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“Why Girls?”
November 5, 2009
Nell Merlino: CEO & Founder, Count Me In
Nell Merlino is Founder, President and CEO of Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence, the leading national not-for-profit provider of resources for women to grow their micro businesses into million $ enterprises. She is author of “Stepping Out of Line: Lessons for Women Who Want It Their Way in Life, in Love, and at Work,” from Broadway Books.
Throughout her career, Nell Merlino has been inspiring millions of people to take action. She is the creative force behind Take Our Daughters to Work Day, which moved more than 71 million Americans to participate in a day dedicated to giving girls the opportunity to dream bigger about their future.
Through Count Me In, Nell is now inspiring women entrepreneurs to dream big and achieve even more. She is leading a global movement to empower women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses to a million dollars and beyond by providing tools, resources, and a supportive community of their peers. Count Me In’s Make Mine a Million $ Business program reaches women entrepreneurs in communities around the country through events and on-line community. This movement will not only add millions of jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity, but take women to new levels of independence, empowering them to act as economic leaders.
Merlino is also the founder and President of Strategy Communication Action, Ltd. (SCA) in New York City, a firm specializing in the creation of public education campaigns that motivate people to act. Prior to founding Count Me In, at SCA Merlino created on campaigns like the YWCA’s The Week Without Violence, the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, worked in two state governments, was an advance woman in presidential politics, a union organizer and a Fulbright Scholar.
Merlino lives in Manhattan with her husband, Gary Conger.
AJ Clemmons: Community Relations Ombudsman, the Office of the Independent Monitor
Ajenai (AJ) Clemmons is the Community Relations Ombudsman for the Office of the Independent Monitor (OIM), a civilian agency that independently monitors the Denver Police and Sheriff Departments. As Ombudsman, AJ serves as a liaison between the police and community.
Prior to her current position, AJ worked as a bilingual paralegal serving primarily Latino immigrants at a Hispanic worker’s compensation law firm. She has worked as a Legislative Assistant in the Iowa State House of Representatives, and taught English in Caracas, Venezuela.
AJ is extremely active in the community and currently serves as a Board Trustee for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado, Vice President of Colorado Black Women for Political Action, and as a member of the Governing Oversight Board of the Colorado C-3 Roundtable. In 2008, AJ ran for the University of Colorado Board of Regents in the 6th Congressional District and won nearly 80,000 votes. She also sings in her church choir.
AJ graduated Magna cum Laude from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa with a B.A. in International Relations, Spanish, and Latin American History. She also studied abroad in Chile and Guatemala. AJ holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Denver.
Cary Kennedy: Colorado State Treasurer
Cary Kennedy has served as State Treasurer since 2007, providing disciplined and prudent financial management for Colorado's taxpayers during challenging economic times. As Treasurer, Kennedy receives, disburses and accounts for nearly $20 billion annually and manages a $6 billion investment pool.
Her record of accomplishments include maintaining positive growth without any losses in the state's $6 billion investment pool during a volatile economy, publishing the first annual accountability report for taxpayers and increasing the transparency of state financial data, financing the largest higher education construction program in state history and developing legislation to rebuild and repair aging school buildings throughout Colorado.
Cary Kennedy began her professional career as a budget analyst in Colorado Governor Romer's Office of State Planning and Budgeting. She then worked as a fiscal analyst for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Kennedy left the department to lead a broad bi-partisan coalition to increase funding for Colorado's public schools.
Amendment 23 was approved by Colorado voters in November 2000. Kennedy worked for Educare Colorado to bring increased federal funding into Colorado to support early childhood education and later joined the Colorado Children's Campaign to support an initiative to expand health insurance coverage for low income children and fund cancer research. In 2004-2005, Kennedy served as the policy director for House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, and assisted in developing an historic budget compromise, Colorado's Referendum C, which was approved by Colorado voters in 2005.
As Treasurer, Kennedy has successfully stabilized funding for several health care programs, launched a new initiative to finance school building construction, co-chaired Governor Ritter's transportation finance and implementation panel, lead an effort to increase the state's reserves, and worked to make Colorado's finances more transparent and accessible for taxpayers.
Kennedy received her bachelor's degree from St. Lawrence University, a master's degree from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Denver School of Law. She and her husband have two children.
Dusti Gurule: Executive Director, the Latina Initiative
Dusti Gurule is the Executive Director of the Latina Initiative. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Chicano Studies from Metropolitan State College of Denver and a Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University as a Colorado Trust Fellow. She serves on the board of Colorado Conservation Voters Education Fund, the MSCD Chicano Studies Advisory Council, and the Steering Committee for the Colorado C3 Roundtable, is a Faculty Coach for the Colorado Center for Progressive Leadership program and is a commissioner for the Denver Latino Commission. In 2006, Dusti received a Civil Rights Award from NEWSED CDC, was named one of ’50 for the Future’ by The Colorado Statesman in 2007, was named one of Colorado's most politically influential Latinos by 5280 Magazine in August 2008 and one of Colorado’s Influential Women of 2008 by Denver Women’s Examiner. She was also named one of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Womens ENews and Mujer de Impacto by the Latina Chamber in 2009.
Senator Mike Johnston: Colorado State Senator, District 33
Michael Johnston is the co-founder and principal of MESA (Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts), a 7-12 Gates funded small high school in north Denver. His experience teaching English in the Mississippi Delta with Teach For America led him to write his education memoir, "Into the Deep Heart's Core." Michael co-founded New Leaders for New Schools, a national non-profit that recruits, prepares, and places outstanding urban school leaders. He previously served as the principal of two alternative high schools for students held in state custody, the Joan Farley Academy, and the Marvin Foote Youth Detention Center. He has been an adjunct professor of Education Law at the University of Denver and serves as an education advisory to state and federal political campaigns around the country, including spending the last several years as education advisor to Barack Obama's presidential campaign and administration. Michael holds degrees from Yale College, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Yale Law School.
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