People

CU, NREL name new director of joint energy institute

Knotek

Knotek brings more than 35 years of experience to RASEI, a joint institute between CU-Boulder and NREL. Since 2001 he has served as a consultant specializing in transitions and creating new research directions in agency and institutional programs, projects and major research facilities. He also has been involved in strategic planning and project management for multidisciplinary and multi-institutional programs and facilities, including DOE biological programs, high-performance computing, national facilities such as synchrotrons, environmental research and many aspects of energy science and technology.

Knotek, one of the nation's most experienced leaders in multidisciplinary energy research, will focus on renewable energy research within RASEI, one of the world's leading university and federal laboratory partnerships.

"The appointment of Dr. Knotek continues our tradition of attracting the highest quality leadership, and will foster new opportunities for Colorado's scientific and private sector communities to collaborate on new energy solutions," said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano.

Knotek will have overall responsibility for management of RASEI's CU-Boulder and NREL research fellows and private-sector Leadership Council.

"The breadth and depth of experience and knowledge that Dr. Knotek brings to RASEI is exactly the kind of leadership we need to help shape the nation's energy future," said NREL Director Dan Arvizu.

Knotek previously served as senior science and technology adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Energy; the distinguished science executive at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill.; chief technology officer with the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio; and chairman of the National Synchrotron Light Source research facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y.

He also served as associate laboratory director for environmental and energy sciences at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., and as special assistant to the director at Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corp. in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society.

Former legal research associate to serve as assistant counsel

Michelle Krech recently was appointed to serve as assistant counsel at the Boulder campus Office of University Counsel.

Krech joined the university in 2008 as a legal research associate. She graduated summa cum laude from the Honors College at Arizona State University, receiving a bachelor's degree in anthropology and the Alumni Award. She went on to earn her juris doctorate from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at ASU. Before joining the Office of University Counsel in April 2008, she practiced law with emphasis on corporate, real estate and business transactions for three years with a private law firm in Arvada.

Educational services board has new executive director

Howard

The announcement of his appointment was made jointly by the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver and members of BOCES.

The Front Range BOCES historically has pooled and leveraged member school districts' resources to provide cost-effective professional development to teachers and school leaders. BOCES will continue to focus the content of its services on professional development as it moves forward; how, when and where that content is delivered, however, will shift significantly.

"The opportunity to help the BOCES board to re-invent this organization into a 21st century learning institution for member districts' teachers and to lead it in new directions that capitalize on innovations and partnerships in the professional development industry is truly exciting," Howard said. "I am looking forward to applying my business and nonprofit experiences in this arena. I also relish the opportunity to bring to bear for member districts the vast array of resources within UC Denver's School of Education and Human Development, which actively supports the BOCES' operations."

Howard has had a variety of careers in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. His private industry experience was with Andersen Consulting and United Airlines; nonprofit work included stints at Shorebank Corp.'s community development subsidiary and the Piton Foundation. It was at Piton that he discovered his passion for the field of education – learning environments for teachers and low-income students in particular. Howard has served on the Denver Workforce Investment Board, boards of Goodwill Industries and Denver Employment Alliance and led various parent volunteer initiatives and committees within his sons' Denver public school.

New director of internal audit named

Louise A. Vale is the new director of internal audit with CU system administration. Vale has been with the University of Colorado since 1990, serving in various internal audit, budget and finance positions. Most recently she served as the associate vice chancellor for budget and operations at the University of Colorado Denver.

Vale has a master's degree in management from the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor's degree in comprehensive business management from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She also is a Certified Fraud Examiner.

The director of internal audit position reports to the Board of Regents through its audit committee and to the president for administrative issues.

Director honored as 'behavioral health champion'

Lisnow

The magazine says Franklin Lisnow plays an important role in leading, or reinventing, approaches that help thousands recover from addiction and reclaim their lives.

"We (CeDAR) are recognized as a world-class center for residential addiction and co-occurring disorders treatment," Lisnow said. "We can deal with more difficult patients – patients that not every facility can handle. This truly is a place where people can get everything they need to turn their lives around."

Lisnow has more than 35 years of experience in treating chemically dependent people and their families and has served as executive director of CeDAR since the facility opened in November 2005. He also is a member of the board of directors for the Society of Addiction Counselors of Colorado (SACC). Lisnow is past president and a 10-year board member of the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC).

"I am pleased and honored to be named a 2010 Behavioral Health Champion. CeDAR and University of Colorado Hospital gave me the chance to practice what I believe is quality behavioral health treatment in a quality chemical dependency center," Lisnow said.

The 2010 champions were nominated by their peers and selected by the editorial team of Behavioral Healthcare magazine. They rank among the most active and accomplished executives and leaders in the fields of community mental health care and substance abuse treatment and recovery. Each will be recognized at an awards luncheon in Washington, D.C., at the National Conference on Addiction Disorders on Sept. 10.

School of Medicine professor honored in Switzerland

Schrier

Robert W. Schrier, M.D., professor of renal medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, was the honoree in June at the 50th Anniversary of the International Society of Nephrology in Geneva, Switzerland.

A previous president of the society, Schrier was instrumental in launching its fellowship program, which has trained more than 500 physicians from the developing world in kidney disease and hypertension. He also established a global fund for support of activities in developing countries. As the society's president, he initiated the Sister Renal Center program, which brought more than 100 kidney centers in the developing world together with kidney centers in the developed world for collaborative educational, clinical and research activities.

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