Kyle Samuel '92
Washington, DC
Past President
Scholarship Commitee
Governance Committee

Kyle Samuel graduated from Colorado College with a degree in economics. At CC he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the Colorado College football team, and the Black Student Union. Upon graduation, Kyle returned home to Denver, Colorado, where he worked as an underwriter for The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies followed by a long tenure with Aon, plc where he was senior vice president and director of sales in Denver before assuming the same role in Washington, D.C. In 2011, Kyle became managing director of the capital region of Wells Fargo Insurance Services. Kyle is responsible for business development, client service, bank cross-sell, and the overall financial performance of Wells Fargo's insurance operations across the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Kyle is a foodie and enjoys travel and playing golf. He is always open to sharing a glass of wine with a fellow Tiger who may be traveling through our nation's capital.

Jennifer Hoglin '91
Park City, UT
President-Elect
Governance Committee Chair

While at CC Jen enjoyed contributing to CC Women's Soccer history as a member of the 1987-91 teams. After graduation and with her anthropology degree in hand, she moved back to Costa Rica, where she studied abroad, to be a fourth grade school teacher. Upon return to the states, she continued on to graduate school, earning a M.B.A. from Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis. Throughout her professional career, Jen has had the fortune to work in marketing, where she has traveled the world capturing voice of customer to improve products and strengthen global brands. Jen lives in Park City, Utah, with her husband, four children, and two dogs.

Brianna J. McAleer grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota -- made famous by the Coen Brothers in "The Big Lebowski." She found CC by way of fellow Moorhead (Go Spuds!) leaders and hockey players, who also had a desire to try something new like the Block Plan, the mountains, and the above-zero temperatures. She works as an external legal consultant for a large U.S.-based banking institution, and lives in Fargo, North Dakota, with her man-friend Casey and their dog, Tonic.

Julia Collins '05
Truckee, CA
Scholarship Committee Co-Chair
Nominations and Awards Committee

Julia graduated from Colorado College with a degree in art history, then immediately began working on the $43.4 million expansion project at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. After the successful completion of the campaign, she relocated with her husband Tom Collins '05 to the San Francisco Bay area. For more than a decade, Julia held various positions in fundraising at Cal Performances, the performing arts presenter at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently Julia is the Director of Development for the JMT Wilderness Conservancy, connecting philanthropists with projects to restore and protect the high Sierra Nevada backcountry. Now based in Truckee, CA, Julia enjoys all that the mountains and lakes have to offer with her husband, Tom, and their son Booker. She has served on the 5, 10, and 15-year reunion committees for her class and acted as a class agent, deepening engagement and encouraging giving from her friends and classmates.

Dan Cooper '66 P'96 and Beth Cooper '66 P'96
50 Year Club Co-Presidents

Dan and Beth were classmates at CC in the class of 1966, engaged in May that year, and married in December 1966. Dan joined the Air Force and received a commission via OTS. They spent three years in Berlin, Germany, arriving only six years after the wall went up. Daughter Julie was born there. Son, Clay (Class of '96,) was born after they returned to the states and Dan began his career with Monsanto. The Coopers lived in the St. Louis area until Clay's senior year in high school, when they were transferred to Brussels. After returning from Brussels, Dan worked in the academic health care field in St. Louis and Philadelphia.

They live in Buena Vista, Colorado, and are working together in real. Beth and Dan have been active in the affairs of Colorado College since the mid-1970s. In 1995, Dan was asked to join the CC Council as a Charter Trustee. Dan has been a Life Trustee for the past three years. They are pleased that they have been able to establish two scholarships, The Bethany Anneberg Cooper Scholarship in Art History (income provides funds to ensure all seniors are able to go on the annual New York art trip), and the Marie Coleman Cooper '26 Scholarship for legacy students.

Mark Schlessman '74
Poughkeepsie, NY
Nominations and Awards Committee Chair

Mark Schlessman is a member of CC's centennial class of 1974, the class that arrived with the Block Plan. At CC he sang in the college choir, participated in Mountain Club, worked for the SAGA food service, and figured out how to major in biology while his professors figured out how to teach on the Block Plan. After graduation, he earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in botany from the University of Washington, and then joined the faculty of Vassar College, where he has taught for 41 years. Currently in phased retirement, he teaches half-time and focuses his attention on Vassar’s herbarium and arboretum. Mark and his wife Laura live in Albany, New York, and spend their free time walking their dogs, hiking, cycling, and kayaking. Mark serves on the Board of the Buckingham Pond Conservancy.

