Board of Directors
Eric Sondermann, Chair
Principle/Partner, SE2A Colorado native, Eric Sondermann founded and now chairs SE2, a Denver-based consulting firm specializing in public persuasion, media relations, and all forms of mass communication in the broad realm of public policy.
A high-profile political analyst and media pundit, Sondermann has been interviewed by a laundry list of local, national and international publications and media outlets. He appears as a regular panelist on the weekly "Colorado Inside Out" program on local public television.
Sondermann currently serves on the Boards of the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation which seeks to keep at-risk kids in school through graduation and then funds their college tuition, and of Urban Peak which focuses on issues of youth homelessness. He also has a long-standing leadership commitment to The Logan School, a highly regarded, innovative, private K-8 school on the grounds of the old Lowry Air Force Base. He served on the School's Board of Trustees for over eight years, and as Board Chairman for five of those years. He is a former Board member of Colorado Public Radio and the Children's Museum of Denver.
Patrick Hamill
President and Founder of Oakwood Homes, LLCPatrick H. Hamill is Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Oakwood Homes, LLC. In addition to Oakwood Homes, Mr. Hamill’s other business affiliations include: Town and Country Title, Cherrywood Home Loans, Green Valley Ranch Golf Club, Precision Framing Systems and PKK Investments. He is a Past Chairman and current member of the Board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, Trustee of the University of Denver, Board Member of the Metro Football Stadium District, Chairman of the Colorado Open Golf Foundation, Board Member of Colorado Concern and serves on the board of HealthOne. He is also Co-Chairing the Governor’s Early Childhood Leadership Commission.
Additionally, Mr. Hamill co-founded two community development organizations in the greater Denver area: The Foundation for Educational Excellence and the 21st Century High Tech Academy. Mr. Hamill received the “Professional Achievement Award” through the University of Denver Founders’ Day in 1999 and in 2007 was awarded the Boys & Girls Clubs Champion of Youth Award. Mr. Hamill received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver’s School of Real Estate and Construction Management.
Daniel L. Jablonsky
Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber & SchreckDan Jablonsky is a Shareholder at the law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber & Schreck LLP. His practice focuses on corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and securities matters. Mr. Jablonsky also regularly advises management and boards on corporate governance issues, and represents clients in internal investigations and securities cases. He has worked extensively with large international corporations, mid-sized public companies, business partners and investment firms.
Prior to joining Brownstein, Mr. Jablonsky led the global legal mergers & acquisitions team and was corporate and securities counsel at Flextronics International, a Global Fortune 400 company. Mr. Jablonsky also served as in-house counsel at UBS Financial Services Inc.; and spent several years at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement, where he was responsible for investigating and bringing cases for violations of federal securities laws. Prior to joining the SEC, Mr. Jablonsky was an associate in the corporate and securities group of O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Southern California.
In addition to his work at Brownstein, Mr. Jablonsky lectures as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law, and was appointed to the Colorado Educational Success Task Force. Earlier in his career, he served as a Surface Warfare Officer and nuclear engineer in the United States Navy. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where he received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, and received his law degree from the University of Washington.
Joy Johnson
Community VolunteerIn addition to her service on the Get Smart Schools board, Joy chairs the Board at the The Children’s Hospital Foundation and serves on the boards of Urban Peak/The Spot, the Denver Art Museum Foundation, Newborn Hope and Northstar Investment Advisors. She is also on the human services advisory granting committee of the Denver Foundation and the child and family services granting committee of the Rose Community Foundation. Johnson is involved with several investment committees in the Denver community, including those of The Children’s Hospital, Kent Denver School, The Denver Foundation and The Women’s Foundation of Colorado. She has chaired numerous fundraising events and campaigns and participates on the development committees of many other nonprofit organizations. She is also the current co-chair of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s Power the Change Endowment Campaign.
She has worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., and as an institutional sales trader and vice president of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, a New York investment banking firm. Johnson is an honors graduate of Colgate University and earned an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Michael Johnston
Colorado State Senate, District 33Mike Johnston represents Northeast Denver in the Colorado State Senate and serves as a policy advisor to New Leaders for New Schools. Mike first entered education as a high school English teacher in Greenville, Mississippi, an experience that led him to write his acclaimed book, “In the Deep Heart's Core." After leaving the Mississippi Delta, Mike co-founded New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit that recruits and trains urban principals. Mike started his own career as a principal leading two alternative high schools serving Colorado students held in state custody or living in group homes and detention centers. Most recently, Mike was the co-founder and principal of MESA (Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts), a redesigned urban high school in the Mapleton Public Schools that made Colorado history by becoming the first public high school in which 100 percent of seniors were admitted to four-year colleges.
He has been an adjunct professor of education law at the University of Denver and has served as an advisor to state and federal political campaigns around the country, most recently as a top education advisor to Barack Obama's presidential campaign and transition. Recently named to Time Magazine’s “40 Under 40” and Forbes Magazine’s list of the “7 Most Influential Educators,” Mike holds degrees from Yale College, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Yale Law School. He sits on the board of many local and national organizations including the I Have a Dream Foundation and the Urban League. He lives in Northeast Denver with his wife Courtney, who is Deputy District Attorney in Denver, and their two sons Emmet and Seamus, who are planning their first trip to Disneyworld.
