Ask Angela Wright what kind of bike she rides and she answers, “Oh boy, who has just one bike?” Her current “quiver” includes a Tern GSD electric cargo bike, Specialized S-Works Diverge gravel bike, a Specialized Epic Pro, and a Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper. “I may have a few community cruiser bikes in my fleet as well,” she adds.

A Utah native, Wright MBA’14 has been riding bikes for more than 25 years and says cycling has impacted every aspect of her life. As majority owner of Bingham Cyclery, with locations in Salt Lake City, Sandy, Sunset, and Ogden, she has gained a strong community of friends and had some incredible biking experiences. With her 5-year-old daughter in tow, she loves exploring Salt Lake on her cargo bike. “We make an adventure out of each ride,” she says. She also enjoys biking the Wasatch Crest Trail, Corner Canyon in Draper, and other trails in Park City, Moab, and St. George. “Honestly, we truly live in the best place to ride,” she adds.

Raised in Pleasant Grove, Wright remembers riding her Big Wheel with her brother and sister in the family garage. “Once we graduated from that, the rest is history. We rode our bikes everywhere!” One of her childhood favorites was the Canal Road, which is now a paved multi-use path called the Murdoch Canal Trail that runs along the base of Mount Timpanogos. “Bikes have shaped my life since then. I love the freedom and joy I feel when I’m pedaling,” she says.

Wright’s first job, at age 16, was at the Broken Spoke bike shop in Orem. After graduating from high school, she attended Utah Valley University, then Utah State University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in geography and spent her senior year in a national student exchange program in New Hampshire. She lived in the area for about eight years before moving back to Utah, where she had the opportunity to buy Bingham Cyclery.

“Because of my lifetime passion for riding, I realized that owning a chain of stores would allow me to utilize all my skills and life experiences to create the dream profession for myself,” she says. But there were challenges. She had to find investors who were willing to take a risk on her. “I worked with my lawyer to build the investment framework and then talked with maybe four dozen people about it—all of which had to be done before the purchase could be made. Needless to say, there were many moving parts to make it all come together.”

She also realized that getting an MBA would provide her with extra skills to ensure her success, so she applied and was accepted to the U’s program. The experience gave her the tools and resources she relies on every day to run her business. “But the most unexpected outcome of the MBA program was the increase in my self-confidence, which I use to my advantage as often as possible,” she says.

Busy as she is, Wright finds time to serve on the boards of several bike-related nonprofits and has created a formal giving program to provide bikes for kids, as well as women-specific clinics to bolster confidence, form friendships, and build community.

“I love where I live,” says Wright. “Access to the mountains and desert and hundreds of miles of single track, dirt roads, paved roads, and wilderness—it’s genuinely hard to beat.”

—Ann Floor BFA’85 recently retired as associate editor of Continuum and is now freelance writing.

The simple act of getting together monthly has kept a remarkable group of women firmly bonded since the late 1940s. They first met as U “coeds” at the Kappa house at 33 South Wolcott, where they played a lot of bridge. As they married and their families grew, they began meeting in the evenings. Now in their late 80s and 90s, the remaining 11 members now meet once a month for lunch, where they share updates on their lives and often have the occasion to sing “Happy Birthday”—which they’ve now been doing for more than six decades.

Paige Paulsen Erickson BS’80, daughter of Kappa sister BJ Paulsen, who passed away in July, was fortunate enough to be a guest at a gathering last year. “Even though my mom had talked about her Kappa friends for years, I had no idea how extraordinary this group of women is. They come from all walks of life.”

Some are true pioneers, Erickson says, like Frances Johnson Darger BA’46, who played the violin in the Utah Symphony from the time she was 17 until she retired at 87. Darger’s sister, Jewel Johnson Cutler BA’48, who sang lead roles in U opera productions and was a longtime member of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, is also a member of the group. Virginia Isaacson Peterson BS’47 spent decades making outfits for members of the Tabernacle Choir and laughs as she relates how so many of the women fibbed about their dress size.

Then there is Pat Warshaw Ferrin BS’47, who always has a new report about her ever-popular husband Arnie, a former U and NBA basketball star who was also the U’s athletic director for nine years. Twins Marillyn Barker Johnson BA’47 and Marie Barker Bennett BA’47 MA’51 PhD’80 went on to earn graduate degrees at Yale, where one (Marillyn) studied English and the other (Marie) studied music. Erickson says that on the day she was there, “Marillyn read a poem she had written, and Marie invited the group to an opera she had recently composed that was produced last fall.”

