Kalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award

Previous Winners of the Kalpana Chawla Award

2024: Joey Arora (Mgmt'12)

Joey Arora is the esteemed recipient of the Kalpana Chawla Outstanding Recent Graduate Award, a recognition befitting his outstanding contributions to entrepreneurship, innovation and public service. A keen startup investor and business consultant, Joey’s people-first approach to entrepreneurship rests on a foundation of military service.  

As CEO at boutique consulting firm The Outpost, Joey specializes in helping companies secure government contracts, particularly in the defense sector. Under Joey’s leadership, The Outpost has assisted over 250 companies in winning $300 million in contracts, demonstrating his commitment to fostering innovation and economic growth. Previously, Joey served as chief scaling officer for the Department of Defense’s Platform One. There, he transformed the authorization process for commercial software integration into defense systems, making it more dynamic and efficient. 

But before he made waves in the business world, Joey earned key leadership skills in the military service as an airfield operations officer. Both domestically and abroad, Joey managed teams overseeing critical operations and construction projects, enhancing the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force.

Joey co-founded the Air Force innovation program AFWERX, profoundly impacting military engagement with entrepreneurs and innovators. Under his leadership, the program grew from a small team to over 350 members, engaging more than 100,000 Airmen and funding over 2,400 companies with $710 million. 

Beyond his military and consulting roles, Joey has founded three companies and played a pivotal role in supporting startup founders. He has organized numerous events and startup weekends, significantly strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly in Colorado. His grassroots efforts have helped many companies refine their investor pitches and navigate the startup landscape.

Joey’s exceptional contributions have earned him several accolades, including the Department of Defense’s Packard Award for best acquisition program in 2020, a spot in Shreveport, Louisiana’s “40 under 40” in 2016 and the Fed 100 award in 2023, recognizing him as a game-changer in government technology and innovation.

Joey's journey began at CU Boulder, where he was active in the Leeds Business School, the Presidents Leadership Class and the Air Force ROTC program. These experiences provided him with a blend of business acumen, leadership skills and a deep understanding of military responsibilities, which have been instrumental in his career success.

Joey Arora exemplifies a mission-driven approach, leveraging innovation and entrepreneurship to create positive societal impact. His journey continues to inspire and drive the next generation of leaders.

2023: Eddie Taylor (BioChem, Math '12)

When Eddie Taylor stepped atop Mount Everest in May 2022 after years of planning and training, he celebrated a much greater accomplishment than reaching the top: He just had helped double the amount of Black climbers to ever reach Everest’s summit. 

Eddie was a member of the Full Circle climbing team, which was composed of 10 other Black climbers who raised more than $800,000 for the historic expedition. The team’s accomplishment was featured in USA Today, Outside magazine, National Geographic and CNN.

“They made it to the top of the world — while also making history,” declared a USA Today article after Eddie and six other Full Circle team members reached the summit. 

Eddie, a former CU decathlete, was approached by Phillip Henderson, the leader of the

Full Circle team, while ice-climbing in Ouray.

“It was his drive and passion for mountaineering that made him a great fit for the team,” said Henderson. 

While the experience on Mount Everest was memorable for Eddie, there’s one thing that has always remained a top priority for him: his students. A former water chemist, Eddie realized teaching was his calling after he began coaching track at Broomfield High School. He received his master’s degree in education from Regis University and took a position teaching science at Centaurus High School in Lafayette, Colorado, where he also serves as head track coach. 

When Phillip originally asked him to join the Everest team, Eddie was hesitant to leave during the last few weeks of the spring semester and miss his graduating seniors. His wife convinced him to go. 

“Eddie's climbing accomplishments are clearly deserving of attention, but we should also celebrate the work that he does each and every day as a teacher, coach and role model for students at Centaurus High School,” said Daniel Ryan, principal at Centaurus High School. “His example is inspiring the next generation to challenge themselves and find success.”

2023: Brock Kowalchuk (AeroEngr '11)

The fields of aerospace engineering and finance aren’t commonly combined when building a career path — but Brock Kowalchuk is hardly common. 

