Board of Directors
Board Members
Chris Gibbons
Board Member
Deputy Director for Charter Schools, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Deputy Director for Charter Schools, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Rebecca GivensRebecca has more than 30 years of experience practicing law both in private practice and as in-
house counsel. Her areas of concentration include contracts, real estate and finance. Through
her years leading corporate legal departments, she is well versed in the legal challenges facing
Colorado businesses and in risk mitigation through inter-departmental collaboration. Rebecca is
currently a partner at Moye White LLP, which is a patron member of Colorado Business
Committee for the Arts, and she currently volunteers with Colorado Attorneys for the Arts on
their vetting committee. Rebecca holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of
Nebraska – Lincoln and a J.D. from Creighton University.
Rebecca is passionate about the arts and energized by youth. She sees PAA as a wonderful place
for young people to discover their own passion for the arts in an inclusive and supportive
environment that helps develop teamwork and self-expression while simultaneously building
confidence.
Elise CollinsElise Collins is a proud PAA alumnus, lifelong Coloradan, and 2014 Boettcher Scholar. She earned an MBA and an MA in Theatre and Performance Studies from CU Boulder in 2020. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Development for the College of Music at CU Boulder. She helps raise funds for the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, the Artist Series, and student scholarships. She has been involved in the performing arts all across Colorado as an actor, director, teaching artist, puppeteer, and arts administrator for over 18 years.
Elise enjoys finding synergy between the business and arts sectors. She strives to use her business acumen and privilege to create opportunities for other artists—especially artists of color, people with disabilities, women, and nonbinary folx. She is honored to serve PAA and help bring the transformative power of theatre to all people.
Elise is a proud geek who enjoys being unironically enthusiastic about practically everything. When she’s not at the theatre, she enjoys taking walks in nature, asking life’s big questions, and partner dancing.
Ken FongKen Fong received his engineering degrees from the California Institute of Technology and Stanford University. He retired as a Vice President from Lucent Technologies in 1999. While at Lucent and its predecessor, Bell Laboratories, he led software development and product management of telecommunications products. After retiring, he started his second career as a full time volunteer for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, working in areas such as video production and web design, and providing IT support. He became involved with PAA because of his passion for excellence in sound and video in musical productions, and the desire to apply that to PAA performances. He has two adult children, Kristine and Kara, and he enjoys spending his free time traveling and doing crossword puzzles with his wife, Betsy Keyack.
Carl FitchExperienced leader and entrepreneur, Carl has consistently led teams with passion and integrity. Carl has over 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and leader in the IT consulting industry. Carl founded, grew and successfully sold multiple technology companies.. Carl’s accomplishments were recognized by the Colorado Software and Internet Association when he was awarded the “Technology Executive of the Year” award. Carl was also selected to be a “40 Under 40” winner by the Denver Business Journal and to the international organization of Young Presidents Organization. Throughout Carl’s career, he has used his unique combination of empathy and sincerity to align teams with his vision of always doing the right thing.
An honors graduate from the University of Denver with a B.S. in Chemistry and a M.B.A. in Finance, Carl is a published author (McGraw-Hill) on relational database technology and has been quoted in Computer World, Software Magazine, and Enterprise Systems Journal.
Carl serves the community by leading the boards of numerous organizations and spending time in service to others. He was recently elected to chair the board of the Colorado Technology Association and the Young Presidents’ Organization, Rocky Mountain Gold chapter. He serves on the board of Daniels College of Business, the Center for Pastoral Effectiveness and the Performing Arts Academy. He mentors college students at the University of Denver and upcoming executives through the Young Presidents’ Organization. Previously he served on the boards of Boy Scouts, Littleton Hospital, Better Business Bureau, Country Club at Castle Pines and the Boys and Girls Club.
David RhodesDavid is excited to join the PAA Board of Directors and to share his experience and expertise with the organization. David’s interest in the performing arts has its roots in music. He is a trumpet player and singer (no, not at the same time). He is currently a member of several brass and wind ensembles and sings in the church choir. He is passionate about the experience that PAA offers children and youth and has seen the positive transformation the programs bring. David brings a background of more than 40 years working in the engineering and construction field. His experience includes electrical design, project management, construction management, and owner’s representation. David wants to see PAA grow and to have the facilities that are required to support programmatic needs and hopes his experience will assist in that goal.
