Class Notes

Editor and writing coach Susan Stinson (Engl) was awarded the 2016 William Randolph Hearst Fellowship for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers for her novel in progress. The April fellowship was at the American Antiquarian Society, a national research library and learned society of American history and culture in Worcester, Mass.

This year, Geary Larrick (DMus) celebrates 10 years since the 2006 publication of his book, An Autobiographical Bibliography of Percussion Music. The book can be seen in libraries including those in the Juilliard School, Eastman School of Music, New York Public Library and UC Berkeley. Geary is a retired music professor at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. In March, he performed a Women’s History Month program on solo marimba. The music included three original compositions and other works honoring through time.

Sam Reese (Mktg) was named CEO of Vistage Worldwide Inc., which offers coaching and mentorship to executives in communities. Previously Sam served as CEO and board member of the Miller Heiman business consulting organization and held senior positions at Corporate Express, Kinko’s and British Telecom.

Littleton, Colo., residents Will Sumners (MCDBio) and Penny Crump Sumners (Psych’85) celebrated the graduation of their daughter Lily Sumners (Mktg’16) this spring. They write that Lily is a fourth-generation Buff and graduated about 100 years after the first member of the family.

After a back injury left Renny James (Edu) confined to a wheelchair, he took up bee farming as a way to manage his depression. This year, his hive will produce about 250 pounds of honey. His children also help with the bees. Renny lives in Kirk, Colo., where he graduated from high school and where he later taught. Last fall, he was featured on the cover of The Fence Post magazine.

Todd Lampert (Acct) was elected chairman of the board of directors of Waveny LifeCare Network, which provides comprehensive healthcare for older adults. Todd has been an attorney for more than 25 years. His law practice, Lampert, Toohey and Rucci in New Canaan, Conn., has served clients since 1997. Todd is also the founder of the Bank of New Canaan, now Bankwell, and serves as director and corporate secretary for the bank. He lives in New Canaan with his wife, Antoinette, and their three children.

Weston Tew (MPhys; PhD’89), a staff physicist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., received the ASTM International Award of Merit, the highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities. Weston has worked in the thermal and electrical metrology sector for more than 35 years and is a recognized expert in the field of thermometry. He was a staff physicist in the NIST process measurements division for 17 years and has been in his current role in the NIST sensor science division since 2011.

Michael Brody (A&S) produces the Crested Butte Film Festival. Now in its sixth year, the festival annually screens documentary, narrative, short, and action adventure films the last weekend in September. Festival dates for 2016 are Sept. 29 – Oct. 2. Says Michael: “Join your alumni friends here and make new ones.” cb-filmfest.org

In December 2015, Thomas Mack (Fin) graduated from the University of North Texas with his PhD in American history. His dissertation focused on the Civil War. He works in IT management in Dallas and is pursuing teaching opportunities at the four-year college level.

On July 1, Deborah Crown (MInfoSys; PhD’92) begins her post as dean and professor of management at the Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business. Since 2011, Deborah has served as dean of the business college and professor of strategic leadership at Hawaii Pacific University. There she led the development of the college’s strategic plan and increased revenue, scholarship funds and retention and graduation rates. She began her career at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where she was named Miles-Rose Professor of Management and coordinator of the management PhD program. Deborah has been featured in many media outlets, including CNN, ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today and Entrepreneur.

Early this year Chris Harmon (PolSci) participated in his second Python Challenge, a python removal competition in South Florida. In 2013 Chris and his 77-year-old father spent six weeks attempting to capture the non-native species wreaking havoc on the Everglades ecosystem. That year nearly 1,600 people showed up for the competition from 38 states and Canada, although only 68 Burmese pythons were caught. Chris lives in Boca Raton, Fla.

Mark Bellows (Acct) is the co-host of the weekly business talk show “Beyond the Numbers” on Business Radio Money 105.5, which can be heard on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Pacific time at www.money1055.com. Mark lives in Rocklin, Calif.

Colorado native Brett Limbaugh (Geog; MA’92) took over the leadership of the city of Loveland’s Development Services Department in March. Previously, Brett was the director of community planning and development services for Rapid City, S.D. He has also worked as an entitlement manager for Edgemark Development Services in Denver.

For 20 years Todd Millick (Hist) has served in the U.S. Foreign Service, working mostly in Africa and South Asia. He is the author of a book of poems called Short and Sweet, and his memoir, Nasty, Brutish, and Short, will be published this summer.

Portland, Ore., resident Marcus Young (Engl’92) joined the nonprofit Central City Concern (CCC) as its social enterprise project manager. He oversees the development, execution, operations and sourcing for Central City Coffee, a wholesale coffee roasting business. Central City Coffee provides on-the-job training for CCC’s formerly homeless clients. Marcus has a decade of experience in specialty coffee product development, quality control, purchasing, business development, wholesale and retail sales. He is a U.S. Barista Competition head judge and writes about specialty coffee.

Commander John Plumb (MPhys; PhDAeroEngr’03) is running for Congress in New York’s 23rd district. He was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy and spent more than six years on active duty, with almost three years on the fast attack submarine USS San Juan. He has since worked in the Senate, the Pentagon and the White House. John received the Arctic Service Ribbon for spending more than 28 days north of the Arctic Circle. John is still in the Navy reserves, serving as commanding officer for the Maritime Operations Center reserve detachment.

Lyn Schenbeck (DMus) is retiring after more than 40 years as an educator. In 2013, she was named the Coweta County Teacher of the Year. In addition to teaching, Lyn has performed as a singer and conductor throughout the U.S. and Europe. She has also been an active member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the organization known for the Grammy Awards, for 25 years.

Caitlin Avery (Thtr) released her second book, The Last Cruz (SDP Publishing), an adventure/thriller about three women riding motorcycles down Baja on a vacation gone horribly wrong. Caitlin received an honorable mention in the Royal Dragonfly Awards when the book was still an unpublished manuscript. Find the paperback and e-book at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Facebook’s global marketing director, Kelly Graziadei (Jour), delivered May’s commencement address to the CU-Boulder Class of 2016. Prior to joining Facebook, she worked for Yahoo, Alta Vista and SBC/AT&T. Read more about Kelly in the Fall 2014 issue of this magazine or on our website.

Boulder’s Greg Powers (Mktg) is CEO of Boulder Organic Foods. The company makes soups in small batches from garden-fresh ingredients that are certified organic, gluten-free and non-GMO. Founded in 2006, the company is growing quickly, with a 125 percent revenue growth from 2014 to 2015. He also works in the test kitchen with founder Kate Brown to create recipesfor new soups.