Notes from the Class of 1993

After losing his sight at age 36, Trevor Thomas (Econ’93) became a professional hiker. His guide dog, a black lab named Tenille, recently retired after seven years of service. Her successor is a golden lab named Lulu. Lulu is currently working on learning the items on Trevor’s shopping list and honing her backcountry navigation skills.

Katherine Wegher Haney (Comm'93) is the public affairs director for North Carolina’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. When she isn’t spending time with her husband, two daughters and miniature dachshund, she volunteers as vice president of the nonprofit charity CDH International, a global initiative to find the cause and cure for congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a birth defect that occurs in 1 in every 2,500 babies.

T. Jeffrey Fitzgerald (Math) was named to BTI Consulting Group’s 2019 Client Service All-Stars list. Jeffrey is recognized for his work as shareholder in the firm’s healthcare litigation and disputes practice in Denver.

Kent Holsinger (Psych) was named in the Denver Business Journal and Colorado Farm Bureau’s Who’s Who in Agriculture lists in 2019. He was also in the journal’s Who’s Who in Energy in 2019. Kent founded Denver-based Holsinger Law, LLC in 2006, which specializes in land, wildlife and water law.

Andy Rice (Bus) is parks and recreation director for Alamosa, Colo. He writes that Ture Nycum (Mktg’90) and Ken Sherbenou (Econ, PolSci’02;  MPA’06) are also parks and recreation leaders, in Fruita and Grand Junction,Colo., respectively, and all three serve on the legislative affairs committee of the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association.

The Pueblo County Chapter of the Colorado Teacher Awards honored Yvette Padilla Teschner (Jour, Mus) as a 2019 Colorado Teacher of the Year. Yvette has been an elementary music school teacher in Pueblo for 16 years.

The Rubenstein brothers, Brett (EPOBio) and Scott (Engl’95), both recently celebrated 20 years in their respective fields. Brett is an educator and current science department chair at the Fountain Valley School of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Scott is a lawyer based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. He was an assistant prosecutor for Hamilton County before taking over their father’s criminal defense practice. 

In September, Chad Scates (CompSci) of Erie, Colorado, was named senior vice president of engineering at FreeWave Technologies. He has more than 20 years of technology engineering experience. 

Tom Swett (Engl, Hist; Law’99) was awarded one of the 2019 faculty awards at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, a Boulder-based nonprofit. Since 2006, Tom has given more than 65 seminars to lawyers on everything from trial and deposition skills to child advocacy. He lives in Louisville, Colorado.

In 2020, Kenneth (Ken) Frenchman (Mktg) joined several colleagues to launch their own law firm, Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna. The firm plans to continue representing a client base of Fortune 500 companies, hedge funds and private equity firms.

With over 20 years of experience representing clients, Cynthia Hegarty (PolSci) has been hired as legal counsel for Winthrop and Weinstine. She is also the chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association’s Bankruptcy Law section.

Faegre Drinker partner Heather Carson Perkins (Acct; Law’98) has been elected to the governing committee of the American Bar Association Forum of Franchising. She also co-presented at the 42nd Annual Forum on Franchising and served a three-year term as editor-in-chief of the forum publication The Franchise Lawyer and associate editor of The Franchise Law Journal.

Frances Tourtelot (Advert) and Allison Langeler Hastey (Soc’04) recently celebrated six years of owning Merritt+Grace, a Denver-based marketing agency. They write that they use their combined 35+ years of marketing expertise, which started while they were students at CU, to serve a variety of clients, including the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, former office of Governor John Hickenlooper and Cirque du Soleil.

Drawing from her childhood, her time at CU and her career as a women’s empowerment and communications speaker and coach, Eliza Vancort (PolSci) wrote her book, A Woman’s Guide to Claiming Space. Eliza is founder of The Actor’s Workshop of Ithaca, a Cook House Fellow at Cornell University, an advisory board member of the Performing Arts for Social Change, a Diversity Crew partner and a member of Govern for America’s League of Innovators. In 2018, Eliza gave a TEDx talk, “Women, Power and Revolutionizing Speech,” in which she shared her personal story while offering tools for meaningful personal and social change.

Boulder to Birmingham, an Emmylou Harris tribute band created by singer and songwriter Tricia Parish (Psych’93), features a blend of country and western music with instruments including the electric guitar, fiddle, pedal steel guitar, bass, vocals and percussion. While battling stage 4 breast cancer, Tricia continues to perform music with Boulder to Birmingham. She also released an original album in 2010. To find a live performance or to learn more, find Tricia Parish Music and @BouldertoBirmingham on Facebook. Tricia lives in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Margaret Hart (MFA’93) is a professor in the art department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. This October, Boston’s Kingston Gallery featured an exhibition of Margaret’s work, along with guest artists, that focuses on climate change through the lens of social and climate justice. Visit margarethartart.com to see her work.

Julie Crea Dunbar (Geog’93) is the editorial manager for ABC-CLIO, a publishing company specializing in academic reference works and periodicals. Her book, Exploring World History Through Geography: From the Cradle of Civilization to a Globalized World, was published in September. Her sons, Grant Dunbar (AeroEngr’19; MS’19) and Joseph Dunbar (ApMath, ElCompEngr’21; MS’23), are also Forever Buffs. Julie lives in Erie, Colorado.

Global law firm Mayer Brown appointed Joanna Horsnail (Advert’93) to managing partner of its Chicago office. Joanna’s practice focuses on design and construction, public and project finance, and government transactions. Outside of the firm, she is on the board of directors for the Cabrini Green Legal Aid Board and the Misericordia Women’s Board.

Author and screenwriter, Heather Hach Hearne (Advert’93) released her first adult novel, The Trouble with Drowning, in October. The book is a psychological thriller about mental health. Heather was a screenwriter on the movies Freaky Friday and What to Expect When You’re Expecting. She also was a librettist for Legally Blonde The Musical, which was nominated for a Tony award.