Scholars Unlimited is proud to welcome its newly elected board members: Katie Custer, Olga Garcia, Kristin Rozansky and Kathleen Sgamma.
Katie Custer is an Associate at Holland & Hart, where she specializes in business needs and litigation for corporations, non-profit organizations, and municipalities. Katie is thrilled to be joining the Board of Scholars Unlimited because, as the mother of two young boys, she understands now more than ever the importance of education; she firmly believes that the services Scholars Unlimited provides are crucial to the positive development of youth in our community.
Katie grew up in Denver, and currently resides in City Park West. When she’s not working, she enjoys getting outside with her kids (think trips to City Park, Cheesman Park, and the Denver Zoo). Katie said she is “very excited to be giving back to the community that I’ve been a part of for so long in such a meaningful way.”
Olga Garcia is the Diversity and Community Affairs Manager at Denver Health Medical Center, where she designed and implemented their award-winning Diversity and Inclusion program. In her professional role, Olga is a principal liaison for outreach to businesses, government agencies, education institutions, and community stakeholder to promote Denver Health programs and services.
Olga is passionate about Scholars Unlimited because “Children are future leaders and our salvation!” She believes that when we educate a child, we invest in future possibilities to make our world a better place for everyone. Olga loves Latino arts and culture on many different levels and one of her favorite museums in Denver is Museo de las Americas, an “amazing jewel in the Rocky Mountain region.”
Kristin Rozansky is the Deputy Director of Operations at the Division of Professions and Occupations in the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies. Formerly, she served as the Administrative Law Judge, and then the Director, for the State Personnel Board.
Kristin is passionate about Scholars Unlimited because of its focus on year-round academic support in literacy for children in underdeveloped communities. For her, increasing student literacy opens doors to success in other academic areas and helps to exponentially increase students’ academic experience. Kristin lives in Denver with her husband and has two children in college – a son at the University of Miami and a daughter at the University of Toronto.
Kathleen Sgamma is the President of Western Energy Alliance, which advocates on behalf of companies involved in all aspects of environmentally responsible oil and natural gas exploration and production in the West. Prior to joining Western Energy Alliance in 2006, Kathleen spent eleven years in the Information Technology sector, and three years as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. She holds a BS in Political Science/Defense and Arms Control Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MS in Information Technology from Virginia Tech. She was a long-time board member of the Denver Asset Building Coalition, and also served on the Board of Advocates for School Trust Lands.
Kathleen discovered Scholars Unlimited when she saw a group of kids dressed in “Summer Scholars” t-shirts at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Having just spent a lot of time and money enrolling her eight-year-old in various camps for the summer months, she sympathized with low-income parents who struggle to find meaningful summer programming for their kids and became a donor to our organization. Kathleen’s son is now a sophomore in college, and she remains an avid supporter because of Scholars Unlimited’s “effectiveness at providing high-quality summer and after-school programming that enriches the educational experience for at-risk students while improving literacy and numeracy.” Besides being passionate about educational opportunities for all, Kathleen’s passion for hockey compelled her beyond just being an avid fan of the Colorado Avalanche to starting to play the game three years ago in the Denver Women’s Hockey League.
Each of these new Board members was elected to a three-year term at our January Board meeting. Board members may serve two consecutive terms, and then may be re-elected after a one-year hiatus.
In addition to welcoming these new members, the Board also elected a new slate of Officers for the coming year:
Erica Salmon Byrne was elected President of the Board. Professionally, she is the Executive Vice President for Governance and Compliance at The Ethisphere Institute, where she works with Ethisphere’s community of clients to assess ethics and compliance programs and promote best practices across industries. Erica also serves as the Executive Director of the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance.
Spencer Reedy, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, was elected Vice Chair. Spencer joined the Board in 2015 and was an integral member of the launch team for CodeSpire, our for-profit social enterprise. He has also been instrumental in implementing the Benevon model for sustainable funding at Scholars Unlimited. Spencer grew up in Mississippi and graduated from Mississippi College with a degree in business administration.
Sean Choi was elected Secretary. This Colorado native has lived and worked all along the Front Range, from Pueblo to Fort Collins. Sean moved to Denver to pursue his MBA in finance at the University of Colorado – Denver, and is now Assistant Vice President at FirstBank, where he specializes in commercial real estate lending.
Jonathan Levesque, another Colorado native, was elected Treasurer. Jon grew up in Littleton, and now serves as the Accounting Manager for Littleton Public Schools. He attended the University of Denver where he earned his Masters of Accountancy.
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