Notes from the Class of 1996

Denver-based photographer Thomas Carr (MAnth’96) combined his passion for photography and archaeology. He uses his camera skills as a staff archaeologist for the Colorado History Museum and regularly takes wedding, portrait, nature and fine art photos. You can see his photos at thomascarrphotography.com.

Can you imagine our world 50 years from now? Caren Gussoff (DistSt’96) did. Her new book, The Birthday Problem, depicts the year 2060 as pure chaos: A plague has destroyed most common cures for disease and only four Seattle survivors are left to fight. Caren lives in Seattle.

Justin Hocking’s (Psych’96) book, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, was published in spring 2014 and made it to No. 3 on The Denver Post’s bestseller list. Justin teaches creative writing and is the executive director of a literary nonprofit organization in Portland, Ore., called the Independent Publishing Resource Center.

Yvonne Wade (Soc’96), a two-time Olympian, was inducted into the 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame at CU. She competed for Japan in the 100-meter hurdles in 1996 and 2000. Yvonne is now head track coach at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Gnip, a social data company co-founded by Jay Valeski (CompSciAp’96), was acquired by Twitter, and is Twitter’s first Boulder location. Jay also is a supporter of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, a network of Colorado entrepreneurs who pledge to give funds back to the community.

Lawyer Michele Blair (PolSci) has practiced family law in Colorado since 2000. She is a sole practitioner at Blair Law Firm, P.C., specializing in divorce, parental responsibilities, child support and spousal maintenance cases.

The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, a memoir by Justin Hocking (Psych), won the Oregon Book Award in Creative Nonfiction this spring. The book details Justin’s move to New York and subsequent immersion in the surfing community at Far Rockaway, in Queens. He also won the Humanitarian Award from the Willamette Writers association for his work in creative writing, teaching and publishing. He teaches creative writing at the Independent Publishing Resource Center and Eastern Oregon University. Justin lives in Portland, Ore.

Ahmed Mansoor Alabd (ElEngr; MTeleCom’99) of the United Arab Emirates was named winner of the 2015 Martin Ennals Human Rights Defender Award by the Switzerland-based Martin Ennals Foundation. The award recognizes human rights defenders who have shown deep commitment to human rights at great personal risk. Winners are selected by a coalition of 10 leading international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

At CU, Richard English (MThtr) worked as production stage manager for the theater and dance department. He has since had a career in theater, serving as stage manager/technical director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, as lighting designer for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, as a production manager at the Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase and also as a freelance lighting designer and producer. In the early 2000s he turned to writing with a focus on the history and sociobiology of beer, wine and spirits and now has more than 175 published pieces.

In October Carrie Morgan (Engl) published her debut novel, The Road Back from Broken, which won the Royal Palm Literary Award. The book depicts a Fort Carson-based family struggling to heal after the husband/father is injured by an IED in Afghanistan. Carrie lives in Florida with her husband, a U.S. Army infantry veteran.

Think Network Technologies, a small Durango, Colo., company run by CEO Melissa Glick (Advert), provides information technology solutions. It has been named a Colorado Company to Watch 2016. Melissa joined Think in 2009 and previously worked as a broker for Century 21. She lives in Durango.

Brent Schrotenboer (Jour), an enterprise and investigative reporter for USA Today, won his fifth national top 10 writing award since 2014 from the Associated Press Sports Editors. Brent, who lives in San Diego, has been with USA Today since 2012, covering various legal, business and social issues related to sports. He has won 14 national Top 10 awards since 2001.

In March, the president of Colombia appointed César Ocampo (PhDAeroEngr) director of the nation’s Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. He has previously worked for NASA and as a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

Henry Throop (MAstroPhys; PhD’00) was awarded the Avis Bohlen Award for Exemplary Performance by the American Foreign Service Association in a ceremony held at the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Henry is a senior scientist with the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz. He works remotely from his postings in Mumbai, Pretoria, Mexico City and D.C. with his wife, Heidi Hattenbach, a foreign service officer, and their three children.

For just over 18 years, John Augenblick (MechEngr) has been with energy technology company Qnergy. John redesigned an engine that has been used in conjunction with solar dishes and is being redesigned to provide power in remote locations. The generator is being used in Europe, Asia and America. In his spare time he coaches youth hockey and lacrosse. He and wife Xaviara live in Utah.

Melissa Glick (Advert’96), CEO of information technology firm Think Network Technologies, received the Morley Ballantine Award on Jan. 18 at the Durango Chamber of Commerce’s annual award ceremony at Fort Lewis College. The award honors women for their work in business and philanthropy. In 2014, Glick co-founded the Professional Women’s Network of Durango to connect women in the Four Corners area by providing a community in which they could mentor, guide and support each other through professional development, social events and volunteering.

Architecture and design firm Perkins and Will named Robin Ault (Arch) its Denver design director. Robin has designed several buildings, including the Humanities Gateway building at the University of California, Irvine, which won a LEED Platinum Award.

Currently the longest-tenured college president in the state of Wisconsin, Patrick T. Ferry (PhDHist) will retire as president of Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor in June 2021. When he retires, Patrick will have served 24 years as president of the Mequon-based school, with seven of those also at the helm of the Ann Arbor campus.