After graduating from CU Boulder in 2011, Brock spent seven years working for Goldman Sachs. During this time, he also earned a master’s degree in information and data science from UC Berkeley, before transitioning to Kaspien, an innovative e-commerce company.

Known by colleagues for his professionalism, Brock quickly climbed the ranks from senior vice president of finance to his current role as chief executive officer in four years, serving as chief financial officer and chief operations officer along the way. In these four years, Brock led the company through several rounds of funding and guided its restructuring efforts through the departure of two CEOs, before stepping into the role himself. The e-commerce company now has 80 employees, works with hundreds of brands and generates more than $100 million in revenue per year.

“Brock had a unique way of entering our organization and quickly earning the respect of the company through his strong financial leadership and acumen,” said Mitchell Bailey, a former executive of the company. 

“He connects with people, listens to their ideas, and creates an inclusive and welcoming environment that is contagious. He has influenced significant and unprecedented change to benefit our organization, and I attribute a large portion of his abilities to his background in engineering.” 

In 2018, Brock brought his storied career experience and unflappable work ethic to CU Boulder’s inaugural College of Engineering and Applied Science Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Board. As co-chair, he helped establish the initial board structure and future expectations for the role, implementing clear performance indicators. 

Under his leadership, the board grew to 17 members with three subcommittees and had 100% philanthropic participation from all members. During this time the board also established the now semesterly tradition of pairing engaged alumni with current students to practice their professional interviewing skills in a low-stress environment. 

Outside of the board, Brock has volunteered to speak on student-facing panels, sharing his life experiences. He uses his speaking opportunities with students to show that their degree can open professional doors outside of engineering. Additionally, he donates generously to the College of Engineering and Applied Science, and he believes in the power of philanthropy to support the next generation of engineers and leaders. 

Brock is only just getting started with his outstanding career accomplishments and is building the foundation to make meaningful contributions for years to come. Through his early successes he has remained connected and committed to CU Boulder — and to ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to make an impact wherever they go.

2022: Hayley Leibson (Comm’15)

Business Analytics Minor (’15)
Technology, Art and Media Minor (’15)

Less than 2% of venture capital funding assists female-founded companies. Hayley Leibson is part of that 2%, and looking to increase that figure for others.  

In an interview with CU Boulder in 2018, Leibson said her mission was to “inspire, motivate and move millennial women to enter the tech industry.” At the time, she was a growing name in the technology sphere and creator of the influential and wildly popular blog, “Lady in Tech,” dedicated to empowering women to pursue careers in technology.

Since then, she co-founded and serves as COO of Lunchclub, an AI-powered networking site, which is expected to have more than 1 million active monthly users by the end of 2022. The startup — which matches professionals based on their goals — has raised over $30 million from top-tier investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Michael Ovitz and is valued at over $100 million. 

Leibson, named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for consumer technology, wrote her first book, Raise Early Stage Venture Capital. She also is a key investor and advisor for women and minority-founded companies. She was named a top founder angel investor recently by Business Insider.

Leibson has spoken around the world, including at Stanford and Harvard Universities, on topics ranging from startup building to diversity and inclusion. She credits some of her success to her time at CU and her studies in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences in the technology, arts and media (TAM) program. 

“Through TAM, I discovered the best way to make a positive impact on the world is through technology, and I have carried this belief forward ever since,” said Leibson.

For her work, Leibson was named one of Entrepreneur’s “15 Entrepreneurs Under 30 to Watch Out For” and was selected for the Women in IT Award’s 2019 Silicon Valley Rising Star of the Year Award, among other recognitions, and she has been featured on such media outlets as the BBC and ABC and in The Wall Street Journal

“We need all perspectives and viewpoints represented as we build the future,” Leibson said. “Utilizing the talent that exists means we’re assembling smarter, more innovative teams.”

