RCF Announces New Committee Appointments

Denver, CO – Rose Community Foundation’s board of trustees has announced the appointment of 14 new members to seven of the Foundation’s committees. These community volunteers provide guidance and expertise to support the Foundation’s mission, programs and policies.

Committee on Aging – Jeremy Bloom, Mark Cordova and Marvin McDaniel

Child and Family Development Committee – Irit Waldbaum

Education Committee – Katherine Gold and George Sparks

Health Committee – Jane Butcher and Helayne B. Jones, Ed.D.

Investment Committee – Steven A. Cohen

Jewish Life Committee – Adam Agron, Steven Ellis, Jim Shmerling and Faye Weitzman

Philanthropic Services Committee – M. Doak Jacoway

Jeremy Bloom is one of three new members of the Committee on Aging. Bloom is an athlete and college football analyst for ESPN. As a snow skier, Bloom is a three-time world champion, two-time Olympian and 11-time World Cup gold medalist. As a football player, Bloom was an all-American at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and played in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers. Bloom is the founder of the Wish of a Lifetime Foundation, which grants wishes to low-income older adults. He is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Mark Cordova is president of Centennial Bolt, a fastener company that serves the industrial and construction industries. A graduate of the University of San Diego, Cordova serves as chair of the Mountain States Employers Council. Other past and present board memberships include: Denver Area Council, Boy Scouts of America; Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic School; Volunteers of America, Colorado Branch; and Wells Fargo Colorado’s Community Board. Cordova is a past recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Business Social Responsibility Award.

The third new member of the Committee on Aging is Marvin McDaniel, vice president and chief administrative officer of Xcel Energy. He has been employed by Xcel Energy and its predecessor companies for more than 20 years in various management positions. McDaniel is immediate past chair of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colorado, where he continues to serve on the board. He is also a member of the advisory board for the College of Professional Studies, School of Management at Regis University, as well as the Vanguard Client Council. McDaniel has a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and an M.B.A. in finance from Regis University.

The Committee on Aging supports efforts to promote and enhance services for older adults and their caregivers in the seven-county Greater Denver area, with a special emphasis on addressing the needs of low- to moderate-income seniors.

Rose Community Foundation Trustee Irit Waldbaum has joined the Child and Family Development Committee. Waldbaum also serves on the Foundation’s Philanthropic Services Committee and Jewish Life Committee, which she previously chaired. Waldbaum is a past president of Hillel of Colorado and co-chaired the organization’s $4 million capital campaign. She also has served on the board of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado and Jewish Family Service of Colorado. Additionally, Waldbaum served as a member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet of the United Jewish Communities and the Wexner Heritage Foundation Alumni Board. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architectural design from the University of Colorado. She is a former board member of the Denver Architectural Foundation.

The Child and Family Development program area focuses resources on efforts that support early-childhood development and family self-sufficiency in the seven-county Greater Denver area.

The Education Committee has two new members: Katherine Gold and George Sparks. Gold is president of Gold Bug, Inc., a distributor of children’s accessory products, and a company that sponsors an elementary school through the Denver Public Schools Foundation. In addition to her service on professional boards, Gold is chair of the Colorado Children’s Campaign and serves on the President’s Leadership Council of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. She has been named Outstanding Business Leader by Earnshaw’s Magazine. Gold has a bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College in Claremont, California.

George Sparks is president and CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a B.S. in aeronautical engineering, and has an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Sparks has served on numerous boards and organizations, including: Colorado Bright Beginnings, Colorado Concern, the Colorado Forum, Mountain States Employers Council, the Public Education & Business Coalition, and the Tointon Institute. He is also a member of Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s P-20 Education Coordinating Council.

The Education program area supports efforts that lead to improved student achievement through quality teaching and systemic change in individual schools and in public education.

