seeing her for more than 20 years.

Boulder’s Trevor Seelye (Econ’03) and Elizabeth Seelye (Jour’02) are co-owners of Independent Power, which specializes in helping customers build plans to transition their homes, businesses and vehicles to operate with clean energy. In addition to solar and electrification projects in Boulder, Denver, the Front Range and Bozeman, Montana, Independent Power has also built solar, storage, wind and hybrid systems in Rocky Mountain National Park and at military bases in the Indian Ocean.

Caroline Hult (Engl, Hum’04) and Elliott Hood (Comm, PolSci’04) met 21 years ago by the pool at CU Boulder. They married 15 years ago. On Twitter, Elliott wrote, “I’m still counting my blessings and grateful for her love, support, and patience.”

Genét Simone (PhDEdu’04) is academic program director for Western Washington University’s teacher education outreach programs in Bremerton, Washington. She writes, “All of my experiences as a grad student in Boulder helped pave the way for supporting new candidates and mentoring them into the teaching profession. I am forever grateful for the mentoring of my professors.” She is also a high school teacher. Last year, she published a memoir Teaching in the Dark about her first year as a teacher in the Arctic.

The Denver Business Journal named Jeremy Bloom (A&S ex’06), co-founder and CEO of Integrate, “most admired CEO.” Integrate is a marketing consulting firm passionate about connecting brands with their audiences in meaningful ways. Jeremy said, “The world doesn’t stand still, and neither can we.”

Last fall, CT Charlton (Mgmt’06) was named to the Crain’s Detroit Business “40 Under 40” list. CT is in his third year as the president of Charlton, a global sales liaison for manufacturers that supply products for some of the world’s largest automotive groups. CT left a career in finance to join Charlton in 2011, and was responsible for starting the organization’s industrial division. CT held roles in Chicago and Seattle before moving to the Detroit area in 2020.

John Eric Schleicher (PolSci’07) is a winner in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest, which earned him a trip to Hollywood for a week-long master class workshop, an awards event and publication of his winning story in the international bestselling anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume 40. John’s winning story, “Squiddy,” is about an extraterrestrial invasion of squids. John lives in Missoula, Montana, with his wife and son.

Bennet Spector (Comm’08) is the general manager of Bleacher Report. The website is focused on sports and sports culture.

Commercial real estate company Foundry Commercial hired Jeff Stephens (Psych’08) as senior vice president. He is based in the firm’s Raleigh office. 

Denver’s Polsinellio Law Firm named Graham P.B. Boswell (Econ’09) shareholder. Graham focuses his practice in areas including energy, real estate development, energy transactions and clean energy project development.

Hannah Goodman (Psych’11) graduated with a PhD in chemistry from the University of Arizona in December 2023. Her thesis, completed in the lab of Professor Robin Polt, described the synthesis and evaluation of glycosylated oxytocin analogs for treating pain and substance use disorders. She is currently defining the pharmacological signature of iboga alkaloids for treating substance use disorders and other psychopathology as a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University in Professor Dalibor Sames’ lab.

After graduating from CU, Cassie Langhals (Psych’13) received her master’s of medical science in anesthesia from South University in 2016 and began working at the University of New Mexico (UNM) as a certified anesthesiologist assistant. In 2020, she received her master’s of educational leadership from UNM, and in December she graduated with her doctorate of education in health science education from the University of St. Augustine. In 2019 she took on the role of clinical coordinator for the UNM Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, and in July became the inaugural program director for the first master of science in anesthesia program at UNM, which she opened with Christopher Arndt (AeroEngr’90). The program is the first of its kind in New Mexico and has a mission to serve the Southwest population.

Julie Surfus (ChemBioEngr’13) and Jeff Willich (Fin’13) met at a football watch party for Houston alumni in 2014. In September 2023, the two were married in Boulder, coincidentally on the same day as the Rocky Mountain Showdown. They co-lead the Houston chapter of Forever Buffs.

Ally Chapel (ArtHist’14) lives in New York City where she started an all-female, nine-piece New Orleans style brass band called Brass Queens. She writes she adopted the colors black and gold for her brand in CU’s honor. The band’s 2023 album is called Black & Gold, and Ally wrote the title track as an anthem fully from the perspective of a CU fan. In December, they toured through Colorado. She writes that she “co-founded the band, dedicated to showcasing the talents of female musicians, in 2019 as a way to disrupt a landscape that was dominated by male musicians and bandleaders.” The band has played iconic venues like Blue Note Jazz Club and major events like the Met Gala, Governors Ball Music Festival and Exit Zero Jazz Festival and made TV appearances on Good Morning America.

Audiologist, Kenzie Phillips Reichert (SLHSci’15) gave a TEDx Talk in September 2023 on the subject of hearing loss and dementia and the relationship between the two conditions. Kenzie founded an online accessible audiology practice, Hear Lab Clinic, which empowers individuals to put their hearing first. 

Anisha Lamsal (EnvEngr’16; MS’19), born and raised in Nepal, is the founder and CEO of the Bahini Education Project, a nonprofit that aims to educate and empower young women in rural Nepal while helping them reach their educational and career goals and teach them leadership skills. In addition to her role with the nonprofit, she works full-time as an environmental engineer at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, where she designs drinking water treatment systems and conducts research on desalination.