2021: Vanessa Aponte (PhDAeroEngr’06)

Vanessa Aponte’s career is out of this world — quite literally. A systems engineer focused on human spaceflight and landing systems, she has spent the past two decades pursuing humanity’s final frontier.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Aponte first came to CU in 1996 as part of the Summer Multicultural Access to Research Training (SMART) program for undergraduates. There, she met the crew of NASA’s 77th space shuttle mission and was inspired to pursue an advanced degree and career in aerospace.

As she was working on her doctorate in aerospace engineering at CU, she worked on life support systems as well as controls, dynamics and propulsion at NASA’s Kennedy, Dryden and Johnson space centers.

After graduating with her PhD, she was hired at Lockheed Martin, where she has since launched a remarkable career working on the Orion Spacecraft, leading the company’s new technology evaluation board, spearheading research and development for human space exploration and leading mission ops for the ascent element of their human landing system. Through all that, she was an astronaut candidate finalist herself … twice. 

“Vanessa helped pave the way for humanity’s return to the moon and then Mars,” said Kathryn Tobey, former vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Space, who recruited and hired Aponte in 2006. “She is a system thinker who ties all the elements of a complex system together and sees what others cannot see.” 

In addition to her professional work, Aponte has devoted time and expertise to CU’s engineering college, serving on the Aerospace Engineering Executive Advisory Board and Engineering Advisory Council. She’s also an enthusiastic advocate for closing the gender gap in STEM, often volunteering as a speaker and mentor for the Brooke Owens Fellowship and STEMblazers. Vanessa is also a board member for College Track, a nonprofit organization dedicated to seeing students through their education from high school through college graduation.

“Her extensive work promoting STEM opportunities to underrepresented communities highlights her dedication and impact,” said Dr. Penina Axelrad, a distinguished professor in the Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research. “Vanessa is an alumna who personifies CU’s mission, vision and values.”

Aponte’s work is inspiring to anyone who looks up at the stars in wonder. And when humanity takes its first steps on Mars — and beyond — Aponte will have contributed to those milestones.

According to Tobey, “Vanessa dreams of making space accessible for all. But she isn’t just a dreamer — she’s a doer.”

2020: Wei Wu (MMus’13)

When Wei Wu (MMus’13) came to CU Boulder on a scholarship in fall 2008, he spoke little English and considered himself to be very shy. 

And yet as a music student, Wei, a bass, sang classical arias, acted and performed theatrical improvisation — all in English. When he sang, he often moved his audiences to tears. 

“It was very clear that his voice was something special,” said Rebecca J. Roser, a long-time music college supporter who was present at one of his first performances. 

Eventually, the world also took notice. He received a Grammy Award for “Best Opera Recording” in 2019 for his role as Steve Jobs’ spiritual advisor Kôbun Chino Otogawa in the world premiere of the opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs

“The Chinese bass Wei Wu almost stole the show,” declared The Washington Post in its opera review. “[Wei] seems to have realized his considerable potential, singing with a rich gorgeous sound that never flagged, backed up by a twinkle in his eye that made this character a delight.”

His progression from a timid student to accomplished performer was the result of a decade of practice, persistence and performance, along with the support of friends, patrons and teachers. 

Wei got his start in his home city of Beijing, China, where he received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance. Renowned bass Hao Jiang Tian of the Metropolitan Opera invited him to accompany him to Colorado as his understudy at Central City Opera. While there, Wei met Daniel Sher, dean of CU Boulder’s College of Music, and jumped at the opportunity to audition for graduate program there. Wei received a certificate in voice performance and then a master’s degree in vocal performance. Ever since, he has frequently returned to campus as a performer and mentor. 

“The dedication he gave to new American works, the English language and vocal technique while a student here at CU served him well in his astonishing international operatic career,” said Leigh Holman, CU’s opera director. 

After CU, Wei was admitted to the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist program, among the most prestigious of its kind in the nation, where he performed in a variety of comic and tragic roles on the stage of the Kennedy Center. He then joined the roster of the New York Metropolitan Opera and has also appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera, the San Francisco Opera and the Philadelphia Opera, among others. A milestone of his career his casting in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs in 2017, an opera composed by Grammy winner Mason Bates. With this performance and Grammy winning recording, Wei solidified his reputation as an important artist of our time.

