UWYO Magazine Vol.25 No.1

Volume 25, Number 1, Fall 2023

UW POWERS WYOMING’S WORKFORCE

THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

John Griffin, Lionel Grimes and Guillermo Hysaw

are members of the Black 14 — the group of UW football players who were kicked off the team in 1969 for their desire to protest discrimination. This summer, they visited Laramie to participate in the second annual Black 14 Social Justice Institute — a weeklong program that provides high schoolers the opportunity to research contemporary issues including civil rights and social justice.

BY

PHOTO

ALI GROSSMAN

FEATURES

14 / LEADERS AND CREATORS / From launching their own businesses to leading companies and nonprofits, College of Business graduates play a key role in the state’s economy.

18 / BOOSTING TOURISM / UW helps develop recreation and tourism through a partnership between the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the College of Business.

21 / THINK LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR / The Wyoming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation brings resources to students and citizens alike.

22 / IF YOU BUILD IT … / The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences offers programming to fill workforce gaps and produces tech entrepreneurs ready to diversify the state’s economy.

27 / UW LAUNCHES SCHOOL OF COMPUTING / The new school will offer academic programs and serve as an interdisciplinary hub.

30 / CUTTING-EDGE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT / The School of Energy Resources enhances energy-related education, research and outreach.

32 / HEALTH CARE FOR WYOMING / From social workers to doctors and nurses, the College of Health Sciences educates the state’s health-care workforce.

36 / EDUCATING EDUCATORS / UW graduates make up nearly half of K–12 educators and administrators in the state.

41 / GOING THE DISTANCE / Online and continuing education help UW reach every corner of the state.

46 / AGRICULTURE AND BEYOND / UW’s College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources graduates power a wide variety of industries in the state, from health care to innovation.

68 / ARTS AND SCIENCES ACROSS THE STATE / The College of Arts and Sciences produces graduates who serve Wyoming in many roles and industries.

74 / ADVANCING RURAL LAW / The UW College of Law helps students stay in the state, addressing the shortage of rural lawyers.

DEPARTMENTS

ON THE COVER

After studying outdoor recreation and tourism management, Jaxon King started his own outdoor guiding company in Saratoga. (See page 18.) Photo by Melissa King’s Lens.

UWyo

The Magazine for Alumni and Friends of the University of Wyoming Fall 2023 | Volume 25, No. 1 uwyo.edu/uwyo

University President: Edward Seidel

Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing: Chad Baldwin

Editor: Micaela Myers

Design: Michelle Eberle, Emily Edgar, Hallie Davis, Casidy Mittelstadt, Brittny Wroblewski, Audrey Merwin

Photography: Ted Brummond, Andrew Wee unless noted

Video: Ali Grossman, Mary Jung, Kyriessa Lane

Contributing Editors: Chad Baldwin, Tamara Linse

Contributing Writers: Tamara Linse, Michelle Sunset, Angela Ver Ploeg

AlumNews/WyoGrams: Michael Blaney, Abi Gerhard, Jennifer Kirk, Sunnie Jo Lew, Tamara Linse, Tanner Russell

UWyo is published three times per year as a partnership between UW Institutional Marketing and the UW Alumni Association. UWyo is supported by UW Research & Economic Development, Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and the Office of the President. ©2023 by the University of Wyoming. All rights reserved. Excerpts from this magazine may be reprinted with permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the University of Wyoming and copies of reprinted materials are provided to the editor.

UWyo

University of Wyoming 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3226 Laramie, WY 82071-2000 uwyomag@uwyo.edu

The University is committed to equal opportunity for all persons in all facets of the University’s operations. All qualified applicants for employment and educational programs, benefits, and services will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, creed, ancestry, political belief or any other applicable category protected by law and University policy.

Meeting Wyoming’s Current and Future Workforce Needs

By Ed Seidel

It’s no secret that a majority of those graduating from the University of Wyoming move out of the state to pursue their careers. The most recent numbers peg this outflux at about 70 percent of our graduating classes.

Certainly, some of the graduates who leave Wyoming do so because they have a desire to live elsewhere and pursue other opportunities. Others leave because of a lack of job opportunities in their chosen fields. We also know that some who depart eventually come back, having experienced life elsewhere and wanting to return to the lifestyle afforded by Wyoming.

While the university, state leaders and others in the private and public sectors are working hard to find ways to retain UW graduates in the state, it’s worth shining a light on those who stay in Wyoming. That is the focus of this edition of UWyo Magazine. These stories not only show how important the university is to the state’s communities and economy, but they also illustrate the ways in which UW and its graduates are contributing to Wyoming’s current and future economy.

On these pages, you’ll read about how UW supplies the workforce for the state’s critical education, health care and legal sectors. Wyoming’s key minerals, agriculture and tourism industries — the Big Three — are driven by UW graduates. You’ll also read how some of our graduates are working to diversify and advance these important legacy industries, through efforts such as carbon research and indoor farming.

A number of new UW programs are meeting important workforce needs in the state, including construction management, process controls and software development. But we also are focused on helping create new opportunities for our students to stay in the state through new programs in

entrepreneurship. In addition to stories about success in serving existing markets, you’ll read about budding entrepreneurs creating their own opportunities in robotics, computing and manufacturing.

Additionally, there are stories about UW graduates on the cutting edge of Wyoming’s expanding creative economy.

The fact that many of our graduates leave the state is nothing new — it is something that has been happening for many years. It’s something that multiple generations of state and university leaders have been concerned about and worked to address. The consensus is that retaining more of our graduates would contribute to their personal success, the state’s prosperity and moving the state forward.

The work to strengthen and diversify the state’s economy also is nothing new — it’s something that multiple generations of state leaders have been striving for. Since my arrival three years ago, I have put an increased emphasis on the role of UW in growing the state’s economy, including work in innovation and the creation of new markets. The university is a partner in the many efforts aimed at economic diversification, including the Wyoming Innovation Partnership (WIP) led by Gov. Mark Gordon that also involves the community colleges and the Wyoming Business Council.

UW’s role in these diversification efforts includes producing graduates with diverse skills so that companies looking to locate here can have a talented workforce to draw from; conducting research with potential for commercial application in a variety of areas, and then helping turn that research into new business opportunities; encouraging startup businesses through such things as startup challenges, and then helping incubate those businesses; instilling an entrepreneurial mindset

and skills in our graduates; and helping our existing industries diversify through research and outreach efforts.

In support of these activities, we recently launched three new initiatives — the School of Computing; the Wyoming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; and the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality Initiative. All are aimed, in part, at helping stimulate economic diversification. In particular, the School of Computing is working to instill computing skills in all of our students to prepare them for the wide variety of careers in our increasingly digital world. Additional initiatives in artificial intelligence, controlled environment agriculture, nuclear energy and in other sectors are in the works.

Please join me in celebrating the contributions of UW graduates to our state — and in striving to create an environment in which all of those who wish to stay here have the opportunity to do so. As a number of UW graduates featured in this magazine make clear, Wyoming’s future is indeed very bright.

Ed Seidel is UW’s 28th president.

CONNECTING WYOMING TO THE WORLD

Supporting the international students and faculty of today. Preparing leaders for the challenges of tomorrow’s world. Creating life-changing international experiences. Building Wyoming’s global community.

| Intercultural community engagement

| Education abroad opportunities

| Grants, fellowships, awards

| Transdisciplinary exploration

| Workshops

| Faculty resources

| Student & scholar immigration support

| Language classes

| International research

| Global partnerships

| Student leadership opportunities

| Outreach

Learn about our programs at www.uwyo.edu/global

APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP! CONTACT US TO LEARN ABOUT FULBRIGHT OPPORTUNITIES.

UW Powers Wyoming’s Workforce

By Angela Ver Ploeg

Thousands of University of Wyoming students graduate each year. While some leave the state for jobs, many choose to stay and enter industries in every corner of Wyoming. Here are some fun facts about alumni employment in the state, using data from LinkedIn and UW.

Western EcoSystems Technology Inc. (WEST) was founded in 1990 by UW alum Dale Strickland and former faculty member Lyman McDonald, with a world headquarters in Cheyenne. WEST is a highly respected and successful environmental and statistical consulting firm and a key partner on a variety of research initiatives at UW as well as a proud employer of 28 UW alumni.

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center is the largest employer of UW alumni in the state (besides state government and UW). Since 1995, Cheyenne Regional has partnered with UW, supporting programs from the health sciences to the arts, including a joint nursing faculty position.

Southwest Wyoming is home of the largest known trona deposits in the world. Over 100 UW alumni work in this industry, which supplies 90 percent of the nation’s soda ash, an important material for making glass that also is used extensively in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

In 2010, Bright Agrotech, which was created by UW graduate students, won the John P. Ellbogen $30K competition. The company was purchased by Plenty in 2017. In 2023, the State Loan and Investment Board approved a $20 million grant to the city of Laramie to build the world’s largest and most advanced vertical farming research center. The project will support the retention and creation of nearly 200 highpaying jobs. Presently, Plenty employs 24 UW alumni in Wyoming.

In addition to private companies, UW alumni also serve key roles in state employment, including UW (1,896), the state of Wyoming (327), Laramie County Community College (131), Casper College (110), Wyoming Department of Transportation (80), Wyoming Department of Health (74), Wyoming Army National Guard (65) and Wyoming Game and Fish Department (47).

UW alumni form the backbone of Wyoming’s K–12 education system: 46% of teachers are alumni, and 42% of leadership hold advanced UW degrees (Wyoming Department of Education statistics). The top two school districts employing UW alumni are Laramie County School District 1 with 236 and Natrona County School District 1 with 136.

WYOMING FAMILY CONTINUES UW LEGACY THROUGH BUSINESS DEANSHIP

The towering legacy of a Wyoming family has been further honored with the creation the H.A. “Dave” True Jr. Family College of Business Deanship. The purpose of the True Deanship is to enrich the business climate within the state by supporting the dean of the UW College of Business and the college’s education, research and outreach. Funds can be used to recruit and help retain top talent and to foster excellence and address critical needs and priorities of the College of Business.

UW MUSEUM OF VERTEBRATES RECEIVES SIGNIFICANT COLLECTION OF ANIMAL MOUNTS

UW has been gifted a large collection of animal mounts — the Riley Collection — to be used for display and research purposes within UW’s Museum of Vertebrates. This gift from Robert V. “Bob” and Michelle Underwood includes Wyoming species such as grizzly bear, black bear, mountain lion, moose, and pheasant and exotic nonnative animals such as rock hyrax, springhare, muskox, hartebeest, stone sheep, tahr, caribou, fallow deer, capybara, Cape buffalo, eland and zebra, among others. The gift honors of Michelle’s family, the Rileys, which has deep Wyoming ties that date back to 1856.

LILIANE AND CHRISTIAN HAUB FUND PROFESSORSHIP IN UW’S HAUB SCHOOL

A gift to UW from philanthropists Liliane and Christian Haub will establish the Liliane and Christian Haub Professorship in the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, which will support the school’s work in environment and natural resources. The purpose of the professorship is to help early-career faculty maximize their impact on the Haub School through their research, teaching and outreach efforts. The professorship will be used to recruit and retain exceptional early-career faculty and will rotate every three years to a new high-performing faculty member.

NEW APPOINTMENTS

Joe Holbrook, a UW assistant professor in carnivore and habitat ecology, has been named the first Wyoming Biodiversity Term Professor for the Jackson Fork Ranch –University of Wyoming Research Project. The position promotes environmental stewardship and conservation across Wyoming, with an initial focus on the greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

IMPACT 307, a UW startup business development program, has a new assistant director serving Laramie, Cheyenne and the surrounding areas. Josh Keefe will provide business startup advisory services to innovative growth-oriented entrepreneurs in southeast Wyoming.

Beth Venn, an arts leader, curator and writer with expertise in American modernism and contemporary arts and culture, has been chosen to lead UW’s new Neltje Center for Excellence in Creativity and the Arts.

RESEARCH UNDERWAY

UW Lands $40.5M From Department of Energy for New CarbonSAFE Project

Professor Part of Team That Recovered Section of Earth’s Mantle

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the School of Energy Resources to receive a $40.5 million award over three years to support the development of a new and expanded large-scale commercial carbon storage project in the Greater Green River Basin. The project will develop the Sweetwater Carbon Storage Hub in collaboration with Frontier Carbon Solutions LLC. This is the largest single competitive award in UW history. In addition to the federal funding from DOE, the project will receive $10.1 million in cost sharing, bringing the total project to $50.6 million.

Research Favors Testing and Voluntary Isolation Over Closures in Disease Outbreaks

Center for Air Quality Collaborates With CSU on Methane Project

In the early 1960s, geologists conceived of an idea to reach Earth’s mantle via Project MoHole, an effort to drill through Earth’s crust to obtain samples of the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or Moho — the boundary between the crust and the mantle. At the time, excitement for it rivaled the possibility of American astronauts walking on the moon. Fast forward over 60 years, and the achievement of recovering a long section of Earth’s mantle has finally been accomplished. Barbara John, a professor in the UW Department of Geology and Geophysics, was part of a research team that drilled into mantle rocks to obtain the section of Earth’s mantle.

Regular diagnostic testing and self-isolation can be more effective than school and business closures when it comes to combating infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, according to a new study by UW Department of Economics faculty members Stephen Newbold, David Finnoff, Jason Shogren and Linda Thunstrom, along with recent Ph.D. graduate Madison Ashworth. The team developed an epidemiological and economic model to compare the effectiveness of physical distancing mandates with policies encouraging regular testing and self-isolation to combat an emerging pandemic.

The Center for Air Quality at UW will help conduct research to accurately depict methane emissions from oil and gas supply chains in Wyoming and Colorado basins. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management recently selected Colorado State University (CSU) Energy Institute’s Methane Emissions Program to lead the project. To advance innovative methane measurement, monitoring and mitigation technologies, the collaborative team of CSU, UW and Penn State University aims to demonstrate that high-frequency sampling can be used to create inventory emissions estimates that accurately represent emissions in a basin.

Collaborative research projects, staff and Ph.D. student visits, collaborative education programs and an annual series of seminars, conferences and workshops are all planned as part of a five-year partnership between UW and Cardiff University in Wales, United Kingdom. The agreement is Cardiff’s maiden strategic partnership with a U.S. higher education institution. For UW, it’s an agreement with depth beyond those previously developed with other international institutions.

PHOTO

PHOTO BY CARDIFF UNIVERSITY

THREE RECEIVE UW HONORARY DEGREES

UW MAKES NEW FINANCIAL AID COMMITMENTS TO TRANSFER STUDENTS

Beginning this fall, UW will make transferring easier and more affordable than ever with the addition of the Wyoming Transfer Commitment and the Pokes Transfer Commitment. The transfer financial pledges are for new first-time transfer students. Award levels for qualified students vary between $2,000 and $6,000 annually, depending on a student’s cumulative transfer GPA. The commitment can be renewed for up to six semesters thanks to the generosity of UW Foundation donors and institutional aid.

This past May, UW conferred its highest award, the honorary doctoral degree, upon three deserving individuals. “An honorary degree from the University of Wyoming recognizes excellence in individuals who embody the university’s high ideals and exemplify the values of excellence, service and integrity,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “These degrees recognize outstanding accomplishments in all professions, public service or service to humanity.”

Harold Garde (BFA 1949) was a highly regarded American painter and printmaker, best known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. John List is the Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago (Ph.D. economics, 1996). His research focuses on combining field experiments with economic theory to deepen the understanding of economic science. Paul Street is a highly respected Laramie High School mathematics instructor (M.S. mathematics, 1984). He is regarded as an inspirational teacher, mentor, department head, coach and multicultural educator by students, teachers and administrators throughout Wyoming.

July 8, 2023 - may 18, 2024

featuring guest curator: Robert martinez

This exhibition is made possible through support from the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional funding provided through the generosity of Genesis Alkali, Pence and MacMillan LLC, Roy and Caryl Cline, and the Ron and Patti Salvagio Endowment for Art Museum Programs.

Course Readies Veterans for Workforce

UW’s Marna M. Kuehne Foundation Veterans Services Center serves those who served. The resource and support center is open to military and veterans and their dependents. Among its many activities, the center sponsors the Veterans Campus to Career Course.

“The course is specifically designed to engage the employability of military and veterans as they graduate from UW and enter the search of future careers and professions — often seeing our students gain employment in Wyoming businesses,” says Marty Martinez, the center’s director.

The course is instructed by U.S. Air Force veteran T. K. Stoudt. He introduces students to many aspects of career search and preparation, partnering with guest lecturers from local businesses, such as Trihydro, IMPACT 307, Zenith and the Cheyenne VA. Students undergo a semester-long study of their chosen career fields, enhanced instruction in cover letter and resume writing, and best practices in tailoring and

submitting applications and improving job interview skills.

“I enjoy the high student engagement in this course because all of the assignments and products produced are about them,” Stoudt says. “They’re so eager to use their newly acquired critical thinking, writing and organization skills to invest in themselves — and they produce graduate-level work and products that help secure a job that will lead to a rewarding career.”

One graduate of the course is Alexander Gunter, who came to UW after five years in the U.S. Air Force stationed in Cheyenne.

“The Career Readiness Course helped me tailor my federal resume and landed me a rare and competitive internship with the Air Force,” says Gunter, who earned his bachelor’s degree in economics (2019) and graduated with his MBA this past spring. “We also had the opportunity to visit IMPACT 307. I didn’t know it then, but this visit would equip me with the network of people and mentors I would use to launch my business in 2023.”

His digital transformation consulting company, Unicorncat Consulting, helps businesses and other organizations adopt technology to boost their productivity, including artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT.

