Fort Lewis College has a new appointee to the Board of Trustees from former Governor John Hickenlooper. Janet Lopez is a senior program officer at the Rose Community Foundation in Denver, directing the Education program in creating equitable opportunities for academic success for all children in the K-12 public school system.
Her career focuses have been improving public education through systemic change and educator effectiveness. She began her career in college admission, working on access to higher education for historically underrepresented groups. She has also worked at the Daniels Fund, the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the State Higher Education Executive Officers.
“The board is looking forward to working with Janet as she has a lot of experience in the state education arena,” says Ernest House, Board of Trustees chair. “Her expertise and background in the Denver education and foundation communities will align perfectly with the board’s commitment to student success.”
Lopez received a bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University, a master’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lopez previously served as a board member of Colorado Public Radio’s Community Advisory Board, Colorado Youth for a Change, Denver Urban Gardens, Mental Health of America Colorado, and The Latina Initiative. She is a 2013 German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow and a National Hispanic Institute Gen X Women of Distinction.
Her appointment must be confirmed by the Senate Education Committee. The board consists of seven voting members. Lopez’s nomination comes after board member Nora Jacquez’s term expired in December 2018.