February 12, 2018

A speed coaching and networking event powered by bizwomen.

Mentors

1 | Jackie Adams Ristole, CEO

Jackie earned her BS in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve Uni-versity in Cleveland, OH. Soon afterward, she served as a Peace Corps Volun-teer in Tanzania, Africa teaching high school math in Swahili. After her return, Jackie worked for Philips and STERIS training technicians to diagnose and re-pair faulty hospital medical equipment. She was the first female to be hired as a technical trainer in STERIS’s 100+ year history and was rated their top tech-nical trainer. She also founded and became the President of Tareto Maa SA, a U.S.-based nonprofit that fundraised to support the continued operations of the Tareto Maa Girls Shelter in Kenya. This organization fed, clothed, educated, and provided a home for 122 vulnerable girls – most of whom had run away from home to escape female genital cutting and forced child marriage. Jackie founded Ristole in 2016 with the goal of making employee training that doesn’t suck. During this time, she also co-founded SPARC[scholarships], a scholarship speaking program that focuses on the experience of minority groups in STEM-based careers at Case Western. Jackie serves on the board for Girl Scouts of North East Ohio and the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair. She been awarded 25 Movers and Shakers Under 35 by the 20s/30s Club, 2014; Woman of Distinction Award, Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, 2014; Top 40 under 40, Crain’s Cleveland Business, 2015; Young Alumni Award, Case Western Reserve University, 2015; Outstanding Engineering Educator, IEEE – Region 5, 2016; and Outstanding Women in Business in Architecture, Engineering & Construction, Denver Business Journal, 2017.

2 | Tricia Allen Adams County Economic Development, Senior Vice President

Bio To Come

3 | Jandel Allen-Davis Kaiser Permanente Colorado, VP Government, External Relations & Research

Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, leads the organization’s government relations and regulatory affairs, community relations and community benefit investment, clinical research activities, stakeholder engagement, communications, and ad-vertising and marketing functions. She is board certified in obstetrics and gy-necology and after 25 years, transitioned from a physician leader to Kaiser Per-manente’s Health Plan Leadership team. Jandel currently serves on the boards of The Denver Botanic Gardens, The Denver Foundation, Colorado Association of Funders Board of Directors, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Mile High United Way, National Jewish Health, American Heart Association Southwest Af-filiate and Grantmakers in Health. In 2017, she was appointed as Board Chair of Grantmakers in Health, a national organization focused on assisting funders who are actively involved in supporting health funders across the nation. Jan-del is the proud recipient of the 2016 Corporate Citizen of the Year from the Colorado Black Health Collaborative, 2015 Colorado Black Women for Political Action, Excellence in Community Service Award, the 25 Most Powerful Women in Colorado from the Colorado Women’s Chamber in 2013, the 2013 Colora-do Black Women for Political Action, Women Making History Award, the 2013

Metro Volunteers Community Impact Award, the 2012 Outstanding Women in Business in Health Care from the Denver Business Journal, and is a member of the 2012 Girl Scouts Women of Distinction inductees. In her spare time, Jandel is a fiber artist creating original, hand-painted quilts and fiber vessels. In addi-tion, she enjoys staying physically active through a variety of outdoor sports.

4 | Christine Benero Mile High United Way, President/CEO

Christine is President and Chief Executive Officer of Mile High United Way, the first United Way in the world. For 130 years, Mile High United Way has fought for the education, health and financial stability for everyone in Metro Denver. Prior to Mile High United Way, Christine was President and CEO of the Amer-ican Red Cross Mile High Chapter and was the Director of the Office of Pub-lic Liaison for the Corporation for National and Community Service. She has served in two presidential administrations working for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Christine continues to serve on many Colorado boards including HealthONE, Denver Public Schools Foundation, and Executives Part-nering to Invest in Children (EPIC). In 2013, she was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Denver by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and in 2014 she was a finalist for CEO of the Year by ColoradoBiz magazine. Most recently, Christine was named one of the Denver Business Journal’s 2016 Outstanding Women in Business. Christine holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from Boston University, a Master’s in Education from Harvard University, Graduate School of Education and was selected as a 2007 Gates Fellow for the Senior Executive Program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

5 | Kim Bimestefer KB Solutions, President

KB Solutions is a strategic consulting firm that helps firms thrive through the dynamics of a healthcare market in transition. Her clients are in the indus-tries of hospital and physician care delivery, genomics/proteomics/life science, Medicaid, patient risk assessment and physician prescribing/guidance soft-ware. Kim has a been a senior healthcare executive for more than 25 years. As the local Board Chair, President & General Manager for Cigna Mountain States from 2012 through 2016, Kim was accountable for corporate strategy, cus-tomer satisfaction, medical costs and trends, employee relations, branding, membership growth and earnings. In this role, Kim revitalized a struggling cul-ture post acquisition and pioneered new partnerships with high-performing healthcare delivery systems and physician groups, creating responsive offer-ings to serve the Mt States markets of CO, UT, WY, NM. Growing the market to more than 800,000 medical customers, Kim instituted a collaborative strategic approach to respond to the needs of each of her state-based markets resulting in unique product offerings designed to evolve with the provider communi-ty’s progression along the value based payment continuum. Kim serves on the Board of the American Heart Association, is Chair of CEOs Against Cancer for the American Cancer Society, is on the Advisory Board for A Precious Child, Chaired the 2017 CPRD Arts-in-Education gala fundraiser, and is a member of the Colorado Forum. Kim has received numerous industry awards for lead-ership in business and industry: Forbes Women Leaders Issue, one of seven western region leaders recognized for exemplary business leadership, June 2016; Colorado’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Business, Colorado Women’s Chamber, 2016; Outstanding Women in Business/Healthcare, Denver Business Journal, 2015; Women of Distinction, Girl Scouts of America, 2015.