Of his time at UW, Gunter says, “The sense of community at the Veterans Services Center makes all the difference.”

The Wyoming Institute for Disabilities

Jenni and Alexander Gunter

• Class schedule planning

• Early class registration

• One-on-one and small group tutoring

• Applications for free federal financial aid

• Access to key college staff and offices

• Help balancing life challenges

Interested in applying? Contact us at sss@uwyo.edu or scan this code

Interested in applying? Contact us at sss@uwyo.edu

One of the exciting companies to grow out of the College of Business is Disa Technologies Inc. based in Casper. Disa has six patents for its high-pressure slurry ablation technology for mineral processing and remediation, which allows the company to separate valuable minerals from waste material.

GREYSON BUCKINGHAM, DISA TECHNOLOGIES

“It saves a lot of money in the mineral processing space, and in remediation, you can isolate the materials you want removed in a much more efficient manner,” explains CEO and President Greyson Buckingham, who earned his joint J.D. and energy management MBA degrees from UW in 2018. “We’re primarily focused on cleaning up abandoned uranium mines throughout the West. There are 15,000 abandoned uranium mines. There was no solution other than disposing of 100 percent of the material. We have a technology that can effectively address that problem and be up to 90 percent more cost effective. Then we can help convert a liability into an asset by removing the uranium and other minerals from the waste material.”

In addition to uranium, the company is working with a phosphate mine. Fellow energy management MBA graduate John Lee serves as

Disa’s chief operating officer. The two competed in the John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition with a different business idea and then launched Disa in 2018. They garnered startup funding and support from the Wyoming Business Council’s Kickstart program and IMPACT 307’s Casper Start-Up Challenge, as well as seed and angel investments. Disa currently employs 14, and it plans to add 20 employees in the next year. The company especially loves hiring UW graduates,

whom its leaders find skilled and hard-working.

“One of our goals is to have 100 employees in Wyoming,” Buckingham says.

The company’s first investor was a UW professor who adamantly believed in the concept. Buckingham says he uses both his degrees equally, and they help him navigate complex issues, such as making sure the technology is regulated fairly under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

From launching their own businesses to leading companies and nonprofits, College of Business graduates play a key role in the state’s economy.

PHOTO BY DISA

John Lee and Greyson Buckingham

Currently, the U.S. imports 50 percent or more of 50 critical minerals, often from nations including China and Russia, Buckingham says. Disa can help the U.S. recover more of these minerals right here at home.

“From a national security standpoint, our company helps recover critical minerals, which is extremely important,” Buckingham says. “With the move toward nuclear power, we have enough uranium sitting on the surface of these abandoned mines to power the U.S. reactor fleet for two decades. How awesome would it be to clean up these sites and at the same time provide carbonneutral fuel supplies instead of getting it from places like Russia?”

Buckingham always knew he wanted to stay and work in Wyoming and found a supportive community ready to help.

“Without exaggeration, we’ve saved over half a million dollars just by people in Wyoming being so generous,” he says. This has included folks lending equipment and warehouse space.

He adds, “I think the state is doing a great job positioning itself in a way that will diversify the economy and provide jobs for younger generations.”

STUDYING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

University of Wyoming students have access to a robust entrepreneurship education program. They can choose to major in entrepreneurship through the College of Business, or any student can opt for an entrepreneurship minor. The minor includes three courses through the College of Business as well as a selection of interdisciplinary courses from other colleges. During their capstone course, students create business models and can even launch their businesses via the entrepreneurship competition.

“We recently hosted the 23rd annual John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition,” says Project Coordinator Josie Voight. “Our goal is to grow studentled businesses through education about best practices, sharing resources available to help them succeed and providing mentorship to support their journeys.”

The College of Business also recently launched a Venture MBA option, which combines traditional coursework with a mentored experiential learning project involving innovation. This option establishes clear pathways for students to engage in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, to create new businesses or to grow existing enterprises.

MELANIE

URWILLER, LENHART, MASON & ASSOCIATES

Melanie Urwiller is a certified public accountant with Lenhart, Mason & Associates LLC in her hometown of Casper. She knew she wanted to stay in Wyoming prior to graduating in 2012 with her bachelor’s degree in accounting.

“When I started going to job fairs and interviewing with potential employers, I saw the huge potential for my career here,” Urwiller says. “Being at UW connected me with the right people. I was able to meet with potential employers and make connections that I wouldn’t have otherwise, which led me to where I am today.”

At Lenhart, Mason & Associates, she focuses on tax and consulting for individuals and businesses. “I love

taking complex issues and points of stress for clients and putting them at ease,” Urwiller says. “I get to see my clients and their businesses flourish within our community, and I’m incredibly honored to be a part of that.”

To UW students, she advises getting involved, asking questions and making connections.

“Wyoming is the perfect place for young professionals right now,”

Urwiller says. “There is a wealth of knowledge from older generations set to retire, which also opens up so many doors for you to grow your career quickly! It’s a bonus that Wyoming is beautiful with so much space to explore.”

By Micaela Myers

MANDY FABEL, LEADERSHIP WYOMING

Mandy Fabel earned her MBA from UW in 2008 and competed in the John P. Ellbogen Entrepreneurship Competition with an outdoor business concept. Those experiences set the stage for a successful career. In 2018, Fabel took on the role of executive director of Leadership Wyoming, a program that helps connect, grow and inspire state leaders.

“Our core program involves running a 40-person cohort over nine months that spends time in several Wyoming communities,” says Fabel, who lives in Lander. “We also offer executive coaching and team coaching as well as other programs to support leaders in the state. I love that I get to work with passionate people who have chosen Wyoming as their home and want to help lead their companies, community and state.”

Leading a nonprofit requires many skills ranging from budgeting and board management to event planning and

fundraising. Fabel UW education prepared her well for the role, including the great networking, strong relationships with professors and business leaders, and the chance to serve as a graduate assistant with the Outdoor Program. In addition to her work with Leadership Wyoming, Fabel is a professional snowmobiler and a mom, writes a monthly column for The Sheridan Press and has a podcast with her husband called Granola and Gasoline.

To students hoping to stay in the state, she recommends keeping an open mind, looking at all options and being willing to work your way up. “You may be surprised someday to find yourself in a dream job because they wanted a candidate who had already proven successful in Wyoming,” Fabel says. Personally, she can’t imagine living

CHRISTOPHER FORNSTROM, CHANNEL SEED

It’s hard to list just one company after Christopher Fornstrom’s name because he wears many hats — and that’s just the way he likes it. Fornstrom earned his bachelor’s degree in business management in 2020, followed by his MBA in 2021. He then returned to his hometown of Pine Bluffs to work on the family farm, where they grow pinto beans, sugar beets, corn and wheat.

“The more I was away from the family farm, the more I knew I wanted to come back,” he says. “My main job is to help our family farm. I’m a fourth-generation farmer. I do a lot of bookwork on that end. I also sell seed corn for Channel Seed. That led us to work with Pine Bluffs Distilling (which produces a variety of whiskies as well as a vodka). We’ve been selling them our corn for three years and bought into the distillery as part owners two years ago.”

Fornstrom loves working outside and appreciates the farming and small-town lifestyle.

“If I’m ever bored, there’s always something to work

anywhere else: “There is something very special about communities made up of people who choose to live in a location for their love of the area and the people. Watching people weather a difficult winter and find ways to support neighbors and even strangers is incredibly inspiring. There are a lot of people who can’t imagine living somewhere that doesn’t have Uber and same-day Amazon delivery or where major interstates are often closed in the winter. But I can’t imagine living in a place where neighbors are not interconnected and supportive of each other.”

on to change up my scenery,” he says. “I like the sense of neighborly relationships you grow with people around you. It seems everyone is friendlier and closer when there are less of you. There are times we need help from our neighbors, and they are more than willing to lend a hand and jump in, in whatever way they can.”

To other UW students who want to stay in Wyoming, he recommends making as many connections as you can: “Put yourself out there and reach out to the industries you’re interested in joining. The great part about Wyoming business owners is that they’re willing to help the next generation, whether they can provide you with an internship or a tour of their business. Whatever help they can provide, they are willing.”

Fornstrom says UW’s MBA program gave him the hands-on experience he needed as well as great networking: “I’ve worked personally with my MBA classmates, I’ve reached out to professors since graduation, and I’ve done internships through the speakers in the executive speaker series. All the connections they give you are really the biggest advantage that UW provides.”

Mandy Fabel gave the keynote address at UW’s spring 2023 undergraduate commencement.

MeetHaubSchoolfacultymembers

TEMPLESTOELLINGER,JD

AssociateProfessorofLaw, Environment andNatural Resources

wildlife law,environmentaland natural resources lawandpolicy,publiclandlaw,the National EnvironmentalPolicyAct

DR.CORRIEKNAPP

AssistantProfessorofEnvironmentandSociety

climate changeadaptation, localandindigenous knowledge,land-basedlivelihoods,sense of place,conservationinnovation

DR.KEVINMONTEITH

ProfessorofNaturalResourceScience

sustainable big-game management,large-mammal nutrition,populationdynamics,and effectsof predation,climatechange,disturbance

Boosting Tourism

UW HELPS DEVELOP RECREATION AND TOURISM THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE HAUB SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS.

Sarah Reed earned her degree in outdoor recreation and tourism management and now works for the Wyoming Office of Tourism in Cheyenne.

By Micaela Myers

Ask anyone why they love living in Wyoming, and the great outdoors likely makes the list. Our vast open spaces, state parks and national parks, forests and monuments also draw ample tourism — a key revenue generator for the state. UW’s Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management Program and degree launched several years ago in support of this industry and has continued to grow.

“Tourism is the largest private employment sector in Wyoming, with over 33,000 people employed,” says Interim Director Dan McCoy. “We prioritize positions in Wyoming for our students seeking internships and employment. We have graduates all over the state in various positions who help power our economy.”

The program is a partnership between the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the College of Business. It emphasizes stewardship and conservation of natural resources, tourism and outdoor recreation theories and best practices, entrepreneurial and business management strategies, creating outstanding visitor experiences, and a broad understanding of cultural and natural resources. Students can choose from a variety of concentrations.

Enrollment is steadily growing, with new faculty and staff and 87 students currently pursuing the degree.

Jaxon King of Saratoga graduated in 2022 with a double major in outdoor recreation and tourism management and environment and

About the Haub School

The Haub School aims to advance the understanding and resolution of complex environmental and natural resource challenges. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs that emphasize critical thinking, collaborative problem solving and interdisciplinary approaches in environmental systems science, sustainability, outdoor leadership, environmental law and more.

The Ruckelshaus Institute further promotes the school’s goals with outreach initiatives and the Collaborative Solutions Program, which supports natural resource stakeholders around the region by providing information, resources, and collaborative problem solving trainings and services. The Wyoming Conservation Corps is also housed in the school and continues its legacy of carrying out the highest caliber of service for Wyoming’s public lands.

natural resources and now runs his own guiding company there: Jax Outdoors LLC.

“Before I graduated, I was educated on the ease of starting a business in Wyoming and was encouraged through UW to stay here in Wyoming to bolster the tourism and recreation economy,” he says.

“I take people fishing throughout the year. There’s a lot to love about what I do, but my favorite part is sharing my passion for the outdoors and teaching others about it. I love that I get to surround myself with wildlife and beautiful natural landscapes and open spaces every single day.”

To other UW students, King encourages networking: “Students should be involved with real businesses and shaking real hands with people they’ll see and work with in the future. This state has few people, and it’s not hard to get to know folks all over. Starting early in the UW setting was key for my business.”

Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Hospitality and Tourism (WORTH) Initiative

WATCH A VIDEO

After studying outdoor recreation and tourism management, Jaxon King started his own outdoor guiding company in Saratoga.

PHOTO BY MELISSA KING’S LENS

Paying It Forward

DONORS SUPPORT WYOMING’S FUTURE THROUGH UW’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS.

By Tamara Linse

The University of Wyoming helps power Wyoming’s workforce through entrepreneurship — educating its future business leaders, incubating its businesses and developing ideas that translate to real-world impact.

UW is supporting Wyoming’s economy through its vibrant entrepreneurship programs. With a history of supporting entrepreneurial education over 20 years in the making, the College of Business’s Entrepreneurship Program provides UW students with majors and minors designed to turn their dreams into reality. It also features UW’s oldest entrepreneurship competition, which just celebrated its 23rd anniversary. IMPACT 307 is a statewide network of business incubators that also strengthen Wyoming’s economy. The Wyoming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation provides comprehensive support to businesses at every stage of their journey.

Not only is UW all in on Wyoming entrepreneurship — UW’s supporters and the state of Wyoming are as well. Here are a few of the companies, foundations and individuals doing their part.

The John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition was founded in 2001 as a $10K competition, with annual contributions from First Interstate Bank and other donors. Support for the competition accelerated in 2005 when First Interstate Bank made a commitment that was matched by the state. A 2009 gift from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation supported the competition and was doubled by state matching. In 2017, First Interstate Bank made an additional commitment to expand the reach of the competition to Wyoming community colleges, and that same year the John P. Ellbogen Foundation made an additional commitment that increased the cash prize for the competition. Today, the competition bears the name John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition — a nod to the minimum of $50,000 in cash prizes awarded every single year to participants.

Hosted by the College of Business, the competition encourages college students across Wyoming to act on their talents, ideas and energy to produce tomorrow’s leading businesses. It awards cash prizes to outstanding teams of student

entrepreneurs who submit their business plans for new ventures with significant potential. It provides business consulting expertise, C-level mentorship, financial mentorship, and a strong entrepreneurial network of investors and potential partners. A great example of the competition’s success is the competition’s 2011 winner, Bright Agrotech, an innovative leader in vertical farming.

Another great example of entrepreneurship support is alums Pat and Kathi Rile, who have done so much for their alma mater. This includes establishing the Rile Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and Leadership and an excellence fund for entrepreneurship in the College of Business. The Rile Chair of Entrepreneurship and Leadership is an endowed faculty position that teaches entrepreneurship in the College of Business.

Rile Chair Patrick Kreiser says: “Students may think it’s about starting a business, but I also think it’s more broadly about how you think about and approach the world. Whether it’s going to work for a family business or a small firm or a corporation or going back to work on the ranch, entrepreneurship is about taking advantage of opportunities and controlling your own destiny.”

The Fisher Innovation Launchpad was created in 2016 through a gift from Donne Fisher, a retired executive in the cable television industry, which was matched by the state. It created a student and faculty competition designed to foster and stimulate a culture of entrepreneurship. The launchpad awards seed funding to student-led businesses with a focus on innovation, problemsolving, emerging industries and disruptive technology startups.

A targeted focus on entrepreneurship comes from an estate gift by Mary Carole Sandorf Baker, an artist, teacher and business owner. Her gift combined her life’s passions by creating the Mary Carole Sandorf Baker Student Excellence Fund in Art, Design and Entrepreneurship, and the Mary Carole Sandorf Baker Student Excellence Fund in Engineering, Design and Entrepreneurship.

These are just a few examples. UW is nurturing Wyoming’s entrepreneurial ecosystem so that the potential of our rural communities can be unlocked, thus revitalizing local economies and improving our quality of life.

THINK LIKE AN ENTREPRENEUR

THE WYOMING CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION BRINGS RESOURCES TO STUDENTS AND CITIZENS ALIKE.

By Micaela Myers

The Wyoming Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (WyCEI) is funded by the Wyoming Innovation Partnership and aims to coordinate, collaborate, promote and strengthen the entrepreneurial mindset. Located on the University of Wyoming Laramie campus, WyCEI is helping UW become a leader in the innovation sector with wide-ranging partnerships.

Not only can citizens contact WyCEI to learn about resources, but the center also brings entrepreneurial skills to students — from high school to college — through courses, workshops, speakers and more.

“The ultimate goal is to keep students in Wyoming,” explains Director Penelope Shihab. “If they can’t find their opportunity in an existing business, they have the opportunity to create their own business.”

One example of student programming — Shihab led a free three-week Innovate Wyoming course this past summer that was open to community college and UW students. The course included visits to businesses in five communities as well as to the governor and state legislators.

“I took the students to talk to entrepreneurs so they could understand their vision, operation, investment and how they scale up,” she says. “Through this, students grew their own network and made connections.”

Part of the Wyoming Business Resource Network, WyCEI also connects entrepreneurs with the state’s many resources, including IMPACT 307, the Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network and Manufacturing Works. Momentum is building regarding entrepreneurship in the state, Shihab says: “We’ve all agreed this is the right timing to push, strengthen and work on these initiatives.”

Learn more at www.uwyo.edu/innovation.

Penelope Shihab, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, at the Wyoming Technology Business Center.

If You Build It

The College of Engineering and Physical Sciences offers programming to fill workforce gaps and produces tech entrepreneurs ready to diversify the state’s economy.

By Micaela Myers

When Christian Bitzas, Brady Wagstaff and Oreoluwa Babatunde were seniors at UW, they came up with the idea of creating a robotic inspection crawler for home inspections. They decided to enter the Ellbogen Entrepreneurship $50K Competition and added a fourth co-founder, Zoe Worthen. They succeeded and were awarded $31,000 to start UplinkRobotics. UW’s IMPACT 307, a statewide network of innovation-driven business incubators, provided further support, office space and resources. Wagstaff, of Evanston, serves as head of engineering (B.S. computer engineering, 2022; M.S. electrical engineering, 2023). Babatunde, of Nigeria, works remotely as head of software while working full-time as a software engineer

for Qualcomm in California (B.S. computer engineering, 2022). Worthen, of Gillette, is head of marketing (B.S. business management for entrepreneurship, 2022; MBA 2023). And Bitzas, of Powell, serves as CEO (B.S. computer engineering, 2022; M.S. electrical engineering, 2023).

