SEEN: Denver Scholarship Foundation gala features address by Jamie Dimon
In 10 short years, the Denver Scholarship Foundation has grown from what departing chief executive officer Nate Easley describes as “an audacious startup” to a national model for success.
And at a gala celebrating the DSF’s first decade, 1,000-plus supporters helped raise $1.3 million — money that will help recent Denver Public Schools graduates like Sabrin Mohammed, Leidy Marquez-Chavez and Jesus Torales-Gomez continue the post-secondary education that will enable them to establish careers in fields that range from barbering to nursing.
“I wasn’t a star student,” observed master of ceremonies Anne Trujillo, a Littleton High School grad and longtime anchor with 7News. “Math is what did me in. But the point is that I found my strength, and that’s what the DSF helps so many others do.”
Since its start in 2006, the DSF has awarded $33 million in scholarships to 5,600 Denver Public Schools graduates.
Easley, who became the DSF’s chief executive in 2013, on Oct. 1 became the founding CEO of Blue School Partners, an “education-focused philanthropic collaborative” backed by the Gates Family Foundation and others.
Chaired by Jayne Ford and held at the Hyatt Regency Convention Center, the DSF gala featured a talk by Jamie Dimon, the chairman, president and CEO of JPMorgan Chase.
His remarks were moderated by DaVita Healthcare Partners CEO Kent Thiry and U.S. Air Force Capt. Joey Arora, who used his DSF grant to obtain degrees from the University of Colorado and Colorado State University Global.
Dimon, who has advised presidents Trump and Obama and considers himself an “absolute patriot,” emphasized the importance of a good education.
“We shouldn’t denigrate the importance of jobs like burger-flippers, but there are a lot of jobs out there that kids simply are not prepared to fill. Competence is going to become increasingly important in the future.”
Gov. John Hickenlooper, who had helped found the DSF with oilman Tim Marquez and his wife, Bernadette, was among the VIP guests, a group that also included Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and his wife, Mary Louise Lee; City Councilman Chris Herndon and his wife, Genia; state Treasurer Walker Stapleton and his wife, Jenna; and state legislators Owen Hill and Dan Pabon.
Cathey Finlon, a DSF board member serving as the nonprofit organization’s interim CEO, and her husband, Dick, were hosts to a group that included Jane Hamilton; Marco Abarca; A.J. Miller; Travis and Sue Ellen White and Mario and Irma Carrera.
Others celebrating the start of the DSF’s second decade were Scott Nycum, retired vice chairman of JPMorgan Private Bank and the one responsible for getting Jamie Dimon to speak at the gala; key sponsors Mike and Patty Starzer; Libby Anschutz and hubby Jeff Allen; Rod Nairn, the University of Colorado’s provost and executive vice chancellor for academic and student affairs; Seth Belzley; gubernatorial hopeful Noel Ginsburg; Luis Colon, CEO and managing partner of Xcelente Global, and wife Toti Cadavid; Marc Pinto, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, and his wife, DSF board member Margot Pinto; Cedric Buchanon, Denver market president for BBVA Compass, and his wife, Kelli; Dr. Dean Prina and Helen Young Hayes, a former investment fund manager who is now the founder and CEO of Activate Workplace Solutions, an organization that works to “alleviate poverty by creating pathways to employment.”