Class Notes

Harper’s Magazine’s art director, Stacey Clarkson (A&S’97), and photojournalist Tomas van Houtryve (Phil’99) spoke last spring at CU-Boulder about technology, society and privacy. The event was part of the recurring ATLAS Speaker Series.

This summer Matthew Larsen (PhDGeog’97) was appointed director of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, which aims to determine the importance of tropical nature on human welfare. In his role, Matthew oversees 300 employees, a budget of $23 million and the institute’s research facilities in Panama and field sites in 14 countries.

Eric Schweikardt’s (CompSci, EnvDes’98) Moss robot-construction kits gained great support after a crowdfunding campaign began last year. Eric is co-founder of Boulder-based Modular Robotics. The campaign brought in $77,000 in pledges in the first seven and a half hours, according to an article published in BizWest. The kits include different plastic modules, such as sensors or motors with magnets embedded in the corners, for connection points.

The city of Glendale, Colo., swore in two new councilmembers this spring, including Doris Rigoni (IntlAf, PolSci’99). Doris works as an assistant vice president for Mile High Banks Commercial Real Estate. She also has a Colorado real estate broker’s license and worked for Colorado Governor Bill Owens in economic development and for the Denver International Airport Partnership.

In Nevada the Clark County Commission appointed John Entsminger (Law’99) as general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. John has worked for the agencies since 1999.

Clae K. Anhold, described by proud dad Eric Anhold (PolSci’00) as “6 pounds, 6 ounces of love,” was born this June. Eric is a CU-Boulder Alumni Association advisory board member and chair of its events and outreach committee. Eric and family live in Denver.

Major Rebecca Ernst Lange (PolSci’00), the deputy legislative assistant in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C., received a national leadership award from AmeriCorps Alums. She served in AmeriCorps, the national public service program, before coming to CU. Rebecca graduated from Air Force ROTC and is on active duty with the U.S. Air Force.

Want to know what it’s like to live and work as a ghost whisperer? Check out Laura Powers’ (Thtr’00, MPolSci’10) book, Angels: How to Understand, Recognize and Receive Their Guidance. Laura’s mission as a ghost whisperer and medium is to connect people with spiritual resources and empower them to make positive life choices.

This September Ron Geschwer (Psych’01) and his wife Desiree Bandelier (Psych’08) were married. The pair met at an event in New York City hosted by the local CU-Boulder alumni chapter, which Ron serves as president. Desiree is on the chapter’s board.

Meredith Moseley (Engl, Mus’01) demonstrated her Buffs pride at her wedding this summer. She represented CU colors on her homemade garter and added the Ralphie logo to her slip. Meredith says she, her aunt, Carolyn Borgos(PhysTher’69), and her college roommate, Heather Doty (Mus’00, CivEngr, MS’01, MBA’10), sang the CU Fight Song at full volume. “Even though my husband, Joel Pattinson, is a Wyoming Cowboy,” she says, “I love him dearly.”

Surna, a company that develops, produces and sells equipment for the legal marijuana industry, hired Todd Whitaker (MechEngr’02) as vice president of engineering. Todd has designed core systems for the Mars Phoenix Lander and Mars Rovers for NASA and has extensive experience in sealed systems, thermal system design, chemistry mechanisms and more. He lives in Boulder.

As a runner Kai Costanzo (Span’03) hated the smacking sound of flip-flops. He invented Kai-Kai sandals, which uses the slogan “the flip that doesn’t flop.” Kai was part of CU-Boulder’s triathlon team when he was a student. He lives in Montauk, N.Y.

In his longest-lasting case as a lawyer, Nicholas Kant (Jour’03, Law’06) succeeded in getting a large settlement from a former New Jersey paving company accused of substandard paving work for the state. Nick was mentioned in several local news reports after the case was settled. He resides in South Orange, N.J.

Robert O’Leary (IntlAf’03) is an associate in international law firm Mayer Brown’s Banking and Finance group. He focuses his practice on project finance and project development, representing lenders, owners, developers and contractors in energy and infrastructure financing and project construction. He also maintains an active pro bono immigration practice.

Mark Stockwell (Econ’04, Law’12) was appointed to the board of Denver’s Youth Opportunity Foundation to help raise awareness about the organization and provide strategic direction. The organization aims to raise funds to help provide mentoring, educational opportunities and life experiences to at-risk youth. Mark is an associate in Denver with the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

Working as the “box girl” for the Standard Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood required Lilibet Snellings (Jour’04) to sit in a giant glass box behind the hotel’s concierge desk for up to seven hours at a time. She wrote a book about her experience, Box Girl: My Part-Time Job as an Art Installation. The book has been featured in the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly, and made Harper’s Bazaar’s “Hot List.” While at CU-Boulder, Lilibet ran cross-country under coach Mark Wetmore.

Patti Kinnear (Anth’05) was named director of donor relations in CU-Boulder’s Office of Advancement. Patti has extensive experience in fundraising, development and event planning. She lives in Westminster, Colo.

Co-founder of RISE Colorado Veronica Palmer (PolSci’05) is committed to educating, engaging and empowering low-income families and families of color in Colorado’s public schools. Her nonprofit also works with families in Aurora to help fill gaps in education. RISE Colorado was named winner of the 2014 Teach for America Social Innovation Award and was awarded $80,000 and 10 hours of consulting support from Teach for America.

This spring Callie Preheim (Math, Span’05) graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.She received her master’s degree in public health.

Of the 14 people in Emily Hite Smith (Hist, Jour’07) and Ryan Smith’s (A&S ex’07) wedding party, 11 were CU graduates. In all, almost half of the guests were CU alumni. The couple were married at the Koenig Alumni Center on CU-Boulder’s campus on June 28, 2014. They met in Boulder in 2005 when both lived at the Campus Townhouses on 11th and Pleasant Streets. The wedding had a James Bond-theme. Everyone took a break from dancing to sing the CU Fight Song. Emily is a media supervisor at LEVEL Brand and Ryan is a banker at Wells Fargo. They live in Minneapolis.