“UplinkRobotics was started in January 2022 with a mission to bring opportunities to the state of Wyoming and provide quality inspection robotics to inspectors throughout the country,” Bitzas says. “We’ve released two inspection crawler robots into the market and are working directly with home inspectors to change the industry and have plans to move into the first responder and surveying industries.”

Bitzas, who completed internships at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and Raytheon Missiles & Defense in Arizona, knew his calling was in tech but didn’t see many job opportunities in

Christian Bitzas, UplinkRobotics

Wyoming, so he helped create them.

“We are proud to be from Wyoming and be able to contribute to the state by creating opportunities in engineering and technology,” he says. “We have already funded senior design projects in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and have recently hired two UW student interns. Our goal is to bring opportunities to Wyoming so those who want to stay don’t feel like they are forced to move elsewhere.”

They credit UW, the College of Business and the Ellbogen competition for getting them where they are today.

“Everyone we have met on this journey of bringing a robotics startup to Wyoming has been supportive,” Bitzas says.

To students, he adds: “Staying in Wyoming is much easier with connections. Start early and reach out to faculty or people in positions that you want to be in. Use UW’s resources. Undergraduate and graduate research can lead to opportunities that keep you in the state. And if you want to start your own business, the College of Business, IMPACT 307 and many other organizations are there to help. In my opinion, Wyoming is one of the best places to find opportunities or start a company if you know where to look.”

Construction Management Program Fills Workforce Gap

Those trained in construction management are in high demand — not just for building new homes and businesses but in many other industries such as mining and transportation. However, universities were not offering this training — that is, until the University of Wyoming recently launched its construction management bachelor’s degree plus industry certifications and high school courses.

“Spring 2022 was our first graduating class of 28 bachelor’s degree students, and in spring 2023 we graduated 42 more,” says Associate Professor Francois Jacobs. “We’ve had 100 percent placement before graduation.”

The mean starting income for these graduates is $75,911. Students leave with a degree plus five industry certificates, such as occupational safety and LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design), which employers appreciate.

“Industry is very pleased about this,” Jacobs says. “At our spring 2023 job fair, we had 40-plus Wyoming construction companies come to recruit our students.”

Those already working in construction can earn certificates from UW, and more than 328 have been issued thus far. UW is also offering modules for high school career and technical education credits.

“We created videos, homework, classwork — everything — so the teachers can plug this into their class sessions,” Jacobs says. “As students pass module exams, they get a stackable credential. If they get all four, then they get a certificate of completion from us.”

By offering training for high school and college students as well as those already in the workforce, UW is helping the state tackle the deficit of construction workers from every angle.

Associate Professor Francois Jacobs teaches students Sahar Sewaid, Mohammad Karman and John Annor about structural analysis and design in the Construction Management Lab.

Left: UplinkRobotics creates home inspection crawler robots. Above: co-founder Christian Bitzas at the Laramie offices of Uplink.

Alum and software engineer Tighe Fagan

WATCH A VIDEO

Branden Christiansen and Sam Kruger, Point Blank

Growing up outside of Meeteetse, cousins Branden Christiansen and Sam Kruger were always making bike trails through the sagebrush or building things and flying remote-controlled airplanes. Fast forward to 2021, after both had studied engineering at UW and Christiansen drew an elk tag. He didn’t have much experience shooting long range and had an idea for an electrically activated bipod rest. As he built his prototype, he ran things by Kruger, who was working in Texas.

“We began meeting with John Wetzel of IMPACT 307 and others from the Small Business Development Center,” Christiansen says. “They have

State-of-the-Art Process Controls

been amazing. With their help, we have been able to learn what is involved in starting and running a business. They also have helped us obtain seed money. These programs have been instrumental in getting Point Blank off the ground. Our plans going forward are to finish developing the electronics and get them certified so we can begin production. Once we do get up and running, our biggest goal is to provide good technical jobs to people who want to stay in Wyoming.”

Kruger, who earned his mechanical engineering degree from UW in 2009, was able to move back to Powell, Wyoming, and works as a global

In 2021, a new process control lab opened on campus as part of a partnership between the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and Genesis Alkali, which operates the world’s largest natural soda ash mine and production site near Green River. The lab provides UW students hands-on experience with a broad range of industry-leading technologies.

The demand for qualified process control employees outpaces the availability. Typically, process control is an area in which Genesis Alkali prefers to hire experienced people but, because of the shortage, the company

applications engineer in the oil and gas industry while he helps with Point Blank.

“Wyoming was a great place to grow up as a young person,” he says. “After moving to the large cities and working on a global team, I realized that Wyoming is the place that I would like to live and raise my kids. Wyoming has offered a great lifestyle for my family while also allowing us to gain an education and participate in many things.”

To students, he adds: “Utilize your resources. As technology advances, there is more opportunity to reach a larger market. Branden has shown an example of how to do this, as Point Blank utilizes local companies for components while reaching outside of Wyoming for customers and expertise.”

Christiansen also works a day job while advancing Point Blank. He serves as a charter pilot and flight instructor for Choice Aviation in Cody and also flies air attack over forest fires.

“Wyoming is part of who I am,” he says. “Every line on my family tree comes from the Big Horn Basin for three to five generations. The people here are great, friendly and trustworthy.”

wanted to take a different approach and donated $100,000 in seed funding to establish UW minors in process control and instrumentation.

Partnering with Genesis Alkali allows the Department of Chemical Engineering to integrate the latest technology into its process control program curriculum and research. “Realistic hands-on experience is critical for top-notch engineers, and this lab allows our students to get that experience,” says Cameron Wright, dean of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences.

WATCH A VIDEO

Alum and environmental engineer Shannon Bendtsen

Branden Christiansen

Sam Kruger aboard an offshore oil rig.

COURTESY PHOTOS

K-14 STEM EDUCATION OuTReacH

The University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Physical Sciences looks forward to the opportunity to engage students and teachers in hands-on learning to build knowledge and understanding in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Strength in K-14 education can enhance the quality and quantity of students who pursue STEM programs at the University of Wyoming and ultimately pursue high-impact careers in Wyoming and beyond.

MATHCOUNTS COMPETITION SERIES

Registration now open: mathcounts.org/programs/competition-series

COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION WEEK December 4 - 10, 2023

ENGINEERS WEEK February 18 - 24, 2024

LAND SURVEYOR & GIS OUTREACH March 17 - 23, 2024

CLASSROOM VISITS

Our team of CEPS Student Ambassadors can visit classrooms, virtually or in person, to encourage the exploration of the engineering design process.

FIELD TRIPS TO CEPS

Led by current engineering students to provide an introduction to our programs. Enjoy tours of the engineering buildings, interactive learning in our makerspaces, hands-on activities, world-class drilling simulator demonstration, and much more!

Joshua Heiner, SLD Photonics

Another startup to come out of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences is the tech company SLD Photonics, started by former physics Ph.D. students Josh Heiner and Subash Kattel and former postdoc Joseph Murphy. The tech has application in camera technology and includes a single broadband detector for a spectrum of radiation frequencies that can span from 390-2200 nanometers with a featureless quantum efficiency (the percentage of incident photons that an imaging device can convert into electrons). This span includes the spectrum of visible light through near infrared. Currently, there is not a commercially available

camera that can capture visible light and near infrared light. This innovation advances a camera capable of spanning this light range and fulfilling this unmet need. The tech can be used in unmanned vehicles, medicine and defense and recently garnered SLD a $256,000 National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grant.

Heiner grew up in Turnerville, in Star Valley. After completing a quantum communications internship at NASA, his NASA mentor told him he saw him first as an entrepreneur. Heiner realized that this was true and began meeting with other Wyoming entrepreneurs and working with resources such as the Wyoming Small Business Development Center. One entrepreneur told him that

he sees it this way: “I take care of 52 families.”

Heiner says: “I hope to be there someday. It’s my dream that five to 10 years from now, someone with their degree in math or physics or another science can find a job in Wyoming working for a tech company as a fulltime employee.”

Heiner joined forces with Kattel and Murphy as principal investigator for SLD, advancing research that started in the UW Department of Physics and Astronomy.

“Now that I’m a business person, I’m really impressed with how my UW professors took off their professor hats and are open to collaborating,” he says. “They’re willing to help. I think the university is amazing.”

T H E WYO M ING I N S T I T U TE F O R

HUMANITIES RESEARCH

The Humanities Research Institute strives to be an engine for producing interdisciplinary research in the humanities; a community for faculty, students, and the public; and a model of democratic education fit for our land-grant university. Please join us!

Fueling

Wyoming’s Workforce University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources

Bachelor of Science

Energy Resource Management and Development (ERMD)

100% 5th 2

HIGHEST AVERAGE STARTING SALARY ON CAMPUS

EMPLOYMENT RATE OR GRADUATE SCHOOL PLACEMENT SINCE 2017

CONCENTRATION AREAS OFFERING VERSATILE JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Professional Land Management Concentration

Energy & Environmental Systems Concentration

Certificates Minor 3+3 Quickstart

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS)

Land Administration

Can be completed online synchronously for current students or working professionals

Energy Resource Management (ERM)

Complements any UW degree with significant overlap in business, economics, finance, engineering, sciences, law, real estate, land management, political science, sociology, agriculture, and environment and natural resources

Accelerated Degree Program

B.S. ERMD + Juris Doctor

Earn a bachelor’s degree from SER and a law degree through the UW College of Law in 6 years for the combined professional credentials

UW Launches School of Computing

The new school will offer academic programs and serve as an interdisciplinary hub.

By Micaela Myers

In 2022, the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees approved the creation of the School of Computing, which serves as hub for computing and digital skills. The school aims to provide UW students, faculty and staff — and Wyoming businesses and citizens — with the computational tools and approaches to drive transformation and innovation in the state.

“The School of Computing is fundamentally about students,” says Director Gabrielle Allen. “Across every discipline and every major, employers are looking for students who know how to use computers and data and how to apply that knowledge in novel and interesting ways.”

The School of Computing began by launching a minor this fall, helping prepare UW’s students for the workforce.

“Employees who have computing skills are poised for success and are better equipped to navigate the rapidly changing digital landscape,” says Administrative Associate Judy Yates. “They are more versatile, adaptable and productive and can collaborate more effectively with colleagues and clients. Having basic computing knowledge also opens up new career opportunities in fields of agriculture, business, health care, humanities and many others. Adding our minor to any major increases your learning and earning potential.”

Students will learn how to approach problems, utilize software options and work on interdisciplinary teams. Similar to research scholar programs in science and engineering, students can apply to become computing scholars, earning money toward their education along with hands-on research opportunities. An internship program will give students the opportunity to collaborate with Wyoming companies.

The school is also working in partnership with Wyoming community colleges to offer a bachelor’s degree in applied

software development. Students will complete their software development associate degree from a Wyoming community college and then transfer to UW.

Sheridan College was the first community college to offer the program in fall of 2022, with Western Wyoming Community College and Central Wyoming College offering the degree in the fall of 2024.

“There are many positive forces that aligned at the right time, contributing to the successful creation and launch of this program,” says Sheridan College President Walt Tribley. “Funding and support — both from a local Sheridan foundation, Whitney Benefits, and from Gov. Mark Gordon’s Wyoming Innovation Partnership program — were instrumental in the speed at which this opportunity was put in place for students and our state. That support and the vision and knowledge of our Sheridan College faculty member Mark Thoney, along with teammates throughout the state, created a model for which everyone can be proud.”

Sheridan College Computer Science Instructor Mark Thoney graduated from Sheridan High School and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UW in computer science. However, he explains that computer science and computer engineering differ from the new software degrees. One way

Across every discipline and every major, employers are looking for students who know how to use computers and data and how to apply that knowledge in novel and interesting ways. — Gabrielle Allen

they differ is requiring less advanced mathematics, which is a barrier for many students or those switching careers.

“While advanced mathematical skills are advantageous for aspects of software engineering and essential for research, advanced mathematics is not required for many software development jobs,” he says. “Software development, which could be seen as a subset of software engineering, is concerned with writing, modifying and debugging software that solves business problems with a focus on web applications, automation or mobile app development.”

The School of Computing will roll out certificates and graduate degrees in the future. Allen says the school will help provide a bridge between new tech, computer science and applications as well as bring the varied expertise on campus to bear on problems of regional and national importance, including garnering external research funding.

WyGISC Joins School of Computing

This past summer, the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) joined the new School of Computing. WyGISC is an interdisciplinary academic center focused on education, research and development of geospatial technologies, including geographic information science and technologies (GIST), and their applications in science, government, business and other areas. It currently offers a number of certificates and degrees.

“The School of Computing’s aim is to provide students with many easy pathways to use the power

of computing and technology in their chosen discipline. The existing academic programs in WyGISC fit this model perfectly,” says Instructional Professor Beth McMillan. “GIST is computing and technology applied to spatial data in disciplines ranging from geology, botany, atmospheric science, rangeland management, environmental science, business, tourism, urban planning and public health. The School of Computing is planning to develop courses and expertise in other areas like digital ethics, artificial intelligence, big data

Driving Innovation in Wyoming

and supercomputing. All of these will add depth to the existing GIST programs.”

School of Computing Director Gabrielle Allen says WyGISC will be well positioned within the school to take advantage of the increasing use of spatial data in augmented and virtual reality. The latest AR/VR headsets overlay digital information on the physical environment. “This will change how individuals interact with their surroundings, opening up new growth areas in computing for navigation, exploration and real-time data visualization,” she explains.

Learn more about the School of Computing and Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center at: uwyo.edu/soc | uwyo.edu/wygisc

The School of Energy Resources enhances energy-related education, research and outreach. By Micaela Myers

CUTTING-EDGE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT

VIRTUAL SURFACE MINE TRAINING

SER’s 3D Visualization Center houses the only four-walled 3D Cave Automatic Virtual Environment in Wyoming and develops applications for a wide range of devices. The center is used for education, outreach and research. Recently, Program Manager and Lead Developer Kyle Summerfield and his team created a virtual reality surface mining training program using ground-based LiDAR scans of Black Thunder coal mine in partnership with Gillette College, funded by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

“Depending on the scene, users are tasked with identifying and photographing violations, operating radios in accordance with standard operating procedure, ensuring that proper personal protective equipment is in place, and observing machinery and associated regulations in situ and to scale,” Summerfield says. “Gillette College is using this application to supplement their new miner training program.”

As of spring 2023, over 4,000 students have already used the application, and reception has been extremely positive.

“Efforts are ongoing across the state to incorporate mixed reality technology into education,” says Summerfield, who serves as the co-lead for the virtual reality subcomponent of the Wyoming Innovation Partnership. “As Wyoming explores its approach to diversifying energy generation, these programs will be vital in training for nuclear, wind, solar, carbon capture utilization and storage, and hydrogen.”

The virtual reality surface mining training program is being used by Gillette College (pictured below).

COURTESY

PHOTOS

AUSTIN

MOON, ABSAROKA ENERGY

SER offers an energy resource management and development major with concentrations in either professional land management or energy and environmental systems, which produces skilled graduates who are highly recruited. Austin Moon of Cheyenne graduated in December 2022 with a focus on energy and environmental systems, a minor in reclamation and restoration ecology and an undergraduate certificate in

AND ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS

geographic information systems. He now lives in Sheridan and works as an environmental consultant for Absaroka Energy and Environmental Solutions LLC.

“The School of Energy Resources did phenomenal job preparing me for my career,” says Moon, who always planned to stay in state after graduation. “My favorite part about Wyoming is the natural beauty and the access to outdoor activities. I love

RARE EARTH AND CRITICAL MINERALS

In 2021, SER was awarded nearly $3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for research focused on expanding and transforming the use of coal and coal-based resources and products using carbon ore, rare earth elements and critical minerals.

Led by SER Project Manager Erin Phillips and Research Scientist Davin Bagdonas, projects aimed at establishing a strategic plan that addresses the development of these resources and promotes economic growth and workforce development are taking place in the Powder River, Green River and Wind River basins.

The teams are working with Wyoming Workforce Services to help connect employers with resources, grant funds and professional development opportunities to increase employment skills. Community colleges in both regions are also partners on the grants, with the intention of transforming existing programs and courses to meet the needs of a critical mineral industry across the supply chain, from extraction to processing and manufacturing.

Director of Outreach Christine Reed says: “By creating a new use for coal in Wyoming basins and a new industry related to them, workforce training will become a critical piece of retraining the existing workforce in those communities, as well as training any influx of workers to meet the needs of any newly created opportunities.”

my job because I’m out in the field doing really important work that ensures the beauty of Wyoming isn’t compromised.”

CAPTURING CARBON

Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) involves capturing CO2 at power plants and other facilities. That CO2 is then used to enhance oil production in aging fields or is stored permanently in geologic layers thousands of feet underground, thus reducing CO2 in the atmosphere.

“Wyoming is a recognized leader in CCUS, with over two decades of established research as well as the supporting policy and infrastructure,” says School of Energy Resources (SER) Executive Director Holly Krutka. “SER and our partners throughout Wyoming have been and remain at the forefront of this new and exciting technology and, as such, it is only natural to leverage UW’s expertise to offer a multidisciplinary certificate on the subject.”

UW is the second school in the U.S. to offer a CCUS certificate, which covers technology, economics and policy. Students and professionals can earn the certificate online or on campus.

“Couple this well-rounded certificate with the projected job growth in CCUS, and it becomes a big need for the U.S. workforce,” says Academic Director Kami Danaei. “Wyoming is particularly primed for CCUS projects and growth.”

Holly Krutka

A mine core sample.

