Notes from the Class of 1979

The Sunlight Foundation, an organization that uses technology to enable better democratic participation, named Chris Gates (Econ) of Washington, D.C., its president. For the past three decades, Chris has been a leading voice for strengthening democratic processes and developing new approaches to decision making. He aims to help build a nation of engaged, informed and empowered citizens.

Scott Thompson (Econ) was part of an investment group that purchased the Beverly Hills Country Club. The group will invest an additional $10 million to restore the club as one of the premier athletic and fitness clubs in Los Angeles. Scott is a real estate investor and transactional attorney in Westlake Village, Calif. Both of his children, Hailey Thompson (Mktg’09) and Nathaniel Thompson (Fin’12), are CU graduates also.

Attorney Sharon Caulfield (Anth; Law’82) joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s health care group as a shareholder this spring. She advises many types of health-care providers and senior services organizations in regulatory compliance, operational effectiveness and good employment practices. She was named a top health-care attorney by 5280 magazine and has been listed as Best Lawyers “Best Lawyer in America” for nearly a decade. She lives in Boulder.

The Buffs’ first NCAA giant slalom champion, Stephan Hienzsch (Mktg), was inducted into this year’s class of the CU Athletic Hall of Fame. He won the slalom as a junior in 1977 and was the only collegiate skier invited to race in the World Cup Series that year. After his racing career, the four-time All-American served as the head coach and director of the United States Disabled Ski Team for four years while working for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association.

After serving five years as Colorado’s lieutenant governor, Joe Garcia (IntlBus) has stepped down and will serve as president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, a Boulder-based advocacy organization. He also serves as executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Earlier in his career Joe was president of Colorado State University-Pueblo and Pikes Peak Community College. He served as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary’s representative for the Rocky Mountain states, as executive director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and was the first Hispanic partner in the 100-year history of Denver-based law firm Holme Roberts & Owen.

Ohio Super Lawyers magazine named R. Mark Jones (PolSci), a partner in Roetzel’s Cleveland office, a 2016 Ohio Super Lawyer in the defense category of personal injury and medical malpractice.

Aerin Workman Benavides (Econ) graduated in May 2016 with a PhD in teacher education from the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. As president of the JBQ Charitable Foundation, she looks forward to organizing educational trips in the future for student teachers to the South American Manu rainforest and other regions of Peru.

Chief judge Gregory Lyman (Law) retired from Colorado’s Sixth Judicial District Court in January. He was appointed in 1996. According to an article in the Durango Herald, his years as a professional speed skater — including competition in the 1972 Winter Olympics — taught him to dream big

Joe Garcia (IntlBus), Colorado’s former lieutenant governor, in February addressed a conference at CU Boulder about attracting more science-minded community college students to CU and, ultimately, to four-year colleges across America. Currently president of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Joe also has served as president of CSU-Pueblo and Pikes Peak Community College and as executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. He was lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2016.

After 16 years as media relations manager for Ball Aerospace, Roz Brown (Mus) has returned to her radio roots as a news producer for Boulder’s KGNU and a member of the station’s board of directors. She proudly watched her youngest daughter, Grey Grimm (Art’16), graduate from CU last year.

Thomas Walek (Jour) is a senior consultant of strategic public relations at Meyer Capital, a marketing agency in New York. Tom began his career as a financial journalist covering global development at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He is a member of the National Press Club and on the information advisory board for CU Boulder’s College of Media, Communications and Information. The Pennsylvania native grew up in Connecticut and now lives in New York with wife Nobuko and their son, Andrew.

After graduating from CU, Linda Sasser (MPsych; PhD’81) taught at two Illinois institutions of higher learning. She was an adjunct psychology professor at Wheaton College and then a fulltime education professor at Judson University. In 2013 she began her business, Brain and Memory Health. She is a national speaker on brain health and memory, teaches continuing education workshops for healthcare professionals and has authored a curriculum titled BE! Brain Enrichment, which is used in retirement communities and senior centers. Linda and her husband, Carey, live in Bloomingdale, Ill.

In May, Brian Cowan (Mktg), president and CEO of Cowan & Associates, a management consulting firm in Arlington, Va., rolled off of the CU Boulder Alumni Association’s board of advisors after eight years of service, including two as chair.

Former Buffs football player and assistant coach Brian Cabral (Rec) retired last year, but that doesn’t mean he’s fin-ished with the program. New head coach Mel Tucker considers Brian a mentor and character coach to the players and staff. To underscore his lifetime of service to the football program, Brian was elected to the CU Athletic Hall of Fame last November.

Carolyn J. Stefanco (Hist), president of the College of Saint Rose, was elected to the Commission on Independent Colleges & Universities (CICU) board of trustees.

Debra Medina (Jour) retired after 37 years as a technical editor in Albuquerque and Carlsbad, New Mexico. She has also published her first novel, Coyote Nights.

Carolyn J. Stefanco (Hist) of Albany, New York, was elected to the Albany Medical Center board of directors. She said, “I look forward to serving our region’s renowned academic medical center, helping to improve the quality of life for our community and building opportunities for the next generation.”