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About Alumni
Charlie Zadara ’51, M.Ed. ’62, and his wife, Nancy Ed.D. ’98, Missoula, sit on the bench Charlie’s children dedicated to him in honor of his 96th birthday in July. A native Montanan who mainly grew up in Missoula, he served as a pilot in World War II and then returned to UM to earn his bachelor’s degree in education. A decade later, while teaching full-time and helping raise five children, he earned his master’s degree in education at UM. “He has always been an ardent supporter of all things UM and has been a donor on various causes throughout the years,” writes his daughter, Barbara.
Bill “Doc” Reynolds ’52, Missoula, and his wife, Joanne, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in October. The couple has lived in Missoula since 1963, when Bill established his internal medicine practice. The couple has three children and five grandchildren.
Keith Peterson ’56, Phoenix, who founded The Sports Medicine Clinic in 1962, recently was inducted into the Bishop Blanchet High School Sports Hall of Fame in Seattle. This award reflects Keith’s 34 years of volunteer work for the school, plus his role in establishing a placement system for athletic trainers, physical therapists and other medical support for all sporting events. Keith’s sons Chris ’87 and Jon are physicians in family practice and sports medicine. His son Erik retired from PepsiCo and now owns a deli in Portland, Ore., and daughter Julie ’90 lives in Missoula. The family all enjoy their Seeley Lake cabin.
Fred Olness ’66, Olympia, Wash., and his wife, Judy, spent 10 days on a cultural exchange in Cuba in October. During the exchange, they met with people in a variety of settings, including a sugar mill, senior center, schools and a basket factory. While visiting Cienfuegos, they enjoyed a performance by the Cantores de Cienfuegos choir, whose members had previously performed at UM. “As we often heard on our trip, this is a country ‘frozen in time,’” Fred writes. “The cars from the ’50s, the poverty, socialism and the friendly, hospitable people made the trip very interesting and worthwhile. We were among the first from the U.S., and as conditions improve, I’m sure this country will become a more popular destination for tourism and commerce.”
Joseph F. Shevlin ’70, ’74, Helena, retired from Junkermier, Clark, Campanella, Stevens P.C. after a 42-year career in public accounting. Joe was active in the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants and received its George D. Anderson Distinguished Service Award in 2002. He and his wife, Cherie, strongly believe in supporting higher education and have established permanent endowments at UM and other institutions in Montana. They’re pictured here with their nine grandchildren sporting Grizzly attire.
Rob Hitchcock ’71, Simi Valley, Calif., retired after a career with Farmers Insurance and now enjoys a more relaxed pace of community work, as well as coaching and swimming with the Simi Valley Manta Ray Masters Swim Club.
Bill Yenne ’71, San Francisco, a best-selling author, was chosen by the U.S. Air Force to receive the 2016 Gill Robb Wilson Award, the service’s highest honor recognizing the “most outstanding contribution in the field of arts and letters.” Bill is described as an author “whose works have shaped how thousands of Americans understand and appreciate air power.” Established in 1948, previous recipients of the Gill Robb Wilson Award include Joseph and Stewart Alsop, Walter Lippman, Bob Considine, Rowland Evans Jr. and Robert D. Novak, Ted Koppel, Tom Clancy, Tom Brokaw and Gary Sinise.
Diana Barnett ’72, M.Ed. ’90, Grand Junction, Colo., self-published a book, “Landing That Professional Job: A Career Guide for College Students,” based on her work as a career counselor at Colorado Mesa University. The book was featured in the Business Times and is available on Amazon.
Connee Daley Duncan Moffatt ’74, Grand Junction, Colo., published “The Real Food Cookbook: The Organic and Natural Way to Cook,” which provides simple and easy ways to prepare nutritious dishes every day. “While organic, natural and free-range foods may sometimes be more expensive, whole foods are more satisfying than processed foods that often contain nutritionally empty calories,” Connee writes. “Thus, you can often get by with purchasing less.” The book is available on Amazon.