Joyce Beck Barnes BS’48 earned a degree in management from the business school and went on to own The Inn at Mazatlan, a popular destination for many Salt Lakers. Others in the group include Kay Reynolds Patterson BA’47 MSW’69; Marian Cheney Baldwin BS’47; Jeanne Forrest Christensen BS’49; and Mimi Byrd Mortensen JD’47.

Some of the women have lost their spouses, but many are still married and serve as caretakers for loved ones. Not surprisingly, they take great pride in their families. Some were full-time moms, some worked full time outside the home, and some worked part time. Some are financially well off, while others are not. But no matter their paths, the bonds these women share are unbreakable. Their genuine affection for each other is palpable. And to boot, they’re still huge U sports fans. At a recent lunch in September, they were all aflutter, discussing the Utes’ latest football loss, some of them suggesting with good humor that they should coach the next game.

“Their friendship is founded on trust. They’ve been there for each other through the trials and tribulations life throws at all of us—and all the joy as well,” says Erickson. “The key is that they have experienced life together. They are an amazing and unique group of women who learned early on that bonds created in college and nurtured throughout their lives really do create honest-to-goodness lifelong friendships.”

Editor's note: Sadly, Marie Barker Bennett passed away Nov. 18, shortly after we went to press. Read an obituary here.

Anyone who knows Angela Dean or Tim Brown would understand why they had an immediate connection when they met as coeds at the U in the 1990s. They not only share a love for Utah’s deserts and mountains but also a deep interest in conservation that has fueled both of their professional paths. An architect dedicated to sustainable design, Dean established her own firm, AMD Architecture, in 1997. Brown is director of Tracy Aviary, which he has dramatically transformed during his 14 years of leadership. Together for more than two decades, and now with two teenage kids, the couple’s passion for their individual work is entwined with their shared passion for sustainability and environmental education.

HER: Dean BS’92 MArch’94 was born in upstate New York. At 15, she moved from Long Island to Lehi, Utah. After attending Utah State University for a couple of years, she transferred to the U to pursue her passion for architecture. “I had many inspiring teachers who made an impact on my development in the field,” she says, mentioning Tom Kass, Bob Hermanson, Tony Serrato-Combe, and Peter Goss.

During their studies at the U, she and Brown spent a good deal of time in southern Utah—running rivers, hiking, and exploring the wonders of early Native American dwellings. “This spurred a deep passion to provide architecture that was as naturally harmonized with its surroundings and climate as these cultures had been,” says Dean.

To pursue this approach in her graduate studies, Dean was proactive in customizing her own curriculum at the U and received a research fellowship grant that gave her the time and resources to pursue architecture studies outside of formal class time. “It was a game changer in terms of my professional path,” she says.

Three years after finishing her master’s degree, she founded AMD Architecture in Salt Lake City, with the goal of providing quality building design that is equally responsible to her clients and the greater environment. Her 2003 book, Green by Design: Creating a Home for Sustainable Living, describes the environmentally responsible design principles she holds dear: to make green building and healthy living accessible to everyone.

HIM: Tim Brown ex’90, a native of Salt Lake City, pursued graduate studies at the U after earning his bachelor’s degree at the University of Vermont. He had nearly completed his master’s in education before deciding he wanted to add a community component to his studies, which the U had yet to offer. So, he transferred to Antioch University Seattle, where he completed his degree.

Committed to the environment and with a belief that education and conservation were two means by which he could make a difference, Brown returned to Utah with a plan to position himself to lead a top environmental education organization. After working for a decade with the Utah Society for Environmental Education, seven of those as its executive director, he found himself drawn to the Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park. After the executive director position opened in 2004, he landed the job.

The aviary, founded in the late 1930s, has experienced periods of neglect over the years, and Brown says the biggest challenge has been “recasting people’s memory of the facility.” During his tenure, more than $35 million has been invested in transforming the nine-acre oasis. “It’s a treasure today unlike anything else in the country, and we hear that feedback every day. But convincing people to give it a second try is a challenge,” says Brown. Giving credit to her husband, Dean adds that “everyone who sets foot in the aviary [today] comments on the positive transformations that have taken place during Tim's tenure.”

