Leadership
Lamech Mbise
President
Lamech Mbise is the President of Funzeleo, Inc. He has over twenty years in education and nonprofit management. He served fifteen years at Junior Achievement (JA) where he led fundraising initiatives, leadership-development and JA expansion in Africa. Born and raised in Tanzania, Lamech has an acute knowledge of education programs at college and pre-college levels. He has a keen interest in higher education, K-12 schooling, and strategies for strengthening the capacity of the nonprofits working in education and development. After graduating from high school in Tanzania, Lamech came to the U.S. to attend college.
He holds a master’s degree from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, and baccalaureate degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Also, he completed coursework toward a doctorate at the University of Denver where he also worked as director of development for IAALS. Lamech continues his interest in fundraising serving as a development director at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Scot Anderson
Scot Anderson is a partner at Hogan Lovells, a 2,500-lawyer global legal practice with offices in 45 countries. His areas of practice cover a wide range of issues in the mining, environmental, and energy industries. Scot is an emeritus member of the board of directors of Boys Hope Girls Hope of Colorado, and is a past president of the Denver Chapter of the International Mining Professionals Association. He is the Chairman of the Funzeleo Board of Directors.
Scot holds a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, J.D. and M.A. from the University of Iowa, and B.A. from Augustana College.
Catherine “Cassie” J. Boggs
Catherine “Cassie” J. Boggs is Vice President and General Counsel of Resource Capital Funds (RCF), a private equity group based in Denver that invests only in the mining sector.
Prior to joining RCF, Cassie served as Senior Vice President-Corporate Development for Barrick Gold Corporation in Canada while serving as President and CEO of Tethyan Copper Company Pakistan (Pvt) Limited.
Cassie holds a BA and MS from Michigan State University and JD from the University of Denver. She is the Vice Chair of the Funzeleo Board of Directors.
Jennifer L. Hellier
Jennifer L. Hellier is an assistant professor in the departments of Family Medicine and Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Also, she is the Director of the Denver Metro Regional Science and Engineering Fair; and the Deputy Director of Programs at the Colorado Area Health Education Centers. Jennifer earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Colorado State University and a BS from the University of Southern California. Earlier in her career, Jennifer was an instructor in the Neurology Department at Harvard Medical School and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Dave Luke
David A Luke, Senior Vice President, Merrick & Company received his bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Florida in 1983 and master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1992. He serves as Merrick’s Chief Operations Officer and is on their Board of Directors. He’s a licensed Professional Engineer in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi and a LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction. Prior to joining Merrick, Mr Luke served as a Civil Engineering Officer in the US Air Force and served as a fluids engineer for Beal Aerospace Technologies, Inc. in Dallas, TX. He has 24 years of service with Merrick and 37 years of experience in engineering. He is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Mr Luke is married and resides in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Susan J. Mitchell
Susan J. Mitchell has had a distinguished career in banking, corporate finance and investment banking serving the mining industry and other natural resource clients globally. Prior to founding S. Mitchell & Associates in 2004 whose corporate financial services focus particularly in the junior mining sector, Susan held leadership roles with major international banks based in Toronto and New York and served as treasurer for a Fortune 400 global mining company, Cyprus Amax Minerals based in Denver.
Susan holds a B.A. from McGill University and a Master of International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Her passion for the people of Tanzania developed when she was based there for 6 months in the early 1980’s for a AID-based economic development project.
Charles Musiba
Charles Musiba is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado. A native Tanzanian, Charles worked with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism as a Conservator of Antiquities. In his current role, Charles pairs University of Colorado anthropology students with their counterparts in Tanzania to conduct research on the origins of mankind.
Charles holds a B.A. from J.W. Goethe Universität Frankfurt (Germany), MA from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium), and M.A. and Ph.D. both from the University of Chicago.
Catherine Skokan
Catherine Skokan is an associate and research professor of engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. She is a curriculum-development expert around science, engineering, and technology applications, and a leader in humanitarian engineering – an application of earth science and engineering skills to help underserved populations. Currently, Catherine is working on a project that places graduate students in K-12 classrooms to help inspire knowledge and interest in math and science.
