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Trustee's Name
Colorado Mesa University
Office of the President
1100 North Avenue
Grand Junction, CO 81501
Email all trustees: [email protected]
Alison Griffin, Chair
Lori Buck, Vice Chair
Kasia Iwaniczko MacLeod, Secretary
Tim Fry, Treasurer
Lori Buck and her family have resided in the Grand Valley spanning four generations. After graduating from Fruita Monument High School, she went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management from Colorado State University. For 11 years, Buck lived in eastern Colorado receiving an education and working in her chosen profession of forestry.
In 2001 she moved back to Fruita where she is administrative manager at Bighorn Consulting Engineers – a local mechanical and electrical engineering firm. Buck has served the public for most of her career and took an interest in government while working for the City of Fruita Planning Department. During this time, she learned about growth management, policy and planning.
She has served on the Fruita City Council since 2006, and was mayor from 2012 to 2018. Due to term limits she now serves as mayor pro tem and is back on City Council. Buck has also served on the Police Commission, Senior Task Force, Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Board, Tourism Board, the Arts & Culture Board and the Grand Junction Economic Partnership Board. She currently serves on the Southwest BLM Resource Advisory Council, The Grand Valley Regional Transit Committee and the El Pomar Northwest Council.
Buck is an avid promotor of tourism and outdoor recreation. She believes her local community knowledge and service as an elected leader can provide a strong, local perspective to the CMU Board of Trustees.
Ron Davis is among CMU’s most active benefactors providing scholarships for underserved student populations and making ongoing investments in the Davis School of Business. His philanthropy is a result of a successful business career, and for the past 16 years he has focused his time and resources helping first generation college students and youth while also advancing health care services and expanding mental health initiatives in the Vail Valley.
Davis earned both his associate and bachelor’s degrees in four years while working full time. Through the assistance of a tuition reimbursement program and flexibility of night courses, he then earned his MBA from the University of South California while employed at General Foods. He worked in marketing at General Foods from 1969-1979 and helped create and launch Country Time Lemonade.
In 1979, Davis founded and helped build the largest bottled water company in America — the Perrier Group of America, which included the brands: Perrier, Arrowhead, Poland Springs, Zephyr Hills, Deer Park, Ozarka, San Pellegrino and Great Bear. Eventually the Perrier Group of America sold to Nestle in 1994.
After 15 years of building the Perrier Group of America, Davis moved to private equity. In this business venture he worked with Davis Capital, Celestial Seasonings, Continental Container Corp., Franchise Acceptance Corporations, Staff Leasing and Greenwich Technology.
Davis also served as the Vail Valley Medical Center chairman from 2004-2014.
As a first-generation college student who had lived on his own since his senior year of high school, Davis founded Guardian Scholars at California State University Fullerton (CSUF) in 1998 to serve foster youth. The Guardian Scholars program is a comprehensive student-empowerment model, which identifies ambitious, capable high school students who are challenged to afford a college education. Guardian Scholars offers significant financial leverage to enable students to earn an undergraduate college degree. Having graduated more than 300 students at CSUF, the Guardian Scholars program expanded to more than 70 colleges and universities including Colorado Mesa University. Since 2005, more than 100 Vail Valley students have graduated or are enrolled at CMU with full ride scholarships and no student loans.
In 2021 Davis contributed one of the largest single donor investments in CMU history founding the Davis School of Business. In addition to scholarships, the contribution integrates My Future Pathways -a program created and funded by Davis to provide access to education for youth and first-generation college students. Davis partnered with CMU faculty in 2022 to create the Davis Speaker Series -a business-focused community lecture series that brings business leaders from around the nation to CMU.
Charles Dukes serves as an educational strategist for Wend Collective. As a member of the Wend team, Dukes coordinates youth development opportunities to enhance and improve the educational ecosystem.
Before joining Wend Collective, Dukes dedicated a significant amount of his career as an education policy director and central office school district administrator. As an education policy director, Dukes served as a liaison between the City of Denver and Denver Public Schools (DPS) to support the alignment between educational institutions, companies and governance structures. As the director for college and career success at Aurora Public Schools, Dukes was a catalyst for changing systems at both the school and district levels to ensure all students have access to postsecondary education and workforce credentials. As the director of college access initiatives at Denver Public Schools, Dukes actively worked with the Denver community, parents and schools to ensure all DPS students were prepared academically and socially to enter postsecondary opportunities.
