More About our Newest Board Members
We’re so excited to introduce to you the newest MMCO Board members! We’ll be spotlighting them throughout the next couple weeks. Today we welcome Kate, Chris, and Jesse!
Name: Jesse Zamora
City/Town: Aurora
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-zamora
College/Year: University of Colorado Boulder, 2016, UC Denver 2024
Degree: Political Science, MPA
Employer: Colorado Association of REALTORS
Role/Job Title: Government Affairs Director
Which pronouns do you use? He/him
Do you identify as a first-generation college graduate? Yes, I am a first-gen college grad
Bio
Jesse is a Government Affairs Director at the Colorado Association of Realtors®. The state association represents 28,000 members. He advocates for public policy issues in housing including expanding access to homeownership, protecting private property rights, and issues impacting Realtors and their clients. Intergenerational wealth-building, land use, technology, and energy are topics Jesse enjoys the most.
Previously, Jesse worked at CRL Associates in Denver. He worked closely with clients for strategic planning and advocacy including the Home Builders of Metro Denver, Comcast, and many others who transform the Denver landscape. Jesse has provided public affairs support to clients in telecommunications, agriculture, residential development, and public-private projects.
Jesse is a first-generation American and is fluent in Spanish. He received the Daniels Fund Scholarship in 2012. He grew up in Denver’s Globeville neighborhood with parents from Juarez, Chihuahua. He is a Minds Matter of Colorado alum, a mentoring organization that helps young people from low-income neighborhoods succeed in high school and attend the college of their choice. He also belongs to the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network, participating in conferences with resident scholars, elected officials and authors adhering to the principles of free market economics, poverty reduction and alleviation, and the free exchange of ideas to solve the world’s most pressing issues.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado Boulder and is earning a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver.
Name: Kate Berger
City/Town: Denver
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/redk8/
College/Year: Occidental College, 2003
Degree: Marine Biology
Employer: Kempe Center
Role/Job Title: LMS Specialized Instructional Designer
Which pronouns do you use? She/Her
Do you identify as a first-generation college graduate? No
Bio
As a lifelong educator, Kate works hard to help people understand complex problems in ways that make sense to them. She started her career as a high school science teacher in Leland, Mississippi. She relocated to Los Angeles and then Washington, DC, where she taught biology and physics to students in grades 7–12 while earning her master’s degree. After realizing she could impact more students as an administrator, Kate became the dean of academics at Maya Angelou Academy at New Beginnings, a charter school located inside a youth detention facility. There she joined an amazing group of students and staff working tirelessly to change outcomes for youth who had been adjudicated delinquent, many of whom had experience with the child welfare and foster care systems. In 2012, she relocated to Denver, where she was founding principal of STRIVE Prep—Excel High School. After transferring to an assistant principal role at North High School in 2016, it was not long before she felt the call back to the classroom, and she taught AP Physics for two more years at North through the pandemic. Kate joined the Kempe Center in May 2023.
Kate Berger is the LMS specialized instructional designer for the Child Welfare Training System through The Kempe Center. She is passionate about creating systems and structures that help all children thrive. In this role, she is responsible for the design, maintenance, and quality control of the learning management system, ensuring ease of use for learners.
In her free time, Kate loves to read, do puzzles, and play board games, and spend time with her fur babies. She loves to hike in the Rocky Mountains and is a competitive power lifter.
Name: Chris Coffin
City/Town: Denver
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-coffin/
College/Year: Western Illinois University, 2008
Degree: Supply Chain Management
Employer: KPMG
Role/Job Title: Manager
Which pronouns do you use? He/Him
Do you identify as a first-generation college graduate? Yes, I am a first-gen college grad
Bio
Chris grew up in rural Illinois and started supporting Minds Matter Colorado as a mentor shortly after moving to the state in 2012. He is a graduate of Western Illinois University where he studied Supply Chain Management.
Chris lives with his wife in east Denver and works as a management consultant focusing on supply with KPMG. He prioritizes spending time with family and community service and enjoys cooking, live music, and travel (as long as it’s not work related!).
