Gia Crecelius '91 

At CC, Gia was a Barnes Scholarship recipient majoring in chemistry. She participated in student government and was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority. She earned her M.D. from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and then completed a residency in adult psychiatry and a fellowship in child psychiatry at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. For the next six years, she was the medical director of a residential treatment facility that cared for children in the Los Angeles foster care and delinquency systems. In 2008, she became the medical director of Los Angeles County Juvenile Court Mental Health Services. She is responsible for reviewing psychotropic medication regimens, handling 10,000 medication requests per year. In 2011, she was honored as Employee of the Year by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health for her leadership in developing new protocols to ensure that children in the dependency and delinquency systems receive appropriate and effective care. Both Los Angeles County and the State of California have adopted these protocols. In addition to her work for Los Angeles County, Dr. Crecelius serves children of immigrant and low economic status families at a community health clinic. She not only provides psychiatric care, but also helps families navigate the complex health system in Los Angeles.

David Helms '65

David has been a leader in the development of the fields of health policy and health services research with a focus on advancing evidence-based decision-making to improve health and health care services. Throughout his career he has been recognized for his skillful facilitation of high-level policy discussions and technical assistance to states and non-profit organizations. In 1976, he founded the Alpha Center, a non-partisan, non-profit health planning and policy center, providing policymakers with expert technical assistance, research, and analysis. In 2000, David led the establishment of AcademyHealth from the merger of Alpha to become the professional home for health services researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners. Today, AcademyHealth with its 4,000 members serves as a leading, non-partisan resource for health research and policy focused on improving health and healthcare in the United States.

He received his Ph.D. in economics and public administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in 1979. At CC, David majored in political science and served as Senior Class President. Since graduating, he worked as an admissions counselor and has been active in the alumni community, contributing to the organization of class reunions. In 2008, David returned to CC to teach a course on health reform.

Kelvin Taketa '76

The 2021 Benezet Award recipient is Kelvin Taketa ’76 who has had a long career in the nonprofit sector. He is a national, state, and local leader in philanthropy, environmental preservation and protection, conservation, aquaculture, and education. He started The Nature Conservancy in Hawaii, helping to preserve 42,000 acres of habitat. He led government relations, communications, membership and development at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and founded its Asia/Pacific region work. During his tenure as CEO and president of the Hawaii Community Foundation from 1998 to 2017, the foundation created the Fresh Water initiative, substantially reduced homeless families statewide, and worked on public education reform. Taketa founded a private equity firm aimed at increasing aquaculture production.

The NonProfit Times named him one of the 50 most powerful and influential people in philanthropy and nonprofits three times. In 2017, Historic Hawaii named Taketa Kama’aina of the Year, an honor given to a Hawaii resident. He serves on several boards, including Feeding America, Elemental Excelerator, the Hawaii Leadership Forum, Hawaiian Electric Company, the Stupski Foundation, and the Center for Effective Philanthropy. His nominator stated, “The communities we see today (in Hawaii) would be less if Kelvin were not here making a difference.” He earned a law degree from the University of California Hastings College of Law.

Raleigh Anne Bowden '74

Bowden attended medical school and has worked in the cancer and palliative care field since 1978. Her early career was in academic medicine at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where she was associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine until 1998. She was involved in national and international research in infections in transplant patients. She authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and edited the first book of its kind on transplant infections, which is in its third edition.

In 1998 Bowden left academics and began developing community-based programs to serve vulnerable populations facing life-threatening health challenges. She founded and directed the Seattle African American Comfort Program from 2002-2008, subsequently moving to rural eastern Washington state. In 2010 she started the Lookout Coalition, where she currently works. The Lookout Coalition is a volunteer house-call based palliative care practice serving people facing health challenges, including aging and end of life. Most recently, she built the Okanogan Palliative Care Team to provide services in the largest rural county in Washington state. In 2019, she and her team received the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Award to support that work and the development of clinical leaders for the future.

Lance Cheslock '83

Lance is the recipient of the Louis T. Benezet Award. Thirty-one years ago, Cheslock began his work guiding La Puente - a small, rural homeless shelter serving Colorado's San Luis Valley. Today it is considered the most comprehensive rural homeless program in the 50 states. Annually, over 12,000 individuals and family members receive at least one of La Puente's services.

Through the years, La Puente has blazed a path of innovation to overcome the barriers and challenges of becoming a viable nonprofit organization that can thrive within an isolated, high-poverty region. La Puente's model integrates robust partnerships, a diverse family of social enterprises, a broad base of community volunteers, and decades of harnessing heartfelt energy from young adults who dedicate a year of service through AmeriCorps.

