Denver Office of Cultural Affairs
Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs
The Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs acts as an advisory board to the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. The Commission is comprised of dynamic and accomplished Denver leaders in the areas of the arts, business and education, all of whom are appointed by the Mayor. The Commissioners are strong advocates of the arts and culture, and are committed to the mission and goals of the Denver Office of Cultural Affairs. Meetings of the Commission are open to the public. They are held on the first Tuesday of every month at 4:00 p.m. Call 720-865-4320 for details.
Members of the Commission:
Dr. Arthur C. Jones is the Chair of the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs. He is a Senior Clinical Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver. Jones is also the founder of the Spirituals Project, a nonprofit organization with a mission to preserve and revitalize the music and teachings of the sacred songs called “spirituals,” created and first sung by enslaved Africans in America in the 18th and 19th centuries.
ART JONES
Sheila Bisenius comes to the commission with an impressive arts and culture background. Most recently, Bisenius was the Special Assistant to the Director of Hewitt, National Design Museum in New York City, as well as the Education Volunteer and Departmental Assistant at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was also the Executive Director of the Denver Architectural Foundation in 2002 and 2003. Bisenius currently serves on several boards, including Opera Colorado and the Clyfford Still Museum. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Loretto Heights College and has done graduate work at New York University, University of Denver, and New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts.
Tom Botelho is the former Senior Vice President of Marketing at the Denver Newspaper Agency. Prior to joining the agency, Botelho served for five years as the Vice President of Marketing for The Denver Post. Botelho has a Bachelor of Science (business administration) from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in journalism (advertising) from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
Maria Cole is an architect and Associate at Davis Partnership Architects and holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Carnegie Mellon University. She has received multiple design awards, including the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts, and was named the American Institute of Architects Western Mountain Region “Young Architect of the Year” in 2003 and American Institute of Architects (AIA) Denver’s “Young Architect of the Year” in 2002. Maria is the Founder and Director of the Architectural Laboratory in Denver, and has served as an Adjunct Instructor at the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado at Denver. She is currently working on the Denver Art Museum Expansion with the joint venture of Davis Partnership and Studio Libeskind.
MARIA COLE
Len Edgerly is former chair of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). He holds a B.A. and M.B.A. from Harvard, and after retiring as an executive of KN Energy, Inc. in
Lakewood, he earned an M.F.A. in poetry from
Bennington College. His poetry has appeared in AGNI, High Plains Literary Review and The Beloit Poetry Journal. He is an avid blogger and podcaster at
www.LenEdgerly.com. He and his wife live in downtown
Denver.
LEN EDGERLY
Lori Fox is the Director of Public and Government Affairs at United Airlines. A Colorado native, she has worked in politics, campaigns and transportation policy for almost two decades. Fox's Washington tour of duty included serving as an aide to former Senator Ben Campbell, Director of Advance for U.S. Transportation and Energy Secretary Federico Peña under the Clinton Administration and a stint in the White House serving Vice President Al Gore. In 1998, she returned to Colorado and worked in a variety of consulting positions. Fox has advised corporate, non-profit and government entities on public relations and public affairs issues. In 2002, she was elected to serve on the Regional Transportation District’s Board of Directors. Fox served on transition teams for both Governor Ritter and Mayor Hickenlooper. She is on the board of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, and co-chaired the Transportation Committee and the Colorado 2006 task force. Fox has also served as member of the Executive Committee and the Chair-elect Committee. She is a member of Colorado Concern. Previously, Fox served on the board of Denver Civic Ventures, the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training. She has been named one of the Denver Business Journal’s “40 Under 40”, “50 for the Future” by the Colorado Statesman and “One to Watch” by Element Magazine. Fox lives in Stapleton with her husband Tom Downey and three young daughters, Cate, Ella and Meg.
LORI FOX
Tony Garcia is the Executive Artistic Director of El Centro Su Teatro. He is a playwright and director, and is very interested in cultural policy. Garcia is a faculty member in the Chicano and Chicana Studies Department at Metropolitan State College of Denver. He is Vice-President of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC), and teaches arts management for the NALAC Leadership Institute. Garcia is also a member of Mayor Hickenlooper’s Latino Advisory Committee.
Arturo Gómez is the Music Director for jazz89 KUVO FM radio station and the recipient of the Music Director of the Year Award for the past three consecutive years from Jazz Week Magazine. He is a renowned music educator and writer, has written articles for several national magazines and liner notes for albums, and has conducted numerous clinics on music history. Gómez is a passionate lover of music and an advocate for multiculturalism.
Deborah Jordy is the Executive Director of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA.) She formerly was director of the Cherokee Ranch and Castle Foundation and prior to that served as director of the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities, as well as Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Denver Art Museum. Jordy is a long-time arts advocate and serves on the boards of Colorado Association of Nonprofit Organizations (CANPO) and Arts for Colorado, the statewide arts advocacy organization.
