Harold Dominguez

City Manager, City of Longmont

Harold Dominguez has served as Longmont, Colorado city manager since April 2012.

Under his leadership and administration, Longmont’s many accomplishments include a plan to redevelop the Twin Peaks mall area, development of a citywide budget prioritization program, planned redevelopment of a 27-acre abandoned turkey processing facility, and overall recovery and rebuilding from a flood that devastated Longmont in 2013. In addition, Longmont is building a fiber optic network that will provide businesses and residents with upload speeds of 1 gigabit per second, delivering one of the fastest internet networks in the nation.

Before coming to Longmont, Dominguez worked in Lubbock, Texas as assistant to the city manager from 2000-03 and management assistant from 1998-2000. In 2003, Dominguez began working for the city of San Angelo, Texas, first serving as an assistant city manager then, in 2005, as city manager.

Dominguez earned his master’s degree in public administration from Texas Tech University in Lubbock in 1997 and his bachelor’s degree in history from Texas Tech in 1995.

Dominguez and his wife, Andrea, have two children, Hailey and Hunter.

Scott Cook

CEO, Longmont Chamber

Scott Cook is the CEO of the Longmont Chamber of Commerce. Under his leadership, the Chamber has focused on business development, expanded events and advocacy, and a full building renovation in 2023.

Before his time at the Chamber, Scott worked as a Senate staffer in Washington, D.C., and ran a family-owned recycling business in Chicago. Originally from California, Scott grew up in Longmont after his family relocated to Colorado when his father’s job with United Airlines brought them here.

Scott currently serves on the Colorado Chamber Alliance board. He enjoys spending time with his family, being an uncle and volunteering with his church. He loves to travel and his favorite place is the place he hasn’t discovered yet. An early morning gym rat, he also competes in physique competitions.

Keri Cotterman

Good Works Non-Profit Discount Coordinator

Keri Cotterman is Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Giveio and leads the development of Good Works for the Longmont Area Chamber of Commerce. Through Good Works, which is a joint initiative of the Chamber and the City of Longmont, she is bringing local businesses and nonprofits together to create savings, strengthen community partnerships, and help more resources stay focused on mission. Her work includes nonprofit outreach, business recruitment, program strategy, platform implementation, and participant onboarding.

Keri is the kind of marketing strategist who walks into a room and immediately finds the most unique and captivating story to tell. A nonprofit champion and brand builder, she is known for transforming ideas into immersive experiences and campaigns that connect on a human level.

Her superpower goes beyond creativity. Keri brings a sharp tactical mind to every project. From developing community initiatives and planning unforgettable events to crafting highly personalized campaigns, she shows up with heart, strategy, and just enough edge to keep things interesting.

Dr. Colleen Simpson

President, Front Range Community College

Dr. Simpson proudly serves as the ninth president of Front Range Community College (FRCC), the largest community college in the Colorado Community College System, with campuses in Westminster, Boulder County, Larimer County and online.

Her appointment in August 2022 marked a historic milestone, as she became the first Black woman to lead the college in its 60-year history. She draws on her Caribbean heritage and lifelong commitment to educational opportunity to guide her leadership.

Under Dr. Simpson’s leadership, FRCC has advanced its Forward, Together strategic plan by expanding applied bachelor’s degrees, strengthening university transfer pathways, increasing philanthropic investment in student success and building partnerships that connect education with Colorado’s workforce needs. She has also positioned FRCC as a leader in Colorado’s quantum ecosystem through partnerships with industry, universities, and the Elevate Quantum consortium, helping prepare students for careers in one of the nation’s fastest-growing technology sectors.

During her presidency, FRCC has earned several state and national recognitions, including designation as a Colorado First Generation-Serving Institution, a Comprehensive Basic Needs Campus, a Military Friendly® Top 10 School and continued participation in the Metallica Scholars Initiative. Nationally, Dr. Simpson serves on the American Association of Community Colleges Presidents Academy Executive Committee and the AACC Commission on Student Agency, Student Success, Learning Pathways and Wellbeing. She also serves on the boards of UCHealth, the Boulder Chamber, the Colorado Community College System Foundation, Colorado’s Elevate Quantum consortium and GlobalMindED Colorado.

Before becoming president, Dr. Simpson built a career spanning academic affairs, student success and enrollment management, with experience across the full student lifecycle and as an adjunct faculty member. She holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy from Fordham University, along with a Master of Science in Higher Education Administration and a Bachelor of Business Administration in International Marketing from Baruch College, part of the City University of New York.

Dr. Ann Schmiesing

Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives, CU Boulder

The SVCSI is a campuswide resource, combining strategic oversight with high-level support to the chancellor, serving as a key advisor and liaison across CU Boulder’s executive team. Ann works across internal and external constituencies to advance campus goals and ensure ongoing and consistent success.

