Club Officers

Loree Hoag, President & Secretary

It’s Great to be a Rocky Mountain Gator! Before moving to Denver over 17 years ago, Loree moved around the country and was able to experience many Gator Clubs. While all are great, in Loree’s opinion, the Rocky Mountain Gator Club is the best in the country! 

Loree says, “we have a fantastic group of passionate and caring Gator fans who love to watch the Gators, socialize, ski together and give back through local community service projects and International Gator Day! Welcome to the Rocky Mountain Gator Club…. Home of the Mile-High Swamp!”

Scott Mangino, President-elect

Scott grew up in upstate New York (Troy) and is the youngest of seven. He attended undergrad at Iona College (New Rochelle, NY). While at Iona, he embraced all that college life had to offer – from his role as a Resident Assistant to participating in several clubs, working several work-study jobs to attending every sporting event, to eventually becoming Student Government President.

Upon graduation, Scott followed his passion and received his Master of Education degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Florida. While at UF, he was a Graduate Hall Director in North Hall, living as close as humanly possible to the Swamp and the O’Dome. While at UF, he also interned in the Vice President of Student Affairs office and the Heavener School of Business within the Warrington College of Business.

After graduation, he moved to Denver to work professionally in higher education, working for Regis University and Stockton University (Galloway, NJ). He eventually transitioned out of higher education and into the tech industry, working for several education technology companies (StarRez, Workday & RahRah). He currently serves as the Director of Employer Product at Jobcase, a leading social media and job search platform dedicated to America’s workforce.

Scott loves to ski, loves the Denver/Colorado food scene, and has recently decided to run for statewide political office. He is incredibly honored and excited to serve the Rocky Mountain Gator Club as its President-Elect. He currently lives in the RiNo/Five Points area of Denver with his Great Pyrenees mix pup, Teddy! Go Gators!

Chrissie Dodd, Treasurer

Chrissie graduated in the golden Gator year of 1996. She was addicted to the Florida Gators long before that as they were her father’s favorite team before she even enrolled. Chrissie moved to Denver in 2016 and started attending Jackson’s watch parties the first fall she was here. 

Chrissie says, “the Rocky Mountain Gator Club has been a great place to make friends, keep the Gator passion alive and celebrate all my wonderful memories. As treasurer, I get to work with our great Board members and continue to support the University that gave me so much! Go Gators!”

Michelle Murray, Academic VP

Michelle is a Colorado native, who grew up in the Denver Metro area. She is an elementary school teacher at a local charter school and has been teaching for 14 years. Michelle is proud to say that her students know all about the Gators. Her connection to the University of Florida is a special one, as her father graduated from UF. She was born a Gator and has been cheering for the team as long as she can remember. 

Michelle says, “people are generally shocked to find out that I did not graduate from the school. When I am not watching the Gators, I enjoy spending time with my family, friends and dog, Bojangles.”

Robin Schuster, Membership VP

Robin was born in Northeast Florida and grew up in a family full of Florida Gator fans. The FL-GA game is a big annual tailgating/come together event for her family and she looks forward to it every year. Robin moved to Denver in July of 2020 and was sad that there was no FL-GA celebration to attend… until she learned of the Rocky Mountain Gator Club. She was able to join and attend and the day was wonderful! The transition from FL to CO and all of the changes that brought were made so much easier by the RMGC and she’s very grateful for all of the fun and camaraderie that it provides to members. Go Gators!!

Sara Waldman, Community VP

Sara recently relocated to the Mile High City and is excited to join the Rocky Mountain Gator Club community. She moved from Salt Lake City, where she served as President of the Salt Lake Valley Gator Club for several years. Sara am a Gator Alum – UF College of Journalism and Communications graduate, and works in public relations. Her interests outside of work include traveling, hiking, stand-up paddleboarding, and adventuring with her dog, Zoe. 

Kristy Williford, Communications VP

Kristy is new to the Denver area, having moved during the pandemic, and she’s looking forward to getting to know all of the Rocky Mountain Gators. She is a 2007 graduate from UF with a degree in Telecommunications. Currently, Kristy serves as a Communications Manager for several physician membership organizations. Previously, she was a television news reporter and lived in many different cities around the country.

When she’s not working, Kristy and her husband love traveling the world and documenting their adventures on their travel blog, Married with Wanderlust. She is originally from Maryland.

Tess Zaccardi, Young Alumni VP

Tess Zaccardi graduated with her bachelors from UF in 2016. She moved to Dallas to get her clinical doctorate in Audiology from the University of Texas at Dallas with which she graduated in 2020. While in Dallas, Tess served as the VP of Communications for the Board of Directors of the Dallas/Fort Worth Gator Club. She and her dog, Coffee, relocated to Colorado in April 2021. She enjoys cooking, live music, and outdoor activities like hiking and running.

Nick Bokone, Director-at-Large

Nick Bokone is a 1993 graduate and has been a member of the Rocky Mountain Gator Club since 2006, serving as President of the club in 2009-10. A passionate Gator, Nick’s focus is on developing future leaders of the club and maintaining the rowdy, fun reputation the RMGC has earned over the years.

Nick owns Cornerstone Political Solutions, a public affairs firm that focuses on grassroots advocacy, political fundraising and local public policy. He and his wife Michelle (also a Gator) live in Conifer with their dog Banjo and love live music, travel, good bourbon, and quiet times in Colorado’s great outdoors.

Brian “BC” Campbell, Director-at-Large

Past President of Rocky Mountain Gator Club. UF grad, Colorado resident for 20+ years. Run the ball.

Carissa Dill, Director-at-Large

Carissa has enjoyed all the time she’s spent with the Rocky Mountain Gator Club since moving to Denver 9.5 years ago. If you ask her, watching games at Jackson’s is the next best place to be if you can’t attend the game. Carissa graduated from UF with her bachelor’s degree in 2001 and master’s degree in 2003. She is a physical therapist at Porter Adventist Hospital. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and rock climbing. Go Gators!

Matt Hopcraft, Director-at-Large

Growing up in Florida provided Matt the amazing opportunity to be born into the Gator Nation! He’s been bleeding Orange and Blue longer than he’s have been walking, and some of his earliest memories are of late Florida football games when he was supposed to be sleeping, and listening to Mick Hubert over the radio on hot September Saturdays. Great friendships, memories, and even rivalries have grown out of the passion surrounding all Florida Athletic programs, and when the time came to move across the country into an area unknown, Matt had resigned himself to watching Gator football at home or with his brother at a random bar in Denver. What he found instead has become a second Swamp nestled in the Rocky Mountains. 

Matt says, “the Rocky Mountain Gator Club and its members have been so welcoming and inclusive to my brother and I since we moved to Colorado in 2018, and I am honored to be able to give back to this community by serving on the board as this year’s Young Alumni Coordinator. This season will be magic – Go Gators!”