1960s
Dr. Kent Nelson (B.S., ’61) of Decorah, Iowa, has been selected as the Iowa State Dairy Association’s recipient of the 2021 Keeling Leadership Award. The award recognizes significant contributions to the benefit and progress of Iowa’s dairy industry. Nelson is the founder and former president of Nelson Dairy Consultants Inc., whose consultants provide nutrition and management services to dairy producers in the U.S., Canada, and Japan.
Robert Schultz (B.S., ’61) and Maxine (Henke) Schultz (B.S., ’60) recently returned from their 64th humanitarian mission trip. They have served in seven countries (Honduras, Panama, Haiti, Nicaragua, Kenya, South Sudan, and the United States), mainly conducting vision clinics using Lion’s Club prescription glasses. They have also provided disaster relief throughout the United States. Their 65th mission trip is scheduled for November 2022.
Roger Brandt (B.S., ’62) was recognized as Outstanding Alumnus of Lincoln Southeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska. He has also held the positions of CEO of Virbac Drug Company, and founder and president of Allerderm Pharmaceutical Co.
Frances Forrest (B.S., ’69) retired after 53 years of active occupational therapy practice in adult physical disabilities rehabilitation inpatient and home health, first in Denver, Colorado, then West Virginia, and finally in Illinois.
Duane Harris (B.S., ’69) received the Alfred W. Jones Sr. Award from the Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce in 2018 for community service. That year, Harris also received the Coastal Georgia Historical Society’s Volunteer of the Year Award. He is currently president of the Coastal Georgia Historical Society and the Brunswick Rotary Club, and a trustee with the College of Coastal Georgia Foundation.
1970s
Robert Ellingson (M.S.B.A., ’70) recently retired in Baker City, Oregon, where he has lived since graduating from CSU, “an excellent addition to his education.” He and his wife, Dianne, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August 2021. They have three sons: an IT person in Olympia, Washington; an emergency medicine physician in Sherwood, Oregon; and an advertising executive in San Anselmo, California. They are also blessed with two lovely daughtersin- law and five grandsons whom they enjoy immensely.
Gerry Schnackenberg (B.S., ’70) recently retired as bishop in the Anglican Church after serving as a priest for 37 years, 20 of those – bishop for seven – in Longmont, Colorado. He led Epiphany Anglican Fellowship locally and internationally led The Anglican Union for the Propagation of the Gospel, an International Confraternity of Oratories.
Jean Yeager (B.A., ’70), a playwright and award-winning writer, was named thirdplace winner in the 2022 Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival National One-Act Competition for the play, Prisoner #101067 Public Speaking Report – ‘The Life and Times of Tupac Shakur’ and Excerpts from ‘The Prince’ By Niccolo Machiavelli, based on more than 20 years of volunteer teaching in maximum security prisons. Yeager currently resides in Rutland, Vermont.
Tom Sharpe (B.S., ’71) is living happily with his wife and 14 horses in Loma, Colorado. Sharpe has spent the last 25 years training horses and working with the Colorado 4-H horse program. Sharpe published a book of poems, Hoof Tracks, in 2020.
Marcia Bankirer (B.S., ’74) retired as campus dean at Pacific Oaks College-San Jose Branch Campus after 47 years in higher education. She began her career at CSU’s Division of Continuing Education, and served as dean, vice provost, academic vice president, and president at several institutions.
William Shuster (B.S., ’74) retired from the U.S. Forest Service as a wildlife biologist. The last area Shuster worked was in Alaska with brown bears, raptors, and salmon. He then moved to Arizona. Shuster is currently finishing writing a second book, an autobiography. Shuster welcomes fellow CSU alums who travel to Arizona for birding to contact him, as he would love to show them around.
Donna Inman (B.A., ’75) is currently president of the American Escrow Association, having served the association as vice president or chair of numerous committees. For fun, she teaches escrow at Mt. San Antonio College and at the Escrow Training Institute.
