Class Notes

North Carolina native and former NFL running back Lee Rouson (A&S) visited the McMichael Youth Football Camp last summer in Mayoden, N.C., to share some of his sports experience. While playing for CU in 1981, Lee earned Freshman All Big Eight honors. He played for the New York Giants from 1985 to 1991 and the Cleveland Browns from 1991 to 1992. Lee works as a motivational speaker for Sports World Ministries, traveling to U.S. schools and churches. He and wife Lisa have four children.

Chett Rubenstein (Acct) is a group lead and principal architect at Cloud Technology Partners. CTP was recognized as the world’s leading enterprise cloud consulting firm and successfully completed a merger with Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In addition to helping large enterprise clients with cloud architecture, Chett oversees development efforts for the internal portfolio of software that supports overall service delivery.

Troon, a golf course management company in Scottsdale, Ariz., appointed Tim Schantz (PolSci) president. 

Nancy Daw Kane (Dance) was appointed editor-in-chief of National Dance Society Journal. She is lead author of the article “Comparisons of Personality Dispositions and Genetic Inferences in Groups of Performing Artists,” published in June in the International Journal of Music and Performing Arts.

Stephen Martin (MusEdu), former band teacher at Denver’s D’Evelyn High School, was inducted into the Colorado Bandmasters Association’s Hall of Fame. Steve and wife Roxanne have two daughters and two grandchildren.

Ellen Weihe Gorsevski (Hum) was named chair of the communication department in Bowling Green State University’s School of Media and Communication. Ellen writes that she and her husband are celebrating the four-year anniversary of the international adoption of their two wonderful children.

Following the death of their son Corey Walgren at age 16, Doug Walgren (InfSys) and wife Maureen started a nonprofit in his honor. The mission of Corey’s Goal is to honor Corey and his love of hockey by supporting hockey programs through gifts and open dialogue about how disciplinary practices in schools can better support the emotional wellbeing of students.

Michelle Ator (PolSci) of Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP in Little Rock, Ark., has become a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. She is the fourth woman in Arkansas to achieve this accomplishment since the organization’s inception in 1950. The September induction ceremony took place during the ACTL Annual Meeting in Montreal, Quebec.

Marti Nault Schuham (Engl) climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in early September. She and husband Rick live in Illinois.

Kevin Keelan (Mktg) was hired as a senior account executive at Virsys12, a healthcare technology firm based in Denver. Kevin and wife Kathleen have three children.

After CU, Bart Lone (MusEdu) taught music in Colorado public schools for three years. In 1994, he and wife Jeanette joined the U.S. Army Bands and were initially stationed in Bamberg, Germany. Jeanette left the army to raise their sons, Jason and Brandon. Bart served 21 years and retired in September 2015. Upon Bart’s retirement the couple purchased two businesses in Grand Lake, Colo. — Grand Lake Wine & Spirits and Cabin Quilts & Stitches.

Lisa Mutschler (Law) opened the Denver-area real estate brokerage Expert Real Estate. She practiced law earlier in her career.

George Brauchler (Econ, PolSci; Law’05), district attorney for Colorado’s 18th Judicial District and a colonel in the Colorado National Guard, announced his run for state attorney general. In August he accepted the Freedom Award from the Department of Defense, the highest recognition of employers for their support of employees who serve in the National Guard and Reserve. George and wife Marcia have four children.

New Mexico native Michael L. Connor (Law), former deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, joined Boston-based law firm WilmerHale. He focuses on environmental compliance, natural resources and Native American law. While not an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo tribe that his grandfather was part of, Michael is considered the first person of American Indian ancestry to hold one of the Interior Department’s top two posts.

Jennifer Alsever (Jour) has spent the past two decades building a career in journalism, writing for the Denver Post and, for the last 13 years, as a freelancer for Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Wired and Fast Company. In 2017, Jennifer plunged into fiction, releasing the first two novels in a young adult trilogy, The Trinity Forest Series. Jennifer writes that she still freelances and lives in the mountains just outside of Vail. She enjoys reading, writing, mountain biking, skiing and yoga.

In October Bonnie Burton (Engl, Jour) released J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World: Movie Magic Volume Three: Amazing Artifacts. The book features behind-the-scenes information and interviews with cast and crew about the props featured in all eight Harry Potter movies and in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Bonnie is a contributing writer to CNET.com, Make magazine and Journal of Alta California. She lives in San Francisco.

For just over 18 years, John Augenblick (MechEngr) has been with energy technology company Qnergy. John redesigned an engine that has been used in conjunction with solar dishes and is being redesigned to provide power in remote locations. The generator is being used in Europe, Asia and America. In his spare time he coaches youth hockey and lacrosse. He and wife Xaviara live in Utah.

Jeff Osterkamp (MEngr), a senior Ball Aerospace executive and past chair of the advisory council for the engineering college’s BOLD Center, received the Alumni Association’s 2017 Alumni Recognition Award over Homecoming Weekend. The award recognizes alumni who connect, contribute and celebrate their CU pride through their extraordinary service to CU Boulder.

In September, the Banc of California announced the hiring of Jason Pendergist (Comm; MBA’00) as its executive vice president and head of real estate banking. Jason and wife Juliana have two children and live in California.

Alanna Rizzo (IntBus; MJour’03) finished her fourth season as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ broadcaster for SportsNet LA. Alanna also is a passionate dog rescue advocate.