About Alumni

1950s

Jack Tupper Daniels ’55, Cortland, N.Y., is a professor of physical education at A.T. Still University and a coach of Olympic athletes. He was named head coach of the Wells College men’s and women’s cross country programs in 2013. Named “The World’s Best Coach” by Runner’s World Magazine, Jack has led SUNY Cortland runners to eight NCAA Division III national championships, thirty-one individual national titles, and more than 130 All-America awards. He won a team silver medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics and a team bronze in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He is author of Daniels’ Running Formula and gave a presentation for runners in
Missoula this past winter.

1960s

Bob O’Billovich ’62 was inducted into the Canadian Football League’s Hall of Fame this past year. He coached the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts to five division championships and one Grey Cup championship. A Butte High School graduate, Bob played basketball, football, and baseball at UM and says he was one of the last to letter in nine sports at the University. He played four seasons for the Ottawa Rough Riders and went on to serve as the general manager for the B.C. Lions, Toronto Argonauts, and Hamilton Tiger-Cats, resulting in a fifty-year career with the CFL.

Michael Cadieux ’62, M.F.A. ’64, Bisbee, Ariz., is featured in The Color of Being Born: Paintings by Michael Cadieux. The book presents a selection of his watercolor paintings and mixed-media art along with environmental commentary by fifteen artists, writers, educators, and scientists. A portion of the book’s sales will benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council. Michael has taught art history and painting at UM, the University of Arizona, the Kansas City Art Institute, and the Douglas campus of Cochise College, among others. He has received numerous awards, including two Andrew Mellon Faculty Enrichment grants, two Outstanding Educator of America awards, and a U.S. Office of Education grant to lecture, study, and tour in India.

Keith Dalbec ’67, Hendersonville, N.C., was inducted into the Hendersonville High School Hall of Fame. Keith won Teacher of the Year in his first year and initiated and coached the first high school soccer team in the county. He later served as principal of Hendersonville junior and senior high schools for ten years. Keith also established the career counseling center at Blue Ridge Community College in 1980. In his retirement, he has earned the title of certified wine specialist from the American Society of Wine Educators. He works as a wine consultant and educator, and has taught wine appreciation for the culinary arts program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical College. Keith resides in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains with his wife of forty-four years, Patricia.

Linda Harbine Martin ’67, Homer, Alaska, published her first book, I Follow in the Dust She Raises, a collection of poems. Linda and her husband own and operate a glass shop in Homer.

Marcia Sheffels ’67, M.A. ’82, Whitefish, retired after a forty-seven-year career in education, serving the past nine years as Flathead County superintendent. She has taught English and Spanish in middle school, high school, and college in Missoula, Great Falls, and Columbia Falls.

George Peck ’68, Aurora, Colo., has spent more than fifty years in the workforce, starting with pitching papers in Deer Lodge for the old Butte Daily Post and culminating with fifteen years as the Aurora Chamber of Commerce senior vice president. In that time, George also served twenty-five years as a U.S. Air Force public affairs officer and worked in development and health care. He and his wife, Barbara, have decided to take a look at the retiree track, though he plans to stay involved in contract and voice-over work, as well as local volunteering. “That should give me time to begin seriously recruiting the grandkids for UM!” George says.

1970s

Sue Larson Kirkman ’70, Munster, Ind., served as vice president of academic affairs at Harrington College of Design in Chicago before moving to Santa Barbara, Calif., to take over as president of the Brooks Institute in 2010. Sue retired in September 2014 and moved with her husband to the Chicago area, where she spends time writing, consulting, and being with her grandchildren.

Lyle Manley ’72, J.D. ’79, Helena, published a memoir, Adventures of a Misfit, which tells the story of his coming of age in Montana in the 1950s and 1960s. Lyle worked as a state lawyer in Helena until 2009. He spends his retirement writing, serving on two volunteer boards, home brewing, and caring for his elderly mother. His wife, Anna Miller ’79, works for the state in Helena.

