Class Notes

In January, Susan Whitehead (PhDEPOBio) joined the department of biological sciences in Virginia Tech’s College of Science as an assistant professor. Susan focuses her research on ecology and the evolution of interactions between plants and other organisms. Previously, she worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell University

Jamie Gay (MCDBio; MEdu’15) was chosen by the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation as a member of its 2016 cohort of Teaching Fellows. Jamie is one of 34 early career high school mathematics and science teachers to receive the award this year. She began her second year of teaching at Longmont High School this fall.

In his senior year at CU, Douglas Cushnie (Film, Span) made a film in Nicaragua. Now at the American Film Institute, he’s working on socially conscious film projects and fundraising for his thesis, “Neemkomok,” a short film about a lesser-known side of California history.

The Green Bay Packers signed a contract extension making David Bakhtiari (Comm ex) one of the NFL’s highest-paid tackles. In 2013 David started every game at left tackle, becoming the first rookie to do this for Green Bay since 1978.

Earlier this year, Michael Belazis (EPOBio) and college roommate Sam Ecenia (Geol) rode their bikes more than 1,500 miles around the state of California, teaching students about water sustainability along the way. They spent 47 days trying to make a difference in a state with dwindling water resources. Michael and Sam recently released a short film, A 1,500 Mile Journey for Water, about their trip. It can be found online.

Rachel Romero (MCivEngr), a building systems engineer at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo., was chosen as the recipient of the 2016 New Faces of Engineering award by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers. Rachel is only the second person in NREL’s history to receive this honor.

Two years ago Tim Jenkins (Econ, PolSci) founded Seattle Food Rescue, which redistributes food that would be thrown away by businesses to people who can benefit from it. Recently, the organization partnered with Capitol Hill Housing to distribute food directly to three residential apartment complexes in need. Tim brought the food rescue concept to Seattle after working with Boulder Food Rescue while he was a student at CU. At Seattle Food Rescue, nearly 85 percent of his volunteers are students, many from the University of Seattle. Tim hopes to expand to incorporate graduate students from the University of Washington on a geographical information systems project to map donors and recipients and determine the best bike routes.

Only six months into her biathlon skiing career, a sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, Joanne Reid (Math; MS’16) participated in the biathlon World Cup in the 15-kilometer individual. It was only her eighth biathlon race ever. Before becoming a biathlete, she led CU’s NCAA Nordic championship team in 2013. After graduating from CU, she took a year off from skiing, but returned to training in 2014 while working toward a master’s degree. From there, she earned a spot on the U.S. Ski Team’s squad for the Under-23 World Championships. She was the top American skier in the 10-kilometer skate and the 15-kilometer skiathlon.

Known as the name “Ballroom Cancer” to the music world, Jake Sheppard (Bio) is creating electronic music in L.A. He was mentioned on Entertainment Weekly’s website, which described his single “Misinterest” as “fascinatingly strange.” Jake started making music at CU. The video for “Misinterest” is the work of classmate Aric Van Halen (Film’13), whose father, Alex, is a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen.

Anne Davis (Art) was hired by Bodin Realty International in Boulder as a broker associate in February 2015. She is listed as a referred realtor on Ralphie’s List and is a part of similar programs at surrounding institutions. At CU Anne was the president of Boulder Freeride, CU’s ski and snowboard club.

The Denver office of Lewis Roca Rothgerber hired Dietrich Hoefner (Law) as an associate in the firm’s government and regulatory affairs practice. He focuses his practice on environmental and natural resources law.

Last summer Richard Hunt (PhDBus) joined Virginia Tech’s business college as assistant professor in the management department. His CU dissertation, which focused on the entry and survival strategies of entrepreneurial firms, won the 2014 Academy of Management NFIB Outstanding Dissertation Award. He was recognized twice by CU for teaching excellence.

After a vacation in Kenya, Brian Ash (Econ) realized the country’s extreme need to rescue homeless children in desperate situations. He founded the nonprofit Arrive and helped build an orphanage for impoverished children. Find out more at arrivekenya.org.

The Ultimate Guide to College is a guidebook that provides incoming and current college students with practical advice and helpful information to navigate college. Written by David Westreich (Engl) and Scott Sharp Armstrong (Rec’87), the book gives step-by-step plans to help students get the most out of their college experience.

The Wayfaring Band, co-founded by Pavel Reppo (Spch), provides adults with special needs with social opportunities, such as group road trips. The group also designs leadership workshops for executives and emerging thought leaders.

Polar Bottle and Cenote hydration system brands hired Elisa Schauer (Jour) of Boulder as a marketing and public relations associate. While at CU, Elisa helped the triathlon team win a national championship and interned in the marketing department at American Rec.

Three former CU triathlon team members represented Team USA at this spring’s International University Sports Federation’s 12th World University Triathlon Championships in Brazil. Chris Braden (Fin’13), Michelle Mehnert (MCivEngr’13) and Ryan Bice, a University of Colorado Colorado Springs graduate, participated and took home 3rd, 9th and 11th.

When Kohlman Verheyen (Econ’13) and Taylor McSunas (Comm’13) witnessed Buffs consistently munching on cookies that “Boulder Baked” delivered to CU dorms, the duo figured they could do that, too. After graduating they invested more than $160,000 and countless hours to start their own business, “Drive Me Cookie,” in Newport Beach, Calif., where they grew up. The two remodeled a Mercedes Sprinter van into a bakery on wheels. They deliver their fresh-baked goods to local residents’ door at home, school or work. Visit them at drivemecookie.com.

Denver resident Renata Garbowski (Psych’13) is a representative for City Year Denver, an AmeriCorps organization made up of 2,000 members ages 17 to 24 from diverse racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds for a year of full-time service. Members serve throughout Denver and 24 other national sites developing after-school programs and tutoring students.

After graduating in May Brian Ash (Econ’13) moved to rural western Kenya where Arrive, the nonprofit organization he founded, is based. Arrive staff work with abandoned and impoverished children by giving them a place to live at Keumbu Rehema Children’s Home. At CU-Boulder Brian worked for the Environmental Center as a bike mechanic at the campus bike shop.