Carrie Yakola '93
Rye, NH
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee Chair

Carrie Wismer Yakola was a German major and music minor at CC. CC provided the foundation for her global career in international banking as she moved to Vienna, Austria, and then to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. After living overseas for 10 years, Carrie relocated to Chicago where she received a M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. Carrie spent the past 20 years working for ABN AMRO and then Wells Fargo Bank as an executive in international treasury management. Her liberal arts foundation from CC was demonstrated by her work to pioneer a microlending program for the bank and her leadership of the diversity committee. Carrie holds leadership positions in the York Art Association, the Philanthropic Education Organization, and the Rye Education Foundation. She loves interviewing prospective CC students in her community. Carrie and her husband Doug reside in Rye, New Hampshire with their daughter Lucy. Carrie is passionate about her family, the environment, hiking, and travel.

Ed Casias '87
Dillon, CO
Nominations and Awards Committee

Ed is a first-generation college student who feels fortunate to have attended Colorado College. At CC, he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the baseball team, and the Business and Economics Student Advisory Board. After graduating, he attended The Council on Legal Education Opportunities (CLEO) program at the University of Arizona College of Law before attending The Ohio State University College of Law. Upon graduation and passing the Colorado Bar exam, he worked for a civil law firm in Denver, then as a prosecutor in the 4th, 9th, and 5th Judicial District Attorney's Offices. Along the way, he was lucky enough to meet his wife and start a family. They have two boys and feel blessed to enjoy the Colorado mountain lifestyle. Since 2000 he has been a Summit County Court judge. He is a trustee on The Summit Foundation Board, a policy council member for Summit County Head Start, treasurer for the Summit Lake Dillon Optimist club, and a lacrosse coach for the Summit Stix lacrosse program. He assists CC by locating highly qualified students from non-traditional backgrounds and from rural areas of Colorado.

Lynda Duran '08
Commerce City, CO
Nominations and Awards Committee

Lynda Duran is a Ph.D. student in higher education at the University of Denver, where she serves as a graduate research assistant in Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence. She is an alumna of and mentor for the Public Interest Fellowship Program. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Colorado College and a master's in counseling psychology at the University of Colorado Denver in 2012. Her interests lie in co-curricular student learning and exploring critical systemic factors that promote or hinder student success in higher education. Lynda lives in Commerce City with her family and enjoys reading, writing, and playing poker.

R.J. Enga '95, P'25
Nominations and Awards Committee
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee

R.J. Enga played 158 games for the Colorado College Men's Hockey team from 1991-95 and went on to serve as assistant coach for the Tigers for seven seasons. In 2021, he became the Director of Hockey Operations and Video Coordinator for the St. Cloud State University Men's Hockey team.

During his four seasons at CC, Enga struck for 61 goals and added 82 assists for 143 points, tying for 37th place on the program’s career scoring list. He set career highs as a senior with 23 goals and 46 points, leading the Tigers to the championship game of the Western Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament and a berth in the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Championship. A member of the WCHA All-Academic Team as a junior, Enga graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in international political economy and a minor in philosophy. A 10th-round selection by the New York Islanders in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, Enga played 10 seasons of professional hockey at virtually every level. Career highlights include being named to the East Coast Hockey League All-Rookie Team and All-Star Game in 1996, winning the West Coast Hockey League’s Taylor Cup as a member of the San Diego Gulls in 2003, and becoming the Colorado Gold Kings all-time leading scorer. Enga also played one season with TSV Erding in the German 2nd Eishockey Bundesliga, earning Most Valuable Player honors after recording 41 goals and 61 assists in 64 games.

Enga and his wife, Jessica, were married in the summer of 2018. He is the proud father of two daughters, Kaelin and Makenna. Kaelin is a first-year student athlete on CC Women's Soccer team and was recently named to the 2021 All-Mountain West Newcomer Team (midfielder). Makenna is a junior at Palmer Ridge High School.

 

Kimber Felton '91, P'20
Houston, TX
Scholarship Committee

Kimber Felton is a 1991 graduate who followed the CC tradition of marrying someone from Colorado College, Mike Ukropina ’89. Kimber has been known to take her three kids to visit the campus during their cross-country trips and make them read the quote across Palmer Hall, while waxing about what a great view CC has of Pikes Peak. She was overjoyed when her son decided to attend CC and graduated in 2020. Kimber has traveled extensively and lived in Latin America and various states in the U.S. She is proud to be on the board for the Adaptive Sports Center in Crested Butte, Colorado, where ASC brings the outdoors to those with physical and mental challenges. She is also on the development committee at Stanton Home, a life-sharing community for adults with disabilities, located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
 

Lisa Hartwell Gardner '90 P'19
Minneapolis, MN
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee

Lisa grew up hearing about Colorado College from her father, Ken Hartwell '61 and Uncle Ron Hartwell '52, who both played hockey for CC. Lisa met and fell in love with her husband, Anj Gardner '89, while at CC. She was active in her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, and graduated in 1990 with a degree in theater. After living and working in Boulder, Salt Lake City, and Dallas, they decided to raise their family in Minnesota, where Lisa is from, and have enjoyed living in Edina the past 22 years.