Daniel ‘Dana’ Morton ‘76, Cotopaxi, Colo., recently retired in Denver after a career spanning nearly four decades in the office products industry. Dana credits his UM political science and history degree, as well as the unique communication and organizational skills developed in UM’s Round River Experiment Program, for his ability to be a key player in a rapidly developing global distribution and services industry.
Tom Winfree Ph.D. ’76, Los Lunas, N.M., published his 16th book, “Essentials of Criminological Theory,” in 2016. Tom retired in 2014 after a teaching and research career that spanned four decades. He is an emeritus professor of criminal justice at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. Tom continues to research and write about youth gangs and delinquency from an international perspective and writes textbooks on a wide range of criminal justice and criminology topics.
Bill Crasper ’80, Cheyenne, Wyo., is the president of the National Association of State Foresters. Wyoming’s state forester since 2003, Bill has decades of experience with wildfire issues, community forestry, forest stewardship and other issues important to America’s trees and forests. His priority for his yearlong term as president is to promote ways state foresters can work with all entities to improve forest management across federal, state and private lands.
Jayne R. Piazza ’80, Missoula, published “Fish Line Rhymes (one read and you’ll be hooked!),” a collection of “fishy” reimagined nursery rhymes paired with glitzy illustrations. An award-winning artist, Jayne has exhibited professionally for more than 30 years. Her work has been featured on album covers, on reality TV, in numerous one-person shows and exhibits across the country, and in several private and corporate collections.
Dr. Timothy Browne ’81, Missoula, published his first novel in September. “Maya Hope” is a medical thriller that tells the story of an orthopedic surgeon searching for answers to his friend’s murder in Guatemala. Timothy leaned on his experiences as an orthopedic surgeon in Missoula and as a medical missionary in Central and South America, Ukraine, Asia and Sierra Leone while writing “Maya Hope.” He lives in western Montana with his wife, Julie ’81, who, along with their three sons, served with him in the mission field.
Ron Gillet ’81, Chandler, Ariz., was honored by Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership-Arizona for his 30 years of service to the organization, which provides leadership training, service-learning and motivation-building programs for youth.
Mark Duntemann ’82, Chicago, was named a True Professional of Arboriculture by the International Society of Arboriculture in September. The program honors arborists and tree care professionals for their positive impact on the industry in and around their communities. As owner of Natural Path Urban Forestry Consultants, he develops tree risk-management policies for clients and has been an expert witness in more than 40 tree-related injury and fatality cases. He’s also passionate about protecting trans-generational trees and historic species.
Kelly Rosenleaf ’82, Missoula, celebrated her 20th anniversary as the executive director of Child Care Resources, a Missoula nonprofit that helps parents find and pay for child care and offers professional development and support for the child care workforce. During Kelly’s tenure, Child Care Resources’ Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship program has grown to fund $3.5 million in scholarships annually, serving 750 families per month in the greater Missoula area. In addition, HOPA Mountain recently awarded Kelly its Citizen Leadership Award for her work to improve early childhood education throughout her tenure as executive director of CCR. HOPA Mountain invests in rural and tribal citizen leaders in the Northern Rockies who are working to improve education, ecological health and economic development in their hometowns.
Lisa L. Hunter ’83, Cincinnati, is a professor of otolaryngology at the University of Cincinnati and is the scientific director of audiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. She teaches in the Doctor of Audiology program and researches technology that allows newborns to be diagnosed with hearing loss more accurately.
Eric Wiltse M.A. ’83, Laramie, Wyo., retired after teaching journalism for 26 years at the University of Wyoming. “Attending graduate school at the University of Montana was huge for my career,” Eric writes. “Professors Richard Hugo and William Kittredge helped me develop as a writer, while my work-study job as a sports feature writer gave me a start in journalism.”
A.J. King ’85, Kalispell, is president of Three Rivers Bank and was re-elected to the Independent Community Bankers of America Federal Delegate Board. In addition to helping shape and advocate for ICBA’s national policy positions and programs, King’s duties include being a liaison between independent community bankers in Montana and ICBA staff and leadership in Washington, D.C. He also works to recruit new members to ICBA.