Bill Patterson (B.A., ’79) retired and is currently living in Sun City, Arizona. Patterson continues to coach girls’ basketball at Copper Canyon High School in Tolleson, Arizona.
1980s
Daniel Genova (B.A., ’80) is currently participating in four art exhibitions in the New York–New Jersey area.
Kathy Hagan (B.A., ’80) was honored at the 22nd Annual Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame dinner on March 9, 2022. The Tourism Hall of Fame serves as the highest award for Denver’s travel industry. Kathy Hagan and Pasquale “Pocky” Marranzino, co-CEOs of Karsh Hagan, have provided strategic leadership, brand development, and marketing experience in tourism marketing for Denver and Colorado for a combined eight-plus decades.
Mark Oliver (B.S., ’81) retired in late 2021 after 40 years of working in the surface water hydrology field. Oliver was the owner of a consulting hydrology business, Basin Hydrology, for the past 27 years and had the pleasure of working in some incredible locations on rewarding projects. His son is a freshman in high school in Durango, Colorado, where his spouse, Ann, works for the local health department. The couple are both active skiers and bike riders and continue to enjoy the great outdoors.
Martha Wackenhut (B.S., ’81) recently retired from a 25-year career with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, where she worked as a regional wildlife biologist, regional wildlife manager, statewide program coordinator, and the department’s assistant wildlife bureau chief. Retirement plans include spending lots of time with two grown children’s families, including two grandchildren.
John Shaw (B.S., ’82) founded DaVinci Sign Systems Inc. in 2004. It has since become Colorado’s first and only employee- owned sign manufacturing company. All 36 staff members became shareholder/owners in December 2021.
Jan Anderson (B.S., ’83) was recently awarded the trifecta of annual company awards for Fazendin Realtors in Wayzata, Minnesota. This year, she took home Top Ninja Agent, Ms. Perfect, and the company’s highest and most prestigious Ann Brockhouse Award. Anderson also had the second-highest gross volume for 2021.
David Blach (B.S., ’83) is a new appointee to the Colorado Agricultural Commission, a nine-member group that advises the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Governor’s Office, and Colorado General Assembly on agricultural issues. Blach and his wife, Karla, operate a farm and ranch that was homesteaded in 1887 in Yuma, Colorado. He is also a member of several commodity associations, has served on the Colorado Department of Agriculture Noxious Weed Advisory Board, and is chair of the Yuma County Fair Board.
Linda L. Carlson (M.S., ’88), curator emerita of the Avenir Museum, was chosen as the 2022 recipient of the Spirit of Philanthropy Award for her 22-year career curating the Department of Design and Merchandising’s costume and textiles collection. The award is given annually by the Division of University Advancement to a current, emeritus, or retired faculty or staff member who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a sustained commitment to increasing public understanding of the mission and programs of the University and worked collaboratively with a development team on fundraising activities.
Kevin Donnelly (Ph.D., ’83) retired from Kansas State University after 47 years in higher education. He served 10 years as assistant dean in the College of Agriculture, followed by 14 years as professor of agronomy, where he taught agronomy courses and coached the K-State Crops Team to 10 national championships. He previously taught at Oklahoma State for 15 years after serving as an instructor at CSU while completing his Ph.D. He started teaching at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas in 1975 after completing his B.S. and M.S. at Kansas State.
Jeff Hansen (B.S., ’84) was one of the officials for the 3A Boys State Championship basketball game played in March 2022. Hansen has been officiating high school basketball in Colorado for 18 years, and this is his third championship game. During the day, Hansen is the finance director at the city of Golden, a position he has had for more than 19 years.
Mike Barden (B.S., ’86) recently retired from a 36-year career in design and construction management. Barden spent his first eight years with Hensel Phelps Construction and helped build Denver International Airport. He then spent 28 years building three of the University of Colorado campuses, including 21 years of designing and building the Anschutz Medical Campus.
Kathy Brazelton (B.S., ’86) is retiring from the National Park Service. In her 35 years, she has worked at Redwood National Park, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, Curecanti National Recreation Area, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, and Rocky Mountain National Park. She has done it all: interpretation, resource management/ research, law enforcement, and has cleaned many a toilet. Interpretation has always been her love, but she has loved it all and felt privileged to serve our precious national parks.
