The Stand for Children Colorado Advisory Board exists to oversee and advance our goal of improving public education for all Colorado children.
Christine Benero – Christine grew up in Colorado and attended Heritage High School. She left Colorado to attend college at Boston University and graduate school at Harvard University before moving to Washington D.C., where she served under two presidents. She worked for 12 years as the director of the Office of Public Liaison for the Corporation for National Service. Christine then moved back to Colorado to become the CEO for the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross. She is currently the president and CEO for Mile High United Way. Christine’s leadership abilities have been widely recognized, and in 2007 she was chosen as the 9News Leader of the Year.
David Clayton – David is a founding member of Stand for Children Colorado and served as its first co-chair. In that role, he testified at school board meetings, the state legislature, and the State Board of Education and helped grow the Colorado office through fundraising and organizing.
David’s interest in education began while he was serving as a mentor to a DPS student for seven years through the Denver Kids program, an experience that opened his eyes to the critical need for change in our public schools. His own child had the good fortune to attend a neighborhood elementary school, where David served as chair of the Collaborative School Committee. His daughter now attends the Denver School for Science and Technology at Cole.
David owns Clayton and Company, a successful small business based in Denver. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas Tech University and a JD from the University of Houston Bates School of Law.
Jason Crow - Jason Crow is an attorney with the Denver based law firm of Holland & Hart practicing in the areas of commercial litigation, government investigations, and corporate internal investigations. Before pursuing his career as an attorney, Jason was a Captain in the United States Army. In this capacity he served as an executive officer for a U.S. Army Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan and an Army Infantry platoon leader in Iraq. He served a total of three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and in 2011, he received the United Veterans Committee’s Outstanding Service Award.
Jason’s community involvement includes the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s Public Affairs Council, board member for the Denver Police Foundation and member of the Hundred Club of Denver. He is a 2011 graduate of the Leadership Denver program and is involved in the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Economic Development Committee. Jason’s interest in education reform has led him to serve on the advisory boards for the Stand for Children Colorado and Colorado Succeeds.
Jason earned his juris doctorate from the University of Denver and his bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a distinguished military graduate of the Army ROTC program.
Morgan McAlenney – Morgan is the senior vice president and digital czar at The Integer Group. He has been with the company for 12 years and currently leads the groups Digitailâ practice. Earlier in his career, Morgan worked alongside a team of experts to launch the very first e-commerce destination – the AOL® Shopping Channel – and provided expert counsel for AOL brand partners. Prior to joining AOL, Morgan launched his career in new media with Redgate Communications Corp. Morgan maintains various blogs, is a recognized industry speaker, and editorial contributor. He has two young children, Luke and Paige, a beautiful wife, Krista, and a French bulldog, Henry. Morgan loves to golf and play ice hockey.
Reuben Munger – Reuben is currently chairman of Bright Automotive, a next generation PHEV company. He is a seasoned investment professional and managing partner of Vision Ridge Partners, L.L.C., which aims to develop financially viable solutions to the global climate crisis. Prior to founding Vision Ridge in 2008, Reuben was a managing director at The Baupost Group, L.L.C., a $15 billion investment firm. He currently serves as chair of EdVestors Governing Board. A 1995 honors graduate of Washington and Lee, he lives in Boulder with his wife Mindy, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard Graduate School of Education, and their two young children.
Alexander Ooms – Alex Ooms is managing partner at ClearCreek Partners, a financial advisory firm that works with entrepreneurs and CEO’s of private companies to help them raise capital or pursue strategic transactions. His experience includes several years of management consulting with the Corporate Strategy Group at PriceWaterhouse Coopers, where he advised a wide range of individual and corporate clients in the United States, Europe and Asia. Alex has held operating positions with Universal Music Group and Massive Media (a technology start-up), and is a former vice-president of finance at a $1 billion public company. He holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses, an MBA in finance and management strategy from the Kellogg Graduate School at Northwestern University, a master’s in English literature from Georgetown University, and a bachelor’s in philosophy from Vassar College.
Highly active in education reform, Alex is currently a senior fellow at the Donnell-Kay Foundation. In addition, he is the founding chair and a current member of the Board of Trustees for West Denver Preparatory Charter School, serves as an appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Charter Schools Institute, as a member of the Board of Directors and the Credit Committee of the Charter Schools Development Corporation, and on the Advisory Board for Stand for Children Colorado. His previous pro bono experience includes appointments to the A+ Citizen's Committee (an advisory body to the Denver Public Schools’ superintendent); the Systems Transformation Subcommittee of the Colorado P-20 Education Coordinating Council, and the Mayor’s Commission on Cultural Affairs. A regular contributor to local news site Education News Colorado, Alex has made numerous media appearances and authored regular op-eds on education topics. He lives in Denver with his wife, three children, and a big furry dog.