Mentors

6 | Naomi Binkley Fireside Productions, Founder/Managing Partner

Naomi is a storyteller at heart. She is Founder and Managing Partner of Fire-side Production, a Denver-based video production company that creates a modern storytelling experience for its clients. Naomi was an unlikely entre-preneur. She spent more than a decade as a television news journalist before founding Fireside in 2006 with her husband in the basement of their home. Fireside has grown into a thriving company that serves the video needs of an array of government, corporate and non-profit Clients around the country. Naomi was the Denver Business Journal’s 2016 Outstanding Women in Busi-ness winner in the Communications, Media and Public Relations category. Fire-side was named the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2015 Protégé of the Year as a small, woman-owned business. Naomi was awarded The Leukemia & Lympho-ma Society, Rocky Mountain Chapter 2014 Woman of the Year. She continues to support the LLS mission as co-chair of the Man & Woman of the Year Campaign Leadership Team. Naomi was recognized for her success and civic engagement as a DBJ 2013 40 Under 40 Honoree.

7 | Sheryl Bollinger AMG National Trust Bank, President/CEO/General Counsel

Sheryl is CEO, President and General Counsel, as well as a board member, of AMG National Trust Bank. AMG is a privately held bank offering comprehensive financial services designed to help clients achieve long-term financial security and success. Prior to joining AMG in 1996, she specialized in securities, contract and corporate law in Denver with Holland & Hart, one of the largest law firms in the Mountain West. Before practicing law, Sheryl was a Certified Public Ac-countant with Arthur Andersen & Co. in Portland, OR, and was treasurer and corporate secretary of Medford Corporation, an Oregon-based international forest products company. Sheryl received her JD from Stanford Law School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Montana. She is a member of the American, Colorado and Arapahoe County Bar Associations and is a current board member for Junior Achievement Colo-rado and a former board member for the Mile-High Chapter of the American Red Cross.

8 | Maritza Braswell Rollin Braswell Fischer, Founding Partner

Maritza is a managing partner at Rollin Braswell Fisher LLC. Her practice fo-cuses on high stakes commercial litigation including in the areas of: products liability, financial services, trade secrets/non-competes, construction defects, tort claims, contract-based business disputes, and public entity litigation. Her successful and innovative law firm has received press and attention from the business community because of its commitment to being “an original law firm”. Under Maritza’s leadership, the firm employs a modern business model that is client-centric and uses fluid staffing of cases, making it distinct from other law firms. Maritza also devotes her time to improving our community through organizations that promote peace through mediation of disputes and through protection of the marginalized. In the past year, Maritza has developed a side practice of lecturing in the area of women in leadership roles and modernity in the way law firms are run. She also integrates her commitment to community involvement and pro bono work into her busy practice at RBF Law by partic-ipating in mentoring events and serving as a non-profit board member. As a fluent Spanish speaker, Maritza is one of the leading Latina lawyers in Colorado

Mentors

and was named to Top Women Lawyers by Law Week Colorado, and a finalist for the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business in 2016. She earned her law degree from Rutgers University School of Law, with honors, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver.

9 | Debbie Brown Amplify Strategies, Founder/CEO

Debbie, a strategic communications and political consultant, directs her ex-pertise to political problem-solving, coalition building and the development of launch strategies. Debbie has directed the strategy, messaging, and market-ing for businesses, nonprofit organizations and issue/advocacy efforts. Clients include: Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development, Colorado Women’s Alliance, and Catapult Colorado. Debbie’s work has been featured on Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News, BBC News World Have Your Say, SkyNews, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Washington Post, and the New York Times. Debbie earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Marketing from Northern Arizona University. She is a graduate of the Lead-ership Program of the Rockies, RNC Campaign Management College and the Leadership Institute Campaign Manager School. Debbie serves on the Board of Directors for the National Women’s Coalition for Job Creators Network, The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame and Trenegy, Inc. She is an inaugural member of the American Enterprise Institute National Leadership Board. Debbie re-cently taught Marketing 202 as Affiliate Faculty for Colorado Christian Univer-sity’s School of Business and Leadership. Debbie has been recognized as part of “Who’s Who in Energy” and a finalist for “Outstanding Women in Business” by the Denver Business Journal.

10 | Denise Burgess Burgess Services, President/CEO

Burgess Services is a Denver-based construction management firm. Denise has served on the Board of Directors of the Denver Metro Chamber of Com-merce since 2010, and is currently serving as Chair of the Board. Armed with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Northern Colorado, Denise launched a promising career in broadcast management. She was called in 1994 to work alongside her father and business mentor until his untimely passing in 2002. Denise’s transitioned her father’s heating and air condition-ing business into a nationwide firm, specializing in construction management, commissioning and quality assurance/quality control. Along the way, she earned a Construction Management Certificate from the University of Denver. Burgess Services’ accomplishments during her tenure include the Denver Jus-tice Center, the Corp of Engineers Southeastern Headquarters in Miami, and the Westin Hotel at Denver International Airport (DEN). Burgess Services was awarded the largest contract ever awarded to a minority or woman owned business in Colorado history- a $39.6 million mechanical contract at DEN. Her awards include Top 25 Most Powerful Women by the Colorado Women’s Cham-ber of Commerce, a Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Colorado, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award, David E. Baily Small Business Ad-vocate Award, CEO of the Year 2017 ColoradoBiz Magazine and Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce 2017 Corporation of the Year.

Mentors

11 | Sabah Cambrelen Point B, Senior Associate

With over 17 years of management consulting experience, Sabah is a dynam-ic business leader. She has a proven ability to effectively direct the formula-tion and execution of new business strategies and reengineering projects to achieve organizational imperatives. These imperatives include developing new business functions, implementing business model changes, increasing opera-tional efficiencies, and driving business development. A change leader, Sabah has worked with clients across numerous industries including oil & gas, State and Federal government, healthcare, and education to move business strate-gies forward with executable plans and tangible results. Knowing that engag-ing all stakeholders involved in business transformation is the key to success, Sabah works across teams to communicate effectively, collaborate and drive results, building thriving cultures on all her teams. Understanding the big pic-ture while developing tactical and executable strategic plans has helped Sabah deliver consistent results and impact an organization’s ability to move beyond the talk and deliver action. Sabah is passionate about promoting women and diversity in business and leads Point B’s National Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Initiative. She is passionate about educational equity and serves as an asso-ciate board member for City Year Denver, an organization that strives to im-prove high school graduation rates in Denver’s most at risk schools. Sabah is also currently serving on the Women’s Energy Network Board, an organization that provides a platform to support conversation among women that work in the energy industry. Sabah has lived in eight countries and settled in Denver, she has been married for 16 years to her middle school sweetheart and has three children.

