Foundation leaders provide insight and stewardship.

The CSU Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors responsible for overseeing the management and investment of all charitable gifts to Colorado State University. The Board includes up to 15 voting members and four ex officio members – three from the University and one representative from the CSU System Board of Governors.

The Board operates through five standing committees: Executive, Audit, Governance, Investment, and the Committee on Investor Responsibility. It meets at least four times per year, with additional meetings scheduled as needed to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities.

Voting Members

 Officers

Michelle Martinez-Thomas
Michelle Martinez-ThomasBoard Chair
Michelle is a Colorado native and attended CSU as a first-generation student. She earned her law degree from the University of Denver and received the University of Denver Outstanding Law Student award.

After law school, Michelle was a criminal defense attorney for 10 years with the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. She was appointed to the Denver Mayor’s Latino Advisory Counsel. In 2009, the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association recognized Michelle with the Outstanding New Hispanic Lawyer award. Michelle was appointed to the bench as a magistrate in 2017, and in March 2020, she was sworn in as Denver County Court judge.

Jim Detterick
Jim DetterickBoard Vice Chair & Investment Committee Chair
Jim is a managing director, institutional consulting director and corporate client group director for Graystone Consulting, a business unit of Morgan Stanley’s Corporate & Institutional Services.

He is responsible for managing one of the largest advisory groups within the firm, focused on advising companies around equity plan strategy as well as serving as a fiduciary investment consultant on qualified plans and non-qualified plans. He manages and advises on retiree medical and health plans (HSA & VEBA trusts) and consults for foundations and endowments. 

Jim sits on the firm’s institutional consulting advisory board and has received numerous awards and acknowledgments during his career from various industry-leading publications, including being ranked in the Top 10 Institutional Consultants nationally by Barron’s magazine. Jim earned his undergraduate degree from CSU and earned his MBA from the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business. He is a CRPS and an ARPC and has his Series 7, 31, 63 and 65 and insurance licenses.

Deb DeMuth
Deb DeMuthBoard Past Chair & Audit Committee Chair
Chair of the CSU Foundation board and chair of the executive committee, Deb is a CPA and the former executive vice president and CFO for the Colorado Trust. Prior to this, Deb was the CEO of CollegeInvest, the state of Colorado’s 529 college savings plan and the largest originator of federally guaranteed student loans.

Deb was also the CFO for the Denver International Airport during its construction, and before DIA she worked for Coopers & Lybrand in the Denver and Boston offices. Deb is an active board member of the Denver Public Library Foundation and Mental Health Center of Colorado. Deb also serves on the investment committee for the Rotary International Foundation and she is a past investment committee member for the Junior League Foundation.

Directors

Jim Brendel
Jim BrendelBoard Member
Jim is a retired accounting firm partner with more than 40 years of experience in accounting, auditing, consulting, and firm leadership. He currently serves on the advisory board for Dietrich Partners and as an audit committee member for the Regional Transportation District, where he provides oversight of financial reporting, internal controls, compliance, and risk management.

Most recently, Jim worked at Moss Adams LLP, where he held several leadership positions, including Executive Committee member, Operations Management Committee member, and Regional Managing Partner overseeing five offices and more than 500 personnel. Prior to joining Moss Adams, he served as Managing Partner of Hein & Associates LLP, where his roles included Executive Committee member, Denver Office Partner in Charge, National Director of Audit and Accounting, and Audit Partner.

Jim began his career at Coopers & Lybrand and has provided expert witness testimony in a variety of financial matters. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Colorado State University, where he received the Gold Key Award as the university’s top accounting graduate.

He is actively involved in the community, serving on the boards of the Colorado Society of CPAs, the CSU Accounting Advisory Board, and Boys Hope Girls Hope.

Jason Burkett
Jason BurkettBoard Member
Jason is passionate about helping individuals and families achieve financial success with purpose. His “why” is focused on helping clients create a legacy that will last for generations to come. As one of the founding members of Greyrock Wealth Advisors, Jason’s expertise spans more than two decades. He serves as the team’s managing director and was named on the Forbes/SHOOK Best-in-State Wealth Advisor list in 2020, 2022, and 2023, which recognizes top financial advisors from around the country.

 With over 20 years of experience in wealth management, Jason leverages his background in actuarial science and applied mathematics to help clients achieve their financial objectives. Jason holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Colorado State University and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor®.

Jason is very active in the community and enjoys giving back. He has spent over 50 seasons coaching youth football (flag and tackle). He believes that athletics teach valuable life lessons to young people. He has also served on multiple nonprofit boards, including the Poudre School District Foundation, Character in Athletics Make it A Priority (CHAMP), TEAM Fort Collins, and the Poudre High School Alumni Association.

