1964
Puget Sound Professor Emeritus Bill Baarsma ’64, P’93 was awarded Washington State Historical Society’s 2021 Robert Gray Medal for his significant contributions to the study and teaching of Pacific Northwest history. The medal is the highest award bestowed by the historical society and recognizes distinguished and long-term contributions to Pacific Northwest history.
1967
Sheldon Goldberg ’67, P’83 continues to write book reviews for Jewish Veteran, the quarterly newsletter of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A., and was recently invited to write book reviews for H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online. A short article Goldberg wrote on British Colonel Tom Neville Grazebrook and Operation Eclipse (the plan to disarm Germany after World War II) was published in the November/December issue of Officer Review, the official journal of the Military Order of the World Wars. Grazebrook was the key figure in the first chapter of Goldberg’s book From Disarmament to Rearmament (Ohio University Press, 2017).
1971
Former ASUPS execs Tom Leavitt ’71, JD’75, P’10 (at right in photo below) and Brian Thompson ’71 met up for dinner last fall. Thompson served as president of the Black Student Union and was twice ASUPS vice president. He went on to Howard University Law School, where he was elected president of the law school student body, and enjoyed a distinguished career, ultimately retiring as assistant attorney general in the corporations division for the state of California. Leavitt, after working in private practice for many years, ventured into entrepreneurship, founding Leavitt Capital Companies and becoming a founding member of the board of directors for Puget Sound Bank. Leavitt, a former ASUPS president, says he and Thompson may have been the first students ever invited to address a meeting of the board of trustees; Leavitt later would serve on the board of trustees for 25 years. In 2016, he was a recipient of the Service to Puget Sound Distinguished Alumni Award.
Penelope Price Mathiesen ’71 and Thomas Mathiesen recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They were married on Sept. 11, 1971, at Brea Congregational Church in Brea, Calif. Penny volunteers in the Monroe County History Center Research Library and writes and edits articles for the center’s newsletter. Tom’s retirement hobbies include restoring antique clocks and music boxes. They live in Ellettsville, Ind.
1976
Nationally known speaker, educator, and retreat leader Care Dressel Tuk ’76 recently published her latest book, Don’t Wimp Out: Finding Faith, Courage, and Victory in Life’s Daily Battles. At the time the book went to print, Tuk had just completed treatment for her 11th bout with cancer. She lives in Wasilla, Alaska, with her husband, Bill. They have two grown children, Jamie and Tim, who live nearby. Don’t Wimp Out is available at caretuk.com.
1985
David Breneman ’85 is back on campus. He’s now working part time as the operations advisor for the campus radio station, KUPS 90.1FM The Sound. David writes: “I’m hoping that the station will benefit from my experience, gained in 45 years working in and around broadcasting.”
At the November Speaker Series Luncheon of the Meridian (Idaho) Chamber of Commerce, Shelly Houston ’85 was named the chamber’s 2021 Woman of the Year. According to the chamber’s Facebook post, the award honors individuals who “truly exemplify what it means to support your community.”
1988
Lori Brown ’88 was elected president of the Pacific Harbors Council, Boy Scouts of America, in Tacoma. Involved in scouting as a parent and leader since 2011, Brown previously served as vice president for development for the organization. “It is an honor to serve the Boy Scouts of America,” Brown writes. “Both of my sons benefitted greatly from this organization.” Along with Karen Meier, CEO of Pacific Harbors Council, the women are the first top female leaders in the 100-plus-year history of Boy Scouts of America.
Andrew Nelson ’88 and his Winthrop, Wash., practice, Altius Physical Therapy, were featured in the January issue of Runner’s World. After graduating from Puget Sound with a double major in religion and physical therapy, Nelson was a practicing physical therapist in Oregon and Idaho before starting his “log cabin practice” in the mountain town of Winthrop. He credits the interdisciplinary nature of his education with setting the tone for his approach to care. “We all express our religious beliefs in how we see ourselves interacting in the world around us, especially when handling injury,” he writes. “I used to joke that I would open a one-stop healing shop; if I couldn’t get you physically, I’d get you spiritually.”
1992
Julie Benson Denmark ’92 and her husband, Curtis, recently completed a sailing voyage on the Pacific Ocean. They left San Diego in 2018 and visited many islands, including French Polynesia, The Cook Islands, Niue, New Zealand, Tuvalu, and Kiribati. “Experiencing village life and engaging with native island cultures was a highlight of the adventure,” Denmark writes. The couple attempted to wait out COVID-19 in the atolls of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a year and half before setting sail for a 40-day passage home to the Puget Sound in July 2021. They sailed (and now live aboard) their 48-foot Tayana sailboat, named Manna. Learn more at SailingManna.blogspot.com.
1993
The essay “Oh, Crap! What NOW?!” by Jason Saffir Zenobia ’93, former writer and editor of The Trail, was included in the latest anthology from University of Hell Press, 2020* The Year of the Asterisk: American Essays, edited by Greg Gerding.
