Barbara Anne Lloyd Nickels ’54, trailblazing Evanston elementary school teacher, died April 21, 2020 from Covid-19

Barbara Nickels, 87, was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1932, and studied art and elementary education at Ripon College in Wisconsin before moving to Evanston in 1963. A forceful advocate for civil rights in the early days of public school integration, she taught at College Hill Elementary School from 1963 until the school closed in 1976, then at Oakton Elementary School until the mid-1980’s. An early adopter of the “team teaching” approach, she displayed her deep caring for her students through her advocacy and belief in parental involvement. She was an avid ETHS booster, who loved to attend football and basketball games even if her kids were not playing. The fact that one of her favorite songs to sing in her older years was the Evanston Fight Song was a testament to her lifelong Evanston spirit. Her students will remember her no-nonsense standards of excellence in learning, along with her wacky sense of humor, energy and passion.

That passion extended to her own life, in her love of sports, art, architecture, history, Welsh genealogy, nature, animals, and antiques. She loved the thrill of the hunt at flea markets for her extensive and eclectic collections, which included Gaudy Welsh china, copper lustreware, and Toby Jugs, many of which are now housed in the Toby Jug Museum in Evanston. A talented artist and decorator, she enjoyed drawing and painting, and took part in art therapy classes even as her health declined.

But most of all, she loved to travel. She visited more than fifty countries on all seven continents, exploring the cultures and landscapes of the world with an endless sense of adventure, enthusiasm and curiosity.

Although in retirement she split her time between Green Lake, Wisconsin and Tucson, Arizona, she always considered “Heavenston” her home, and in her eighties she returned here to be near family. Barbara was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Raymond Nickels, who taught, coached and was Business Manager at Evanston Township High School for many years, and also by her daughter, Leslie Nickels, ETHS class of 1971, who passed away in 2017. She is survived by her son, Douglas Nickels, ETHS class of 1972, four grandchildren, Emily Berkeley (Brian Mahoney), Elizabeth Berkeley, ETHS class of 2007 (Stan Swat), Jeff Nickels, Meredith Nickels, her son-in-law, Lon Berkeley, ETHS class of 1970, and daughter-in-law Judy Peterson Nickels, ETHS class of 1974.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Submitted by: DevStudent

FOREMAN, Roxana Griswold, of Richmond, died Sunday, April 19, 2020, from COVID-19, just 100 minutes from her 86th birthday. Born April 20, 1934, in Chicago, she attended Morgan Park High School on Chicago’s Southside. She later attended Ripon College (Wis.) and National Teacher’s College in Evanston, Ill. She was preceded in death by her husband, George H. Foreman in 2011; her parents, Margaret DeHaan Griswold and William Willys Griswold; and her brother, William W. Griswold Jr. She is survived by her daughter, Kimberly Foreman Napier and her husband, Jeff; and her son, George W. Foreman and his wife, Lynne Helms Foreman, M.D. She is also survived by her five grandchildren, Lauren Napier Rhyne (John) of Ashland, Va., Megan Napier Porter (Danny) of Quinton, Va., Alex Foreman and Jack Foreman of Brooklyn, N.Y. and Blake Foreman of Richmond, Va.; and her five great-grandchildren, Trey, Margaret and Jensen Rhyne and Riley and Mason Porter. Roxana loved playing tennis; her whole family started playing the same day in 1971 while living in Barrington, Ill. She loved Second Baptist Church in Henrico, singing in the choir and participating in the Sunday school class. She was an avid reader, a gift she possessed until her memory began to change these past few years. She loved the joy her cats brought her and deeply felt their loss. But mostly, she loved being with her children, no matter the occasion. Our family would like to thank William Ferrar, M.D. for his 40 years as Mom’s PCP. We want to acknowledge Autumn Care of Mechanicsville for their wonderful care and we’d like to thank Bon Secours Memorial Regional for their nurses, doctors and the Palliative Care Team for their diligence, compassion and expertise. Due to the ongoing pandemic, we will have a Celebration of Life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, Roxana’s family asks that donations be made in her honor to The Alzheimer’s Association or The Central Virginia COVID-19 Response Fund. Woody Funeral Home-Parham is handling interment.

Submitted by: DevStudent

A longtime executive in the retail shopping industry will take on a newly created position to drive digital initiatives, telecommunications and other technologies at American Electric Power.

Ohio-based AEP named Therace Risch to the new position of chief information & technology officer and senior vice president. Her work officially begins May 11.