The artistic administrator of the Metropolitan Opera, Michael Heaston, described Wei as “one of the most gifted young basses in the world of opera” and as an “ambassador for the arts.”  

Even with a career successfully launched, Wei remains humble and grateful for his opportunities. He and his wife, Shih-Han Chiu — also a CU music alum — were married in the home of his CU scholarship supporters John and Anna Sie. Wei and Shih-Han now live in New York City. 

At the CU Boulder Next New York event in February 2020, Wei told the crowd: “I always considered Colorado to be my second home — I received my degrees from CU, I met many life-time friends there, I found the love of my life at CU Boulder and we got married at my generous patron’s beautiful home in Denver. These are important and beautiful memories in Colorado that will always be in my heart. It will always be a pleasure to share my voice with everyone and contribute back to my beloved alma mater.”

2019: Savannah Sellers (Jour'13)

For young Buffs, Savannah Sellers is an inspiring reminder that it’s possible to achieve one’s professional dreams — and that it doesn’t have to take decades.

Through hard work, self-confidence and perseverance, Savannah has risen fast at NBC News in the six years since her 2013 graduation from CU Boulder.

She began her career working as an NBC page before becoming an executive assistant to MSNBC’s president. Now, Savannah co-hosts NBC News’s innovative Snapchat news service, Stay Tuned, and is one of the youngest people on air at the network level.  

A media industry trailblazer, Savannah has been described by one fellow CU alum as “a breath of fresh air” and “a force for international good.” Her show, Stay Tuned, has nearly 10 million subscribers and a daily audience of at least 5 million millennials and Gen Z-ers — reaching a new demographic in a new way.

From her Emmy-winning documentary work reporting on heroin addiction to her interviews with Parkland shooting survivors and former Vice President Joe Biden, Savannah has a way of bringing a story to life and connecting with an audience. 

“She has a special ability to tell stories in a way that makes young people feel understood, informed and inspired,” said a colleague.

At CU Boulder’s 2019 spring commencement, Savannah’s keynote address encouraged graduating Buffs to chase their dreams — and to remember that success depends on how one copes with challenges.    

“She has brought inspiration to students of CU Boulder and students across the nation,” said a recent CU alum, “especially to young women in journalism.”

Savannah Sellers Award Video 

2018: Daniel Ramos (Soc, Span'10; MPubAd'14)

It’s time to get used to the name Daniel Ramos. By the time he was named executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group One Colorado at age 29, Daniel had proven himself an assertive champion for political and social causes. As one of CU Boulder’s tri-executives, he started the first-ever student government zero waste program in the U.S.

As a national outreach officer for the United States Student Association, he organized Colorado students to lobby at the state and national level for student aid reform and the DREAM Act. In his first role at One Colorado, he also created the Colorado Gay-Straight Alliance Network, a leadership program that’s nearly tripled middle school, high school and college gay-straight alliances, which equip LGBTQ students and allies to combat bullying. All this from a first-generation college student from Sterling, a small town on Colorado’s eastern plains. “Daniel believes the world isn’t complete until every person feels safe, welcome and empowered to make change,” said a former CU tri-executive. In nearly two years as executive director of One Colorado — the state’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group — Daniel has overseen its extensive lobbying efforts, which aim to improve the lives of LGBTQ Coloradans in the areas of healthcare, safe schools and alliance building. “A model of integrity,” as one CU administrator put it, Daniel exudes energy, inspires dedication and prioritizes leadership. “He gives focus, attention and praise to everyone around him while scanning the environment for what needs to be done,” another CU mentor said. True to his environmentalist roots, Daniel doesn’t own a car. He gets around by bicycle.

Daniel Ramos Award Video 

2018: Sara Staley (PhDEdu'14)

Bethy Leonardi and Sara Staley are redefining how students and teachers learn about gender, family and sexual diversity in K-12 classrooms. The pair, research associates and instructors in CU’s School of Education, founded A Queer Endeavor, an initiative that aims to provide educators with guidance, vocabulary and tools for creating school cultures that are safe, supportive and accepting of LGBTQ youth.

