Class Notes
Compiled and edited by Margie Meyer
1950s
Ray Kilmer (BA-59, MA-63, EdD- 73), Colorado Springs, was named to the Lewis-Palmer School District 38 (Monument) Hall of Fame in September. He is the former superintendent of the school.
1960s
Winfield Rummell (BA-60, MA-64) and Aaron Bor (EdD-97), Chico, Calif., are pictured after winning the men’s doubles competition at the West Alamor Invitational Tennis Championships. Winfield (left) and Aaron (right) are emeritus professors from California State University in Chico.
Patricia Gibson (BA-66), Austin, Texas, serves as an adjunct lecturer in the College of Applied Arts at Texas State University-San Marcos. She completed her doctorate at Northcentral University in June.
Richard Newman (BA-66), Laurens, S.C., retired after spending 46 years teaching and coaching at the intercollegiate level. For the last 16 years of his career, he served as chair of the Physical Education department at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C.
1970s
Dwight Grisham (MA-73, EdD-80), Berkeley, Calif., is a licensed psychologist. He has completed 25 years as the owner/director of the Couples in Conflict Clinic in San Francisco. For the last 10 years, he has been board certified with the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards, holding a Certificate of Professional Qualification.
Michael Lucas (BA-73), Wasila, Alaska, has earned accreditation as a National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) Master Flight Instructor. Mike has been a public school teacher in Kuskokwim Delta for 24 years and a pilot in Alaska since 1985.
Toni (Gresham) Pierce (BA-73) retired after 38 years as an elementary music specialist — 15 years in Lewiston, Idaho, and 23 years in Clarkston, Wash.
Carolyn “Smitty” (Smith) Hughes (BA-73) is chief of social work services at the newly constructed Las Vegas VA Medical Center. She was recognized for redesigning services offered to homeless veterans into one of the top performing VA programs in the country.
Gary Hughes (BA-74, MA-78, EdD-89), North Las Vegas, Nev., is chief of research and analysis for the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center in Monterey, Calif. He leads a team of linguists, psychologists and operations researchers that design, assess and propose methods for selecting, teaching, training and applying independent learning strategies for military and civilian personnel to become linguists in more than 26 foreign languages.
Cathy Sullivan (BA-75), Holyoke, retired from 37 years of teaching at Re-1J (Holyoke) School District. During her career, she taught sixth and fourth grades and Title I students. Cathy and her husband, Steve, have two children.
Katherine Archuleta (MA-76) (right), Alexandria, Va., was nominated by President Barack Obama as director of the Office of Personnel Management. Katherine previously served under the administration of Federico Peña in his roles as mayor of Denver and U.S. Secretary of Transportation.
Henry Mondragon (MA-76), Golden, retired in January after 32 years of service to Colorado veterans. During his career, he worked for the Colorado Department of Labor, Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and for Arapahoe and Jefferson counties. Henry received the Outstanding Veterans Service Officer Award at the United Veterans Committee of Colorado banquet in April.
Debra Wilcox (BA-77), Centennial, and Kenton Kuhn (BA-78), Denver, opened The 3D Printing Store, the first retail store in the U.S. to offer 3-D printing to consumers, hobbyists and professionals.
Ranee Brayton (BS-78), Kirksville, Mo., is chief executive officer of Northeast Regional Medical Center in Kirksville. Ranee earned an MBA at William Woods University and is a board certified fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Mike Pierce (BS-78), Fort Collins, has joined Flood and Peterson, one of the region’s largest insurance brokers, as a sales executive for large commercial businesses. Mike has worked as an independent insurance agent and agency principal for more than 20 years. He has served on the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce board, was past board chair of the Wyoming & Northern Colorado Better Business Bureau, launched the Colorado State University Legacy of Champion Scholarship Program for the Athletics Department and founded the Salt & Pepper Lunch Club. He received CSU’s Distinguished Athletic Award and the Larry LaSasso Spirit Award in 2009.
Neil Argo (MA-79), Scottsdale, Ariz., has worked in the television and film industry for the past 28 years. The latest film to feature his work, Chavez: Cage of Glory, premiered in Hollywood in September. Neil made a lasting contribution to the educational resources at UNC by donating a collection of his commercial compositions to the music library.
1980s
John Borman (BA-80, BAE-86, MA-97), Centennial, is the superintendent of Lewis-Palmer School District 38 in Monument. John previously served as principal at Lewis-Palmer High School, principal at Northridge High School in Greeley and assistant principal, athletic director and English teacher at Greeley Central High School.
