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 Board and Staff |
Board and StaffSTAFF
Wendy Hawthorne became the Executive Director of Groundwork Denver in November 2006. She started her career as a mechanical engineer, focusing on energy efficient and sustainable building design and consulting. After ten years in that field, Wendy realized that she could have a greater positive impact on the community and the environment by applying her skills and passion in the non-profit sector. In 2000, she joined the staff at Northeast Denver Housing Center (NDHC) with the goal of making low-income housing more energy efficient, sustainable, and healthy. At NDHC, she and staff started the Healthy Homes Initiative through which hundreds of Denver homes in low-income communities received health and safety improvements and thousands of families were educated about the dangers of lead poisoning. As the Executive Director of Groundwork Denver, Wendy has proven the effectiveness of the organization in engaging a diversity of Denver residents in environmental projects. Wendy has a Bachelors degree from Princeton University and a Masters degree from the University of Colorado.
While obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from the University of Northern Colorado, Tangier stumbled upon the concepts of social and environmental justice. She became passionate about these issues and was awarded the opportunity to study the disproportionate effects of environmental hazards on lower income communities and communities of color through the McNair Scholar’s Program. This is what ultimately inspired Tangier to earn a master’s degree in urban and regional planning. Since graduating from CU Denver in the Summer of 2008 Tangier has worked in the area of historic preservation for the City of Loveland and in March 2009 she was thrilled to accept a position with Groundwork Denver as a community planner.
Miriam Colón has more than twenty years experience working in social services and client relations. At Groundwork Denver she specializes in outreach and education in the Spanish speaking community, working as a health promoter to inform families about lead poisoning, organizing the community to plant trees and conduct other improvement projects, and educating people about how to reduce their energy bills. Miriam’s enthusiasm for helping people motivates her to continue serving the community and make families aware of beneficial resources. Whether she has five minutes at the door or an hour at an in-home energy audit, Miriam is sure to leave with a happy customer ready to act to improve the environment and their community.
A personal passion for community-based action, as well as a wide-range of skills, experiences and ideas, is what Julie Connor brings to the Denver Climate Challenge project. Julie was born and raised in the sun and sprawl of southern California. She obtained a degree in Journalism from CU and was a freelance reporter for the Boulder County Business Report. She later headed to Paraguay as a health promoter with the Peace Corps. She then taught American English to business executives briefly in Chile while she became reacquainted with electricity, running water and paved roads. When Julie returned to the U.S., she did freelance graphics, taught software classes and worked on a small flower farm in the Washington, D.C. area, but felt drawn back to the West. Since returning to Colorado in ‘96, she has worked on graphics and communications for numerous entities in Denver, in particular the City and County of Denver, and ran for Denver City Council in 2007. Over the years, she has championed green spaces, energy conservation and transportation alternatives, both as policies and ballot measures, in various positions with various organizations including 4-H, Sierra Club, Colorado Environmental Coalition, Colorado Renewable Energy Society, Denver’s Parks and Rec Advisory Board and Transit Alliance. Currently she serves as a Board Member of the West Washington Park Neighborhood Association, putters in her garden and is ever so slowly rebuilding her house from the inside out.
This year Groundwork Denver is hosting an AmeriCorps VISTA thanks to the Colorado Youth Corps Association. Felicia is a graduate from the University of Northern Colorado and will be with Groundwork Denver for one year. Felicia has a degree in Visual Arts with a Graphic Design emphasis and a minor in Media Studies. As a VISTA she will use her skills in design, branding, and marketing to help grow programs, especially the Green Team. She has a passion for photography and worked for the UNC Mirror for almost two years. She is excited to spend her VISTA year with Groundwork Denver.
Katie Sullivan has ten years experience working with affordable housing and two years experience working with at-risk youth. She has worked for Habitat for Humanity in Denver and Honduras. While working at Northeast Denver Housing Center on the Lead Hazard Control Program, she partnered with other stakeholders in developing the Strategic Plan to Eliminate Childhood Lead Poisoning which she continues to implement while at Groundwork Denver.In addition, Katie keeps the Groundwork Denver office functioning by managing the accounting, contracts, purchasing, volunteers, and lots of other things. Katie enjoys traveling, learning about new cultures and languages, and volunteering with grassroots organizations to better understand the realities of life. Katie has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and a Master’s of Architecture degree.