Since the 2014-2015 school year, Sara and Bethy have worked with more than 5,000 educators and school leaders nationwide, including all of the principals in the Boulder Valley, Adams 12 and St. Vrain Valley School Districts. Because of their work, Boulder County schools have become a safe haven for many LGBTQ youth and their families. Said one BVSD principal: “They’ve [Parents] heard that Boulder schools provide support and compassion and may be a safe place for their child. So they move here and their child, for the first time in their school careers, feel ‘out and proud’ and truly knows that they belong.” In 2015, Sara and Bethy were awarded the Big Hearts Award from the LGBTQ community organization Out Boulder County. Sara and Bethy have created a 20-minute film, available online, called Breaking the Silence: Honoring the Voices of LGBTQ Youth and Allies in Supporting Our Teachers. It features 14 youth, 75 educators and 30 Boulder-area community members in open conversation about gender, family and sexual diversity in K-12 schools and teacher preparation. Sara and Bethy’s social justice commitments, leadership and unwavering support for LGBTQ students is helping educators across the country cultivate the safe and inclusive spaces that all children deserve.

Bethy and Sara Award Video 

2018: Bethy Leonardi (PhDEdu'14)

Bethy Leonardi and Sara Staley are redefining how students and teachers learn about gender, family and sexual diversity in K-12 classrooms. The pair, research associates and instructors in CU’s School of Education, founded A Queer Endeavor, an initiative that aims to provide educators with guidance, vocabulary and tools for creating school cultures that are safe, supportive and accepting of LGBTQ youth.

Since the 2014-2015 school year, Sara and Bethy have worked with more than 5,000 educators and school leaders nationwide, including all of the principals in the Boulder Valley, Adams 12 and St. Vrain Valley School Districts. Because of their work, Boulder County schools have become a safe haven for many LGBTQ youth and their families. Said one BVSD principal: “They’ve [Parents] heard that Boulder schools provide support and compassion and may be a safe place for their child. So they move here and their child, for the first time in their school careers, feel ‘out and proud’ and truly knows that they belong.” In 2015, Sara and Bethy were awarded the Big Hearts Award from the LGBTQ community organization Out Boulder County. Sara and Bethy have created a 20-minute film, available online, called Breaking the Silence: Honoring the Voices of LGBTQ Youth and Allies in Supporting Our Teachers. It features 14 youth, 75 educators and 30 Boulder-area community members in open conversation about gender, family and sexual diversity in K-12 schools and teacher preparation. Sara and Bethy’s social justice commitments, leadership and unwavering support for LGBTQ students is helping educators across the country cultivate the safe and inclusive spaces that all children deserve.

Bethy and Sara Award Video 

2018: Jared Leidich (MechEngr'09)

Jared Leidich brought a high-flying man safely down to Earth. But the trajectory of his career seems to go only upward.

The 2009 College of Engineering & Applied Sciences graduate played key technical roles in StratEx, the record-breaking 2014 endeavor in which Google executive Alan Eustace completed the longest and highest freefall ever, dropping to Earth from the upper stratosphere (after an extreme balloon flight up). Then working for Paragon Space Development Corp., Jared helped develop the suit, life-support pack and parachute Eustace wore in the 25-mile supersonic fall. Today Jared is lead engineer for parachute systems at World View, an Arizona firm developing high-altitude balloons. He is part of the founding team. Jared stars in a documentary about StratEx, 14 Minutes from Earth, and wrote an insider’s account of it called The Wild Black Yonder. After buying the book, one of Jared’s CU professors wrote: “It was the first and only time to date that I have ever asked a former student for an autograph!” Jared’s CU days hinted at big things to come. As an undergraduate, he worked in CU’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, traveled to Rwanda with Engineers Without Borders and co-authored peer-reviewed conference papers. Early on he developed expertise in micro-gravity. Jared received a powerful endorsement for the Kalpana Chawla Award. Wrote colleague Ron Garan: “I was not only an astronaut colleague of Kalpana Chawla, I was her friend, and I believe that Jared epitomizes the excellence that is representative of this award in her name.”