Dukes holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado Mesa University, a master’s degree in education foundations practice and policy from The University of Colorado Boulder, and a second master’s degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University.
David Foster believes his service to the public is strengthened through his family, and thinks with a strong family he can be an even stronger servant to Colorado and CMU.
Foster resides in Denver, Colorado, with his wife and three children. He is a partner in the law firm Foster Graham Milstein and Calisher, LLP. When originally founded in 1999 the firm was recognized as one of Denver’s premier up and coming firms. Since that time, the team has grown into a firm that hosts more than 30 lawyers.
In addition to serving CMU, Foster is committed to a number of philanthropic causes. This commitment is a result of his family, faith and encouragement from Tikkun Olam (Hebrew for "world repair". His service extends to Shwayder Camp of Congregation Emanuel, George Washington High school IB Foundation, Cherry Creek Area Business Alliance, Presidents Leadership Class, Board of Advisors CU Boulder and a list of other organizations.
The publication 5280 named Foster Top Lawyer for the last five years. He also was recognized by Denver Jewish Day School with the Neshamah Yeteirah Award. Other commendations include the Denver Business Journal's Forty Under Forty, ADL’s Torch of Liberty Award, Jewish Colorado's Young Leadership Award, Colorado Statesman's 50 for the Future and several others.
Tim Fry is the co-founder and CEO of Mountain Racing Products (MRP), an international manufacturing company that designs and produces products within the bicycle industry. Prior to starting MRP, Fry was a litigation attorney in the Midwest specializing in corporate and complex litigation.
In 2000, Fry and his wife Christy moved to Grand Junction to start MRP and have raised their family in the Grand Valley.
Fry received a BBA in Business Management from Adrian College and a Juris Doctor Degree from Capital University. As a first-generation college student, Fry understands the impact that higher education can have and has volunteered his time in the areas of education and workforce development.
Fry previously served on both the Colorado Scholarship Initiative (COSI) board and the Colorado Workforce Development Council, serving as board chair to both of those organizations during his tenure. Locally, Fry serves on the Grand Junction Economic Partnership board, the Mesa County Workforce Development board, and the Caprock Academy charter school board.
In the 23 years that Fry has lived in the Grand Valley, he has seen the growth of CMU and the impacts that CMU has on western slope residents and businesses. He is honored to bring his business experience, legal background, community involvement, and passion for education to the CMU Board of Trustees.
Alison R. Griffin has nearly twenty years of experience working at the intersection of education and employment, policy, and practice.
Griffin’s experience on the implementation side of higher education and workforce development, and as a grant-maker, is reflected in her practical understanding of how policy shapes outcomes. Her career in postsecondary education policy includes two terms as a policy advisor to the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as a policy advisor role with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), where she guided state policy development. Griffin managed her own higher education government relations and policy practice in Denver, Colorado for four years before joining Strada Education Network. During her tenure with Strada, Griffin was a member of the senior leadership team, leading external affairs, government relations, and national engagement activities.
Bringing a deep sense of mission to her work on behalf of Whiteboard Advisors, Griffin believes the solutions to our most pressing education challenges, from affordability to access, require thoughtful collaboration among a growing community of policymakers, impact investors, entrepreneurs, practitioners, and philanthropists.
Griffin serves as the Vice Chair of the Colorado League of Charter Schools Board of Directors and an active member of the Government Relations Advisory Committee for the National Panhellenic Conference. She is a regular contributor to Forbes and EdSurge and her opinion pieces have appeared in Bloomberg and The Washington Post. Griffin holds a MEd in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia, and a BBA in Organizational Behavior and Business Policy and BA in Psychology from Southern Methodist University. She resides in Lafayette, Colorado with her young family.Kasia Iwaniczko MacLeod is a partner at a strategy group which promotes multi-sector business development and corporate citizenship at the intersection of government, education, non-profits, and community through incomparable relationships. She is a respected business and community leader with proven executive experience across various industries. She has demonstrated success by operating throughout her distinguished career at the intersection of business growth, government affairs, community engagement, advocacy, and public policy. Iwaniczko MacLeod’s strength is her deep and authentic community relationships in the public and private sectors. She is innovative and results-driven with critical skills in multi-sector business development strategy design and execution with advanced internal, external and crisis communication, marketing, branding, media and public affairs, and ESG/CSR/Triple Bottom-Line expertise.
