Notes from the Class of 2003

Lawyer Nicholas Kant (Jour’03, Law’06) has won many prominent cases in his career, including one against Walmart on behalf of the attorney general of New Jersey. He also successfully sued a drapery maker, which was covered on Fox 5’s “Shame Shame Shame” television segment, and won a default judgment against duct cleaning companies who were manipulating customers with a bait-and-switch scheme. Nick lives in South Orange, N.J.

In recognition of her 15-year tenure at CU Kathleen Bollard (MBA’03) was honored by President Bruce Benson(Geol’64, HonDocSci’04) at the Office of the President and System Staff Council’s Years of Service awards reception. She works as a faculty member in the modern languages department at CU Denver.

The four-part mini-series “Making Monsters” was produced by Nathan Charlan (Jour’03) and aired on the Travel Channel’s “Weekends to Die For” in October. Nathan is director of development at the television production company Warm Springs Productions based in Missoula, Mont. He finds potential characters and television series ideas to pitch to networks, often traveling the country in search of new ideas. When not on the road, he lives in Arvada, Colo., with his wife and young son.

Denver resident and German native Matthias Edrich (InfSys’03) was elected to the German American Chamber of Commerce as secretary of the Colorado chapter. It promotes trade, commerce and investment between Germany and Colorado. Matthias has been a board member of the Colorado chapter for two years and is a governor’s appointee to the State of Colorado Private Activity Bond Allocations Committee. He is a tax attorney in the Denver office of Peck, Shaffer & Williams, a public finance law firm.

Community and environmental issues are an important aspect of Thor Erickson’s (EnvDes’03) life. He joined the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh as the community programs manager where he oversees grant-making and is involved with community outreach, educational events and civic engagement. Prior to joining the company, he worked for the Bigfoot Asia Pacific Foundation in the Philippines where he served while in the Peace Corps. He is an active member of Habitat for Humanity International.

Business reporter for the Boulder Camera Alicia Wallace (Jour’03) won an award from the Colorado Associated Press Editors and Reporters in the investigative and business story categories. The story “An Eye on CEO Pay” surveyed the salaries of several CEOs in Boulder and Broomfield counties. Alicia lives in Boulder.

CU couple Sarah Mercer Anderson (BioChem’03, PhDPharm’07) and Shaun Anderson (ChemEngr’03) welcomed a son, Cole Patrick Anderson, on Nov. 18. The family lives in Denver and says they are doing great.

Last May Mark Hanson* (MHist’03) and his wife had twins, one of which was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The family is trying to raise money and awareness of the disease. To learn more about their story visit www.cff.org/great_strides/rightonthemark444. The family lives near Greensboro, N.C.

*Directors club member

The Fender Musical Instruments Corp. recruited Jason Merz (Mktg’03) to work in the marketing division at their corporate headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. He worked at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago prior. He landed the marketing position after many years of hard work in pursuing his greatest passion, music.

Filmmaker Todd Nims (Comm’03) is involved in producing PUSH Tunisia, a skateboard “artivism” film project featuring a multinational group of skateboarders, street artists and volunteers on a trip to Tunisia, 11 months after the revolution. The project was covered by The Guardian newspaper and Rolling Stone (Middle East Edition). Todd lives in El Centro, Calif.

Award-winning teacher Ross Haenfler (PhDSoc’03) is associate professor of sociology at the University of Mississippi. His courses include social movements, deviance and youth subcultures, men and masculinities and political sociology. At this year’s Conference on World Affairs Ross spoke at such panels as “Modern Media and the Teenage Mind.” He lives in Oxford, Miss., with his partner, Jennifer, and daughter.

Los Angeles resident Nick Loritsch (Film’03) is writer, co-producer and actor in the filmBorn & Raised. The independent feature is about a young man in a small seaside town who learns a thing or two about love, luck and life from his well-traveled outlaw grandfather. Born & Raised was shown at this year’s Breckenridge Festival of Film on June 9. To view the trailer visit bornandraised.com. Read a profile on him on page 57.

Couple Cortney Bass and Timothy Shadel (MCDBio, BioChem’03) were married in March in San Francisco. Timothy is a lab manager. The two celebrated with a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. They live in Forest City, Calif.

Lisa Klein (Law’03) was appointed administrative law judge for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. She lives with her husband and daughter in Lafayette, Colo.

Associate professor of political science José Marichal (PhDPolSci’03) is author of a book that examines the impact of Facebook on democracy.Facebook Democracy: The Architecture of Disclosure and the Threat to Public Life (Ashgate Press) looks at how the Facebook revolution is transforming democratic citizens. José addresses the potential problems associated with the social network as they relate to political discourse. He lives in Thousand
Oaks, Calif.

Forever Buffs stood shoulder to shoulder to increase suicide awareness by honoring former football player Gabe Oderberg (Comm’03) who committed suicide. Two former CU football players, Derek McCoy (Mktg’03) of Thornton, Colo., and Bobby Pesavento (Comm’07) of Denver, spoke at “A Day for Grace,” an eTown Hall show in November to honor the former Buff.

Technology innovators Dave Morin (Econ’03) and his wife Brit ranked No. 6 of the “10 Most Powerful Couples in Tech” by www.mashable.com. Dave worked at Apple and Facebook before co-founding the mobile startup Path. Path is a social network that connects close friends and family. Brit was a product marketing manager at Google. The couple married in July 2011 and lives in San Francisco.

Author Charles Blackstone (MEngl’03) sold his second novel and appeared in the December issue of Publishers Marketplace. His novel Vintage Attraction (Pegasus Books) features a young English teacher who falls in love with a famous sommelier. The two embark on a journey from Chicago to Greece and navigate the mysteries of wine and the heart. Charles was named one of Newcity’s “Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago.”

Physician’s assistant Rebekah Kaskubar (MCDBio’03) was on Semester at Sea during fall 2001. She said she had a terrific experience and the best debriefing was a returnee workshop to let the students who had been abroad during 9/11 discuss the tragedy with one another. She and her husband go to Uganda once a year to help support a school for AIDS orphans. Rebekah lives in Denver.

Reminger attorney Brian C. Lee (Hist’03) was selected to serve a one-year term on the Young Lawyers Steering Committee and the Young Lawyers Substantive Liaison for the Defense Research Institute Law Practice Management Committee. Brian practices civil defense litigation as well as complex commercial and business litigation, personal injury and defends professional malpractice claims against accountants, lawyers and real estate professionals. He was named “Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star” in 2012. Brian lives in Copley, Ohio.