CILT

Chris Gates is the first Executive Director of PACE, Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement, a new national philanthropic organization based in Denver. PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations and works with national and local foundations to help them advance their work in the broad fields of democratic renewal and civic engagement. In this capacity, he works closely with leaders of foundations and speaks extensively around the country and around the world on topics including civic engagement, political reform, democratic theory and philanthropic practice.

Prior to taking his position at PACE, Gates served for eleven years as President of the National Civic League (NCL), the nation’s oldest good government organization, founded by Teddy Roosevelt in 1894. Prior to serving as President, Gates served for eight years as Vice President of NCL, helping oversee its move from New York City to Denver and to modernize the agenda of this venerable institution.

Prior to his work with the National Civic League, Gates ran an independent consulting practice that worked with both communities and corporations to help them deal with issues of change. These strategic planning efforts helped his clients better align their practice and structure with their goals and aspirations. Prior to that he served as the Communications Director of the Denver-based Piton Foundation and as a speechwriter and policy aide to then Colorado Governor Richard Lamm.

Nationally, Chris serves on the board of the California Center for Civic Renewal and is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He previously served on the boards of the Council for the Advancement of Citizenship and INDEPENDENT SECTOR. He also served as co-chair of the board of the Civic Practices Network and co-chair of the Saguaro Seminar, a research project based at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government working to find ways to build social capital in America.

Gates is active in his home community, where he is the founder and Chair of the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training and a former board member of Leadership Denver. He is a regular instructor at the University of Colorado’s Graduate School of Public Affairs, Leadership Denver, and Leadership Roaring Fork Valley. He recently served as the Co-Chair of the Denver Host Committee, which successfully bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Denver Zoo.

Gates has also been active in the world of electoral politics. He served as Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party from 2003 to 2005. During his term as State Chair Colorado Democrats won control of both the Colorado State Senate and the Colorado State House, as well as converting both a Congressional seat and a U.S. Senate seat to Democratic control. In 2002 and 2003 he was a key advisor to John Hickenlooper during his successful bid to become Mayor of the City and County of Denver. In addition, he has served as Colorado’s Democratic National Committeeman from 1992 to 1996, and as the Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party from 1989 to 1991, and Treasurer of the Colorado Democratic Party from 1985 to 1989. While in high school he served as President of the Colorado Young Democrats and while at university, he served as Director of College Affairs for the Young Democrats of America. Gates has also served on the staffs of a variety of candidates and elected officials including former Colorado Governor Dick Lamm, former Colorado Senator Floyd Haskell, former Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, former California Governor Jerry Brown and former U.S. Senator Terry Sanford.

Chris is a Colorado native, raised in Denver and Boulder, who received an honors degree in economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, where he studied the interaction between the public and private sectors. While an undergraduate, he also studied political economics at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. He has also received an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

“Political Society Exists for the Sake of Noble Living” and “The Salvation of the State is Watchfulness in the Citizen.” – so stated two long dead political philosophers. Optimists among us believe in the noble purpose and passion of public service, shaping public policy, and the notion that politics is the art of the possible instead of a dirty word. Nate Donovan got his start in politics by putting up “Kit Bond for GOV” yard signs with his mother in 1972. Nate completed the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training program in 2000, is in his fifth year of service on the CILT Board of Directors, and enjoys helping with the program. He is also a Bighorn Fellow (2003, Northern Colorado) and a Fellow of the National Conservation Leadership Institute (2007-2008). Currently Board President of the Foothills Unitarian Church in Fort Collins, Nate also served as Chairperson of the City of Fort Collins Natural Resources Advisory Board and President of the Larimer County Democratic Business Coalition in addition to various roles in local, state and federal candidate and issue campaigns, including counsel and treasurer for the successful extension of a Fort Collins city sales tax for open space programs resulting from a campaign titled “Open Space, Yes!”. Natural resources policy is an area of interest for Nate.

Based in the firm’s Denver office, Ms. White is a Shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. She works in the Land Use, Government Relations, Real Estate and Natural Resources groups. Ms. White has a deep background in land use issues, municipal and administrative law, real estate transactions, water and natural resource matters, and state and local legislative law. Ms. White is one of only 12 LEED Accredited attorneys in Colorado.

Ms. White’s practice focuses primarily on the zoning and entitlement process, with an emphasis on complex projects involving redevelopment, infill, brownfields, urban renewal, eminent domain, mixed use, transit-oriented development, PIFs and other public financing tools, and special challenges such as historic preservation. Ms. White has obtained entitlements for projects ranging from high-rise hotels to large-tenant retail to large-scale mixed use developments involving retail, office and residential components. Ms. White also handles municipal election matters, including initiative and referendum.