12 | Lauren Casteel The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, President/CEO

Lauren is president and CEO of The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, the only community foundation in the state focused on the economic advancement of women and girls. She is the first person in Colorado to lead three foundations and possesses more than 20 years of philanthropic leadership as well as a career-long dedication to inclusiveness. Lauren is an experienced and recog-nized advocate for women, children, youth, and families in Colorado. Through-out her career, Lauren has earned numerous accolades. Most recently, she was honored with the 2016 Monte Pascoe Civic Leadership Award, presented annually by Denver’s Mayor to a member of the community; she was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in 2015 by the Colorado Women’s Cham-ber of Commerce; and in 2014, she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.

13 | Jennifer Chang Cisco Systems, Regional Manager, Federal Civilian Scientific

Jennifer is the Regional Manager for the Federal Civilian Scientific team at Cisco Systems, where she leads the digital transformation strategy and sales op-erations for $250M in nationwide federal civilian business for the following agencies: Department of Energy, Department of Interior, USDA, Department of Commerce, and NASA. She manages a team that stretches coast to coast—10 Sales Professionals—in addition to indirect leadership of an integrated team of 20 Systems Engineers, Product Sales Specialists, Business Development, and Channels. Jennifer joined the Cisco team in 2011 from Global Technolo-gy Resources, where she worked as a Federal Account Executive, managing

Mentors

the national accounts of a major Department of Defense systems integrator. Her prior work experience includes Project Management, Business Develop-ment, Six Sigma, and Global Supply Chain with Lockheed Martin, as well as Student Affairs in the higher education realm. In the community, Jennifer sits on the Board of Directors of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Founda-tion, mentors high school seniors through the college application process, and works directly with high potential female STEM students, connecting them with a network of women STEM professionals to increase their opportunities and support for success in STEM fields. Jennifer also served on the Executive Committee of Minds Matter of Denver, as well as the Board of Directors for the Young Philanthropists Foundation. Over the years, Jennifer has often been recognized for her professional and personal accomplishments. Most recently, the Denver Business Journal named her the 2017 Outstanding Woman in Busi-ness in Technology and Telecom. She holds a B.A. and M.A. from UC Berkeley, a Graduate Certificate in Engineering Management from Drexel University, and an M.B.A. from the University of Colorado at Denver.

14 | Lynn Coit Elsy Studios, President

Over the last 24 years, Lynn has successfully launched two architecture and interior design firms in Denver. Now, as president and founder of Elsy Studios, she and her teams have produced award-winning work for clients such as CH2M, Newmont Mining Corporation, SolidFire, Workplace Resource and XTO Energy by focusing on design that captures the aesthetic function and the flow needed to help organizations succeed. Lynn’s influence on Colorado communi-ties doesn’t stop at the built environment. She believes that a woman of influ-ence should be characterized not just by her financial success, but by the lega-cy she leaves for future generations. In addition to shaping the aesthetic of our growing city, Lynn puts her time and talent to work for her community. Having seen firsthand the importance of early intervention and support in a child’s life, Lynn has devoted her time, resources, fundraising, and design expertise to Colorado organizations including: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado (board member), Peer Assistance (past board member), Denver Children’s Home (past president and board member), Boys and Girls Clubs, and Saint Peter and Paul School. In 2016, Lynn was given the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award by the Denver Business Journal.

15 | Lisa D’Ambrosia Minor & Brown, Managing Partner

Lisa is an experienced business transactional attorney who puts a client’s de-cision-making process into the context of the client’s business and personal life. Because of the high volume of her mergers and acquisitions transactional work, Lisa has seen and overcome many issues that arise between buyers and sellers that get M&A deals “stuck.” Thanks to her experience, she can negotiate through difficult differences and situations to get the best result for her clients, recognizing that purchase and sale transactions close only when they are re-garded as win-win situations. Regardless of the type or size of the transaction (or who is on the other side of the table), Lisa has earned a reputation as a decisive, but civil straight-shooter. Lisa serves her community in a variety of volunteer capacities, most notably as: Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce; Past Chair of the Economic Development Group and the Denver Metro Small Business Development Cen-ter, various STEM organizations and the Denver Chamber’s CEO Exchange Pro-gram; Colorado Storm Soccer Association Long Range Planning Committee and

Mentors

The Denver Foundation’s Impact Investing Committee. Lisa and her husband of over 20 years spend their weekends supporting their three highly competi-tive daughters in their soccer endeavors. When not on a soccer field, in Colora-do or abroad, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family, often with everyone cooking in the kitchen.

16 | Lori Davis Grant Thornton, Managing Partner/Denver Office

Lisa is an experienced business transactional attorney who puts a client’s de-cision-making process into the context of the client’s business and personal life. Because of the high volume of her mergers and acquisitions transactional work, Lisa has seen and overcome many issues that arise between buyers and sellers that get M&A deals “stuck.” Thanks to her experience, she can negotiate through difficult differences and situations to get the best result for her clients, recognizing that purchase and sale transactions close only when they are re-garded as win-win situations. Regardless of the type or size of the transaction (or who is on the other side of the table), Lisa has earned a reputation as a decisive, but civil straight-shooter. Lisa serves her community in a variety of volunteer capacities, most notably as: Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce; Past Chair of the Economic Development Group and the Denver Metro Small Business Development Cen-ter, various STEM organizations and the Denver Chamber’s CEO Exchange Pro-gram; Colorado Storm Soccer Association Long Range Planning Committee and The Denver Foundation’s Impact Investing Committee. Lisa and her husband of over 20 years spend their weekends supporting their three highly competi-tive daughters in their soccer endeavors. When not on a soccer field, in Colora-do or abroad, Lisa enjoys spending time with her family, often with everyone cooking in the kitchen.