Lisa has been involved in many volunteer opportunities, including 22 years with the Junior League of Minneapolis, Edina Public Schools, and Colonial Church of Edina. Her passions include working out, boating, water and snow skiing, and traveling. She is proud of her three children, Zach, Emily '19, and Abby. It is very special to have a third generation Tiger (Emily) in the family.

Les Goss '72
Colorado Springs, CO
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee
Scholarship Committee

After graduating from CC, Les worked in a bike and ski shop for five years followed by a stint in department store management. He went back to CC for his MAT and then taught elementary school in the Springs for 15 years. After retiring from that, he created and ran a web design company and later got into real estate, flipping and wholesaling single-family homes. About six years ago he began buying fourplexes and ran a company that buys, manages, and sells multifamily apartments for groups of investors. He helps investors get a good return through real estate-backed notes. He has been running and lifting weights since his 20s and is still learning to play guitar.

Jesse Horn '07
Baltimore, MD
Governance Committee
Nominations and Awards Committee

Jesse graduated from CC in 2007 as the president of the "Class of No Bad Days." He majored in political science with a history minor. He earned a J.D. from Cornell Law School in 2010 and an L.L.M. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2011. He was selected as Cornell Law School's commencement speaker. After graduation, he served on the Cornell Law School Alumni Association Executive Board. Jesse lives and works in Washington, D.C. as a trial attorney for the federal government. During his time at CC, he interned for U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar. Jesse is admitted to practice law in Colorado, Wyoming, and New York. He was once a national champion snowboarder as well as high school prom king. He still loves to snowboard and fly fish. In addition to cheering on the Tigers, Jesse roots for his beloved Detroit Red Wings.
 

Patrick Gorman '87 P'21
Bethesda, MD
Governance Committee

Patrick Gorman graduated from CC in 1987 with a major in political science and at least a minor in good times. He held executive positions at the Beta House, hosted and participated in campus symposia, and eagerly engaged in community service.

He graduated from the Catholic University School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1991 and continued in community service, developing welfare-to-work opportunities at public housing authorities across the country. In 1999, he founded Gorman & Associates, a public and private sector business development firm in Washington, D.C. Patrick founded the Gunsinger Group, Inc., a Montana-based minerals extraction company focused on restarting operations at historic, former-producing gold mines. Patrick has two boys, Michael (17) and William (15), and lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his brilliant wife, Abigail.

Meghan Groome '00
Brooklyn, NY
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee

Meghan Groome is executive director of education at the New York Academy of Sciences where she created and oversees primary school through early stage faculty education programs. She is an adjunct assistant professor at SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry and the principal investigator and co-investigator on several National Science Foundation grants. Meghan was a consultant to the American Museum of Natural History. While at AMNH, she worked on special projects in the government relations and education departments. Prior, she was a senior policy analyst with the National Governors Association and worked on Gov. Janet Napolitano's Innovation America initiative and co-authored Building a STEM Agenda. At CC, she majored in biology and theater. She earned a Ph.D. .in science education at Teachers College Columbia University and is a certified science teacher.

Kristin Largen '90
Gettysburg, PA
Governance Committee
Scholarship Committee

Kristin Johnston Largen graduated from Colorado College with honors in English. After living (and running!) in Boulder, she attended Wartburg Seminary for her M.Div. degree and earned a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the Graduate Theological Union in 2002. An ordained Lutheran minister, she served a congregation in Arvada, Colorado, before taking a teaching position at Gettysburg Seminary (now United Lutheran Seminary) in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She is a professor at the seminary and serves as associate dean of religious and spiritual life/college chaplain at Gettysburg College. Kristin is excited about building support for CC and strengthening the alumni network. She loves to travel, read, write, run half-marathons and spend time with her husband John and their Jack Russell Terrier, Henry.
 

Maria Barsallo Lynch '07
Aurora, CO
Nominations and Awards Committee

Maria's work has been rooted in seeking systemic change for challenging social issues by leading funding and fundraising strategy in the nonprofit and political arenas. As a Fellow and Program Director at the El Pomar Foundation, Maria coordinated regional programs and served as a regional representative. Maria served as a Colorado Deputy Finance Director for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet. After consulting for Colorado College, where she coordinated a nationwide alumni re-engagement initiative, Maria joined The Knowledge is Power Program Colorado Schools' team, serving as director of development.

Inspired by her family's humble roots and her experiences as a Panamanian immigrant to the U.S., Maria founded and leads DESDE, a social enterprise that empowers marginalized Latin American artisans by providing them market access and the tools to navigate it. She is an alumna of the International DO School Fellowship and a NextGen Leader for the international FRED Leadership Forum.