1994
David Coleman ’94 has a new venture. After more than 30 years in the aviation industry, he has launched Coleman Jet Solutions, a boutique aircraft transaction firm that provides individuals and businesses with technical, regulatory, and financial advisory services. Headquartered in the heart of Chicago’s North Shore, the firm comprises a team of industry veterans with nearly 100 years of collective experience. Learn more at colemanjets.com.
HFO Investment Real Estate recently appointed Jennifer Lagana Lyke ’94 as director of operations. Well known within the commercial real estate industry for her 25-year career with Chicago Title as vice president and commercial escrow manager, Lyke consistently earned recognition as a top national commercial escrow officer. Lyke and her husband have lived in Portland, Ore., for 25 years, raising their two teenage children and a 5-year-old tuxedo cat named Mittens.
1997
Former U.S. Army National Guard/Reserves chaplain Kelly Wadsworth ’97 was featured in the four-part PBS documentary series American Veteran in the fall. The series explores veterans’ varying perspectives on their war-zone experiences. According to an article in The Seattle Times, Wadsworth entered Princeton Theological Seminary in 2000 and was recruited to join the Army chaplain candidate program in spring 2001. She began her basic training in 2002, and was deployed to Iraq for a year in 2008. She appears in episodes three and four of the series. Wadsworth currently serves as senior pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Salem, Ore.
1998
Jennifer Swanson Grafton ’98 was appointed senior vice president and general counsel of NewAge Inc., a Colorado-based organic and healthy products company. She joins NewAge from E2open Parent Holdings Inc., a global provider of supply chain management software, and she previously held positions with Westmoreland Companies and Kutak Rock & Berenbaum.
In September, Elliot Stockstad ’98, MEd’04 took a new role as the executive director of the MultiCare Health Foundation. Stockstad writes: “I’m excited about this opportunity to partner for healing and a healthy future for Tacoma/ Pierce County!”
2002
Tracy Bott ’02 has returned to life overseas, and is now working as an office management specialist with the Department of State’s Foreign Service. After almost six months of French language training, Bott and her family moved to Rabat, Morocco, for two years, and are enjoying the rich culture, sights, beaches, and food. Port Angeles (Wash.)
Marathon Association race director Victoria Butt Jones ’02 was named the 2021 Washington State Event Organizer of the Year by the Washington Festivals and Events Association. She also was recognized with several additional Pacific Northwest Summit Awards for events on the Olympic Peninsula. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Jones has put on 27 events—22 of which were entirely virtual. During this time, the existing events had a more than 300% increase in participation and included people from all 50 states and five countries.
2003
Liz Calora ’03 was recently inducted as president of Washington Women Lawyers, an organization dedicated to further the full integration of women in the legal profession and promoting equal rights and opportunities for women. She previously served as president of WWL’s Pierce County chapter. Along with her partners at Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, Calora represents injured people and their families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases across Washington state. After earning her bachelor’s degree in French and international affairs at Puget Sound, Calora obtained her law degree from University of Washington School of Law.
2005
Maren Buck ’05, associate professor of chemistry at Smith College, was one of three faculty members recognized with the college’s 2021 Sherrerd Distinguished Teaching Awards. The honor is awarded annually to faculty members—nominated by students—who have elevated teaching to the highest levels of art and science at Smith.
Cara Christensen ’05 was appointed to the Snoqualmie (Wash.) City Council in September. She has worked as an attorney for law firms in Irvine, Calif., and in Seattle. An active resident of the Snoqualmie Valley, Christensen previously served on the City of Snoqualmie Planning Commission in 2015–17 and 2020.
Tonkon Torp LLP announced the appointment of attorney Maureen McGee ’05 to its government solutions and its government relations and public policy practice groups. Previously, she spent nearly nine years with the Oregon Office of the Legislative Counsel, providing nonpartisan, policy-neutral legal services to the 90 members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly.
2008
Carolyn Ham ’08 graduated in May from University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a Master of Public Health degree and graduate certificate in aging, policy, and public health. She currently lives in Olympia, Wash., and works at Washington State Department of Health’s Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program.
2012
Performing under the moniker “Ollella,” Ellie Barber ’12 released her latest song, “Walking on Fire,” last fall. In an interview with The Sopris Sun, she shares that the song was prompted by one morning’s “apocalyptic” scene of wildfire smoke and coastal fog she witnessed while living in the Bay Area in 2020. Barber has been a passionate artist, activist, and educator since performing and studying environmental sciences at Puget Sound. Hear “Walking on Fire” on all streaming platforms now, and learn more at ollellamusic.com.
2017
Congratulations to Sam Scott ’17, who was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for $138,000 for ongoing PhD work in clinical psychology at University of Denver.
2020
Will Brooks ’20 is having a big year. He was featured in an article in The News Tribune recently, when he broke the Washington state record for identifying as many species of birds as possible within a calendar year—what birders call a “Big Year.” At the time of the article, Brooks had seen 376 birds in 2021, surpassing the record, previously set in 2012. According to the piece, Brooks has applied for grad school to continue studying evolutionary biology and birds, obviously.