Class Notes

Oy!Chicago and the young leadership division of the Jewish United Fund named Rob Derdiger (Econ) to the sixth annual Double Chai in the Chi: 36 Under 36 list of young impactful Jewish influencers in Chicago.

Cable Hill Partners, an investment advising company, hired Kendall Acheson (IntlAf) as its newest lead adviser. Active in his Portland, Ore., community, Kendall serves on the board of New Avenues for Youth and on the finance committee of the Portland Japanese Garden.

Golden, Colo., native Jack Jones (Econ) spent a year and a half on Wall Street in New York City before realizing stocks weren’t for him. He now works three jobs: Tends bar at Red Rocks, runs his own wine company and plays forward for the Colorado Switchbacks, a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In May, Marty O’Connor (Film) received an MBA from Chapman University alongside his mother, who received an honorary MBA for attending every class with him to help him take notes. A 2012 accident left Marty a quadriplegic. He lives in Orange County, Calif.

Ellen Koenig (Neuro ex), a relation of CU Boulder benefactor Samuel Koenig (ElEngr1913), namesake of Koenig Alumni Center, stopped by campus in May to snap a picture with his portrait. Ellen’s great grandfather, Rudolph Koenig, was Sam Koenig’s brother and mayor of Golden, Colo. A prosecutor in the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, Ellen previously served as a law clerk for Judge John G. Koeltl of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She and her husband live in Manhattan.

After graduating from CU, Sean Smith (Comm) moved to Singapore, where he teaches fifth grade at Singapore American School. He writes that he’ll start a master’s degree program in leadership for international educators in November 2017. In Singapore, he spends his time with his fiancée, Kamilah, and friends, and travels around Southeast Asia when he can. He plans to stay in Singapore for the long term, but will continue to visit Boulder, as it’s near and dear to his heart.

Debby Sneed (MClass) was named one of 21 Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellows for 2017 at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Debby is completing her dissertation, “The Life Cycle of Disability in Ancient Greece,” in the archaeology department at UCLA.

Fashion photographer Sammy Keller (Comm) has always loved taking photos. She works for the Denver-based vintage shop Orenda Lou and has also worked with Urban Outfitters. When she isn’t doing freelance work, Sammy works full-time at Rooster Magazine in Boulder.

Chelsea Miller (IntlAf) and Will John (Engl’12) eagerly awaited their Aug. 13 marriage in Boulder. It involved an interfaith Jewish ceremony. The couple began dating six years ago after meeting through rugby at CU. Their first date was a one-on-one rugby match. Chelsea, a full-time law student, also works part-time in Jewish education in New York. Will is a judicial criminal court clerk in Jersey City, N.J.