Alumni Leaders – Part 2

Meet 11 alumni giving of their time and talent at home and abroad.

By Micaela Myers 

Emily Wood and Maeve Knepper — Payne Fellows

Two recent UW graduates earned the highly competitive Payne Fellowship, which awards up to $100,000 in benefits over two years for graduate school, internships and professional development activities to promote excellence and diversity in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“I’m thrilled to be joining USAID as a Foreign Service Officer after completing my master’s degree at Georgetown,” says Maeve Knepper of Cheyenne, who graduated summa cum laude from UW in 2023 with majors in economics and international studies and a minor in honors. “USAID works with countries around the world to address critical development issues in areas such as health, governance, poverty and the environment. I was inspired to pursue a career in international development by the many mentors and opportunities I had while a student at UW, and I am excited to use everything I learned in a career that aims to improve lives around the world.”

Knepper was a Trustees Scholar Award recipient at UW and studied abroad in Jordan and Morocco. She’s currently studying Arabic on a Boren Scholarship in Oman before beginning her master’s degree in foreign service.

Fellow alum and Trustees Scholar Emily Wood of Granite Canyon in Laramie County also earned the Payne Fellowship. She graduated from UW in 2019 with a double major in international studies and German and a minor in honors. Wood went on to serve in the Peace Corps and then attended Georgetown, completing her master’s degree in spring 2024. She is now serving as a Foreign Service officer for USAID and is assigned to her first posting in Central America.

“I hope to have a positive impact on people so that they’re able to access the resources that they need to protect and improve their communities,” Wood says.

As a Pacific Islander, Wood didn’t see many Indigenous people in roles such as Foreign Service and wants to inspire others. “Seeing some of the human rights issues that our people and communities face pushed me a little more into that realm of human rights and representation,” she says. “I still want to be connected to these communities on an international level and really advocate for us and our families.”

Wood’s international interest began when she befriended a foreign exchange student in high school. This prompted her to apply to become one herself. At UW, she laid the groundwork for her future career. Wood spent two summers in Indonesia, an academic year in Lithuania and took a faculty-led trip to Japan. In Indonesia, she worked with a coffee collective, helping local farmers get the most out of their crops and keep the wealth in their country.

“I loved my time at UW and was able to take advantage of so many opportunities,” Wood says. “I was able to get funding and support to take advantage of experiences that opened my eyes to different parts of the world, different cultures and the development sector, too. My professors were very encouraging and helped me along the process.”

As a senior, Wood applied to the Peace Corps, where she worked as an English teacher in Mozambique. “We lived with host families during training, so I was able to immerse myself and learn from them as I was learning Portuguese,” she says.

Going forward, Wood plans to continue her work as a Foreign Service officer and to work together with communities and organizations in other countries to improve lives.

 

---

Eli Ellis — Researcher at the Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion

At UW, Eli Ellis of Cheyenne, Wyo., discovered a love for engineering, research and creating alternative uses for coal. After earning his bachelor’s degree in mechanical and energy systems engineering (2021) and a graduate degree in mechanical engineering (2023), Ellis now serves as an assistant research professional in the School of Energy Resources Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion. At the center, a collaborative group of scientists and entrepreneurs focuses on supporting the future of Wyoming coal and creating economic development and diversification opportunities.

“Being from Wyoming, I’ve seen how getting a high throughput of coal helps people all across the state — from the school systems to not having to pay state income tax,” Ellis says. “I feel like I’m really working for the state and looking at different avenues for generating revenue.”

The center helps create coal-based building materials, pavement and much more. Ellis is currently focused on gathering data for a demonstration plant in Gillette. The plant will produce high-quality products for many of the center’s ongoing projects and collaborations.

“At the same time we are generating revenue from these products, we’re also doing it in a clean and environmentally responsible manner,” Ellis says.

His path started as an undergraduate. “Doing research in the lab really sparked my passion for being the first one to do things and finding your own path to get answers,” Ellis says.

As an undergraduate, he also served with the Wyoming Conservation Corps. “I’m super passionate about the outdoors, and I wanted to give back,” Ellis says. “We did trail work and wildlife-friendly fencing.”

