Board of Trustees Biographies
Robert Cohen, Chair
Chair and CEO, The IMA Financial Group, Inc.
Reappointed January 2012 (4-year term)
Chair, Presidential Evaluation Committee
Robert Cohen is the chair and CEO of The IMA Financial Group, Inc., a diversified financial services company comprising three primary businesses: a retail insurance brokerage, a wholesale insurance brokerage and a discretionary money manager. He is also founder and executive chairman of the Metro Denver Sports Commission. Cohen has a wealth of board experience, including service on the boards of for-profit companies UMB Bank Colorado, Intertech Plastics, ccintellect and USR, Inc. His nonprofit board experience includes Adventures Within, the I Have a Dream Foundation, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Community College of Denver, the Denver Art Museum, Junior Achievement and the University of Colorado Student Leadership Institute. He also chaired the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and served on the Metropolitan State University of Denver Foundation Board. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Michelle M. Lucero, Vice Chair
Vice President of Employee Relations, Centura Health
Reappointed March 2011 (4-year term)
Chair, Academic and Student Affairs Committee
Vice Chair, Presidential Evaluation Committee
Michelle M. Lucero is vice president of employee relations for Centura Health; she is responsible for strategy and resolution regarding all employee-relations issues for more than 13,000 associates. Prior to joining Centura, Lucero served for three years in the mayor-appointed position of deputy city attorney for the City and County of Denver. A native of Ignacio, Colo., Lucero holds a J.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she received the Edward C. King Award for leadership and scholarship. In addition to MSU Denver’s board, she is on Kroenke Sports’ Hispanic Advisory Council and the Littleton Public Schools Facility Task Force. Among her many accolades are 9News Leader of the Year finalist in 2006 and the 1992 Outstanding Young Lawyer from the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. Her bachelor’s degree is from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Mo.
For more information about Michelle Lucero: Trustee Michelle Lucero: An affinity for education [2/20/08 This Week@Metro]
Dawn P. Bookhardt
Bookhardt & O’Toole
Reappointed January 2012 (4-year term)
Finance Committee
Strategic Name Initiative Committee
Dawn Bookhardt is a founding partner in the law firm of Bookhardt & O’Toole, which specializes in complex municipal bond financing and transactions. Two of Bookhardt’s noteworthy achievements include representation of Forest City in the development of the former Stapleton Airport site and representation of U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray and UBS PaineWeber as underwriters for the Denver Convention Center Hotel. She is also working on the $1 billion redevelopment project at Union Station in Denver. Bookhardt is the founder and owner of Odd Tale Books, a retail book store. Among the numerous awards she has received are the National Leadership Award from the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Business Advisory Council and the Woman of Distinction Award from the National Council of Negro Women, Inc. She is a graduate of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., and the University of Denver Law School.
Hon. Terrance Carroll
Greenberg Traurig, LLC
Appointed January 2011 (4-year term)
Chair, Strategic Name Initiative Committee
Academic and Student Affairs Committee
Terrance Carroll is an attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLC. He served four terms in the Colorado House of Representatives (2002-2010) and was Colorado’s first African American Speaker of the House from 2009-2010. During his legislative tenure, Carroll chaired the MSU Denver caucus from its 2006 formation through 2011, chaired the House Judiciary Committee and served on the Legal Services and the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs committees. Prior to joining the legislature, Carroll worked as a police officer, a nonprofit executive and a minister. He received the 2011 Outstanding Young Alumni award from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and the 2009 Denver Business Journal Power Book Award. He was named a 2006 Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the 2005 Legislator of the Year by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. He was a member of the Colorado Secretary of State’s 2005 Blue Ribbon Election Panel and the Colorado Criminal and Juvenile Justice Reform Commission, and has served on numerous nonprofit boards.
William Hanzlik
CEO, Gold Crown Foundation
Appointed January 2009 (4-year term)
Metro State Foundation Board
Strategic Name Initiative Committee
William Hanzlik played 10 years in the National Basketball Association with the Denver Nuggets and the Seattle Supersonics. He helped the Nuggets reach the NBA Playoffs eight times during his nine years in Denver, and was the Nuggets head coach in 1997-98. In recognition of his athletic achievements, Hanzlik was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1986, Hanzlik co-founded the Gold Crown Foundation, dedicated to improving the lives of Colorado’s children through athletics and education. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the State Colleges in Colorado before its dissolution in 2003, and served on the Board of Trustees at Western State College from 2003-08. His other charitable works have included service on the boards of the Samaritan House, Colorado Christian Home and All Saints School. Hanzlik holds a bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
Melody Harris
Vice President and General Counsel, MyTeleHealth Solutions
Reappointed January 2012 (4-year term)
Chair, Board Infrastructure Committee
Academic and Student Affairs Committee
Ms. Harris is Vice President and General Counsel of MyTeleHealth Solutions, LLC, a connected care health data platform. Prior to MyTeleHealth, Ms. Harris has served in various executive and legal roles to manage corporate affairs, operations, human resources and as Chief Legal Officer on an international basis with companies like Encoda Systems, Bad Boy Brands and US WEST/Qwest. Her business dealings and litigation management have spanned the globe in countries like Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Brazil, Mexico and Canada. She has nearly 15 years of experience in corporate operations and business deals relating to technology, licensing, manufacturing, distribution, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate transactions. Ms. Harris is experienced in managing budgets in complex corporate structures and has run legal departments with global direct reports.