Catherine holds the BS, MS, and Ph.D. in geophysical engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Jill Tietjen
Jill Tietjen is President/CEO of Technically Speaking, Inc. An electrical engineer, Jill has spent 40 years in the electric utility industry providing consulting services to electric utilities and organizations serving the utility industry. Also, she has served as an expert witness before public utility commissions and other government agencies.
Additionally, Jill is author and co-author of numerous publications, including the award-winning book, Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America, as well as Keys to Engineering Success (a textbook published in 2001), She Does Math! (1995), and Engineering Women: Re-visioning Women’s Scientific Achievements and Impacts (2016). She has been blogging for The Huffington Post since 2014.
In 1991-1992, Jill served as the National President of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). In 2015, she served as the CEO of the National Women’s Hall of Fame, based in Seneca Falls, NY. A worldwide speaker and author of women achievements, Jill has been inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.
Jill has received numerous awards and honors, including Women eNews 21 Leaders of the 21st Century (2016); the 2001 Woman in Technology Award from the Women’s Foundation of Colorado; Tau Beta Pi’s Distinguished Alumna Award, and Woman of Distinction by Girl Scouts – Mile Hi Council.
In the private sector, Jill is a member of the Board of Directors for Georgia Transmission Corporation and serves as an outside director for Merrick & Company.
Jill received a BS (Applied Math) degree (with Electrical Engineering minor) from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the University of North Carolina. She is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.
Cindy Patman
Cindy Patman is Orica USA’s Vice President of Human Resources based in Denver, Colorado. In this role, she is responsible for the strategic direction of the Human Resources function which includes, payroll, training, diversity & inclusion and communications. Orica is a global company explosives company based in Melbourne, Australia.
Formerly, Halliburton’s Senior Director of Corporate Affairs and Diversity Initiatives, she was responsible for providing strategic direction for the Corporate Internal Communications, Community Relations teams, and for leading Companywide efforts to increase diverse hiring and promote inclusion throughout the Company. She also managed the President’s Leadership Excellence Program (PLEP) and Business Leadership Development programs for Halliburton’s high potential talent and served as Vice President of the Halliburton Foundation.
Being the first person to hold the position as Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion she was instrumental in shaping the Company’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy and objectives.
Ms. Patman has experience in all areas of Human Resources, and she has held a variety of positions in the U.S. and internationally, including a five-year assignment leading Human Resources for the Eastern Hemisphere Operations, based in Egypt and, later, Dubai.
Ms. Patman holds a Master of Science degree in global human resources management from the University of Liverpool in London.
Cindy has been recognized as one of Houston’s “50 Most Influential Women” by Houston Women’s Magazine, Top Women in Energy by Houston Business Journal two years in a row, and one of the “Most Powerful and Influential Women in Texas” by the National Diversity Council in 2014. Mrs. Patman was also awarded the inaugural Women in Energy (WEN) networks’ inaugural “Spirit of WEN Award” and Diversity Journals’ “Women Worth Watching.” She is a frequent speaker at conferences and other events related to diversity and professional development for women.
Bobby Schnabel
Bobby Schnabel is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, external chair of computer science, College of Engineering and Applied Science faculty director for entrepreneurship, and campus thought-leader on computing.
From 2015–2017, Bobby was CEO of the Association for Computing Machinery. From 2007–2015, he was Dean of the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University. He also served as IU’s Interim Vice President for Research from 2009-10. From 1977– 2007, Bobby was on the computer science faculty at CU Boulder, including serving as chair, associate dean for academic affairs, vice provost for academic and campus technology and CIO, and founding director of the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society (ATLAS).
Bobby is co-founder and executive team member of the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), and currently serves on the NSF CISE advisory committee and the boards of the Computer Science Teachers Association and code.org.
Brett Wilhelm
Brett Wilhelm is an experienced executive, entrepreneur, and start-up mentor. His most recent company, Renaissance Broadband, LLC, sold its assets for a return of fifty times the original investment. His recent positions include global business director of the Reilly Industries Pipeline Coatings Group; CEO of Metrotect LTD; President, Renaissance Broadband, LLC. and Managing Member, Ptera Capital Management, LLC.
Brett is on the board of two commercial real estate companies in Indianapolis. In the community, Brett is the Chair-Elect for OpenWorld Learning (OWL) in Denver and also serves on the board of KidReports, LLC. Brett holds an MBA from the University of Denver (with Beta Gamma Sigma honors).