Alumni Highlight: Rowan D. Rockafellow, Class of 2020
Dec. 2021: Rowan D. Rockafellow CC Class of 2020.
Rowan double-majored in Economics and Political Science and minored in Chinese and he won the Werner Thesis Prize in 2019-20 for his thesis titled: Debt Diplomacy or Development: The Determinants of China's Official Lending in Africa. Rowan is working as a research analyst for CGD's Sustainable Development Finance Team and speaks Mandarin Chinese.
Recently Rowan reached out to us to share his team's first CGD report. The paper is called "Mapping China's Multilateralism: A Data Survey of China's Participation in Multilateral Development Institutions and Funds." In it, the team analyzed data on China's involvement in 76 multilateral development institutions and funds, focusing on China's role as a donor, shareholder, client, and commercial partner. They also wrote this policy brief and a blog article to accompany the paper, which will provide a sense of the content without committing to the whole 70-page endeavor.
Continue Reading for more Econ. & Bus. Dept. Alumni in the News!
Forbes has named Theo Hooker ’18 as a “30 Under 30” Honoree!
Dec. 2020: Theo Hooker, a Colorado College Mathematical Economics Major, class of 2018 is recognized by Forbes' "30 Under 30" list for his work in building Reforestation Hubs—public-private partnerships designed to rejuvenate American city environments and economies. Cambium Carbon co-founders Hooker, Marisa Repka, and Ben Christensen were recognized as members of the Forbes “30 Under 30” Class of 2021 in the social impact category.
Cambium Carbon is a circular economy startup reforesting America by enabling local wood economies. Through the Reforestation Hub model, the enterprise saves fallen city trees from landfills, turns them into their best use, and channels revenues into new tree planting—all while creating local jobs, supporting local economies, and fighting climate change.
Hooker says “We started Cambium to help imagine a new business model that positively impacts local environments and communities while being financially sustainable as well. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the lack of resilience embedded in parts of our economy, and the Reforestation Hub model is an opportunity to build back better from the pandemic and create a more resilient future.”
Forbes notes that “in the 10 years since we published the first Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ list, the world has changed dramatically, but one thing has not: our history of spotting young innovators on the verge of making it big.”
While at CC, Hooker received a Watson fellowship for his project “Feeding the Earth and Ourselves,” which focused on the complexity of food systems. The project took him to India, Spain, Kenya, England, the Netherlands, and Fiji.
That was not the first major award Hooker received during his Colorado College career. Hooker, an academic All-American, was the goalkeeper for the CC men’s soccer team, and named Co-Defensive Player of the Year by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, setting a program record for goalkeeping. He earned all-SCAC honors four times and was a two-time second-team selection, including his freshman season when he was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year.
2018: Theo Hooker '18 Receives Watson Fellowship
Follow along with Theo as he travels the globe studying agricultural and food system sustainability!
Theo Hooker '18, a mathematical economics major, is one of 2018's 40 Watson Fellows. Fellows receive $30,000 for 12 months of travel. Theo says: "I'll be traveling the world for the next 12 months investigating agricultural and food system sustainability. I'll travel to England, Spain, The Netherlands, Tanzania, India, and Fiji in order to explore the relationship between ecological sustainability, economic viability, and cultural traditions and learn how people perceive and address food system sustainability."
Click here to read CC's story on Theo's Fellowship, or here to follow his blog about his adventures. To learn more about the Watson Fellowship, visit their website.
Theo was also highlighted in October 2017 as a SCAC Character & Community Men's Soccer Athlete. Click here to read all about it!
Student Spotlight: Chris Pleasance Economics Major Class of 2021
Chris Pleasance '21 is working for the nonprofit startup SOS Bend, whose mission is to help local businesses in Bend, Oregon weather the COVID-19 crisis.
Chris commented that SOS Bend creates "an online platform to connect individuals with local businesses so that they can purchase store credit for future use. This gets money directly into the hands of struggling local business owners while enabling community members to make a difference from the safety of their homes."
Chris worked on the video project below and has since taken on a full-time content marketing role with SOS Bend to promote their mission of supporting local businesses.