Pferron Doss ’73, Portland, Ore., published a new book of historical fiction, Ole Freedom. Pferron taught the history of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps in the Black Studies Department at UM. In 1974, he led a re-enactment of the 1,900-mile bicycle trip from Missoula to St. Louis, Mo., which is chronicled in the novel. Pferron also interviewed the sole survivor of the 25th Infantry, Dorsie Willis, and was a guest speaker for the PBS movie The Bicycle Corps: America’s Black Army on Wheels.

Maggie Bennington-Davis ’78, Portland, Ore., is senior medical director of the Tri-County Metro area for Health Share of Oregon. Maggie also is chair-elect of the Oregon Health Authority’s statewide metrics and scoring committee. Previously, she served as chief medical officer and chief operating officer for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, Oregon’s largest comprehensive community mental health program, and as psychiatry medical director and hospital chief of staff for Salem Hospital in Oregon.

Gail Small ’78, Lame Deer, was selected as a 2015 Leopold Leadership Fellow. An assistant professor in the Department of Native American Studies at Montana State University, Gail researches intersections of land and resource management, culture, and the environment within the broader context of the sovereign rights of indigenous peoples and contemporary climate changes. Based at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, the Leopold Leadership Program provides outstanding environmental researchers with skills and approaches for communicating and working with partners in NGOs, business, government, and communities to integrate science into decision-making.

Sidney R. Thomas, J.D. ’78, Billings, is chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the nation’s third largest circuit court of appeals. Sidney was appointed to the court in 1995 by President Bill Clinton and was confirmed by the Senate in January 1996. He is the third Montanan to hold the chief judgeship in the 9th circuit. He is married to Martha Sheehy ’85, J.D. ’88, Billings.

Robin Strathy ’79, Great Falls, is deputy forest supervisor for the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. After working seasonally for the Forest Service and as an exploration geologist for private industry, Robin was hired for her first permanent position with the Forest Service on the Rocky Mountain Ranger District in 1984. She served as the on-scene coordinator for the removal of hazardous material from the Block P Superfund site in the Barker-Hughesville area in the Little Belt Mountains and also led the effort to write the LCNF’s Oil and Gas Leasing Environmental Impact Statement.

Leslie Taylor, J.D. ’79, Bozeman, is retiring after twenty-six years as chief legal counsel for Montana State University. She has offered legal counsel to five university presidents and previously worked in Cut Bank, Missoula, and Helena.

1980s

Pam Newbern Boyle ’83, M.A. ’85, Ashburn, Va., sent in news of a book, The High-Heeled Dog, written by her mother, Beverly Sawin, in 1954. Pam discovered the unpublished manuscript in 1989 and recently had it digitalized and placed on Amazon. The book tells the story of the family’s adventures when they were stationed with the U.S. Army in West Germany in 1952-54. Pam is an executive officer with the U.S. Army.

Mike’s Marvels, all members of the UM School of Law Class of 1980, are believed to be the only law school team ever to win the ASUM intramural football championship—and they won it twice. Last July, they had their first reunion on Finley Point in Montana.

Front (l to r): Bill Sweeney ’77, J.D. ’80, Portsmouth, R.I.; Dave Slovak ’77, J.D. ’80, Great Falls; Chris Mangen, J.D. ’80, Billings; Bruce Lee, J.D. ’80, Billings; Vic Halverson, J.D. ’80, Billings.
Back: Mike Lamb, J.D. ’80, Helena; Mike Webster, J.D. ’80 (deceased)/Kathy Webster James, Billings; Paul Cooley ’77, J.D. ’80, Missoula; Bob Sullivan ’76, J.D. ’80, Missoula; Jim Healow ’77, J.D. ’80, Billings; Bob Peterson ’77, J.D. ’80, Lolo; RUss “Psycho” Plath, J.D. ’80, Billings.