Ben Kornell
Regional Operations Director, DaVitaBen Kornell serves as Regional Operations Director for DaVita, a Fortune 500 kidney care company. While managing 20 dialysis centers in the Denver Metro area, he has helped DaVita launch partnerships with public schools in the Denver area. Ben started at DaVita as Director of Strategy, working on DaVita’s international expansion, development of an internal start-up healthcare business, mergers and acquisitions, and healthcare reform policy strategy.
Prior to DaVita, Ben graduated with an MBA and Masters in Education from Stanford. A Teach for America Corps Member, he taught middle school English and History for 4 years in San Jose, California after completing his undergraduate History and Literature degree at Harvard University.
Ben and his wife Juliana are expecting their first child this November, and are hoping their dog Bruno does not get too jealous.
Tony Lewis
Executive Director, Donnell-Kay FoundationTony Lewis is executive director of the Donnell-Kay Foundation, a private family foundation established to enhance and improve education in Colorado. Among other initiatives, the Foundation supports nonprofit organizations in early childhood and public education that encourage the development of children who are ready to succeed in school. It is this particular focus that led the Donnell-Kay Foundation to be one of the initial funders of Get Smart Schools.
Prior to joining the Donnell-Kay Foundation in 1999, Lewis was the director of development and director of capital planning at the Colorado Outward Bound School, where he has been a course director and instructor for more than 25 years. Previously, he served as a program specialist for the Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco, where he was in charge of policy, planning and implementation of wetland regulations in the Central Valley and northern California. Lewis has also been a program director at Breckenridge’s Outdoor Education Center and an independent facilitator for Catalyst Corporation, Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, the EPA and the Aspen Institute. In addition, he has served as a squad leader and firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pike Inter-Regional Fire Crew.
Lewis is the current chair of the board of the dZi Foundation, which promotes the education, health, culture and welfare of Himalayan mountain communities. He is also an advisory board member of Facing History, a curriculum for exploring values and diversity in middle and high schools. A longtime mountaineering guide, Lewis has led major climbing expeditions in Asia, South America, Africa, Europe and North America, and many foreign trekking and climbing trips, both privately and for the Colorado Outward Bound School.
Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree in forest management science from Colorado State University. He received his master’s degree in international studies from the University of Denver.
Cathy Nehf Lund
Vice President and Director of EngagementCathy Nehf Lund is a Vice President and Director of Engagement for Project Lead the Way, the leading provider of rigorous and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S.
Prior to joining Project Lead the Way, Cathy most recently served as a Senior Program Officer within the Walton Family Foundation’s K-12 Education Reform Initiative. Cathy founded WFF”s charter school initiative in 1997 and since helped the Foundation expand its support nationally. Between 2005-2011, her responsibilities included supporting grantees across all three of the Foundation’s education reform initiatives: Shape Public Policy, Build Quality Schools and Improve Existing Schools. While at WFF, Cathy supported the education reform team in all areas of giving including grant-making to statewide and national advocacy organizations, scaled school supply organizations and entities that work to improve the quality of all types of schools in targeted jurisdictions.
Prior to joining WFF, Cathy served as Program Officer at the Challenge Foundation, initiating their charter school investment program. In the early 90s, Cathy was a research associate at the Hudson Institute in Indianapolis after having worked for ten years in the insurance and risk management industries in Chicago.
Ray Pittman
President and Founder- Pittman Development GroupRay C. Pittman is Founder and President of Pittman Development Group, a leading land and commercial property development company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Pittman’s background includes more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, services and development. During this time he has managed some of Colorado’s largest and most prominent commercial and mixed-use developments.Prior to founding Pittman Development Group, Pittman served as Colorado’s senior vice president and regional manager for Catellus Development Corp. In this role, Pittman initiated some of the company’s most exciting projects and was responsible for overseeing all aspects of the development business, including acquisitions and dispositions, marketing, sales and leasing, project design, construction management, project financing and community and government relations.
From 1985 through 1999, Pittman served in a variety of brokerage and senior management roles with CB Richard Ellis. He was named President of Corporate Services and Global Account Management in 1998. In this position, Pittman, oversaw the development and servicing of major corporate accounts and assignments and also led the global account management team responsible for relationship management and worldwide service delivery for many of the firm’s largest corporate and institutional clients. Prior to this role, Pittman held a number of management and leadership positions for CB Richard Ellis, including Executive Managing Director for the company’s Midwest Region, and Executive Managing Officer for the Denver area.
Pittman graduated with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara and has completed additional course work in real estate and finance at the University of California, Los Angeles and Stanford University. Pittman resides in Greenwood Village, Colorado with his wife, Kristin and their three children.
Ellen Robinson
Principal, Robinson Coaching GroupEllen Robinson is the former general manager of Pepsi Cola Denver where she was responsible for a $150 million business and over 700 employees. She has a successful track record of leadership both in Fortune 100 and entrepreneurial companies.
