Foundation board leaders provide insight and stewardship.

The volunteer board of directors governs the CSU Foundation and has fiduciary responsibility for managing and investing all charitable gifts to CSU. The board is composed of up to 11 voting members, four ex-officio members from the University and a representative from the Board of Governors.

The board has five standing committees: executive, audit, governance, investment and compensation. They meet at least four times per year, with additional meetings as needed to fulfill fiduciary duties.

Voting Members

Board Officers

Deb DeMuth
Deb DeMuthBoard 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.

Michelle Martinez
Michelle MartinezVice Board 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 Dener 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.

Ric Thomas
Ric ThomasPast Board Chair
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.

Board members

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.

Jim Detterick
Jim DetterickInvestment 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.

David Diehl
David DiehlGovernance Committee Chair & Compensation 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.

Cherí O’Neill
Cherí O’NeillPresident & CEO
Since 2018, Cherí has been CEO of the CSU Foundation, working closely with the foundation board to provide prudent financial oversight that delivers long-term, sustainable support for CSU. As a member of the University president’s leadership team, she’s also a key partner and resource to CSU.

She serves on the Association of Governing Boards’ Council of Presidents and Council of Foundation Leaders and is a frequent panelist and author in her field. Cherí spearheaded the formation and launch of the Mountain West/Central Plains Consortium of University Foundations.

Cherí has served in higher education for three decades, initially working for 17 years at Indiana University in admissions, alumni relations, international recruiting and advancement. For the past 12 years, she’s worked from the C-suite, first as CEO of the 200,000-member Alpha Chi Omega women’s fraternity, foundation and housing corporation; then as CEO of the Ball State University Foundation (her alma mater).

Morris Price
Morris PriceBoard Member
A graduate of CSU and an accomplished senior management professional with over 30 years of experience in higher education, foundation, nonprofit and government, Morris currently serves as the vice president of grants for The Colorado Trust.

He also serves as a member of Rose Community Foundation’s board of trustees and the Colorado Nonprofit Association board.

Morris is the previous vice president and executive director of City Year Denver, past district director for Colorado’s 1st congressional district, and previously served as the 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 SmithAudit Committee Chair
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 earned his B.S. degree in business administration from CSU and has earned the 7, 31, and 66 securities licenses. Scott joined Merrill Lynch in 1998 and is now managing director – investments and is a member of the Hoover-Thisted Team based in the Merrill Lynch/Bank of America Cherry Creek office.

Scott is also a member of the Investments & Wealth Institute and achieved the designations of Certified Investment Management Analyst and Certified Private Wealth Advisor.

Barron’s named Scott one of the Top 1,200 Financial Advisors in the United States in 2020 for the 11th consecutive year, and he was also named to Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” in January 2020 for the third consecutive year. In addition to the CSU Foundation board, Scott serves on the board of CASA Advocates for Children.

Brian Klemsz
Brian KlemszBoard Member
Brian has been in the investment management industry for 25 years. He is currently CIO for Bohemian Companies, a family office based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Brian continues to serve on the board of directors for several private companies.

Brian earned two graduate degrees from Colorado State University, one in finance and the other in accounting.

Brian and his wife Cindy are active contributors to the SHARE weekend backpack food program providing meals to children in Battle Ground School District, the North Clark County Food Bank, Imagination Library books for children in their school district, and sponsoring baseball and softball teams for the local little league.

Ex-Officio Non-Voting Members

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, Chiefs Financial Officer

Brendan earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in political science and history, and has 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. 

Brett Anderson
Brett AndersonCo-Interim Vice President for University Advancement

Brett, a 1987 CSU graduate, brings extensive leadership and strategic expertise to his role as special advisor to the president and chancellor at CSU. Following a distinguished career at Accenture, where he served as the global managing partner for the communications and high tech customer relationship management practice and oversaw operations for over 5,000 employees and $2 billion in business, Brett returned to CSU to guide key strategic initiatives.

As vice president of university advancement, Brett played a pivotal role in elevating CSU’s fundraising efforts, achieving four consecutive record-breaking years and culminating in $200 million in private support in his final year. He led CSU’s first capital campaign, raising over $537 million, and launched the next campaign, which brought in nearly $1.3 billion in support of the University.

Brett is deeply involved in the CSU community as an alumnus and volunteer, having served on various advisory panels and committees.

Kyle Henley
Kyle HenleyCo-Interim Vice President for University Advancement

Kyle serves as the vice president for University Marketing and Communications at Colorado State University, where he leads efforts in brand management, communications, community engagement, and digital media strategy. His division plays a critical role in promoting CSU’s reputation, working across all departments and colleges to strengthen the university’s position as a top destination for students and partners.

Before returning to CSU, Kyle held senior leadership roles at the University of Southern California as senior vice president and chief communications officer, and at the University of Oregon as vice president for University Communications. Earlier in his career, he served in CSU’s communications team and held a strategic communications role at CoBank, one of the largest private agribusiness lenders in the U.S.

Kyle is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and completed executive education in Crisis Leadership in Higher Education at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Board of Governors Representative

Colorado State University System

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.

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