17 | Jessica Fialkovich President & Co-Founder, Transworld Business Advisors & MOD Assistants

Jessica became a first-time entrepreneur at the age of 25 and since has been able to successfully establish, develop and sell multiple small businesses in a number of different industries including wine & spirits, retail, and now busi-ness brokerage and assistant services. Through the sale process of her first business, she was introduced to the mergers and acquisitions field which fur-ther cultivated her passion to serve the small business community.

In the last five years as the President and Co-Founder of Transworld Business Advisors of Colorado, Jessica has been able to build the firm from a two-person team to a full-scale, multi-location firm listing 150+ businesses annually. As the top business brokerage firm in the state, and a top franchise location nation-ally and internationally, Transworld serves over 200 Colorado businesses each year through buy, sell and franchise transactions. Jessica is also the President of MOD Assistants which recently expanded into the Pittsburgh market.

Jessica believes that small business is the backbone of our economy, but are currently underserved and underrepresented in the civic arena. Tuning into Denver’s economic development, Jessica also believes that Denver will estab-lish itself as a known center of business. Because of this, she has committed to educating and supporting entrepreneurs and the small business community. To fulfill her civic role, she developed the Charity Ascent fundraiser benefiting Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain and is highly active in the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Entrepreneur’s Organization, 3to5 Club and the Colorado Association of Business Intermediaries.

Mentors

18 | Susan Frew Sunshine Plumbing Heating Air, President

Using her business coaching experience having coached 17 different trades to success, Susan now uses her experience to propel their family plumbing business. They grew Sunshine Plumbing Heating Air from 177K in 2012 to pro-jected 3M in 2017. Sunshine won the #1 Fastest Growing Company Flight V by the Denver Business Journal in 2015,2016,2017. Small Business of the Year DBJ 2016,2017, Top 100 Women Owned Companies 2016, 2017, Colorado Compa-nies to Watch 2016, Congressional recognition for Outstanding Community Involvement Ed Perlmutter 2016. Sunshine has just recently won the Denver Boulder BBB Torch Award and Susan has just done her first TEDx talk on adding women to the trades. Susan is a former International VP with AT&T Wireless, Business Coach with ActionCOACH business Coaching, Instructor for the SBA’s national Emerging Leaders program, radio host of Coaching Not Just for Sports on ESPN radio in Denver. Currently, she is the President of Sunshine Plumbing Heating Air in Denver, President of the Colorado PHCC, Board Member Metro North Chamber, Board Member, Adams County Workforce Development, Na-tional PHCC board, QSC Trustee and a proud member of the Commerce City Rotary Club. Susan is the founder and CEO of Thriftinista, a nonprofit organiza-tion that raises funds for nonprofits through thrift store shopping. Susan holds the trademark and patent for Video Plumber, a revolutionary new idea taking over the plumbing industry.

19 | Andrea Fulton Denver Art Museum, Deputy Director/Chief Marketing Officer

Andrea is responsible for the Museum’s earned revenue strategies, including marketing and communications, as well as government affairs and strategic partnerships. She oversees the institution’s technology initiatives and is cur-rently spearheading a master planning and renovation effort for the Museum’s 1971 Gio Ponti-designed North Building. Andrea joined the museum in 2001 as a public relations specialist focusing on traveling exhibitions and art-related programs. From 2001 to 2006, she led the communication effort for the mu-seum’s Daniel Libeskind-designed expansion project including local, national and international media relations, marketing and community programs. Fol-lowing the opening of the Hamilton Building, Andrea led marketing and com-munications for the new campus, building the museum’s brand identity and visitor participation to new highs. Andrea became deputy director and chief marketing officer in 2012, taking on additional functions including member-ship, events, retail and guest services. Prior to joining the DAM, Andrea worked at Ogilvy Public Relations and she began her public relations career at John-stonWells Public Relations. Andrea was an inaugural member of the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Emerging Leaders program and a graduate of 2015 class of Leadership Denver. Andrea serves on the Leadership Advisory Committee for the Colorado Nonprofit Association and as a member of the steering com-mittee for the Golden Triangle neighborhood plan. She has participated in nu-merous civic efforts including the Clyfford Still Museum and Civic Center Tran-sit Stakeholder committee. She volunteers time at the Montessori Academy of Colorado and the Downtown Denver Expeditionary School, where her two young children attend school.

Mentors

20 | Stacey Hekkert Anton Collins Mitchell, President/Managing Partner

Stacey leads Anton Collins Mitchell (ACM) as President and Managing Partner. She has 25 years of audit and assurance services experience and serves as an advisor to her clients, who are primarily focused in the real estate, distribution, and professional services industries, and she has deep expertise working with private equity and investor led companies. Stacey is a member of the Executive Committee of the Private Company Practice Section of the AICPA and focuses much of her time advising private company clients. She has been recognized as a Leader of Note by the Colorado Society of CPAs and an Outstanding Women in Business Finalist by the Denver Business Journal. Additionally, she places a high value on corporate responsibility and serves on a variety of advisory and nonprofit board of directors. Stacey has also served as a national CPE in-structor and has been published in the Practical Accountant and Colorado Real Estate Journal.

