10 for 10: Alumni who impress

Drake Brown (StratComm’18)
Manager, Digital and Social Media, KPMG US, Philadelphia

Brown tells KPMG’s story through social and digital media channels. Experiences from classes and an Ogilvy & Mather internship helped him land an agency job after graduation.

“My capstone class was a value-add to my career. At my first agency job, I was thrown into multiple new business pitches, and it didn’t feel like it was my first time interfacing and presenting to an external client.” 

Troy Fairbanks (CritMedia’18)
Owner of both Fairbanks Films and Rise Aerials, Denver

When Fairbanks entered college he was already freelancing, and he now owns and operates two companies. Fairbanks Films specializes in video production for sports, corporate work, documentaries, livestreams, and event coverage; Rise Aerials focuses on high-end aerial cinematography.

“All the different projects for class were exciting, and it felt so fun and fluid. Many were projects I wouldn't normally create on my own, so it was a really good exercise to broaden my skills. When I graduated, I had 10 to 15 videos for my portfolio.”

Jasi Les (Comm’18) 
Enterprise Account Director, LinkedIn, San Francisco

After nearly a decade in tech—from startups to global brands— Les manages more than $4 million in business for LinkedIn across 30 strategic enterprise accounts. She works with executives to understand their challenges and gaps, then builds business cases of how LinkedIn products can help.

“My degree has made me a multidimensional communicator. I can speak very technically with a development team, then meet with a Fortune 500 executive and translate that message.” 

Sophie Burgess (EnvDes’19) 
Senior Landscape Architect, SLR Consulting, Edinburgh, Scotland

Since joining SLR in May, Burgess has worked on the best way to implement onshore substations for offshore wind farms across the United Kingdom while doing justice to the historical and local character of the areas where those projects are installed. 

“It goes back to everything I learned in ENVD and at college—making sure your designs and the way you implement things are thoughtful and intentional, and trying your best to problem solve with the codes you're given.”

Katy Fetters Gaastra (MMediaSt’19) 
Founder, Cerebral Palsy Strong, Portland, Oregon

Gaastra runs a nonprofit for adults with disabilities that includes an online platform based on sharing stories and connection, and a growing number of in-person events. 

“I came to CU with a very specific goal—to understand how to become a better community organizer, storyteller and leader. The master’s in media and public engagement allowed me to explore how to do that with more intention, and how to build a narrative around a social justice movement to increase disability representation in a positive way.”

Cole Pates (CritMedia’19) 
Global Video Director, The North Face, Denver

​​Pates’ day-to-day involves managing production for seasonal campaigns within the company. It’s a job that often requires on-the-spot problem-solving as the team tackles outdoor shoots under changing conditions. 

“When I was in college, I assumed as long as I had a camera and something to go take a picture or video of, I was fine. But as you gain experience, and the productions get larger, you realize there’s a time and a place for what you learned in class. You start to understand roles and responsibilities, and how those factor in to accomplish the goal.”

Cheyenne Smith (StratComm’20) 
Creative Producer, Chey Smith Media LLC, Boulder 

Smith manages campaigns, produces commercials and creates social media content for outdoor brands—such as REI, Osprey and Teva—as a freelancer. She has also stayed connected with Pathways to Excellence, CMDI’s summer intensive program that prepares students for college.

“I love watching Pathways students find what they are passionate about, because that’s what helped light me up when I was in the program.”

Vinay Simlot (Jour, AeroEngr’21) 
Washington Correspondent, Nexstar TV, Washington, D.C.

Following three years at a local station in Tennessee, Simlot now covers national politics and produces stories for local stations. Once in a while, he gets to use his aerospace engineering background for stories on space.

“I was ready to jump into local news because of NewsTeam. We learned how to work on the fly. We learned how to put stuff together on deadline. We learned to be flexible. And we learned every job in the newsroom—to report, anchor, produce, everything.” 

Janghee Cho (PhD Info’23) 
Assistant Professor, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore

Cho researches and teaches in the areas of human-computer interaction and social computing with a focus on the role of future technologies in our everyday lives—research he began as a Meta fellow. He also directs the Joyful Experience in Design and Interaction Lab. 

“The information science department studies emerging technology from a sociocultural—not just a technical—perspective. It opened my eyes to understanding humans in a different way to influence design—to think more critically about the design.”

Bianca Zamora Perez (Comm, MediaSt’24) 
PhD student, University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication, Philadelphia

Perez is continuing research she started at CMDI. Through the lens of copyright and labor, she studies authorship in relation to how an individual’s images and text—especially wage workers with marginalized identities—are training generative A.I. models without compensation. 

“My time in CMDI gave me the books, theories and knowledge I need to perform academically. The college also introduced me to professors who saw me as both a student and a person they cared about. They supported me throughout the journey of finding my voice and using it.”