Bruce Benson And Cole Finegan Named Co-Chairs

Noel Ginsburg Named President

Board of Education President Elaine Gantz Berman and Superintendent Jerry Wartgow jointly announced today that the Denver Public Schools Foundation has been reorganized with new board members and a new mission that will directly support school district priorities.

“Arts, athletics and after-school programs will be the beneficiaries of the new foundation,” said Superintendent Wartgow. “Parents, teachers, students and all those close to Denver Public Schools know that these are areas that need a boost in order to improve the kind of comprehensive educational experience we believe all students deserve - and expect - from our schools.”

“To lead the foundation we have assembled a group of community leaders, businessmen and businesswomen who believe, to a person, that the mission of the DPS Foundation is one that transcends politics,” added Board of Education President Elaine Gantz Berman. “This is one of the top-priority agenda items that this community can work on, successfully, together. Each of these board members is committed to making the foundation a success. This is a very worthy cause that will make a real difference in the daily lives of students today.”

Chairman Bruce Benson, chief executive officer of Benson Mineral Group, and vice-chairman Cole Finegan of Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber, will head the new DPS Foundation.

Other members of the DPS Foundation Board of Directors are Joseph B. Blake, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce; Ilene Brody; Linda Childears, president of Young Americans Center for Financial Education; Rev. Lucia Guzman, a member of the DPS Board of Education; Mariner Kemper, chairman and chief executive officer of UMB Bank of Colorado; Kevin McNicholas, president and chief executive officer, KM Concessions; Carrie Morgridge of Morgridge Family Foundation; C. Alan Peppers, president and chief executive officer of the DPS Credit Union; Lola Salazar, president of Salazar Family Foundation; Paul Sandoval, Tamales by La Casita; Frank Solis, president of Solis Advertising and Public Relations; Mark Smith, president of East West Partners Denver; Edward P. Timmins, manager, Timmins & Associates, LLC; Jerry Wartgow, DPS superintendent; and Ronald Williams, president of Gary-Williams Energy.

Noel Ginsburg, president of Intertech Plastics, is donating half of his work time to serve as president of the DPS Foundation (he’ll be paid $1 per year).

“The DPS Foundation is taking on a critical mission at a critical time,” said Ginsburg. “The district’s general fund is doing everything it can, but it is stretched too far to have the kind impact we believe is needed to keep students connected to school in a meaningful way. The DPS Foundation will work to enhance what schools can offer through arts, athletics and after-school programs and we will do this by demonstrating the kinds of partnerships and support that is needed to make each school experience as well-rounded and as dynamic as possible.”

Ginsburg said the foundation will set high fund-raising goals and will use its resources strategically to seed good ideas that demonstrate maximum impact on students’ lives.

Ginsburg is a prominent businessman who has an extensive history of community involvement.

A major fundraising dinner is scheduled for January 22 in connection with the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Denver Public Schools. The event will be held at Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California St., beginning at 6:30 p.m. Ticket purchases begin at $250 for individuals (a limited number of $100 seats are available to DPS employees) and up to $10,000 for platinum level support and a table of ten. Checks may be sent to ERH & Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 6564, Denver, CO 80206. Please make checks payable to “Denver Public Schools Foundation.”

Superintendent Wartgow also announced the appointment of Karen Kennedy as the foundation’s executive director. Previously the executive director of the Irish Community Center and the director of the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture, Kennedy brings a wealth of experience from non-profit, private, and public sector enterprises. Kennedy was principal and co-founder of SBC & Associates, a management consulting firm with a focus on government, professional services and non-profit organizations.

Ginsburg’s Intertech Plastics is a custom injection and blow molder, manufacturing products for the consumer and industrial markets. Ginsburg has been the board chair and general campaign chair of the Mile High United Way. Noel and his wife Leslie sponsor 42 inner city children through the Colorado I Have A Dream Foundation.

Noel is also chairman of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado’s newly formulated board of directors. Ginsburg has received the Daniel L. Ritchie Award for Ethics in Business (1998) and the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Business Award (1995).