Angela Dean and Tim Brown outside the Chase Mill at the Tracy Aviary. They led a renovation of the building to turn it into much-needed indoor programing space.

TOGETHER: When Brown started working at the aviary, he discovered an untapped opportunity to renovate the historic Chase Mill (built between 1848 and 1852) into a much-needed indoor program space. The charming mill is the oldest commercial building still standing in Utah and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A previous effort to revitalize it had been unsuccessful. Turning it into a family affair, Dean offered her assistance in programming potential uses of the space, providing designs for renovation, and organizing educational building workshops with volunteers to help complete the project.

Dean’s architecture firm received a 2009 Heritage Award for the project, and subsequently a 2015 Associated General Contractors Cultural Award for design of the aviary’s Treasures of the Rainforest indoor exhibit and another in 2017 for its Bird Feeder Café. Dean continues to volunteer at the aviary, including as a participant in its citizen science program, which has more than a half-dozen projects and 100-plus volunteers. “Our kids have also been volunteers (or ‘voluntolds,’ as Tim likes to call it) throughout these 15 or so years,” she says.

Brown has been in the nonprofit world about as long as he and Dean have been together. And because the organizations he’s been involved with have been focused on community services that she believes in, too—environmental education and conservation—it has been a natural fit for her to offer support. “It's been an honor to be able to put my skills to use and be a part of that positive change,” she says.

“We’re making a difference,” Brown says. “It’s awesome to see the impact we're having on the community in our work in citizen science, in the faces of young people participating in our education programs, and in saving birds and habitats throughout the world.”

Learn more about Angela Dean's professional path in the prior Continuum feature here.

A Utah Man through and through, John Ashton has served as executive director of the U’s Alumni Association for nearly 30 years. Now, he’s decided to hang it up and move on to new adventures this spring. “At first it felt quite strange, because I’ve been doing this for so long,” says Ashton BS’66 JD’69. “But as more time goes by, I realize it’s time for fresh eyes and a fresh attitude.”

He and Fred Esplin MA’74, vice president for institutional advancement, have known one another since the late 1980s, when Esplin was manager of KUED-TV and Ashton was the Alumni Association’s newly appointed leader. “Because of the many new programs and activities John implemented, thousands of alumni have become involved with the U through board service, volunteer leadership, and financial support,” says Esplin.

Indeed, Ashton has accomplished a great deal in the world of alumni relations. Beginning in the early ’90s, he helped establish Continuum magazine and has since served as executive editor. He also founded the alumni scholarship program, which today has a $2.5 million endowment. Under his tenure, the annual food drive was started and now garners enough donations to feed more than 100 families of four for a year. And, it was his idea to begin a legislative advocacy committee, which has impacted successful legislation on behalf of higher ed for many years.

Before his role as executive director, Ashton served as president of the Alumni Association and as a member of the university’s board of trustees. In addition, he was a member of the boards of Red Butte Garden, KUED, and the Hinckley Institute of Politics. He also served on the University of Utah Hospital board for 11 years and the Utah Hospital Association board for five years. Ashton credits Lee Ence, his predecessor, who served 23 years as executive director, and Ted Capener BS’53, former vice president of community relations at the U, as the two people who most influenced him for success leading the association. And during his tenure, he says, he has especially enjoyed interacting with the many alumni board members.

“John has a keen, dry sense of humor that puts people at ease, and he’s very careful to consider all sides of an issue,” says John Fackler BS’89 BS’94 MprA’95, director of business and outreach for the association. “We know he will stay active in the campus community and will remain a proud Utah fan and supporter.” Ashton’s wife, Linda, can attest to that. “The football and basketball games are ‘must-attend’ events.” John adds that staying involved with the U and doing community service are things both he and Linda look forward to.

Ashton’s ties to the U are long and deep, and most would agree with Esplin, who says, “In his retirement, John should take great pride in how he has successfully engaged countless alumni and students with the U.”

Photo by Malia Akinaka

Leaving the NFL was difficult for Lauvale Sape BS’02. After being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2002 and playing with other pro teams, including the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans, the former Utah defensive tackle was released from the NFL in 2012 with multiple injuries.