Marty has more than 30 years of business experience in business development, executive leadership, management, engineering and technology. He currently is owner and president of AGS Construction. Previously he worked in multiple senior positions at Raytheon, AT&T, Comcast, SCTE and Windstream. In addition to PAA, Marty serves on the Board of Directors of Adoption Options and the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Advisory Board at the Colorado School of Mines. He also leads a local Cystic Fibrosis fundraising team. Marty has provided leadership at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in multiple areas, including the Executive Team, Staff Parish Relations Team, Future Planning Team, and Lay Leadership. Marty holds Executive Certificates from the Wharton School of Business, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, St. John’s University, and Babson College. He also holds a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Clemson University and the University of Massachusetts.
Marty sees firsthand how his two children benefit from participating in the performing arts, and values the opportunities they have to build confidence, leadership, and a sense of community. Additionally, he understands that performing arts can bring balance to help very gifted, young technical minds expand and flourish in new ways. Marty and his wife Melinda are ever grateful for the role that PAA plays in shaping youth to be all they truly can be.
Christen BrendlingerChris holds a finance degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She has spent the past 15 years as a Division Order Analyst in the Oil and Gas Industry. Prior to that she spent a several years working in Business Development and 3 years teaching Middle School Algebra.
She became a PAA supporter and enthusiast the moment her son, Jared, participated in 101 Dalmatians 10 years ago. Each following summer Jared spent 4 weeks learning and performing in a safe place where he could completely be himself. His confidence soared and his love for musical theatre was permanently engrained in him. He is in college now, and the kids he performed with are still some of his closest friends.
Chris was thrilled when 7 years ago, Dr. Ramsey asked her to join the committee for PAA’s new annual fundraiser. The committee voted on a name, and the Stars In Arts Gala was born. She has served as Auction Chair for all 6 galas, and she is just as passionate about PAA now as she was that very first day. She witnessed how PAA profoundly changed the life of her son, and truly wants every child to have the same opportunity. She hopes to continue making a difference in children’s lives by serving as a PAA Board member.
Holly CoorsA 5th generation Colorado native with over 20 years in sales and marketing, Holly Coors knows what it takes to facilitate a successful transaction. Currently, Holly is a Realtor with LIV Sotheby's International Realty. To Holly, real estate is about building relationships and she makes it her priority to bring honesty, integrity, and a level of service that is unmatched. She began her working career at her family business, Coors Brewing Company where she worked in Sales and Marketing, domestic and international for 8 years. She was drawn to the other family businesses held in ACX Technologies where she worked for an additional 5 years focusing on Investor Relations. Turning to entrepreneurship, Holly’s consulted with and worked in building businesses from the ground up with two original start-ups. These challenges taught her the value of strategic marketing and the importance of defining clear goals by listening to her client’s individual needs.
Holly holds a Master's Degree in International Management from Thunderbird, and a BA from The College of William & Mary. The proud mother of four children and many animals, she also makes time to give back to her community and passionate causes. She currently sits as a trustee on two separate Foundation boards, and previously served as Vice President on the board of the Friends of Foothills Animal Shelter.
An avid traveler, Holly has lived overseas in Germany, Switzerland and Scotland, but has always considered Colorado home. Today she lives in BackCountry, a subdivision in Highlands Ranch where she enjoys the breathtaking views, inspiring open spaces and strong sense of community. Her youngest daughter performed in her first PAA Production the summer of 2016 and has participated in 11 total musicals with PAA. Her daughter's growth, both professional and personal, can be attributed to the incredible environment of learning and nurturing provided at PAA. Holly is honored to be able to serve on the Board and is looking forward to building an organization unmatched in the western United States.
Chris Gibbons is the deputy director for charter schools at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with a portfolio that includes the support of a high-quality Washington state charter sector and national investments that support the growth of high-quality charter schools to support especially Black and Latino youth. He brings a passion for building great teams, a commitment to supporting students toward college success, and nearly 25 years of experience as an educator.
Chris was the founder and CEO for 16 years of STRIVE Prep, now a combined organization known as Rocky Mountain Prep, a network of public charter schools in Denver, Colorado, that prepares low-income students for college success. The network today runs 12 schools and serves nearly 5,000 students and has closed longstanding achievement gaps. A STRIVE Prep school ranked first in academic growth among all public middle schools in Denver for seven consecutive years.
Named the 2013 Top Thinker in Education by The Denver Post and a Game Changer by 5280 magazine, Chris is an alum of the Broad Superintendents Academy and a recipient of the Building Excellent Schools Fellowship and the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship. He served as co-chair of the Denver Public Schools Collaborative Council, directed Denver Summerbridge (now part of Breakthrough Collaborative), and was a charter high school science teacher. He is fluent in Spanish. Chris has a bachelor's degree in biology from Yale University and a M.Ed. from Regis University. He is married to Audra Philippon, a fellow charter school founder, and they are proudly raising two daughters, one of whom is a 4-year PAA veteran.