Colorado Public Radio Elects Five New Board Members

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, June 17, 2021

Colorado Public Radio has welcomed five new members to its board of directors. The new members are Linda Appel Lipsius, Ricardo Baca, Lori Bergen, Steve ErkenBrack and Sherisse Hawkins. Their term began at the end of the board's annual meeting on June 16.

"We are happy to welcome these new members to the Board of Directors," said Board Chair Philip Johnson. "Each of them brings a passion for community and CPR's mission, along with professional and personal experiences that will enrich and inform the Board's efforts."

Linda Appel Lipsius joined the board of Denver Urban Gardens in 2020 and became Executive Director in 2021. She brings strong business and entrepreneurial experience and a commitment to regenerative business and living. As Co-Founder & former CEO of Teatulia Organic Teas (a public benefit corporation) and Co-Founder of the mama ‘hood, she built universally-respected national brands known for doing things better. Prior to that she was a Vice President at Orange Glo International. She earned her BA in Political Science from Columbia University, MBA in Finance and Organizational Management from NYU's Stern School of Business, completed her Permaculture Design Course in 2019 and was part of the Leadership Denver class of 2020. In her spare time, Linda runs, cycles, practices yoga, reads and escapes to her cabin in the mountains.

Ricardo Baca is a 20-year veteran journalist, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, TEDx veteran and Indigeneous-born Colorado native. He served as The Denver Post's first-ever marijuana editor and founded news vertical The Cannabist, where he extensively covered the advent of adult-use cannabis and related issues across the country and around the world. In 2016, Ricardo launched marketing firm Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency to work directly with business leaders in highly regulated industries, including cannabis, real estate, technology, media and traditional healthcare. Named Marketer of the Year by AdCann in 2019, Ricardo has received numerous accolades for his trailblazing work across the media paradigm.

Lori Bergen is the founding dean of the College of Media, Communication and Information at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she holds the James E. De Castro Chair in Global Media Studies. A former journalist, she has been a faculty member and served in academic leadership roles at Kansas State, Texas State and Marquette universities. Currently a trustee of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Lori is a member of the Arthur Page Society, and has served on the board of eTown and as president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She is co-author of a new book, News for Us: Citizen-Centered Journalism, and holds a PhD from Indiana University.

Steve ErkenBrack has enjoyed a diverse, 40-year career in both law and health care, serving as President and CEO of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, as Mesa County's elected District Attorney, and as Colorado's Chief Deputy Attorney General. He has founded two law firms in Grand Junction and Denver and is currently Of Counsel with Hoskin Farina & Kampf, P.C. in Grand Junction. Steve has served as a health care resource for numerous state and federal officials in both political parties. The Colorado legislature has repeatedly appointed Steve as its health plan representative on multiple health care Commissions and Boards. Steve has also served as Chair of the Board of Law Examiners, appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court, on the Board of Governors of the Colorado Bar Association, and as President of the Colorado District Attorneys Council. Steve received his law degree from the University of Colorado and his undergraduate education at the United States Naval Academy and Washington & Lee University. He is admitted to practice before all courts in Colorado and before the United States Supreme Court.

Sherisse Hawkins, an engineer and technologist, has a passion for driving the evolution of digital narrative content, and believes she has the best job ever as founder and CEO of PageDip. As an award-winning business owner and accomplished international speaker, Sherisse loves helping others on their life journey. She has appeared in Vanity Fair and on ABC's Shark Tank. Sherisse has an engineering degree from the University of Arizona and a Masters in Engineering Management from University of Colorado at Boulder. She worked as a Walt Disney Imagineer, building theme park attractions around the globe, and a system architect specializing in digital video delivery. Prior to starting PageDip, Sherisse held a VP engineering position at Time Warner Cable where her team's product was deployed to over 13 million subscribers. Sherisse has been recognized as Women of the Year in Technology by WICT, is a Betsey Magness Leadership Fellow, and has served on industry, education, and nonprofit boards including YWCA, SCTE, Regis Executive advisory board and Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance.

In addition to the new board members, former secretary Brad Greenwald was elected to the role of vice-chair and Michelle Sobel was named secretary. Philip Johnson and Diane F. Reeder remain in their roles of chair and treasurer, respectively, for FY22.

Colorado Public Radio has also added three new members to its Community Advisory Board, Vanessa Barcus, Clara Rivas and Brynmore Williams. Vanessa Barcus is an entrepreneur, artist and activist in Denver, known for her consulting practice, Creative Higher Intelligence, jewelry life, Talisman Fine Jewelry, and her family's farming enterprise. Clara Rivas joins the Community Advisory Board with significant experience working in Spanish-speaking media at ESPN Deportes in Seattle,Telemundo in Philadelphia and KBNO, Denver. Brynmore Williams is a cinematographer and award-winning documentary film director who specializes in short form documentary profiles, health and human-interest stories. Additionally, Andrea Howland and Dennis Ryerson have been reappointed for another two-year term. The Community Advisory Board helps ensure CPR is meeting the educational and cultural needs of the communities served by the station.