The Metropolitan State University of Denver Board of Trustees welcomes three new members this semester. Also, three existing board members have been reappointed to serve second terms, including Kristin Hultquist, who was elected by the board to replace Russell Noles as chair.
“We are proud to welcome innovative leaders to our Board of Trustees who are committed to advancing our students and Colorado’s economy,” said President Janine Davidson, Ph.D. “We are grateful to Russell Noles for his leadership as board chair and continued board service, and we’re looking forward to what Trustees Hultquist and (Jerry) Glick will bring in their new roles as chair and vice chair, respectively.”
New board members appointed
Gov. Jared Polis appointed Ryan Frazier, Laura Pinnie and Rachel Kaygi to join the MSU Denver Board of Trustees. They will become full voting members after confirmation from the state legislature.
Frazier
Frazier, who was appointed to complete the term of Michael Kopp (which ends Dec. 31), for more than a decade has been managing partner and CEO of Frazier Global, an international management-consulting and sustainable-finance firm. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the private sector and has served as an Aurora city councilman. He is also the business expert on 9News, where he hosts the weekly Business Brief.
Frazier is excited to contribute to pathways that foster workforce development and financial accessibility.
Pinnie and Kaygi were appointed to vacant board seats, with terms expiring at the end of 2027.
Pinnie
Pinnie has spent her career at the intersection of finance and social impact, investing in companies and initiatives that aim to improve our educational, health care and financial systems. She currently is a director of investment at ZOMA Capital, where she leads workforce-related efforts focused on strengthening the partnership between education and employers to improve career pathways and pipelines.
She also serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate, a role in which she champions the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect.
Kaygi
Kaygi is the managing director of a network of political consulting firms, specializing in research and donor advisement. She previously served on the executive committee of Polis’ inaugural and was appointed to the governor’s task force for developing guidelines for reentry to K-12 schools during the pandemic.
“Colorado has a shortage of skilled workforce talent and an academic equity gap, and the pandemic exacerbated both challenges,” Kaygi said. “Given that more graduates from MSU Denver stay in Colorado and join the workforce (percentagewise) than other colleges in the state, MSU is critical in building the pipeline of skilled talent.”
Kaygi is passionate about the importance of connecting K-12 to higher education and workforce development as a result of navigating the school choice system in Denver Public Schools for her family.
Hultquist to lead nine-member board
A Pell Grant recipient and the first college graduate in her family, Hultquist earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University. Her belief in the transformative power of higher education is a direct result of her experience.
Hultquist is CEO and founding partner of HCM Strategists, a public-policy and advocacy consulting firm founded in 2008. She is an expert in higher-education policy and strategy development at the state and federal levels across the firm’s higher-education clients.
Newly elected Vice Chair Glick is a Denver native with a Business degree from the University of Southern California. Glick brings decades of experience in managing and developing real estate.
“I hope to use my real-estate background to help the University take on the dual challenges of cost of living and housing affordability,” Glick said. “The Board of Trustees understands how these issues affect students, faculty and staff.”
Noles, the previous board chair, remains on the Board of Trustees. He was the first alumnus and first African American to chair the board. Noles is using his professional background in financial services to chair the Finance Subcommittee.
Polis also reappointed trustees Olivia Mendoza and Emily Renwick Garnett, as well as Hultquist, to additional terms on the board, expiring at the end of 2027.
The Board of Trustees at MSU Denver is responsible for the governance of the University and has authority over and control of its assets and resources.