Jason and his wife, Christina, are blessed with five amazing sons: Triston, Llayton, Mason, Brady, and Silas. They enjoy spending time together exploring the outdoors, traveling to places near and far, and supporting the arts.

Luke Daniel
Luke DanielBoard Member
A certified financial planner with almost 20 years of industry experience, Luke joined the CSU Foundation investment committee in 2011 and became the committee chair in 2018. He has a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in finance and real estate from the CSU College of Business.

Luke currently holds the position of managing director and senior wealth manager at LIDO Advisors, which is a registered investment advisor specializing in personalized and advanced wealth management solutions. Prior to this, Luke was a senior advisor and principal at Colorado Financial Management (CFM), and earlier in his career, he worked as a portfolio consultant with Charles Schwab Private Client Services. With previous experience as a holder of the series 7, 66, and 63 securities licenses and as a Certified Financial Planner,™ Luke possesses comprehensive knowledge in financial planning and investment management. In addition to his volunteer work, Luke’s passion for giving back to the community is reflected in his service on the board of HealthSet, a nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the lives of low-income seniors.
David Diehl
David DiehlGovernance Committee Chair
David is a partner at OneSeven Advisors, a tax and family office advisory firm based in Fort Collins, Colorado. An appreciation for family and community takes a high priority for OneSeven and for David, which extends through the firm and into their nonprofit board involvement.

After earning his undergraduate degree in finance from CSU, David worked with Norwest Banks before returning to CSU for a graduate degree focused on tax, which led to getting his CPA and working for Deloitte in Denver.

Morris Price
Morris PriceBoard Member
Morris is a graduate of CSU and an accomplished senior management professional with over 30 years of experience in higher education, nonprofit management, and government.

Most recently, Morris served as Vice President of Grants at The Colorado Trust. He currently serves on the Rose Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees and is a board member of the Colorado Nonprofit Association.

Morris previously held leadership roles, including Vice President and Executive Director of City Year Denver, past District Director for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, and National Program Officer for the Gill Foundation. He was one of the founding employees of the Daniels Fund and the Daniels Scholarship Program and spent 15 years in higher education administration.

He has received the Professional Man of the Year Award from the Denver Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, the 2013 Whitney M. Young Award for civic engagement from the Urban League of Metro Denver and the Colorado State University Charles A. Lory Public Service Alumni of the Year Award.

Mark Smith
Mark SmithBoard Member
Mark earned his B.A. in business administration (finance and marketing) from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his M.B.A. (finance and marketing) from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

He is a retired vice president of finance and CFO of Hewlett Packard’s Personal Systems Group (PSG). Mark became the CSU Foundation’s audit committee chair in 2018.

Scott Thisted
Scott ThistedBoard Member
Scott Thisted is the founder of the Thisted Group at Merrill Private Wealth Management in Denver. Scott provides in-depth advice, overarching leadership, and sustained support to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families.

He combines robust technical knowledge with an innate ability to connect with clients and their priorities, helping them pursue their desired wealth outcomes. A Colorado native, Scott earned his undergraduate degree from Colorado State University. He has spent his entire career with Merrill, providing him with the continuity and tenure to advance complex initiatives. He holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) designation and the Certified Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) designation. He is also a member of the Investments & Wealth Institute™.  Committed to his community, Scott served as a board member of CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, from 2008 to 2022. He is an active board member of Snake River Water District.   Scott, his wife Valerie, and their three children love spending time outdoors, hiking, mountain biking, off-roading, scuba diving, traveling, and, particularly, skiing.

Ric Thomas
Ric ThomasBoard Member
The past chair of the CSU Foundation board, Ric has served on the CSU Foundation investment committee since February 2011. He earned his B.A. in economics from CSU, has his M.B.A. and is a chartered financial analyst. After spending 25 years in the investment management industry, Ric recently joined the faculty of Suffolk University in Boston as a finance instructor.

Ric’s areas of expertise include investment research and portfolio design – designing systematic investment strategies in asset allocation, quantitative equity, absolute return and fixed income. He has raised billions of dollars in assets for various investment strategies over his career and is published in various leading journals, including the Financial Analysts Journal and the Journal of Portfolio Management. In addition to the CSU Foundation board, Ric serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Investing and as a senior advisor to the World Bank.

Ex-Officio Non-Voting Members

COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY

Amy Parsons
Amy ParsonsColorado State University President
Amy is a Colorado native and CSU alumna. She previously served as vice president for university operations on the Fort Collins campus and as deputy general counsel, but left the University in September 2020 to become CEO of an e-commerce company, Mozzafiato. With 16 years of higher education leadership experience, as well as seven years of private sector experience, Amy has led some of the most comprehensive projects in CSU history during her executive leadership roles at the University.