Gwen Marshall ’87, Oilmont, served 23 years in the U.S. Army as a specialist in nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological technology. She was stationed in numerous locations across the U.S., Panama, Korea, Western Sahara, Iraq and Kuwait, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel. While serving in the military, Gwen co-wrote and self-published two books: one with her parents, “Step-by-Step Guide to Restoring Spring Wagons,” and another with her grandmother, “Homesteading on the Dry Fork of the Marias River.” She drove her restored three-seat stagecoach, led by her Percheron horses, in the 2016 UM Homecoming Parade.
Bruce Spencer ’87, Helena, was installed as the president of the State Bar of Montana in September. Bruce, whose practice emphasizes governmental relations, creditors’ rights and commercial, automotive, insurance and health care law, was first elected to the State Bar’s board of trustees in 2007.
Michael Aaron J.D. ’88, Tucson, Ariz., was appointed as chair of the Executive Council of the Family Law Section for the State Bar of Arizona. He also is the president of the Arizona Chapter of Family and Conciliation Courts and was named to the board of directors for the Pima County Bar Association. He’s married to Elizabeth E. Rogers J.D. ’88.
Mark B. Hamilton M.F.A. ’89, Dunedin, Fla., published his chapbook, “100 Miles of Heat,” which features poetry based on his 1,000-mile journey rowing down the Ohio River, the first leg in traveling the entire Lewis and Clark Trail as the explorers did, by paddle and pack mule. “100 Miles of Heat” is a selection of poems from a book-length manuscript titled “OYO,” which was a semifinalist for the 2015 Washington Prize.
Steve Simon ’90, Redmond, Wash., was selected as the fiscal year 2016 Dell-Microsoft Team Extra Mile Award Winner for his efforts to drive the Dell Office 365 program. “Dell would not have seen the success achieved with Office 365 without all of your hard work, never-ending dedication, tenacity, attention to detail, creative problem-solving, clear communication and partnership,” the award announcement stated.
Steve Myers ’93, Longmont, Colo., is the founder of the Great Plains Trail Alliance, which aims to establish a cross-country trail through the Great Plains region, akin to the Appalachian, Continental Divide and Pacific Crest national trails. The organization currently is working on connecting existing trails to form a through-hiking route that would start in Canada’s Grasslands National Park, run through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico, before ending in Guadalupe National Park in Texas. Once completed, the trail will pass through three national parks, three national monuments, 10 national forests/grasslands, five state high points and 15 state parks. “The Great Plains is simply underrated,” Myers told the Longmont Times-Call. “(The region) is surprising in its diversity. There are mountains, hills, bluffs, canyons, ancient volcanoes, buttes, rivers, forests, badlands, open spaces, prairies and deserts.”
Rob Gannon ’94, M.P.A. ’08, Seattle, was selected as general manager of King County Metro Transit, the nation’s 10th largest transit service, after serving as its interim GM for more than a year. He previously oversaw budget and labor relations at UM.
Paul Callahan M.S. ’95, Denver, was promoted to the principal level of leadership for Burns & McDonnell. Representing less than 3.5 percent of the firm’s population, principals are selected for outstanding performance, future leadership potential and technical excellence. As regional manager of the firm’s Environmental Studies and Permitting Group in Denver, Paul leads a team focused on environmental compliance and permitting for complex energy, transportation, mining and water development projects throughout the western U.S.
Kathleen Ores Walsh ’97, Bloomington, Ill., was named Country Financial’s national auto director. She is responsible for developing and executing a strategy that encourages the company’s long-term growth and profitability in personal auto. Kathleen also is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society.
Last summer, Jaime Adams ’99, Bulverde, Texas, hiked 240 miles of the John Muir Trail in Northern California, summiting Mount Whitney on Aug. 18. During the hike, which raised more than $5,600 for the Angels All Around You Military Ministry, Jaime traversed seven mountain passes, resulting in a total elevation gain of 46,700 feet.
