Alumni Profile
Forty years ago, Brian Nevin was a CU Boulder student playing music at fraternity parties and local venues with two friends who shared a dream. Today, he is still behind the drums with Big Head Todd and the Monsters, one of Colorado’s most enduring and beloved bands.
For more than 20 years, Judith Glyde shared her passion for music with CU Boulder’s College of Music students as a professor of cello and chamber music and the Strings Department Chair. Now, she continues to bring joy and expertise to the CU community as a Forever Buffs New York alumni chapter board member.
For Forever Buff JJ Zykan, a career in sports has moved about as fast as a puck on the ice. Wrapping up her fifth season with the Colorado Avalanche, JJ is a senior content strategist, leading the team’s social media strategy and campaigns across multiple platforms like Instagram, Facebook and X. During the 2025-26 season, the Avalanche generated the most social media value in the National Hockey League (NHL), totaling $27.2 million, according to Sports Business Journal.
From spy missions to Himalayan climbs, find your summer escape with these 10 books by CU Boulder alumni.
Characterized by leadership and multidisciplinary perspectives, the next generation of Forever Buffs is carving unique paths and forging new ways to get there. Asaiah Gifford (MechEng’26) left a legacy in engineering through her interdisciplinary path, which combined her technical interests with a global perspective.
Col. Rebecca Lange (PolSci’00) embodies what it means to be a Forever Buff. After commissioning through CU Boulder’s Air Force ROTC program, she became an intelligence officer within the US Air Force. She served four overseas deployments, including Operation Iraqi Freedom and UN Peacekeeping missions. Read on to learn where Lange’s volunteer journey began and how it shaped her into the leader she is today.
Heather Nuanes Tabano, a 2008 graduate in ecology and evolutionary biology, continues to carry forward the same sense of excitement in her volunteer work with CU Boulder that defined her first day as a Buff.
Laura Bruns (EnvSt’99, MA’05) knows that Buff pride doesn’t end at graduation. Through her volunteer work, Laura helps keep CU Boulder’s alumni community strong while giving back to a place that means so much to her. Whether welcoming new graduates or supporting alumni initiatives, she believes even small acts of service can make a long-lasting, meaningful impact.
Freya Nagy (Psych, Neuro’27) of Lakewood, Colorado always had her sights set on attending CU Boulder. What she found was a community that quickly felt like home.
From Folsom Field to Lumen Field, Forever Buff Cassidy Davis (StComm’23) has built a career from historic football seasons and meaningful mentorship relationships. Along the way, Cassidy discovered just how small the sports world can be with the help of a few familiar faces, and just how far the Forever Buffs network reaches.