Notes from the Class of 1985

Tina Bennett Andrykowski’s (IntlAf) son Easton attends CU-Boulder and she takes advantage of every opportunity possible to visit him. “I have great memories of my years at CU and I wish the same for my son,” she writes. Tina lives in Woodland Hills, Calif.

St. Louis, Mo., resident Charles H. “Chip” Fendell (InfoSys) was directly affected by kidney disease and received two life-saving kidney transplants. After his experience, he began working with the National Kidney Foundation to educate the public about kidney disease. Last year he was elected to the foundation’s board of directors. Charles is a partner at the Thompson Coburn law firm and has been voted into the Best Lawyers in America since 2005.

The city of San Jose, Calif., appointed Jacky Morales-Ferrand (A&S; MPubAd’97) housing director. She previously served as assistant director, overseeing planning and operations for programs with a combined annual budget of $62 million, a portfolio of $800 million in loans and grants and a staff of 62 employees. She has also served as director of housing and neighborhood development in Denver and as homeownership program manager for Boulder.

Amparo Ramos Humphrey (Span; MA’89) has retired after teaching middle school and high school in Adams County, Colo., for 25 years. She published her first book, Wicked Eden, under the pen name Alura Ruhu. It’s available on Amazon.com and Createspace.com. She writes that she enjoys life as a “yoga ninja.” Contact her at aluraruhuwriter@ gmail.com.

After a back injury left Renny James (Edu) confined to a wheelchair, he took up bee farming as a way to manage his depression. This year, his hive will produce about 250 pounds of honey. His children also help with the bees. Renny lives in Kirk, Colo., where he graduated from high school and where he later taught. Last fall, he was featured on the cover of The Fence Post magazine.

Todd Lampert (Acct) was elected chairman of the board of directors of Waveny LifeCare Network, which provides comprehensive healthcare for older adults. Todd has been an attorney for more than 25 years. His law practice, Lampert, Toohey and Rucci in New Canaan, Conn., has served clients since 1997. Todd is also the founder of the Bank of New Canaan, now Bankwell, and serves as director and corporate secretary for the bank. He lives in New Canaan with his wife, Antoinette, and their three children.

Weston Tew (MPhys; PhD’89), a staff physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., received the ASTM International Award of Merit, the highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities. Weston has worked in the thermal and electrical metrology sector for more than 35 years and is a recognized expert in the field of thermometry. He was a staff physicist in the NIST process measurements division for 17 years and has been in his current role in the NIST sensor science division since 2011.

Michael Brody (A&S) produces the Crested Butte Film Festival. Now in its sixth year, the festival annually screens documentary, narrative, short, and action adventure films the last weekend in September. Festival dates for 2016 are Sept. 29 – Oct. 2. Says Michael: “Join your alumni friends here and make new ones.” cb-filmfest.org

Gary Kramer (IntlAf; Law’89), formerly of Berenbaum Weinshienk PC, was appointed as a district court judge for the 18th Judicial District, which covers Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties in Colorado. A shareholder at Berenbaum Weinshienk, Gary’s practice focused on contract disputes, state retirement benefits, domestic matters, pro-bate, fiduciary disputes and land use.

Sofinnova, a biotech investment firm, has added Alan Colowick (MCDBio) to its partnership. Previously Alan worked as executive vice president for Celgene Corporation, a biotech company that topped Business Insider’s “Best Employer in America” list in 2013 and 2014. He and wife Casey have two children.

Derek Thompson (CompSci, ElEngr) was recognized by Intel Corporation with a promotion to principal engineer. Before joining Intel in 1997, Derek worked as a design engineer for NCR Corporation.

In May, Chris Lehnertz (EPOBio) became president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. In her prior career with the National Park Service, she served as superintendent of both Grand Canyon National Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, as well as deputy superintendent at Yellowstone National Park. Chris was the subject of a Coloradan cover story in December 2016.

Sam Ventola (PolSci; Law’88) was awarded the 2019 Outstanding Community Servant Award by Sisters in Service, which provides scholarships and book stipends to Colorado residents ages 17 to 23. Sam is the founder of Denver-based law firm Ventola Law, which specializes in business formation, litigation and mediation, as well as employment law.

Bradford Geiger (Phil;Law’88) of Highlands Ranch, Colo., was confirmed by the Colorado Senate to serve as a citizen member of the state’s Juvenile Parole Board. Originally appointed by Governor Hickenlooper in 2017, Bradford was reappointed by Governor Polis in 2019 and will serve a four-year term.

Durango, Colo., resident Tim Thomas (Jpn) teaches wilderness medicine and serves as a senior polar tourism guide in Antarctica. Last fall he worked for the U.S. Antarctic Program, helping with safety issues along the highway connecting McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole Stations. He considers himself semi-retired.

In 2019 Teresa Gergen (Math) became the first person to climb all 846 peaks over 13,000 feet in the 48 contiguous states, plus Hawaii. She also has climbed all 2,311 Colorado peaks above 10,000 feet. Teresa, now retired, was a library technician at CU. She has spent her retirement summers traveling around the country and unsurprisingly, climbing mountains. 

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler appointed Lori McFarling (Jour) to a four-year position on the board of directors for the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation, a nonprofit created to raise national awareness of environmental issues. She also was named president of global corporate partnerships for Discovery Education, an ed-tech firm based out of Washington, D.C., where Lori lives with her husband and three kids. 

Sports marketing enthusiast Jenny Anderson (PE) has worked for the PGA TOUR, U.S. Tennis Association, U.S. Pro Ski Tour and World Cup Soccer 1994. She is now the ride manager for the Buffalo Bicycle Classic, a job she writes is perfect and combines everything she loves. The bicycle ride supports Colorado high school graduates with four-year need- and merit-based CU Boulder scholarships. This year’s race is Sept. 12. Register at www.buffalobicycle-classic.com.