He tried to stay busy and maintain the “high” he had experienced when he was playing, but he didn’t know how to go about everyday life without the game he loved. All he knew was football. Sape began spiraling into depression.

And there was more: He had been keeping a secret. From the time he was 6 until he was 13, Sape had been abused. He had never told anyone, but had found an escape in football. “I could go out on that eld and focus all my energy on football,” he says. Sape explains that his family and his Polynesian culture had taught him to rely only on close family and friends to work through troubles, and to first deal with things himself. So his support network was small, and he kept much hidden away.

Then in 2013, new heartbreak struck. When he and his wife, Sarah, were expecting their first child—after trying unsuccessfully to conceive for 11 years— their son was stillborn. “The emotions I felt that day, when I saw my wife’s pain and held my lifeless son in my arms, haunt me,” says Sape. “It’s a deeply seated wailing that I don’t want to forget, because it changed who I am.” This pivotal moment is when he fell farther down the hole to depths where he felt there was no hope. “I hid my depression and pain so well. Those who knew me would probably say you were lying if you told them I was severely depressed.”

In early 2016, without telling anyone but wanting to help himself, Sape started looking for a therapist. At about that same time, Sarah contacted The Trust—an organization that helps eligible former NFL players successfully transition into life after football—to find out if their resources and services could help.

Resistant at first, Sape finally realized that Sarah’s idea was right, and he contacted The Trust himself. From there, he learned about a partner program called After the Impact, an intensive and transitional residential wellness program developed by e Eisenhower Center in Michigan to educate and care for individuals with health or behavioral issues. He began to learn about mental illness for the first time and received tremendous support. “I owe my life to them,” he says of The Trust’s staff , and to Sarah for urging him to get help. Through group counseling, Sape learned he was suffering from PTSD.

“It’s not that it’s ‘bad,’ it’s just that we have to understand... where we stand with our illness. PTSD, depression, and other illnesses do not discriminate. You could be anyone,” he says. “Recognizing the signs and being honest about your thoughts and feelings with someone who cares for you is a great starting place to seeking help.” One member of Sape’s support network is his former coach at Utah, Ron McBride, who told him, “Don’t do this alone. Talk to us, and let us know what can help.”

Sape hopes his story will help others who have left a college or professional sport: those who “are hurting and hiding behind a closed door. I want them to know that if they trust the process, it will all work out. I’m happier now. I can be that ‘happy- go-lucky’ guy without having to feel like I’m not being myself. I am focused on being me, staying in my lane, and loving my family.”

Our thanks to The Trust for collaboration on this article. Read more about Sape’s experience here.

As a young boy in the ’60s living in a rural Bangladesh village, Sheikh "Safi" Safiullah often dreamed of traveling the world and coming to America for an education. But first, he dreamed of improving his village’s school situation. Safiullah’s elementary school was a three-mile walk from his home. When he was in 10th grade, he and some friends took the initiative to build an elementary school for their own village. “We secured the land, bamboo for the walls was donated, and the roof was covered with dried rice leaves,” he says. “Within one year, the five-room school house was ready to serve the children in the village.” Since then, Safiullah has sought to make education accessible to all.

A resident of Salt Lake City for 35 years, Safiullah has made Utah his new home. Deeply influenced by his South Asian heritage and Islamic faith, he tirelessly creates opportunities to bring diverse groups of people together to experience and better understand other cultures. “If I can touch people’s minds and hearts, they will accept me,” he says.

In May 2017, Safiullah PhD’03 was named Librarian of the Year by the Utah Library Association. He received the honor in recognition of his accomplishments as manager of the Marmalade Branch of the Salt Lake City Public Library, his efforts to increase community engagement, and for his lifelong support of libraries and education around the world. The award is a fitting accomplishment for this man who has dedicated his life to bridging communities through education.

Safiullah has worked at the City Library since 2002 and at the Marmalade Branch since it opened in February 2016. He has established programs and partnerships that celebrate the different cultures found within the community served by the library. In an effort to enlighten Utahns on topics of current importance, his efforts have sparked dialogues on a wide array of topics including religious pluralism, redistricting in Utah, race and gender issues, police violence, and Islamophobia.

