Chris Barge
Chair
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Chris is currently the Vice President of Communications and Engagement at the Community Foundation of Boulder County. Chris helps the Community Foundation build a more equitable Boulder County through clear communications and authentic community engagement. He joined the foundation in 2008 after a 10-year career in newspapers, including with the Rocky Mountain News and the Boulder Daily Camera.
At the Community Foundation, he has directed Philanthropic Services as well as a School Readiness Initiative. He currently directs the Foundation's TRENDS Reporting Initiative, which includes the TRENDS Magazine, a TRENDS Podcast, a TRENDS Diary, a TRENDS Reporting Fellowship and a Solutions Fund. He lives in Boulder with his wife, Erin, their daughter, Ellery, and their son, Milo. |
Carol Gibson
Vice Chair
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Carol’s commitment to equity in education began in high school where she volunteered at Blythedale Children’s Hospital, which serves the unique developmental needs of medically complex children. While volunteering in their Early Childhood Program she realized the importance of early intervention in a child’s development.
Carol went on to become a systems analyst in the healthcare industry, installing ambulatory care software in large healthcare institutions such as Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. Although her work kept her travelling around the country, her passion for equity in education never waned. Volunteer work included Read Boston’s Early Literacy Program, a literacy program for adults, and tutoring at a high school program specifically designed to encourage underserved kids to excel in high school and consider nursing as a career. Carol moved from Boston to Boulder where she had 2 children. She continued her volunteer efforts and ran auctions for March of Dimes and Horizon’s K-8 Charter school, and currently volunteers in the Fairview HS Counseling Center. Carol lives in Boulder with her husband, 2 children and their dog Millie. |
Sandra Salazar
Secretary
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Sandra was a Colombian architect, dedicated to designing commercial and residential architecture until 2010. While working at a firm in Boulder, she was invited to participate as a facilitator at a non-profit organization to teach science to children after school. Sandra's passion to support the community began with this volunteer work, where she realized the great gap that existed between the parents of Latino families and the organizations in Boulder. Sandra worked with FRS / FRC for 4 years and this work led her to abandon architecture, I no longer design buildings, instead I design “community”.
Sandra has been working at Manhattan MS as a “Community Liaison” for the last 6 years where her passion allows her to be the bridge that Latino families need with their school, the school district and the organizations in Boulder County. She is honored to be part of the ELPASO team and it’s amazing projects that support our community. |
Ashley Denault
Treasurer
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An almost-native Coloradan, Ashley grew up in Boulder. Her passion for education and equity was sparked in high school when she volunteered as an afterschool tutor in the San Juan del Centro community and an ESL tutor at an elementary school in southern California. These twin themes led her to pursue a master’s degree in public policy from Brown University and have run through her personal and professional life ever since. She is honored to be able to give back to the Boulder community as part of the ELPASO board.
She currently works in community relations at Denver Water, where she develops and implements strategies to ensure stakeholders are informed and engaged. Prior to her tenure at Denver Water, she was the Vice President of Community Impact at Foothills United Way. Ashley also serves on the Community Professionals Board of Heart and Hand in Denver, is a Girl Scout troop leader and is president of the Boulder County Parents of Twins and More Club. Ashley is a graduate of Fairview High School. In addition to her master’s degree, she earned bachelor’s degrees in political economy and psychology from Pitzer College. When she isn’t working or volunteering, she can be found hanging out with her 7-year-old twins, reading and learning to cook new dishes her children may or may not eat. |
Polly Donald
Governance
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Education has been Polly’s passion for over 30 years. She has been a teacher, a mentor and an administrator. She served on and chaired Parent Teacher Associations, Boards, and Committees, led accreditation teams, strategic planning efforts, and developed curricula.