Martin Kalisker (B.S., ’86) recently graduated cum laude with a juris doctor from the Massachusetts School of Law and is excited about a new beginning as an attorney. He plans to practice business and transactional law, performing real estate conveyancing, preparation of wills and trusts, advocating for animal rights, and offering mediation services to clients. He is also a volunteer to the housing and small claims trial courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Andrea Lueker (B.S., ’86) recently retired after a 35-year career in municipal government. Lueker spent 27 years with the city of Morro Bay, California – the final seven as city manager, followed by seven years at Port San Luis Harbor District as harbor director. After celebrating retirement with a monthlong trip to Central America with her husband, she has settled back at home, “working” with several local nonprofits: The Land Conservancy, Morro Bay Community Quota Fund (sustainable commercial fishing), and Creeklands Conservation.
Rich Malinowski (B.S., ’86) was awarded a 2021 NOAA Bronze Medal for his significant contributions to the development of the Southeast Region Federal For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting System. The Bronze Medal is the highest honorary award from NOAA, presented by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.
Michael Eisenbaum (B.A., ’87) was selected managing partner of Gray-Duffy LLP, in January 2022. Eisenbaum will oversee the firm’s two offices, in Encino and Redwood City, California. He has a diversified practice that includes extensive litigation experience representing individuals and businesses in the areas of premises liability, contract liability and enforcement, construction defect, and product and professional liability.
Ronald Dahlin (B.S., ’89) retired after 30 years as golf course superintendent with 20 years spent at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. Prior to that, Dahlin was at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, Michigan, hosting several senior pro-tour events. He served on the team that unified four historic Michigan superintendent chapters into the nationally recognized MiGCSA, and served as president in 2010. He received the 2022 Golf Association of Michigan Superintendent Award of Merit.
1990s
Kathleen Williams (B.A., ’90) was appointed as USDA Rural Development’s state director for Montana. In this role, she oversees the implementation of nearly 50 programs that enhance economic growth and prosperity in Montana’s rural communities. Williams has worked for 38 years in economics and natural resource planning and policy, and, in 2010, was elected to the Montana House of Representatives, where she served three terms and vice-chaired the agriculture committee.
Diana May (B.A., ’91) was recently appointed as a 4th Judicial District Court (Colorado) judge effective May 1, 2022.
Jane Schwarz (B.A., ’91) retired in June 2021 after 29 years in the human service industry. Schwarz’s social work career involved working with the developmentally disabled, seniors in long-term care settings, and seniors/disabled clients in subsidized housing. Her husband, Bill, retired in 2021 after 34 years in the trucking industry. They spend their time enjoying trips and have a new “Bill and Jane’s excellent adventure” planned.
Caroline Smith (M.S., ’91) completed the Assault on Mt. Mitchell road ride event in May 2022. “The Beast of the East” is rated as one of the top 10 toughest centuries in the U.S. Smith rode from Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the top of Mt. Mitchell (6,684 feet) in North Carolina, a distance of 102.7 miles with 11,400 feet of climbing. Smith, 63 in June, finished in 8:03:00 riding time, placing first in the 60-64 bracket and 196 out of all 606 finishers (800 started).
Mike O’Neill (B.A., ’93) was hired as director of public relations at Texas Dow Employees Credit Union, Houston’s largest credit union, in January 2022.
Denise S. Caleb (B.A., ’94; M.Ed., ’03) was recently appointed as the first president of the Human Resource Standards Institute. Caleb provides the strategic vision for the company, which offers organizational certifications built on International Organization for Standardization standards for human resource management.
Christiano Sosa (B.A., ’94) will be joining Rose Community Foundation in Denver as vice president of community impact. Sosa will lead the strategic deployment of discretionary grant dollars, collaborative partnerships, and other tools at the foundation’s disposal to help drive strategic impact in the seven-county Denver metro region.
