UW to Honor Distinguished Alumni During Homecoming

Four University of Wyoming graduates will be honored by the UW Alumni Association (UWAA) and the Office of the President for their professional achievements and support of the university during Homecoming Sept. 23-28, sponsored by UniWyo Credit Union.

Mary Behrens, John Easterbrook and Randall Luthi are the recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award, and Clayton Hartman is the 2024 Medallion Service Award recipient.

"We are genuinely excited to highlight these outstanding alumni at Homecoming this year," says Jack Tennant, UWAA executive director. "Each honoree showcases the best of UW and sets a great example for our students and fellow alumni."

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have achieved excellence in their profession; appreciate the impact of their UW education; and are people of integrity, stature and demonstrated ability. The Medallion Service Award recognizes outstanding service to the university. The award honors alumni or friends of UW who have unselfishly given of their time, talent and support.

The UW tradition of Distinguished Alumni and Medallion Service awards has a long and notable history. In 1953, the first Distinguished Alumni Award went to U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Emory Land, who helped design the submarine during World War I. Those who have received awards since then are a "who's who" across the globe.

Mary Behrens

From a young age, Behrens wanted to be a nurse. She followed in the footsteps of her mother, a nurse who went on house calls with her father, who was a family physician.

Behrens earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1964; a master's degree in maternal child health from the University of Colorado in 1969; and a second master's degree as a nurse practitioner from UW in 1998.

Behrens' 60-year nursing career took her to many unexpected places, including Vietnam to teach nursing, public office in Wyoming and Geneva, Switzerland, to speak before the World Health Organization's World Health Assembly.

In 2005, Behrens wrote to then-Vice President Dick Cheney urging him to send a nurse as part of an official U.S. delegation to Geneva for the World Health Assembly. A week later, the call came through -- she was to be that nurse.

"I presented on the international nursing shortage and what steps needed to be taken to resolve it," Behrens says. "After I testified, I had many nurses from all over the world tell me how happy they were that I had brought this issue into the spotlight. It resulted in a resolution to explore and find ways to reduce this problem."

She currently serves as president of the Wyoming Center for Nursing and serves on the UW Friends of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing Board. Additionally, she is one of six Wyoming nurses ever to be nationally recognized as an American Association of Nurse Practitioners Fellow.

Through her work with the Wyoming Center for Nursing, Behrens helps nurses in Wyoming obtain their psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certification. She also assists nurses in getting important training on sexual assault cases, among other things. The center works closely with UW.

Behrens and her husband, Jerry, have three children and two grandsons and live in Casper.

John Easterbrook

Easterbrook, chief member officer of the PGA of America, was once a walk-on on the UW men's golf team. He became the team captain and earned all-conference honors. He graduated with a finance degree in 1985.

His career in golf operations began with Marriott and Hyatt, and then he moved to the golf management company Troon to serve as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

At Troon, Easterbrook helped hire the team and build the foundation of this world-leading golf management company. He oversaw the company's expansion to 38 states and 31 countries. He supervised more than 15,000 associates and helped generate over $1.8 billion in annual revenues.

In 2017, Easterbrook took on his role at the PGA of America, where he oversees the membership programming and benefits for its 30,000-plus members. He also sits on the executive committee for PGA of America and the Global PGA Alliance.

Easterbrook and his wife, Lori, have helped the UW golf team grow and prosper. He also has served on the UWAA Board of Directors, the UW Foundation Advisory Board, the Cowboy Joe Club Board and the UW Athletics Board of Directors.

Easterbrook wants UW alumni to know that they, too, can reach the highest levels.

"Be proud of where you went to school," Easterbrook says. "You can accomplish anything you want. UW prepares you very well. You understand how to get along with people, how to get things done and how to be successful in business."

The Easterbrooks have three daughters and live in Plano, Texas.

Randall Luthi

Luthi grew up on the family farm and ranch in Freedom. At UW, he majored in administration of justice and went on to law school.

Luthi's first job was as a legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson. He also served as an attorney in the Department of the Interior Office of the Solicitor and as a senior counselor for environmental regulations in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of General Counsel.

"My law degree from UW gave me the opportunity to work on federal issues concerning management of natural resources," Luthi says. "Wyoming was always a ground truthing to see how federal policies affect those who actually work, recreate and live in a state where almost 50 percent of the surface and 67 percent of the minerals are managed by the federal government."

After a few years in Washington, D.C., Luthi returned to Wyoming to run the family ranch. He also established a law practice and ran for the Wyoming Legislature. Joining the House of Representatives in 1995, he went on to become speaker of the House in 2005-06. As majority leader and speaker, he was instrumental in the formulation of state budgets and served as a legislative member of the Energy Council.

Luthi then returned to Washington to work for the second George W. Bush administration. He served as deputy director of the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service before being named director of the Minerals Management Service. Under his leadership, the service conducted the largest Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf and Arctic outer continental shelf oil and gas lease sales in history.

He also oversaw the highest mineral revenue collections and distributions in history and the creation of a renewable energy office. He went on to serve as president of the National Ocean Industries Association, a national trade association representing over 250 companies involved in the exploration and development of offshore energy.

In 2019, Luthi returned to Wyoming to work for Gov. Mark Gordon as an energy adviser, and he is now his policy director. He also serves as managing partner of the Luthi Ranch and sits on UW's Energy Resources Council.

Clayton Hartman

UW College of Business alumnus Hartman is a senior consultant with IFAM Capital and Impact Financial Strategies. He has been recognized multiple times by Barron's as one of the Top 1,000 Financial Advisers in the United States.

Hartman has served as a long-standing UW Foundation board member and has served on its investment committee and planned giving council. Hartman and his wife, Kandy, also have given to UW generously, establishing the Hartman Family Women's Basketball Endowment and supporting athletics and infrastructure improvements on campus, including the Mick and Susie McMurry High Altitude Performance Center, the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center and, most recently, the Difference Makers Campaign to renovate the west side of War Memorial Stadium.

"I always feel like I get way more back than I put in," Hartman says. "I've been a lucky guy. Had I not attended UW and earned my degree in accounting with the emphasis in finance, I'm not sure any of this that I've accomplished would have been possible. So that's why, when I've been asked to serve the university, it's always been easy to say 'yes.'"

Hartman spent the first 27 years of his career with the financial services companies EF Hutton, Shearson Lehman, Smith Barney and UBS. He served as senior vice president of investments at UBS Wealth Management and senior vice president of wealth management and institutional consulting at Smith Barney/Citigroup. He then co-founded Institutional and Family Asset Management, now known as IFAM Capital.

As an investment consultant and adviser, Hartman discovered a love for helping people make the most of their money.

"It's an area of education that generally people don't gain a good understanding of," he says.

Hartman served on the board of Taco John's for 20-plus years and owned multiple restaurants. He also was one of the founders of the Colorado Golf Club and real estate development in Parker, Colo.

The Hartmans have two daughters, two sons-in-law and six grandchildren. They live in Fort Collins, Colo.

For more information about the recipients and awards, call the UWAA office at (307) 766-4166 or visit www.uwyo.edu/alumni.

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