Jared Leidich Award Video 

2017: Teju Ravilochan (IntlAf'09)

Impossible is not in Teju Ravilochan’s vocabulary. He embraces the difficult, unruly and implausible and groups them into one difficult-but-attainable concept — unreasonable. Since Teju co-founded the Unreasonable Institute, a Denver-based incubator for entrepreneurs, in 2010, more than 20 million people have benefitted from the 148 startups his organization has supported. The institute, now called Uncharted, also has run 40 accelerator programs in 26 countries.

“One of Teju’s greatest strengths is breathing life into an early-stage idea and pulling together the right people to give it flight,” said a peer whose employer, ReWork, was supported by Teju and the Institute.

For his efforts, Teju was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur this year. The institute’s work also has been cited in the New York Times, Inc. magazine and blog posts by the Wall Street Journal.

“Teju has the relentless curiosity of a puppy, the serene wisdom of Buddha and the pulsating compassion of Mother Teresa,” said a colleague.

Once, Teju gave such an impassioned speech about his current class of entrepreneurs that a woman quit her job immediately to pursue a bigger endeavor.

Said the colleague: “Teju represents to those who know him — and even to those who do not — that the distance between their current reality and their most daring dreams is far shorter than they ever imagined.” 

View Teju Ravilochan Award Video 

2017: Siddhartha Rathod (Law'07)

In Colorado, Siddhartha Rathod represents a powerful voice for marginalized communities.  His work as a defense attorney has brought justice to undocumented individuals, sexual assault victims, prisoners and many others.

Siddhartha became a founding partner of Rathod Mohamedbhai LLC in Denver in 2011. Since then he’s been involved in several high-profile legal settlements. He successfully negotiated one of Denver’s largest-ever settlements in a prisoner abuse civil rights case, which resulted in policy changes for the Denver sheriff’s department and detention center. Additionally, two of his settlements involving officer-involved shooting deaths brought law enforcement and the community together to initiate positive change.

“Siddhartha is a skilled and charismatic lawyer,” said a peer. “He has dedicated himself to extensive community service and leadership by example.”

He is especially dedicated to serving nonprofits focused on equality and inclusiveness. A quarter of Siddhartha’s work is pro bono, which includes his involvement on the legal team that successfully challenged Wyoming’s gay marriage ban.

Today at CU Boulder, the former Marine Corps captain serves on the Colorado Law alumni board, where he chaired the diversity committee. He also mentors students, hosts law school events at his firm and teaches as an adjunct faculty member.

An assistant dean in the law school calls his CU volunteer efforts “continuous and substantial.”

Siddhartha tackles difficult issues whole-heartedly, and it’s his dedication and grit that serve as inspiration for all — especially the next generation of attorneys and policy-makers.

View Siddhartha Rathod Award Video 

2016: Nathan Seidle (ElecEng ’04)

Nathan Seidle could be a poster child for the start-up era.

In 2003, as a CU Boulder engineering student, he opened a one-man business reselling hard-to-find circuit boards from Eastern Europe. That dorm-room enterprise would become SparkFun Electronics, a Boulder-based firm that offers tools, hardware and guidance for artists, engineers, prototypers and electronic gadgetry hobbyists.

Today SparkFun employs a workforce of more than a hundred fellow geeks (as he puts it), has annual revenues of more than $30 million and spreads the joy of making things worldwide. Seidle, the CEO, retains an infectious tinkerer’s spirit that animates the company.

“Where many in his position would have moved on from technical work to high-level business machinations,” said a fellow entrepreneur, “Nathan remains heart and soul an engineer.”

He also happens to be a big-hearted guy with what one intimate called “an extraordinary presence.”