Colonel Timothy J. Holtan, M.M.E. ’83, Sykesville, Md., assumed command of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in December 2014. Tim most recently served as commander of The U.S. Army Field Band [The Musical Ambassadors of the Army] at Fort Meade, Md. He also was the twenty-second leader of the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, N.Y. He holds the distinction of being the first officer to command three of the Army’s premier bands. A native of Bismarck, N.D., Tim began his teaching career in Montana public schools, first in Superior and later as director of bands at Great Falls High School. In 1988, he entered the U.S. Army and has served as an Army Bands Officer for more than twenty-six years. Under his leadership and after an absence of forty-four years, the West Point Band re-established a partnership with the New York Philharmonic, which resulted in five Lincoln Center joint performances. Tim also led the West Point Band in the Emmy-nominated Marina at West Point PBS television production that reached more than 160 million viewers. In 2011, he was the UM College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Odyssey of the Stars honoree and was inducted into its Hall of Honor. Tim is married to Laurie Matheson Holtan, and they have two daughters.

Jan Bonham Metzmaker, M.S. ’83, Whitefish, retired as director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau, the marketing and promotion entity for the City of Whitefish. Jan also was founding director of the Glacier Fund, the nonprofit fundraising partner of Glacier National Park.

Lance Foster ’84, White Cloud, Kan., is tribal historic preservation officer for the Iowa Tribe, where he is active in preserving and promoting the Ioway language and culture through historic preservation, educational development, and presentations. Lance also is working to establish a tribal museum. He has served as director of the Native Rights Land and Culture Division for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, historical landscape architect for the National Park Service, and archaeologist for the U.S. Forest Service. He taught anthropology, archaeology, sociology, and art courses at Helena College UM.

Maureen Rude ’85, Helena, attended the eighteen-month NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence in Community Development program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Maureen recently celebrated her seventh year as director of operations for NeighborWorks Montana, and has worked for nearly twenty-four years in the housing finance industry.

Craig Holden, M.F.A. ’86, Las Cruces, N.Mex., collaborated with C.W. “Buddy” Ritter to publish a nonfiction book, Mesilla Comes Alive, which chronicles a colorful and intriguing community of the Southwest. Craig is the author of six novels, has received the Great Lakes Book Award in Fiction, and was featured at the Festival International du Roman Noir in Frontignan, France.

Jeffrey J. Johnson ’86, Vernal, Utah, a watercolor painter, retired in September 2014 after a forty-year career in the oil and gas industry, spending the past twelve years as a self-employed consulting engineer. Jeffrey has two “one-man shows” of his art this year, the second to take place in Salt Lake City this September.

Colleen Daly Windell ’86, M.Ed. ’93, Missoula, a seventh-grade teacher at Washington Middle School, is one of two science finalists for the 2014 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, an award established by Congress in 1983. Colleen was recognized during an event featuring Lt. Gov. Angela McLean and former Montana legislator Dorothy Bradley. The presidential award winners will be announced this fall.

Vernon Finley ’87, Polson, is chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ government. He holds a doctorate in education from the University of Georgia. A former school board member in Polson, Vernon was a finalist for the presidency of Salish Kootenai College in 2009.

Gene Walborn ’87, Helena, is deputy director of the Montana Department of Revenue. Gene served as division administrator for the past nine years, beginning his career with the department in 1990 as a centrally assessed property appraiser.

Carl Loyd Wackerman ’88, Saigon, Vietnam, currently teaches music, choir, piano, and English as a second language at Singapore International School in Saigon. Carl’s prior postings include international schools in Bangkok, Rome, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Mumbai, with teaching duties as head of department; director of bands, choirs, and orchestras; and general music, as well as the International Baccalaureate Middle Years and Diploma programs.

Lance C. Clark ’89, Portland, Ore., executive officer of Oregon Real Estate Forms, earned the Certified Association Executive designation, the highest professional credential in the association industry. Lance is an active member of the Oregon Society of Association Management, a spokesperson for Habitat for Humanity, and an avid traveler in the Pacific Northwest.

Kate Ripley ’89, Fairbanks, Alaska, is alumni relations director for the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. For the past decade, Kate served as the public affairs director for the University of Alaska and before that worked for fifteen years as a print and radio journalist and public relations consultant.

