Class Notes

Dan Mackin (ElEngr’08) and Trent Hein (CompSci’91) launched their Boulderbased company Rule4 on Sept. 17. They also wrote the 5th edition of the Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook, published in August 2017.

After losing his sight at age 36, Trevor Thomas (Econ’93) became a professional hiker. His guide dog, a black lab named Tenille, recently retired after seven years of service. Her successor is a golden lab named Lulu. Lulu is currently working on learning the items on Trevor’s shopping list and honing her backcountry navigation skills.

Stacy Miller Fleming (Geo’94) opened THE MAX Challenge in Louisville, Colo., in January. It is a 10-week fitness, nutrition and motivation program for participants of all ages and ability. She writes that the goal of the program is for individuals to live healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives.

Melissa Glick (Advert’96), CEO of information technology firm Think Network Technologies, received the Morley Ballantine Award on Jan. 18 at the Durango Chamber of Commerce’s annual award ceremony at Fort Lewis College. The award honors women for their work in business and philanthropy. In 2014, Glick co-founded the Professional Women’s Network of Durango to connect women in the Four Corners area by providing a community in which they could mentor, guide and support each other through professional development, social events and volunteering.

Michelle Anderson (Bus’97) was recently awarded the 2018 Woman to WatchEmerging Leader award by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants. Michelle is the director of finance and principal accounting officer for the Sundance Institute, an independent storytelling organization founded by CU alum Robert Redford (A&S ex’58, HonDocHum’87). 

Stephanie Mohr’s (PhDMCDBio’99) book First in Fly: Drosophila Research and Biological Discovery, was included in Smithsonian magazine’s list of the ten best science books of 2018. The book, published in March 2018, outlines a century of scientific research on the common fruit fly and how the model organism has expanded our understanding of human health and disease. Stephanie is the director of the Functional Genomics Resource Lab at Harvard Medical School, where she is also a lecturer on genetics.

Kristen C. Barnett (MEdu’00) published the children’s book The Bug Who Thought He Lost His Buzz: What Happens When the Big, Bad Beast Stings. The book is part of a series of products aimed at helping parents talk with their young children about being diagnosed with a terminal illness

Jazz saxophonist Tia Fuller’s (MMus’00) new album “Diamond Cut” was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Jazz Instrumental Album category. She spoke at the College of Music commencement in 2018 as a Distinguished Alumni Award winner. Fuller has been featured on the cover of Saxophone Today, Jazz Education Journal and JazzTimes Magazine and has received numerous other awards, including winning the Downbeat Critics Poll “Rising Star” award two years running. She has toured with Beyoncé and performed at the White House. She teaches full time at Berklee College of Music in Boston

Jennifer Roe Darling (MPA’00) was named president and CEO of the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation. Jennifer has worked in Denver-area nonprofits since 1991, starting as director of development for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. She is the co-founder of the Institute for Leaders in Development at the University of Denver, a professional advancement program that identifies Colorado’s emerging nonprofit fundraising leaders.

Abel Laeke (Kine’00) writes that he published two books since graduating from CU: Powerful Attribute in 2017 and No Pressure, No Diamonds in 2014. In 2017, Abel was a candidate for Aurora City Council. He currently manages the Denver insurance agency New Flower Co.

Juli Rasmussen (Jour’02) helped organize the golf tournament Tiara Rado in Grand Junction in collaboration with the local Rotary and one of CU’s alumni chapters, Grand Valley Forever Buffs. The tournament raised money for engineering scholarships for Colorado Mesa University and CU Boulder students.

Kate Fagan (Comm’03) announced in November that she would leave ESPN by the end of 2018. “[T]o continue at ESPN I would have to be immersed in the day-today in sports,” Kate told the Washington Post. “And I found myself more and more interested in other aspects of sports — like how it connects to our culture.” Before joining ESPN, Kate worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer, focusing primarily on the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

Boston-based attorney Colin Boyle (Phil’04) was selected as a 2018 Massachusetts Super Lawyer. Colin, an associate at the law firm Morgan, Brown & Joy, was selected as a “Rising Star” for his practice in collective bargaining and labor law. 

From July to December 2017, Ben Slavin (MechEngr’05) and wife Amberlynn biked through seven countries, riding from China, through Central Asia and into the Middle East along the historic Silk Road. You can watch a documentary about their journey called Cycling the Silk Road on YouTube. 

Lauren Ludtke (Art’05) graduated with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions in Boston in June 2018. She completed an internship at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital last fall and is now employed as a physical therapist in Orlando, Fla.

Maria O’Malley (PhDEngl’08) co-authored the book Beyond 1776: Globalizing the Cultures of the American Revolution. Maria is an associate professor at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, where she specializes in colonial and early American literature, multicultural and transnational literature, poetry and Emily Dickinson.

Benjamin Kramer (Fin’08) joined the Fort Collins-based law firm Gast Johnson & Muffly as a shareholder. He joined the firm in 2015 and focuses on business, real estate and estate planning matters. He is co-chair of the firm’s pro bono program and president of the Young Lawyers Division of the Larimer County Bar Association.

Rick Thomas (PolSci’08) was promoted to shareholder at the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. He is a member of the firm’s real estate department in its Denver headquarters, and he represents developers, buyers and sellers of a variety of properties, including senior living facilities, shopping centers, golf courses, medical office buildings and hospitals.

Heather Hansman (Jour’10) wrote the book Downriver, which will be published by the University of Chicago Press in April 2019. The book discusses fights over water rights to the Green River, the most significant tributary of the Colorado River. The Green River runs 730 miles from Wyoming to Utah. In her research for the book, Heather set out on a journey in a one-person inflatable raft to paddle the entire river. 

Daniel McCormick (ChemEngr’01; Law’10) was elected partner at Kilpatrick Townsend. He is a member of the electronics and software team in the firm’s Denver office.