After teaching for over fifteen years in public and private schools Polly served as head of Friends’ School in Boulder, Colorado for 17 years. As a head of school, she provided leadership that coordinated and developed all aspects of the school including the program and community, business and administration, and advancement. After leaving Friends’ she briefly did consulting work with schools, boards, teachers and administrators. She currently serves on several boards and is particularly excited about ELPASO which she believes is making a difference for parents and children in the Latino community and that its work benefits all of Boulder County. She is excited to be part of this great organization. She is a graduate of the Shady Hill School Apprentice Program, holds a Masters in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a BA in Art History from Boston University. She lives in Boulder, Colorado and has two children, Cate and Robert, who are pursuing educational and legal careers respectively and a daughter-inlaw Jessie May, a branding and marketing coach, along with a ‘grand-dog,’ Junebug. |
Anita Polner
Finance
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Anita is a CERTIFIED FINANCAL PLANNER™ (CFP®). Anita graduated from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and has an M.B.A. from Fordham University. Anita and her husband find working together personally rewarding. They have combined their talents to bring thoughtful investment and financial planning to their clients.
Anita is excited to be a board member of ELPASO, and to help raise awareness of the importance of early childhood education while at the same time emphasizing the value of Latino parent leadership in the community. An avid runner, Anita successfully completed her first sprint-distance triathlon in June 2018. Anita and Arthur have made Boulder, CO their home. |
Elizabeth Purvis
Development
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Liza is currently the Director of Marketing and Communications at Colorado Chautauqua. Liza is an experienced communications and development professional with extensive experience in the private and non-profit sectors in both the US and Europe.
Since moving to Boulder from Scotland in 1999, she has been actively involved in local and national education and diversity initiatives, including being an active member of BVSD committees and running a free school drama program for elementary age students. As Director Partner Relations for CollegiateParent, Liza liaised with hundreds of US universities and supported 30 colleges to offer bilingual publications for the first time. She has also acted as Director of Development and Public Affairs for Americas Latino Eco Festival, consulted for CU, Boulder and writes on women’s leadership for Emerging Women International. |
Eugenia Brady
Development
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Eugenia is an Advocate Coordinator and Diversity Specialist. Her experience includes work with the Boulder Valley School District, where she served in the BVSD Equity Leadership Team for the annual cohorts.
Currently, Eugenia works at the Association for Community Living (ACL) as an advocacy coordinator and Diversity Specialist and works particularly with Latino families. Among other nonprofit organizations, Eugenia has served as member of the Board of Directors of the Autism Society of Boulder County (ASBC), the Parent Engagement Network (PEN), Boulder Valley Gifted and Talented (BVGT) and now ELPASO Movement. Eugenia has a passion to serve others particularly minorities and underrepresented communities, and in recent years her focus has been helping to advocate with and for people with disabilities providing a voice for those who have been historically targeted with bigotry, dehumanization and abuse. |
Dana Romanoff
Development
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Dana Romanoff is a renowned documentary and commercial director dedicated to making a difference and tackling significant social issues including immigration and racial justice. Dana has received a host of prestigious awards and including Telly, W3, Communicator Awards, a special jury award at The Crested Butte Film Festival and the “Director’s Award” at Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival. She was also a runner up for a Pulitzer Prize.
Her own story began as a photojournalist and she commonly refers to herself as a visual anthropologist, for good reason. She excels at crafting authentic, character and issue-driven stories that connect people, break down barriers and build bridges whether they are across oceans or between backyards. Her acclaimed Father’s Day film for Budweiser connecting stepfamilies was the #1 search on YouTube that day. She began her career as a photographer working for National Geographic and has since gone on to tell stories through motion while working on commercial, branded content, journalistic and humanitarian aid projects. Whether hunting with tribes in the jungles of West Papua or summiting 19,000-foot peaks with adaptive climbers, her work is intimate, layered and soulful. Recent clients include Google, Budweiser, Facebook, National Geographic, The New York Times, Honeywell, Cochlear Americas, Conservation International and The Community Foundation of Boulder County. |
Sage Hobbs
Development
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Sage’s passion for maximizing human potential and cultivating cultures of equity has led to over 20 years of experience working in public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. Her specialty is relational leadership and communication, working with mission-driven leaders to create organizational cultures that ensure greater success and satisfaction. Sage is known for facilitating uncomfortable conversations that support growth, connection, and inclusivity.
Sage is the host of Race, Culture, & Beyond: A Naked Conversations Podcast Series and the author of Naked Communication. She holds a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Colorado Denver and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Sage is honored to serve on the ELPASO board of directors, as she’s passionate about their mission of education and equity. She’s also a mom of two, a cancer survivor, a “retired” school counselor and a beach-loving-book-nerd. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband (who teaches high school) and their two awesome kids. |