The Future of Colorado’s Workforce Needs Board of Regents Meeting – Friday, February 14, 2020 CU Denver Business School Jake Jabs Conference Center 1475 Lawrence Street, Denver, CO 80202 Workforce Thought Leaders - Panelists As president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Kelly Brough is focused on putting more Coloradans to work – in really great jobs It’s a clear call to action that’s driven this CEO from higher education to City Hall to the Chamber Kelly has worked to advance our state and find opportunities for improvement, whether it’s advocating for P-20 education reform, implementing ground breaking programs like 3-1-1 and pay for performance for the City and County of Denver or consulting on dispute resolution for local governments She’s directed an internationally recognized leadership program, been the chief of staff to then-Mayor John Hickenlooper and was the first female director of human resources for the City and County of Denver – in a common theme, she was also the first female snow plow driver at Stapleton International Airport and the first female CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber Though born and raised in a small town in Montana, she’s Colorado to the core In fact, you’re just as likely to catch her testifying at the capitol as you are to find her climbing mountain passes on her road bike Christopher Gessner is the president and chief executive officer of University of Colorado Hospital (UCH), a nationally recognized academic medical center with almost 700 inpatient beds and 6,000 employees UCH is the only academic medical center in Colorado and is the academic hub of the UCHealth system As CEO of UCH, Mr Gessner will oversee other UCHealth locations in metro Denver including Broomfield Hospital, Highlands Ranch Hospital and numerous ambulatory medical centers Prior to UCH, Mr Gessner was the president of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital where he led initiatives to advance patient care, improve access for patients and elevate the overall health care experience He launched several care delivery innovations including an array of virtual health services, embedding behavioral health services in primary care and subspecialty practices and the creation of strategic liver transplant and cardiovascular partnerships in national markets Mr Gessner excels at partnering with physicians and other clinicians and enabling teams with diverse backgrounds and skill sets to work across organizational boundaries and deliver exceptional performance He also has extensive experience in payer – provider contracting and relationships, having worked at both Highmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Geisinger Health System early in his career Mr Gessner has master’s degrees in health care administration and business from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary Mr Gessner enjoys spending time with his wife, Jane, and three children Joelle L Martinez is a nationally recognized non-profit executive, inspirational speaker, and organizational strategist Since 2015, Joelle has served as the Executive Director of the Latino Leadership Institute at the University of Denver Prior to the Institute, Joelle spent more than 15 years building winning business development, public affairs, and media strategies for Fortune 500 companies In 2017, Joelle was named one of the 25 most powerful women by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce In the community, Joelle serves as a Trustee for the Mile High United Way and is an executive committee member of Building a Better Colorado Joelle is a member of the NeuroLeadership Institute and is a certified Insights Discovery® Practitioner As a proud Colorado native, Joelle earned her degree from the University of Colorado Boulder As a leader on the Western Slope, Christian Reece has had a passion and commitment to Western Colorado for many years When the opportunity to lead the non-partisan coalition of CLUB 20 came up five years ago, Christian jumped at the chance to advocate on behalf of Western Colorado Through her tenure with CLUB 20, she has worked to make the state constitution more difficult to amend, advocated for common sense regulations that protect the nature of Colorado while ensuring a business friendly environment, and has influenced the outcome of countless bills and regulations coming out from under the golden dome Christian is a recent graduate of the Marshall Memorial Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the U.S where she had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe meeting with business and political leaders to advance U.S foreign relations and further understanding between the different cultures Before joining the CLUB 20 team, Christian worked as a non-profit fundraiser, project manager, and field representative for US Congressman Scott Tipton Business & Government Relations and Senior Economist Richard L Wobbekind is Executive Director of the Business Research Division and Associate Dean for Business & Government Relations, and Senior Economist at the University of Colorado Boulder He joined the faculty at the Leeds School of Business in 1985, and has served as Associate Dean since 2000 As Executive Director of the Business Research Division his responsibilities include developing an annual consensus forecast of the Colorado economy and performing various economic impact assessments of the Colorado economy Wobbekind also produces the quarterly Leeds Business Confidence Index for Colorado Rich is currently the president of the National Association for Business Economics He also participates annually in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Regional Economic Roundtable and is a contributor to the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast newsletter He is a member of the Governor's Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee, the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Forecast 2035 Advisory Committee, the Colorado Tourism Office Education and Research Committee, the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority and the Boulder Economic Council.For his efforts in community development and outreach, Wobbekind was awarded the 1997 University of Colorado Bank One Community Outreach Award In 2006 he was awarded the Robert L Stearns award for lifetime contributions in teaching, research and service Wobbekind teaches MBA students in macroeconomics, public policy, entrepreneurship and managerial economics He has received three awards for teaching excellence from the students of the Leeds School Wobbekind has lived in Colorado for more than 34 years and has spent much of his time studying the development of the Colorado and regional economies He received a BA in economics from Bucknell University and an MA and Ph.D in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder Moderator Sharon Matusik is the Dean and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Dr Matusik’s research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, knowledge assets and venture capital For example, she has looked at topics such as how markets value innovation activities of firms, what accounts for variation in profitability levels of entrepreneurial firms, how the diversification of a venture capital firm affects its performance, the development of risk capital markets around the globe, and gains from innovation activities in emerging markets Her work has been published in top international academic journals, and is widely cited in the management field Her teaching interests are in the area of strategic management and entrepreneurship, and she has taught extensively at the MBA, undergraduate, PhD and executive level She also spent a semester as a visiting professor at Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD) in Santiago, Chile; UDD is ranked number one in entrepreneurship in Latin America Each spring, she takes a group of MBA students to an emerging economy, most recently to Cuba, to study the role of entrepreneurship and innovation in economic development Dr Matusik has served in a variety of leadership roles, including senior associate dean for faculty and research and academic director of the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School, and as a board member for nonprofit organizations such as the Strategic Management Society and MBA Women International (formerly Graduate Women in Business [GWIB]) She speaks regularly on topics related to innovation and entrepreneurship, and advises local entrepreneurial ventures She is the 2014 recipient of the Leeds School’s William H Baughn Distinguished Service award, and has also received awards for her research, teaching and service to her profession Prior to becoming a professor, Dr Matusik worked in the field of consulting for seven years ... Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder Moderator Sharon Matusik is the Dean and Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Dr... teaching excellence from the students of the Leeds School Wobbekind has lived in Colorado for more than 34 years and has spent much of his time studying the development of the Colorado and regional... Director of the Business Research Division and Associate Dean for Business & Government Relations, and Senior Economist at the University of Colorado Boulder He joined the faculty at the Leeds