After an 18 year career in consumer packaged goods (Frito-Lay, Pepsi Cola), sports management (Colorado Avalanche/Denver Nuggets) and technology (Eventconnex), she launched the Robinson Group, a professional services practice focused on building leadership capacity and organizational effectiveness in the private and public sectors.
Ellen was born in Massachusetts and received her undergraduate degree un marketing and finance from the Wharton School at the university of Pennsylvania. She has lived in Denver for 25 years with her husband Scott, and their two children ages 18 and 13.
She is actively involved in the Denver community, currently serving as a trustee of Metro State College of Denver, where she chairs the finance committee. She has served on the board if the Greater Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, Mile High United Way, Caring for Colorado and Citywide Banks.
Christine Scanlan
Director of Legislative Affairs and Strategic Initiatives/ Senior Education Policy Advisor Office of Governor John W. HickenlooperChristine currently represents the Governor’s policy agenda at the State House and serves as point on strategic state initiatives. She is also the Senior Education Policy Advisor to the Governor. As a state representative, she carried the Governor’s landmark education reform bill which ushered in a complete redesign and realignment to Colorado’s education system. The reforms included overhauling the state’s curriculum content standards so they were more relevant, and making student assessments both more meaningful, and aligned with college admission requirements. In the 2010 legislative session, Christine was the House sponsor for SB191, nationally recognized model legislation that reforms teacher and principal evaluation systems while promoting educator effectiveness and leadership in schools. Prior to joining the legislature, Christine served as The Keystone Center’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, President of the Summit School District’s Board of Education, President of the Mountain Board of Cooperative Educational Services, member of Governor Ritter’s P-20 Education Council, and was Vice Chair of the Interim Committee on Wildfire Issues.
Van Schoales
Executive Director, A+ DenverVan Schoales is the Executive Director of A+ Denver, a local education non-profit organization working to harness the power of Denver's civic leadership to build public will and advocate for reforms necessary to dramatically increase student achievement in public education in Denver.
He was most recently the Executive Director of Education Reform Now, a national education policy and advocacy non-profit organization fighting to dramatically improve the quality of public education for America's most disadvantaged children. Van previously worked as a program officer at the Piton Foundation where he oversaw a portfolio of investments on state policy, district reform and new school development and before that the interim President of the Colorado Children's Campaign. He has previously been a high school science teacher, principal and non-profit leader working as an education reform advocate. Van has launched or help start a number of non-profits including the Odyssey Charter School (founding principal) , Bay Area Coalition of Equitable (formerly Essential) Schools, Denver School of Science and Technology, A + Denver, EdNewsColorado and Get Smart Schools. Van has authored and edited a variety of papers on school choice, school accountability, student achievement, school design, state policy and other education reform topics. He's regularly quoted in education news stories and can be found in the Denver Post, NBC, National Public Radio, EdNewsColorado, Christian Science Monitor, New York Times, Education Week, Univision and Fox News.
Van has a B.S, Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, M.Sc.,Geological Sciences from Brown University, M.A. Educational Administration from San Francisco State University and M.A., Education from Stanford University. Van liked rocks, graduate school and took awhile to decide to work on behalf of kids. He has a magnificent daughter who plays beautiful music and is about to head off to college.
Paul Teske
Dean, School of Public Affairs at University of Colorado DenverPaul Teske is Dean of the School of Public Affairs and a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor. Prior to becoming Dean, Teske served as the Director of the Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) and Director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) Denver at UC Denver’s School of Public Affairs, in addition to his teaching and research activities as a Professor.
He received the 2005 Distinguished Research Award from the 270 college member groups NASPAA/ASPA (National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration/American Society for Public Administration). He also won the 2005 Excellence in Research and Creative Activities award from the University of Colorado Denver.
From 1988-2003 he was a professor of political science at SUNY Stony Brook. He earned his Ph.D. (1989) and MPA (1982) degrees in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He earned his B.A. in economics and political science, with highest honors in economics, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a James Johnston Scholar and Phi Beta Kappa.
Annie Wohlgenant
Community MemberAnnie Wohlgenant was most recently the vice president, programs and health policy for The Colorado Health Foundation. In this role, Wohlgenant oversaw the Foundation’s philanthropy, which in 2007 included the award of 175 grants totaling $29.6 million. She also was responsible for the Foundation’s policy-related work, which in 2007 included advocating for the federal reauthorization of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and supporting the Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform.
Prior to her work with The Colorado Health Foundation, Wohlgenant served seven years as a senior program officer with the Rose Community Foundation. In this capacity, she helped create and manage major foundation programs including Child Health Advocates, Hot Issues in Health Care and the Colorado Health Institute. Before taking on her role at the Rose Community Foundation, Wohlgenant worked for Colorado Governor Roy Romer as his senior health policy analyst. In this position, she helped to develop Child Health Plan Plus, a children’s health insurance program that now serves more than 50,000 formerly uninsured children.
Wohlgenant earned her master’s of public health policy from Yale University Medical School and her bachelor of arts degree from Brown University. She currently serves on the board of directors for Grantmakers in Health, has been a trustee for Planned Parenthood, the Rape Awareness and Assistance Program, and was chair of Colorado Covering Kids and Families Project.
