TRYBE founder Keaton Lynn ’23 MBA says the Dragonfly Energy Innovation Award has helped expand the unique outdoor team building and training program.
Courtesy The College of Business
Nearly 10 years ago, Denis Phares ’14 MBA came to the University of Nevada, Reno with a passion and background in energy storage. He entered The College of Business’ annual Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition focused on go-to-market strategies for lithium-ion batteries, creating what is now one of the global leaders in deep cycle lithium battery production, Dragonfly Energy Corp.
“The Sontag Competition, along with the invaluable resources provided by The College of Business, played an important role in the early development of Dragonfly Energy. Their guidance was instrumental in refining our business plan and honing our pitching skills,” said Dragonfly President and CEO Phares. Committed to giving back, the Dragonfly Energy Innovation Award was established in 2021 to aid the “most innovative” Sontag competitors; and in 2023, outdoor team bonding and training program, Trybe, took home that honor.
Founded by Keaton Lynn ’23 MBA, Trybe is a health performance company that encourages embracing and changing your relationship with stress to enhance your potential. Working with first responders, athletes, performers and business executives, Trybe creates immersive team experiences using unique tools.
“Underwater training, mobile saunas, large ice baths and yoga classes are all part of our approach to teaching the Eustress Method,” said Lynn. “With this funding, we secured a location for a large summit in Florida. We also purchased three large mobile saunas that hold up to 30 people, four ice tubs made to fit taller athletes, as well as a trailer for transport. Thanks to the Dragonfly Energy Innovation Award, we’ve been able to expand our business in new ways.”
Dragonfly Energy was awarded the Nevada Alumni Association’s Silver & Blue Appreciation Award. Check out all of the 2023 honorees.
For more information on supporting The College of Business, please contact Zack Madonick ’11, executive director of development, at (775) 682-6041 or madonick@unr.edu.
Associate Dean and Professor Emerita Jennifer Hagen ’93 M.D. and UNR Med Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Nicole Jacobs. Brin Reynolds ’12, ’15 MBA
Jennifer Hagen ’93 M.D., professor and UNR Med senior associate dean for faculty, established the Edith Soderling Hagen Diversity and Inclusion Endowment in honor of her grandmother.
Edith inspired Jennifer to pursue a career in medicine, giving her a toy doctor’s kit when she was just 5 years old. A first-generation college student, Edith later encouraged her granddaughter’s academic endeavors throughout her undergraduate and medical degrees. Edith also served as the primary caregiver for a family member who suffered a devastating stroke. Her life represents the spirit of this award.
The work of UNR Med Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Nicole Jacobs and the UNR Med Office for Diversity and Inclusion inspired Jennifer to start the endowment. “I have learned so much from the work of this office and the people we serve,” Hagen said. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosts a quarterly Diversity Health Series, monthly Diversity Dialogues and special initiatives such as the Unity and Inclusion Project.
“Diversity and inclusion are tenets of our core values and central to our goals to provide compassionate care to everyone,” said Paul J. Hauptman, M.D, dean of UNR Med and Renown Health’s Chief Academic Officer. “Through Dr. Hagen’s professional commitment and personal generosity, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion can continue its work — and help us fulfill our vision of A Healthy Nevada.”
To help support UNR Med, please contact Laurice Antoun-Becker ’23 M.A., senior director of development, at (775) 682-6077 or lantounbecker@unr.edu.
The late Max Vincze ’21 (political science). Courtesy of the Vincze family
Created in loving memory of Max Vincze ’21 (political science), who was just 22 years old and finishing his last semester of college when he was diagnosed with a rare, incurable cancer that primarily affects adolescents and young adults, the Max Vincze Memorial Scholarship Endowment will continue Vincze’s legacy on campus.
A kind-hearted, funny and curious adventurer, athlete and angler, Vincze learned through his wilderness experiences that he was a boy who could do hard things. It was that same bravery and strength that convinced him to pursue a traditional course of cancer treatment, despite being told there was no treatment specific to — nor a cure for — his illness. Vincze fought with a strength that belied his age, but three months after his NUT carcinoma diagnosis, he passed away surrounded by his family.
Committed to keeping his legacy alive, Vincze’s parents, Suzanne and Craig ’92 (pre-medical), ’04 Ph.D. (biomedical engineering) along with several of Vincze’s Zeta Psi fraternity brothers, established The Max Vincze Foundation to help fund research for adolescent and young adult cancers.
“The Max Vincze Foundation is raising funds and fostering advancements in research and treatments for adolescent and young adult cancer across the U.S. so no other family has to suffer a loss like we did,” said Suzanne. “Here in Reno our goal is to provide financial support to students who are full of curiosity and who embrace the joys of life, just as Max did. We are grateful to continue his legacy here on campus by helping future students achieve their dreams.”