JR (Melvin) Kessler, Jr. (BA-80), Abilene, Texas, was awarded a doctorate degree in communication in May from the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University.
Michael Heberling (MS-81), Grand Blanc, Mich., is president of the Baker College for Graduate Studies in Flint, Mich., and president of the Council of College and Military Educators. He retired as a lieutenant colonel after 21 years of service with the Air Force, logging 1,500 hours of flying time in the B-52H Stratofortress Bomber. In April, Michael was invited to participate in a White House forum on issues surrounding military credentialing and college credit.
Denise Burgess (BA-82) (right), president and general manager of Burgess Services, shared her secrets on becoming a millionaire in Ebony magazine’s annual Black Wealth issue. Her company has worked on construction projects for Denver International Airport, Denver Justice Center and Denver’s Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building.
George ”Jorge” Daukantas (MA-82), Boston, a candidate for the Harvard Extension School Alumni Relations Chair, recently earned a master’s degree in Education with emphasis in Technologies of Education. He has published articles on web tools for teachers in The Journal for Computing Teachers and on the topic of mental health care under HMOs for the U.S. Department of Education. His memberships include The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Veterans of Foreign Wars honor roll and the International Society for Technologists of Education.
JoAnn (Ferris) Mueller (MA-82), Greeley, and her husband, Don, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in August.
Christie Einspahr (MA-88), Littleton, retired from public schools in August 2012. She enjoys writing and teaching and hopes to mentor new teachers.
1990s
Darrin Anderson (BA-91, MA-94), Gilbert, Ariz., was promoted to regional director for Imagine Schools, Inc., and will oversee elementary and secondary schools in Arizona and California with an emphasis on operations and logistics. He has been a school administrator for nearly 15 years.
Renae Fierros-Conn (BS-91), Aurora, was appointed president of the south chapter of the National Association of Professional Women. Renae serves as the director of information systems and technology at First Western Trust in Denver.
Kimberly (Ponis) Greason (BA-93) (right), Arvada, won a 2013 Heartland Regional Emmy Award for the documentary Broomfield: Spirit of the American Dream. This is Kimberly’s second Heartland Emmy nomination and her first win. She works as manager of video production for KCCB Channel 8 in Broomfield, and previously worked for Greeley’s TCI cable channel and as a sports reporter/anchor in Texas, Alabama and Florida.
Christine Aguilar (BA-94), Livermore, is principal of Shawsheen Elementary School in Greeley.
Natalie Palmer (BS-96, MA-99), Spokane, Wash., was elected lieutenant governor Education and Training for District 9 of Toastmasters International, leading 800-plus members in 63 Toastmasters clubs in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and northern Idaho.
Jason Soltani (BA-97, MA-00), Ordway, and his wife, Joy, announced the arrival of their second daughter, Genesis Savannah, who was born in June.
Bridget (Troxel) Peck (BS-98), Mitchell, Neb., is an assistant vice president at Nationstar Mortgage. She is an active member of Panhandle Business and Professional Women and was named its Woman of the Year. Bridget serves on the boards of the Scottsbluff Country Club, Saint Agnes School Foundation and Joyful Noise at Gering Zion, as well as several volunteer committees for United Way of Western Nebraska. Bridget’s husband Jeff Peck (BA-98) owns and operates Intralinks Inc., a technology consulting firm. They have two children.
Elizabeth Haller (BA-99), Aberdeen, S.D., is a professor of literature at Northern State University in South Dakota. Each summer she designs and leads a university study abroad tour of literary locations in Ireland, Scotland and England.
Jennifer Sheldon (BA-99), Windsor, is principal at Monfort Elementary School in Greeley.
2000s
Damian Brown (BA-00), Aurora, is the athletic director at Adams City High School. Damian previously taught physical education in the Denver Public Schools system.
Maile Green (BS-02), Broomfield works for Pacific Quest in its innovative wellness team on the Big Island of Hawaii. Maile received her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine and Master of Science in Acupuncture from Bastyr University. She previously worked at Boulder Natural Health, University of Colorado Health North and HospiceCare in Boulder and Broomfield Counties.
Michael Mazurana (MA-02), Fort Collins, is the first-ever elementary school principal at University Schools in Greeley. Michael worked at school districts from Brighton to Fort Collins before returning to his roots in Greeley.
Nicole Peterson (BA-02, MA-09), Greeley, is principal of Brentwood Middle School in Greeley.
