Notes from the Class of 2005

CU friends Ben Slovin (MechEngr'05) and Charles Greenwood (PolSci’07, Law’09) rode their motorcycles more than 20,000 miles from their homes in New Hampshire and Colorado through 15 countries in Central and South America during a six-month period.

CU couple Luke Mullen (Econ’05) and Susan Holtzman (MBA’10) married Aug. 24, 2013, in Allenspark, Colo. Luke grew up in Boulder and attended Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora. After graduating from CU-Boulder, he earned his master’s degree from University of Greenwich in England. Susan attended San Diego State University before CU-Boulder. The couple lives in Lafayette, Colo. Luke works as a corporate credit analyst in Denver and Susan as a national account manager in Longmont.

After three years, Denver resident Tom Carroll (PolSci, IntlAf’05) finished his term on the Alumni Association board. Tom works at Faegre Baker Daniels, concentrating on employment litigation, employment counseling, ERISA litigation and other employee benefits disputes, as well as general business litigation. Joining him in completing their board terms were Tommy George (Econ’05) and his wife Carolyn Kircher George (MAcct’06) of Denver. Each brought tremendous energy and unique perspectives to their board work, helping staff shape programming to better serve the larger Forever Buffs family. Tommy and Carolyn married in November 2013.

Since March 2013 Katherine E. Hall (IntlAf, PolSci’05) has served as cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia, where she works to promote mutual understanding and strengthen ties between the people of the United States and Tunisia. Her next assignment will be at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City in 2015.

The School of Performing Arts at Virginia Tech appointed Richard Masters (Mus’05) a diversity fellow for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. He will chair the college’s diversity committee for two years. Richard joined the Virginia Tech music department in fall 2013. He is a pianist and conductor as well as soloist and opera coach and has a special interest in Spanish and South American music. Among others, he performed with Columbian clarinetist Javier Vinasco and mezzo-soprano Marta Senn.

WyoFile, an independent nonprofit news service that focuses on Wyoming people, places and policy, named Lorena Garcia (Film’05) executive director. Lorena’s background includes organizing for social justice in education, LGBTIQ rights, workers’ rights and youth leadership development. She also has presented a TEDx talk on Latina leadership.

Pianist, conductor, soloist and opera coach Richard Masters (Mus’05) is an instructor in the performing arts school at Virginia Tech. He has been appointed diversity fellow for the university’s liberal arts and human sciences college. As chair of the college’s diversity committee, he promotes diversity and inclusion across campus.

Patti Kinnear (Anth’05) was named director of donor relations in CU-Boulder’s Office of Advancement. Patti has extensive experience in fundraising, development and event planning. She lives in Westminster, Colo.

Co-founder of RISE Colorado Veronica Palmer (PolSci’05) is committed to educating, engaging and empowering low-income families and families of color in Colorado’s public schools. Her nonprofit also works with families in Aurora to help fill gaps in education. RISE Colorado was named winner of the 2014 Teach for America Social Innovation Award and was awarded $80,000 and 10 hours of consulting support from Teach for America.

This spring Callie Preheim (Math, Span’05) graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.She received her master’s degree in public health.

President Barack Obama named Adrian Chavez (MCompSci) a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. This award is the highest honor the U.S. government gives scientists and engineers who are beginning their careers. An Albuquerque native, Adrian works for Sandia National Laboratories. His focus is on cybersecurity for critical infrastructure such as power grids, oil and gas refineries and water pipelines.

At Boulder’s Industrial Market Information, Bridget Strand (MEcon’05, PhD) serves as economist for its industrial markets research firm. She is the economist for the organization’s sister company, Modern Distribution Management. Bridget specializes in economic modeling, international trade and project management. She has published research in many journals.

The Aspen Times named Lauren Glendenning (Jour) executive editor last November. She had been the newspaper’s interim editor for the month leading to the official assignment, and worked as editorial projects manager for Colorado Mountain News Media previously.

Baby Buff Theodore William Bather was born April 3 to Lindsay Bather (Comm) and Adam Bather (Fin). The parents write, “Teddy will make his first official recruiting visit this fall.”

Lindsey Corsi Cottone (Comm) works as the director of communications and marketing at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio. She also serves as a member of WRA’s executive committee. Previously, she worked as marketing and communication director for the real estate management and development company Forest City Enterprises in Cleveland.

While he was a CU student, Brian Grabski (Mgmt) worked in cabinet shops, perfecting his woodworking skills before founding Designed & Made. At the Minneapolis shop, Brian handles commissions that include custom interiors, kitchen cabinets, office furniture, dining tables, bureaus and pool tables.

While he was a CU student, Brian Grabski (Mgmt) worked in cabinet shops, perfecting his woodworking skills before founding Designed & Made. At the Minneapolis shop, Brian handles commissions that include custom interiors, kitchen cabinets, office furniture, dining tables, bureaus and pool tables.

As winner of a 2015 Heartland Emmy for video journalism, Juliana Broste (Jour) said it was an honor to receive the award after handing out Emmys as a volunteer 11 years ago. Upon winning, she said, “There were few jobs doing what I wanted to do…so, I had to create my dream job.”

Oakland Unified School District hired Drew Giles (Jour; MEdu’11) to serve as director of quality, enhancement and professional development for early learning. Drew has taught preschool and kindergarten in Colorado and South Korea. In 2012, he was named runner-up for Colorado Teacher of the Year.

Brandon DeBenedet (Fin) joined the public finance group of D.A. Davidson’s fixed income capital markets division as senior vice president and public finance banker in the firm’s Denver headquarters. Brandon was previously with Wells Fargo, where he founded and developed a community banking public finance group. He is a member of the Friends of the Denver Fire Department board and frequently speaks at the Colorado Government Finance Officer Association and Colorado Special District Association.