Cheslock has been a strong advocate in sharing the story and dynamics of the silent epidemic of rural homelessness, both in Colorado and nationally. He stayed as an anonymous guest in a diverse array of homeless shelters throughout the United States, gaining a deeper empathy and understanding of people's experience of homelessness. As a legacy, Cheslock would like to silently and anonymously leave behind a multitude of changed hearts, individuals who believe in the worthiness of the homeless and the migrant worker, and individuals who make their own efforts to serve and uphold the dignity of the neediest in our communities.

John Lamson Kessel '74

John has been coaching volleyball at the collegiate level or above since 1971. As a player, he participated in 16 U.S. Open championships and played professionally overseas. He is director of sport development at USA Volleyball, the national governing body of the sport. He also is director of development and board member for World ParaVolley, secretary of the North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation development commission, and a level IV course instructor for the International Volleyball Federation. He serves on the board of Starlings Volleyball, USA, an organization devoted to positively impacting at-risk girls through the sport of volleyball.

In 2017, he and his wife, Lily Fernandez, founded a nonprofit retreat for veterans, first responders, and their families called Bison Peak Lodge on 40 acres in the Tarryalls. He has done multiple clinics in all 50 U.S. states and more than 60 nations worldwide, has authored numerous books and articles, and is a frequently sought speaker on topics related to 20 different Olympic sports.

D'Ann Campbell '72

D’Ann is a professor of history at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri, where in 2015, she won the President’s Award for Outstanding Excellence to the Campus and Community. She has spent (so far) 39 years as professor and administrator. Her first position was at Indiana University as dean for women’s affairs and assistant professor of history. She pioneered three subfields: integrating women into American, European, and world history classes; creating women’s quantitative history; and spearheading the history of U.S. women in the military. She garnered grants to promote all three fields.

She was a distinguished visiting professor of military history at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, where she won the Distinguished Civilian Service Award. She was the first woman to serve as dean at any of the service academies when she held the dean of academics post at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. As a distinguished visiting professor in the Department of History at the U.S. Air Force Academy, she won the USAFA’s inaugural “Excellence in Inclusive Teaching Recognition” award and the academy’s “Clio Award” for outstanding contributions to the Department of History.

Campbell has written extensively about women in the military, and her work has been incorporated into textbooks and military history classes. In addition to numerous articles, she authored “Women at War with America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era” (Harvard University Press, 1984).

She has been an active Rotary member for most of her academic career and thrice served as a club president. She graduated summa cum laude from CC in 1972, and earned a doctor of philosophy degree from the University of North Carolina in 1979.

Charles H. "Chip" Collins '77

Charles has held several positions at the nexus of business and the environment. He co-founded the Forestland Group LLC and served as its managing director. The firm is a timberland investment management organization that acquires and sustainably manages primarily naturally regenerating hardwood forestland. Its holdings currently total about 3.8 million acres in five countries. Previously, he was director of Northeast Fisheries and Sustainable Communities Project; vice president of Winslow Management Company, a Boston-based environmental investment firm; and the first executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Additionally, he was vice president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Colorado director of the Nature Conservancy, and a field representative at Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Collins has been deeply engaged with a variety of nonprofit organizations. He is on the boards of the New England Forestry Foundation and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. He formerly served on the boards of Great Mountain Forest Corporation, the Quebec-Labrador Foundation, Shady Hill School, the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Cancer Research, Cary Institute for Ecosystem Studies, and other organizations. He is married to Anne Carmichael Childs ’78.

He earned a bachelor of arts from CC in 1977 and a master of arts degree from Yale University in 1992.

Julie Miller Cribbs '90

Julie is director of the University of Oklahoma Schoolof Social Work and the Oklahoma Medicaid Endowed Professor in Mental Health. As the academic and administrative leader of the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work, she has developed an interdisciplinary curriculum in the areas of ethics, family social services, mental health practice, and health care practice to advance the continuing education of practicing human service professionals. Miller-Cribbs has distinguished herself within the state, nationally, and internationally in developing social work to support vulnerable families, children, and adults coping with economic, social, and cultural displacement. Her research has resulted in practical applications of health-focused social work with an emphasis on family well-being, early intervention, and collaboration between social work and health care providers.

Linda Seger '67

Linda created a new field within the film industry – that of the independent, entrepreneurial script consultant. She has trained script consultants and has presented seminars on screenwriting around the world. She is recognized internationally as one of the foremost authorities in the area of screenwriting. Through her book, “The Better Way to Win: Connecting, Not Competing, for Success,” she defined and encouraged a movement from competitive to collaborative thinking, exploring what it meant in the competitive world of film. Throughout her career, she has given seminars in more than 30 countries, including the first professional screenwriting seminar in Russia and Bulgaria. She has garnered awards for her work in the film industry, including the Candlelight Award and the Moondance Legacy Award. Seger earned M.A. degrees in drama from Northwestern University; in religion and the arts from Pacific School of Religion; and in feminist theology from Immaculate Heart College Center.