PHOTO BY CHRISTINE REED

Health Care for Wyoming

From social workers to doctors and nurses, the College of Health Sciences educates the state’s health-care workforce.

By Micaela Myers

Programs for Doctors and Dentists

A doctor shortage exists worldwide. Rural areas are especially feeling the pinch. To help supply the state with medical doctors, dentists and nurse practitioners, the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences offers several programs.

WWAMI: UW partners with the University of Washington School of Medicine to offer medical education.

WWAMI is an acronym for the five states that participate: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Each year, Wyoming receives 20 seats open to qualified applicants. Students spend 18 months at UW, then their third and fourth years are spent at select clinical sites throughout the WWAMI region. Of the 225 Wyoming students to go all the way through residency in the program (1997-2022), 137 returned to the state to practice, filling an important role in Wyoming’s health-care system and the lives of residents.

WYDENT: The state of Wyoming pays for the dental education of two qualified students each year — one attending the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry and the other attending Creighton University School of Dentistry. The program is administered through UW’s College of Health Sciences. Since its inception in 2007, the number of

dentists returning to the state as part of the contractual agreement between dental students and UW is evidence of the success of WYDENT — 72 as of 2022. One of the 2023 students accepted to the program is Brooklynn Counts, a native of Casper and a firstgeneration college student. She says, “I fully intend to return to Wyoming and, hopefully, the Casper community to be able to gain experience in the

field of dentistry while helping my hometown community.”

Doctor of Nursing Practice: Many folks rely on nurse practitioners for much of their health-care needs.

UW offers two focuses: family nurse practitioner and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Since 2015, of the 108 graduates, 72 are actively practicing in the state and providing important medical care to citizens.

WWAMI medical students Jenni Ebersberger, Andrew Quinn, Andrew White and Ross Cook take part in an ultrasound imaging session.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WWAMI

Dr. Tricia Jensen, Family Practice Specialist

“I have very fond memories of growing up in Wyoming,” says Dr. Tricia Jensen, originally of Douglas. “When I became a physician, I knew I wanted to come back and serve the residents of Wyoming.”

Jensen earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and physiology (2014) and went on to earn her M.D. through the WWAMI program and the University of Washington School of Medicine (2018).

As a family medicine physician in

New Physician Assistant Program

Physician assistants (PAs) play an ever-increasing role in health care. They conduct exams, write prescriptions, diagnose illnesses, create treatment plans and more. PAs attend three academic years of graduate school and engage in 2,000 hours of clinical rotations before taking their certification exams. This year, Wyoming’s supplemental state budget included $7.5 million for the College of Health Sciences to plan, develop and sustain an accredited physician assistant training program. Stay tuned for updates as the program develops.

Gillette, Jensen treats patients of all ages as their primary care doctor. “I love getting to know everyone in the family when patients establish care with me,” she says.

Jensen loves living and working in Wyoming. “There are a lot of great job opportunities in Wyoming,” she says. “The culture here is very welcoming, and people appreciate those who want to remain in the state. Rural communities especially are in need of numerous professions.”

Deidre Ashley, Mental Health & Recovery Services of Jackson Hole

Deidre Ashley serves as executive director of Mental Health & Recovery Services of Jackson Hole, returning to where she grew up. Ashley earned an undergraduate degree in political science (1996) before deciding to return to school to study psychology and complete her master’s degree in social work (2011).

“Mental health and human services in general is such a meaningful career for me, and I love being a part of addressing policy and working to meet

the demands for behavioral health needs in our community and across the state,” she says. “I absolutely love living and working in Teton County. Not only is the area beautiful, but the community is so caring and compassionate about helping each other out when the need arises.”

To fellow students hoping to stay in state, she says to appreciate everything our small towns have to offer, including their deep history and friendly residents.

Pharmacy alum Jenna Scozzafava

PHOTO BY BRAD BONER (JH NEWS & GUIDE)

COURTESY PHOTO

Emily Yorges, North Platte Physical Therapy

After growing up Douglas, Emily Yorges knew she wanted to stay in Wyoming and serve rural populations. At UW, she earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and health promotion with an athletic training focus (2010).

“UW allowed me to have real experiences working with a variety of athletes and injuries on and off the field,” Yorges says. “My senior year was spent mostly working with the football team. That year, they ended their 2009 season by winning the New Mexico Bowl. We were able to spend countless hours in the training room as well as travel with the teams for games. This gave me tons of hands-on experience outside of the classroom and really pushed us to use the skills we had learned in the classroom.”

Yorges, who went on to earn her doctorate in physical therapy from South College, works as a physical therapist and athletic trainer for North Platte Physical Therapy. In addition to seeing clients, Yorges helped create an athletic training program. The program covers sporting events and practices at area middle and high schools.

She appreciates living in Torrington with her husband, Colin, and their sons Colby and Dax.

“I love the lasting connections I have made with people all over the state,” Yorges says. “No matter where you are, someone generally has a connection to you somehow. I truly believe there is no better time to stay in Wyoming than the present. Wyoming has so much to offer — from its outdoor appeal to its wonderful people.”

Nichole Taylor, New Horizons Psychiatry

Nichole Taylor of Denton, Montana, first attended UW to earn a degree in geology (2003). However, she soon decided her true calling was nursing. Taylor returned to UW to earn her undergraduate nursing degree (2015) and then her Doctor of Nursing Practice (2018). She was named the Susan McCabe Psychiatric Mental Health Graduate Award winner, an honor given to a student who demonstrates academic excellence in the classroom, a passion for knowledge and superior clinical practice.

“UW’s School of Nursing helped guide my higher level of education,” she says, adding that UW provides

the preparation and support needed for students to succeed in their certifications.

As a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Taylor now owns New Horizons Psychiatry in Gillette.

“I am the psychiatric provider attending to psychiatric care across the lifespan starting at age 5 to geriatric care for those 85 years and older,” she says. Taylor and her husband lived in Wyoming for 15 years before moving to Gillette. “Wyoming feels like my original home — Montana — with authentic people who have authentic values,” she says. “I appreciate Gillette’s kindness and willingness to accept outsiders of the area.”

To students hoping to work in state, Taylor advises, “If you don’t find your ideal career related to your education, create your career.”

Emily Yorges works with a patient at North Platte Physical Therapy.

Chawna Wiechmann, Washakie County School District 2

Chawna Wiechmann grew up in Fromberg, Mont., relocating to Wyoming after meeting her now-husband. Already a credentialed teacher, she was teaching math when she saw a flier for UW’s master’s in school counseling degree — a hybrid program with weekend intensives in Casper that allowed her to continue teaching.

UW graduates make up nearly half of K–12 educators and administrators in the state.

“It was such a blessing,” Wiechmann says. “I was able to have my income and do the courses outside the work week. It was an amazing program.”

Wiechmann graduated in 2011, teaching until she landed her dream job in 2015 as a school counselor in Ten Sleep, where one school serves just over 100 K–12 students. This allows her to work with all ages of students — from teaching social skills to kindergartners all the way up to helping high schoolers plan for their next step.

“It’s awesome to see the whole spectrum of students,” she says. “This is my eighth year, so the fourth graders when I started are now graduating.

By Micaela Myers

Teachers hold one of the most important roles in society: educating and guiding youth from preschool to adulthood. University of Wyoming College of Education alumni form the backbone of the K–12 and community college education system in Wyoming. The Wyoming Department of Education reports that UW graduates make up nearly half of K–12 teachers and administrators. Not only is the college tasked with producing trained educators, but it also is helping to address the rural teacher shortage and issues of turnover with new educational offerings, mentoring programs and more. Meet a number of state educators who share what they love about their careers and advice for current students.

Living in a small community, I know their parents and grandparents. I know them at a deeper level, so I can better help them having that breadth of information.”

Wiechmann also enjoys raising her two children in Ten Sleep.

“Wyoming is amazing,” she says. “The amount of resources and the culture are much deeper than what I’ve experienced elsewhere, whether school or community.”

She loves the Cowboy way of life and culture.

“UW supports that culture concept, the Cowboy way and get-’er-done attitude,” she says. “Pushing that integrity and hard work is something I really appreciate about Wyoming.”

Jason, Chawna, Roslyn and Ridley Wiechmann COURTESY

Educators

Mattni Becker, Mental Health Counselor

Mattni Becker of Casper combined her UW degrees in animal science with an equine science concentration (B.S. 2018) and mental health counseling (M.S. 2022) to specialize in animal assisted therapeutic modalities at her mental health counseling practice in Douglas.

“I have two therapy dogs and five therapy horses,” she says. “Being around animals decreases anxiety and promotes feelings of safety. When a client feels safe, they are more willing to look at the difficult things that brought them into therapy.”

Becker also runs Revived Spirits LLC, which focuses on promoting full body wellness for horses and their riders. She is certified in multiple therapeutic modalities to assist equine athletes including pulse electromagnetic field therapy, sports massage, kinesiology taping, raindrop therapy, thermal imaging and rehabilitation training. UW helped Becker bring together her love for horses and desire to assist others on their healing journeys. She always knew she’d stay in Wyoming and encourages current students to think outside the box. “Wyoming is in need of individuals who want to keep our cowboy culture alive and contribute to everything that makes this state great.”

Rylee Berger, Uinta County School District 1

Rylee Berger grew up in Evanston. After earning her secondary biology education degree in 2021, she is now a colleague with her former teachers at Davis Middle School, where Berger serves as a seventh grade life science teacher.

“I love my job,” Berger says. “I couldn’t have imagined a better fit for myself. UW provided me with all of the tools that I need to be a successful science teacher and helped me to develop the confidence I needed to become the educator that I am today.”

Berger also loves working in her hometown, where the local community is incredibly supportive and her family is nearby. “I have been able to make great friends because of the new teachers

who have come to work and live in our town — all of them graduates of UW,” she says. “The state of Wyoming is just an incredible place to live — with friendly people, beautiful landscapes and close-knit communities anywhere you go.”

She urges other students to give Wyoming a chance after graduation: “It is a great feeling to know that you are giving back to the rural communities that have already given so much to you and your education.”

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PHOTO BY RACHEL KULLA

Coralina Daly, Central Wyoming College

Not only do UW graduates form the backbone of K–12 education, but they also play a key role in the state’s community colleges. Coralina Daly moved to Wyoming from Freeport, Maine, nearly 20 years ago and earned her higher education administration doctorate from UW in 2019. She now serves as vice president of student affairs at Central Wyoming College in Riverton.

“The thing I love most about my job is being an advocate for students — particularly for students who are more vulnerable — and being able to create a team of people to make sure all our students are well served,” she says.

Completing her doctorate while she worked in the community college system allowed her to directly apply what she was learning — from Title IX compliance to change management.

“We were undergoing major initiatives during the first couple of years of my program, so I was able to research them, write them out and then

implement at the same time,” she says. “The program was really beneficial.”

Daly loves that positive changes can be quickly implemented at Central Wyoming College and enjoys working closely with members of the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes.

To UW students who also want to stay and work in Wyoming, Daly says: “It’s not always going to be about the money. It’s much more about quality of life, the people you work with and finding a place where your contributions are valued. In Wyoming, you get to be a big fish in a small pond. You can make a difference more easily than a larger community.”

Bailey Headrick, Sublette County School District

Bailey Headrick was born in Jackson Hole and raised in Big Piney, enjoying all the state has to offer. During her time in the elementary education program at UW, Headrick worked at the UW Early Care and Education Center and completed her student teaching in Green River. After graduating in 2016, Headrick accepted a job as a fifth grade teacher at La Barge Elementary School.

“I am proud to have gone to UW and am thankful for all of the experiences that I had,” she says. “I work at such a great school with incredible people in an amazing community. I love how small it is and how everyone is so caring and supportive of others. I constantly say how thankful I am to be teaching in Wyoming.”

She also loves living in the state with its hard-working people and all the outdoor opportunities.

“You can always find my family and I outside hunting, snow machining, camping, etc.,” Headrick says. “My family owns a ranch just north of where I live. I grew up with so many great experiences of being outside and working with animals. I am now very thankful that I get to do the same with my daughters. Wyoming is a great place to live and raise a family.”

To UW students hoping to stay and work in the state, she recommends working hard and never giving up: “Sometimes it takes a little while to get where you want, but if you keep pushing, then you can accomplish anything you want and so much more.”

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Bailey and Raenie Headrick

Jason and Staci Horsley, Lincoln County School District 2

When Jason and Staci Horsley were deciding where to settle down and raise their family, they knew they wanted to stay in their home state of Wyoming. They made a list of their top five towns, which included Staci’s family’s hometown of Afton. Luckily for them and Lincoln County School District 2, that’s where they landed.

Jason grew up in Wamsutter and earned a bachelor’s in secondary math education (2000) and a master’s in education leadership (2005) from UW. He now serves as assistant superintendent of the district.

“As the director of education, I have the opportunity to wear a lot of hats,” Jason says. “I get to work with teachers, administrators and policy makers. I love being an educator. Creating opportunities and programming for students to prepare for an ever-changing world is awesome. I am confident our young people are being prepared to answer the challenges for their day.”

Staci earned her special education elementary education degree from UW in 2000 and her master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. She spent

“I was fortunate to have caring advisors and professors,” Jason says. “So much of my professional network of amazing people started in Laramie.”

Staci adds: “I felt very prepared entering into positions in education. I also feel like many of the relationships and connections made there allowed me to pursue higher-

18 years consulting with districts around the state but is now based full time in her district as a board-certified behavior analyst and autism behavior specialist.

“I love providing ongoing training and support for members of educational teams as they troubleshoot and implement interventions for some of the more challenging cases,” Staci says. In addition, she has worked as an instructor in the College of Education and for UW’s ECHO Autism and Behavior Support Networks.

Jason started refereeing college basketball at UW, a hobby he continues today. Both are thankful they received a solid education and made lifelong connections at UW.

FUTURE TEACHERS

The University of Wyoming College of Education has designed endorsement programs to help future teachers increase pay and ensure marketability by gaining additional high-demand skills. Our programs are a group of courses you can take that can lead to additional endorsements on your teaching license. These programs provide you with specialized skills that allow you to teach in additional content areas, serve expanded age groups, or support underserved students.

Our Programs

Computer Science Endorsement

Early Childhood Birth to 5 (FCSC Majors only)

Early Childhood Birth to 8

English as a Second Language

Going the Distance Going the Distance

Online and continuing education help UW reach every corner of the state.

By Micaela Myers

Long before the internet, the University of Wyoming found ways to reach citizens who wanted to continue their education from wherever they lived. Today, courses are offered online or through hybrid options, such as weekend intensives in Laramie or Casper. Additional degree offerings and certificates launch each year. This education is critical not only to the students but also the businesses they serve, which cannot grow without a trained workforce.

“Online learning allows people to remain on their career path, employers to manage less turnover and fill skill gaps, and the state to grow an increasingly skilled workforce to attract new Wyoming businesses,” says Vice Provost of Online and Continuing Education Matt Griswold.

Learn more at www.uwyo.edu/distance.

Deane Konowicz, Air Force

Col. Deane Konowicz is the vice commander of the 20th Air Force at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne and earned his Master of Public Administration in 2005.

“The distance-learning option was the only feasible way for me to earn a graduate degree as an active-duty officer,” Konowicz says. “The MPA program taught me the value of being an inclusive leader. As a senior leader, it is my job to understand the institution to the fullest, so that I can

Roxanne DeVries Robinson, Town of Jackson

Roxanne DeVries Robinson is the assistant town manager in Jackson, Wyoming, and her graduate degree through Online and Continuing Education in 1998 helped her get there.

“I began working for the town of Jackson in 1990, and I could see that a master’s in public administration would help me be more competitive for advancement opportunities,” she says. The coursework directly

execute our mission, lead and develop our airmen, manage the Air Force’s resources in a responsible manner, and constantly improve our units and capabilities. UW has made me more effective in each of these areas.”

Konowicz spent over half of his 24-year career in Wyoming and loves the outdoor recreation, open skies, history and traditions. He met his wife here and was stationed in Cheyenne with his brother, also a UW graduate.

“I love that I have had the opportunity to serve in the greatest and most capable Air Force the world has ever seen, all while showing my daughters all 50 states and many countries,” Konowicz says. “We are proud and happy to have called Wyoming home through much of that service.”

applied to her job, and the weekend intensives meant she could network with fellow students while still working full time. Her two daughters are now UW students as well.

DeVries Robinson loves her job, which involves assisting the town with all areas of administration, including human resources. Recruiting employees and helping them grow and thrive is one of her greatest joys.

“The majority of those who choose to work in government are true public servants,” DeVries Robinson says. “My advice to UW students is to look for employment opportunities that allow you to serve the public. Public service careers are interesting and make a difference in people’s lives.”

A Win¯Win

WYOMING’S COMPANIES AND UNIVERSITY PARTNER FOR THE FUTURE.

By Tamara Linse and Angela Ver Ploeg, UW Foundation

As a land-grant institution and the state’s only fouryear public university, the University of Wyoming has a deep commitment to serving the needs of the state. Wyoming’s companies want to do business well while providing vital services and supporting their employees. UW and Wyoming have a lot to offer each other, and together we build a stronger future. Companies often look to UW to hire their future workforce, but there are many other ways big and small to partner with UW. It’s a win-win.

» Cheyenne Regional Medical Center

Cheyenne Regional Medical Center (CRMC) is a 184-bed hospital with exceptional patient care that is passionate about moving health care forward in the region. CRMC also is the largest employer of UW alumni in the state (besides state government and UW).

“We hear consistently from a variety of sources about what a great place Cheyenne Regional is to work, and I think that that is a huge attractant for many UW grads, myself included,” says Robin Roling, chief operating officer. But the UW-CRMC partnership is extensive and goes way beyond the hiring of graduates.

