About CBCA
Mission
CBCA advances Colorado’s creative economy by connecting business and the arts. We accomplish our mission through year-round advocacy, research, training and arts engagement efforts.
Vision
CBCA envisions a Colorado where arts and business are integrated to catalyze and build strong and vibrant communities.
Core Values
- Collaboration: Arts and business enhance one another. Fostering partnerships between them helps strengthen our communities.
- Creativity: Encouraging new, different and innovative ideas is necessary for our community to grow.
- Education: Civic and business leaders, as well as the people they serve, should understand and advocate for the importance of the arts.
- Inclusiveness: The arts are for all Coloradans. All forms of creative expression are valuable.
- Cultural Vitality: The arts are an indispensable part of our community and economic development, as well as our day-to-day lives.
Inclusivity Statement
As an organization that respectfully lives at the intersection of arts and business, we are on a journey toward building community and belonging for all. We commit to an inclusive and equitable approach to everything we do. We believe that appreciating individuals with different backgrounds, identities and experiences fosters growth for everyone.
History
In 1984, Denver developer John Madden, Jr. brought together a distinguished, forward-thinking group of Colorado business leaders who believed in the importance and value of arts and culture. Inspired by David Rockefeller’s national Business Committee for the Arts, an organization of business leaders committed to demonstrating corporate social responsibility by supporting the arts formed in 1967, CBCA was created in 1985 with the mission to educate, motivate and recognize business support for and participation in the arts in Colorado. CBCA remains a successful membership organization of leading Colorado companies and individuals that have a philanthropic commitment to the arts. CBCA was awarded the Denver “Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts” in 2010. CBCA is an affiliate of Americans for the Arts.

Board of Directors

Chris Ross, Chair
Vice President, Commercial Banking Relationship Manager, U.S. Bank

Dustin Whistler, Vice Chair
Founder & Principal, Forte Commercial Real Estate

Kathy Kranz, Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, Pinnacol Assurance

Bob Keatinge, Secretary
Of Counsel, Holland & Hart

Jessica Alizadeh
Attorney, Fairfield and Woods

Rachel Basye
Executive Director, Arts Students League Denver

Mark Davidson
Partner, Fairfield & Woods

Mose Franck
Vice President of Operations, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center & Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children

S. Craig Hemenway
Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

Laurence D. Kaptain, DMA and FRSA
Dean, College of Arts & Media, University of Colorado Denver

Radhika Mahanty
La Rondine Consulting

Bill Marino
Founder, Creativity Lab Colorado

Anthony McWright, EdD
Principal, Denver School of the Arts

Hassan Najjar
Executive Director, Foothills Art Center

Dan Prather
Managing Partner & President, DualDraw

Christine M Quintana
Partner, Ernst & Young LLP

Curtis Robbins
Senior Manager, Arts Integrated Resources, Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Malik Robinson
Executive Director, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance

Ellen Sandberg
Vice President of Client & Community Relations, PNC Bank

Meg Satrom
Owner, Memoro

Nancy Walsh
Vice President of Partnerships & Programs, Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Martha Weidmann
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, NINE dot ARTS

Tracy Weil
Executive Director, RiNo Arts District
Staff

Christin (she/her/hers) joined Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) as its Executive Director in February 2017. She is a past participant of CBCA’s Leadership Arts program and a recipient of CBCA’s Cultural Leadership Award in 2016.
Christin is a seasoned professional with over 30 years’ experience in non-profit and for-profit leadership and management. The majority of her experience has been in the private sector having co-owned a public relations agency in Denver for over 10 years, as well as previously lead a performing arts nonprofit in the Denver metro area. She has experience working with organizations in many industry sectors spanning consumer, business-to-business and nonprofit. Her expertise includes strategic planning, communications, public relations, marketing, sales, development and fundraising.
Christin served on the board of trustees for Colorado Ballet for 13 years, including serving as a past board co-chair, marketing chair, and on the executive and long-range planning committees. Today, she is an Emeritus Board Member of Colorado Ballet. She currently serves on the board of trustees for The Dance Archive at University of Denver, and was appointed in 2018 to the Private Sector Council of Americans for the Arts.
A native of Michigan, Christin has been a resident of Denver since 1994, when she relocated from Chicago. She received her B.A. in Communications from Michigan State University.
A “black belt ballerina,” in her spare time she continues to study ballet, which she’s done since age three, as well as train in the Korean martial arts of Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do and Hapkido, which she’s achieved the rank of 2nd Dan Black Belt over the past 12 years.

