Class Notes

CU couple Keziah Swales (Fin’07) and Karl Wonstolen (Fin’07) married in August in Boulder. They met in 2004 at the Leeds School of Business. Keziah is a consultant at Accenture and Karl is an analyst at Fisher Investments. They live and work in San Francisco.

At the first annual Brilliance Awards architectural lighting design recognition ceremony in June, Josh Miller (ArchEngr’07) received a merit award in the exterior and landscape category for his work with AE Design Group for the Denver Civic Center Park. Josh lives in Littleton, Colo.

Along with a few other Forever Buffs Kate Schlag (Mktg’07) works for Clean Energy Fuels, the largest provider of natural gas as a transportation fuel in North America. The company is building America’s Natural Gas Highway, a $450 million dollar investment to move goods across the major trucking corridors in America. Kate lives in Newport Beach, Calif.

Last summer Hélène Tournier (Mktg’07) received the 1er Prix Or, Grand Prix V.I.E Afrique Australe 2012 award. She is part of VIE (International Business Volunteer), a government program that helps young European professionals find work for French companies overseas for six-to-24 month periods. The award promotes the expertise of young international volunteers and rewards their professional expertise and personal efforts.

In August Mara Wiles (Jour’07) appeared in The Denver Post in the comedy section. Maria won best comic at the 2011 Laugh Track Fest and returned for a Saturday show earlier this year. She lives in Denver.

After more than five years of work, Arvada, Colo., resident Beau Beckley (Mgmt’07) published his first book Make Moves — Success Through Motion (Beckley Books). The book is a recording of Beau’s life journey as well as his observations on life. He has consolidated and documented 27 years of life lessons into seven values. Beau is one of the founding members of the university’s Colorado Creed, a code of values for students to follow.

After graduating Andrew Dunkle (Art’07) taught English for a year in Taiwan and lived there for an additional year during which he co-founded www.gooverseas.com, a website for studying, teaching, volunteering and interning abroad. While building the site he became interested in travel writing and is a top content contributor to the website. Andrew is CTO of the website and lives in Berkeley, Calif.

Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers announced in May that Robert Pesavento (Comm’07) will serve as vice president of business development in the Greenwood Village, Colo., office. He works with clients in aviation, construction, finance, manufacturing, national security, retail, technology and transportation. He has served as board member for the Denver Buff Club.

Mississippi College School of Law awarded Richard Vaughn Jr. (PolSci’07) the Wright Family Law Award in April. He lives in Memphis, Tenn.

On Dec. 1 Kristin Bugbee (PolSci’07) and fiancé James Hathorn (Law, MBA’11) will marry in Durham, N.C. Kristin works for Duke University in development and James works for Metabolon, a startup company.

Since graduating Meredith Clements (Phil’07) spent several months in rural Tanzania helping create a self-sustainable project for disadvantaged women. In June 2008 she started as assistant editor of the Sun Sentinel. She works as editor of the weekly section, which publishes a magazine-format paper for Broward and Palm Beach Counties. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

On Anna Maria Island, Fla., couple Jen Kuck and William Hensley (Fin’07) were married in April. William is a credit underwriter at Flatirons Bank. The couple celebrated with a two-week trip to Italy.

CU graduates Mary Isgro (IntlAf’07) and Tom McDonald (Psych’06) will marry Sept. 28 at Chatfield Botanical Gardens in Littleton, Colo. Mary is an international tour consultant and Tom is a product development manager.

In March Carey Kohout (Bus, Econ’07) traveled to Reykjavik, Iceland, to explore and learn about Nordic culture. She writes that on her trip she gained a better understanding of how the country is working to recover from the Icelandic financial crisis of 2008. Carey also visited the Blue Lagoon natural hot spring, the Gullfoss waterfall in Hvítá canyon and the geysers of Haukadalur. She lives in Greeley, Colo.

Megan Badwan and James Krueger (Fin’07) were married in August. Megan is pursuing a master’s degree in education psychology at CU and is a graduate admissions coordinator at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. James is pursuing a master of business administration at Regis University and is an analyst at Charles Schwab.

Fairview High School graduates Brittany Horlbeck and Zachary Miers (ElEngr’07, MS’10) married in June. Brittany graduated from the University of Colorado Denver and is a teacher. Zachary is an electrical engineer. The couple resides in Louisville, Colo.

Last summer Lauren Gunderson (Math’07) and Ricardo Jimenez Martinez (MPhys’08, MEngr’10) married. Lauren is an executive assistant at the dean’s office of the CU law school, and Ricardo is working toward a doctorate in physics at CU.

Electrical engineer Zachary Miers (ElEngr’07, MS’10) will marry in Golden, Colo., on June 3 to Brittany Horlbeck. He lives in Boulder.

Chairlift band member Patrick Wimberly (Mus’07) has performed hundreds of times playing the drums, keyboards, base and vibes. The band’s song “Bruises” was licensed by Apple for an iPod commercial that aired worldwide.

A registered member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Payton Batliner (Mus’07, MBA’09) pursued his MBA to equip him with the necessary means to give back to Indians. He is an economic development specialist with the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development and collaborates with the Department of Energy concerning the development of tribal energy projects. He volunteers as a board treasurer for the Denver Indian Center, a nonprofit organization focused on providing services for the American Indian population of Colorado. Payton was featured in an article called “A Sense of Belonging” in Portfolio, the CU Leeds Business School magazine.