Kathryn Northcut (M.A., ’95) started the permanent position of vice provost for academic support at Missouri University of Science and Technology on Sept. 1, 2021, after serving as interim since February 2020.
Kristin Stephens (B.A. ’95) is currently serving her first term as a Larimer County Commissioner for District 2, and was just appointed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to the Nonattainment Area Air Pollution Mitigation Enterprise Governing Board, where she serves as chair. She was elected to the Fort Collins City Council in 2015 and reelected in 2019. In 2019, Stephens was appointed mayor pro tem and in 2020 was elected as county commissioner.
Deborah Henriksen (B.S., ’96) is the founder of Equillibrium, a lifestyle street brand specializing in apparel, handbags, and accessories. Equillibrium and Talk Gallery opened a group art show, “H.O.W.L.” (“Help Our Wolves Live”) at Talk Gallery in Englewood, Colorado, in April.
Jay Oyer (B.A., ’96), portfolio manager at Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., and Scott Thisted (B.S., ’97), on the Hoover Thisted Team at Merrill Private Wealth Management, were recently named to the 2022 Forbes’ “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list.
Carla (B.A., ’99) and Zeph Thorning (B.S., ’01) have a nontoxic, green building project by the couple’s design and build firm, ICON, featured in the March/April issue of Mountain Living Magazine.
2000s
Ryan Alexander (M.S., ’00), after more than 21 years as an inspector in radiation protection, radiological emergency preparedness, and reactor operations for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has recently assumed the position as the NRC Regional State/Government Liaison Officer for Region IV in Arlington, Texas, working with numerous federal regional partners on all aspects of NRC activities in most areas west of the Mississippi River. These activities include oversight of operating reactors, in medical and industrial settings use of radioactive material and management of waste facilities.
Nick Trainor (B.S., ’03) is a new appointee to the Colorado Agricultural Commission, a nine-member group that advises the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Governor’s Office, and Colorado General Assembly on agricultural issues in the state. He is a fifth-generation cattle rancher, born and raised in southeastern Colorado. Trainor worked as a range management specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and now owns and manages Trainor Cattle Company.
Carla Ernst (B.A., ’04) joined financial research firm Hearts & Wallets as a data storyteller/product manager for the Investor Quantitative (IQ) Database, IQ Dataminer interactive software, and other software development and report creation initiatives. Ernst has also earned an M.A. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley.
Justin Santarosa (B.A., ’06) was named to the Duane Morris partnership. Santarosa practices corporate law with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, and securities, and advises public and private companies on a variety of corporate matters and capital market transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, regulatory compliance, IPOs, and follow-on equity offerings, as well as general corporate matters.
2010s
Keith Buderus (B.S., ’10) was recently named the Mountain Lions assistant men’s soccer coach by head coach Lewis Wilcox at University of Colorado – Colorado Springs.
Shari Due (B.A., ’10) and Mona Maser have released a trilogy of feature films on all things water in Colorado. The series premiered at the Lyric in Fort Collins in April and May 2022. They have been invited to the Colorado Water Congress to show clips from the series, and Water Education Colorado and their Water 22 campaign will be promoting and showing the films around the state.
Jeremy Janus (B.S., ’11) solo gallery exhibition Colorado Through the Seasons is officially hanging in Denver International Airport past security over the A bridge. The gallery is a 35-piece exhibit that alternates spring, summer, fall, and winter 30″ x 40″ acrylic photos taken through Janus’s first four years in photography, beginning in 2016. The exhibition was installed in April 2022 and will run all year.
Jason Rosenholtz-Witt (M.M., ’11) has accepted a position as assistant professor of musicology and double bass at Western Kentucky University, beginning Fall 2022.
Amy Barkley (B.A., ’12) is currently working as the executive administrative assistant to the Faculty Council at Colorado State University, a job that allowed her and her family to move back to their beloved Fort Collins from Seattle, Washington. Barkley is also pursuing her master’s degree and anticipates graduating next spring.