For over four years, Iwaniczko MacLeod served as Cigna Healthcare’s Regional Vice President of Community & Government Engagement. A role created for her, and a first for the global health services company’s history. As a member of the Regional Leadership Team, she held a multi-faceted role, leading the company’s community and government engagement strategy, while cultivating civic and government relationships. She delivered this through targeted community investments, while advancing and aligning the business development initiatives to drive government, education, and commercial business growth across the Southwest region (encompassing CO, WY, UT, NM, AZ, OK, N&S TX). She also created and established a Cigna first, cross-vertical, multi-year community and business strategy encompassing a social determinants of health focus launching partnerships with 365Health (formerly 9Health Fairs) to provide mental health screenings and no-cost counseling to all Colorado residents who need mental health care but can’t afford it. Under her leadership and strategic direction, Cigna was the only for-profit organization selected to partner with the State of Colorado and 365Health to deliver COVID-19 Education at all COVID state clinics; launched Denver Colfax Marathon; launched National Western Cigna Pink Rodeo. In her tenure, Cigna gained significant market share in the government, education, and private sectors.
Iwaniczko MacLeod has previously held leadership positions in international finance, banking, public utilities, healthcare financing, telecom, IT, and healthcare information technology for companies such as Bank of America, Xcel Energy, TriZetto (Cognizant), Qwest (Century Link), and Cable & Wireless US. She has also advised numerous non-profit boards, young professional organizations, and mentor young women across industries.
Iwaniczko MacLeod is the co-founder of the Colorado Women’s Chamber Foundation and serves on the Executive Committee as the Immediate Past Board Chair. She is the co-founder of the “Community Chest”, a donor-advised fund at The Women’s Foundation of Colorado, she serves on the Executive Committee and Board of the Aurora Economic Development Council, and the Marketing & Strategic Alliance Committee of the Denver Art Museum. She is a member of the Denver Mile High Bailliage Chaîne des Rôtisseurs & Société Mondiale du Vin, the world’s oldest international gastronomic society, founded in Paris in 1248. She holds the title of Dame de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs & Société Mondiale du Vin. Iwaniczko MacLeod was named by the Girls Scouts of Colorado as a 2021 Woman of Distinction. In 2020, she was named one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She also received the Forty Under 40 Award from the Denver Business Journal.
Born in communist Poland, Iwaniczko MacLeod and her family immigrated to Colorado, and she has developed strong ties to the community through her extensive network and philanthropy. Iwaniczko MacLeod is the first in her family to graduate from college. She began her public service career as the first-elected female Student Body President at Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University). During the same tenure she was the youngest person appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, State Advisory Committee.
In her second term, Iwaniczko MacLeod serves as the Colorado Mesa University Board of Trustees Secretary. She also holds the seat of the late Colorado Senator Tilman Bishop on the Colorado Mesa University Foundation Board of Directors.
Iwaniczko MacLeod earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado. She lives in Denver with her husband, David.
Daniel Ramos is the executive director of a Colorado-based nonprofit focused on protecting democracy, improving equity and expanding the civic engagement ecosystem in Colorado. Before taking on this role last summer, he served as the executive director for One Colorado - the state’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families.
Ramos got his start in Colorado politics as a student at CU Boulder, where he was active in student government and served as a tri-executive.
Ramos is an active member of the Colorado community and has served on the Board of Directors for New Era Colorado and Community Shares, and currently serves as a commissioner on the Supreme Court Nominating Commission, as a trustee for Colorado Mesa University, and as a member of the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board.
Ramos is also an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching a course on Public Policy & Advocacy. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs.
Gary Reiff is Senior Advisor of UCHealth, a nationally recognized, nonprofit network of 12 acute care hospitals (with the University of Colorado Hospital as its academic anchor), more than 150 clinics throughout Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska, and more than 26,000 employees. Reiff previously served as Chief Legal Officer of UCHealth. Reiff also is an adjunct professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.
Prior to joining UCHealth, Reiff was managing director, chief administrative and legal officer of Black Creek Group, a Denver-based real estate private equity firm. Prior to joining Black Creek Group, Reiff was a shareholder at the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber & Schreck, and was a member of the firm’s executive committee and co-chair of its corporate and securities department. He previously worked on Governor Roy Romer’s senior staff, and has been an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Law School.
