Mathew Hogan, Chair
Partner, Sherman & Howard
Board Member since 2002

Matt joined the Board of Directors because of a passionate belief that DCAC makes a significant and positive difference in children's lives, and because of a resulting desire to support the remarkable staff members that devote their lives to make a difference. Matt has been instrumental in the transformation of DCAC from half of a duplex on Elati Street, to its new home at 2149 Federal Boulevard, and to its current two-building, state-of-the-art, child-friendly campus. The City of Denver, on the occasion of its 150th birthday in 2008, named Matt one of Denver's 150, an "unsung hero who has done extraordinary things to make the city a better place."

Benjamin S. Walton, Vice Chair
Architect and Philanthropist
Board Member since 2010

Ben believes DCAC is a vital resource for our community, not only by helping families recover from the trauma associated with the abuse and neglect of children, but also through targeted outreach and training to help prevent these very crimes from occurring. DCAC's working partnership with the Denver Police Department and the Denver District Attorney's Office is key in ensuring these crimes against children are appropriately investigated and prosecuted in a child-centric manner. Ben currently serves on the boards of the Walton Family Foundation, Choate Rosemary Hall and Children's Hospital Colorado. He is co-chair of City Year Denver, a nonprofit that unites young people of all backgrounds for a year of full-time service.

Jay Ottoson, Treasurer
President and Chief Operating Officer, SM Energy
Board Member since 2012

Jay joined the board because he wanted to be associated with something of real value in the community and believes the work done by DCAC is badly needed and professionally done. Jay has served as President of the Board Centers for Children and Family in Midland, Texas, as a board member for CASA and Boys & Girls Club, and currently serves on the Western Energy Alliance (WEA) Board of Directors.

Kim Roberts, Secretary
Community Volunteer and Philanthropist
Board Member since 2010

Debbie Besaw
Senior Director, Global Services Marketing, EMC Corporation
Board Member since 2002

As a mom, Debbie is impassioned by DCAC's mission and the unique role DCAC plays in the Denver community. It is important to know that all children have access to a safe environment where they can receive support through compassionate, specialized professionals as part of their healing process. Over the years, it has been extremely rewarding for her to see and be part of DCAC's growth, and support its expansion into new service areas. As a long-term board member and volunteer, Debbie has served DCAC in numerous leadership roles including fundraising, public relations, marketing and branding. In 2005, Debbie received the B-to-B Marketing Innovation Award from the Colorado Software and Internet Association and, that same year, was named a Finalist for Business Woman of the Year in the Emerging Business Category by the Denver Business Journal.

Brandon Bontrager
Supply Chain Manager, Rockies Region, Anadarko Petroleum Corp
Board Member since 2012

As a member and leader within the community and as a parent, Brandon believes it is his responsibility to give back to the community and show his children the importance of giving back and making a difference in a community where we live and work. He has volunteered with Boys & Girls Club of Farmington, New Mexico, Habitat for Humanity in Denver, and United Way.

"Someone very close to myself and my children is a victim of (child) sexual abuse and has recently come forth with this horrible trauma, 30 years after the fact. Her courage to deal with this trauma has given me the inspiration (and awareness) to help others become aware of and more responsive to these horrible acts. My hope is to help children in our community have the resources available to prevent their childhood from being taken from them and/or to regain their childhood. I have seen first-hand what this does to a child and how it affects the rest of his/her lift if not given the proper resources and assistance."

Amy Brimah
Attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLC
Board Member since 2001

Amy believes every child deserves to have a safe childhood because each child has only one childhood. Since joining the board, she has maintained a strong working partnership and leadership role with DCAC as a committee member, board officer and ambassador in the business community.

Jennifer Eiteljorg
Partner, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLC
Board Member since 2007

Jennifer joined the board to help serve children experiencing their darkest hour, and to support our mission to restore childhood to those who have been abused or neglected. She has served as an officer, committee member and ambassador for DCAC, currently serves on the board of Project Angel Heart and has recently been selected for Leadership Denver, Class of 2013.

Amber Elias
Deputy General Counsel and Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Denver Public Schools
Board Member since 2012

"Through my work with DPS, I am exposed to a broad range of issues that impact students, including special education, discipline and truancy, and I work closely within the District and with external stakeholders to ensure cross-functional communication and collaboration to ensure that all students receive quality educational programming designed to meet their individual needs. Students come to school every day with unique experiences and challenges, and it is our responsibility to meet students where they are and create opportunities for them to succeed academically and in life beyond K-12 education. I am inspired by the work that DCAC does to promote the emotional health and safety of children in Denver, and I am proud to support the collaboration between DCAC and DPS."