Christine Bui (M.B.A., ’12) returned home from deployment to the Middle East serving as a veterinarian for military working dogs. Bui received the Army Achievement Medal in addition to the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service. Deployment highlights include having an article published about Bui’s involvement with the Kuwait Zoo while serving and completing the tour alongside fellow classmate, Dr. Natalie Maffeo.
Eugene Daniels (B.A., ’12) was named a senior contributor to the MSNBC show Morning Joe. Since 2018, he has been a White House correspondent for POLITICO and co-author of the outlet’s daily newsletter, Playbook. In June, he was elected to serve a three-year term on the board of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
Kelly DiMartino (M.B.A., ’13) has been named city manager of Fort Collins. She was appointed interim city manager in Fall 2021, and City Council voted to appoint her to the full-time role in June. Her 25-year career with local government has included everything from communications and public involvement director to acting human resources director. Now her job is to oversee daily operations within the city, using skills learned in the College of Business, and working with CSU on shared issues and initiatives.
Daniel Okoli (B.S., ’13) was appointed vice chancellor and chief operating officer at University of California Merced, overseeing planning and development, facilities, the UC Merced Police Department, and several other departments. In announcing the appointment, Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz called Okoli “a deeply collaborative and widely experienced leader.”
Katie Spencer (B.A., ’14), after a successful career in television news and a continuing role in public relations, has started her own video production company, Katie Creative LLC.
Russ McKelvey (E.M.B.A., ’15) completed a 39-month tour as Commander of 1st Battalion (Mountain), 157th Infantry on Jan. 8, 2022. The 717-soldier unit in the Colorado Army National Guard deployed to three countries, performed 100 days of support for state COVID -19 missions, and supported the Presidential Inauguration. McKelvey played a key role in building the Colorado COVID Containment Corps that won the America’s Service Commissions Outstanding Program Award in 2021.
Jessica Norris (B.A., ’15) partnered to buy and run Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop in Old Town, Fort Collins. It was owned for more than 25 years by Ann Swanson (B.F.A., ’81) and her husband, Lee, who recently retired.
Harris Edgerton (M.B.A., ’16) was promoted to vice president of liquidity risk management at U.S. Bancorp, working in balance sheet risk management of $600 billion in assets. Edgerton manages the liquidity risk limits of the company, as well as leading the liquidity stress testing committees. Edgerton is also working on the MUFG Union Bank merger that will bring approximately $150 billion of loans and deposits to the balance sheet.
Anna Raiff (B.S., ’16) accepted a position as wildlife nutrition coordinator with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and works at both the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. She lives in San Diego.
Rebekah Romberg (B.A., ’16) currently works at Colorado Public Radio making podcasts. “Music Blocks,” her music appreciation podcast, recently won Best Podcast for Kids at the Podcast Academy’s second annual Ambies, the Oscars of podcasting.
Charlie McCartin (B.A., ’17) recently graduated from FEMA’s National Emergency Management Basic Academy at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Only 2,500 emergency management professionals have completed the program in its 11-year history. McCartin currently works as the interim emergency manager for the city of Greeley, Colorado.
Charles Gregory (M.B.A., ’18) was accepted to the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health in Fall 2021. Gregory is pursuing a doctor of public health with a concentration in emergency preparedness. He was also named the FEMA Region 7 emergency manager of the year for 2021 for his work during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
2020s
Jordan Corneliusen (M.A.C.C., ’20) passed all four CPA exams (on the first attempt) and was licensed in early 2021 with the state of Colorado, after completing the Master of Accountancy program at CSU. Corneliusen started with the city of Fargo in March 2021 as an accounting supervisor, transitioned to a senior accountant, and most recently accepted a promotion to finance manager, managing both the operational accounting staff and the entire budgeting process.
Attended
Patrick Shaffer retired in early 2022 after 44 years as a general dentist in Tucson, Arizona. Shaffer has hiked 34 of Colorado’s 14ers with his son, David Shaffer (B.S., ’03). They intend to spend summers in their lake home in Minnesota, and the remainder of the year in the Phoenix area golfing.