Corrie Sears (MS-03), Richmond, Va., is the assistant athletics director for marketing at the University of Minnesota. Corrie previously held positions at Virginia Commonwealth University and CSU.
Blair Brotemarkle (BS-04), Evans, was featured on a “Jaywalking” segment of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno while vacationing in Los Angeles.
Brandi McWilliams (BA-04), McPherson, Kan., teaches English at Inman High School in Inman, Kan. She was spotlighted on Apple’s website for incorporating the one-toone iPad program into her classroom.
Katrina Rodriguez (PhD-04), Evans, was awarded the 2012-13 Wise Woman Award by the American College Personnel Association’s Standing Committee for Women. Katrina is UNC’s assistant vice president for Student Engagement and the dean of students.
Chad Chisholm (BA-05, BA-08), Denver, was published in the June issue of Islands magazine with his photography accompanying a story by Kate Parham. He photographed their journey to Kangaroo Island, Australia. This was Chad’s first appearance in the national publication.
Bryson Lillie (BA-06), Fort Collins, serves as associate pastor of First United Methodist Church and as pastor of Wellington United Methodist Fellowship. He graduated from Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo.
Gina Lichte (MA-08) (right), Eudora, Kan., is the director of leadership and education at the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA). Gina previously served as student services coordinator at the University Missouri-Kansas City, director of new student orientation at UNC and membership coordinator for the UNC Alumni Association.
Chris Watney (MA-06) (right), president and CEO of Colorado Children’s Campaign, shares her story and path to her current position leading the research and advocacy organization for children in the state. Find her story and others at: www.unco. edu/life/stories
Andy Bokelman (BA-09), Craig, is a reporter with The Craig Daily Press.
2010s
Leslie R. Dias (BA-10), Lafayette, was accepted into the Peace Corps Office of University Partnerships Master’s International program at the University of Denver’s Joseph Korbel School. She is combining her studies with 27 months of service in Morocco with the Peace Corps.
Martha Davis-Goldstein (MS-10), Shrewsbury, Mo., is the head women’s tennis coach at Webster University in St. Louis. Martha joined the Webster Athletic Department in 2010 as assistant to the athletic director and tennis coach.
Jamie Lloyd (BA-10, MA-13), Stillwater, Okla., works at Oklahoma State University as a housing coordinator.
Christopher Viger (BA-10), Louisville, graduated from U.S. Army basic infantry training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga.
Derek Cisneros (BA-11), Colorado Springs, completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.
Dan Larson (BA-12), Greeley, was the featured participant in “Rush Josh Run,” a 24-hour fundraiser in April at the University of Wyoming. The event benefited UW’s Engineers Without Borders chapter to help disadvantaged communities in Kenya. Dan is majoring in petroleum engineering at UW.
Devin Pace (BA-12), Greeley, completed U.S. Navy basic training at Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Ill.
Photos by Tracey Clay (BA-13) capturing life in Tanzania during a humanitarian trip were recently selected by the World Affairs Council of Northern California for a six-week exhibit in San Francisco. The Anthropology major immersed herself in the culture, playing with school children, sleeping in traditional huts and riding along “red dusty roads in the Serengeti shooting pictures of lions, elephants and other wildlife,” she writes. “Despite all these fantastic experiences, the most vivid, most life-changing moment for me wasn’t any of those. It was the time spent in the homes of families affected by HIV. More specifically the home of Glory and Pedro, a couple who got married after each of their previous spouses passed away from HIV. They themselves both have HIV as well and are fully aware that they will one day succumb to the disease. Despite this reality, they are unable to plan for the futures of their five children because they continuously struggle with everyday necessities.” See more of her photos and read about her experiences at traceyclayphotography.wordpress.com.
Carey Davis (BS-13), Colorado Springs, was commissioned as second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in May.
Sean Miller (BS-13), Greeley, was commissioned as second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in December.
Degree Decoder: B.A. - Bachelor of Arts; B.S. - Bachelor of Science; B.M. - Bachelor of Music; B.M.E. - Bachelor of Music Education; L.C. - Limited Certificate; M.A. - Master of Arts; M.S. - Master of Science; M.A.T. - Master of Arts in Teaching; M.M. - Master of Music; M.P.H. - Master of Public Health; Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy; Psy.D. - Doctor of Psychology; Ed.D. - Doctor of Education; D.A. - Doctor of Arts; D.N.P.-Doctor of Nursing Practice; Ed.S. - Educational Specialist