21 | Paula Herzmark Denver Health Foundation, Executive Director

Paula has served as the executive director of the Denver Health Foundation since July 2004, after serving as the chair of the board of directors for the Den-ver Health and Hospital Authority for the previous eight years. Paula brings a wealth of experience to the Denver Health Foundation, having served more than 10 years as the chief executive officer of the Robert E. Loup Jewish Com-munity Center, where she managed the activities, programs and operations of the $10 million-per-year center. Prior to this position, she spent eight years in the cable television industry, serving for over six years as the president-owner and chief executive officer of Prime Time Cable Corporation, a private cable television company. She served in Governor Richard D. Lamm’s cabinet as the executive director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs for five years, after having served as the governor’s legislative liaison. Paula’s numerous administrative and leadership positions have offered her unique opportuni-ties to understand the intricacies of fundraising and positioning the Denver Health Foundation to achieve positive outcomes. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at El Paso and a master’s de-gree in public administration from the University of Texas. Paula is currently a commissioner and President of the Denver Water Board, and has served on the board of Opera Colorado and numerous other boards in the community, including a Trustee on the Board of Colorado Mesa University, the Board of National Jewish Hospital (and a member of its Executive Committee as Chair of the Administrative Services committee), Stapleton Foundation, Denver Judi-cial Nominating Commission, Rocky Mountain Planned Parenthood, The Listen Foundation, and the Central City Opera Association.

22 | Maureen Hewitt InnovAge, President/CEO

Maureen is president and CEO of InnovAge with locations in California, Colo-rado and New Mexico. She’s held this role since 2006. Throughout her career, Maureen has promoted the health and well-being of aging adults through pro-grams that support independence. She has 25 years of experience in health-care administration. Maureen came to Denver from Napa, California where she was Chief Operating Officer of Episcopal Homes Foundation, which oper-ates retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, affordable homes and programs for

Mentors

the elderly. Maureen was president of Ocadian Health, where she managed acute care hospitals, skilled nursing homes, and assisted living centers. Prior to that, she worked for Summit HealthCare in Burbank CA. She has held sev-eral other leadership roles at healthcare organizations. Maureen currently is a member of the Board of Housing Colorado and past chair for the Board of Directors. She also serves as past chair of the Governance committee. She is member of the Board of Directors for ICAST (International Center for Appro-priate and Sustainable Technology) and new appointed member of CLLARO (Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization) Board of Directors. Maureen holds a master’s degree in Administration from Wayne State University, and a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University.

23 | Pam Jeffords Mercer, Partner

Pam is a partner at Mercer and a global expert on diversity and inclusion in the workplace. She advises global employers on how they can break through the inertia and drive progress with their gender diversity initiatives. She has been featured in numerous publications, including the National Association of Corporate Directors, Fortune magazine and was a contributor to Mercer’s research When Women Thrive, Businesses Thrive. Pam is a member of the Global Leadership Council for Colorado State University’s College of Business, a member of the NACD, a Limited Partner in The JumpFund, and has served as Chair of Women United for the Mile-High United Way where she received the prestigious Frances Wisebart Jacobs award for philanthropy. Pam holds an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University and a Master’s in Busi-ness Administration from Georgia State University. She lives in Denver with her husband and four children.

24 | Tasha Jones Forest City Realty Trust, Director of Marketing

Tasha is Director of Marketing for Forest City Stapleton, where she oversees the marketing efforts for the redevelopment of the former Stapleton Interna-tional Airport. Tasha’s responsibilities include: strategic direction for corporate marketing efforts, promoting new neighborhood launches, agency manage-ment, commercial marketing brand development, and community outreach programs. One of Tasha most notable marketing successes involved the 2011 HGTV Green Home promotion she managed to highlight the debut of Central Park West, Stapleton’s newest and most sustainable urban neighborhood. Tasha led the creative team that developed the “Global Coolness” home tour marketing program and the related tours that attracted thousands of visitors and potential homebuyers to Stapleton. True to her commitment to serve the Metropolitan Denver community, Tasha arranged for more than $54,000 in gross proceeds from the tours’ ticket sales to be donated to Urban Peak, a lo-cal nonprofit organization that provides a variety of services including shelter and meals, education, employment, housing, and medical care to help home-less youth. Tasha is also involved in a variety of community organizations and projects that include the Challenge Foundation Mentor Program, Leadership Denver Class of 2012, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce Leadership Foun-dation Board of Directors, the Catapult Leadership Board, as well as the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado Associate Board. One of her most recent hon-ors is being selected as a 2015 Girl Scouts Women of Distinction inductee.

Mentors

25 | Blair Koch The Alternative Board – Denver West, CEO

Blair is a dynamic executive and entrepreneur with marked success in multiple sectors. Blair currently owns and runs BEK Enterprises and leads facilitated peer group forums of presidents, CEOs and business owners at TAB Denver West. Blair’s background includes expertise in strategic planning, operations, business development, product management, sales and marketing for busi-nesses ranging from early startups to global Fortune 500 companies. Her years of experience as a business owner and shareholder have provided her with broad exposure to the vast array of challenges, opportunities, issues and problems that top executives and entrepreneurs face in running their busi-nesses; and the industry insight to facilitate successful solutions. Blair has substantial, prolific experience building high-performing teams from a broad spectrum of industries. She has also worked with worldwide channels to man-age customer requirements and assist sales vis a vis market acceptance and strategic presentations resulting in increased sales, higher profits and stron-ger bottom lines. Blair is a published author and has been quoted in Investor’s Business Daily and other leading publications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and communication studies from California State University in Sacramento and can be found leveraging her skills to assist area non-profits and the communities they serve.