In 2020, CRMC made a five-year commitment to create a joint faculty position in nursing. Clinical Assistant Professor Niki Eisenmann works on site at CRMC while teaching in the nursing program at UW.

This UW-CRMC faculty partnership helps grow nurses within CRMC, teaches UW nursing students, helps current nurses select continuing education paths and coordinates clinical rotations at the hospital.

Training tomorrow’s health care professionals is a job CRMC takes very seriously. Under the supervision of a professional, clinical rotations and externships across the board offer students an opportunity to hone skills they will use in practice. CRMC touches practically every program in the College of Health Sciences — hosting clinical rotations and residency experiences for students in nursing, pharmacy, speech-language pathology, social work, kinesiology and health, and laboratory technicians.

“We have the only infectious disease pharmacist in the whole state

of Wyoming, Dr. Nathan Parker,” says Tracy Garcia, CRMC’s chief nursing officer. “It’s really nice for the students to be able to do that infectious disease rotation here in our organization.”

CRMC is also engaged in the WWAMI Medical Education Program, a one-of-a-kind, multistate medical education program. Many of Wyoming’s physicians, including those at CRMC, are Wyoming students who come back to the state after completing their education at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

CRMC partners with UW’s Wyoming Center on Aging $3.75 million GWEP grant to help address the needs of Wyoming’s aging population. This is the second Health Resources and Services Administration Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Grant that the state has received, both administered by UW.

“Cheyenne Regional is a really special place,” Roling says.

» EMIT Technologies

Based in Sheridan, EMIT Technologies is an industrial fabricator that provides manufacturing solutions with in-house design, engineering, manufacturing, construction, technical support and customer service.

EMIT was founded on fabrication and manufacturing for the oil and gas industry. While oil and gas is still a large part of the company’s work, in 2019 it decided to diversify in response to industry uncertainty.

“The cyclical nature of the energy industry in Wyoming was really hard on EMIT — on our employees, our community and, obviously, the state as well,” COO Michelle Wilson says.

Now that EMIT was offering services to a broader scope of industry,

its changing business model also changed its relationship with UW. EMIT had been partnering with UW’s mechanical and electrical engineering departments and sales program, but now it is also engaged with UW’s programs in construction management, software and electrical engineering, and computer science.

Like so many in Wyoming, EMIT has a long-term relationship with UW Athletics, having supported the Pokes for almost 20 years. In 2018, EMIT also made a gift to engineering — the EMIT Technologies Excellence Fund to Support Operations in the Advanced Manufacturing Lab, which provides funding for mechanical or electrical engineering student senior design teams and for entrepreneurial business startup teams.

Through the College of Business Center for Professional Selling, EMIT

The EMIT team visited the EMIT Technologies Student Mixing Chamber in the Engineering Education and Research Building during a recent campus visit.

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offers business students role-playing sessions in person and on Zoom, with EMIT acting as a customer and students acting as salespeople.

Another result is the formalization of the EMIT internship program. Currently, the company is hosting six UW interns from mechanical engineering, software engineering, construction management and sales.

“We’re really trying to do something special with this group of interns and give them an experience that reflects the best internship they could have,” says Wilson. “We’re setting them up for success and a really cool experience and tying in the Sheridan community.”

EMIT is looking to further explore its partnership with UW, which undoubtedly will provide benefits for years to come. EMIT looks forward to being on campus for EMIT Day in the fall of 2023.

“I think the state of Wyoming needs leaders,” Osborn says. “It needs risk takers, people with vision and the belief that it’s possible. It needs doers.”

» Peabody Energy

Peabody serves customers on five continents from 17 mines in the U.S. and Australia. It is heavily invested in Wyoming and operates three coal mines in the Powder River Basin — including the world’s largest, the North Antelope Rochelle Mine, which produced 60 million tons of low-sulfur coal in 2022.

“We are committed to the state of Wyoming, and we’ve expressed that commitment in the research funding we’re providing to the School of Energy Resources,” says Scott Jarboe, Peabody’s chief administrative officer.

Peabody is forward-thinking in its commitment to investments in next-generation technologies, working

Interested in engaging with the University of Wyoming? Visit corporate.uwyo.edu, or email uwcorporate@uwyo.edu.

with and supporting UW’s School of Energy Resources (SER) in their shared goal of innovation within the coal and carbon industry.

Philanthropically, Peabody’s latest gift supports innovation in the field of carbon engineering and carbon management in SER. In addition to this major gift, Peabody has pledged to support UW with a sustaining commitment of 1 cent per ton of Wyoming coal sold by Peabody to support projects that create alternative uses for coal and technologies.

One of the Peabody-supported projects in the Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion is coal char bricks and other coal-derived materials. Recently, SER built a demonstration house made of char bricks on campus and completed a full year of performance testing, with plans to incorporate other coal-derived materials in the future.

Char bricks are strong, porous, lightweight, fire-resistant, sustainable, recyclable, economical and competitive — an ideal next-generation use for coal. Other uses being explored are soil amendments that put nitrogen in

the soil and help it retain moisture. Another use is asphalt and paving and roofing materials. Yet another is as a source of rare-earth elements that are used in tech devices such as smartphones, computer monitors, digital cameras, glass, batteries, magnets and steel alloys.

“Some people think about the coal mining industry as a headlamp and a pickaxe and a mule,” says Jarboe. “But it’s a high-tech industry in a way that most people don’t recognize, and that technology is happening in the state of Wyoming. We’re a cutting-edge industry, and the university is part of that technological drive.”

The UW-Peabody partnership also includes the company hiring UW graduates — but it would like to hire even more.

“It is our plan and our desire to hire a lot of University of Wyoming students,” says Jarboe. “We know the university has top-notch talent — and the practical learning that’s happening throughout the university, especially in the School of Energy Resources, is attractive across the industry.”

» Trihydro

Trihydro is a national engineering and environmental consulting firm and also the largest engineering firm in the state. It is based in Laramie and got its start back in 1984. Its impact on Wyoming and the nation is diverse — energy, infrastructure,

“Trihydro’s values align with those at UW. We share a focus on environmental stewardship, continuous learning, community engagement and helping conserve the Wyoming lifestyle we all love.”

— Kurt Tuggle

CEO Jim Grech and members of Peabody’s leadership team visited UW’s char-brick house and learned about SER’s Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion projects.

waste management, natural resources, mining, data management and the environment. The firm offers turnkey solutions for projects — from permitting and design to remediation, regulatory compliance and site closure.

“Our mission is centered on improving our communities and the environment one project at a time,” says Kurt Tuggle, president and CEO.

“At Trihydro, everyone plays a role, and everyone’s contributions help us leave things better than we found them.”

While Trihydro’s business is mostly focused on engineering and the environment, it has a strong computing division as well, and it hires UW engineers, geologists, scientists, software engineers and others.

Supporting UW philanthropically since 1985, Trihydro recently established the Trihydro Scholarship for Engineering or Geology, which supports civil engineering and geology students.

“Trihydro’s values align with those

at UW,” says Tuggle. “We share a focus on environmental stewardship, continuous learning, community engagement and helping conserve the Wyoming lifestyle we all love.”

A large portion of the company’s workforce is UW graduates. It is among the top 10 companies in the number of employees who graduated from UW in the state — 121 of the 500-plus employees. Trihydro prides itself on being a great place to work and was recently recognized on Outside Magazine’s list of Best Places to Work.

Trihydro proudly offers paid internships and participates in UW’s employment shadowing externship program. “It is rewarding to see our UW interns turn into UW alumni and choose to join our team full time,” says George Mathes, chief development officer.

Trihydro is active on campus, volunteering to coach and judge senior design competitions, and has also been

the official recycling partner of UW Athletics for 15 years. The company has participated in Software Bootcamp, a collaborative effort of UW, Trihydro, the Wyoming Innovation Partnership and Cardiff University in which teams of students are given a problem and have two weeks to come up with a software solution.

Ethics are important to Trihydro’s culture and identity. Under the leadership of now-retired president and CEO Jack Bedessem, the company adopted Cowboy Ethics in 2005, long before the state did.

“We have a vested interest in UW’s programs related to leadership development and business ethics,” says Mathes. “The Center for Principlebased Leadership and Ethics and the Bill Daniels Ethical Leadership Program are two prime examples of how UW is leading the way in developing the next generation of the workforce.”

PHOTO BY CHRISTINE REED

Agriculture and Beyond

UW’S COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, LIFE SCIENCES AND NATURAL RESOURCES GRADUATES POWER A WIDE VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES IN THE STATE, FROM HEALTH CARE TO INNOVATION. BY MICAELA MYERS

GROWING INDOOR AGRICULTURE

When Nate Storey was a graduate student at UW, he co-founded the indoor vertical farm company Bright Agrotech and established an innovation center in Laramie. In 2014, Storey and a group of entrepreneurs went on to create Plenty Unlimited, which bought Bright Agrotech. Today, Plenty has more than 400 employees nationwide, with Storey serving as chief science officer. In the past two years alone, Plenty’s research and development has driven more than 100 new patent filings for innovations as diverse as new crop growing systems, a way to detect plant stress and new tomato plant varieties.

That innovation is now helping to diversify Wyoming’s economy.

A $20 million grant from the Wyoming Business Council to the city of Laramie will aid the construction and infrastructure costs for a 60,000-squarefoot facility to be built on 16 acres at the Cirrus Sky Technology Park. Set to open in 2025, the project will support the retention and creation of nearly 200 high-paying jobs in the community.

To create synergies in the field and help produce a trained workforce, UW launched a Controlled Environment Agriculture Center as part of the Science Initiative. Controlled environment agriculture requires finely controlled environmental parameters such as humidity, light, temperature and carbon dioxide to create optimal growing conditions for maximal yield. The many areas for potential study include plant nutrition and physiology, breeding and selection of plants, plantmicrobe interactions, fresh produce safety, robotics and automation, sensors and imaging tools, engineering for light production, supply chain management, and economic analysis for profit maximization. The Controlled Environment Agriculture Center will have a strong virtual component as well

to allow collaborations with researchers at Wyoming’s community colleges and around the state.

“This is an exciting new industry that has tremendous potential to boost Wyoming’s economy, diversify the state’s important agriculture industry and drive job creation and innovation,” UW President Ed Seidel says. “Our new Controlled Environment Agriculture Center is poised to become a destination for research, training and workforce development in this rapidly growing sector in the fresh produce industry.”

Casey Seals, Senior Manager, Experiments and Systems at Plenty Casey Seals grew up in Cheyenne and earned his degrees from UW in agroecology (B.S. 2005) and agronomy and horticulture (M.S. 2016). Based in Laramie, he serves as senior manager for experiments and systems at Plenty, where he is responsible for leading crop optimization research and steering plants to maximum yield and quality through numerous growth parameter management strategies.

Seals attended UW with Plenty’s co-founder, Nate Storey. “The plant science program gave us both the foundational knowledge and experience to become highly successful in a plant science and agricultural profession,” he says. “The vertical farming industry

is picking up pace and becoming a viable and economical alternative to producing high-value field crops. What excites me about this industry is that our company, Plenty, is rewriting the rules of agriculture with indoor vertical farms that grow fresh, flavorful, pesticide-free greens — all the while using just a fraction of the water and land compared to conventional farms. Financial and governmental support allocated from the state of Wyoming have allowed us to begin designing the future construction of the world’s largest vertical farming research center right here in Laramie. Our partnerships with UW will assist in the hiring and curation of talented individuals with controlled environment agriculture knowledge to support our workforce, provide research streams beneficial to both organizations via strong analytical science applications, and cultivate relationships that will accelerate the momentum of learning for students and industry. I am honored to have received my formal education from UW and have applied those learnings to become a part of an agricultural revolution that will enhance how we feed future world populations with fresh nutritious produce.”

uwyo.edu/uwyo:

Above: Nate Storey talks about sustainable agriculture to a group of students in UW’s Innovate Wyoming course. Background: grow room at Plenty.

JENNIFER HESS, HWA WILDLIFE CONSULTING

Jenn Hess took a field job in Buffalo in 2003 and fell in love with Wyoming. She then earned her master’s degree in rangeland ecology and watershed management (2011). After graduation, Hess was hired on at Laramie’s HWA Wildlife Consulting LLC, where she now serves as senior ecologist and co-owner.

“I have been able to work across the western U.S. focused on wildlife and vegetation monitoring for areas of potential development,” Hess says. “I’ve learned how to conduct noise monitoring, flown in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to survey for various wildlife, trapped greater sage grouse and sharp-tailed grouse, banded ferruginous hawks and managed the company’s data, among many other tasks. I know I am lucky to have found a role that constantly challenges me while also allowing me to grow and improve.”

Hess credits her rigorous UW coursework for preparing her for the role and is grateful to live in Wyoming.

“I absolutely love the outdoors. I mountain bike, hike, ski, snowboard, skate, crosscountry ski and take my dog on adventures,” she says. “There are so many amazing places to explore. And as someone who has moved over 25 times before landing in Laramie, I think this is one of the friendliest places. I never really felt at home anywhere before moving here.”

NOAH HULL, ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH LABORATORIES

Noah Hull played a key role in Wyoming’s COVID-19 response. Luckily for the state, UW drew him here and taught him the skills necessary to respond to the outbreak.

Hull grew up in Los Angeles and visited relatives in Cheyenne regularly. When it came time for college, Hull chose UW, earning his bachelor’s degree in molecular biology (2012) and Ph.D. in veterinary sciences (2017) with a concentration in infectious disease epidemiology and molecular diagnostics. As an undergrad, he participated in student government and undergraduate research in UW’s state-of-the-art facilities. Hull also met his wife, Ashley Smith, at UW.

In 2018, Hull took a position as the microbiology manager at the Wyoming Department of Health’s Wyoming Public Health Laboratory (WPHL). There, he oversaw all infectious disease

testing. When the pandemic hit in 2020, WPHL was, at first, the only lab capable of testing samples for SARS-CoV-2.

“My ties to UW paid off,” Hull says. “We were able to hire current and recent graduates at the WPHL. We also worked with several researchers at UW.”

In 2021, Hull joined the Association of Public Health Laboratories as the laboratory technical manager for next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics and wastewater-based surveillance projects there.

50 percent of the time, go to some amazing places and apply the skills I developed at UW to assist with public health problems worldwide.”

“We work in over 62 countries,” Hull says. “When I first started, we were focused on COVID-19, but this has pivoted to pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance, viral hemorrhagic fevers and other communicable diseases. I travel about

When not traveling, he’s still based in Wyoming, where he loves the outdoors opportunities and friendly people. “People in Wyoming are, at their core, dedicated to each other,” he says. “I have lived in California, Colorado, Alabama, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland — but nothing beats Wyoming. You can participate in government here and work in a job that has meaningful and evident impacts on people’s lives.”

Noah Hull at the Cheyenne Arboretum

Jared Asay and his wife grew up in the Big Horn Basin and dreamed of living and working close to home. After graduating with his degree in agroecology (2016), that dream came true. Asay works as a crop adviser for Big Horn Co-op.

“I get to do a mix of offering agronomic advice, field scouting and sales of fertilizer, seed and crop protection products,” he says. “I enjoy the daily interaction with producers and the opportunity to do something different every day.”

Asay says UW’s professors and advisers took an interest in his goals and continue to be a resource for him today. He also greatly benefited from a summer internship he found through UW’s internship fair — a resource he encourages other students to utilize. “Take advantage of internship opportunities and cultivate relationships with professionals in your chosen field,” Asay says.

He loves learning new things each day and appreciates living and working in Wyoming. “I love the small close-knit community that I get to live and raise my family in and the good people that I’m surrounded by.”

ELLY WURDEMAN, THE INSURANCE CORNERS

It’s always inspirational to hear of graduates who go on to create businesses and provide jobs right here in Wyoming. That’s just what Elly Wurdeman of Lusk did after earning her agricultural business degree in 2005.

“As owner of The Insurance Corners of Wyoming, I currently have agency offices in Casper, Douglas and Lusk,” she says. “My current focus is on the day-to-day operations of running the agencies. I am also an active agent with a focus in farm and ranch and commercial insurance for Converse and Niobrara counties and surrounding areas.”

Her degree provided the skillset to own her own business, the knowledge to keep her own books and — perhaps more importantly — lifelong connections.

Wurdeman loves life in Wyoming, complete with low crime and a high quality of life. “We have the ability to fail or make it,” she says. “There are far less restrictions and taxes in Wyoming and less government controls for business. Our kids are able to go to fairs, play outdoors, ride their bikes and horses. Our kids get a chance to be kids and enjoy our Western lifestyle.”

AMBER ARMAJO, 4-H – VIRTUAL CAREER NIGHT

The annual WESTI (University of Wyoming Extension’s Strategically and Technologically Informative) Ag Days have taken place for more than 30 years in Washakie County with guest speakers on agricultural topics and a trade show. Before the pandemic, a career night for 4-H students was part of the annual event. One year, Washakie County Extension 4-H and Youth Educator Amber Armajo saw a young man attend who had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. He met an electrician and decided to become one himself. Stories like that made Armajo, a Wyoming native and UW graduate, know the event was important.

When the pandemic hit, Armajo and her colleagues decided to make it virtual. It was a huge success, with 24 careers represented. This year, organizers even featured celebrity Ryan “Cal” Callaghan from the Netflix show MeatEater. The recordings are still available for anyone to view at wyoming4h.org/ virtual-career-night . Through

the event, young people can learn about careers they may never have considered, including many based in Wyoming. Youth from all over the country are now attending. “We’ve been able to reach a whole lot more kids and highlight a lot more careers virtually,” Armajo says. “Last year, we received the Excellence in Workforce Development Programming Award from the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals. Other states have reached out and want to do something similar.”