Meredith (she/her/hers) has been at CBCA since July 2013 and enjoys making a positive impact through creativity and community partnerships every single day. Meredith oversees all of CBCA’s programs, including the Leadership Arts board development program and alumni activities, Colorado Attorneys for the Arts' pro bono legal referral service, Advancing Creatives professional development workshops for creatives, monthly cultural events for CBCA members, quarterly Arts + Industry Forums, the annual Business for the Arts Awards and the biennial Economic Activity Study of Metro Denver Culture. She also stewards CBCA’s advocacy efforts and manages social media communications. Formerly, Meredith worked as a strategy consultant for the nonprofit and public sector at Corona Insights and in patron services for Curious Theatre Company. She received a B.A. in Comparative Literature and French Studies from Smith College. She was part of the Colorado Creative Industries Change Leader Institute in fall 2017. In her limited free time, she is President of the Smith College Alumnae Club of Colorado and assists with the alumnae admissions program. You can chuckle at her on stage at local venues where she performs long-form improv comedy.

Karlie (she/her/hers) joined CBCA in October 2018. With seven years of experience in non-profit arts, her roles have ranged from operations to fundraising with her expertise being in marketing and development. Most recently, she was Marketing & Development Manager at Breckenridge Music where she managed an organizational rebrand and helped increase contributed revenue streams through grant writing, soliciting sponsorships and assisting with individual donor campaigns. She has worked for organizations such as Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Denver Art Museum and MAINSITE Contemporary Art Gallery, as well as volunteered extensively with RedLine and MCA Denver. She currently serves on the board of Culturehaus, the Denver Art Museum's young philanthropist group.
She holds a Master’s degree in Arts Development and Program Management from the University of Denver and an undergraduate degree in English Literary and Cultural Studies from the University of Oklahoma. When she isn’t working to advance Colorado’s creative economy by connecting art organizations and businesses through unique membership and sponsorship opportunities, she enjoys exploring the diverse music scene across Denver, riding her bike through the city and adventuring in the mountains.

Rachael (she/her/hers) joined CBCA in January 2020. She has been working in the Denver area for arts and nonprofit organizations for many years, most recently with Athena Project and the Denver Art Museum. She earned her BFA in Theatre and BA in English at Stephens College and completed her MA in Arts, Festival and Cultural Management at Queen Margaret University in Scotland. While in Edinburgh, she worked with Imaginate as a Festival Assistant and the Royal Lyceum Theatre as Assistant Producer for the Connections 500 Festival. When not working to advance creative endeavors, Rachael can be found at the library.
Committees
Advocacy Committee
Dustin Whistler, Chair
Rachel Basye
Bill Marino
Curtis Robbins
Tracy Weil
Lance Burch (non-board)
Paul Deckard (non-board)
Herman Tiemens II (non-board)
Chris Wineman (non-board)
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
Nancy Walsh, Chair
Larry Kaptain
Bob Keatinge
Kathy Kranz
Christine Quintana
Malik Robinson
Darrell Watson
Kim Estes McCarty (non-board)
Michael Sattler (non-board)
Executive Committee (Board)
Chris Ross, Chair
Mark Davidson
Larry Kaptain
Bob Keatinge
Kathy Kranz
Meg Satrom
Nancy Walsh
Dustin Whistler
Finance Committee (Board)
Kathy Kranz, Chair
Rachel Basye
Dan Prather
Christine Quintana
Martha Weidmann
Marketing & Events Committee (Board)
Meg Satrom, Chair
Larry Kaptain
Radhika Mahanty
Brent Pickett
Ellen Sandberg
Renea Bonnell (non-board)
Randall Erkelens (non-board)
Nadia Gedeon (non-board)
Mark Heiser (non-board)
Erika Holley (non-board)
Deborah Radman (non-board)
Suzanne Yoe (non-board)
Policy & Governance Committee (Board)
Bob Keatinge, Chair
Maureen McDonald
Nancy Walsh
Darrell Watson
James Millar (non-board)
Development Committee (Board)
Jessica Alizadeh, Co-Chair
Hasan Najjar, Co-Chair
Wayne Barrett
Peter Bernstein
Mariah Gayheart
Deborah Radman
Curtis Robbins
Chris Ross
Colorado Attorneys for the Arts Advisory Committee
Dave Ratner, Chair
Cecily Cullen
Mark Davidson
Lisa Gedgaudas
Bob Keatinge
Forrest J. Morrison
Colorado Attorneys for the Arts Vetting Committee
Mark Davidson
Craig Hemenway
Bob Keatinge
Heidi Glance
Dave Ratner
Julie Walker
Leadership Arts Alumni Network Advisory Committee
Erin Bonich (Leadership Arts 2018-2019), Chair
Christy Costello (Leadership Arts 2015-2016)
Liz Hartsel (Leadership Arts 2015-2016)
Bob Keatinge (Leadership Arts 2008-2009)
Theresa Keatinge (Leadership Arts 2010-2011)
Jim Neely (Leadership Arts 2011-2012)
Maura O’Neal (Leadership Arts 2013-2014)
Mark Shaiken (Leadership Arts 2018-2019)
Matthew Stearns (Leadership Arts 2018-2019)
Beth Warren (Leadership Arts 2018-2019)