William Brockmeyer ’99, New York City, joined PBJS New York as creative director. PBJS is an experiential agency within the Publicis Groupe that works with some of the world’s top brands, such as Microsoft, PayPal, eBay and Citi. William, who earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from UM, creates experiences that bring brands to life with unique, live-event engagement. He has worked with a diverse range of clients, including Johnnie Walker, Pepsi, Showtime, Godiva and Marc Jacobs.
Vince Kong ’99, Jacksonville, Fla., is a digital editor for public radio station WJCT. Before joining the NPR affiliate, he worked for print media outlets across the country.
Sera Bonds ’01, Austin, Texas, is the founder and CEO of Circle of Health International, an international humanitarian aid organization that provides quality maternal, reproductive and newborn health care in crisis settings. In September, Circle of Health International and its India-based partner, Ayzh, received a $100,000 grant from the United Nations Foundation for their innovative achievements. In 2016, the organizations partnered to bring menstrual health and hygiene training and health kits to refugees in Greece, as well as provide emergency clinical training to Syrian midwives and distribute clean birth kits and menstrual hygiene kits to support midwives and mothers.
Jackie Beyer ’03, Fortine, and her husband, Mike, host the Organic Gardener Podcast, which offers tips and techniques for cultivating homegrown organic produce. With listeners across the U.S. and the world, the podcast has more than 210,000 total downloads.
Char Gatlin ’03, M.A., M.P.A. ’14, Missoula, was named the Region III Patriot of the Year by the Military Order of the Purple Heart at its 84th annual convention. Char, who enlisted in the Army in 1998, was wounded by an explosion while deployed to Iraq in 2006. He is the current chief of staff for the Department of Montana Military Order of the Purple Heart and also is active in the greater Montana community. He currently serves on the congressional Montana Veterans Advisory Committee and on the boards of the Foundation Community Health and the Consumer Advisory Board for the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium. He also serves as a consultant for the Neural Injury Center at UM.
Matt Anderson ’03, M.S.W. ’08, Greensboro, N.C., was promoted to vice president of strategic advancement at the Children’s Home Society of North Carolina. Matt has been with CHS since 2011, and his work has resulted in innovative partnerships with state agencies that assist older youths at risk of aging out of the foster care system without a permanent family. “From Place to Place,” a documentary he produced, tells the story of life after foster care for youth who have aged out and highlights the importance of family. It won the National Association of Social Workers 2012 Media Award.
Seth Boid ’03, M.B.A. ’09, Missoula, is a senior consultant at Advanced Technology Group and has been with ATG since the company opened its Missoula office in 2011. Seth holds numerous technology certifications in the quote-to-cash and salesforce sectors and enjoys mentoring and training new consultants.
Rick Eneas ’05, Missoula, and Steven Johnson ’05, Helena, received 2016 Outstanding Young CPA Awards from the Montana Society of Certified Public Accountants. Rick is the controller for the Montana & Idaho Community Development Corporation and volunteers in the Missoula community through his church, United Way, Family Promise and the Missoula Downtown Association. Steven is a CPA for Anderson ZurMuehlen and is involved in the Helena community through Farm in the Dell, Montana Business Assistance Connection and his church.
Stephanie Gripne Ph.D. ’05, Denver, is the founder of the Impact Finance Center, an organization dedicated to catalyzing investments that produce enduring value for the investor, society and the environment. Forbes recently published an article on Stephanie titled “Is This Wildlife Conservation PhD The Steve Jobs Of Impact Investing?” citing the IFC’s innovative approach to finding and educating asset holders looking to make impact-oriented investments.
Max Mauch ’05, Great Falls, is certified by the American Association of Clinical Chemistry as a Point of Care Testing Specialist. He is a point of care coordinator and medical laboratory scientist at Benefis Health System. He and his wife, Garri ’05, a phlebotomist at Benefis, have two children, 5-year-old Olivia and 3-year-old Gavin.