To help support the Max Vincze Memorial Scholarship Endowment and other scholarship funds, visit unr.edu/giving.
The late Julius Ballardini and his daughter, Nicole ’96 (psychology), ’07 M.A. Courtesy of the Ballardini family
The late Julius Ballardini and his daughter, Nicole ’96 (psychology), ’07 M.A., established the Julius A. Ballardini Cognitive and Brain Sciences Graduate Student Award Endowment through a gift of stock in November 2021 to recognize and aid graduate students in the Cognitive and Brain Sciences Program in the Department of Psychology.
Ballardini, who has supported various programs campuswide since 1999 and is recognized as a Silver Benefactor in the Honor Court, grew up in a time when higher education was not easily accessible. Throughout his life, Ballardini was driven to help others access education by providing the type of support that was not available to him. He held this program especially close to his heart because his daughter was a firstgeneration graduate student in the program and saw firsthand the need for financial assistance to help future cognitive scientists.
Nicole, who works on the real property side of the Ballardini Estate and is looking to earn a degree in design/architecture, said her time in the program had a tremendous impact on her life and she is grateful for this opportunity to give back to the program that gave her so much.
“The Ballardinis are dedicated to helping promising, hardworking students make further advances in this field,” said Gideon Caplovitz, professor and director of the Cognitive and Brain Sciences Program. “Through their generosity, this award will ensure the success of our students as they further their research and contribute to greater understanding of the brain’s complexities.”
For information on supporting programs in the College of Science, please contact Leigh Fitzpatrick, director of development, at (775) 682-8791 or lfitzpatrick@unr.edu.
The late Dr. Ross L. and Dorothy D. Ballard. Courtesy of the Ballard family
The Dr. Ross L. and Dorothy D. Ballard Memorial Nursing Scholarship was first established in 1997 by Ross Ballard to honor his wife, Dorothy, who dedicated her life to working as a nurse.
In the time since, the entire Ballard family has kept both Dorothy and Ross’ memories alive through steadfast support of this scholarship fund for more than 25 years. Most recently, the Ballards’ daughter, Anne Hinkle, who is an Honor Court Silver Benefactor, made another generous gift in June 2023 to ensure this scholarship continues to support Orvis students from Nevada and nearby counties in California looking to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
“Contributions such as this are essential — ensuring our students receive a toptier education,” said Cameron Duncan ’10 (nursing), interim dean of the Orvis School of Nursing. “We are grateful to the entire Ballard family for helping to provide the resources that make an exceptional education possible for every student.”
Graduating from Michael Reese Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, Dorothy was a nurse for two decades — during which she became president of the Medical Auxiliary in San Bernardino. Dr. Ross Ballard was a general practitioner and became a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, serving patients for 30 years before becoming the first medical director of the Student Health Center at California State University, San Bernardino.
To learn more about supporting Orvis students, please contact Jillian Baker ’13, associate director of development, at (775) 682-7178 or jnbaker@unr.edu.
In the fall of 1922, the first journalism class was taught at the University within the Department of English. The instructor, a young Nevada graduate and local news reporter at the Reno Evening Gazette, Laura Ambler ’1919 (English) taught the inaugural class of 11 students who reported on happenings around campus as “correspondents” for the Gazette.
In 1923, Professor Alfred Higginbotham, warmly known as “Higgy,” arrived on campus and set out to grow the journalism program. Eventually, Higgy was successful in establishing journalism as its own department in 1943. Over the next few decades, the journalism department would continue to bring in distinguished faculty members and shape some of the nation’s leading news people and strategic communicators. In 1984, with the philanthropic support of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the department became the Reynolds School of Journalism.
In fall 2022, 100 years after Ambler taught that first class, the Reynolds School marked this incredible milestone by establishing the Centennial Scholarship Endowment. With generous support from community members, alumni and faculty alike, the Reynolds School will award its first Centennial Scholarship to an exemplary journalism student this spring. Looking ahead, this scholarship will help ensure journalism students receive the financial assistance they need as they prepare to lead the media industries of the future.
“We are so grateful to the many individuals whose generosity enabled us to establish the Centennial Scholarship Endowment,” said Al Stavitsky, who retired as dean of the Reynolds School in December. “This will help support and inspire students in the second century of journalism education at Nevada.”
For more information on supporting the Reynolds School or to make a gift to the Centennial Scholarship Endowment, please contact Joan Grover ’12 M.A., director of development, at (775) 784-4184 or jgrover@unr.edu.