Leeds Alumni and Service Awards

Bill Mark (BS’72)

The Leeds Distinguished Alumni Lifetime Service Award is the highest award granted to alumni from the Leeds School of Business for a lifetime of support and philanthropy to the Leeds School of Business, and for exceptional achievement in the business community.

Bill Mark is a 1972 graduate from the Leeds School of Business and has remained connected to the community over the course of his professional career, aiding students in business and across the CU Boulder campus.

The Mark Family currently supports six educational Endowments, including two in Business, two in Athletics, one at Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, and one at Sacred Heart of Jesus School Foundation. Mr. Mark also served on the Leeds Real Estate International Advisory Board, the Board of Governors for the CU Real Estate Center, and as a mentor to students in the Professional Mentorship Program.

Bill is the President and COO of American Real Estate Advisors, LLC, which he founded in 2008 after 36 years of experience. His company has managed over 60 real estate receiverships for the District Courts of Colorado, developed and constructed $150 million in commercial properties, negotiated over $150 million in lease transitions, and coordinated more than $50 million in tenant finish and renovation contracts. 

Cain Travel, accepted by Michael Cain ('93)

The Corporate Partner Service Award recognizes sustained commitment, support, and exceptional service to the Leeds School of Boulder, the University of Colorado Boulder, and the community.

Cain Travel is one the Leeds Career Development Team’s biggest investors and regularly engages in career related events. They model investing financial resources and time in support of Leeds. 

For many companies, travel spending is their third highest expense. For the past 30 years, Cain Travel has helped companies manage, control, and leverage their travel spend through a combination of proprietary development and market-leading technologies. As a leading provider of travel management in the U.S., Cain has staff located across the country and has plans to expand the sales team to further grow the company.

Michael Cain, the President of Cain Travel, works in collaboration with each company division to chart future technology developments, craft sales strategies and refine financial plans. Michael served as Director of Marketing for Cain Travel, founded travel tech startup Enterprise Travel Systems in 1998, and assumed his current role at Cain Travel in 2003. Michael serves on advisory boards with Sabre, United Airlines, and SAP Concur, and mentored through the Leeds Professional Selling course and the Professional Mentorship Program. 

Michael graduated from Leeds in 1993. He is married and has three adult children, all of whom are fellow Buffs. In his free time, Mike enjoys travel, skiing, hiking, and attending CU sporting events. 

Gary (PhD'77, MBA'74) and Melissa (Komisar) Porter ('77)

Inspired by the University of Colorado Boulder motto, “Let Your Light Shine,” this award recognizes individuals who serve as guiding lights for our community through their leadership, ethics, commitment to social responsibility, philanthropy, and service to the Leeds School of Business.

The Porters are generous in their support of Leeds, establishing an endowed scholarship for undergraduate students and sponsoring the Komisar Porter Outpost in the Rustandy building. Melissa has shared her time and talent as a guest lecturer for the Women in Leadership seminar, while Gary has served as a tutor.

Gary graduated from Drake University and started his career as a staff accountant for Deloitte in Denver. He went on to earn his MBA and PhD from the University of Colorado where he met fellow business student, Melissa Komisar. She earned her marketing degree from CU and began a 32-year career with IBM in sales and business development where she managed global business partners.

The recipient of several teaching awards, Gary’s career in academia included service as Department Chair at Loyola University Chicago and University of Montana. His textbooks have been leaders in the field of introductory accounting education. Gary is a distinguished lecturer and member of the National Advisory Council for the Zimpleman College of Business at Drake. He lends his accounting and finance experience to boards of a nature and an arts center. Now retired from teaching, Gary has written three books, including Griff: My Life as Drake’s Top Dog, a book about the loveable, live mascot. Melissa utilizes her sales and marketing skills to support Gary’s books. She also serves as a fundraiser and marketing consultant for several organizations in the couple’s Wisconsin community.  The Porters are also a sponsor of Tinman Elite, a professional running team located in Boulder. 

Don Oest

The William H. Baughn Award for Faculty is awarded to a Leeds faculty member for exceptional service to the Leeds School of Business, and for consistent and ongoing commitment to its students, faculty, and programs.

Don has been teaching at the Leeds School of Business since Fall 2008. During his time at Leeds, Don has taught a wide variety of courses including ethics, organizational behavior, management and leadership. More recently, he has been specializing in statistics and business analytics.

Prior to his teaching position at Leeds, Don earned an Associate Degree in Computer Science from SUNY Farmingdale, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Ramapo College, and an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Don was an executive at IBM with over 36 1/2 years of business experience in various management, operational and leadership positions. Don has also been very active in various community services on the board of directors of Junior Achievement/Rocky Mountain Inc., Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Inn Between of Longmont, Inc.  He is a past board chair of the Ed & Ruth Lehman YMCA and served on the Advisory Board for Front Range Community College.

Don was born and raised in Long Island, New York and now lives in Longmont, Colorado with his wife, Cathy. Cathy also previously worked for IBM prior to her retirement. Their daughter, Kimberly, is a Colorado State University graduate.

Jessica Yan ('19)

The Young Alumni Achievement Award recognizes recognizes an alumnus or alumna for their exceptional achievements.

Jessica is a lifelong gender and racial justice advocate and strategist. She works at Pivotal Ventures, a company founded by Melinda French Gates that expands opportunity in equality for people in the U.S. and globally through high-impact investments and philanthropy. At Pivotal, Jessica built and implemented a philanthropic strategy to end gender-based violence and advance economic equity for Women of Color.

Previously, Jessica worked as an advisor to leading foundations at Redstone, consulting on philanthropic portfolios totaling $250M. There she founded the DEI Ongoing Learning committee and crafted a comprehensive racial and gender equity curriculum for the firm.

Beyond her professional work, Jessica served as a Board Director for the San Francisco Chapter of United Nations Women USA. She holds a Master’s in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University, where she was a Schwarzman Scholar and received the Outstanding Thesis Award. She graduated from the Leeds School of Business with recognition as Outstanding Graduate of the Year.