Jay Treiber, M.F.A. ’89, Bisbee, Ariz., published his debut novel, Spirit Walk, in 2014. Jay is an instructor at Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Ariz.

1990s

Steve Paulson, M.S. ’90, Lewistown, teaches science at Lewistown Junior High School, which was chosen as Montana state winner of the 2014 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, a nationwide competition to raise enthusiasm for science, technology, engineering, and math. With the award comes $20,000 in new Samsung technology for the school. For the past twenty-nine years, Steve has helped his seventh-grade students work on a water quality and stream restoration project on Big Spring Creek in the Brewery Flats area near Lewistown.

Rebecca Snow, M.F.A. ’93, Denver, published Glassmusic, a literary novel set in Norway in the early twentieth century, which she began writing during her master’s program at UM. Rebecca teaches English at the Community College of Aurora. Her poetry and nonfiction have appeared in Progenitor, Wazee Journal, and Blue Moon, and she won first place for narrative nonfiction in the 2007 Writers Studio Contest, sponsored by Arapahoe Community College. She lives in Denver with her son and enjoys hiking the Rocky Mountains.

Wendy Swearingen, M.F.A. ’94, Youngstown, N.Y., was hired as proofreader for SKM Group, a full-service marketing communications agency in Buffalo, N.Y. Wendy received her bachelor’s degree in English from SUNY Brockport and master’s degree in creative writing from UM. She is a contributing writer to Buffalo Spree magazine and has worked in corporate communications for WNED-WBFO in Buffalo and Toronto.

Dana Michael Harsell ’95, M.A. ’97, was awarded a Research: Art Works grant by the National Endowment for the Arts to analyze border and regional diffusion effects of historical legislative appropriations for state arts agencies. Dana is an associate professor of political science and public administration and director of the master’s in public administration program at the University of North Dakota.

2000s

Erin Yost ’00, Bozeman, is a financial adviser with D.A. Davidson and Co. in Bozeman. Erin joined the company in 2001 and recently completed an intensive professional education course at the firm’s headquarters in Great Falls. She is active in the community with March of Dimes, Friends of Regional Parks, and Bozeman Business and Professional Women.

Corey Falls ’01, Medford, Ore., is the new Jackson County sheriff in Oregon.

Andy Orizotti ’02, Trumbull, Conn., published Good Morning Sonoran Desert, her first children’s book. Andy’s grandmother, Lorraine Pace Halvorsen, an Arizona-based artist, illustrated the book at age ninety. Andy, who ran track for UM in 1997-2001, has published articles for national publications and written for corporations and nonprofits. She is married to Dan Orizotti ’02, and they have three children.

Dan Baca ’03, Littleton, Colo., is senior systems engineer and European Service Module fault protection lead for NASA’s spacecraft Orion, which blasted off on its first test mission this past December. A Kalispell native, Dan worked at Zauner’s Ace Hardware [now Montana Ace] while earning two associate’s degrees at Flathead Valley Community College. He began his career at Lockheed Martin after graduating from UM and earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Learn more about Orion’s exploration missions at www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/orion/.

LeAnn Montes ’03, Havre, was inducted into the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame this past December. She serves as attorney general for the Chippewa Cree Tribe on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation and is head coach of the Stone Child College women’s basketball team. As a high school senior, LeAnn led the Box Elder Bears to the program’s first Class C state girls’ basketball championship. She went on to play four years for the Lady Griz, earning a full scholarship and helping the team win the 2000 Big Sky Conference title. LeAnn earned a law degree from the University of New Mexico and also holds an Indian law certificate.

Scott Holland ’04, Hamilton, a first-grade teacher at Washington Elementary School in Hamilton, was recognized as a Gold Star Teacher by NBC Montana.

Laura Bianco Adams Hanna ’05, M.B.A. ’08, Florence, was named executive director and CEO of Camp Mak-A-Dream and the Children’s Oncology Camp Foundation in December 2012. Laura has worked in the nonprofit sector for fifteen years, first for St. Patrick Hospital and Health Foundation and then for the UM Foundation. Camp Mak-A-Dream is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2015.