Jane Butcher and Trustee Helayne Jones, Ed.D. have joined Rose Community Foundation’s Health Committee. Butcher is president of Butcher Management. She has served in several roles at the University of Colorado at Boulder, including as co-chair of the Conference on World Affairs, and as an advisory board member for both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology. Butcher has also served on the boards of the City of Boulder Library Commission, the Colorado Music Festival, the Foundation for National Progress, Mother Jones Magazine, and the Women of the West Museum. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Helayne Jones, Ed.D. has been a member of Rose Community Foundation’s board since 2005, and chaired the Education Committee for several years. She is currently executive director of the Colorado Legacy Foundation, a statewide education foundation aligned with the Colorado Department of Education. In addition, she is a member of the Boulder Valley School Board. Jones earned a B.A. at the University of Michigan, an M.A. at the University of Massachusetts, and received her doctorate in educational administration from Columbia University’s Teachers College. She has been on numerous boards, including the Allied Jewish Federation’s Coordinating Council, Congregation Har HaShem, The Dairy Center for the Arts, and the University of Colorado at Boulder’s President’s Leadership Class. She is also on the advisory council of the University of Colorado at Denver’s Graduate School of Public Affairs.

Rose Community Foundation’s Health Committee works to improve access to affordable health care and health care coverage, and to create a better coordinated health care system.

Steven A. Cohen is the newest member of the Investment Committee. Cohen is managing director of the Anschutz Investment Company, the investment arm of The Anschutz Corporation, which is involved in a diverse range of business activities. He also sits on the boards of various entities within the Anschutz group of companies. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics with honors from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law. Cohen serves on the board of the Kempe Foundation for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, where he is past chair.

Rose Community Foundation’s Investment Committee advises and oversees the management of the Foundation’s assets, currently valued at approximately $253 million.

Adam Agron is one of four new members of the Jewish Life Committee. Agron is the co-chair of the Corporate & Business Department of the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. He attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, has a B.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a J.D. with highest honors from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Agron currently serves on the boards of Craig Hospital Foundation and Jewish Family Service of Colorado. He is also a member of the Olympic Bid Committee of the Metro Denver Sports Commission, and the council of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Steven Ellis is president and founder of Colorado Capital Management, a wealth-management firm that works with individuals and nonprofit organizations. He has served on boards or committees of the following organizations: 18 Pomegranates, a private foundation; the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado Endowment Fund; Boulder Jewish Community Center; Congregation Nevei Kodesh; and Horizons K-8 School. He has a business degree from the University of Colorado and a master’s degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. He also holds the chartered financial analyst professional designation.

Also joining the Jewish Life Committee is Jim Shmerling, president and chief executive officer of The Children’s Hospital. Shmerling serves on numerous boards, including the Children’s Health Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions. He has degrees from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and Samford University in Birmingham, as well as a doctorate in health administration from the Medical University of South Carolina. In 2009, Shmerling was appointed by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter to serve on the state’s Hospital Provider Fee Oversight and Advisory Board.

The fourth new member of the Jewish Life Committee is Faye Weitzman. Weitzman is a community volunteer, serving on the board of the Colorado Agency for Jewish Education. She also serves on the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado’s Jewish Resource Center Allocations Committee. Weitzman was formerly a managing director of Lehman Brothers, Furman Selz and Jeffries Capital Partners. She has a B.A. in economics from Bowdoin College and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

The grantmaking priorities of Rose Community Foundation’s Jewish Life Committee are: welcoming and connecting Jews and others in their households to Jewish life, promoting Jewish growth and learning, building organizational strength and fostering leadership in the Greater Denver Jewish community.

M. Doak Jacoway has joined the Philanthropic Services Committee. Jacoway is a financial planning consultant and president of Jacoway Financial Corporation. He has served on the boards of Cherry Hills Country Club; Colorado UpLIFT; the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, where he was chair; Metropolitan State College of Denver Foundation; and US Bank’s advisory board. He is the current chair of the Denver Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. Jacoway has a B.A. from Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

The Philanthropic Services Committee supports the Foundation’s efforts to encourage philanthropic giving among individuals and families in the Greater Denver/Boulder area.

Rose Community Foundation supports efforts to improve the quality of life throughout the Greater Denver community through its endowed grantmaking programs, and by advising and assisting donors who wish to make thoughtful charitable investments to better the community. The Foundation has granted more than $157 million since it was founded in 1995. For more information, visit rcfdenver.org.