Class Notes

After graduating Leila Hemati Wing (BioChem’02) went to medical school in Detroit and completed her training in internal medicine at the University of Arizona. In August 2013 she joined the staff at Oro Valley Hospital in Arizona as an endocrinologist. Her husband, Zachary Wing (Aero’01), is director of science and technology at Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing. They live in Tucson, Ariz., with their three-year-old daughter.

Leeds business school graduate Marley Hodgson (MBA’03) co-founded MAD Greens, a healthy food fast food alternative. The restaurant has branches in various cities in Colorado, including Boulder, Denver and Centennial. MAD Greens celebrates itself as the “alternative to all those burger places” and “a commitment to locally sourced ingredients straight from Colorado farms.” Lucas Clarke (Mktg’05) has been director of marketing since the year he graduated. Marley lives in Sedalia, Colo.

While sad to leave Boulder, Elliott Hood (Comm’04) and his wife Caroline Smith Hult (Hum’04) moved in March to Oklahoma City where Elliott got a job as federal clerk on the 10th circuit court of appeals. Caroline works for Teach For America and is featured in this issue.

After three years, Denver resident Tom Carroll (PolSci, IntlAf’05) finished his term on the Alumni Association board. Tom works at Faegre Baker Daniels, concentrating on employment litigation, employment counseling, ERISA litigation and other employee benefits disputes, as well as general business litigation. Joining him in completing their board terms were Tommy George (Econ’05) and his wife Carolyn Kircher George (MAcct’06) of Denver. Each brought tremendous energy and unique perspectives to their board work, helping staff shape programming to better serve the larger Forever Buffs family. Tommy and Carolyn married in November 2013.

Since March 2013 Katherine E. Hall (IntlAf, PolSci’05) has served as cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, where she works to promote mutual understanding and strengthen ties between the people of the United States and Tunisia. Her next assignment will be at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in 2015.

The School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech appointed Richard Masters (Mus’05) a diversity fellow for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He will chair the college’s diversity committee for two years. Richard joined the Virginia Tech music department in fall 2013. He is a pianist and conductor as well as soloist and opera coach and has a special interest in Spanish and South American music. Among others, he performed with Columbian clarinetist Javier Vinasco and mezzo-soprano Marta Senn.

USA Cycling selected CU-Boulder alum Allen Krughoff (Mktg’06) to represent America at the Cyclocross World Championships in Hoogerheide, Netherlands, on Feb. 2, 2014. Allen, part of the CU team that won the Collegiate Road national title in 2005, came in 48th in Hoogerheide and returned to Boulder, where he lives, with great memories of spreading some Buff pride overseas.

Door to Door Organics, an online grocer, partners with local farmers and artisan producers to deliver organic produce and natural groceries in Colorado and nine additional states. President and CEO Chad Arnold (MBA’07) has done such a good job that his company, which is based in Louisville, Colo., won Naturally Boulder’s “Company of the Year” award and received a $3.25 million Series A round investment from Greenmont Capital in 2012. Chad lives in Boulder.

Granted, it’s not exactly avalanche season but that doesn’t mean that Scott Havens (Engr’07) isn’t busy. With a team of five graduate students at Boise State University, he studies avalanches with the help of sound waves and hopes to create a real-time avalanche monitoring system. To get there, the quintet strives to build and implement infrasound — the sound below the threshold of human hearing in the 1-20 Hz range — microphones to track the avalanches. The relatively cheap devices also are used to measure volcano eruptions and tornadoes.

Two CU alums bring some laughter to Chicago! Jessica Stegner (Thtr’07) and Yvette Rebik (Jour’06) joined the improvisational comedy organization ComedySportz in Chicago earlier this year. Jessica performs long-form improvisation and sketch comedy, something that Yvette has also been doing for the past eight years. Yvette is part of various independent improvisation teams but says performing at ComedySportz Chicago has always been her dream.

Last October Longmont-based design and manufacturing company Texas Instruments introduced an envelope tracker for smartphones and tablets to make your batteries last longer. John Hoverston (ElEngr’08, PhD’10), a systems engineer at Texas Instruments, helped develop the product that began as a Texas Instrument-funded project at CU-Boulder. John lives in Boulder.

After Christopher Lane (Law’08) practiced at a Boulder-based law firm as well as at a larger regional firm, he joined the real estate group Davis Graham & Stubbs in Denver as an associate attorney in February. His practice focuses on all areas of real estate transactions. He lives in Boulder.

Hoping for some extra tanning for the summer in California? In 2010 Courtney Claghorn (Bus’09) and Samuel Offit (Econ ex’09) founded the boutique salon chain BRONZED in Santa Monica, Calif. Colleen Ryan (Fin’78) completes the trio as the franchise’s regional owner for its Orange County locations. BRONZED offers a 10-percent discount to all CU alumni.

The Chicago-based national commercial real estate firm American Street Capital hired Alexander F. Rek (Econ’09) as assistant vice president in January. Alexander came to American Street Capital from his job as director of marketing at the residential mortgage bank Chicago Financial Services. He is a licensed real estate broker in Illinois and lives in Chicago.

Because nearly one-third of the world’s population lacks access to health care, Mark Arnoldy (Psych’10) and four young entrepreneurs teamed up to launch the campaign Crowd Fund Health. Mark is executive director of Nyaya Health, an organization that works to provide more people in Nepal with health care. On the portal, people can make a donation of at least $10 that flows directly toward medical treatment for some of the poorest patients on the planet.

The Integer Group is among the world’s largest promotional, retail and shopper marketing agencies. Last fall the Lakewood, Colo.-based company hired Katie McBrien (Comm’12) as assistant account executive. Katie lives in Denver.

Last October Kristen Wolfe (Engl’10) joined the Chicago office of Faegre Baker Daniels, an advisory and advocacy law firm, as an associate in the labor and employment group. Kristen received her law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in 2013. She lives in Long Grove, Ill.

In 2013 700 young professionals applied for the fellowship program “Challenge Detroit.” Anna Balzer (EnvSt’12) was one of 30 selected. The yearlong fellowship is designed to attract and retain top, young talent to the city of Detroit. Through the program, its initiators hope to educate and form the city’s leaders of tomorrow.

Want to know what psychedelic groove soul music sounds like? Give “Cold River City” a listen! Jeremy Baugh(Film’12), Emma Fields (Span’12), Cody Hart (Film’12), Brian Hubbert (IntlAf’12), Austin Pacharz (Math’12) andScott Russell (Film’12) met during their time at CU-Boulder and discovered they shared a passion for music. In January the band released its first full-length album, “Let Me Shine.”

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.