JARED ASAY, BIG HORN CO-OP

Jared and Renee Asay

by Chris Navarro

‘’Wyomi ng C owboy’ ’SOLD OUT

COWBOY TOUGH H - 62' ' $24,000. WYOMI NG C OWBOY br onze r el i ef ( wal l hangi ng) br onze H- 24' ' $2100.

‘’C OWBOY TOUGH' ' br onze H - 17' ' P R I C E $2200. Bol o $150. Buck l e $250.

We Do It Anyway:

Translating Fear into Greatness with Tanner Russell

By Sunnie Lew

Tanner Russell is adamant in saying she is not fearless.

“Feeling fear is important,” says Russell. “Your gut-checks are important. The uneasiness of any given situation is how we create impact — it’s how we do better.”

Born in Torrington, the UWAA’s associate director is familiar with Cowboy ethics. Her personal values of hard work, integrity and grit are deeply rooted in her family’s ranching background. Her family has been in Wyoming for three generations. Her grandfather homesteaded in Rock River, and both of her parents have

contributed to Wyoming communities through education, veterinary science and business.

Russell is a Wyoming visionary. Before joining the UWAA, she served as a recruiter and later advanced into the role of associate director of enrollment management for the MBA and professional graduate programs in the UW College of Business. She was involved in the development of UW’s 2023–26 strategic plan and currently serves on the Wyoming Women’s Business Center board of directors. She’s passionate about connecting people with resources and supporting greater communities. She’s an entrepreneur, an advocate and a strong leader. On paper and in person, her credentials and

her optimism show a professional naturally drawn to greater possibility — a fire-eater who warmly invites risk. To assume that Russell is fearless feels intrinsic because she has a reputation of putting the well-being of others first and navigating complex situations with relentless leadership. Her team looks to her for guidance, focus and unparalleled inspiration. Russell sparks in others serenity in the most uncertain moments. She exemplifies how to be brave and bold and kind.

When Russell joined the UWAA in 2022, she was hired just a few months before Homecoming — the UWAA’s biggest annual event in which much of the responsibility falls onto her role. In addition to the turbulent timing, the UWAA team was primarily green, most with less than one year of UWAA experience. The position called for someone who could tolerate high levels of stress and confidently lead others during a transitionary period.

Russell doesn’t shy away from the high expectations associated with her depth of responsibility. She reiterates that she is not fearless, and that’s what really makes her a Cowboy: “Feeling fear and apprehension is important because when we feel these things we know that what we are doing is big enough to make a difference. That’s what being a Cowboy is all about — even when we are afraid to act, we do it anyway because we know that the impact is worth our own personal discomfort.”

The UWAA has a bigger vision. It aspires to spearhead initiatives that are going to connect UW alumni in new and innovative ways. The organization is expanding its reach and its accessibility to meet alumni where they are, whether that’s here in Laramie or outside the U.S. The UWAA brings Pokes together to celebrate Wyoming’s university and provides resources for graduates hoping to network, and these new global ambitions come with significant opportunities as well as pressures. For Russell, including all UW alumni is fully worth it all.

She adds, “It’s important to keep that aspiration in mind, even when it intimidates us — especially when it intimidates us.”

PHOTO BY AUSTIN JACKSON

Getting Involved with Our UWAA Networks

By Michael Blaney and Tanner Russell

Meet Bailey Butcher and Samme Eisenhauer, the dynamic duo leading the University of Wyoming Alumni Association’s network development efforts and see what excites them about building strong connections with our alumni.

Bailey Butcher –Regional Network Coordinator

“As the regional network coordinator, I get the exciting opportunity to engage and connect with our alumni within their communities across the nation. Our goal is to give alumni opportunities for social interaction, professional development and volunteer opportunities that benefit UW and its passionate alumni and supporters.

“Our goal as the UW Alumni Association is to build and maintain relationships with our Cowboys and Cowgirls, so they know they will always have a home within the brown and gold. I am truly excited to know that, from the relationships that we are building, we will be able to connect a group of individuals based upon their appreciation of the University of Wyoming.”

Samme Eisenhauer – Affinity Network Coordinator

“As the affinity network coordinator, I am excited to develop interest-based networks and work with a group of key network leaders. The focus for these types of networks is to create opportunities for alumni to meet new people with similar interests, host engaging events, strengthen leadership by exchanging ideas and broaden UW’s presence nationwide and beyond. I am looking forward to making a meaningful impact on our alumni’s experience by figuring out new ways to engage and connect with them.”

CONNECT WITH UW ALUMNI ALL OVER THE COUNTRY

Networks o er professional connections to others and friendships that share common interests. In joining networks or professional organizations, you gain immediate access to a plethora of knowledge and experience you might not otherwise have. In the nursing profession, many times new nurses feel consumed in their new job, afraid to reach out when feeling overwhelmed. Networks and alumni associations are excellent for o ering support and advice, and a safe place for voicing concerns.

I would encourage others to be a part of a regional network because it provides an exciting opportunity to bring the University of Wyoming closer to your community. As alums, it allows us to stay involved with UW through signature events that are unique to our area, volunteer opportunities, or engaging new alumni that share the same passion for UW.

Rachel Smith, UWAANC Co-President

John Rhodes

ALUMS POWERING WYOMING

By Tamara Linse

People are at the heart of Wyoming. We all get out of bed in the morning and go about our days taking care of our families and one another, furthering the success of our businesses and making a better world for our children.

A crucial aspect of that success is the education we receive at the University of Wyoming. Our UW education creates the foundation of our personal and professional lives — whether it’s entrepreneurship skills to build our own businesses or professional skills to design bridges or represent our communities through journalism or health care skills to help us help our fellow citizens lead happier lives.

We alums are powering Wyoming — today and on into the future.

Below are three alums whose service is making a big impact on the future of our state.

Josh Dorrell – CEO of the Wyoming Business Council

Josh Dorrell believes in following your strengths and in making an impact on your community. He should know — Dorrell is the CEO of the Wyoming Business Council, where he helps build economic resilience in communities throughout our state. Being extroverted is his superpower, he says.

Dorrell’s dad moved the family from Missouri to Rawlins in 1975 for work in the coal mines. He saw the boom-and-bust nature of Wyoming’s economy firsthand. Dorrell made a promise to himself that he would get an education to create a more secure future — not just for himself, but also for the whole state.

Like many Wyoming high schoolers, he thought he might leave the state for college, but he stayed because UW has such a great engineering school and generous scholarship support. Dorrell also met his future wife in high school, and they have four children — one UW

Josh Dorrell and Gov. Mark Gordon visit with an attendee at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, or SHOT Show.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JOSH DORRELL

alum, one current student and one starting in the fall.

Dorrell earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and worked as the director of business development for IDES, a Laramie-based technology company in the plastics industry, which was acquired by Underwriter Laboratories. After that, Dorrell served as business unit leader of technology services and solutions for Trihydro, a nationwide engineering and environmental consulting firm based in Laramie.

Alongside his professional work, Dorrell has taught a UW course on sales management and professional selling since 2006. In 2015, he was named the Enterprise Rent-a-Car Professor of the Year at the College of Business.

In the past few years, Dorrell began to question what he was doing with his career: “You start to look at your career as a whole and you go, ‘Wait a second. This is probably half my career. Did I do what I wanted to do? If not, I better do it.’ That’s when the Business Council role came open.” The Wyoming Business Council is an agency of the state’s executive branch.

In this role, Dorrell has handled the ups and downs of the legislative cycle and of the pandemic. For the governor, the council took on the management of the CARES Act business relief programs during the pandemic, helping disperse almost a half a billion dollars to the state’s business community.

“The governor and the Legislature got together and said, ‘We want to help our businesses,’” Dorrell says. “They decided to put that money into the business community and make sure that our towns were strong.”

One of the goals of the council is to create state policy and funding mechanisms so that local economic development groups have the capacity they need to create great jobs and to remove barriers to growth. “We’re trying to make bigger investments that are going to make a bigger difference,” Dorrell says. “We can create a Wyoming where there are opportunities for generations to come.”

Robin Sessions Cooley – Director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services

Robin Sessions Cooley believes wholeheartedly in Wyoming’s bright future. She wants UW graduates to know that there are exciting opportunities to stay in state after graduation — all you need to do is ask.

Cooley is the director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, which works on safety issues,

labor standards, workers’ compensation, vocational rehabilitation, workforce centers and internships and apprenticeships. They help businesses “grow their own,” Cooley says.

“When people get hurt, we help them get back into work, whether it’s through vocational rehabilitation or other avenues,” Cooley says. “When they lose a job through no fault of their own and they go on unemployment, we help them either upskill for a new position or find a position with their current skills. It’s this full circle of assistance so that people find the career they want to be able to stay in Wyoming.”

Cooley has also served on the State Board of Equalization, with the Wyoming Public Service Commission and in the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office. Additionally, Cooley served as special counsel to the governor and in private practice in Cheyenne. She has taught business law and legal research and writing in the paralegal program at Laramie County Community College and public health law at UW.

Originally from Powell, Cooley earned her bachelor’s degree in interior design and merchandising and a law degree from UW. Cooley and her husband, Dan, an engineer and contractor, have three children.

“I understand when young people want to leave the state,” Cooley says. “Maybe that’s not a bad thing. But we see a lot of people returning also, and I think

Robin Sessions Cooley

COURTESY

PHOTO

that speaks to our way of life. We are small, and we know each other, and we’re nimble. You go somewhere in Wyoming, and you see people you know. There’s a comfort in that. I think that’s why people come back.”

Cooley is enthusiastic about Wyoming’s bright future: “It’s very exciting, and it’s wide open right now — what a great time to be looking at all these new opportunities out there in life. It’s pretty exciting.”

Cooley says it best: “In the next 10 years, the opportunities in Wyoming are just going to increase exponentially. We need to help young people recognize the jobs that are right here. All they’ve got to do is start asking the questions. We need people to fill these jobs in order to help these industries and these businesses be successful.”

Derrek Jerred – Senior Director of IMPACT 307

Derrek Jerred believes in “feeding the Cowboy” — giving back to the university and the state that have given him so much.

Jerred is senior director of IMPACT 307, formerly the Wyoming Technology Business Center, a statewide network of innovation-driven business incubators. It was founded in 2005 by visionary leaders at UW and across the state to facilitate Wyoming startups and support the future of Wyoming’s economy. “We enable entrepreneurship,” Jerred says.

Previously, Jerred served in business development for Cheyenne LEADS, an economic development

“THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, THE STATE OF WYOMING, THE WYOMING BUSINESS COUNCIL — EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, THERE ARE ABUNDANT RESOURCES.”

— DERREK JERRED

organization. He grew up in Gillette and, as a firstgeneration college student, earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from UW. He also was a walk-on for the football team.

Jerred has been in public service his whole life, just like his dad: “I’ve had kind of an interesting — but jaded — experience my whole life. My dad was on city council, so I got to see my dad get harpooned by community folks every single time he was out in public.” But that doesn’t stop Jerred.

It is IMPACT 307’s job to provide a foundation so that Wyoming’s startups can thrive. Jerred says, “The University of Wyoming, the state of Wyoming, the Wyoming Business Council — everywhere you look, there are abundant resources. It’s an effort to try to make sure that everybody knows what everybody else is doing and then also where to direct people to.”

Jerred thinks a lot about ways to help students stay in state. “One of our No. 1 exports is our talent,” Jerred says. “Companies all over the country and world have figured out there is pretty good talent. What if we truly started helping our companies that are in our communities keep that talent? Students are already creating opportunities and have been proving their talents — this gets me excited.”

He also thinks a lot about bringing people back to the state. “The opportunity to capture people from nearby — that’s when we can hit it out of the park. We really are well suited for growing families, right? We have an opportunity to write our own rules, primarily. We’re fertile ground if we want to be an agent of change across the state of Wyoming.”

Jerred sees the possibilities in what lies ahead: “We have the opportunity to truly see what’s right for the state of Wyoming and do it. It’s that simple. It truly is a choice, and that choice is what’s going to be important. Who’s making these choices is important, and how we all get along is important.”

PHOTO BY MARY RICE

Derrek Jerred

2023 Medallion Service Award Winner

Charlotte Hearne Davis

By Micaela Myers

When Charlotte Hearne Davis retired as associate director of student life for the University of Wyoming in 2000, the students she served threw her a party, stating, “In UW’s 114year history, there are few people who have had such a positive impact on the institution and its students as Charlotte Davis.”

“That meant more to me than anything ever could — to know that impact and caring meant a lot to them,” she says.

In total, Hearne Davis served the university for 34 years, all in mentorship roles for students, including associate dean of students. She advised numerous student groups on campus, including virtually all of UW’s honorary societies, the Panhellenic Council, SPURS, the Mortar Board chapter, the Associated Students of UW, the first UW Minority Student Leadership Initiative and Freshman Senate. She also served her sorority, Delta Delta Delta, as academic adviser for over 40 years.

“I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with students and student organizations at UW,” she says. “I couldn’t have had a more rewarding and fulfilling career.”

Hearne Davis was born in Hanna but moved to Laramie in high school. She and her six siblings all attended UW, with Hearne Davis earning her bachelor’s degree with honors from the College of Commerce and Industry in (1960) and her master’s degree in counselor education (1964).

“UW was a wonderful place to be as a student,” Hearne Davis says. “My coursework, the people I met and the opportunities UW provided really prepared me for life and career.”

Aside from a six-year stint as a high school teacher and counselor in Glendora, Calif., her entire career was based in Wyoming.

“You know people care about their university, and you know they care about the state of Wyoming,” Hearne Davis says. “You felt that everywhere you went in the state, and I felt it in the work I did with students.”

The recognition Hearne Davis received from those she mentored meant the most to her. Her accolades include a Distinguished Lifetime Member Award from National Mortar Board, Mortar Board Alumni Achievement Award, Mortar Board “Top Prof,” the Each Student a Person

Award, the Associated Students of UW Distinguished Service Award, Division of Student Affairs

Outstanding Professional Staff Member Award, Service Award for Exceptional Service and Dedication to UW, the Greek Achievement Awards for Outstanding Chapter Advisor, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Education. Two scholarship funds were created in her honor: the Charlotte H. Davis Scholarship and the Charlotte H. Davis Leadership Fund.

“That was the most important thing I could have spent my life doing — encouraging, mentoring and supporting students,” Hearne Davis says.

Her commitment to women’s leadership development went beyond UW, with roles in Zonta International, the Philanthropic Educational Organization, the Colorado Wyoming Association of Women in Education and the National Association of Women in Education. She hopes to inspire students to also serve.

After retirement, Hearne Davis worked as a volunteer for the Andros Dental Project alongside her husband, Maron, also a UW graduate, to provide dental hygiene education and services to children on Andros Island in the Bahamas.

Her life of service earned Hearne Davis the 2023 UW Alumni Association Medallion Service Award.

She says, “I’m humbled and appreciative to be recognized by the university that I have loved and served for over 60 years.”

Hamid Khan 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award Winner

By Micaela Myers

To some, the University of Wyoming may seem an unlikely place to prepare for a high-profile international career. But for Hamid Khan, who grew up in Worland and Sheridan, UW provided the perfect launchpad.

Khan says it gave him top-notch instruction, mentoring from professors and singular opportunities. After completing his bachelor’s degree in political science (1998), he earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. Khan now serves as a judicial education attorney for the Federal Judicial Center — the education and research agency for the federal judiciary located in Washington, D.C. In addition, he’s an international consultant for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, helping to protect women’s rights in Islamic marriage contracts. Khan also serves as an adjunct professor of Islamic Law at the University of Michigan Law School.

Khan says that three memories from his time at UW are particularly impactful. The first was when he signed up for UW’s London semester. The late Duncan Harris, who led the honors program, helped arrange an internship with the British House of Commons. However, Khan was short on money. He talked to UW administrators he knew, from deans to the president, and they helped him come up with

the difference. At most universities, students wouldn’t know these administrators, let alone be able to go to them for help. The semester was a fantastic experience and ignited his love of travel. He later returned to London, showing his wife and children some sights he saw as a student.

Another time, the head of the political science program, Michael Horan, invited him and some other students to breakfast, not telling them the meal was with former U.S. Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.

“I had the opportunity to sit down at breakfast and discuss foreign policy with the former U.S. secretary of state,” Khan says. “It was incredible and completely unexpected.”

Thirdly, he secured an internship with U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson via his Associated Students of UW connection with Pete Simpson. All these amazing experiences helped position him for his impressive career, which has included serving as a national security fellow for the Truman National Security Project, a senior adviser for the Interagency Outreach and Response Team in the Office of Refugee Resettlement for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and a consultant for

the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

“The variety combined with public service has been the most rewarding part of my career,” Khan says.

And it all started right here in Wyoming. As he explains: “Wyoming is a hidden gem. It has all the great resources of any major university. It’s all there for the students’ taking. All it requires is a willingness to ask and the tenacity to see it through. UW affords you that opportunity. I think one of the things a positive university experience can accomplish is establishing the confidence to march out into the world and take on anything. I’m fortunate enough to synthesize all those opportunities into the daily lived experience I have right now.”

Khan’s impressive international career and service to his country make him a 2023 UW Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus.

Philip Nicholas 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award Winner

By Micaela Myers

Some students leave the University of Wyoming ready to change the world. For Phil Nicholas, that desire was amplified by a liver disease diagnosis in his 20s. The doctor said he had about five years before he’d reach end-stage liver disease. He set big goals. After the first five years, he was still healthy and continued setting new goals, helping him accomplish big things as a father, a lawyer and a legislator. He eventually received a liver transplant but never stopped setting those goals.

