The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado (The Center) announced today that they welcome three new members to its board of directors.
Dr. Jay Seller comes to The Center's board with an extensive background in education and organizational leadership. Jay has been actively involved in Colorado's public education system as a high school English/theatre educator for the past 29 years and contributing author to the new 2010 Colorado Theatre Standards.
He has served for the past eight years as the State Director for the Colorado Thespians. He received a Doctorate of Philosophy in organizational leadership. Jay and his partner Paul Ferraresi will celebrate their 20th anniversary in November.
Karen Jessey has been in the financial services industry since 1983. She attended St. Bonaventure University on a basketball scholarship and graduated with a degree in sociology. She moved here shortly after graduation to enjoy the Colorado outdoor lifestyle.
Karen obtained her CFP(Certified Financial Planner), CLU(Certified Life Underwriter) and ChFC(Chartered Financial Consultant) designations and is a lifetime member of Million Dollar Roundtable (Court of the Table). She has served on the boards of The Alexander Foundation and the ATL Foundation and participated in many charity events.
Ryann Peyton is an associate at The Harris Law Firm, PC, focusing her practice on domestic relations law. Ryann received a bachelor's in psychology from the University of Denver in 2004. She graduated in 2008 from the University of St. Thomas School of Law where she was the co-president of the UST Out!Laws. In 2009, Ryann received her LLM (Master of Laws) in Taxation from the University of Denver.
The Center put a call out for board applications in May and received many qualified candidate applications. Utimately, The Center chose Dr. Jay Seller, Karen Jessey and Ryann Peyton to bring their energy, expertise and unique perspectives to the board of directors.
"We're excited to welcome these community leaders to our board, especially during such a historic time for The Center and the Colorado LGBT community," said Center Executive Director Carlos Martinez. "We own our own home for the first time in our history, and our new facility at 1301 E Colfax is quickly becoming the networking hub of the Colorado LGBT community."
Dr. Jay Seller comes to The Center's board with an extensive background in education and organizational leadership. Jay has been actively involved in Colorado's public education system as a high school English/theatre educator for the past 29 years and contributing author to the new 2010 Colorado Theatre Standards. He has served for the past eight years as the State Director for the Colorado Thespians. He received a Doctorate of Philosophy in organizational leadership. Jay and his partner Paul Ferraresi will celebrate their 20th anniversary in November.
Karen Jessey has been in the financial services industry since 1983. She attended St. Bonaventure University on a basketball scholarship and graduated with a degree in sociology. She moved here shortly after graduation to enjoy the Colorado outdoor lifestyle.Karen obtained her CFP(Certified Financial Planner), CLU(Certified Life Underwriter) and ChFC(Chartered Financial Consultant) designations and is a lifetime member of Million Dollar Roundtable (Court of the Table). She has served on the boards of The Alexander Foundation and the ATL Foundation and participated in many charity events.
Ryann Peyton is an associate at The Harris Law Firm, PC, focusing her practice on domestic relations law. Ryann received a bachelor's in psychology from the University of Denver in 2004. She graduated in 2008 from the University of St. Thomas School of Law where she was the co-president of the UST Out!Laws. In 2009, Ryann received her LLM (Master of Laws) in Taxation from the University of Denver.Ryann has served as secretary of the board of Twin Cities Quorum, Minnesota's GLBT Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves on the boards of the Colorado GLBT Bar Association and the Denver Gay & Lesbian Flag Football League. Ryann and her wife, Sara, reside in Denver with their five-year-old English bulldog.
The Center also would like to thank outgoing board member Kyle Courtenay Velte, who has generously given her time to The Center for the last six years.