DEBORAH JORDY
Dr. Christopher Law is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Colorado. Originally from Hong Kong, Dr. Law has been active in many arts organizations in Denver, including the Art Students League, the Friends of the Denver School of the Arts, the Denver Film Society, Opera Colorado and the Alliance for Contemporary Art of the Denver Art Museum.
Jose Mercado is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, Film & Video Production at the University of Colorado-Denver. He teaches acting and recently directed Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors with a fun and unique twist at CU-Denver. Prior to joining the CU faculty, Mercado led the theater program at North High School, directing Zoot Suit Riots, the first high school production to play at the Buell Theatre. Other directing credits at North include The House on Mango Street with costumes by Mona Lucero and an original, student created hip-hop show called One Love. He worked as an actor in L.A. after earning his M.F.A. in Theater from UCLA, where he won the Jack Nicholson Prize in Acting, and later performed on stage with Kathleen Chalfant in Wit, and in two productions with Megan Mullally: Mayhem and The Berlin Circle. He is the founder of Labyrinth Arts Academy, an organization that trains and inspires underserved high school youth in Denver to become our future cultural leaders.
JOSE MERCADO
Yolanda Ortega retired over two years ago from Metropolitan State College of Denver as Vice President for Student Services. Since then, she has been back serving Metro State in interim administrative positions. Currently, Ortega is serving as the Student Judicial Officer for the college. In 2006, she became part owner of Encantada Catering, Inc. with partners Jesse Ogas and Dee Burleson. Encantada Catering features fresh, homemade New Mexican food and live musical entertainment. Ortega has been a veterana actress and musician for 33 years with Su Teatro, a Denver-based Chicano theatre company. She has been featured in main stage plays such as Las Tamaleras, Doña Rosita's Jalapeño Kitchen, El Sol Que Tu Eres, Westside Oratorio and La Guerra Eterna. Ortega serves on the Board of Trustees of Escuela Tlatelolco and Clinica Tepeyac. In addition to her active community service, she pursues her passion for road trips, photography, poetry and performing.
YOLANDA ORTEGA
Felix Ortiz is the Community Relations Manager for Doctors Care, a nonprofit organization providing access to affordable health care to the medically underserved in South Metro Denver. As Community Relations Manager, Ortiz manages outreach and public education programs for the organization. He also works as a public relations consultant specializing in the nonprofit sector. In the past, Ortiz has worked with Travelers Express MoneyGram, the National Association of School Nurses, the
Museum of Contemporary Art | Denver and US Bank. Coming from a family of musicians and artists, he has always held a passion for the arts. Ortiz holds both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in communications from the
University of
Colorado at
Denver.
Ken Santistevan is the Assistant to the Superintendent for Denver Public Schools in Community Relations. He was formerly the Director of Public Affairs for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). His position at the DCPA included community relations, government affairs, arts and education policy/advocacy and the promotion of careers in the arts. Previous to the DCPA, Santistevan was the Minority Business Advocate for the State of Colorado. His civic endeavors are many, including serving as a volunteer of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for the past 16 years, taking an instrumental role in the development of the Colorado Minority & Women Business Council, co-founding the United States Hispanic Junior Chamber of Commerce, being appointed to the Colorado Commission on Closing the Achievement Gap, and serving on the boards of the Colorado Hispanic League, Minority Enterprise & Educational Development, Inc., Colorado Alliance for Arts Education, Colorado Business Council and the Denver Metro Chamber Foundation. Santistevan is the recipient of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Youth Service Award and the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Award.
KEN SANTISTEVAN
Ron Schwab, Teamsters International Motion Picture Division.
Since graduating from the University of Colorado in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business, majoring in Real Estate, Howard Torgove has been active in sales, development and investment in numerous residential, office and industrial real estate properties. He currently is a Managing Partner in The Wellshire Inn, the financial advisor and participating lender to the expanding Purple Martini Company. Torgove is a founding investor and board member of Crème de la Crème and an active investor in SOCO, LLC and Ironspark, LLP. He has served as the Colorado Representative to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts, was appointed to the board of the Plex Foundation, served on the board of the Denver Art, Culture and Film Foundation and is a founding member of the Director’s Society for the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
Chris Wineman is a Principal at Semple Brown Design, P.C. In his role at Semple Brown, he assists cultural and community clients in the planning of new and renovated facilities, with particular emphasis on the integration of management and programming concerns in planning. Prior to joining Semple Brown, Chris served on the senior management teams of the nation’s leading resident theatre companies, including as the executive director of the Denver Center Theatre Company/National Theatre Conservatory and director of development at Actors Theatre of Louisville. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting and his Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
CHRIS WINEMAN
Ivar Zeile is the owner of + gallery. The gallery received “Top New Art Gallery” from the Rocky Mountain News in 2005, and is known for providing exhibition space for emerging progressive contemporary artists, as well as nationally recognized artists in a variety of media. Zeile is on the board of PlatteForum, is a member of the MCA Denver Film Committee, the Denver Arts Dealers Association and the Lodo District. Prior to owning his own gallery, for over a decade Zeile worked independently as a furniture, graphics and film designer. He graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelors degree in Urban Planning.
IVAR ZEILE