 |
 |
|||||||||
|
 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.
Pat Barron Energy Efficiency Services Coordinator
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.
After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in History from Regis University, Elysa decided to pursue her passion for the outdoors by enrolling in a year-long AmeriCorps Leadership and Conservation Program with Mile High Youth Corps in Denver. Elysa participated in extensive energy, water, and land management projects, ranging from park restoration and rehabilitation, to invasive species removal, to energy audits in low-income households. A desire to help others save money while also decreasing their carbon footprint led Elysa to Groundwork Denver, where she happily accepted a position as Energy Audit Coordinator. James Harris Energy Auditor VISTA Member Charles Madsen moved from Minnesota with a carload of belongings to a city he had never been to before. This New York native knew that after college he wanted to focus on service and looked to VISTA for options. GWD had a posting for a position to assist with evaluating and strengthening our youth employment and energy outreach projects. Charles was drawn to the position as it fit his background and interests. He studied sociology, anthropology, and Russian language, and is interested in social science and surveying.
Erin McCarley Volunteer Coordinator With a master’s degree in photojournalism from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Oregon, Erin McCarley brings a diverse set of skills to Groundwork Denver. Her professional background includes bilingual (English/Spanish) social work, environmental justice work and multimedia production. She has also lived and traveled in Latin America as a human rights witness, creating photo essays and video segments on environmental issues featured on US television and used by US non-profit organizations. In 2006, she traveled to Venezuela as a foreign correspondent with Free Speech TV, where she produced a segment on “Capitalism and the Environment” at the 2006 World Social Forum. McCarley’s video production and still photography have been published by Free Speech TV in Boulder, CO, KLRU TV in Austin, TX, the Christian Science Monitor, The MIT Press, the Ford Foundation, The Daily Texan, and others.
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. Since the start of 2010, Danny Trujillo has been working closely with Groundwork Denver particularly with the Porch Bulb Project. Starting as a volunteer, Danny later became an AmeriCorps VISTA service member as part of the summer associate program. After completing his AmeriCorps service, Danny started as a full-time staff member at Groundwork Denver. Danny graduated from Fort Lewis College in the winter of 2009 with a Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Finance. Danny enjoys living in Denver and being a part of helping communities in all parts of the city.
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.
Executive Interns
2011 Rocky Mountain Green Team
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.
Founder and Former COO, Econergy Frederick Renner has been in the energy business for the past 20 years. He was the co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and a director of Econergy International Corporation, a renewable energy project development company based in Boulder, CO. After starting the company in 1991, Rick helped to build the company into clean energy power producer, with more than 270 MW of wind and hydro power plants in Latin America. Frederick was one of the company’s leaders in preparing and successfully managing a $100 million IPO in 2006. Frederick managed all of the company’s operations, with more than 100 people on three continents, three business segments, and $350 million in assets. The company was sold to GDF-Suez, a global utility, in 2009. Frederick has been an energy consultant and advisor to numerous corporations, governments, and multilateral banks, and has worked in more than 20 countries. He received a BA from Cornell University and an MA in Economics and European Studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Janey Bell Co-Owner, Celestial Massage, LLC Janey Bell is a former attorney who has worked for and been a board member of many different social justice non-profit organizations over the course of many years. Currently, she is a practicing massage therapist, and is the co-owner of Celestial Massage, LLC, a Denver area therapeutic massage practice.
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.
Community Development Coordinator Community Banks of Colorado Since 2007, Kavitha Kailasam has been the Community Development Coordinator for Community Banks of Colorado. In that capacity she develops and implements the bank's community initiatives, focusing particularly in education and environment. Kavitha has an Master’s degree in International Administration from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver B.A. International Studies and Spanish Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver. She is a Boettcher Scholar alumna and serves as the community service chairperson for the Boettcher Alumni Programming Committee. Kavitha was an active volunteer with Groundwork Denver before joining the board in 2011, bringing skills in grassroots community development as well as event planning.
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.
|
 |
|||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Wendy Hawthorne
Tangier Barnes
Miriam Colón
Julie Connor 
Elysa Goldman
Katie Sullivan
Danny Trujillo
Shane Wright
Emilie Baratta-Board President
Frederick Renner-Board Treasurer
Donna Johnson
Michael Mares
Rich Nipert