Ally Chapel (ArtHist’14) lives in New York City where she started an all-female, nine-piece New Orleans style brass band called Brass Queens. She writes she adopted the colors black and gold for her brand in CU’s honor. The band’s 2023 album is called Black & Gold, and Ally wrote the title track as an anthem fully from the perspective of a CU fan. In December, they toured through Colorado. She writes that she “co-founded the band, dedicated to showcasing the talents of female musicians, in 2019 as a way to disrupt a landscape that was dominated by male musicians and bandleaders.” The band has played iconic venues like Blue Note Jazz Club and major events like the Met Gala, Governors Ball Music Festival and Exit Zero Jazz Festival and made TV appearances on Good Morning America.

Posted Mar. 4, 2024

During the pandemic, Joshua Siegel’s (Fin’14) business partner David Right began delivering ice cream to homes via Instagram. The ice cream was a hit — it was named Denver’s best ice cream shop by Westword in 2022 — and the pair decided to open a standalone ice cream store. Right Cream opened earlier this year in Denver’s Rosedale neighborhood at 2423 S. Downing Street and specializes in unique, homemade ice cream flavors and mix-ins.

Posted Jul. 10, 2023

Christina Manzi (Psych’14) is a wildlife rehabilitator at the American Crocodile Education Sanctuary (ACES), a nonprofit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center located in Belize. Based in Ambergris Caye, ACES is dedicated to the conservation and protection of Belize’s native wildlife and critical habitats. Their team of volunteers provides 24/7 emergency response for injured, ill, orphaned or displaced wildlife and offers assistance with human wildlife conflict resolution. Visit aceswildliferescue.org to learn more.Ěý

Posted Mar. 6, 2023

Patrick Fort (Jour’14), co-host and producer of the podcast “Dish City,” won a James Beard Award in June for a story on how American Chinese food restaurants pioneered food delivery. The show was also named one of the 50 best podcasts of 2021 by The Atlantic.ĚýDish City wrapped its fourth season earlier this year. Patrick lives in Washington, D.C. Read more about him in our Five Questions Q&A on page 56.

Posted Nov. 7, 2022

The Denver City Park farmers market, owned and operated by Peter (Mktg, Mgmt’14) and Margo Wanberg (SLHSci’15), ran from May 14 through Oct.Ěý29, 2022, for its second season. More than 90 Colorado-based farmers and agriculture-focused brands lined the City Park Esplanade to offer market attendees fresh seasonal produce, prepared foods, baked goods, beverages and more. This year, the number of participating farms grew from 12 to 16 thanks to the couple’s small farm program, which gives flexibility to small-scale farmers.ĚýThe market also began accepting Colorado’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and partnering with Double Up Food Bucks to increase access to fresh Colorado-grown fruits and vegetables. Peter and Margo met at CU, and after graduation Peter founded Jubilee Roasting Co., while Margo was co-founder of 3 Sisters Honey Harvesting.

Posted Nov. 7, 2022

As a real estate broker for Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties, Leah Canfield (Fin’14), of Breckenridge,  Colorado, sells millions of dollars in property every month. She was named to the National Association of Realtors’ “30 Under 30” list for her work. Prior to attending CU, Leah competed as an alpine ski racer for Breckenridge’s Quantium Sports Club, and at one point was the fastest super-G skier in the country. Leah also strives to give back to her community by volunteering with Mountain Mentors and dedicating her time and financial support to the Family and Intercultural Resource Center and the Summit Foundation.

Posted Nov. 7, 2022

On Feb. 1, Anshul Bagga (Law’14), assistant director in the prosecution and code enforcement section of the Denver City Attorney’s Office, started as legislative counsel, where he serves as a legal advisor for the Denver City government. He has worked for the Denver City Attorney’s Office since 2014.

Posted Mar. 11, 2022

CTO and co-founder of Atom Computing Ben Bloom (MPhys; PhD) is seeking to use quantum mechanics to build a quantum computer out of naturally quantum materials. The company raised $15 million in a Series A round of funding and debuted its first-generation quantum computer, Phoenix.

Posted Nov. 5, 2021

In June, Kirsten Runyan (ChemEngr) launched a mission-driven apparel company, melomys (), a California-based online store that plants five trees for every purchase. The company is named in honor of the tiny island rodent Bramble Cay melomys, the first species declared extinct due to human-caused climate change. The company has a goal to plant 1 million trees by 2025. The products are ethically made from eco-friendly fabrics with dye processes that minimize water use and pollution. Every product is made to order.Ěý

Posted Nov. 5, 2021

After graduating from CU, Kimberly Bellis (CivEngr) became a special operations officer and was deployed overseas. Now, she leads the special purpose acquisition division at Academy Securities investment bank. She also volunteers to help young girls develop healthy habits for Girls on the Run and is a veteran mentor at Veterati.