She holds a B.A. in political science and history from Colorado College. Maria lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Dermot.

Elliot Mamet '15
Durham, NC
Nominations and Awards Committee

Elliot Mamet is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Duke University. His research interests include political theory, incarceration, and the political status of D.C. and the U.S. territories. Previously, Elliot worked on the staff of the American Political Science Association in Washington, D.C.

Elliot has served as Colorado College Student Trustee and has also volunteered as an alumni interviewer and homecoming committee member. He is excited to serve on the Alumni Association Council and to help deepen alumni engagement with the College.

Eric Mellum '90

Foster City, CA
Governance Committee
Nominations and Awards Committee

A native of Minneapolis, Eric Mellum graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics. Eric started his career as a Systems Engineer for EDS Corporation, and then as a Management Consultant at Deloitte. Today, Eric owns a technology and management consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay Area where he lives with his wife Jennifer. He has also been a professional opera singer, singing with The Minnesota Opera, Opera San José and several others for more than 20 years. Eric loves playing soccer and hockey, as well as international travel and language study. Eric is a former President of the Alumni Association, and a passionate volunteer and advocate for Colorado College.

Tara Moncure '08
Venice, CA
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee

Tara is a Los Angeles based creative, working as an integrated producer and voice artist. After CC, Tara returned home to New York to study Meisner at William Esper Studio. Before relocating to Los Angeles in 2016, she worked extensively on camera and on stage as talent and production lead. Today, she divides her time between producing for a global brand team and voicing characters for animation and radio.

Tara has stayed close to CC, working alongside fellow alumni ambassadors to curate events celebrating New York alumni. She is excited to serve as member of the CC Alumni Association Council, strengthening the college's presence in Southern California and connecting current students to careers in the arts.

Wes Mooney '00
Stevensville, MI
Nominations and Awards Committee

Wes was a political science major. While at CC, he played football, served as Class of 2000 President, and was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. After graduation, Wes worked for Kappa Sigma headquarters for two years, then held a variety of sales and marketing roles with Stanley Black & Decker, Crayola, Whirlpool, and Sun Dolphin Kayaks. He is currently the senior vice president of sales at Kids2, makers of Baby Einstein, Ingenuity, and Bright Starts products for infants, toddlers, and moms. Wes resides in Stevensville, Michigan, with his wife, Shelly, and their kids, Logan (15), Peighton (13), and Carson (10). The Mooneys are planning to relocate to Atlanta, GA in 2020.

Judy Reid '65, P'02
Boulder, CO
Nominations and Awards Committee

Judy Reid received her degree in romance languages. She was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority, a class officer, and was on the Colorado College Honor Council. Judy and her husband Richard Collins live in Boulder and have been active supporters of many Boulder initiatives. Judy co-chaired the Mapleton School Centennial Committee and supported the Boulder County Arts Alliance, which acts as a catalyst to incubate, stimulate, and sustain a thriving arts community in Boulder County. Judy is a member of the Alumni Association Council and is eager to connect with alumni along the Front Range.

Allie Romo '14
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee
Scholarship Committee
 

Sarah Lee Winstead '08
San Francisco, CA
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee
Scholarship Committee

Sarah brings a rich and varied background to her volunteer work, including skills and experience in relationship cultivation, project management, editorial writing, and event planning/execution.

After studying theater at CC, Sarah earned a M.S. in marriage and family therapy from Northwestern University and spent several years at a nonprofit psychotherapy practice in Oakland. In 2012, Sarah launched a Bay Area-focused fashion blog before becoming an editor at 7x7 Magazine. Sarah works at Grow Marketing, an experiential/events marketing agency in North Beach.

Sarah serves as social media and events chair for ArtPoint, a young professional arm of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She is a board member of Haight Ashbury Psychological Services, and had hosted fundraisers for Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

When not working or volunteering, Sarah takes advantage of all that the Bay Area has to offer, whether it's hiking in Point Reyes, swimming in the bay, or visiting family. Sarah lives with her husband James and a large collection of Stephen King novels.

Elliott Williams '21
Colorado Springs, CO
Alumni and Student Engagement Committee
Scholarship Committee 

Elliott Williams came to CC from his small hometown of Norwich, Vermont. He majored in Political Science and wrote his thesis on the possibility of human happiness in modern society. His fondest CC memories include classroom discussions on justice and free will, cutthroat rugby games and goofiness, participating in Relations the Play, and connecting with CC leadership and alumni through his work as Student Trustee. Elliott stayed in Colorado Springs after graduating in 2021 to work as a Fellow at El Pomar Foundation and continue to enjoy the great outdoor spaces the city has to offer.