From 1999 to 2004, Ms. White was the staff attorney for the Colorado Municipal League, the nonprofit association representing the cities and towns of Colorado. In that capacity, she represented Colorado municipalities before the Colorado General Assembly, various state agencies and the courts. Focusing primarily on land use issues, Ms. White worked on state legislation dealing with growth management, comprehensive planning, impact fees, zoning, annexation, subdivision, urban renewal, condemnation and special districts. Additionally, she has also worked on legislation ranging from construction defects reform to governmental immunity.

From 1994 to 1999, Ms. White was a staff attorney in the legal department for the Denver Water Board where she handled a wide range of responsibilities that included litigation in federal, state and administrative courts; drafting policies and procedures; and handling real estate transactions dealing with Denver Water property.

Cindy Lowery

Cindy is originally from St. Louis, Missouri but moved to Denver, Colorado directly after law school. Cindy received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Saint Louis University and a Juris Doctorate from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Since moving to Colorado, Cindy has practiced law in the areas of health care, contract negotiation, FDA drug and device law, and general civil litigation. Cindy is a member of the Westwood Paralegal Program Advisory Committee and has written courses for online paralegal training classes.

Cindy has also become very active in Denver Democratic Party politics and was a primary candidate for State Representative in 2008 in House District 8. Cindy is currently the Chair of the Democratic Party of Denver. In 2008, Cindy received the Colorado Active Young Democrat of the Year and the CILT Outstanding Community Volunteer Awards.

In addition to her political activities, Cindy sits on the Board of Directors for Community Resources, Inc., Summer Scholars, and the Abington Homeowner’s Association. Cindy is also a founding member of the White House Project’s Colorado Leadership Council and has been an advocate of youth involvement in the political process. Cindy has volunteered for pro-choice organizations, the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, the Denver Hospice, and was also a mentor at Manual High School.

Cindy graduated from the Colorado Institute for Leadership Training in 2004 and graduated from the advanced class in 2005. Cindy is also a graduate of the White House Project’s Go Run Lead Program and the Bighorn Leadership Development Health Care Policy Program.

With more than 10 years of experience in message-based events, communications and partnership development, Sarah Moss translates skills learned on the political campaign trail and in professional sports stadiums/arenas to projects for government, political, nonprofit and corporate social responsibility clients. She is a Denver native and has worked in Colorado, Washington, D.C., and more than 10 other states in strategy development, communications, event production/direction and grassroots outreach/field organizing.

Current and recent clients include The White House/Executive Office of the President & Vice President Advance Office, TAG Strategies, Denver Public Library, Denver Green Festival and San Francisco Green Festival, and Obama-Biden/Obama for America National Advance Team.

In 2008, she worked on collaborative strategy teams for DNC Convention-related programming for The Big Tent (Daily Kos/ProgressNow/Alliance for Sustainable Colorado), Bipartisan Policy Center, 2008 BD Convention Events Fund (Blue Dogs), Center Stage (New Dems), Winning Connections, Denver Convention 2008 Host Committee, Democratic National Convention Committee, Alabama Power Company, Alabama Democratic Party, and BNSF Railway.

She previously served Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s communications office, Rutt Bridges for Colorado Governor, Kerry-Edwards 2004/John Kerry for President, Ed Moss for Westminster Mayor, and Cover the Uninsured Week, a campaign to raise public awareness of the struggles of the 46 million Americans without health insurance.

Moss returned to Colorado in 2003 after living for six years in Washington, D.C., where she began her career at GMMB, a nationally-recognized political communications and advertising firm.

She has strong, positive relationships with law enforcement/safety agencies including U.S. Secret Service, state patrol, police/sheriff and fire departments. She is a graduate of the Denver and Westminster Citizens Police Academies, Westminster Citizens Fire Department Academy, and Denver District Attorney’s Office Citizens Institute. In 2010, she was selected for a highly competitive Truman National Security Project Fellowship.

With a strong belief in doing good through both work and play, Moss serves on the board of Colorado Institute for Leadership Training, Friends of the Denver Fire Department, the Colorado BlueFlower Project, and The Second Wind Fund, Inc. Moss also donates her expertise and time to The White House Project, PeaceJam Foundation, American University Alumni Association’s Colorado Chapter, and various local candidate and ballot campaigns. Along with other members of her family, she is a volunteer puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Moss holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Communication cum laude with University Honors from American University in Washington, D.C., and graduated from Westminster High School in Westminster, Colorado. In 2007, she completed an economic development fellowship with the Bighorn Center for Public Policy. She and her husband, Tyler Mounsey, live with their cats, Dobby and Quincy Jones, on Denver's Capitol Hill.