Oct 1, 2024 by Dr. Deserai Crow

The Center for Community Safety and Resilience (CCSR) and the School of Public Affairs hosted a conversation focused on community resilience in Colorado. The discussion focused attention on the risks that Colorado faces and actions that governments are taking to build resilience across the state. The event took place on September 24th in conjunction with National Preparedness Month.

Sep 25, 2024

Creating climate change resiliency and affordable housing are two of society’s most pressing challenges, and a CU Denver team is exploring how to address these challenges together by leading research on transit-oriented communities (TOCs). TOCs are a type of urban development that blends high-density housing (such as apartments) with easy access to public transportation.  And the National Science Foundation recently awarded Professor Tanya Heikkila, PhD, and her interdisciplinary team a $1.8 million grant to study them. The research will look at how Colorado’s statewide policies are supporting TOCs, the impact of TOCs on climate resiliency and affordable housing, the barriers to creating them, and how to engage the communities that are most heavily impacted when they are created.

Sep 12, 2024 by Dee Dee Flynn

The Center for Community Safety and Resilience (CCSR) at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs is getting ready for a dynamic fall ahead. Led by two esteemed co-directors, Sheila Huss and Deserai Crow, the CCSR is excited to announce the launch of its Thrive Series, a new initiative aimed at fostering meaningful conversations around community safety and resilience. The series will feature insights from both academic experts and individuals with lived experiences, providing a platform for dialogue and collaboration within the community.

Sep 12, 2024

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice alum Leo Nguyen shares his experiences as a transfer student at CU Denver and as an intern with the Denver Police Department.

Jul 31, 2024 by Lisa VanRaemdonck

Students come to the CU Denver School of Public Affairs with a lot of different goals for their education and career. Some are looking for an academic degree, and others are interested in a shorter-term commitment with specific learning experiences offered by our certificate and professional development programs, like the Colorado Certified Public Manager program.

Jul 31, 2024 by Lisa VanRaemdonck

Forty years ago, DCLF was borne out of a seed of an idea that the Denver region needed a place for public, nonprofit and corporate leaders to learn together, challenge themselves, and establish relationships that would help them tackle Denver’s toughest issues together.

Jul 20, 2024

Dr. Sasha Breger Bush is interviewed for this CBS News story on the faulty software update from U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike that was responsible for the major IT outages across the U.S., including at airports, hospitals, and departments of motor vehicles.

May 29, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Kelli Bledsoe joined American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), the fundraising and awareness arm for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in 2022 as Corporate Partnerships Advisor for Georgia. In her role, Kelli is responsible for generating new business opportunities, securing sponsorships, cultivating current and prospective corporate partnerships, and increasing corporate revenue for the Georgia territory. She oversees corporate engagement through a variety of avenues including employee engagement and volunteerism, corporate giving campaigns, event sponsorships, and cause marketing.

May 22, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

For the past eight years, Jeremiah Unger has worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) as an Environmental Program Manager. Jeremiah focuses on water quality from roadway run-off. He is an active member of the Colorado Stormwater Council where he has created two committees from scratch and is currently the chair of the Post-Construction Committee.

Apr 9, 2024

The School of Public Affairs graduate program continues to shine and ranks #1 in Colorado as well as the Rocky Mountain Region, and is one of the top 30 in the nation. Each of these specializations also earned top rankings in the state: Environmental Policy and Management, Non-Profit Management, Public Management and Leadership, and Public Finance and Budgeting.

Apr 2, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Maria Diaz Mize is Dominican-American and has lived in New York City, Ohio, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Maria is currently on her fourth year of working for City and County of Denver as a Pretrial Services Officer and is getting ready to pursue a doctoral degree in Criminology at Florida State University.

Feb 29, 2024

Professor Chris Weible and a team of fellow CU Denver researchers aim to shine light on threats to global democracies and provide solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems thanks to award funding from CU Denver’s Research Grand Challenges initiative.

Feb 14, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Yazmin Castillo currently works on the development team at Girls Inc. of Metro Denver, where she has had the privilege of contributing to impactful projects aimed at inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Her journey with Girls Inc. began nearly 8 years ago as a work-study student through CU Denver, and since then, Yazmin has worn many hats within the organization.

Feb 7, 2024 by Toula Wellbrook

The Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) program at the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs is ranked among the top 20 programs in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs rankings for 2024.

Jan 31, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

As a Director at Community Solutions, Melanie works directly with communities and partners to build and improve systems to end homelessness using data, quality improvement and problem-solving tools from multiple sectors. She is a leader on the Built for Zero team, where she oversees a portfolio of large-scale change partnerships and social impact investments in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining Community Solutions in 2014, Melanie spent six years with the City and County of Denver where she served as the Partnerships Manager for Denver’s Road Home, focusing on policy development, regional collaboration and strategic partnerships.

Jan 24, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Over the past decade, Deena Duwaik’s unwavering commitment has been directed towards serving diverse communities, spanning regions across the globe – Jordan, Morocco, Thailand, and Kenya. Coming from a family of Palestinian refugees, Deena has a special place in her heart for immigrant and refugee communities that feeds her passion for this work. In her current role with the Human Rights and Community Partnerships Agency at the City and County of Denver, Deena is dedicated to supporting government entities in cultivating the most inclusive and accessible processes for their programs. This involves navigating the intricate web of policies to ensure that services effectively reach and serve diverse community members.

Jan 17, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Beginning as a Traffic Engineering intern in Englewood in 1989 and leaving as the Assistant City Manager 5 years later, Chuck Reid also served as Fraser’s town manager from 1995-2004 and Federal Heights’ City Manager from 2004-2007. Hopping then to the private sector, he spent 13 years at CliftonLarsonAllen providing outsourced management to mainly Title 32 entities, and then spent two years working full-time for the Cherry Creek Basin Water Quality Authority. Following the pandemic, Chuck took a couple years off from work, and this year opened The Choice Is Yours, LLP, which provides contract services to local governments and nonprofit organizations.

Jan 10, 2024 by Ellen Patterson

Colleen Maleski is a ­­­public affairs and management consultant for GBSM, supporting nonprofit and government clients to improve organizational processes, effectively communicate with key audiences, and meaningfully include community members they serve in their decision-making processes. Previously, at StriveTogether, she supported more than 70 communities to facilitate cross-sector collaboration to improve student outcomes through continuous improvement, events, trainings, grants, and community co-design. Colleen started her career in corporate social responsibility, executive communications, and public affairs at Raytheon.

Jan 9, 2024 by Dee Dee Flynn

Queen'Esther Pompee is an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado Denver where she majors in Public Administration from the School of Public Affairs. We sat down with Queen to find out more about her research on the housing crisis in Colorado and her recent honors.

Dec 13, 2023 by Ellen Patterson

Kharis Eppstein is an audit manager with the City and County of Denver Auditor’s Office and will celebrate her seven-year work anniversary in January 2024. She works primarily on performance audits and has audited topics such as Homeless Encampment Response, Affordable Housing, Parks Management, Mental Health Services in Jail, and the Denver Botanic Gardens. She has also been a field active volunteer with Alpine Rescue Team — a backcountry search and rescue team based out of Evergreen — since 2019 and has been the President since January 2022.