In the future, Ellis plans to continue his research and work to scale it up to commercial plants. “I look forward to advancing this new technology and then passing it on to help diversify Wyoming’s energy industry,” he says. “I hope to continue to work in the field and stay in Wyoming — feeling like I’m contributing to the state.”

 

---

Lindsey Amerine — Chief Pharmacy Officer for the Cleveland Clinic

The Cleveland Clinic operates more than 300 locations and regularly garners national recognition, including being named one of the 2023 World’s Best Hospitals by Newsweek. UW Doctor of Pharmacy graduate (2009) Lindsey Amerine was named chief pharmacy officer for the Cleveland Clinic earlier this year and now leads more than 1,700 full-time pharmacy professionals across the enterprise.

“It’s very exciting to be in a place that’s always striving to be better than we were the day before. It’s all centered on our patients and our caregivers,” says Amerine, originally from Ogallala, Neb. “The clinic has certainly been at the forefront of a lot of pharmacy practice innovations over time, and I’m excited to continue to do that.”

Before joining Cleveland Clinic, she served as interim chief pharmacy officer and vice president of pharmacy for UNC Health.

Amerine considers team building one of her strengths — a strength that was cultivated at UW, where pharmacy students worked cooperatively versus competitively.

“I think our pharmacy school saw we’re all in this together,” she says. “There were a number of times that classmates would create study guides for themselves and email them to the whole class.”

Amerine pays that forward by helping other hospitals that reach out for information or assistance. She also gives back by serving with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), most recently as past chair of the section of pharmacy practice leaders. ASHP recognized Amerine with many best practice awards as well. She’s also active with the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, presents on pharmacy practice topics nationally and internationally, and has over 50 peer-reviewed publications.

“UW instilled in me that commitment to service and giving back,” says Amerine, who served in ASUW and was active in Tri Delta sorority and pharmacy student organizations. “I think the more active you are, the more impact you can have.”

Amerine also appreciated learning about rural health care and learning how to do everything hands-on at UW.  “We had a lot of great programs and classes,” she says. “I felt very prepared when I got into residency. Plus, we had that that sense of community where I knew my whole class. It was a great environment to train in, and I feel very fortunate and proud to be a UW alum.”

---

Gale “Buck” Cleven — World War II Army Air Force Pilot

If you’ve watched the hit Apple TV exclusive “Masters of the Air,” based on the true story of the “Bloody Hundredth” bomb group of World War II, you no doubt jumped at the fact that one of the dashing lead characters is Wyoming’s own Gale “Buck” Cleven (played by Austin Butler).

Produced by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman, the show focuses on the Eighth Air Force’s strategic daylight bombing campaign and is based on the book “Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany” by Donald L. Miller.

Cleven was born in 1918 in South Dakota and moved to Casper as a child, where his father worked in the oil fields. He graduated from Midwest School and began attending UW in 1937.

He enlisted in the Army as a flying cadet in 1940 and quickly rose to commander of the 350th Bomb Squadron. In 1943, the squadron joined the 100th Bomb Group at Thorpe Abbotts, England. On Cleven’s 11th mission in 1943, he was flying lead plane when enemy fighters attacked over the English Channel. His B-17 took a number of hits, killing one crew member and seriously injuring another. The hydraulics and electric systems were damaged. As another shell ripped through the nose of the plane, injuring the bombardier, the co-pilot started panicking and preparing to bail out, but Cleven told him to stay put. He successfully landed the plane in Africa, which earned Cleven the Distinguished Service Cross.

Just four months later, in October 1943, Cleven’s plane was shot down over Bremen, Germany, and he spent 18 months as a prisoner of war. When the camp was evacuated in 1945, Cleven and his friend from UW, fellow pilot George Niethammer, tried to escape. Cleven made it, but Niethammer was shot and killed. Niethammer’s family owned the Casper Packing Company, and he was active in the Wyoming National Guard before he transferred to the Army Air Corps.

After the war, Cleven returned to UW and earned a bachelor’s degree in geology (1946) and later a master’s degree (1956). He also attended Harvard and completed graduate degrees in business and physics while continuing to serve in the Air Force. Cleven served in Korea and Vietnam and at the Pentagon, retiring in 1964 as a colonel with many honors. He went on to work in aeronautics and in academia. Cleven always considered Wyoming home and passed away in Sheridan in 2006.