Several months ago, in partnership with KRCL 90.9 FM and Utah Humanities, he hosted an event about “fake news,” bringing together journalists and experts. He has organized celebrations to honor cultural holidays including Diwali (the annual Hindu festival of lights), Eid Al-Fitr (the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan), Chinese New Year, Mexico’s Day of the Dead, and Vietnamese Independence Day. He was especially delighted to succeed in arranging a presentation by the University of Utah’s Nobel Laureate Mario Capecchi. And for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Safiullah engaged around 30 partners, including Utah Valley University and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to celebrate religious and cultural diversity and tolerance. More than 1,500 people attended the event.

At the University of Utah, where he earned his doctorate in history, Safiullah also continues to be involved. He teaches a Middle East history class each semester, and 10 years ago, influenced some friends to establish scholarships for U students. Since then, his friends have funded four scholarships for refugees and students from other underserved communities.

Being named Librarian of the Year confirms the obvious—Safi Safiullah already is recognized as an essential member of the Salt Lake City community.

And his home village is not forgotten. He has acquired some land next to the school that he and his friends built those many years ago, and next year he will travel there to build a second building, which will house a library, a study room, and a first aid clinic.

John Fackler keeps this quote in his office. He says it symbolizes his lifelong passion for athletics—from the time he was a child in awe of college football to today, as he steps down after 15 years leading the U’s wildly successful student cheering section, The MUSS.

When Fackler BS’89 BS’94 MprA’95 was around age 7, his family moved from La Vale, Maryland, to Salt Lake City, where he joined the other kids playing sports in his new neighborhood. “Broke a few windows but never any bones,” he says. Around that time, his dad took him to a game at the U’s then Ute Stadium. “I fell in love with college football that day,” he says with conviction. “From the game to the band to the green grass. I’ve always joked that I asked my dad if we could live at the stadium.” What Fackler couldn’t have known then was that he would grow up to essentially call that stadium home—and that he would become known as Godfather of The MUSS.

In 2000, after working several years as a CPA, Fackler learned that he had attention deficit disorder and was counseled to consider another line of work. His good friend Bill Coen BS’83, on staff at the U’s Alumni Association, called to tell him about an opening for director of business relations. Fackler had served on the Young Alumni Board and thought it would be a “cool” place to work, so he called executive director John Ashton. “Hiring John Fackler was an easy choice,” says Ashton BS’66 JD’69. “He had a unique blend of accounting, finance, athletics, and alumni experience.”

Two years later, Fackler took over as adviser to the Student Alumni Board and was charged with getting more students to attend games. He was confident that he could prove the naysayers wrong—those who said Utah students wouldn’t go to football games—but there were, admittedly, occasional obstacles. “One day, a bit discouraged, I ran into Bruce ‘Woody’ Woodbury [BS’72], the sports information director for the U,” says Fackler. “He said, ‘A lot of people have tried to get students to football games, but you’re the guy who can do it.’ I always remembered that encouragement during tough times.”

Fackler partnered with Kim Sorrentino, assistant marketing director at the Athletics Department, and together they started the Utah Football Fan Club, which one year later, in 2003, was renamed The MUSS (from a phrase in the U fight song, and also known as an acronym for Mighty Utah Student Section). “We knew it would be difficult, but we were optimistic. We went to various campus organizations—Greek row, residence halls—wherever and whatever it took,” says Fackler. They assembled a board of nine students and made a goal to attract 300 students to every home game. Eight hundred signed up. And the rest is, well, history. Today, you can find The MUSS, capped at 6,000 strong, sitting on the southeast side of Rice-Eccles Stadium cheering their hearts out. They’re also a regular fixture at other athletics events including men’s basketball and women’s gymnastics.

Fackler, who has been named national outstanding student adviser twice in his career, admits he’s had an incredible run leading The MUSS. He now passes the MUSS advisory baton to his longtime assistant, Brynn Whitchurch BA’05. “And she’ll do a great job,” he says. “Kevin Stoker [BA’06 MBA’09] also has played a significant role. It wouldn’t have happened without either of them.”

“Coming to work at the Alumni Association is one of the best decisions I’ve made,” says Fackler. And although he’s handing over the MUSS reins, he is not retiring. “I still have a full plate of alumni duties, and will still be involved with The MUSS. I’ll probably also still be busy writing recommendation letters—I write more of those than anyone else on campus!”

—To learn more about The MUSS, read the Continuum feature here.