Our Community

Jordan T. Garcia is the Immigrant Ally Organizing Director for Coloradans For Immigrant Rights, a project of the American Friends Service Committee. He is also the former board chair for the Colorado Anti-Violence Program, which works to end violence within and against the LGBTQ community and volunteers for their 24 crisis hotline.  He also serves on the board of the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training, is a member of Denver Mayor's LGBTQ Commission and contributes to the LUZ Reproductive Justice Think Tank. He believes that systemic change through community organizing will lead us to liberation. Jordan advocates for using a community wide anti-oppression lens to do vision based leadership development in our movements for justice. Jordan was born in San Antonio, TX, grew up in Kansas City, KS and graduated from Colorado College in 2002 with a B.A. in International Political Economy with an emphasis on Urban Studies.  Jordan enjoys cooking with friends, riding his bike, planning for post revolution industrial collapse and hopes to become a bee farmer one day.

Lynne Sprague moved to Colorado a few years ago from Texas to continue her work in the anti-violence field.  Lynne teaches courses on gender-based violence, disrupting privilege, exploring social justice and policy at the University of Denver.  She does work on immigrant justice with Coloradans for Immigrant Rights and supports the independent media revolution through her work with Free Speech TV.  Lynne is part of a local collective, the Transgender Shelter Access program, that works with local homeless shelters on issues related to their trans-inclusion and broader LGBTQI anti-violence work.  She is also part of Denver Fair Food Campaign, working to support the organizing of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida.    Lynne is currently working on a documentary that tells the story of the harm-reduction work of a local group of organizers.

DeQuan Mack is the former Executive Director of One Nation Enlightened, one of Denver's first youth organizing groups. Prior to working with O.N.E., DeQuan worked for Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT) as their director of training. DeQuan has also worked for the Chinook Fund to develop the innovative Social Justice Institute training program. He has an extensive background in community & youth organizing, anti-oppression training, and grassroots fundraising that includes staff positions with organizations such as Action for a Better Community (Denver) and Californians for Justice.

Jesse King brings decades of experience in working with non-profit and for-profit corporations. In the non-profit sector, Jesse served as the Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for the Daniels Fund; he developed and managed The Philanthropy Workshop and the Next Generation Leadership Program at the Rockefeller Foundation; he has worked as a consultant assisting California Endowment, Ford Foundation, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to develop philanthropic strategies for community investment. As a professional development consultant, Jesse designed and facilitated leadership development courses for Texas Instruments, Arthur Young, United Gas & Pipe Line, The Association of Black Foundation Executives, The Denver Community Leadership Forum, U.S. Office of Personnel Management and the Kellogg National Leadership Program. Annually, Jesse works as the senior facilitator for a bipartisan private think thank which examines political, economic, and social issues facing the United States.

Carlos Valverde, Jr. is the Co-Executive Director of the Colorado Progressive Coalition (CPC).  CPC conducts community organizing and advocacy work to ensure that everyone has access to our political and economic democracy.  Carlos works with the Campaign for Economic Justice, Southern Colorado, and the Racial Justice & Civil Rights programs.  Carlos is also the Co-Chair of Colorado Unity and the No on 46 campaign, which led the historic defeat of a deceptive anti-equal opportunity ballot measure in 2008.  Prior to CPC, Carlos served as the Senior Education Policy Specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures where he focused on public policy to address education disparities and increase college access for low-income and students of color.  He has also served as a Regional Program Manager for the Daniels Fund where he helped to design and implement the Daniels Scholarship, which provides comprehensive financial assistance to hundreds of low-income students every year.   Carlos is a Denver native, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College and a Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University.

Kenia Morales, 22, is a feminist mother and community Xicana activist who brings her ancestor’s spirit to her work. She works for Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR), whose mission is to organize Latinas through education and advocacy for reproductive rights and quality healthcare. Kenia has also organized around immigrant rights, educational justice, fair food, reproductive justice and birthing rights. She is a member of MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan), a national student organization that seeks liberation through education; the LUZ Reproductive Justice Think Tank, a group of trans-folks, women of color and allies working to infuse reproductive justice values into their movements; and the Denver Fair Food Committee, a collective to support the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida. She is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of Colorado, Denver. When she is not contributing to a global revolution, Kenia is with her beautiful daughter and family, remembering what’s most important in life.

Davian Gagne is a biracial Filipina, born and raised in Boulder, Colorado.  She is committed to antioppression/antiviolence work in both her professional and personal life.  She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Denver. She currently works as the Gender Violence Prevention and Education Coordinator for the University of Colorado at Boulder. In this capacity she provides education and training to students, faculty, and staff on the roots of gender violence, heterosexism, transphobia, consent, and bystander intervention. Prior to working at CU Boulder, she coordinated the Peers Building Justice program for Moving to End Sexual Assault in Boulder. There she trained high school youth on the intersections of oppression, social justice, and ally development. When she is not busy working or volunteering in the community, she enjoys racing her road bike, eating, and the company of friends and family.

Carly Hare joined the NARF staff in 2009 as the Director of Development for the Native American Rights Fund. Carly's Pawnee name is <i kita u hoo <i ]a hiks (She is the leader of men). Carly is a member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and a descendant of the Yankton Sioux Tribe.  Carly Hare served as Director of Programs for The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County for five years. She currently serves a board member of Native Americans in Philanthropy and on the Advisory Committee for the Denver Foundation's Inclusiveness Project. In 2006, Carly was selected a 2006 Emerging Leader in International Philanthropy Fellow through the Center of Philanthropy and Civil Society. She also received the Boulder County's Multicultural Award for Community Service in 2008.

Sonya Garcia-Ulibarri has been the Executive Director of YouthBiz, committed to the social & economic empowerment of Denver's youth, since 2007.  With a passion for community-based work and a love of fundraising, Sonya has been working in development for over eight years.  After receiving degrees in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Colorado at Denver, she spent six years with the Grassroots Institute for Fundraising Training (GIFT) starting as an intern and eventually serving as the Executive Director from 2003 - 2006.  Sonya is an experienced fundraiser, trainer, and consultant and currently serves as Board member for the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.  She has a life-long commitment to working toward social justice. 

Mu Son's family immigrated to the U.S. when he was two years old from Seoul, South Korea. He grew up in the small town of Temple, Texas and has lived in Colorado for the last 20 years. He began his community work with Ethical Trade Action Group (E-TAG), has served on the local steering committee for Jobs with Justice and on the board of SweatFree Communities a national anti-sweatshop organization. Mu Son draws his inspiration from work with the community at organizations like Centro Humanitario and Denver Fair Food.  He is currently the Outreach & Programs Director of Let Us Rise, a grassroots campaign to create a democratic visioning process & action plan for a better future for Colorado.