Retiring last summer from her job as deputy director of the state Office of Economic Development/Small Business Programs, Metro State Board of Trustees’ secretary Gin Butler marked an end to not just one but four successful careers.

“I’ve had a lot of successes in my life,” Butler admits. “The fact that I can sit here today, at 62 years of age, and still have people calling me asking me to work for them, is very satisfying.”

Butler graduated from high school with honors and was preparing for a nursing career when she met a vice president for Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph who saw Butler’s potential. She started as a telephone company operator and retired nearly 30 years later from US West as the third-highest-ranking black female in the company.

Butler didn’t sit still for long, jumping into nonprofits as deputy director of Curtis Park Community Center. Four years later, Butler “retired” again, and again it was short lived. Next, she jumped into the public relations and advertising business as a partner and chief operating officer of Burks/Butler Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations. High blood pressure called for her to slow down and Butler again opted for retirement.

Just as she was settling in months later, the governor called. Unwilling to say no to such an opportunity, Butler joined the state Office of Economic Development in 2000 to oversee the women’s business office and small business programs. Last June, planning to spend more time with her two children and three grandchildren, Butler retired from the office as deputy director and resigned from most of the boards she serves on. Metro’s Board of Trustees is the main exception.

"I’ve worked hard and have been very fortunate in my career,” she says. “But the opportunities that I had don’t exist any more. No one’s going to hire a high school graduate and let them retire 30 years later.” Institutions like Metro State are key to providing opportunities to make adults more employable, she believes. “I see Metro as providing an avenue for economic development.”

At the same time, Butler, whose current term as trustee runs through 2007, has concerns with the graduation and retention rate at Metro and wants to find a way to diversify the faculty. “I’d like to see more people of color, especially African-Americans, on our faculty. There are some things I think we can do to make Metro more attractive to faculty of color,” she said.

One of her favorite roles as trustee is watching students graduate. “I’ve attended every graduation since being appointed to the board and it just boggles my mind,” she says of watching new graduates surrounded by their families and friends. “We are truly meeting a need.”