About the COB

Julia Richman, Chair, currently serves as the Senior Vice Chancellor for Operations and Strategy Implementation at the University of Denver, where she aligns DU’s leadership model with proven best practices to support the institution’s strategic vision. Julia has experience overseeing large institutions as they optimize operations. She was named Outstanding Woman in Business by the Denver Business Journal in 2022, was a Colorado Governors fellow and graduate of Leadership Denver. Previously, Julia served as Deputy Executive Director of the Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer for the City of Boulder and a Senior Manager with Deloitte Consulting. Richman was born and raised in Colorado’s metro area. She received her MPP from the University of Chicago and AB from Dartmouth College.

Tymesha Watkins, Vice-Chair, is a native of Denver and an accredited software engineer and activist. She is passionate about working with our youth and providing opportunities for them to explore STEM fields. She has served as the Engineer in the Classroom Lead. She is an advocate for racial equality and developing platforms that normalize diverse and inclusive environments. With that focus in mind, she led a strategic planning group to develop and maintain diversity-centric hiring pipelines at her previous organization. She is a current commissioner on Denver African American Commission. She holds a Master of Science Cyber Technologies from University of Maryland University College and a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Management Technologies from Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Karen Collier is a proud native of Colorado. She attended both public and parochial elementary, junior high, and high schools throughout the Denver Metropolitan area. Karen obtained an Associates Degree from Mile Hi Court Reporting College and retired from a 32-year career as a Court Stenographer for the Second Judicial District of the Denver District Court in 2009. Since her retirement, she has committed to achieving social justice, having worked on the board and grant-making committee of the Chinook Fund, a philanthropic organization seeding community-led, systemic change by mobilizing resources for grassroots social justice groups across Colorado; co-founder and board chair of Out4Life Colorado, delivering HIV prevention services to the African-American communities in the Denver Metro Area; past board president for The Center for Trauma and Resilience; The Center; volunteering with Rainbow Alley, its LGBTQ+ youth outreach program; and One Colorado, as co-chair for the People of Color Caucus. In addition to the appointment to the Citizen Oversight Board, she serves as a co-chair of Park Hill Congregational Church UCC’s partnership with the Women’s Homelessness Initiative; a program of the Capital Hill United Ministries, providing daily lunches to women who access services at the St. Francis Center.

Rufina A. Hernández, Esq., retired from her position as the Associate Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity at the University of Denver (DU) in 2021, having previously served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Civil Rights Division. A graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, Hernández has a long career of civil rights advocacy. She honed her skills as a trial attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver and has litigated class action lawsuits involving consumer protection and represented domestic violence assault victims in civil court. In 1989 she was appointed as the Assistant Dean of Students at University of Denver Law School. Subsequently she went on to be selected as the Executive Director of the State Bar of New Mexico, becoming the first Latina in the nation to lead a state bar organization. Her career also encompassed work as the executive director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA), the director of the National Education Association’s Human and Civil Rights department, and director of the Campaign for High School Equity in Washington DC. Her most recent volunteer activities include a three-year term on the Civil Service Commission for the City and County of Denver and serving as a board member for Disability Law United, a disability rights legal advocacy organization.

Dawn Holden is a people and culture leader with over 20 years of global experience driving strategic initiatives across diverse industries from oil fields to medical offices. Dawn has held numerous executive HR roles while serving as a trusted advisor to organizations worldwide. Dawn is a current Board member at Seeing our Adolescents Rise (SOAR) and active in her East Colfax community. She earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from the University of Denver, and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She also holds her PHR and SHRM-CP certifications, and additional study in HR analytics and diversity management. In her free time she enjoys fly-fishing and camping around the Rocky Mountains, and exploring her East Colfax neighborhood with her husband and four dogs.

David Martinez is a first-generation college graduate. He attended Colorado State University where he majored in Political Science. He is a proud Chicano organizer who grew up in the Westside of Denver. David has participated in, and has been critical of, our legal and political institutions in meeting the material and spiritual needs of communities. Currently, David is a research and program manager at Ednium: The Alumni Collective. Ednium's mission is to mobilize public school alumni as a powerful force to change the way cities educate and reinvest in its homegrown talent. During his organizing work, David has helped organize brown and black folks who maneuver our differing institutions in their path for liberation in genuine manners. He helped organize and facilitate the first Colorado Latino Political forum for U.S Congressional District 8. He also worked with the UCLA Latino Public Policy Institute to create a Latino lens for Proposition FF (Healthy School Meals For All).

Larry Martinez is a proud native-born Coloradan, raised in the inner city of Denver. He has been an active community member all his life. As a youth Larry performed anti-drug theater with the West Side Drug-Free Youth Team and worked with several community groups on cultural awareness and professional development. Larry has worked with Denver Inner City Parish (a secular human services organization, known as DICP) for 20 years. During that time, he directed youth out-of-school time programs, food pantries, senior-citizens' programs, community dinners, gift distributions, and sober living facilities. Larry is currently Executive Director of DICP and a former director of DICP at College View, a Denver Parks and Rec center operated by DICP for 9 years. Larry also serves on the board of NEWSED CDC. He is married and a proud father of four wonderful children.

Alfredo Reyes is the proud son of Mexican immigrants and a proud Denverite born-and-raised on the Westside. Alfredo is currently the Executive Director of the Latino Cultural Arts Center (LCAC), a project he helped conceptualize that integrates social impact with economic empowerment to the benefit of artists, educators, youth, and families. He also served as the Co-Chair of the Commission of Cultural Affairs at Denver Arts and Venues. His expertise spans fundraising, pedagogy, politics, real estate activation, youth development and community-building, among others. He is a graduate of Denver Public Schools and the recipient of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship, which funded 10 years of undergraduate and graduate studies. Alfredo earned a B.A. from The Colorado College in Political Science and Spanish. He received a professional certificate in Mediation at the University of Denver before achieving an M.A. in Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice from CU Boulder, School of Education, and then spending three years in a doctoral program at UC Santa Cruz in Education Research. With his free time, Alfredo loves to ride his Bianchi road bike, travel (to over 15 countries so far!), cook, create art, and spend time with his loved ones.