26 | Katie Kruger DMCAR, CEO

Katie is the CEO of the Denver Metro Commercial Association of Realtors (DM-CAR). DMCAR represents 2,000 commercial real estate professionals across Colorado. Prior to joining the Association, Katie was an account executive at a national agency, leading developers, builders and city officials, across the country, to create smart master planned communities. She also spent time di-recting marketing and sales efforts at McStain Neighborhoods, launching one of the country’s most sought green home builder brands of all time. In the years leading up to Katie taking the helm at DMCAR, she managed public policy and communications for both the residential and commercial sectors, repre-senting the voice of real estate for the Metro area. During this time, she grew membership by 12% and helped guide the July 2012 creation and passing of the Broker Lien Law – one of the most supportive pieces of legislation passed in the name of commercial real estate in Colorado. Upon accepting the CEO role for DMCAR, Katie took the company on a 4-year tear, bringing a streak of growth that included a near 50% revenue increase and 40% uptick in member-ship. This gained DMCAR the national spotlight, bolstered her teed up efforts for community support, and ultimately led the organization to become the largest commercial real estate group in the US. Katie was honored as a 2016 PowerBook Award recipient by the Denver Business Journal, and received the ACE Award from the National Association of Realtors for innovative manage-ment processes and extraordinary member service in 2012 and 2014. In 2015, she was appointed to the Colorado Association of Realtors leadership team to provide representation for CEOs in DC. She currently serves as a Chair of the Denver Metro Chamber Public Affairs Council, sits on the executive team at the Colorado Real Estate Alliance and often supports and participates on behalf of the Board of Directors at Vital for Colorado.

Mentors

Mentors

27 | Jan Kullman Noble Energy, Manager, Engineering Technical Services

With more than 18 years of energy experience, Jan has managed and executed projects and programs across multiple areas. She has been with Noble Energy since 2014 where she works on strategic initiatives across the company relat-ed to electrical power, automation, process safety, and mechanical integrity. Before joining Noble, Jan managed EHS and technology support initiatives for Encana’s US and Canadian operations, spent time at CenterPoint Energy as a design engineer and manager in efforts related to electrical power delivery design and construction, and was a project engineer at Equilon Enterprises. Jan has a BS in Electrical Engineering from LSU, an MBA from CSU, and is a licensed Professional Engineer. She is the mother of two children, the President of the Board of Directors for the Stargate Charter School, and is an elected Coun-cilmember for the City of Thornton. In 2016 she was recognized by the Denver Business Journal as one of the Top Women in Energy. She was a finalist for Outstanding Women in Business in both 2016 and 2017. She was the recipient of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s Individual Community Impact Award and named as a member of the class of Denver Business Journal’s Who’s Who in Energy for 2017.

28 | Traci Lounsbury ELEMENTS, Principal/Owner

Traci is a born leader with more than two decades of experience at the helm of three successful commercial interiors businesses. At just 25, she structured an earn-in agreement to buy her first business, JCL Commercial Interior Products, which she grew into one of the largest manufacturers’ representative firms in the nation. She went on to co-found ELEMENTS in 2008 in a merger she orches-trated between her second firm, SPACES, and a competitive dealership. Under Traci’s leadership, ELEMENTS has become a recognized leader in commercial interiors and one of the largest woman-owned businesses in Colorado with revenues topping $70 million annually. By offering smart, flexible furnishings that adapt to changes in a workplace over time, ELEMENTS is able to help cli-ents maximize their investments while minimizing long-term cost of owner-ship. The company has completed major projects for clients including Google, First Western Trust Bank, Digital Globe, Johns Manville, University of Colorado, Home Advisor, Children’s Hospital and Charles Schwab. Traci earned an MBA in finance from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Colorado State University. She was named a 2017 Outstanding Woman in Business by the Denver Business Journal, received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Mountain Desert Region, and was selected as a national Enterprising Woman of the Year by Enterprising Women magazine. She also received Volunteer of the Year from the Downtown Denver Partnership, where she is a board member and a driving force behind the women entrepreneurs programming at The Commons on Champa.

29 | Amanda Mountain Rocky Mountain Public Media, President/CEO

Amanda grew up a military brat and has called Colorado home since 1992. She is a first-generation college graduate and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Denver in Organizational Leadership. She is the first female CEO in Rocky Mountain Public Media history, and is the youngest CEO of a major market public media station in the country. She has nearly 20 years of me-dia experience, most notably with Freedom Communications, where she was

Mentors

named one of the top 20 Newspaper executives in the country by Presstime Magazine, and Viacom, where she helped pioneered cross-platform marketing strategies under the leadership of Mel Karmazin. She joined Rocky Mountain PBS in 2010 as general manager of the Southern Colorado station and stepped into the role of President and CEO in 2017 where she is now leading the mis-sion to strengthen the civic fabric of Colorado through public media.

30 | Amy Parsons Colorado State University System, Executive Vice Chancellor

Amy serves as the Executive Vice Chancellor of the Colorado State University System, overseeing strategy and initiatives across the three CSU System insti-tutions (CSU Fort Collins, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global Campus) and through-out Colorado. Amy manages strategic partnerships and projects including the National Western Center redevelopment in Denver, the Todos Santos Center in Mexico, the Ascend program based in Fort Collins, and the construction of CSU’s new football stadium. She oversees the operations of the Board of Gov-ernors of the CSU System, and the Denver System office. Amy serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver, is a Trustee of Western Stock Show Association and serves as a member of Colorado Concern and the Metro Denver EDC Executive Committee. She was recognized by the Denver Business Journal with the Outstanding Women in Business award for Education in 2017. Amy’s previous roles at CSU include Vice President for University Operations in Fort Collins, Deputy General Counsel and Special Assistant Attorney General for CSU and Assistant Professor in the School of Education, teaching the Law of Higher Ed and Higher Ed Administration. Before joining CSU, Amy practiced law at the firm Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck, specializing in commercial litigation. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Colorado State University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Colora-do, Boulder.

