ABOUT I AM DENVER
I Am Denver is a partnership that brings City & County of Denver entities together with sister agencies, nonprofits, foundations and businesses to foster conversations among residents, and open the hearts, minds and doors of everyone who calls Denver home.
We highlight and celebrate our residents, neighborhoods and history while allowing for high-level discussions around topics affecting Denver. Because of the partnerships established, we nurture individual efforts and group collaborations.
TEAM
Rowena Alegría
Chief Storyteller
Rowena Alegría holds a masters of Fine Arts in fiction from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She has won fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center and Writing by Writers. Alegría was awarded residencies from the Ragdale Foundation and Sundance Academy for the Arts and attended Macondo Writers Workshop. A journalist, communications executive and speech writer, she is writing a novel that plays with form and the history of the Southwest.
Roxana A. Soto
Storyteller
Roxana A. Soto is an Emmy award-winning bilingual journalist with a dynamic career that spans 20 years, which includes print, television and digital media. Soto is a Peruvian immigrant who moved to the U.S. as a teenager after living in Mexico, Argentina and South Africa, and has called Denver home since 2006. She co-founded the popular parenting website SpanglishBaby.com and is the co-author of Bilingual is Better. She’s passionate about telling stories, especially those of overlooked communities.
Amanda Zitzman
Storyteller & Multiplatform Producer
Amanda Zitzman has spent close to 13 years as a broadcast journalist, connecting communities through informative storytelling and research. Her television news career has taken her from the east coast at WJXT and WTLV/WJXX, to the Pacific Northwest at KVAL and KMTR, before she landed in Denver, Colorado – having reported for two the four local news stations, KMGH Denver7 and KDVR FOX31. It’s her passion for creative storytelling and documentary filmmaking that led Amanda to join the talented “I Am Denver” team.
PARTNERS
Theater 29, where 5 award-winning Colorado playwrights have the freedom to create, collaborate, develop, and produce the plays they want to see on stage.
In the 1970s, Denver’s historic structures faced demolition in epic numbers. In true pioneer spirit, a group of citizens created Historic Denver Inc. in time to save one of our city’s most celebrated historic homes – the Molly Brown House. Since then Historic Denver has been the leading voice for local preservation. We work with property owners, neighborhoods and communities to safeguard the places that make our city unique.
In a world where social divides run deep, there must exist organizations that not only build bridges, but also engage communities on all sides in closing the divides. This is CreativeStrategies for Change (CSC). We work with schools, organizations, and communities, to mobilize arts and education for social justice. CSC programs and services include: consulting, leadership and professional development, workshops, residencies, performances, assemblies, and events.
The Denver Public Library connects people with information, ideas and experiences to provide enjoyment, enrich lives and strengthen our community.
Lighthouse Writers Workshop is the largest literary arts center in the Rocky Mountain West. For more than 20 years, we’ve provided quality instruction, community events, and artistic support for writers and readers of all levels, ages, and backgrounds.
The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is one of the largest non-profit theatre organizations in the nation, presenting Broadway tours and producing theatre, cabaret, musicals, and innovative, multimedia plays. Last season the DCPA entertained more than 1.1 million visitors, generating a $115 million economic impact in Colorado.
Denver Public Schools is committed to meeting the educational needs of every student with great schools in every neighborhood. Our goal is to provide every child in Denver with a joyful, rigorous and personalized learning experience from preschool through high school graduation.
Rocky Mountain Public Media, Inc. is the parent company of Rocky Mountain PBS and KUVO Jazz. Rocky Mountain PBS began in Denver in 1956 as Colorado's first public television station. It is now Colorado's only statewide television network, with stations in Denver, Pueblo/Colorado Springs, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction and Durango. Rocky Mountain Public Media is Colorado’s largest statewide, member-supported, multimedia organization.
Metropolitan State University of Denver has transformed the lives of more than 90,000 people in Denver and Colorado through affordable degree programs, innovative public-private partnerships and a commitment to diversity.
Established in 1879, History Colorado is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and an agency of the State of Colorado under the Department of Higher Education. We offer access to cultural and heritage resources including statewide Community Museums, programs for families and adults, stewardship of Colorado’s historic treasures, and resources for students and teachers. We provide programs and services related to historic preservation and archaeology as well as access to a vast collection of archives, artifacts, and historical photography.
StoryCenter is an international nonprofit that supports individuals and organizations in using storytelling and participatory media for reflection, education, and social change. Out of their office in Denver, they've helped to surface the stories of Denverites for 16 years.
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OFFICE OF STORYTELLING
Rowena Alegria, Chief Storyteller
Office of Storytelling - Human Rights & Community Partnerships
City and County of Denver
720 -865-9084
IAmDenver@denvergov.org