NEW TRUSTEE SPOTLIGHTS

Ellen Brooks

What inspired you to join the CRMS Board of Trustees?

I feel so fortunate to have my son as a student at CRMS, particularly during the pandemic. There is simply no comparison to the education he would have received elsewhere. As such I would like to give back to the school. I have spent most of my life serving in the world of medicine, and I want to branch out and serve in a different capacity. While I do find that a little intimidating, I also know that CRMS values the act of pushing oneself beyond one’s comfort zone. I am interested in broadening my own education and helping shape the future of this special place.

What do you value most about CRMS?

I value most the personal attention that students receive from each of the teachers. I think this allows kids to feel empowered to push themselves more than they would naturally do knowing there is such support behind them.

What are you most excited about as you embark on your new role as a Trustee?

I am excited to be involved in the continued growth of the school, especially in the gender, diversity, and equity niche. I feel that I can bring some of my medical background and knowledge of child and adolescent development to the table in this realm.

JOHNNY RICHARDSON ‘70

What inspired you to join the CRMS Board of Trustees?

The opportunity to give back and to pay it forward. In many ways, the CRMS experience left an indelible imprint on me. Hikes up Mt. Sopris & Red Bluff, fall and spring trips, rock picking, and the long-lasting mentoring from faculty are priceless and impactful memories. As a young African American man from rural Mississippi attending CRMS, in the turbulent late 60s and early 70s, was lifechanging. And was formative in my development as an adult, giving me the confidence, fierceness, and passion to face life’s challenges.

What do you value most about CRMS?

The synergistic congruence of education, work ethic, and community. And the “idealism,” legacy, and that special “Je Ne Sais Quoi.” These values embody the CRMS experience and give CRMS its intrinsic value.

What are you most excited about as you embark on your new role as Trustee?

I’m grateful to be invited to serve on the CRMS Board of Trustees. I look forward to partnering with leadership and lending my experience and diversity and providing a different lens to view and preparing CRMS for the present and the future.

DAN MARTINEZ ‘77

What inspired you to join the CRMS Board of Trustees?

After years in public service working on international economic affairs, I am ready to take on new challenges here in the U.S., specifically around international competitiveness and why the U.S. is beginning to lag behind other countries. Many, including me, point to our educational system as the source of our lower standing in international economic/ development rankings. Every part of our educational system must do its part to address this challenge and I felt I could contribute towards this goal at CRMS.

What do you value most about CRMS?

The school’s academic heritage. John Holden’s vision, his pursuit of this vision ,and the educational philosophy with which he imbued the nascent school are the stuff of legends. This rock-solid foundation was still very much alive when I attended CRMS and has helped it to weather the challenges and to grow. Even as the country is being pulled in many directions, this enduring legacy, this spirit continues to its guiding principle. We must continue to nourish this spirit and this legacy, especially at a time where so many bearers of this torch move on after many years of service to CRMS.

What are you most excited about as you embark on your new role as a Trustee?

2022-23 CRMS BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Stan Wattles ‘80 President

Margaret (Mags) Miller ‘90 Vice President

Peggy Corcillo Treasurer

Eric Alden

Chris Babbs

Sean Bierle

Garett Bjorkman ‘06

Ellen Brooks

Brian Davies

Alicia Dewey

Luke Falcone ‘11

Mike Flax ‘63

Pete Louras

Dan Martinez ‘77

Andrew Menke

Johnny Richardson ‘70

Ravi Venkateswaran ‘69

Ken Wanko

Please join us in extending a huge thank you to Lisanne Rogers for her leadership on the Board of Trustees for the past six years. Lisanne joined the board in 2016 and has served as the Development Committee Chair and the Board Secretary.

I join the Board at a time when CRMS has started a new chapter towards a more vibrant community and renewed focus on excellence in education. We are embarking on a journey to strengthen and expand CRMS’s foundation to prepare our students to take on emerging challenges facing our nation and the planet. We are seeing new ways of transporting people and things are becoming more commonplace and even the boundaries that have defined us as a human race are being pushed further and further out. CRMS must be at the forefront of this wave of innovation not just from the technology perspective, but setting the ground rules for the conversation about what that future looks like.

Meeting Dates

September 16-17, 2022

December 9-10, 2022

February 17, 2023 video conference

May 12-13, 2023