Notes from the Class of 1995

Realtor James Ditzel (MJour’95) was hired to run the tenant representation division at the commercial real estate company Freeman Myre. In his career, he has completed more than 225 transactions totaling more than $55 million in revenue. James lives in Boulder.

Award-winning author Caitlin Friree (Thtr’95) published her first novel, Lightning in my Wires (Create Space), a tale of metamorphosis that examines what it takes to make good choices on the path toward self-respect. A Massachusetts native, she writes she and her husband returned “home” to Boston to raise their son.

Author Jake Shannon (Engl’95) reports his book about wrestling, Say Uncle (ECW Press), reached fifth place in sales on Amazon in its category. He also released a book, Hypnotist: Healer, Head-Hacker, & Headliner (CreateSpace), describing the many facets of hypnosis deriving from his time spent as a hypnotist in Utah. Jake lives in Salt Lake City with his wife and two children.

Entrepreneur Henry Schloss (Comm’95) created the “Energy House” in Denver as a space that allows people of different career backgrounds to share work space by buying memberships for the house. He told The Denver Post his hope is entrepreneurs will be able to feed off of each others’ ideas to start successful businesses. The 7,000-square-foot-building at 15th and Delgany streets includes Internet access, a kitchen and a conference room. Henry’s plan is to open 100 co-working locations nationwide. He lives in Boulder.

Former Alumni Association staffer and doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia Leasa Weimer (Comm, Psych’95) received a Fulbright grant and an American-Scandinavian Foundation grant in support of her dissertation research on international student fees. The grant allows her to spend the 2011-12 academic year in Finland.

An entrepreneur since the age of 14, Justin Havlick (Bus’95) has established his own company, Thanasi Foods, the supplier of BIGS Sunflower Seeds, which is one of the fastest growing brands of sunflower seeds. The brand has been featured on the Food Network and has a strong partnership with minor league baseball. Justin lives in Boulder.

For 14 years Brandon Dwight (Kines’95) has competed in the USA Cycling’s cyclocross national championships. He is co-owner of Boulder Cycle Sport and is an advocate for bringing the race to Boulder’s Valmont Bike Park for 2014-15.

Cantor Colburn elevated Matthew “Brad” Lawrence (ElEngr’95) to counsel in its Hartford, Conn., office. Matthew concentrates his practice on patent preparation and prosecution, patent landscaping and risk analysis and opinions. Some of the technology areas in which he works include electrical engineering, computer science, communications and automotive technology.

Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians elected Julie Anderson (EPOBio’95) as president, representing more than 3,000 family physicians in the state. She attended the University of Minnesota Medical School and serves as vice president of her clinic, St. Cloud Medial Group. She lives in St. Cloud, Minn.

After graduating from the Leeds School of Business, Eric Sikola (Mktg’95) moved to the fast-paced world of Los Angeles where he founded ExpenseCloud, an expense reporting service. Beginning in 2008 he built the company to include 4,000 customers before successfully selling it to TriNet in May 2012. Prior to ExpenseCloud, Eric worked in the software industry for 15 years in various sales management positions. He, his wife and three children reside in Los Angeles.

Ulmer & Berne announced that Stephanie Harley (Psych’95) was recognized as a 2013 Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star, a designation given to the legal industry’s best lawyers under the age of 40. Nominated by their peers, only 2.5 percent of Ohio lawyers are recognized as “Rising Stars.” Stephanie lives in Avon Lake, Ohio.

Delta Sky Magazine profiled Freddy Bensch (Env-Con’95) in the innovator section of its August issue. Freddy is founder and owner of SweetWater Brewing Co. in Atlanta, which opened in 1997.The business has grown to 87 employees. Their full line, including the signature 420 Extra Pale Ale, is available in markets throughout the Southeast. Freddy lives in Decatur, Ga.

Golden, Colo., resident Alexia Bennetts (EPO-Bio’95) is the owner of Calm Spirit Acupuncture in Arvada, Colo. After graduating Alexia received a diploma in Chinese med-icine and in 1999 opened a clinic in Golden, before taking over her new business in Arvada in 2004. She told The Denver Post she likes helping people find solutions to their health issues when nothing else has worked. Alexia lives in Golden, Colo.

In American Teacher: Heroes in the Classroom by Katrina Fried, Alex Kajitani (Soc’95) is one of 50 teachers profiled and celebrated. Alex lives in Carlsbad, Calif., and works in one of San Diego County’s poorest school districts. He is known for making The Rappin’ Mathematician, a fun way to learn math, and was named California Teacher of the Year in 2009.

Bonnie Burton (Engl, Jour’95) has her own reference in the online Star Wars wiki “Wookieepedia.” You read right. How to make it from CU-Boulder to “Wookieepedia”? Burton is a former StarWars.com senior editor and lead writer for The Official Star Wars Blog. For three years, Wired magazine featured her on its list of “100 Geeks You Should be Following on Twitter.” She also worked for Disney Interactive and NBC Universal. Bonnie lives in San Francisco. Read about her on page 52.

Cantor Colburn has named intellectual property lawyer Matthew Brad Lawrence (ElEngr’95) a partner at its firm in January. Brad, who worked as counsel at Cantor Colburn, focuses on protecting clients’ inventions through carefully planned patent procurement, integrated with other strategic considerations like development of licensing strategies.

The global media and entertainment company Starz announced the promotion of Joe Zamora (Fin’95) to vice president of finance. After 15 years with Starz, he is responsible for budgeting, planning and internal reporting activities as well as financial deal support for Starz Networks’ distribution and studio agreements. Joe lives in Denver.

Ivar Frithsen (MCDBio’95) joined Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, N.H., as a hospitalist. He previously worked in Keene, N.H., also as a hospitalist. He received master’s and medical degrees at the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Hahnemann University. Ivar earned a master’s in clinical research from the Medical University of South Carolina where he also completed a fellowship in family medicine.

Steven Schwankert (MJour’95) has published a book, Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine, the story of a British submarine he discovered off of China’s coast. A certified scuba instructor, Steven founded SinoScuba in 2003. It is Beijing’s first professional diving operator.

After graduating from CU, Alexander Schuler (Bio, EnvCon) left Boulder for nine years, then returned with the goal of owning his own small business. Now he owns two — Arugula and Tangerine restaurants.