Joy French ’06, Missoula, is the founder and artistic director of Bare Bait Dance Company in Missoula. The company puts on choreography showcases, full evening-length shows and other performances celebrating original contemporary dance. Joy, who the Missoulian named one of its “20 Under 40” for 2016, also is an adjunct assistant professor of dance at UM.
Sarah J. Morath J.D. ’07, Houston, published “From Farm to Fork: Perspectives on Growing Sustainable Food Systems in the Twenty-First Century,” which addresses the importance of creating food systems that are sustainable by bringing together experts in law, economics, nutrition and social sciences, as well as farmers and advocates. “From Farm to Fork” shares their perspectives on some of the most pressing issues related to sustainable food systems and offers solutions to make these systems healthy, sustainable and equitable. Sarah currently is a clinical associate professor at the University of Houston Law Center.
Anneliese Warhank ’07, Helena, is an archivist and oral historian for the Montana Historical Society. Last fall, Humanities Montana awarded her a $4,500 grant to assist funding the Montana Brewery Oral History Project, capturing the history of Montana’s modern brewing industry since the 1980s.
Scott Howard M.A. ’08, Nokesville, Va., published his first novel at the end of July. “Three Days and Two Knights: An Amusing Arthurian Adventure” is a comedic fantasy-adventure story set in Scotland at the end of King Arthur’s reign. Scott also teaches high school English and was nominated for the 2014 Agnes Meyer Teacher of the Year award.
Dan Bingham ’09, M.S. ’11, Portland, Ore., is the founder of Rogue Biological Consultants, a conservation-based consulting company that uses genetic technology to help state, federal, tribal and energy-producing institutions better conserve fisheries resources. The agency also collaborates with researchers in UM’s Division of Biological Sciences to use genetic tools to address conservation issues facing fish and amphibians in the Northwest.
Lauren Russell ’09, Portland, Ore., is an associate attorney at the law firm of Dunn Carney LLP, with a focus on civil litigation, including employment and land-use matters.
Nick Gazzara ’10, Missoula, is a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch who specializes in helping local families and businesses with comprehensive, customized planning to reach their financial goals.
Sonia Flamm ’11, Missoula, engages with medium- to enterprise-sized organizations worldwide as a project manager, business analyst and implementation consultant for Advanced Technology Group. Sonia, who lived in Nepal as a child, also is passionate about health and fitness, with a specific love for bodybuilding and weight training.
Mitch Colyer ’14, Missoula, is a staff consultant for Advanced Technology Group, a quote-to-cash consultancy in Missoula. Mitch helps companies that are looking to move their billing and revenue operations to the cloud. Mitch enjoys fly-fishing in the spring and summer and backpacking and hunting in the fall.
Dusty St. John ’15, Missoula, is a project manager for enterprise cloud billing implementation at Advanced Technology Group. His experience includes project management and implementations, network management, and product and feature testing. He is PMP-certified and an active member of the Project Management Institute Montana chapter.
Dylan Gomes ’14, Boise, Idaho, had a first-authorship paper published in the Sept. 15 edition of the prestigious journal Science. “Bats perceptually weight prey cues across sensory systems when hunting in noise” details Dylan and his colleagues’ research on how fringe-lipped bats turn to echolocation to detect movement in their prey when noise pollution interferes with their ability to hear mating calls and other telltale sounds. Several national news media organizations, including The Los Angeles Times and Science Daily, published articles on the findings. After graduating from UM with a degree in ecology and organismal biology, Dylan spent a year researching bats during an internship at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. He then received a Fulbright grant to study bats for another year at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany. Dylan recently returned from Namibia after researching baboons for the Zoological Society of London. “As I do not have a graduate degree, this paper will be published in Science with a first-author who has ‘only’ an undergraduate degree from the University of Montana,” Dylan wrote ahead of the paper’s publication. “My hope in sharing the news of my success as a recent alum is useful to promote the University of Montana and the amazing Division of Biological Sciences.”
