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Brent Schrotenboer (Jour), an enterprise and investigative reporter for USA Today, won his fifth national top 10 writing award since 2014 from the Associated Press Sports Editors. Brent, who lives in San Diego, has been with USA Today since 2012, covering various legal, business and social issues related to sports. He has won 14 national Top 10 awards since 2001.

Ahmed Mansoor Alabd (ElEngr; MTeleCom’99) of the United Arab Emirates was named winner of the 2015 Martin Ennals Human Rights Defender Award by the Switzerland-based Martin Ennals Foundation. The award recognizes human rights defenders who have shown deep commitment to human rights at great personal risk. Winners are selected by a coalition of 10 leading international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

At CU, Richard English (MThtr) worked as production stage manager for the theater and dance department. He has since had a career in theater, serving as stage manager/technical director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, as lighting designer for the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, as a production manager at the Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase and also as a freelance lighting designer and producer. In the early 2000s he turned to writing with a focus on the history and sociobiology of beer, wine and spirits and now has more than 175 published pieces.

In October Carrie Morgan (Engl) published her debut novel, The Road Back from Broken, which won the Royal Palm Literary Award. The book depicts a Fort Carson-based family struggling to heal after the husband/father is injured by an IED in Afghanistan. Carrie lives in Florida with her husband, a U.S. Army infantry veteran.

The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, a memoir by Justin Hocking (Psych), won the Oregon Book Award in Creative Nonfiction this spring. The book details Justin’s move to New York and subsequent immersion in the surfing community at Far Rockaway, in Queens. He also won the Humanitarian Award from the Willamette Writers association for his work in creative writing, teaching and publishing. He teaches creative writing at the Independent Publishing Resource Center and Eastern Oregon University. Justin lives in Portland, Ore.

³¢²¹·É²â±ð°ùÌýMichele Blair (PolSci) has practiced family law in Colorado since 2000. She is a sole practitioner at Blair Law Firm, P.C., specializing in divorce, parental responsibilities, child support and spousal maintenance cases.

Gnip, a social data company co-founded by Jay Valeski (CompSciAp’96), was acquired by Twitter, and is Twitter’s first Boulder location. Jay also is a supporter of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado, a network of Colorado entrepreneurs who pledge to give funds back to the community.

Yvonne Wade (Soc’96), a two-time Olympian, was inducted into the 2014 Athletic Hall of Fame at CU. She competed for Japan in the 100-meter hurdles in 1996 and 2000. Yvonne is now head track coach at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Can you imagine our world 50 years from now? Caren Gussoff (DistSt’96) did. Her new book, The Birthday Problem, depicts the year 2060 as pure chaos: A plague has destroyed most common cures for disease and only four Seattle survivors are left to fight. Caren lives in Seattle.

Justin Hocking’s (Psych’96) book, The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, was published in spring 2014 and made it to No. 3 on The Denver Post’s bestseller list. Justin teaches creative writing and is the executive director of a literary nonprofit organization in Portland, Ore., called the Independent Publishing Resource Center.

There aren’t too many chances to attend the annual meeting of the Tokyo chapter of the CU-Boulder Alumni Association. But Danielle Rocheleau Salaz (Jap’96, MA’00) made it happen last June. The assistant director of the CU Center for Asian Studies traveled to the Japanese capital and Kyoto as part of a goodwill delegation spearheaded by Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock to celebrate the inauguration of United’s direct flight service between Denver and Tokyo. Danielle lives in Westminster, Colo.

Denver-based photographer Thomas Carr (MAnth’96) combined his passion for photography and archaeology. He uses his camera skills as a staff archaeologist for the Colorado History Museum and regularly takes wedding, portrait, nature and fine art photos. You can see his photos at thomascarrphotography.com.

The Integer Group is among the world’s largest promotional, retail and shopper marketing agencies. In January the Lakewood, Colo.-based company, hired Sharon Gury (Hum’96, MBA’10) as director of insight and strategy. Sharon lives in Longmont, Colo.

Call that an exciting trip back to Colorado! Toni Momberger (Ling’96) wanted to guest teach a CU journalism class on the morning of Sept. 12, 2013, and visit her son who is a student at CU-Boulder. However, the floods hit town that week. Toni, editor of Redlands Daily Facts in Redlands, Calif., where she lives, went to Denver in the afternoon as planned. At a ceremony at The Denver Post, she was named Journalist of the Year for Small Dailies.

As a senior at CU-Boulder, Jules Bruff (Thtr’96) received the Best Actress Scholarship. Since moving to Hollywood she has acted in theater, TV, film and more than 40 national commercials. Her first break came when she landed the pivotal role of Catherine Allen in David Fincher’s 2007 film Zodiac. Jules co-wrote, produced and starred in the indie sleeper hit movie Part Time Fabulous. The film received eight awards, two of which were best actress for Jules’ portrayal of the lead character. She lives in Los Angeles.

Last fall the anthropology department invited Chad Spitler (MAnth’96) to share his experiences applying anthropology to corporations. A corporate anthropologist, he has worked with such major global financial services providers as Blackrock and Barclays. Chad lives in Covert, Mich.

Metropolitan opera bass-baritone Keith Miller (Art ex’96) starred in Home Soiree – Opera Gala at the Crested Butte Music Festival last summer. Home Soiree was a collection of arias and ensembles from famous operas led by Keith and performed by the principals of the main stage opera.

On May 6, Dan Roth (Comm’96) and his wife welcomed their fourth child, Decker Cole. Roth works as a bond trader for Charles Schwab & Co. in the Denver Tech Center. He writes the family looks forward to attending many football games this fall as a family of six.

After graduation Jason Ross (MechEngr’96) moved to Boston to work in the Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine that is part of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He applied to medical school and was accepted to the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Jason received a fellowship to fund his project while he completes his medical education.

In January law firm Wilson Elser announced that Melissa Shisler (Law’96) joined the firm’s Denver office as counsel. She is a member of the firm’s national appellate, fidelity/surety, general liability and casualty and insurance and reinsurance coverage practices. While she attended CU law school, Melissa was a member and associate editor of the University of Colorado Law Review. She lives in Littleton, Colo.