开心鬼传媒

Associate professor听Scott Elliott听(MEngl鈥�96) teaches creative writing and English at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. His second novel,Temple Grove,听was published in May. The novel is about a clash between a father who is in the timber industry and his son who becomes an environmental activist, set against the backdrop of 开心鬼传媒 State鈥檚 Olympic National Park. Scott鈥檚 first novel,听Coiled in the Heart, was a Booksense 76 and One Book One Community selection.听

A passion for business and media planning brought听Nicole Cimino-Taylor听(Mktg鈥�96) to INLINE MEDIA, the largest media specialty firm in the Rocky Mountain region, as senior media associate. INLINE MEDIA is a full-service media agency specializing in creative solutions for restaurant, sports, entertainment and technology industries. Nicole lives in Parker, Colo.

Last fall听Alan Culpepper听(Geog, Soc鈥�96) was inducted into the Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame at Coors Events Center. He was on CU鈥檚 cross country and track teams and was the 1996 NCAA outdoor champion in the 5,000-meter run. He still owns the school听record in the 1,500 meters.听Alan鈥檚 career includes running in two Olympics and becoming a seven-time U.S. champion. He and his wife 鈥� CU runner听Shayne Culpepper听(PolSci鈥�97) 鈥� and their four kids live in Louisville, Colo.

Former football player听Matt Russell听(Comm鈥�96) received recognition as part of the 2012 Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Class at the ceremony in November. Matt won the Butkus Award as the nation鈥檚 top linebacker his senior year and finished his career as the second all-time leading tackler in Colorado. In 2009 he joined the Denver Broncos as their director of college scouting and was named director of player personnel in 2012.

The fourth player in college football history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season,听Rashaan Salaam听(Soc鈥�96) did so in an 11-game campaign in 1994 that included six ranked opponents. He led the nation in rushing, scoring and all-purpose yards, leading CU to an 11-1 record and winning the Heisman Trophy, CU鈥檚 first and only, the Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp Trophy. For these accomplishments, Rashaan was inducted into the Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame at the Coors Events Center last fall. He resides in San Diego, Calif.

After 14 years of working with the University of Colorado Foundation and the Alumni Association,听Lianna Bodzin听(Film鈥�96) will be taking on a new challenge as assistant director of Advancement Services at Colorado School of Mines. She lives in Boulder.

Former U.S. Olympians and husband-wife duo听Alan Culpepper听(Geog, Soc鈥�96) and听Shayne Wille Culpepper(PolSci鈥�97) lead an after-school running program at Boulder鈥檚 Douglass Elementary School. The volunteers helped prepare more than 200 children from kindergarten to fifth grade for the 8th annual Douglass Jog-a-thon and the Bolder Boulder in the spring.

Under the leadership of CEO听Jud Valeski听(CompSciAp鈥�96), Boulder-based Gnip specializes in gathering data from public social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. With this data the company provides real-time content to a variety of firms in industries such as social media monitoring, business intelligence, government and finance. Jud lives in Boulder.

Bicycling has turned into a career for听Taro Smith听(Kines鈥�96, MS鈥�98, PhD鈥�04). He is co-owner of Boulder Cycle Sport, which has two locations in Boulder. 鈥淐ycling is a core of the city,鈥� he told the Boulder听Camera. He lives in Boulder.

After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer,听Laura DeLuca听(MAnth鈥�96, PhD鈥�02) has focused on Africa. As a CU anthropology lecturer, she teaches several Africa-related classes and has published many articles on African issues, including the crisis in Darfur, education in Kenya and refugees. She has conducted conservation-related research in Kenya and Tanzania and is co-editing a book emphasizing peace building by communities in Africa.

Associate professor of political science at Rutgers University, Newark,听Mara Sidney听(MPolSci鈥�96, PhD鈥�00) received a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair Award to conduct research in Canada. Since January she has been comparing the United States鈥� and Canada鈥檚 national and local immigration policies, linking them to the work of nongovernmental organizations. She also is examining how immigrants鈥� interactions with nongovernmental organizations affect their process of making a home in a new country. Her project is called 鈥淢aking a Home, Feeling at Home: The Role of NGOs in Immigrant Integration.鈥� She lives in New York, N.Y.

Centennial, Colorado, resident Rodney Lie (MusEdu鈥�95; MA鈥�99) was named chief operating officer for Worldwide Coaching Group (WCG). Based out of Denver, WCG focuses on training, coaching and consulting business coaches, professional sales teams and C-suite executives and entrepreneurs.

Colorado Law will present Dru R. Nielsen (Law鈥�97)with the distinguished achievement award for a small or solo practitioner at its 41st annual awards banquet March 10. Dru is acknowledged as one of Colorado's best criminal defense attorneys and worked as a Colorado deputy state public defender for more than 10 years. Dru later formed her own practice, Eytan Nielsen, with her friend and partner, Iris Eytan.

Michelle Johnson Anderson (Bus) has been promoted to chief financial officer of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford (A&S ex鈥�58; HonDocHum鈥�87). In addition to the Sundance Film Festival, the institute produces a wide variety of programs that support independent storytellers and advance the impact of their work in the world. Read more about Michelle in this issue.听

In recognition of his 2020 grassroots reporting, John Snyder (Comm, Jour) 鈥� editor of an eight-town weekly newspaper in Bergen County, New Jersey 鈥� has won a certificate of excellence from the New Jersey chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

David Scott (Mgmt) was selected in March 2020 for the FBI's Senior Executive Service, where he serves as chief of the public corruption and civil rights section in 开心鬼传媒, D.C. After graduating from CU and receiving a commission through the Army ROTC program, David served in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer prior to joining the FBI in 2003.

In 2019 Lija Fisher (Thtr) of Boulder published her novel The Cryptid Keeper, the sequel to her debut, The Cryptid Catcher. The books act as a gateway to science for children by discussing cryptozoology, the search for animals like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.听

Sustainability is important to Sarah Kauss (Acct), founder and CEO of S鈥檞ell, a company whose products help minimize single-use plastic worldwide. The company recently launched a line of reusable steel straws and aims to displace 100 million single-use plastic bottles by 2020. S鈥檞ell has also committed $1.6 million to UNICEF.听

Michelle Anderson (Bus鈥�97) was recently awarded the 2018 Woman to WatchEmerging Leader award by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants. Michelle is the director of finance and principal accounting officer for the Sundance Institute, an independent storytelling organization founded by CU alum Robert Redford (A&S ex鈥�58, HonDocHum鈥�87).听

Last February,听Rebecca听Neumann听(MEcon;听PhD鈥�00) won a听Governor鈥檚 Financial听Literacy Award in听Wisconsin for her efforts听to increase financial听literacy among the state鈥檚听citizens. Rebecca serves听on the board of directors听for SecureFutures, an organization that empowers听teens through financial听education.