Risch will report directly to AEP chair and CEO Nicholas K. Akins. AEP’s Information Technology, Innovation & Technology, Telecommunications, and Charge (AEP’s digital innovation hub) teams will report directly to Risch.

“Therace has extensive information and technology expertise in fast-moving, customer focused industries, including retail, insurance and financial services. As we focus on delivering new technologies and custom energy solutions for our customers and introducing new ways to work, her success in driving change and using technology to evolve legacy business models will be incredibly valuable,” said.

Risch most recently was executive vice president and chief information officer for J.C. Penny Co. He was responsible for strategic direction and tactical execution of the retail company’s information technology systems and teams, finding new solutions to help JCPenny compete in the online business sector.

She worked in a similar role at COUNTRY Financial. Prior to that, Risch worked 10 years at Target Corp., with her last position as vice president of technology delivery services.

A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Risch earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. She also completed a pre-MBA education program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and attended the U.S. Army War College’s Commandant’s National Security Program as a civilian participant. [Read More].

Submitted by: DevStudent

Chris Corsten ’97, a native of Marinette, Wisconsin has just published his book “3,000 Days in Afghanistan” detailing his experience in Afghanistan over a ten-year period.

If you ever wondered just what in the world we have been doing in Afghanistan for the last 20 years, this book will help answer many of those questions.

Chris chronicles his experience as a U.S. Army Civil Affairs officer, trying to win the hearts and minds of local Afghans on the ground. Then sheds his uniform to become a civilian counternarcotics advisor, fighting against narcotics in the world’s largest opium and heroin-producing country. Later he becomes the senior program manager for U.S.-funded humanitarian aid projects, working to help build economic prosperity in one of the world’s most impoverished countries.

See Afghanistan and its people through the successes and failures that Chris experienced throughout his journey, and you may find a better appreciation of how dangerous and challenging the experiment in Afghanistan has been.

The book was released on Amazon.com on May 6^th, 2020 and on May 8^th, 2020 it became a #1 New Release in two categories and a Top 10 Best Seller in one category. It was described by one reader as “fun, unapologetic, and an easy read” and has received several 5-star reviews on Amazon.

The book is available exclusively on Amazon.com at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0884MH49T

Chris Corsten is a well-decorated U.S. Army veteran who served in Korea, Kosovo, Egypt/Israel, and Afghanistan. He attended Marinette Catholic Central High School, graduating in 1993. He later received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from Ripon College in 1997, an MBA from the University of Maryland University College in 2015, and a master’s degree in Sustainability from Harvard University Extension School in 2019. Chris’ work has been featured on the CBS show“60 Minutes”,  CNN, and Slate Magazine. [Read More].

Submitted by: DevStudent

Submitted by: DevStudent

He was born January 16, 1932 in Racine, Wisconsin. He spent his early years in Clintonville and Wausau, Wisconsin. In his high school years, he excelled in forensics, extemporaneous speaking, debate and also played on the tennis team. Later at Ripon College he was a member of the varsity debate team and the freshmen tennis team.

He left college to join the Navy serving four years during the Korean conflict. The first one and a half years were spent on the USS Chara (AE31), an ammunition ship that rearmed carriers, cruisers and destroyers off the coast of Korea. The Chara operated out of Sasebo, Japan. He next served at Pearl Harbor and in Stockton, California.

Upon discharge from the Navy he resumed college studies, this time at the University of Wisconsin receiving a BS degree in Economics in January 1959, and soon afterwards began working for the then Hardware Mutuals (later becoming Sentry Insurance). He left Sentry in 1974 and spent the next seven years with a large agency as Vice President. He then started his own agency which he sold a few years later. Carroll worked for other firms and did consulting to complete a 37-year insurance career.

Carroll was preceded in death by his first wife, Marion Becker Dana, and their two children, Brian and Pauline.

In May of 2014 he moved to Georgia to marry a former college classmate of Marion’s and a long-time family friend, Alice “Kay” Brown, who survives him. Also surviving are his three grandchildren: Gage of LaCrosse, Amelia (Alex) Jaramillo of Wausau, and Marshall who is currently serving with the US Air Force in Afghanistan. He is also survived by five stepchildren and their spouses, nine step-grandchildren (plus one spouse) and one step-greatgrandchild.