Crystal Leach ’05, left, Bozeman, and Anne Hosler ’09, right, Missoula, met with PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger on her recent visit to Montana State University. Crystal serves as senior director of development for MontanaPBS and Anne serves as membership manager for Montana Public Radio. Both enjoyed a full day of meetings with Ms. Kerger, during which they discussed the role of women in media, educational programming initiatives, and the importance of public broadcasting, especially for rural areas. Crystal and Anne enjoy fundraising for the programs so many Montanans enjoy.

Jeremy N. Smith, M.F.A. ’05, Missoula, published his new book, Epic Measures, the true story of a twenty-year, 500-scientist, $100 million attempt to track and quantify every illness, injury, and death for everyone on Earth.

Paige Williams ’05, M.A., M.F.A. ’06, was elected to the statewide board of directors for the Montana High Tech Business Alliance. Paige is founder and CEO of the Audience Awards, a Missoula technology company that was awarded a Montana Department of Commerce grant for creating fifteen high-paying tech jobs in two years. She taught for the past five years as an adjunct professor in media arts and the entertainment management program at UM’s School of Business Administration. Paige also serves on the advisory board for the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

Sarah Hulse ’06, Spokane, Wash., published her novel, Black River, the story of a sixty-year-old former prison guard from Montana who returns to his hometown after his wife’s death. Sarah taught high school in Moscow, Idaho, earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Oregon, and completed a one-year fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

April Gregory ’08, Spearfish, S.D., is executive director of the Booth Society, a nonprofit friends group of the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery and Archives in Spearfish. Established in 1896, the facility is the only federal historic fish hatchery in the nation and is one of just two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service archives. April also serves as state coordinator for the South Dakota Junior Duck Stamp Program. She graduated from UM with a degree in photojournalism and art history and started at the fish hatchery in 2009 as an intern working in the archives.

Ben A. Snipes, J.D. ’08, Great Falls, made partner in the law firm of Lewis, Slovak, Kovacich, and Snipes. Ben, who joined the firm as an associate in 2008, has experience in complex civil litigation, including environmental litigation, asbestos litigation, insurance bad faith, and workplace safety litigation.

Austin Mullins ’09, M.B.A. ’10, Nashville, Tenn., was promoted to agent at William Morris Endeavor, the world’s largest full-line talent agency and entertainment content provider. The Nashville office represents artists such as Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, and Jason Aldean. A Great Falls native, Austin completed a degree in business management with a minor in music and a certificate in entertainment management. He was a member of the Griz football team from 2005 to 2009, earning All-Big Sky Conference honors.

2010s

Ross Sharkey, J.D. ’10, Missoula, joined Caplin and Drysdale Attorneys in their Washington, D.C., office as an associate in the firm’s tax controversies group. His core practice will be to assist corporations, nonprofits, and wealthy individuals in resolving federal tax issues, including matters relating to offshore voluntary disclosure and FATCA compliance.

Aric Clark ’11, Billings, is founder of 406VIP, a company that allows Montana businesses to offer text-message-based rewards to their customers.

Shannon Söderlund ’12, New York City, a jazz-pop singer based in Queens, released an EP of her original compositions titled Innocent Heart in 2014. While a student at UM, Shannon completed a church music internship funded by the John Ellis Endowment. She also was a candidate for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert contest. You can watch her video submission at https://youtu.be/5atUAPjBoPI.

Carson Wilde ’12, Missoula, is founder of Brothers Wilde Designs, a company that designs and produces outdoor gear in Missoula.

Sandra Mellott ’13, Butte, is a copy editor for the Montana Standard. A member of the Butte Copper Quills, a group for novelists and creative writers, Sandra writes fiction in her spare time. She has a long history of stage acting and theater productions, speaks German and Japanese, and devotes much of her personal time to anti-oppression activism, taking particular interest in promoting the validity of all gender and sexual identities.

