Notes from the Class of 2015

Rachel Irons (EnvSt, EPBio’15) is co-founder of Nude Foods Market, a zero-waste grocery store located off Walnut Street in Boulder. The market opened in 2021 and sources food and body care items in bulk that are packaged in reusable containers. Customers simply return their containers when they’re done, and Nude Foods Market washes and refills them. The market also sources locally as much as possible and has extremely high health and sustainability standards for its food.

Bre’Anna Brooks (EnvSt’15) is a program officer for the Mississippi River initiative of the Walton Family Foundation’s environment program. In this role, she helps explore and curate environmental projects and coastal restoration efforts that reach along the Louisiana Coast and follow the Mississippi River. She also manages a portfolio focused on community engagement. Bre’Anna is currently pursuing a master’s degree in environmental science and policy with a concentration in equity from John Hopkins University.

Colorado Glass Works is Boulder’s only stained glass studio teaching the traditional art of stained glass. The studio is owned by Meggy Wilm (IntPhys’15) and opened its doors on Pearl Street in August 2022. The studio specializes in custom work, selling supplies and materials to other artists and teaching stained glass classes for various experience levels. Ten percent of all profits from the studio are donated to a collection of environmental groups.

Rachel Irons (EnvSt, EPOBio’15) is co-founder of Nude Foods Market, a Boulder grocery store that opened in 2020 and eschews single-use containers by selling food and body care items in bulk, which are then packaged in reusable containers. Customers return the containers to be used again. Rachel and her team are opening another store at 44th and Lowell in Denver this fall. 

In 2019, former SpaceX engineer Zeke Brechtel (MAeroEngr’15) co-founded the technology company Prewitt Ridge. Zeke now serves as CTO of the company, which announced this fall it had closed on $4.1 million in seed funding to accelerate the growth of its digital engineering platform, Verve. Verve, which Zeke helped build, helps product-building teams move faster and collaborate more efficiently across tools, and improve data connectivity while accelerating the time to build a model from months to hours. 

Audiologist, Kenzie Phillips Reichert (SLHSci’15) gave a TEDx Talk in September 2023 on the subject of hearing loss and dementia and the relationship between the two conditions. Kenzie founded an online accessible audiology practice, Hear Lab Clinic, which empowers individuals to put their hearing first.