In 2006, Ms. Harris served as chief energy policy advisor and writer of the Bill Ritter for Governor campaign’s New Energy Economy. Ms. Harris also served on Governor Ritter’s Energy Transition Committee and Governor John Hickenlooper’s Natural Resources Transition Committee. Ms. Harris also served as leader of the Sustainability Policy Committee for Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and infused the campaign with the ideas behind Denver Seeds, a sustainable food initiative within the City of Denver.
Ms. Harris has a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Political Science from the University of Denver and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. She is a self-described Air Force brat, the middle of seven siblings, and a semi-native of Colorado, graduating from Air Academy High School in Colorado Springs. She is the proud parent of two children, ages 14 and 12.
Walter Isenberg
Appointed January 2012 (4-year term)
A longtime supporter of MSU Denver, Walter Isenberg is the president, CEO and co-founder of the Denver-based Sage Hospitality, which owns and operates hotels in 23 states and specializes in the operations, development and capital transactions of hospitality real estate. An inductee in the Denver & Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame, Isenberg serves on the Marriott International and Starwood Owner advisory boards as well as the boards of Visit Denver, the Downtown Denver Partnership, The Children’s Hospital Foundation and Colorado Concern. He is a graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.
John (Jack) Pogge
Appointed January 2012 (1-year term)
Jack Pogge comes to MSU Denver’s board having served as the president and COO of CSG International, a provider of outsourced billing, customer care and other services supporting North America’s broadband and direct broadcast satellite markets. Prior to working for CSG, he was the chief counsel of mergers and acquisitions and vice president of corporate development at the former US West and vice president and general counsel for Applied Communications Inc. Pogge earned his bachelor’s in business administration and finance from the University of Houston and his juris doctorate from Creighton University School of Law.
Ellen S. Robinson
COO, ScholarCentric
Founder and CEO, EventConnex
Reappointed April 2011 (4-year term)
Chair, Finance Committee
Board Infrastructure Committee
Ellen S. Robinson is chief operating officer for ScholarCentric, a K-12 educational publishing company. Her years of achievement in the community include positions as founder and CEO of EventConnex, Inc., president of Ascent Sports, Inc. and general manager of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Denver. Robinson sits on the boards of Colorado Uplift, Denver Campus for Jewish Education, Green Gables Country Club and Caring for Colorado, and the board of advisors for the new charter Denver Venture School. She was a committee person for her precinct and a member of the finance committee for Sen. Mark Udall’s campaign. Robinson is a graduate of The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and holds a certificate in international business from the University of Colorado Executive Program.
For more information about Ellen Robinson: Trustee Ellen Robinson: Providing a “safety boost” [11/14/07 This Week@Metro]
Rob Morrill, Alumni Trustee
Partner, Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP
Appointed September 2012
Rob Morrill specializes in mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters as a partner with Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott LLP. He graduated from MSU Denver in 1997 with a degree in political science and from the University of Michigan Law School in 2001. Following law school, Morrill lived and practiced in Chicago.
Since returning to Denver, he has re-engaged with MSU Denver, establishing the MSU Denver Pre-Law Scholarship Endowment and serving on the Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2008. He was named one of The M&A Advisor’s 2012 “40 Under 40” for the Western U.S. Region and was recognized by Colorado Super Lawyers magazine as one of Colorado's 2010 “Rising Stars”.
Jesse Altum, Student Trustee
Elected April 2012 (1-year term)
Jesse Altum is pursuing a major in political science with a minor in business economics and entrepreneurship at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Involved with the Student Government Assembly (SGA) since 2010, he served as SGA president in 2011-12. He has been a member for two years of the University’s Urban Leadership Program and represents the program on the Student Scholar Board at the Colorado Leadership Alliance with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. He is also vice chair of the Student Media Board and represented MSU Denver on the Associated Students of Colorado Board of Directors.
He was the Center for Innovation’s 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year and also won its 2011 Product Idea of the Year Award.
Altum is a board member for Alpine Leadership and served as an advisory board member at the Young Americans Center for Financial Education. He also served as the co-chair of the Safe City Youth Leadership Team from 2006-08 under the Denver Department of Safety.
Altum hopes to get involved in politics and banking as well as attend law school.
David Sullivan Ph.D., Faculty Trustee
Elected May 2012 (One-year term)
David Sullivan started at MSU Denver in 1995. He earned tenure in 2000 and became the chair of the Philosophy Department in 2003. Sullivan has been a member of the Faculty Senate, the Honors Council, the Letters Arts and Sciences’ Assessment and Grievance Committees as well as the Faculty Evaluation Task Force. He also is the vice president of the Auraria Faculty and Staff Club.
Sullivan started his career at the College of the University of Chicago as a lecturer for the Humanities Collegiate Division, where he also earned his bachelor of arts degree. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