Carroll will be buried in Guardian Angel Cemetery in Stevens Point. There will be a graveside service when circumstances permit.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Denise Shadrick-Olstinske ’94 honored with the 2020 UW System Board of Regents Academic Staff Excellence Award

The story can be found at the following link.

https://www.uwp.edu/explore/news/denise-olstinske-academic-staff-award-2020.cfm

SOMERS – The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents today announced this year’s recipients of the Academic Staff Excellence Awards. Denise Olstinske ’94, Administrative Program Manager III in the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies at UW-Parkside was among those honored this year.

These awards recognize exceptional service to the university and are the UW System’s highest recognition bestowed on members of its academic staff. The recipients were originally to have been honored at the Board of Regents June 2020 meeting. However, because of COVID-19, the ceremony will be rescheduled.

Olstinske develops innovative higher education programs to recruit and support both traditional and working adult students. She established and directs a concurrent enrollment program called Parkside Access to College Credit (PACC), which enables area high school students to earn both high school and college credit for certain classes in their high schools. She received a $1.4 million grant from the US Department of Education to create a three-year US history and civics program for high school students and social studies teachers. In collaboration with the college dean, she created two associate degree programs, one in professional studies and another in military and security studies. For working adults, she helped create the Master of Arts in Applied Professional Studies, and co-directs the program.   In line with her involvement in the development of a graduate certificate in smart city policy, Olstinske coauthored a chapter on smart cities for a Springer-Verlag volume on Smart Cities. Olstinske serves on a variety of campus committees, including the Course and Curriculum Committee and the Adult Education Committee.

Olstinske’s service goes beyond the immediate Kenosha and Racine area. Responding to the need of a Milwaukee high school, Olstinske developed a summer precollege program for its students, many of whom are under-represented youth. She worked with Marquette University to bring the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps presence to campus, including on-campus courses, physical training, and large training exercises.

“This year’s award recipients reflect the amazing efforts of our academic staff across the UW System,” said Regent Emeritus Janice Mueller, chair of the selection committee. “We are inspired by the far-reaching and influential ways they are helping students succeed and contributing to their communities.”

Award recipients are selected for superior performance resulting in significant contributions to the department and institution; use of positive personal interaction to manage work changes; and a consistently creative approach that improves productivity and work quality. Each recipient is awarded $7,500.

Submitted by: Denise Olstinske

News Update from Lawrence (Larry) Honaker ’11: After finishing up a temporary postdoc in the Experimental Soft Matter Physics group in Luxembourg in March 2020, I moved to Wageningen, the Netherlands, to begin a position as a postdoctoral researcher in the Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter Chair Group at Wageningen University and Research. (I was supposed to have started in April, but, thanks to travel restrictions and limitations due to Coronavirus, I was only able to begin in May.) I’ll be working more on synthetic biology using microfluidics, while still trying to find ways to tie liquid crystals into research, and on learning yet another language along the way.

Submitted by: Larry Honaker

Gregg Petersen ’78 of Columbia, Maryland displayed his Environmental Education Macroinvertebrate Health Scoresheets at the Southeastern Wisconsin Conservation Summit at the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory in Port Washington, Wisconsin in November at the request of Nancy Hintz ’82.  He had a great visit with Ripon biology professors Dr. Memuna Khan and Dr. Ben Grady and some of their students who were in attendance.

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Update from Helen Holter ’78: I had a wonderful opportunity last summer, when I was invited to be part of a Smithsonian/State Department project to assess rural development opportunities in Armenia. It was incredible!  Beyond 1,000-year-old monasteries, stomach-spinning mountains passes, hospitality in spades, and so much good food and wine I’ll never eat a McDonald’s hamburger again…. I’d say the personal highlight for me was visiting the town of Gyumri, which back in Soviet times was called Leninakan – site of a devastating earthquake in 1988 that killed more than 25,000. I covered it as a TV reporter back in the 1980s, so actually seeing it decades later — much of the earthquake damage exactly as it was then — was sad and sobering.  I’m thrilled to add that I’ll be returning this spring to Armenia, as well as to Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Pictured:  It’s worth driving switchback mountain roads heading north to Alaverdi to land here, at UNESCO-listed Haghbat (“Huge Wall”) Monastery complex in Armenia. It was first built more than 1,000 years ago, overlooking a steep gorge.

