Class Notes —
1970s
Kevin Kranen ’77 lives in Menlo Park, CA, with his wife, Kathryn, and their children Kyle and Kayla. He is the director of strategic alliances at Synopsys, the largest supplier of electronic design automation (EDA) software. [A] Tom Proost ’77 is a production designer living in the Bay Area. He’s worked on films such as Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Matrix. Mia (Mary) Keyes ’78 married Tom Proost ’77 and has served as the copy manager for NikeStore.com. She has two daughters, Oona and India Jane, and works as a freelancer for Levi’s, World Market and Williams-Sonoma.
1980s
Karen Gorton ’82 earned her doctorate in nursing in 2010 and is the assistant dean for undergraduate programs for the College of Nursing at University of Northern Colorado. Amanda Cosgrove Paffrath ’85 owns two businesses in downtown Racine. She graduated from UW-Madison in 1989 and currently lives with her husband Mark Paffrath ’70 and children, Wes and Nohra. [B] Paula Chudd ’88 received her master’s degree in 2012 and recently completed her second master’s degree in education and special education. She lives in Portland, OR, with her husband where she teaches in Portland Public Schools.
26 | prairieschool.com/alumni
1990s
Andrew Chudd ’93 lives in Seattle, WA where he is a senior software developer for Amazon.com’s Appstore for Android. He also owns Andrew Paris Software and develops iPhone and Android apps and most recently launched Find Me Alert, a family safety mobile application. Kelley Williams ’94 was honored recently by the United Way of Greater Milwaukee as an Emerging Leader. He is an integration leader at HarleyDavidson Motor Company and recently started the Williams Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to mentor youth and help with college planning. Andrew Isaacson ’95 produced content for The Famous Group’s ninth consecutive Super Bowl and was involved with the Together We Make Super Bowl campaign. He also recently produced the entire content package for the Milwaukee Bucks game day presentation. [C] Benjamin Isaacson ’96 works in the Business Process Technology department at SC Johnson in Racine. He set his marathon personal best in Kenosha last spring and has four children. Michael Borzynski ’99 and Shay Boero Borzynski ’00 and their three sons Joe (4), Prairie School first-grader Jack (6) and Jordan (2) traveled to New Orleans for vacation. [X]
2000s
Kristen Pichelman Dembroski, Ph.D. ’00 earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Wisconsin, a master’s degree in education from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in language and literacy from Cardinal
Stritch University. She is the reading specialist and eighth grade language arts teacher at Whitnall Middle School in Greenfield. [D] Nathan Miller ’00 is a computer technician for the Air National Guard. He earned his degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and two years ago started Wisco Stone, a natural stone fabrication company. Julie Kollwelter ’01 owns a 500-acre dairy farm in Whitewater. The herd average is more than 40,000 pounds, the highest in the state. Chris Martinez ’02 is the co-founder of a technology startup company called Glow. Casey Rockwood ’02 is a social worker for Monterey County, CA, and is earning his master’s degree at California State University. Previously he served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador and also worked for Peacock Acres, a non-profit residential program for foster youth. Jesse Geiken ’03 is a canine handler for the Rockford Police Department in Rockford, IL. He has worked for the department for seven years and been a member of the K-9 unit for the past three. His partner is a young German shepherd named Murph. [E] Ari Hagopian ’03 majored in marketing at Loyola University in Chicago where he also played soccer. He is a personal trainer at Fitness Formula Club. Christian Hansen ’03 is a professional painter and owns his own company, CHansen Painting, in Racine.