Scott Desmarais '86

Scott has devoted his passion for economic and social development toward corporate strategy, business management, and public sector consulting in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and the U.S. He served in the Peace Corps, worked with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and created a consulting firm, The Desmarais Group. He joined McKinsey & Company in 2010, where he serves corporations, public institutions, and foundations.

Paul Liu '81

Paul is chairman of the plastic surgery department and an attending surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital, an attending surgeon at Women and Infants Hospital, and a consultant with Stemnion and Medline Industries. He held previous medical school faculty appointments at Harvard University, the University of Miami, Tufts University, Boston University, and Brown University, and hospital appointments at the Lahey Clinic, Roger Williams Medical Center, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Frieda Ekotto '86

Read the full "Untold Stories" Article - First African woman to graduate from Colorado College. 

Andrew Fahlund '91

David C. Phillips '78

When marine mammal conservation dilemmas arise, David responds with innovative solutions. His organization, Earth Island Institute, has taken on 65 national and international conservation projects. David led a decade-long campaign that resulted in the adoption of dolphin-safe tuna fishing policies, reducing international dolphin mortality by more than 95 percent. Time magazine cited it as one of the decade’s most significant environmental victories and David received the Leadership Award from the United Nations Environment Programme. In 1995, David founded the Free Willy-Keiko Foundation, overseeing a $15 million international campaign to accomplish the first-ever rescue, rehabilitation, and return of a captive orca whale to its home. David was awarded the Joseph Wood Krutch Medal by the Humane Society of the United States in 1995. His work is the subject of “The Cove,” a 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary. David credits Professor Richard Beidleman (biology), Professor Val Veirs (physics) and Professor Richard Bradley (physics department and dean) as his inspirations.

2013 
Jeffrey C. Bauer '69 
Max S. Power '63 

2012 
Henry Ansbacher '92 

2011
Susan Phillips Cohen '66 
Marc Webb '96

2010 
Karen Blase '70 
John Gibson '60

2009
Sarah Andrews '73 
Philip Fearnside '69 
Jane Lubchenco '69

2008 
Max Morath '48 
Bonnie Timmons '73 
Dr. Terry Winograd '66

2007 
Sharon Louise Smith '67 
Vivian Ota Wang '83

2006 
Rich Brotherton '81 
Sharon Young '60

2005 
James McDowell '74 
Dr. Kathryn McQueen '84 
Steven Wong '77

2004 
Paul L. Carson '65 
Maude Wahlman '69

2003 
LeRoy E. Ellinwood, Jr. '48 
Don A. Linger '53

2002 
Donald S. Cheley '65 
Dr. Paul M. Holland '69 
Dr. Oscar H. Soule '62

2001 
Thomas C. Malone '65

2000 
Rev. Dr. Wiliam C. Beaver II '67 
Dr. Donald E. Cook '52

1999 
Eric J. Bransby '47 
Lorna K. Kollmeyer '80

1998 
Rev. Dr. Elizabeth "Betsy" Alden '64 
Dr. Andrew Spielman '52

1997 
William E. James '68 
S. Paul Reville '71 
William B. Stafford '63 
 
1996 
Richard R. Green '59 
Dr. Solomon M. Nkiwane '64 
Robert H. Rawlings '4

1995
Dr. Aurthur A Basham '65
Max Frankel '35

1994
Dr. John K. Langum '33

1993
Alvaro L. Martins '59
Dr. Jerry L. Nothern '62

1992
Dr. Michael John Durfee '64
Dr. Gerald W. Esch '58
Kathryn Renfro Lundy '39
Richard A. Skorman '75

1991
James W. Austin, Jr. '29
Dr. Jane Stevenson Day '51
Jennifer T. Moulton '71

1990
Dr. Charles R. Daily '25
Glenna Maxey Goodacre '61
Dr. Reuben S. Trinidad '62

1989
Dr. Robert M. Brugger '51
Dr. Allen W. Mathies, Jr. '52

1988
Dr. Albert Balows '42
Marjorie Ferguson Lambert '30

1987
Millicent Demmin Abell '56
N. Berne Hart '51

1986
Dr. Dwight S. Brothers '51
David A. Burnett '68
Helen Staff Hopfield '21

1985
Dr. Angelyn Konugres Coupounas '46
Dr. James J. Heckman '65