Shane has worked with youth in the fields of education and recreation since 1994. With a passion for the environment and the outdoors he has taught skiing and snowboarding and guided river and mountain trips professionally. He enjoyed working as a Recreation Specialist for the State of Washington as well as teaching at-risk youth for the Littleton School District in Littleton, Colorado. He was honored, as well, to direct Camp Paha, a day camp for kids and young adults with disabilities, for the City of Lakewood, Colorado. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Western State College of Colorado, “where champions are made out of thin air”, and his Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver. Shane started with Groundwork Denver in June of 2009 and is thrilled to be directing the Groundwork Denver “Green Team” Youth Programs. He is a father of three great boys, Aidan, Noah and Griffin, has a lovely wife Erin, and a crazy yellow lab named Hazel.
The 2009 Green Team
Jeremy, Justin, Anthony, Eric, Jamal, (Shane:leader) Braylen, Aaron BOARD MEMBERS
Emilie has been involved in sustainable commercial real estate development and consulting for six years. She has contributed to and/or been directly responsible for site selection, feasibility studies, financing, design document development and oversight and the public approval process. Emilie specializes in public-private partnerships, green building and infill development. Prior to working as a real estate developer and consultant she did public relations and marketing for non-profits in New York City. She has an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Yale University and an MBA from the University of Michigan, with a concentration in Real Estate Development and General Management. She currently serves on the Metro Denver Steering Committee for the Denver Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council as the Education Co-Chair. She is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and the Urban Land Institute.
Donna Johnson is the CEO/CFO and co-founder of Atomic Air Inc., a Denver-based HVAC installation company with a focus on energy efficiency. Atomic Air has been in operation for five years and under Donna’s guidance has prospered, even through the recent economic downturn. Before founding Atomic Air Donna managed various small businesses in and around Denver. She has a B.S. in Finance, is a graduate of HOYA (www.hoyaprogram.com) and a past Fellow of the Colorado’s Center for Progressive Leadership. Donna is also actively involved in the community, currently serving as the Chair of the Denver American Indian Commission, the Vice Chair of the Human Rights and Community Relations Advisory Board and a Representative to the Community Relations Council for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Michael A Mares is a partner with the insurance firm of Walker-Dilworth. Michael started with Walker-Dilworth in 1999 managing the life and health departments and became a partner in 2005. Michael is a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and currently serves on its membership committee. Michael is also active with the Fields Wolfe Memorial Fund and the Eloy Mares Save the Youth Foundation. A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Michael graduated from Colorado State University in 1995, where he also played on the varsity football team.
Rich is a real estate attorney at the law firm of Bright, Gibson & Nipert P.C. and has been practicing law since 1980. Rich specializes in real estate acquisition, zoning, land use, multi-family, single-family, and affordable housing, condominium and covenant documentation, and real estate financing. He has worked with numerous non-profit affordable housing developers and his interests include brownfield redevelopment, community development, and climate change mitigation.
Jamie earned her undergraduate degree from Colorado College in Anthropology and also holds a Masters of Medical Anthropology from CU-Denver. Jamie is the Director of the Office of Community Support in the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations in the City and County of Denver, where she focuses most of her time on the immigrant and refugee populations of Denver, assessing options for facilitating integration into the community. She also works on internal collaboration between the Agency's five offices and eight Advisory Commissions to the Mayor. Jamie was born and raised in Villa Park in West Denver, and she continues to have a vested interest in the betterment of that and other Denver neighborhoods, a great match with GWD's mission. Jamie serves on the Board of the Denver Sister Cities Organization and the Denver Coalition for Integration, and formerly served as VP of the Denver Center for Crime Victims Board of Directors. She volunteers with local youth mentoring organizations and enjoys designing jewelry in her free time.
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERSJoy Lujan Karen Reed Susan Baird James Busby
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Wendy Hawthorne
Tangier Barnes
Miriam Colón
Julie Connor 
Felicia Sheumaker
Katie Sullivan
Shane Wright
Emilie Baratta-Board President
Donna Johnson
Michael Mares
Rich Nipert
Jamie Torres
Christine Wanifuchi