As vice president of operations at CSU, she helped navigate through the fiscal challenges of the Great Recession, supported the first comprehensive salary equity survey to uncover and remedy gender-based inequities, and oversaw an historic physical transformation that included construction and renovation of state-of-the-art classroom buildings, parking structures, research facilities and an on-campus stadium. As executive vice chancellor of the CSU System, she led System-wide initiatives, including creation of the CSU Spur campus at the National Western Center in Denver.

Brendan Hanlon
Brendan HanlonVice President for University Operations, Chief Financial Officer
Brendan holds a bachelor’s degree with a double major in political science and history, as well as a Master of Public Affairs with a concentration in public budgeting from the University of Connecticut. He served the City and County of Denver for 20 years, including more than six years as the city’s Chief Financial Officer.

Brendan’s leadership impacted more than a decade of city budgets, three general obligation bond programs to fund hundreds of city projects from parks to museums to mobility improvements, and supported the establishment and subsequent doubling of the city’s first affordable housing fund. He worked closely with the community and city council to close the city’s structural budget gap and led the Budget Office and the Department of Finance during the recovery from the Great Recession and the pandemic while maintaining the city’s AAA rating since 2010.

As the University’s CFO, Brendan’s primary focus is to ensure the integrity of the financial processes and reporting of the University. Brendan also oversees many University initiatives and programs such as Commitment to Campus and Strategic Partnerships. 

Scott Roberts
Scott RobertsVice President for University Advancement
As Vice President for University Advancement, Scott Roberts is responsible for leading the institution’s University Advancement team and engaging with alumni, friends, industry partners and foundations to generate private support. He previously served as Vice President of Development at the Oklahoma State University Foundation; as President and CEO of the University of Connecticut Foundation; and as Vice President for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and as President of the UNLV Foundation.

Roberts earned his master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his bachelor’s degree from College of the Ozarks. He has a decades-long history of serving the broader community on nonprofit and public boards and committees, as well as in volunteer leadership positions for professional organizations.

Colorado State University System BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Elizabeth Markey
Elizabeth Markey
Betsy’s career spans over three decades, blending governmental and private sector expertise. As a congresswoman for Colorado’s 4th District, she represented a broad constituency and served on influential committees including Agriculture and Transportation. Recognized for her leadership, she was appointed by President Obama as assistant secretary for intergovernmental affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, facilitating vital communication channels between the department and governmental leaders nationwide.

Later, Betsy became regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, supporting small business development across multiple states. She co-founded Syscom Services, a pioneering technology firm, and later managed a notable Fort Collins coffee shop.

Betsy’s commitment to community welfare is evident through her service on nonprofit boards. After retiring as executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, she now consults for businesses entering Colorado.

Independent Audit Committee Members

Gina Eisenach
Gina EisenachIndependent Committee Member
An internal audit, compliance, and enterprise risk consultant, Gina is a CPA and member of the Colorado State Board of Accountancy, AICPA, Institute of Internal Auditors, and Association of Healthcare Internal Auditors.

She earned her B.S. in finance and accounting from CSU and her master’s in healthcare management from the University of Minnesota. Gina has 25 years of experience in public accounting, healthcare internal audit and compliance, and enterprise risk management.
Julie Stackhouse
Julie StackhouseIndependent Committee Member
Julie served as the Executive Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis for 18 years and worked in the Federal Reserve Bank system for over 32 years.

She was named one of St. Louis Business Journal’s Most Influential Business Women and received the Delta Sigma Pi Career Achievement Award. Julie earned her B.S. in finance – accounting from Drake University and her certificate in advanced bank coursework from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking. She has served on the board and financial committees of the St. Louis Parrish, Neocova and a St. Louis Humane Society.

Investments & Wealth Institute™ (The Institute) is the owner of the certification marks CIMA® and Certified Investment Management Analyst®, CPWA® and Certified Private Wealth Advisor®. Use of CIMA®, and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst®, CPWA® and/or Certified Private Wealth Advisor® signifies that the user has successfully completed the Institute’s initial and ongoing credentialing requirements for certification.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) is a registered broker‐dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

Merrill Private Wealth Management is a division of MLPF&S that offers a broad array of personalized wealth management products and services. Both brokerage and investment advisory services are offered by the Private Wealth Advisors through MLPF&S. The nature and degree of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and client rights and Merrill’s obligations will differ among these services. The banking, credit and trust services sold by the Private Wealth Advisors are offered by licensed banks and trust companies, including Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC, and other affiliated banks.

 

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