Makisha Boothe Receives Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Award From U.S. Small Business Administration
Senate Majority legislative analyst Makisha Boothe has been named Colorado’s 2007 Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the United States Small Business Administration. Boothe is the owner of Ya Ya Spa, LLC, a full-service day spa in Denver. Originally from Harlem, New York, Boothe opened her business in Denver’s up-and-coming Golden Triangle area in 2003, with a vision of providing trendy and holistic spa services to her clients. The term “ya ya” is a southern colloquialism that means “to chat or gab,” and is often used to describe the celebration of lifelong sisterhoods and group bonding between women.  Boothe received the award at an SBA reception at Mile High Station in Denver in August.

CU-Boulder Professor Manuel Laguna Named Associate Dean In Leeds School Of Business
Professor Manuel Laguna has been named associate dean of faculty for the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business. Laguna, a professor of operations management in the Leeds School, will be responsible for research and technology support, faculty recruiting and evaluation, the doctoral program, faculty retention and resolving faculty issues. He began his new position Aug. 1, succeeding Professor Ken Kozar. Much of Laguna's research involves developing mathematical models and computer procedures to help businesses operate in the most cost-effective way.  In a recent funded project, Laguna and his research colleagues created a computer model showing the best transportation routes for school buses in the province of Burgos in northern Spain. 
For more information about the Leeds School visit http://leeds.colorado.edu.

Scarpello Named Director Of Elections, Gonzales As Deputy Director Of Clerk And Recorder’s Office
Denver Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O’Malley named Michael Scarpello as Denver’s Director of Elections and Helen Gonzales as Deputy Director off the Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Scarpello has served as the Elections Manager for the Douglas County, Nebraska Election Commission since 2004. He earned a Bachelor of General Studies degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1991and received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1995. He is currently a licensed attorney in the State of Nebraska and served as Nebraska’s Chief Deputy Election Commissioner in Douglas County for four and a half years. Gonzales was hired by the City and County of Denver as a court reporter in 1974 and has served in several capacities, including Director of the Department under the Webb and Hickenlooper Administrations. Gonzales received her Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado in 1995.  

DSA Graduate Awarded Theatre Performance Scholarship By International Thespian Society
Recent graduate of Denver School of the Arts, Leah Watson, was awarded the 2007 Excellence in Theatre Performance Scholarship by the International Thespian Society (ITS) -- the student division of the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA). The $1,000 scholarship was awarded at the 2007 International Thespian Festival, which took place in June on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Watson is a member of Denver School of the Arts Thespian troupe 5869, directed by Ms. Shawn Hann.

Local Couple Chosen As Colorado Parents Of The Year
The Colorado Parents' Day Council chose as “Colorado Parents of the Year” Dr. Christopher and Pensal McCray. The McCray’s received the award as “Colorado Parents of the Year” at the thirteenth National Parents’ Day banquet, which was held at the Lakewood Country Club in July. The McCrays founded the Ethnic College Counseling Center over twenty years ago after realizing others could benefit from the information they had learned by helping their own children prepare for college. The ECCC has since helped over 500 youth find scholarships to summer college programs and four year universities. In addition to the ECCC volunteers who provide bi-weekly workshops, tutoring and mentoring for students, every two years Mrs. McCray takes a group of students on a tour of historically Black colleges and universities, often tracing the path of the Underground Railroad.

McKee Named CU-Boulder’s Vice Chancellor For Diversity, Equity And Community Engagement
Sallye McKee, associate to the president for institutional diversity at Metropolitan State College of Denver, has been named the first vice chancellor for diversity, equity and community engagement at the University of Colorado at Boulder. McKee is the first vice chancellor for diversity, equity and community engagement on campus, a position designed to bolster CU-Boulder's commitment to diversity and to enhance and expand program offerings and services formerly coordinated by the associate vice chancellor for diversity and equity. McKee received her bachelor's degree in French and secondary education with honors from Morris Brown College, her master's degree in elementary education from the University of Chicago and her doctorate in curriculum and instruction/educational psychology from the University of Minnesota. She has held professional appointments in the broad area of diversity at East Carolina University, University of Minnesota, University of Denver, Bowling Green University and at CU-Boulder. At Metropolitan State College, McKee was responsible for development of the first campus wide office to enhance diversity with special emphasis on faculty recruitment and retention, improving campus climate and attaining institutional designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution.

Denver VA Employees Win National Awards
Two employees at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Denver Regional Office (VARO) received top awards in July, 2007. Mr. John P. Cunningham, Senior Appraiser and Specially Adapted Housing Agent, was selected to receive the Outstanding Customer Service Award for an Individual Employee, and Ms. Tristen Wendland, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, was selected as the Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling Service 2007 Employee of the Year. Both employees work extensively with disabled veterans from the Global War on Terror (GWOT), especially those recently returning injured from Iraq and Afghanistan. For 20 years, Cunningham has worked with disabled veterans that require adaptive housing due to their service related disabilities. In May 2007, Cunningham was recognized by the Director of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System for his collaboration with VA Medical Center Social Workers in Washington State, improving the lives of disabled veterans. Wendland is a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor who works on the Fort Carson Army Base, where she  manages VA Secretary Nicholson’s “Coming Home to Work” (CHTW) program. Remarkably, Wendland has coordinated the CHTW initiative, while her soldier husband who is a West Point graduate and stationed at Fort Carson, is currently serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.

Denver Area Teacher Named Colorado History Teacher Of The Year
Jen Almquist, a second grade teacher at Superior Elementary School in Superior, has been named Colorado History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America. The selection of the state winner is based upon several criteria, including: at least three years of classroom experience in teaching American history in elementary school; a deep career commitment to teaching American history, which includes local and state history; evidence of creativity and imagination in the classroom that address literacy and content beyond state standards; close attention to primary documents, artifacts, historic sites, and other primary materials of history, including oral history; and evidence of thoughtful assessment of student achievement. Almquist, an Erie resident, has been teaching at Superior Elementary School for 8 years and will receive a $1,000 honorarium and will be in the running for the National History Teacher of the Year Award, to be selected this fall. Superior Elementary School’s library will receive a core archive of history books and materials from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

U.S. Bank Awards $5,000 For Black Chamber Scholarship Fund
U.S. Bank President Hassan Salem, of the Five Points branch, presented the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce a $5,000 check for its scholarship fund on Monday. A scholarship pf $4,000 was awarded that same day to Dianna L. Butler by the Chamber. Butler is a 2007 graduate of East High School. Also receiving $500 scholarships each were certificate of recognition recipients Alura D. Baxter and Devin J. Pitts-Rogers, both 2007 graduates of East High School. The scholarship fund is part of a new non-profit foundation the Chamber created for its education and leadership programs.

Return To Top