About Peak

AJ is the Denver Peak Academy Director.

Ajanae, who also goes by AJ, is a people-centered leader with over 10 years of experience driving organizational improvement in the public sector, and she is passionate about bringing an equity lens to her work. AJ most recently served in a leadership role with the State of Colorado, where she focused on scaling digital maturity, procurement, and contracts innovation with the Colorado Digital Service team in the Governor’s Office of Information Technology.

Previously, at the City and County of Denver, AJ managed procurements at the Department of General Services and led meaningful process improvement projects as a former member of the Peak team.

Outside of work, AJ finds joy in competitive games and connecting with loved ones. She also loves a good brunch, and you are likely to find her at many food festivals

Benjamin is a Continuous Improvement Senior with Denver Peak Academy.

Benjamin joined Peak after working at Denver’s 311. His time with 311 enabled him to experience and work with a broad range of agencies and projects, as well as foster an interest in local government. Since joining the Peak team Benjamin has created tools, training, and marketing content. Projects Benjamin has been a part of include assisting Denver Animal Protection and the Dept of Public Health Inspections in working together to combine their processes to reduce animal bite case times, facilitating an action plan for Denver Parks & Recreation and the Office of Human Resources to hire more lifeguards during the busy summer season, and in a partnership with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure’s Fleet Maintenance he has helped to identify and implement time-saving processes to better serve the citizens of Denver’s growing needs.

Benjamin was born and raised in Queens, New York, and received his Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Albany. When not working, Benjamin enjoys spending time with his dog and backyard chickens and playing board games.

Drew Brown is a Continuous Improvement Supervisor with Denver Peak Academy.

Drew Brown joined the Peak team in 2016 after working with a local school district as a process improvement analyst. He was given the opportunity to attend Peak’s Black Belt training and loved it so much that he applied for a job opening with the team and has been there ever since. Drew has a knack for getting results on projects related to trust building, change management and strategic planning. He was the lead project manager for DDPHE’s acquisition of epidemiology services from Denver Health, he facilitated successful trust and process improvement work with the Clerk & Recorder’s operations team and HOST’s contracting and street outreach teams, and has done strategic planning work with the Public Defender Office and the Climate Action departments communications team.

Drew and his wife Megan have a daughter named Riley, and they all like to spend time in the mountains on weekends with their dog Remus the husky. Drew is an enthusiastic fan of live music, particularly funk, bluegrass and dubstep. He was an NCAA Division 1 Athletic and Academic All-American, and he competed in the sport of Diving at the 2008 Olympic trials. 

Katie Lewis is a Continuous Improvement Specialist with Denver Peak.

Katie has been with the City and County of Denver since 2021 and has previously worked with Denver Human Services and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. Some of her favorite projects have included human-centered design pilot for DHS’s TANF program and building out a strategic work plan the Innovation Resolution Committee for DOTI.  She loves to see “Squeaky wheels” transform into “Change Champions”.

Katie was raised in Colorado and earned her Master’s degree in Non-profit Management at Regis University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Change Manager (ProSci). On her time off you can catch her in the mountains with her pup Luna and partner, Daniel. 

Katie is a Continuous Improvement Senior with Denver Peak Academy.

Katie is a Continuous Improvement Senior with Denver Peak Academy. Katie enjoys working with groups across the City and County of Denver to build the structure needed to successfully make a change, and “organize the chaos”. Many of her favorite projects have included equity or strategic planning, such as helping the Department of Safety and Civil Service Commission enhance equity in their hiring process and helping the new Office of Storytelling set a mission, vision, and measurable goals to broaden the impact of their office. Most recently, she led one of the largest improvements in Peak history, reducing the contracting times across this city. Having grown up in the Denver metro area, Katie enjoys applying her skills to help Denver be the best city in the nation and in doing so, getting to know all the amazing people that make the city what it is. Katie earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Colorado and her master’s degree in sociology from Brown University. When not at work, Katie enjoys being silly with her family, exploring new places near and far, and being an active Coloradan.