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Update from Melanie Civin Kenion ’78: Erika Doss ’78 (South Bend, Indiana) and I did a 9-day women’s hike in Slovenia. We hiked in the Julian Alps, Velika Planina (alpine highlands), Lake Bled and Lake Boninj.  We hiked between 8-10 miles a day with a group of 12 women with a tour company called Adventures in Good Company. It was challenging and great to push ourselves out of our comfort zones. This was our third trip together…we previously hiked the Inka Trail and traveled in Cambodia and Thailand. We’re tossing around ideas for two years from now.”

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Recently retired Joe Keegan ’78, Sue Feith Shannon ’78 and Rocker, George Mort ’80, and Moose get together on Marco Island, Florida in January.

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Sue Feith Shannon ’78 and husband Tom (Saukville, Wisconsin), and Horace ’78 and Marla Brenden Garfield ’78 (Eau Claire, Wisconsin) celebrated their respective 40^th wedding anniversaries at Johnny Manhattan’s in Hubertus, Wisconsin in October.

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Submitted by: Alyssa Paulsen

Mini-reunion of classmates Anita Wallace ’78, Adele Binning ’79 (note that yearbook she is holding), Beth Benezra ’78, Julia Classen ’79, and Lisa Wollan ’78.

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

(From Left) Julie Scharon Chovan ’78, Jennifer Stambaugh Voorhees ’77, Peter Lin, Debbie Foster Lin ’75, Dan Newyear ’79, and Joe Chovan ’77 at the Cincinnati Rally Hour on July 31.

Submitted by: Gregg Petersen

Wind and Solar Transactions and Projects Pro Danielle Varnell ’93 Joins Bracewell’s Growing Power Team

Read the story here: https://bracewell.com/news/wind-and-solar-transactions-and-projects-pro-danielle-varnell-joins-bracewell%E2%80%99s-growing-power

WASHINGTON, DC – Bracewell LLP announced today that Danielle M. Varnell ’93, a leading transactional and projects lawyer in the renewable energy arena, has joined the firm’s Washington, DC office as a partner in its power practice. Varnell comes to the firm from Jones Day.

“I’m excited to welcome Danielle to the firm,” said Bracewell Managing Partner Gregory M. Bopp. “Danielle is one of the most highly regarded practitioners in the renewable energy space, and her broad expertise in wind and solar transactions adds further depth to our preeminent global power practice.”

Varnell represents a broad range of clients on M&A transactions and project development in the energy and infrastructure sectors, with a particular focus on renewable energy. She has played a leading role in some of the largest wind and solar transactions in the world. Over the course of her career, Varnell has advised strategic and financial buyers and sellers on the purchase, sale or development of more than 8,000 MW of wind generation, 6,000 MW of solar generation and 4,000 MW of nuclear generation assets, with an aggregate value over $40 billion.

The outlook for the renewable energy market is optimistic despite the economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. States across the country are increasing mandates for renewable energy, at the same time that the cost of key project components continues to decrease. With one of the largest dedicated energy teams in the United States, Bracewell is at the forefront on these and other developments in the energy industry. The firm has one of the nation’s leading power teams, which is regularly involved in wind, solar and other renewable energy projects and transactions.

“Danielle’s experience advising on some of the world’s largest wind and solar transactions strengthens the ability of our power team to continue to have a leading role in the energy transition,” said G. Alan Rafte, chair of the firm’s business and regulatory section.

Varnell is the ninth lateral partner to join Bracewell’s global energy team within the last 12 months, and the fourth to join since the start of the year. Other recent hires on our renewables team include Danielle Garbien and Martha Kammoun, both members of the power practice in New York, and Timothy J. Urban, a member of Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group in Washington, DC.

Varnell advises US and international clients on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances and project development. She helps negotiate and draft EPC contracts, O&M agreements, construction management agreements, joint ventures, project administration agreements, wind turbine supply agreements and REC purchase agreements, as well as other procurement and development agreements. She also represents clients in significant electric transmission projects.

“I chose to join Bracewell because it is a leading energy law firm with a powerhouse team that is ideally positioned to handle all renewable energy and infrastructure matters,” said Varnell. “I’m excited to work with my new partners in helping our clients achieve their business objectives.”

Varnell graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with an A.B. from Ripon College in 1993 and earned her J.D., cum laude and Order of the Coif, from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1997.

Submitted by: Associate Director of Engagement

Submitted by: Associate Director of Engagement

1982 Spring 2020 Class Letter

Select the link above to view the class of 1982 Spring 2020 Class Letter.

Submitted by: Associate Director of Engagement