Amber has worked closely with with Padres y Jovenes Unidos and the Denver Police Department to execute an Intergovernmental Agreement relating to the use of School Resource Officers in schools with the goals of eliminating the school-to-jail pipeline and raising awareness about the boundaries between school discipline and criminal behavior at school to make schools safer for all students. Additionally, she started an attorney volunteer program through the Denver Bar Association and DPS as part of a larger multi-agency initiative to support the use of restorative approaches to address truancy. Amber is a member of Colorado and Denver Bar Associations, Democracy and Education Committees; Colorado Association of School Boards; Creative Options, Mayor's Office of Education and Children; and the Colorado Commission on Juvenile Justice Education Committee.

Caleb Hester
Commercial Banking Officer, UMB Bank
Board Member since 2010

Caleb's motivation for being involved with DCAC and other nonprofits stems from opportunities he had growing up. He is an ongoing volunteer with Junior Achievement of Denver, former board member of Denver Active 20/30 Children's Foundation, and Chair of the 2013 Schomp BMW Denver Polo Classic.

"I was very fortunate and want to create those same opportunities for other children. I believe the best investment a person can make is in a child because the return can be unlimited."

John Kechriotis
General Counsel, Office of the General Counsel, Dener Public Schools
Board Member since 2012

John currently serves on the Colorado Bar Association Board of Governors, the Graland Country Day School Board of Trustees, and Co-Chairs the Denver Bar Association Education Committee.

Karen Loeb
Adjunct Professor, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver
Board Member since 2008

Karen believes supporting an organization that is devoted to helping children and their families who have been witnesses to or victims of abuse is so important in our community.

"As a developmental psychologist, I know it is critical to have early intervention programs to break a cycle of abuse and help victims heal. The entire staff of DCAC is a group of talented and committed professionals whose passion is to help others is unparalleled. The fact that their social services are bilingual and at no-cost to clients makes this organization a beacon in our community for helping others."

As Public Relations Officer of the Rotary Club of Denver Southeast Foundation, Karen has been instrumental in helping DCAC expand the reach of our training program. Her community involvement further includes the 4-Way Test Rotary District Committee and the Colorado Ballet. She is a social enterprise activist for the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene project in Kibera, Kenya, and Champion of the Easter Seal Colorado and Rotary Youth Leadership Award project for handicapped children. Karen currently teaches classes in business leadership and communications to undergraduates and enterprise solutions classes to MBAs, coaches Executive MBA students, and provides executive coaching at the VP level. She originated a graduate course on Usability Design for the Web for graduate students in Information Systems and consulted on the design of a new professional MBA program for the Daniels College of Business.

William Nagle
Deputy Chief of Administration, Denver Police Department
Board Member since 2012

Bill first became involved with DCAC through his role as the head of the Vice and Narcotics Bureau. The Vice Team had worked to increase their efforts in identifying young girls and boys who were victimized in the commercial sexual exploitation of children and DCAC provides forensic interviews and treatment services for these victims of crime. He started out as a geologist, but gave up the frequent travel when he started to have children so he could be an active father - and now has 25 years with the Denver Police Department. Most of his time has been in the Patrol Division, but he has also used his spatial analysis skills from geology to help implement formal crime analysis at the department and was the architect of the department's computer statistics managerial accountability process.

Rebecca L. Theis
AVP and Trust Officer, Steele Street Bank & Trust
Board Member since 2012

Becky joined the board to help make a difference in the lives of children who are not as fortunate as others, and to strengthen community partnerships through organizations like Junior League of Denver. She is also actively involved with the CoBiz Cares Foundation and the Women's Foundation of Colorado.

Floyd Trujillo
President and CEO, Conquest Energy
Board Member since 2002

Floyd has been an active member of the Oil and Gas Community for over thirty years. Since joining the board, he has provided leadership on committees and as a board officer, has volunteered his marketing expertise to increase public awareness about DCAC and has introduced us to many new supporters due to his long history of working with peers in the oil and gas industry.

Casey Tynan
Producer, Commercial Lines Unit, Van Gilder Insurance Company
Board Member since 2010

Casey joined the board as a way to get involved and give back to the community, and has been an active ambassador and ally for DCAC in developing new and strong relationships. In his work with Van Gilder, his primary responsibilities include cultivating and maintaining clients, developing industry specific programs, organizing client service teams, identifying and deploying resources, providing service plan oversight, performing annual program reviews, and maintaining overall customer relationships.