Nicholas grew up in Lander. After attending college in Oregon, where he met his wife, he returned to Wyoming. Nicholas earned his J.D. from UW (1979) and settled down to raise a family and practice law, founding Nicholas and Tangeman in Laramie. He also served in the Wyoming Legislature starting in 1997 — the House of Representatives for eight years followed by the Wyoming Senate for 12 years. Nicholas took part in many committees, including chairing of the appropriations committee in both the House and the Senate (10 years total). In the Senate, he was vice president, president and majority floor leader. Two of his major accomplishments were improving Laramie and investing in UW.

“There comes a time in your career where you realize what a gift it was to have that education,” Nicholas says. “I wanted my children to go to the best

college and have the best experiences.” He quickly learned that many other legislators, governors and citizens felt the same way.

All four of his children attended UW, where Nicholas saw firsthand how the university offers avenues for students to excel and also caring professors for those who need extra help.

“It brings tears to my eyes just knowing you have professors there who will help guide your children — help them not only learn but also get through what can be a hard time,” he says. “It’s a pretty special quality.”

Nicholas’s ancestors went all the way to Oregon as settlers on the Oregon Trail but turned around and came back to Wyoming. He recalls his grandmother telling tales of taking a wagon from the Devils Tower area

to attend UW back when there were just two buildings. Now, thanks to Nicholas and others, UW grows each year with new state-of-the-art facilities.

“We knew UW needed a facelift,” he says of his time in the Legislature. “We successfully implemented a 20year plan to recapitalize the campus and to improve teaching and learning opportunities. We all shared a common goal, and education was an important part of that. We also set up the Hathaway Scholarship and invested $70 million toward endowed chairs at UW.”

Nowhere else but UW can you see people from all over Wyoming, Nicholas says. “You realize it’s a special institution — not only for us, but for everyone in the state. The people want a spectacular university.”

Nicholas cofounded the Laramie Beautification Committee and served on many other boards and organizations, including the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association, the Uniform Law Commission, the Albany County Hospital Board of Trustees, Hospice of Laramie, the Laramie Area Chamber of Commerce Board, the Albany County Planning Commission and the Laramie Economic Development Corp. As a trial lawyer, Nicholas was awarded the highest rating of AV by MartindaleHubbell and Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters.

For his tremendous dedication to UW and Wyoming, Nicholas earned the 2023 UW Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award.

PHOTO BY DREAMING HOLLOW PHOTOGRAPHY

2023 Distinguished

Alumni Award Winner

Caitlin Long

By Micaela Myers

Caitlin Long grew up right here in Laramie. Her father was a University of Wyoming professor for nearly 40 years, and her mother was a rural teacher in Rock River. When it came time for college, Long earned her bachelor’s degree in political economy (1990) from UW, making lifelong friends through Pi Beta Phi sorority, cheering on the Cowboys basketball and football teams during a highly successful period, and learning a new way of thinking from her favorite course — an English class taught by Professor Cedric Reverand.

“It taught me how to be a systemic thinker,” Long says. “I took the thought processes that he taught me and applied them to the business world and technology.”

Long went on to earn a master’s degree in public policy and a law degree from Harvard, both in 1994. Back then, a high-level finance career required living and working in a big city, preferably for an investment bank. Long headed to New York, where she began as an associate at Salomon Brothers, then managing director at Credit Suisse. From there, she became managing director at Morgan Stanley. After her 20-plus year career on Wall Street, she served as president and chairman of the board for Symbiont, a smart contracts platform for institutional uses of blockchain technology. Along the way, she garnered many accolades.

“I’m a curious person and have always found very interesting and challenging things to work on,” Long says.

However, she never forgot her Wyoming roots and served on UW’s College of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors and the UW Foundation Board. She hoped to return to Wyoming upon retirement, but a gift to the university changed her trajectory.

In 2017, Long wanted to endow a scholarship for female engineers at UW via appreciated bitcoin. (Bitcoin is based on blockchain, which is a growing technology that enables cryptocurrencies and digital assets but also has many other uses.) However, the gift couldn’t be accepted due to Wyoming’s outdated money transmission law. Long agreed to help Wyoming update its law, but state Rep. Tyler Lindholm and others wanted to take things much further in order to make Wyoming a leader in blockchain and a home for related businesses.

“The Wyoming Blockchain Initiative is a passion project that is part of my desire to give back to Wyoming,” Long says. “This is an economic development initiative that absolutely has the ability to become as important to the state over time as fossil fuels.”

In the first few years of those efforts, Long served as gubernatorial appointee for the Wyoming Blockchain Task Force and the cofounder of the

Wyoming Blockchain Coalition. UW launched the Center for Blockchain and Digital Innovation in 2020, and Long chairs the related WyoHackathon, a nonprofit annual event offering challenges and bounties for software developers, entrepreneurs and business professionals that has raised several million dollars for UW and brought many tech luminaries to Laramie.

In 2019, Long decided to move back to Wyoming and founded Custodia Bank, which provides banking and financial services for customers navigating the digital asset frontier. She appreciates that technology offers the chance to live and work anywhere: “If your job is digital, you don’t have to live in a city and deal with high taxes, crime and traffic. It’s a much better quality of life in Wyoming.”

Long’s dedication to the university and state make her one of this year’s UWAA Distinguished Alumni Award winners.

DO YOU KNOW AN ALUM THAT IS

Building a Better Wyoming?

JO ANNE YOUTZ MCFARLAND, B.S. ’69

JoAnne McFarland received the Building a Better Wyoming Award for her exceptional leadership as president of Central Wyoming College, making a positive impact on the lives of people in Wyoming. Her commitment, resilience, and community engagement were key factors in her recognition.

MAXINE CHISHOLM, B.S. ’80, M.S. ’82

Maxine Chisholm received the Building a Better Wyoming Award for her instrumental role in introducing nurse practitioners to the state. Her groundbreaking contributions to healthcare and her dedication to improving residents’ lives are sources of pride for Wyoming and led to this welldeserved recognition.

JENNIE GORDON, B.S. ’85

Jennie Gordon received the Building a Better Wyoming Award for spearheading the Wyoming Hunger Initiative in 2019 to combat food insecurity in the state. Her dedication to supporting community food pantries, establishing partnerships, and raising awareness have made a signi cant impact in addressing hunger statewide and earned her this esteemed recognition.

Do you know an outstanding University of Wyoming alum who has positively impacted Wyoming and shown innovative support for the state and the university?

Nominate them today and help us celebrate their remarkable contributions towards a better Wyoming.

uwyo.edu/alumni/about-the-uwaa/uwaa-alumni-awards

By Michael Blaney

Building a Future in Wyoming

Wyoming, known for its breathtaking landscapes and the rich legacy of the Wild West, also provides an array of career opportunities. Join us as we look at three professionals whose stories showcase the state’s capacity to nurture talent and sustain prosperous careers.

Hailey Moss ’21

Staying in Wyoming was a clearcut choice for Hailey Moss, largely thanks to her experiences at UW and her family’s deep love for the state. Pursuing a degree in outdoor recreation and tourism management allowed Moss to fully immerse herself in all that Wyoming has to offer. This experience ignited a passion in her to continue working in Wyoming. As she puts it, “UW set me on fire to continue to work in Wyoming, and that fire only continues to grow!”

Currently, Moss serves as the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation, Tourism and Hospitality Initiative (WORTH) extension educator at UW Extension. She is committed to a future in Wyoming with hopes of continuing her work with the university as the WORTH Initiative evolves. Her long-term goal is to keep sharing her love for Wyoming and to help give back to the state that has given her so much.

Lauren Munsell ’18

Lauren Munsell’s decision to remain in Wyoming after her time at UW wasn’t a difficult one. As a nurse practitioner, Munsell is dedicated to bettering her community, forming deep bonds with patients and contributing to the state that shaped her. “I believe Wyoming encourages young professionals to push the limits of their knowledge and encourages professional development,” Munsell says. Her connection to the UW and Cheyenne community, nurtured by the support of her professors, has landed her in her dream job as an otolaryngology nurse practitioner.

With a heart for service, Munsell’s future includes expanding local ear, nose and throat services, mentoring future nurse practitioners and reaching out to underserved populations. As she states, “I am proud and honored to be able to raise my children, support my husband as a business owner and to practice in the state of Wyoming.”

Kristen Masters ’14

Kristen Masters found it easy to choose to build her career in her home state. The deep roots of her family and her husband carrying on the family legacy as a fifth-generation Wyoming rancher made it the perfect place to call home. After graduation, Masters started her marketing career with a remote position for a Montanabased marketing agency. Now she is the proud owner and operator of Kristen Masters | Equine Creative, a marketing business that specializes in branding, graphic design and website design for equine-minded businesses, individuals and organizations.

UW played a significant role in her decision to stay in the state, showcasing the wealth of resources, networks and opportunities available. Despite its large size and rural nature, Wyoming offered a perfect blend of familiarity and access to top resources. Masters plans to stay in Wyoming, raise her family and continue to build her career through pushing herself creatively and professionally. Masters concludes, “I’m grateful to say that I’ve established a busy fulfilling career that I love and continue to build on each year, right here in the same place where it all started for me.”

Compiled by Emmett Chisum Special Collections staff and Jennifer Kirk

Student photographers from the Branding Iron (BI) and the WYO yearbook. The students spend long hours on shooting assignments for the campus publications working both in the field and in the darkroom. The BI earned a superior rating for photography this year in a national collegiate newspaper competition.

The University of Wyoming 1964 Wyo. Hebard LD6268. W86 V.52 1964 pg. 230. UW Libraries Emmett Chisum Special Collections.

Students in the College of Agriculture utilize the microbiology lab to scrutinize slides.

The University of Wyoming 1969 Wyo. Hebard LD6268.W86 V.57 1969 pg. 86. UW Libraries Emmett Chisum Special Collections.

A DJ as one of the personalities of the Cowboy Kid on air for KUWR 91.5 FM, the University of Wyoming college radio station.

The University of Wyoming 1969 Wyo. Hebard LD6268.W86 V.57 1969 pg. 254. UW Libraries Emmett Chisum Special Collections.

Engineering students could study electricity, mechanics, or architecture and prepare for careers in their field. Here a chemist is using the latest College of Engineering lab facilities.

The University of Wyoming 1969 Wyo. Hebard LD6268.W86 V.56 1969 pg. 98. UW Libraries Emmett Chisum Special Collections.

WYOGRAMS

By Michael Blaney

Alumni, we want to hear about your professional successes! Mail career, publication, art, certification and other professional accomplishments to: WyoGrams/Career Celebrations, UW Alumni Association, 222 S. 22nd St., Laramie, WY 82070, or email us at uwalumni@uwyo.edu. Photos may also be sent to uwalumni@uwyo.edu for consideration. Please note that WyoGrams/Career Celebrations with “Exp.” next to a name mean that an alum was expected to graduate in the year indicated.

Career Celebrations

Jorgen Waaler, B.S. ’82, general business management, MBA ’83, business administration, a seasoned information technology professional, has navigated a rewarding journey in the IT industry, leading as CEO of StrongPoint ASA for 16 years and now starting a new adventure as CEO of the aqua technology company Bluegrove AS. He is excited to return to a hands-on role in operations and credits his success to the language skills and work ethic he developed at UW. His advice to UW students? “Make your co-workers good! Don’t have discussions on emails.”

Nick Healey, J.D. ’99, law, MBA ’19, business administration, a seasoned health care professional with over 20 years of experience, has joined Husch Blackwell’s Health Care, Life Sciences and Education business unit as a partner. Based in Cheyenne, he’s affiliated with the firm’s Denver office and provides health care transactional and regulatory services. Healey’s expertise in guiding health care providers through corporate matters and complex regulatory frameworks is highly valued. Healey is excited to join Husch Blackwell, praising its reputation and the depth of expertise it offers.

Andee Leininger, B.S. ’13, rangeland ecology and watershed management, B.S. ’14, agroecology, a sixth-generation rancher and author, released her first book, Half a Lifetime of Drought. The book combines

Leininger’s personal experiences and scientific knowledge to guide others in managing their businesses during drought, which makes it a valuable resource for ranchers and landowners. Leininger is currently a recruiter at Otero College and runs her own business, SECO Ranch Planning. You can find a copy of her book, Half a Lifetime of Drought, on amazon.com.

Robert Anderson, B.S.P.E. ’86, petroleum engineering, CEO of Earthstone Energy, has been featured on the cover of Oil and Gas Magazine for his company’s impressive growth. Despite pandemic challenges, Anderson’s strategic focus on asset acquisition and operational improvement has propelled Earthstone’s production in the Permian Basin by over 600 percent. His leadership, valuing field expertise and efficient decision-making, has steered the company toward consistent top-notch performance and continued growth.

Olalekan Ajayi, P.H.R.D. ’09, pharmacy, has taken the helm as president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers. In his new role, he leads an organization representing over 34,000 multidisciplinary cancer practitioners and 1,700 cancer programs nationwide. Ajayi’s focus for his term is on building the oncology workforce to deliver next-generation cancer care and addressing the critical challenge of ensuring a robust workforce to deliver lifesaving treatments.

Megan Brown, B.A. ’11, elementary education, M.A. ’17, education, principal of Buckeye Elementary School in Arizona, has made significant strides in improving student performance since taking the lead role in January 2021. Implementing phonics, small-group instruction and a Tier-1 literacy support plan, Brown has transformed Buckeye Elementary from an F rating to a B rating. Her leadership has also resulted in a staff retention rate of 90 percent. A strong advocate for student voice and choice, Brown prioritizes relationships with stakeholders and ensures consistent communication with families, staff and the local community. Brown is dedicated to education and making a lasting impact at Buckeye Elementary.

Iva Moss, M.S. ’14, natural science, an experienced educator and 2020 Johnson O’Malley National Teacher of the Year, has joined Wyoming Wilderness Association’s governing council. With a diverse teaching background and a focus on the intersection of Arapaho knowledge systems and STEM in her Ph.D. studies, Moss brings a unique perspective to her work. She also serves as a research consultant for the Northern Arapaho Tribal Historic Preservation Office and teaches at Central Wyoming College. Her work emphasizes indigenous stewardship and community involvement in landscape stewardship.

Soheil Saraji, Ph.D. ’13, petroleum engineering, has cowritten a groundbreaking book, Blockchain Technology in the Oil and Gas Industry, with Si Chen. The book explores the potential of blockchain technology to aid the industry’s transition toward sustainability. It provides valuable insights into how blockchain can assist in monitoring emission data, carbon capture, utilization, storage and supply chain management. Saraji, an associate professor at UW, brings over 18 years of research experience in subsurface energy extraction and carbon geo-sequestration, making him a pioneer in applying

SCALE DOES MATTER

blockchain research to the oil and gas industry.

Obituaries

Charles Dale “Joe” Benson, B.S. ’66, physical education teaching, 83, of Laramie, died on Memorial Day, May 30, at home. He was born April 22, 1939, in Laramie to Charles W. and Irma (Marsh) Benson. After Laramie High School graduation in 1957, Benson joined the Marine Corps. During his two years of active duty, he played on the football team. In 1964, Benson married his college sweetheart, Lynn Beltz, and they remained in Laramie after he graduated in 1966. In 1967, they were blessed with

son, Joe, and daughter, Jill. All four family members were born at the original Ivinson Memorial Hospital on Ivinson Avenue, which was later demolished (the block that now holds the new UW parking garage). He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Warren and Gary Benson, brother-inlaw Rick Ellwanger, nephew Garth Benson, and niece Brandie Casas. Benson is survived by his bride of 58 years, Lynn; son Joe (Jodi) Benson; daughter Jill (Mike) Malloy; granddaughter Abby Benson (Garrett) Treffer; grandson Ty Benson; great grandsons Brody and Tate

Treffer; sister Bonnie (Jim) Ross; sisters-in-law Joann Benson, Suzie Schatz Benson Hills, Judi Beltz Ellwanger and Patti Beltz Roylance; several nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, and great-great nieces and nephews; and a number of close friends.

George William Squires, B.S. ’67, physical education teaching, passed away at his home surrounded by his family. He was 80 years old. Squires was born in Norwich, England, Feb. 22 1942, to Caroline Mary Wilson and George Law Squires. He attended UW, where he played football as a running back and field goal kicker. He held Wyoming records for longest field goal (46 yards) and most field goals in a career (15), in a season (7) and in a game (3). In 1964, he led the Cowboys

in points (41). He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1965. After his playing days, he went on to coach as an assistant at Boise State, eventually moving into teaching and coaching football at the high school level. Coach Squires leaves a legacy of positively influencing and shaping boys into fine young men. Squires is survived by his wife Kathy, his son Darin of Denver, his daughter Shelly Carlstrom of Bailey, Colo., two grandchildren Blake and Tori Horstmann; and a sister Daphne Groendaal. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Rodney Squires and a sister Pat Rhodes.

Wesley Joseph Metzler, B.S. ’59, general business management, passed away peacefully in his Powell home, surrounded by his family on Jan. 29, 2023. His

absence will be deeply felt by all his family and friends. Born in Riverton, Metzler moved to Powell at the age of 2. This proud Cowboy graduated from UW, where he wrestled, earned his bachelor’s degree in business and met his life partner, Coleen Kay Metzler. This devoted father cherished his children — Mike, Tim, Jill, Nick, Greg and Andy. He loved and adored his 12 grandchildren who pulled pranks on one another and brought many laughs through the years. He was also blessed with nine great-grandchildren. Leading in faith, family, friendship, community, business and athletics, Metzler served his church and acted as a diligent community steward. His passion for athletics was undeniable, with his enduring commitments to the local athletic community.

