Notes from the Class of 1987

While reminiscing about their days at CU and painting together on the northern coast of California, Jennifer Hately Ash (Engl’87) and Catherine Nieland (Art’82) watched a great white shark pass right by and gulp down a seal swimming feet in front of them. The two were thankful they were spared. Both are friends of Murray Carpenter (Psych’85), who was featured in the Summer 2014 Coloradan article “Are We Over-Caffeinated?”

Superior, Colo., resident Marlene Prinzing (Dance, Jour’87) was selected as an honored member of the Covington Who’s Who Executive and Professional Registry. She was selected for her commitment to health and fitness. Marlene created a business 25 years ago called the Prinzing Method, which helps clients meet their physical and mental well-being goals.

Michael Unger (ArchEngr’87) was hired as area manager of Denver operations for civil engineering firm Manhard Consulting. The company has more than 6,000 clients in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana and Nevada.

Diablo Technologies of Ottawa, Canada, appointed David Ferretti (InfSys) senior vice president of global sales. He has more than 25 years of enterprise sales experience for disruptive data center systems, software and cloud technologies.

Jeff Richardson (ElEngr), director of the Ambarella Corporation, joined the board of directors and audit committee for the Lattice Semiconductor Corporation. Jeff brings the board more than 27 years of experience in the semiconductor industry.

Kathy Abromeit (Mus), public services librarian in the Oberlin Conservatory Library, published Spirituals: A Multidisciplinary Bibliography for Research and Performance. The book is a 1,000-item, annotated bibliography documenting articles, books and dissertations published since 1920. It brings a multidisciplinary perspective to African American spirituals. Kathy lives in Oberlin, Ohio.

Tom Stever (Acct) and a partner acquired a stake in Pitre Buick GMC in Albuquerque. After working as a CPA in Phoenix, Tom in 1993 moved his family to New Mexico and joined Pitre, where he managed the dealership’s financials. “I’m a numbers guy,” he told the Albuquerque Journal News.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP hired Scott Bales (Econ) as a managing director in its San Francisco office. He focuses on multi-housing investment sale transactions in Northern California. Scott has more than 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and has closed more than $2 billion in transactions encompassing more than 5,000 multi-housing unit deals.

Jeanette Meyer (MBA) of Meyer and Associates at Remax Alliance ranked in the top 10 percent of the 902 realtors in Colorado’s Larimer County last year. Jeanette is in her 14th year as a residential realtor in Northern Colorado.

On July 1, Deborah Crown (MInfoSys; PhD’92) begins her post as dean and professor of management at the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business. Since 2011, Deborah has served as dean of the business college and professor of strategic leadership at Hawaii Pacific University. There she led the development of the college’s strategic plan and increased revenue, scholarship funds and retention and graduation rates. She began her career at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where she was named Miles-Rose Professor of Management and coordinator of the management PhD program. Deborah has been featured in many media outlets, including CNN, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today and Entrepreneur.

Early this year Chris Harmon (PolSci) participated in his second Python Challenge, a python removal competition in South Florida. In 2013 Chris and his 77-year-old father spent six weeks attempting to capture the non-native species wreaking havoc on the Everglades ecosystem. That year nearly 1,600 people showed up for the competition from 38 states and Canada, although only 68 Burmese pythons were caught. Chris lives in Boca Raton, Fla.

Mark Bellows (Acct) is the co-host of the weekly business talk show “Beyond the Numbers” on Business Radio Money 105.5, which can be heard on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Pacific time at www.money1055.com. Mark lives in Rocklin, Calif.

The Wyoming Medical Society named Mike Tracy (Psych; Med’94) 2016 Physician of the Year. Mike is known for his work in direct primary care, a billing and payment arrangement between patients and providers. Mike is also an assistant professor with the University of Washington School of Medicine and is on the Board of Directors for both Powell Valley Healthcare and the Mountain Pacific Quality Health Foundation.

Since his 2013 retirement from Colorado Law, Al Canner (Law) has been digging into a unique style of fiber art he’s developed. One of his pieces was featured at the Northern Colorado Weaver’s Guild 42nd annual juried fiber art exhibit in Fort Collins. Three of Al’s pieces are on display in CU’s Wolf Law Building. Previously Al served as executive director of the Colorado Hospice Organization.

Ed Reinhardt (A&S ex) received the Alumni Recognition Award at the CU Boulder Alumni Association’s 87th Annual Awards Ceremony. After a tragic accident during a CU football game in 1984, Ed had to relearn basic speech and movement. He has since spent his life traveling the country with his father speaking about the importance of a fighting spirit. Ed lives in Centennial, Colo.

Keene State College in New Hampshire named William Seigh (MDance) interim provost. In 2011, he was honored as the Distinguished Teacher of the Year at the school. He began his position July 1. William also serves as president of the American College Dance Association.

In 2016 Christine Castellano (PolSci) was recognized by Ethisphere Institute, an organization that defines and measures corporate ethical standards, as one of the 2016 Attorneys Who Matter. Christine works as the senior vice president and chief compliance officer for Ingredion, a global food ingredients solutions company. Christine lives in Illinois.

Jeffrey Kenney (Hist) retired from the Marine Corps after 41 years. During his service, he held 13 ranks, was deployed multiple times and received several awards.

Since 1996, Rob Boyer (Rec) has developed multiple chiropractic practices in North Carolina and recently joined The Joint Chiropractic in Durham, N.C. At CU, Rob competed on the ski and bike racing teams, which led to a residency at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. While there, Rob severely injured his hip and lower back and neither doctors nor physical therapists could help. A chiropractor ultimately healed him. Rob and his wife, Kimberly Boyer (Hum), raised their three sons, Coleton, Jackson and Skye, in North Carolina.

Kimberly Smith (Advert) was named executive director of the League of Innovative Schools, a coalition of forward-thinking district leaders representing more than 3.3 million students in 33 states. Kim is an Aspen-Pahara Institute fellow focused on education leadership and pioneering initiatives.