Zach Veasy ’13, Seattle, is revenue manager for Porch.com, a Seattle-based tech startup that raised more than $100 million in a recent nineteen-month period. “The best decision I ever made for my career was attending the University of Montana,” Zach says. “The curriculum was phenomenal, but the professors left the biggest impression on me. Sherry Liikala and David Firth are two professors who went above and beyond for my wife, Erin Chester ’13, and me, both in the classroom and after graduation.”

Desiree Acholla ’14, Philadelphia, completed her studies in anthropology with minors in global public health and international development studies at UM. She now serves as program director with Lex Orandi School [www.lexorandischool.org], the primary school founded by her mother in Bujumbura, Burundi, a small country in central Africa. With 400 students from nursery to sixth grade, Desiree works on building partnerships with individuals and organizations around the world to improve the quality of their teaching and to incorporate social justice and global citizenship in the curriculum. She will begin working on a master’s degree at the Erasmus Mundus program in Barcelona this fall.

Hilary Grabowska ’14, Shepherdstown, W.Va., is one of ninety-six women and men pledging to perform ten months of national service as part of the Atlantic Region’s 21st Class of the National Civilian Community Corps, an AmeriCorps program. Since beginning her service in New York City, Hilary has worked with the FEMA regional office, the New York City Office of Emergency Management, the Long Island Volunteer Center for National Preparedness Month, and America’s PrepareAthon!

Bobby Jahrig ’14, Missoula, is director of photography for a short film, Adventure Cycling Montana—Northern Tier, the first in a series of five films produced by Adventure Cycling Association in conjunction with Epic Montana and the Montana Film Office. The film is directed by Rachel Stevens, a current student in the Master of Fine Arts filmmaking program at UM, and the cyclists are two current UM students—Mel Wardlow, environmental writing, and Evan Smith, pre-nursing— and UM alumnus Travis Switzer ’13, Missoula. Travis is a full-time cartographer at Adventure Cycling. Watch the film at www.adventurecycling.org/epic.

Jordan Sullivan ’14, Sidney, is starring for the Stevnsgade basketball team in Copenhagen, Denmark. As part of her contract, Jordan teaches basketball to elementary school students in their physical education classes.

Landon Gardner ’14, Missoula, is head coach of the Missoula Freestyle team at Montana Snowbowl. He works for Submittable in Missoula and also helps run his parents’ business. Landon was a member the U.S. Ski Team for eight years competing in moguls, made the U.S. Olympic team, and still skis for Oakley, Vokl, and other ski brands. He is engaged to Grace Harris ’09, ’10, M.P.A. ’13.

More than forty UM alumni and students currently are employed with Advanced Technology Group of Missoula at its downtown office.

FRONT (L TO R): Jay Allen; Kymberly Lund ’09; Jason Anderson ’09; Kevin Antonioli ’13; Ezekiel Baied ’09, M.B.A. ’14; Mitch Colyer ’14.
MIDDLE: Claude Sammoury ’14; Benjamin Kesler ’12; Bryndal Moore ’15; Geordan Kaderis ’16; Joseph Gannon ’12; Trevor Johnson ’16; Kyle Culbertson ’10; Seth Boid ’09; Savanna Scotson ’13; Carey Davis ’09; Paul York ’09; Matt Gangloff ’14.
BACK: Mark Anderson ’04; Davis Diede ’09; P. Austin Turner ’14; Justin Wiseman ’10, M.B.A. ’13; Molly Councill ’09, ’16; Kate Hardy ’16; Joshua Pearson ’12; Joseph Desch ’16; Josh Harteis ’02, M.A. ’15; Michael Newman ’10; Jorge Watson ’11.
Not pictured: Kristin Mickey ’14; Billy Marohn ’14; Thomas Gibson ’15; Laura Stiles ’15; Joseph Horton ’15; Jamie Arnold ’09; Stephen Stanton, M.B.A. ’12; William Devich ’15; Nathan Eldon Umphrey ’09; Nathan Bailey ’15; Sarah Beccari ’16; James Walker ’16.