Reiff currently serves on the Denver Board of Water Commissioners, serving as a vice president. Reiff previously served as president of the Denver Board of Water Commissioners, chair of the Colorado Transportation Commission, chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of Northern Colorado, and chair of the Board of Trustees of the State Colleges of Colorado.
He graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BA in economics, and a MA from the Food Research Institute (economics of development), and he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School.
Alex Sánchez is the founder and now serves as the President and CEO of Voces Unidas de las Montañas, the first Latino-created and Latino-led advocacy organization in the central mountain region. He also leads Voces Unidas Action Fund, an affiliated organization.
An experienced executive and community organizer, Sánchez has led other nonprofits, managed his own political consulting firm and has extensive corporate and government experience at the senior management level.
Sánchez grew up in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico until the age of 9. When his family moved to Colorado, Sánchez lived in El Jebel and attended Basalt schools as an English language learner. He is the first in his family to graduate from high school and receive college degrees, attending both Colorado Mountain College and Colorado State University.
As a community leader, Sánchez volunteers and donates his time and talents to numerous causes, charities and civic institutions. He is currently a Trustee of Colorado Mesa University, appointed to a four-year term by Governor Polis in 2019. Sánchez also serves on the boards of the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation, Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), Conservation Colorado and the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Sánchez has previously served on the governing boards of the Colorado Medical Board, GLBT Commission for the City of Denver, Latino Commission for the City of Denver, the National Latino Children’s Institute, and the Latin American Research and Service Agency. He is also a former Senior Fellow of the Mexican American Solidarity Foundation in Mexico City and served a three year term on the Consejo Consultivo for the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior (CCIME), a federal agency under the Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico.
Sánchez has lived on two continents and in three different countries, and has also traveled to more than 25 countries for business and pleasure.
Gayathri Joyce Sekharan, MD FACS has been a General/Trauma/Breast Cancer Surgeon in the Grand Valley for 20 years.
She was born in India and immigrated to the United States. Sekharan grew up in Maryland, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from American University and her Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia. She completed her surgical training at the University of Florida before her husband convinced her to move to the Grand Valley.
In addition to being an owner partner in Colorado Surgical Affiliates, Sekharan is the Breast Program Director for St. Mary’s Hospital. Under her guidance, the Breast Center became accredited by the American College of Surgeons, the only breast program on the western slope to do so. Her focus has been on providing access for those women who face barriers to care – economic and cultural. She has also chaired and served on St. Mary’s Cancer Committee for over 10 years.
For the last 5 years, Sekharan has been on the Caprock Academy Board of Directors (a local classical education-based charter school). Being on this Board has been a great opportunity to learn about the public education process and its challenges. This spurred her surgical group to be involved in healthcare education at CMU by participating in the education of nursing and physician assistant students. Sekharan believes that strengthening programs like this at CMU will help to keep the Western Slope vitalized.
Brian Parry, PhD, received his Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Utah and went on to earn his Master of Science and PhD in applied social psychology from Brigham Young University. An associate professor of psychology, he teaches General Psychology, Social Psychology, Human Growth and Development, Personality Theory, Advanced Social Psychology, Cross-Cultural Psychology and Structured Research.
Parry meets one-on-one with introductory-level students who struggle on their first exam to teach them about how to efficiently prepare for subsequent exams. Students who meet with him typically demonstrate a remarkable improvement in the performance on the remaining exams. His approach to teaching is to take classic psychology theory and concepts and relate these to current events, personal anecdotes, applied demonstrations and group involvement activities. He strives to incorporate as much experiential learning in his teaching as possible. Parry has also been an advisor to the Psychology Club and currently serves as the advisor to the International Student Alliance. Through these club positions, he encourages students to extend themselves through scholarly activities, service projects and fun activities that enhance their college experience.
Parry has served as a program evaluator for the Mesa County Department of Corrections, an external consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice, a reviewer for textbook publishing companies, a judge at professional competitions and a research analyst for a fortune 250 company.
Parry also enjoys applying social psychology theory to his research interests, including the benefits of outdoor recreation, cross-cultural comparisons of migrant farm workers, the effects of cultural identification on Native American college students and leadership analysis of entrepreneurs. In his free time, Parry enjoys spending time with his kids while recreating in the outdoors.
Kylie Graham is the student trustee for the 2023-2024 year.
