Staff
Executive Directors
For more than twelve years, Jason McKain has been developing outreach tools, processes, communications and organizing actions for a variety of social, environmental, and independent media initiatives. He has organized more than 500 activist-based, community-focused (urban and rural) projects involving more than 10,000 people. In doing so, it has been and will always be his ultimate goal to connect people with critical community work that needs to be done and to make this connection stronger. Jason has spent an equal amount of time creating and implementing fundraising strategies to fund countless projects. Along the way, Jason has developed a comprehensive and effective knowledge base around grassroots organizing, fundraising, logistics, and publicity. In his free time Jason can be found scaling the sides of mountains, wetting a fly line in any number of Colorado streams, or reading newspapers from around the world.
Carlos joined CPC in 2008 and will work with the Campaign for Economic Justice, Southern Colorado, and the Racial Justice & Civil Rights programs. Prior to CPC, Carlos served as the Senior Education Policy Specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures where he focused on public policy to address education disparities and increase college access for low-income and students of color. He has also served as a Regional Program Manager for the Daniels Fund where he helped to design and implement the Daniels Scholarship, which provides comprehensive financial assistance to hundreds of low-income students every year. Carlos is a Denver native, and received a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado College and a Master of Nonprofit Management from Regis University.
Civic Engagement Program
Priyal has recently joined the CPC in August of 2010. She is a native of upstate New York, moving to Denver in September of 2009. She graduated from Daemen College in Buffalo, New York with a double-major in History & Government and Political Science, with a minor in pre-law. In New York she worked with U.S. Senator Schumer, as well as the local county legislative offices. Since moving to Denver she has worked for various Progressive and Democrat campaigns and organizations as a devout member of the "Blue Team." In her free time she enjoys the beauty of Colorado and the amazing locals she meets. Feel free to bring her a cupcake from the bakery next door to our office anytime.
Campaign for Economic Justice
Corrine is a native resident of Colorado and has observed the economic transformations that Colorado has undergone in recent decades. She has also monitored the policies that have shaped education, transportation, employment, and the health care system in Colorado. She is dedicated to minimizing inequality and supporting public policies that will lessen the disparities for low-income populations and people of color. She has a background in nonprofit management, development, coalition building, and public policy. Corrine holds a B.A. History and is currently pursuing an M.A. Political Science, with an emphasis on Public Policy at the University of Colorado at Denver. Corrine is a Bighorn Leadership Fellow and focused on healthcare policy during the 2008 Bighorn session. Corrine is a wife and mother of two wonderful boys and one crazy Goldendoodle, who provide her with continuing motivation to ensure that policies in Colorado are supporting all residents in the twenty-first century.
Racial Justice & Civil Rights Program
Art Way is a native of Denver 's Eastside and Park Hill neighborhoods and a recent law school graduate from Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, FL. A strong concern for individual rights forged during the misguided "war on drugs" motivated Art to attend law school in an effort to understand the legal landscape concerning police/ community interaction. Art has worked with One Nation Enlightened and Project Pave as a youth mentor and organizer. He is motivated as an organizer with the Colorado Racial Profiling and Police Discrimination Hotline to inform people of their inalienable rights while providing those who have been victims of constitutional violations assistance.
Northern Colorado Organizing Program / CPC Greeley Office
Nicole is a Greeley native who returned to Colorado in 2005 after living for 11 years in Ohio, Michigan, and Washington, DC. An Oberlin College graduate (1998) with majors in African-American Studies and Women's Studies, Nicole joined CPC in 2007 following our first Greeley Chapter Meeting. Nicole brings 13 years of experience working for progressive social change, especially on racial and economic justice and LGBTQ rights issues. For CPC's Northern Colorado regional program, she brings a passion for - and great experience in - coalition-based work to connect issues and communities.
Yolanda is a Greeley native who has been active in her community as an engaged parent and volunteer for many years. After living in California & Illinois for 4 years and returning in 1995, she has worked extensively with Latino and immigrant communities in Greeley and Fort Lupton. Yolanda joins CPC’s staff excited to build upon her experiences with community outreach and empowerment. She brings a heartfelt commitment to fighting racism, engaging new voters, and growing our collective social justice movement in Northern Colorado.
Southern Colorado Organizing Program / CPC Pueblo Office
Theresa is a Pueblo native who returned to Colorado in 2001 after living in Mexico where she worked as Program Director for the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development (CCIDD). There she did "global community-organizing" - building solidarity and inspiring action around the political, social, cultural, and economic realities of Mexico with folks from the U.S. and Canada. She has also been very involved with the Women's Ordination Conference, helped to found the Young Feminist Network, and worked as a freelance English/Spanish translator. Theresa is thrilled to be working in her home community - helping to shape its progressive future - and considers this work her life's vocation.
Administrative Support
Marisela Gonzalez is a recent graduate of Metropolitan State College of Denver with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Accounting. In college she participated in many Latino organizations including Pi Lambda Chi Latina Sorority, Inc., where she was the chapter President. Marisela was also a board member of Warren Village, a community of single parents seeking to become self-sufficient. She became involved in grassroots organizing during the 2002 and 2004 elections. She started at Colorado Progressive Coalition as an intern in the Racial Justice program, and through the 2008 Generation Change Fellowship she continued her involvement with CPC with the Civic Engagement program. She is an aspiring law student and in her free time enjoys spending time with her two children, Orlando and Alex, and training for the Denver Marathon.
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Miriam Peña has been leading CPC's fundraising efforts since 2005. A 2007 graduate of the University of Denver, she majored in Public Policy and Communications. Miriam was born in Cd. Juarez, Mexico, coming to the U.S. when she was 6 months old. A graduate of Denver's West H.S., Miriam has been a part of immigrant justice efforts, including CPC's language disparities work where she focused on mono-lingual Spanish speaking immigrant communities. She is a member of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition Steering Committee and serves on the board of Rights for All People. Miriam spends her free time running with her dog Crown Royal, reading and dancing with friends.