Colorado Mountain College Foundation hires new CEO

EAGLE COUNTY — Kristin Heath Colon has been hired by Colorado Mountain College as the vice president for advancement and Colorado Mountain College Foundation CEO. Colon is currently president and CEO of Denver Public Schools’ fundraising partner, the Denver Public Schools Foundation.

Colorado Mountain College president and CEO Carrie Besnette Hauser said with Colon’s years of development and advancement experience in primary, secondary and higher education, the college is thrilled to bring on such an accomplished leader.

“We know how much (Colon) loves Colorado and the Western Slope,” Dr. Hauser said. “She and her family will feel right at home in our mountain communities. Along with the CMC Foundation Board and Chair Patty Theobald, we welcome Kristin and look forward to sharing many future successes with her.”

Since 2009, Colon has grown the Denver Public Schools Foundation’s support of Denver Public Schools students by over 130 percent with annual revenue increasing from $6.6 million to $15.3 million, and total assets growing to $14.8 million. The school district is Colorado’s largest and among its most diverse, serving 89,000 students in 186 schools.

‘FOREVER GRATEFUL’

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said the Denver Public Schools Foundation has raised nearly $82 million and helped Denver Public Schools leverage an additional $100 million to support students and programs under Colon’s leadership.

“I am forever grateful to Kristin for her leadership, tenacity and passion, which has helped to spearhead critical work being done in DPS to ensure every child succeeds,” Boasberg said. “She will be deeply missed.”

Colon has deep roots in supporting public education. The move to Colorado Mountain College returns her to higher education, as she held myriad fundraising roles for the University of Colorado Foundation, serving the athletic department for over 14 years. As vice president for advancement and foundation CEO at Colorado Mountain College, Colon will oversee fundraising efforts for the multi-campus college as well as the college’s marketing, communications, public information office and alumni relations.

Patty Theobald, chair of the Colorado Mountain College Foundation board, said Colon impressed the board as a professional, driven and experienced leader. “We look forward to working with her to support the college and its students,” Theobald said.

Colon said she believes having access to a quality and affordable education is the civil rights issue of our generation.

“Both DPS and CMC are leading the way in making a difference for our community and our youth,” Colon said. “I am excited to be joining CMC and its advancement and foundation teams, working together on the college’s strategic vision to become the most innovative, inclusive, student-centered college in the nation. The CMC region has held a special place in my heart for many decades; my family and I look forward to making it our official home.”

SKI CLUB VAIL TIES

Colon and her family are no strangers to the Western Slope. Since 1978, her family has been spending spring breaks in Vail. And when she met her husband, he was a coach for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail. Her husband continues his career as a ski coach, and their sons, now in seventh and 10th grade, are ski racers. When Colon was a high school student, in the summers she attended week-long residential camps at Colorado Mountain College’s Leadville campus.

Colon will start at Colorado Mountain College in a part-time capacity on approximately Oct. 1, in a shared arrangement to benefit both organizations, transitioning to be at Colorado Mountain College full-time no later than Jan. 1, 2016.