Posted Jul. 2, 2021

In May, Callie Fiedler Higgins (ElEngr; PhD’17) was named a finalist in the 2021 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals. Callie works for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and invented a technology to detect microscopic flaws that threaten the safety and reliability of 3D-printed products, potentially revolutionizing the medical, plastics, coatings, optics and additive manufacturing fields.Ěý

Posted Jul. 2, 2021

Artist Andrew Jensdotter (MFA) was featured in his first regional solo show since exhibiting at the Museum of Contemporary Art in 2019. “Road Work” opened May 15 at Denver’s K Contemporary and is the largest exhibition he has put together. The work is a result of his reflections during the pandemic.

Posted Jul. 2, 2021

Michael Salka (EnvDes) was awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a PhD in architecture. Michael writes he has worked on a variety of design projects targeting the intersection of ecology, technology and society, as well as research initiatives regarding the circular bioeconomy and nature-based solutions for development. He hopes the PhD program will further his studies of how locally integrated processes can optimize holistic environmental, economic and social sustainability in architectural and urban production.

Posted Jul. 2, 2021

In January 2021, Kissinter & Fellman P.C. announced that attorney Brandon Dittman (Law) had become a shareholder in the law firm. Brandon joined Kissinger & Fellman in 2015.

Posted Mar. 4, 2021

In December, Kaitlin LaFlamme (Fin) graduated with an MBA in leadership and change management from CU Denver, where she was an outstanding graduate. She wrote, “I will always be a Buff, but I am now a proud Lynx, too.” 

Posted Mar. 4, 2021

Michael Bishof (PhDPhys) and Cynthia Perkon welcomed their fourth child in 2019. Winifred "Winnie" Rose Bishof was born last October, and baptized in December at Mary Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Elmhurst, Illinois. She joins three older brothers in the family.Ěý

Posted Nov. 11, 2020

Zhenghua Yang (Fin) founded Serenity Forge, a value-driven game development company in Boulder. He is a TEDx speaker and was included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. A lifelong gamer, Zhenghua was born in China and moved to Boulder when he was 10 years old. At 18, he was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that kept him hospitalized for two years. Playing video games helped him cope, find support and ultimately make a miraculous recovery.

Posted Jun. 1, 2020

The cannabis industry exploded in Colorado in January 2014. A few months later, Jackson D. Tilley (Comm) took an internship at O.penVAPE, a Denver-based vaporizer company. He published a book, Billion Dollar Dimebag: An Insider’s Account of America’s Legalish Cannabis Industry. The book is a “first hand account of the 21st-century wild west,” writes Jackson. In his book, he traces the path of the booming company as well as the cannabis sector. Along the way, he got sober, moved to a hurricane zone, quit, un-quit, invented new ways to market an ancient product and got a dog named Bobby Kennedy— not necessarily in that order, he writes.

Posted Oct. 1, 2019

On March 20, Vanessa Angélica Villarreal (MEngLit) accepted one of 10 Whiting Awards at a ceremony at the New York Historical Society. The Whiting Foundation gives $50,000 each to 10 diverse emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama. Vanessa was born in the Rio Grande Valley borderlands to formerly undocumented Mexican immigrants. She is the author of the collection Beast Meridian (2017) and the winner of the John A. Robertson Award for Best First Book of Poetry from the Texas Institute of Letters. Her work has been featured in BuzzFeed, The Boston Review, The Rumpus, The Los Angeles Times, NBC News and elsewhere. She is pursuing a doctorate in English literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California, where she is raising her son with the help of a loyal dog.

Posted Jun. 3, 2019

Sara Staley (PhDEdu’14) and Bethy Leonardi (PhDEdu’14) won the Kalpana Chawla Award from the ĂŰĚŇ´«Ă˝ĆĆ˝â°ćĎÂÔŘ Alumni Association for their work around topics of gender and sexual diversity in schools. The two research associates and instructors in CU’s School of Education founded A Queer Endeavor, an initiative providing educators with guidance, vocabulary and tools for developing school cultures that are safe, supportive and accepting of LGBTQ youth.

Posted Sep. 1, 2018

Pages