Faculty & Staff

Rep. Adrienne Benavidez represents House District 32, which includes Commerce City and parts of unincorporated Adams County. Rep. Benavidez serves on the House Judiciary; Finance; and State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committees as well as the legislative oversight Committee concerning the Treatment oPersons with Mental Health Disorders in the Criminal Justice System. Rep. Benavidez sponsored several bills to fight for Colorado workers, including a bill to ensure CDOT public-private initiatives...

Christy Doon is the Regional Manager for the Department of Local Affairs for South Central Colorado. She has worked for the State since 2006, first as program staff for the Conservation Trust Fund, Community Services Block Grant and Community Development, then as the Coordinator for the Colorado Main Street Program. Christy has been a Regional Manager since 2012. In her capacity with DOLA, Christy works hand in hand with local...

Joseph Drexler received MPA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pittsburgh. He served as a high-ranking official for trade unions in the United States, Canada and Switzerland. His areas of expertise include: Strategic corporate research, transnational trade unionism, union organizing, and social movements. During his time in the trade union movement, he headed departments for the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union; Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers...

Lisa has worked for over 30 years in the nonprofit sector and grassroots social justice work. Before becoming a consultant to nonprofits, she served as Executive Director of Grassroots Grantmakers, a national membership organization of foundations and other funders working to lift up grassroots voices and leadership in philanthropy. From 1995 to 2014, she worked with Rights for All People, Colorado’s first immigrant-led immigrant rights organization based in Aurora, Colorado...

Carol Hedges grew up in Topeka Kansas. Always a self-professed "nerd," she relished trips downtown on the bus where she never failed to visit the State Capitol. Realizing her childhood dream, Carol started her career in the Capitol, working for Governor John Carlin from 1982 to 1986. A bigger Capitol drew her to DC where she worked for the National Governors’ Association. Her time with the Human Resource committee and...

Richard Male is a recognized leader, both regionally, nationally and internationally in the fields of leadership development, fundraising, community organizing and public policy for non-profit organizations, faith-based entities, private foundations local municipalities and schools. He has taught a wide range of classes from: Social justice, activism and community organizing - community engagement, working in diverse communities. etc Becoming a moral leader - a variety of classes on leadership Fundraising and...

About Aaron Ray Aaron Ray is Associate Director in the Environment, Energy, and Transportation group at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) where he leads NCSL's Energy Program. Prior to joining NCSL, Aaron served as Deputy Director for Policy in the Colorado Governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting where he led a team of analysts overseeing nine state agencies, including the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of...

Tony Robinson received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, with an emphasis on the challenges of inner-city poverty and how grass-roots community organizing can address those challenges. At CU Denver, he specialized in building connections between the resources of the university and surrounding urban communities. Robinson’s community connections over the years included: Serving as the former director of a HUD-funded Community Outreach Partnership Center, uniting university resources with...

James Walsh has taught History and Political Science at UCD for the past twenty years, specializing in Labor, Immigration, and Social Movements. He is also the Founder of the award-winning Romero Theater Troupe, a social justice community theater which has existed for thirteen years. Walsh is author of Irish Denver and Michael Mooney and the Leadville Irish.