31 | Ceyl Prinster Colorado Enterprise Fund, President/CEO

Ceyl is President and CEO of Colorado Enterprise Fund (CEF), an award-win-ning nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that was founded in 1976. Under her leadership, CEF has provided over $58 million in fi-nancing to nearly 2,000 Colorado small businesses and entrepreneurs. She is a national leader in microlending, community development finance and healthy foods financing. Prior to joining CEF over 25 years ago, Ceyl was a commercial loan analyst, loan officer and training officer at United Bank of Denver, which is now Wells Fargo. She holds the professional designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Ceyl was recently elected as a Trustee for the Denver Founda-tion. Her other service roles include the Boulder Economic Council, the Denver Sustainable Food Policy Council, the Economic Opportunities Committee of the Denver Foundation, the Governor’s Small Business Council and St. Antho-ny’s Health Foundation. She attended the University of Notre Dame where she was a member of the first class of women, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She served as President of the Notre Dame Alumni Association Board and a Trust-ee for the University. Her awards for business and community involvement in-clude Outstanding Woman in Business from the Denver Business Journal, the Financial Services Advocate of the Year from the U.S. Small Business Adminis-tration and the Tom Dooley Award from the University of Notre Dame. She is a frequent speaker locally and nationally about the impact of small businesses on communities, their role in economic development and their need for access to capital. Ceyl is a Colorado native, born and raised in Grand Junction, and has lived in Denver most of her adult life.

32 | Rupali Raghavan Sairoop Technologies, Founder/CEO

Rupali has a dual Masters - in Physics and another in Computer Information System. She has been instrumental in leading Sairoop Technologies boast of a revenue of over $5 million in 2016 with 20+ employees. Rupali has had many honors bestowed upon her. She was one of the finalists at the Young Professional Awards at the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce Annual Awards. She was also nominated for Denver Business Journal’s coveted awards like Outstanding Women in Business and the 40 under 40. She is also an official writer for Forbes magazine. Rupali was nominated for the 2017 Outstanding Women in Business Award by Denver Business Journal. Her recent feature in an article on Thought Leaders in Denver Business Journal was another proud accomplishment for her. Aside from work, Rupali likes to run, practice Yoga and spend time with her family. She hosts meditation retreats and the Brah-makumari meditation center is very close to her heart.

33 | Roberta Robinette AT&T, Colorado President

Roberta holds more than 20 years of government affairs and telecommunica-tions industry experience in developing and executing government strategies for large corporations, small businesses, and non-profit organizations. She leads AT&T’s legislative and community affairs in Colorado and supports new technology deployment and infrastructure investment. With 4000 employees in Colorado, Roberta represents AT&T’s interests by collaborating with com-munity leaders, policy makers, and local and regional business professionals to connect people with technology everywhere they live and work. As a Colora-do state lobbyist for RKR Consulting from 2001 to 2014, Roberta spearheaded client legislative campaigns across health care, tax, business, telecommunica-tions, fire safety, higher education, K-12 public education, criminal justice and environmental domains. She was instrumental in creating and maintaining a statewide interoperability radio system. She successfully drove the passage of major public pension reform, which is now modeled across the country. In 2014, Roberta helped promote broadband deployment throughout the state by leading a coalition of competing telecommunication firms and consumer groups to develop a unified message for telecommunications reform. This effort created some of the first modernization laws created for the state in over 20 years. A champion for business interest and sound policy for the state, Roberta currently serves on the following boards: Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry; Colorado Broadband Deployment Board; Colorado Succeeds Board of Trustees; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado; Colorado Technology Association; Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce- Public Policy Committee Chair; Legislative Policy Committee and Tech Talent Council.

34 | Sarah Sandberg Colorado Oil & Gas Association, COO

Sarah serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Colorado Oil & Gas Asso-ciation (COGA), and is responsible for COGA’s financial direction, day-to-day operations, events, programs, local regulatory engagement, and community outreach. In this role, Sarah has helped establish COGA as a leader in innova-tive programming and authentic engagement strategies. Additionally, Sarah serves as Conference Director for The Energy Summit, a prominent energy conference in the West. She is a nationally recognized speaker on hydraulic fracturing and the dynamics of Colorado’s oil and gas sector, with over a hun-

Mentors

dred speaking engagements across North America. She works with a relent-less passion for the industry. Sarah also previously worked on communica-tions and outreach within the Louisiana Governor’s Office, including assisting with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response efforts and several hurricanes. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, and her Executive MBA from Denver University’s Daniels School of Business. Sarah serves on the Advisory Council for the Global Energy Management graduate program at the University of Colorado, Denver and is a board member for the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance. She is the co-chair of the Behind the Red Governing Council within the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter, the chair of City Year Denver’s Associate Board, and serves on the Bring STEM to Life Committee within the American Heart Association. In 2017, she was named “40 under 40” by Oil and Gas Investor. She was also named to the Denver Business Journal’s 2016 “Who’s Who in Energy” list and was a 2017 Top Women in Energy and Who’s Who in Energy recipient.

35 | Diane Simard Bye Aerospace/Aero Electric Aircraft Corp., SVP/Director Media Relations

Diane is an angel investor in six emerging technology companies and is serving or has served on five corporate boards of directors. Last year, she was named one of the nation’s inaugural “Top 100 Women in Business to Watch” by Biz-women.com. After completing treatment for Stage III breast cancer in 2015, Diane founded the Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence (COPE) at the University of Denver, the first specialty in the country to train graduate-level psychology students how to work with cancer patients. She is currently Sr. VP and a board member for Bye Aerospace, an engineering company applying clean energy solutions to innovative aircraft designs. She also mentors eight business professionals. The first woman to chair the Aurora Chamber’s De-fense Council, Diane was selected by a former U.S. Secretary of Defense to attend the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference. Highlights included visits with U.S. troops in Azerbaijan and Bosnia, plus a visit to the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, where she experienced a tailhook landing and catapult launch. Diane was named the 2016 Outstanding Woman in Business in Technology and Tele-com by the Denver Business Journal. She received the Bob Cardenas Award for her support of veterans and the military, Aurora Chamber Woman of the Year and Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from University of Nebraska-Kearney. She is authoring a book, tentatively titled Champagne with You, about how her breast cancer experience ultimately brought joy and purpose back into her life.

