Notes from the Class of 1985

Clinical supervisor and board-certified behavior analyst at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders Ann Leventen Derentz (Hist) works with children and adults who have developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and social and behavioral issues by creating treatment plans and overseeing programs for her clients in the San Francisco Bay Area. She misses Boulder and plans to visit in the near future. 

Teresa Schmitt Pierce (PolSci’85) is in her fourth term in the Maine House of Representatives. She is house chair of the joint standing committee on appropriations and financial affairs and chair of the marijuana advisory committee. Teresa and her husband, Sam, have two children and live in Falmouth, Maine.

On Jan. 8, Chris Fowler (Jour’85) and Kirk Herbstreit announced their second NFL game ever when the Chiefs took on the Broncos. Chris works as a television sportscaster for ESPN and generally announces college football. This season, Chris announced the college football playoff championship game on Jan.10. He lives in Miami Beach, Florida.

On March 10, Colorado Law will award Kathleen B. Nalty (Law’85) the Sonny Flowers Award for her commitment to inclusion, diversity and equity in practicing law. Kathleen worked as a federal civil rights prosecutor, co-chaired the diversity committee for the Colorado Bar Association and wrote a book called Going “All-In” on Diversity and Inclusion: The Law Firm Leader’s Playbook, among many other responsibilities throughout her career. This award will be presented at the 41st annual alumni awards banquet, which will take place at the Denver Center.

Kimberly Coleman Burns (Jour’85) won the National Indie Excellence Award for Regional Fiction, the Western Fictioneers Peacemakers Award for Best First Western and a gold medal from the Independent Publishers Awards for her Victorian-era novel, The Mrs. Tabor. Her husband, Robert Burns (Fin’86), is a senior vice president of Pacific Investment Management Company.

In May, the Environmental Law Institute selected Mark Laska (DistSt’85) as the business leadership winner of the National Wetlands Award. This award recognizes individuals who strive to protect wetland resources in the face of developmental and climate-related challenges. Mark — founder, president and CEO of the ecological consulting group Great Ecology —was recognized for his work as an ecological restoration practitioner.

Kathryn Willoughby’s (MBA’85) first solo exhibition, “In The Garden,” was hosted at Gallery 9 in Los Altos, California this summer. This exhibition featured more than 30 lush landscape paintings, including 12 of Bay Area gardens. In addition, she has published a companion book, In The Garden: An Artist’s View, available on Amazon and at Gallery 9. View Kathryn’s work at kathrynhilton.com.

Robin Wurtzel (Law’85) is chief counsel at the Hawai’i Civil Rights Commission. She writes that she “feels good about rounding out over 35 years of public interest law at a great government agency.” She lives in Honolulu.