(Please note, this is the second Friday in September.)

In person:

Terrace Room (2nd floor), Lawrence Street Center
1380 Lawrence St, Denver, CO 80204

Virtually:

Zoom

Programming:

8:30 – 8:45 a.m. Check-in and breakfast buffet for in-person attendees
8:45 – 10 a.m. Programming for in-person and virtual attendees

Panelists:

Elizabeth Garner
State Demographer
Department of Local Affairs

Elizabeth is the Colorado State Demographer and has directed the State Demography Office in the Department of Local Affairs since 2004. She travels the state talking with Coloradans about social and economic conditions that are brought about by population shifts. The State Demography Office applies an understanding of demographic trends to changes in a range of areas including the state’s economy, workforce, education, housing, migration, and rural populations.

Elizabeth has over 25 years of experience analyzing population and economic trends in Colorado. Her current research agenda involves examining Census 2020 results, demographic impacts from COVID-19, housing supply and demand, and aging.

Elizabeth is an economist and received her B.A. in Business at the University of San Diego and her master’s in Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University.
 
Jason Hanson
Chief Creative Officer
Director of Interpretation & Research
History Colorado

Since joining History Colorado in 2016, Jason has led the development of numerous exhibitions on subjects including Colorado history in 100 objects, beer in the New West, the Negro Leagues, and Western American art.

He serves as the executive producer of the museum's acclaimed Lost Highways podcast and oversees the publication of The Colorado Magazine, the state's historical journal of record since 1923, and has written widely about Colorado history on topics such as the origins of the modern workplace, what we'll remember about 2020, gender roles in Utopian communities, environmental history, baseball, and beer.

He works with the curatorial and collections teams to ensure History Colorado's collection increasingly reflects the stories of all who have called Colorado home and that all have access to our shared history. And he works closely with the State Historian's Council as the Deputy State Historian. Prior to joining History Colorado, he was a member of the research faculty at the Center of the American West at CU Boulder.
 
Gail Klapper
President
Colorado Forum

Gail has been the Member/President of the Colorado Forum since 1989. A fourth-generation Colorado native, she earned her B.A. in Political Science from Wellesley College where she served as President of College Government. She earned a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Colorado Law School in 1968. Gail was appointed as a White House Fellow by President Gerald Ford. After her term in Washington, Ms. Klapper returned to Colorado to serve as a member of the Governor’s Cabinet, running the Department of Regulatory Agencies and the Department of Personnel. In 1982, she was a candidate in a statewide race for Attorney General of Colorado.

She currently serves on the Boards of Gold Inc. and Great-West Funds, Inc. She serves as Chair of the Board of Great-West Funds. Gail previously was a member of the Boston-based Houghton Mifflin board. She also served on numerous boards including the Board of the National Western Stock Show Association, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Guaranty Bancorp, and National Jewish Health. Gail was the founding President of the Hotel Authority Board that secured funding, built and operates the Hyatt Regency Convention Center Hotel in Denver. 

Gail was the first recipient of the annual Leadership Denver Association Award for Outstanding Achievement. She was also the recipient of many awards including the University of Colorado’s Norlin Award for Professional Excellence; the University of Colorado’s Public Service Award; the University of Colorado Law School’s Honorary Order of the Coif Award; Urban Peak’s Maverick Thinker Award; the Denver Regional Council of Governments Service Award; the Cal Frazier Investing in Education Award; the Downtown Denver Partnership Honorary Partner Award and the Top Hand Award from the National Western Stock Show Association.