36 | Janice Sinden Denver Center for the Performing Arts, President/CEO

Janice joined the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) as President & CEO in September 2016, leading the largest non-profit theatre organization in the nation. The diversity of Janice’s career path has allowed her to support rich cultural experiences, access to education, and community involvement through her interest in politics. Before the DCPA, she served as Chief of Staff for Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock for five years. During this time, she was a part of numerous projects that aimed to support the creative community in Denver. Previously, she served as the Executive Director of Colorado Concern; co-founded Pinnacle Public Affairs; co-founded EPIC (Executives Partnering to Invest in Children); and co-led the effort to establish the Colorado Foreclo-sure Hotline. Her love for community building and public service sparked after

Mentors

her graduation from the University of Northern Colorado when she moved to Washington, D.C. to work for then U.S. Senator Wayne Allard. Janice has been recognized by 5280 magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in Denver, by the Colorado Women’s Foundation as one of the 25 most influential women in Colorado, by the Girl Scouts of Colorado as a Woman of Distinction, and by the University of Northern Colorado Department of Political Science and International Affairs as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. She currently serves on the boards of Citizens for Arts to Zoo, the University of Northern Colorado, VISIT Denver, the American Transplant Foundation, the Denver Pre-school Program, and Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC). She is also a member of the national Performing Arts Centers Consortium and Colo-rado Concern.

37 | Kim States Denver/Boulder Better Business Bureau, President/CEO

Kim started her BBB career with in Tucson as director of public relations in 2006 at the BBB serving Southern Arizona. In 2008 Kim was named CEO, during which time she worked closely with board and staff to achieve steady membership growth and community awareness across southern Arizona. Having grown up on a cattle ranch in Northern Colorado, Kim was eager to get back to her roots, so when she heard the Denver/Boulder BBB was looking for a CEO, she jumped at the opportunity. She now has the privilege of working with 50 amazing staff members and a dedicated board of directors to increase the BBB’s impact in the Denver metro area. In her time at Denver she has over-seen a realignment of staff, a culture shift, improved board performance and steady growth in membership. Kim is currently serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the Council of Better Business Bureaus. She recent-ly completed a four-year term the Bureau Operating Committee where she served as chair of the Budget & Finance Subcommittee. Kim attained her B.A. from Colorado State University in 1993.

38 | Meg VanderLaan Encore Electric, Chief Marketing Officer

Throughout her career, Meg has directed marketing and communications pro-grams for leading companies in the engineering, construction and manufac-turing industries, helping transform brands and express stories in multiple cultures, languages and countries. Currently, Meg is the Chief Marketing Offi-cer for Encore Electric, one of the Rocky Mountain West’s premier commercial electrical contracting firms. As a member of the executive leadership team, Meg sets the marketing strategy and provides innovative leadership for all as-pects of marketing and communications for the company. Previously, she was an independent marketing and communications consulting services for Colo-rado companies following her Chief Communications Officer role with MWH Global. Earlier career experiences include leadership roles in marketing and public relations for Gates Corporation, a dot-com startup and companies in the healthcare industry. Meg serves as a member of the board of trustees for her alma mater, Gannon University, in Erie, Pennsylvania. She is also a mem-ber of the International Women’s Forum. Previously she was a member of the board of directors for Downtown Denver Partnership’s Denver Civic Ventures. She has been invited to speak to a number of organizations about mentor-ing, leadership, women in business and crisis communications. Her favorite was commencement speaker in 2015 for Gannon University, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate. Meg was named: Business Marketer of the year for BMA Colorado (Business Marketing Association) in 2016; 25 Most

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Powerful Women in Colorado by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce in 2016; Business Person of the Year by the Public Rela-tions Society of America (PRSA) in 2015; and, the 2014 Outstanding Woman in Business in Media, PR and Communications by the Denver Business Journal.

39 | Heidi Williams City of Thornton, Mayor

Heidi is the Business Development Manager for the Colorado Wom-en’s Chamber of Commerce and serves as the Mayor of Thornton. Heidi owned her own small retail business for nine years, and has worked in small business for the past twenty-five years. Heidi grad-uated Summe cum Laude with a Bachelor in Political Science and is currently working on a Master in Public Administration. Heidi serves on several regional boards and is the past chair of the Metro May-ors Caucus, Vice Chair of the E470 Board of Directors, Chair of Urban Drainage and Flood Control, a Director of DRCOG and Smart Com-mute Metro North. One of Heidi’s passions is to help encourage and support women in business and she also speaks to school children to encourage girls to chase their dreams, and also encourages and ed-ucates boys to recognize the importance of being the change agents in women’s success. Additionally, small business is another passion for Heidi and she works hard as the mayor to focus on less regulation on small business. Heidi has three children, and has been married 16 years! While balance may be a stretch, she is able to juggle her responsibilities with a lot of support from her family!

40 | Robin Wise Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain, President/CEO

Robin serves as President & CEO of JA-Rocky Mountain. Since tak-ing the helm in 1992, the organization has grown from reaching just 8,000 students in the 1990/1991, to reaching more than 131,000 this past school year. Robin was selected as one of the 2015 Top 25 Most Powerful Women by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Com-merce, and has received many other local and national awards for her leadership and business savvy, such as Outstanding Woman in Business from the Denver Business Journal. Robin is also involved in the broader community, and serves as a board member for the Public Education and Business Coalition, Director Emeriti of the Col-orado Open Foundation, an active member of the American Enter-prise Institute Leadership Network, and is the former Vice Chair of the Colorado Lottery Commission, to name a few. Robin received her bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the Uni-versity of Nebraska-Omaha. When she’s not working with educators, business leaders and the fun and passionate JA team to achieve JA’s mission, Robin likes to golf, entertain and spend time with her hus-band and two sons.

41 | Renell Wynn University of Denver, Vice Chancellor for Communication & Marketing

Renell was appointed the Vice Chancellor of Communication and Marketing in August 2016. Prior to that, she was vice president for communications and marketing at George Mason University, where she serves as principal advisor to the president on matters related to communications strategies and marketing initiatives. She has devel-oped and implemented a strategic communications plan to advance George Mason’s brand identify. She brings to DU over a decade of higher education experience, including work in development com-munications at The College of William and Mary, as well as non-profit and public-sector public relations experience. She began her career as a journalist.

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