Seidle invites school groups into SparkFun’s factory, hosts robot competitions and sponsors workshops for gadgeteers and makers, often joining beginners in the act of invention. He’s advocated for women and the underprivileged in engineering and made himself available to fellow entrepreneurs seeking business advice — convincing at least one to manufacture in Colorado instead of in China.

“Nathan Seidle,” one admirer said, “is a mensch.”

At CU, Seidle not only visits classes, but has provided fellowships for doctoral candidates and a sales channel for their inventions.

Along the way, one CU computer scientist said, Seidle “put Boulder on the map as a central hub of personalized do-it-yourself-technology.”

“We should be beside ourselves with pride,” another professor said, “to call Nathan Seidle a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder.”

2016: David Wolf (Law, MBA’01)

It didn’t take David Wolf long to start repaying the debt he felt to CU Boulder: In 2001, just after graduating with law and MBA degrees, he established a scholarship at the Leeds School of Business.

Supporting the university became a way of life. David has been an active member of the Leeds advisory board, spoken at CU conferences, on industry panels and in classes and judged competitions — while also mentoring and hiring numerous CU students along the way.

His service to CU makes sense for a businessman celebrated for his trailblazing contributions to the field of impact investing, which aims to align investors’ capital with their values and generate both profits and social or environmental benefits.

As chief operating officer and managing principal of BSW Wealth Partners, a multi-family office and wealth advisory firm with offices in Boulder and Denver, David oversees $800 million in assets. He also is founder and chief investment officer of R3 Returns, an impact investing fund that manages $85 million in social and environmental municipal bonds.

David nourishes others, and hopes they’ll pay it forward.

As he told one mentee:

“‘Twenty years from now, a student will likely be asking you for a reference letter. You will be busy; it will be late; you will be tired, and your spouse will be nagging you to go to bed. But you’ll remember…and you’ll stay up and get it done — chipping away at the debt you, and each one of us who lives a rich life, owes to those special people who help it along.’”

Award Recipients from 1982-2015
  • 2015: Meshach Rhoades (Law'04)
  • 2015: Evan Thomas (Aero, Jour, MAero’06, PhD’09)
  • 2014: Avery Bang (MCivEngr’09)
  • 2013: Marco Campos (CivEngr’98)
  • 2013: Dave Morin (Econ’03)
  • 2012: Todd Mosher (MAero’95, PhD’00)
  • 2011: Jason Burdick (PhDChemEngr’02)
  • 2011: Richard “Trey” Lyons III (PolSci’00)
  • 2010: Nick Sowden (Mgmt’07)
  • 2007: James J. Tighe (Aero’97)
  • 2006: Stephen P. Cape (PhDChemBioEngr’02)
  • 2006: Joshua Stuart (CompSci, MCDBio’96)
     
  • 2004: Kristi Anseth (PhDChemEngr’94)
  • 2004: Trent Hein (CompSci’91, PhD ex’96)
  • 2004: Kenzo Kawanabe (PolSci’94)
     
  • 2002: Randolph “Trey” Parker III (A&S ex’93)
  • 2002: Matthew Stone (Art, Math’93)
     
  • 2000: Simona Errico (Aero’94, MS’99)
  • 1999: Charles Bedford (Law’92)
     
  • 1996: Elisabeth Arenales (Law’93)
     
  • 1995: John P. Raeder Jr. (Econ’85)
     
  • 1994: Prince Holley III (Geog’83)
     
  • 1992: Gail Howerton (Rec’83, MEdu’86)
  • 1989: Joseph P. Missal (DMA’87)
     
  • 1986: Jeff Lipton (MBA’75, MFin’79)
  • 1986: Sharon D. Prater (Mus’77)
  • 1986: Deborah L. Redding (Mus’78)
     
  • 1985: Lorenzo A. Trujillo (A&S’72, MDance’74)
     
  • 1984: James Nicklos (Acct’71)
  • 1984: Stella Jenkins Lillicrop (Bus’70)
     
  • 1983: Jon F. Kottke (Law’76)
  • 1983: Karen Tatum Williams (Geog’72)
     
  • 1982: Kenneth E. Powell (PolSci’75)