She served as interim chancellor at CU Denver in fall 2024 and previously served as vice chancellor and executive vice provost for academic resource management on the CU Boulder campus. As VC-ARM, she was responsible for academic resource strategy and analysis in support of the university’s mission as a comprehensive public teaching and research institution. In that role, she assumed a strategic initiative and critical liaison role while overseeing the Graduate School, Continuing Education, CU Boulder Online, and research infrastructure.

A professor of German and Scandinavian Studies, Schmiesing has been a CU Boulder faculty member since 1995. Her book The Brothers Grimm: A Biography (Yale, 2024) won the American Folklore Society’s Wayland D. Hand Prize and the UK Folklore Society’s Katharine Briggs Award, and appeared on the New Yorker “Best Books of 2024,” New Statesman “Best Summer Reads 2025,” and History Extra “Best History Summer Reads of 2025” lists. She is also the author of the books Disability, Deformity, and Disease in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Wayne State, 2014) and Norway’s Christiania Theatre, 1827-1867: From Danish Showhouse to National Stage (Fairleigh Dickinson, 2006). Her publications in nationally and internationally peer-reviewed journals include articles on the Brothers Grimm, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Daniel Chodowiecki, Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Henrik Wergeland, and Johan Falkberget, and on issues pertaining to fairy tales, drama, narrative fiction, theatre history, book illustration, and disability studies. She has also published and/or presented papers on several issues in humanities pedagogy, including service learning, curriculum development, and the utilization of rare books collections in humanities teaching.

Before assuming her administrative roles, Schmiesing served as chair of the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures (2007–11), director of the Sewall Residential Academic Program (2015–16), and dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate affairs (2016–18). She received the Excellence in Leadership and Service Award from the Boulder Faculty Assembly in 2016.

Schmiesing earned a PhD from Cambridge University (UK), an MA from the University of Washington, and a BA from Willamette University.

Dr. Jackie Kapushion

Superintendent, St. Vrain Valley School District

Dr. Jackie Kapushion has served nearly 40 years in public education. She was appointed the Superintendent of St. Vrain Valley Schools in 2025, after previously serving as Deputy Superintendent and Area Assistant Superintendent in St. Vrain, as well as in various roles including Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services and Director of Professional Development in other Colorado school districts. She also previously spent five years as an elementary principal and several years as an elementary teacher. Dr. Kapushion holds a Doctorate from the University of Colorado at Denver in Leadership and Administration. She also earned a BA degree in Elementary Education from the University of Wyoming, and an MA degree in Administration, Supervision and Curriculum Development from the University of Colorado Denver, where she serves as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Education.

She has served as a board member for the I Have a Dream Foundation, the Carbon Valley Rotary, the Longmont Chamber Board, and also served on the board for A Woman’s Work in Longmont, Colorado. In 2011, Jackie was recognized as the Administrator of the Year by her school district. In 2018, she was recognized by the Longmont Times-Call 100, as someone who is making a difference in the community, and she was recognized with the Service Above Self Award by the Erie Rotary Club. In 2025, she was recognized by the St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation as the inaugural Education Champion award recipient.

Lauren Cely

Director of Real Estate, Regional Transportation District (RTD)

Lauren is the Director of Real Estate at the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, where she leads a department spanning Real Property and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). In this role, she oversees real estate strategy, portfolio management, asset disposition, and joint development efforts, working closely with city and county partners, developers, and internal stakeholders to advance transit-supportive growth across the Denver Metro area. Her background includes experience as a paralegal specializing in real estate, contracts, open records, and governmental operations, as well as work in affordable housing development and operations—spanning property management, accounting, vouchers, administration, and compliance. This combination of legal, transactional, and on-the-ground housing experience informs her approach to public real estate strategy and transit-oriented development.

Walker Thrash

Managing Partner, Vertikal Collaborative

Walker Thrash is Managing Partner of Vertikal Collaborative, a Colorado-based real estate development and construction firm focused on public-private partnerships, mixed-use development, and attainable housing. His experience spans hospitality, residential, retail, and office projects across the United States.

Walker brings a developer’s perspective and a contractor’s understanding to complex projects, connecting design, financing, and construction with the priorities of public and private partners. His work includes structuring developments that combine private investment with public funding, grants, bonds, and other financing tools.

As a founding partner of Origin Hotel, Walker helped establish a national hospitality brand with locations including Golden and Westminster, Colorado. At Vertikal, he’s worked with several Colorado cities, applying his experience to projects that strengthen downtowns, expand housing opportunities, and create lasting value for communities and investors.