Join your University of Wyoming Alumni Association for our exciting new Steamboat Stories, where you can share the extraordinary moments, experiences, and friendships—that shaped your time at UW.

Learn more about how to tell your story and be a part of this remarkable journey.

uwyo.edu/alumni/steamboat-stories

Spencer Pelton, Wyoming State Archaeologist

Spencer Pelton grew up in Tennessee and came to UW for his Ph.D. in anthropology (2018). Deciding to stay in the region, he worked for an environmental consulting company before landing his dream job as the Wyoming state archaeologist.

“I love doing archeology in Wyoming,” Pelton says. “It’s just about the best place to do archaeology.”

His office manages the largest archeological repository in the state, which is housed at UW. The office prepares, logs and stores artifacts found during cultural surveys. The office also sponsors excavations and recovers archeological human burials in the state. Pelton does related outreach, serves as an adjunct faculty member at UW and conducts research as well.

“I love inspiring awe and curiosity in people,” he says.

As a UW student, Pelton learned how to manage excavations, structure large research projects and manage data.

“I love that Wyoming is still the frontier,” he says. “There’s a lot of opportunity to create new knowledge and discover truly novel things. The state is a great place to build your career.”

ARTS AND SCIENCES ACROSS THE STATE

UW college produces graduates who serve Wyoming in many roles and industries.

By Micaela Myers

State Archaeologist Spencer Pelton collaborates with the UW Anthropology Department in excavating mammoth bones from the Warren site in southeastern Wyoming.

Erin Butler, WYO Theater

The people of Sheridan love their historic WYO Theater, which opened in 1923. Theater graduate Erin Butler (2005) of Wright plays a key role in keeping that history alive.

“It’s fun and rewarding to be a part of the WYO’s great history and to carry that tradition while we grow,” she says. “I love providing a space for people to come together and experience something collaboratively. We offer live professional performances throughout the year.”

The WYO also houses a dance studio and is home to Sheridan College’s theater department. As executive director for the past seven years, Butler oversees staff, finances, marketing, fundraising and facility rentals; reports to the

Misty Moore, Wyoming State Parks

Misty Moore of Clearmont always planned to stay in Wyoming after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in American studies (2006). She now serves as Absaroka District 5 manager for Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites and Trails in Banner.

“The American studies discipline prepared me to explore diverse perspectives in how people

board; chooses the lineup; and manages performances, among other things. She feels fortunate to oversee a theater and loves the town and its people.

“In Sheridan, they love this community, so there’s always great support,” Butler says. “There’s a Wyoming culture and way of life I appreciate. And, of course, my roots are here.”

UW provided her with positive role models and a rigorous education. After a stint working in New York City, she’s glad to have settled in her home state. “If you come back, you’ll be rewarded for your time and dedication.” Butler says to other students: “Find the place you love. Find a career that’s fulfilling and enjoy it.”

experience place and time,” Moore says. “I consider these perspectives in my work almost every day in my role. I love Wyoming’s fierce protection of public access and the wild spirit of Wyoming people.”

To students, she says: “Make it a priority to know your neighbors. Serve your community as locally as possible. Get involved in the process and be part of the conversation.”

Callie and Brandon Taylor, Carbon County School District 1 and HF Sinclair

An education from the College of Arts and Sciences can take you in many directions, as evidenced by 2005 Department of Theatre and Dance graduates Callie and Brandon Taylor. Callie grew up in Casper and Brandon in Rawlins. After meeting at UW, they headed to California for graduate school and then New York for a time before settling in Rawlins to serve the community and be closer to family.

For nearly a decade, Callie owned a dance studio in Rawlins before becoming a full-time kindergarten teacher for Carbon County School District 1.

“I love being a teacher,” she says.

“I use my dance degree every day, even in kindergarten. The connection between being involved in dance and the arts and academic achievement is so strong, and I see such a difference in my students when I include dance in my lessons.”

Brandon also uses his theater education as business manager for work process transformation at HF Sinclair.

“Theater is all problem solving,” he says. “What is the objective? What is the obstacle? What tactics are you going to employ to overcome your obstacle to get your objective? Those lessons are applicable in

any job setting. One of my greatest joys is solving problems and riddles. My day job gives many opportunities to work in many facets of the business and find the best solution.”

Brandon also chairs the Carbon County School District 1 Board of Trustees. To UW students, he says: “All communities need help. As Callie says, ‘Get involved!’ You can find great satisfaction is seeing your work in your community.”

uwyo.edu/uwyo: Read about the Wyoming Center on Aging’s important workforce development efforts

COURTESY PHOTO

Whether it’s managing artists, marketing shows, creating a private studio, working as a performing artist, running an arts-focused business or starting a nonprofit, students need a wide range of entrepreneurial skills, which prompted the University of Wyoming College of Arts and Sciences to launch a music entrepreneurship certificate.

“The program equips today’s students with the skills and tools they need to create sustainable careers in the arts,” says program director and Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Nicole Riner. “Coursework includes guest speakers and offers intensive work on individually tailored projects to help build professional portfolios. Hands-on practical knowledge is developed through in-person or virtual internships with partners nationwide.”

Students have completed internships with the

Amy Munsell grew up in Cheyenne, picked up the saxophone at age 10 and became a drum major in high school. She earned her UW bachelor’s degree in music education (2009) and taught music in Natrona County School District 1 for several years before opening VIBES Fine & Performing Arts LLC in Casper in 2013.

“We provide music lessons, classes and music therapy for all ages,” Munsell says. “Our Kindermusik program is in the top 1 percent worldwide, and I am also the Kindermusik distributor of Wyoming and advocate for music therapy in our state.”

Munsell loves seeing how music transforms lives, “from a student gaining confidence or receiving music scholarships for college, to helping a dementia patient reconnect with their loved one or helping a patient right out of brain surgery talk again, or helping a child’s language develop.”

VIBES partners with many community organizations in the region, including area hospitals, and Munsell serves on the Wyoming Music Therapy Task Force and the Wyoming Community Foundation Casper board.

“I would advise UW students hoping to stay in Wyoming to start building relationships, get hands-on in their field of work and look for internships during college,” Munsell says. “Wyoming organizations truly embrace hiring locally, and building those relationships early is a beautiful way to learn more about your future work and the people in the industry.”

Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, music stores, recording studios and nonprofits. Graduates are already working for nonprofit arts organizations in Wyoming and as freelance musicians and DJs, running their own private music lesson studios and managing a touring ensemble.

“Some of the projects coming out of our most recent entrepreneurship seminar class include developing a new social media platform to connect gigging musicians and show producers, creating a nonprofit organization to help students purchase new instruments and building a concertpromoting organization,” Riner says. “The creators of these projects all intend to remain here in Wyoming and continue growing after the class is over.”

Music Entrepreneurship

J. SORE PHOTOGRAPHY

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Alum and music teacher

Rachel Boyer

UW’s audio technology certificate teaches students how to record and mix music, as well as to provide sound reinforcement for live events.

“I take a very vocational approach to the program and put a large emphasis on workplace skills to help my students feel confident finding freelance work or entering an entrylevel position in audio — including concert production, corporate audiovisual and music production — when they complete the program,” says Assistant Lecturer Will Flagg, who heads up the program.

Recording equipment has become

Thomas

Veterans Affairs

better and more affordable in recent years but also more technical, which requires training. Students in the audio technology certificate program complete internships, and graduates are already working in Wyoming music venues, running sound systems at the schools where they teach, and working with area bands and production companies. Many music students learn to record and distribute their own music. However, the skills learned in the program go beyond music and can be applied to a variety of live events as well as recordings such as podcasts.

Michael Lange, Laramie County Community College

Michael Lange grew up in Riverton and didn’t see himself as college bound until his love of music showed him a path — from Northwest College to UW for jazz studies (2005) to his master’s in public administration (2008) to earning his doctorate now in adult education.

For nearly a decade, Lange served as executive director of the Wyoming Arts Council in Cheyenne, which helps set arts and cultural policy for the state and provides programs and services that support the arts as a social and economic tool.

“Wyoming has a strong and rich arts community,” he says. “I love connecting artists, art administrators and advocates around how they can better serve their communities.”

Thomas Wykes of Chandler, Ariz., came to UW to earn his master’s degree in clinical psychology (2011) followed by his Ph.D. (2016). At UW he met his wife, Caitilin Barret, a Wyoming native, and they decided to settle in Cheyenne. There, Wykes works for the Department of Veterans Affairs as associate chief of mental health for medical integration. His job includes suicide prevention and making sure mental health is integrated into a variety of settings, such as primary care.

“The VA is better than ever,” Wykes says. “We’re not-for-profit, so we have the opportunity to design programs and build services purely because they’re beneficial.”

He loves the variety his job offers and believes UW prepared him well for his career serving others.

“UW provided rigorous high-quality training in the psychology department,” Wykes says. “Great faculty and well-developed programs are UW’s strength.”

He believes Wyoming offers opportunities and makes it easy to form the right connections. Students just need to reach out and begin forming relationships with area agencies and businesses. Wykes says, “I definitely would recommend Wyoming to anybody who is looking to develop their career.”

This summer, Lange accepted a faculty appointment as the director of the music, theater and visual arts programs at Laramie County Community College.

“The ability to be in these wide-open spaces but still feel really connected to community is a big piece of why I love living and working in Wyoming,” he says.

To UW students hoping to stay, Lange recommends being open to multiple possibilities. “Recognize that the skills you’re learning — to be of high artistic excellence in your practice — are also skills that can be used in all different workforce settings, and especially in helping support arts and culture infrastructure around the state. As an artist, you bring creativity to your work that our state needs.”

Learning Audio Technology

Wykes,

COURTESY PHOTO

Assistant Lecturer Will Flagg (standing) teaches students in the Audio Technology course.

The College of Arts & Sciences o ers a diverse and well-rounded education in Fine Arts, the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Programs. Whether you're interested in pursuing a degree in A&S or looking for ways to unlock your creativity, nationally-ranked degree programs and courses with A&S provide an opportunity to gain valuable education and skills. Our programs involve work in the creative fields, using data, learning new languages, understanding the world around you, and much more.

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Celebrating Harold Garde

ALUMNUS HAROLD GARDE RECEIVED A 2023 HONORARY DOCTORATE AS THE UW ART MUSEUM PREPARES FOR A NEW EXHIBITION OF HIS WORK.

By Michelle Sunset, Curator

On May 13, 2023, the University of Wyoming posthumously awarded artist Harold Garde with an honorary doctoral degree, which two of his grandchildren — Samantha Garde and Andrew Joia — accepted on the family’s behalf. UW Art Museum staff were thrilled to nominate this great artist and friend for a lifetime of success in his field, which brought acclaim to UW.

Garde painted well into his 99th year, and his art career began at UW in the 1940s. He was able to attend using his GI Bill after serving in World War II in the U.S. Army Air Forces. He studied visual arts at an exciting time at UW, learning from a faculty of renowned artists including Leon Kelly (surrealist), George McNeil (abstract expressionist) and Ilya Bolotowsky (geometric

abstractionist). He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1949. The influences of these mentors can be traced in his work through his process of beginning with abstraction and developing a recognizable subject, although Garde’s style is notably his own.

After graduating from UW, Garde earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Columbia University and taught painting at Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York. He later enjoyed teaching art in the Nassau County public school system. Garde’s first solo exhibition was held in Huntington, New York, in 1970. During the summer of 2022, his three most recent exhibitions were held Portland, Maine, and Orlando, Florida. While it would be difficult to quantify the number of exhibitions Garde’s work has been featured in throughout the course of his 70-plus-year career, there have been over 25 exhibitions in the last 20 years. His work has been collected by major institutions across the country, including the print library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and internationally at the Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library) in Paris, France.

Despite his fame and accomplishments, Garde remained dedicated to the institution that gave him the opportunity to be an artist. He was a gracious host for numerous studio visits by UW Art Museum

curators to his home studios and offsite storage facilities in Maine, New York and Florida over the course of the last decade-plus. Spending time engaging with Garde about his art further revealed what is evident in his work — he approached each work of art with curiosity and intellect, daring to experiment and never relenting in exploring various expressions of familiar subjects. He had a major solo exhibition of his work at the UW Art Museum in 2009, and the museum is currently working on an exhibition dedicated to his career that will open in 2024. Planning for this exhibition has been in the works for several years and is a celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday. Visit the Art Museum in 2024 to experience 100 paintings and works on paper in Harold Garde at 100: The Unseen Works.

UW President Ed Seidel with Garde’s grandchildren Samantha Garde and Andrew Joia, along with Art Museum Director Nicole Crawford.

Advancing Rural Law

The UW College of Law helps students stay in the state, addressing the shortage of rural lawyers. By Micaela Myers

Marshall Keller, Keller Law Firm

Marshall Keller came to UW as a nontraditional student. He had earned his undergraduate degree in Montana and then went to work in Gillette before graduating from law school in 2019.

“I am a solo law practitioner,” he says. “I love being a part of the community in Thermopolis. I love the outdoors and many of the people in the state.”

To current students, he adds: “Look at what our rural communities need by speaking to professionals in our rural areas.”

Colby Sturgeon, Attorney at Law

Colby Sturgeon returned to his hometown of Torrington to go into general practice after completing his law degree in 2018.

“I have always known I wanted to live and work in Wyoming after graduating,” he says. “Most people in Wyoming are friendly and helpful, which makes it feel like a real community. I also like the access to outdoor recreation and rodeo events — my other passion.”

At UW, he established a solid network, which helped him start his own business.

“UW provided a great opportunity for me to pursue my dreams,” Sturgeon says. “I was able to obtain a high-quality education at an affordable price. I would encourage UW students to stay in Wyoming, as there are many possibilities and opportunities in these small Wyoming towns for young hard-working people. My favorite aspect of my job is that the work that needs to be done in Goshen County is often meaningful and fulfilling.”

Bethany Gilson Casey, Legacy Law

Bethany Gilson Casey came to UW from Castle Dale, Utah, and graduated in 2019. She then opened an estate planning practice in Rock Springs.

“I love serving my clients and helping their families in a very personal way,” she says. “I also love the people in my community and connecting with other women business owners.”

To UW students who want to stay in Wyoming, Gilson Casey says: “You can live and work wherever you want. Resource yourself! Find mentors, get out of your comfort zone, and go for things you want.”

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Alum and Casper attorney Marci Crank Bramlet

Ready for the Real World

Rural America can’t recruit enough professionals, including lawyers. The University of Wyoming College of Law addresses this issue with a number of programs — and they’re working. While about half of the students who attend come from out of state, the majority stay in Wyoming after graduation.

Since its creation in 2009, the College of Law’s Rural Law Center has worked to encourage and prepare students to serve rural communities through speakers, presentations, conferences and a Legislative Research Service to help them learn about rural issues. “UW’s Rural Law Center has been working with the Wyoming State Bar the past few years to develop strategies and programs to attract and support rural lawyers,” says Director Alan Romero.

UW also offers Legal Liftoff and an externship program that serve to further prepare students.

“Legal Liftoff matches students with mentors throughout the state over the course of spring break to create connections and exposure to rural practice and various practice areas,” says Director Career Services and Professional Development Ashli Tomisich. “There are perceptions about rural practice. Hanging your own shingle is a very intimidating thing.

Getting students into these smaller practices has been very beneficial in demystifying the process.”

The college’s externship program provides further experience, placing students into public interest clerkship settings to earn course credit over an academic term. There, they get to dive into the action much more than interns typically get to do in larger cities.

“A lot of students come to law school because they want to make a difference — they want to help people,” Tomisich says. “The externship program gives them a hands-on opportunity to see how their work is impactful and how much of a need there is.”

BY

UW law student Bennett Smith worked with Laramie Assistant City and Prosecuting Attorney Holli Austin-Belaski as part of UW’s Legal Liftoff mentorship program.

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Director of Career Services and Professional Development Ashli Tomisich. Scan the QR code for a video about the career services offered by the College of Law.

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ALI GROSSMAN

the Numbers

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UW’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers team took first place in the hybrid division at the Formula Hybrid + Electric competition at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in May.

UW student team’s solar-powered home in the foothills of Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains took fourth place in the 2023 U.S. Department of Energy’s 20th annual Solar Decathlon Build Challenge.

The low cost of higher education in Wyoming, combined with low student debt and a relatively high community college graduation rate, once again has placed the state No. 5 on U.S. News & World Report’s Best States for Higher Educationlist.

Chelsea-Victoria Turner, who is majoring in plant production and protection with a concentration in agroecology and evolution, was one of just 55 people nationwide to be named a 2023 Udall Scholar.

Winners of the UW College of Business’s 23rd annual John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition include the grand prize winner BAST Manufacturing, which produces a sustainable high-performance air filter; second winner Inspira Nutrition, which “fuels your journey”; and third winner EdgeFlyte, which offers high-performance edge-of-space atmospheric research equipment.

The Burton Awards announced that graduate student and current UW Ruckelshaus Institute Conservation Fellow Travis Brammer is among 25 law student writers selected for the Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award.

Cowgirl tennis won its first postseason national tournament match in program history in May, upsetting fourth-seeded Appalachian State in the quarterfinals of the inaugural Universal Tennis NIT Championship.

The Indigenous Peoples Knowledge Community recently honored UW’s Native American Education, Research and Cultural Center as the 2023 Outstanding Indigenous Student Support Program Award winner.

For the third consecutive year, UW’s Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center has received the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention from Vector Solutions for its commitment to student wellness.

Why the University of Wyoming Should Be Your Top Choice for College!

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