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Denver Public Schools Foundation Welcomes
Three New Board Members

DENVER, March 25, 2011 – The Denver Public Schools (DPS) Foundation has announced the addition of three Denver business leaders to its board of directors. The new members were elected in January, and all roles are effective as of the March 22 board meeting.

Joining the board of the DPS Foundation are Leanna Clark, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Community Engagement at University of Colorado Denver; Charlie Kercheval, President - FirstBank of Cherry Creek; and David Shapiro, Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for Davita, Inc.

Leanna Clark has nearly 25 years of business experience, including 12 years as a small business owner as well as roles in Denver’s corporate, foundation and nonprofit communities. She was appointed to her current role at CU Denver this spring, in which she leads outreach to the business community for the university’s two locations at Auraria and Anschutz Medical Campus. Most recently, Leanna directed communications and foundation activities for IMA Financial Group, one of the nation’s leading risk management companies. She also founded and directed a major division of an international nonprofit organization that works in more than 120 countries nationwide. Previously, as principal and co-owner of marketing PR firm Schenkein, one of her primary roles was positioning senior level leaders at client organizations in visible roles within the community and creating partnerships to elevate their brands.

Leanna has served on the board of directors of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, A+ Denver, the Public Education and Business Coalition and on the Metro Denver Sports Commission’s International Bid Committee. Leanna has been recognized as a 2009 Woman of Distinction by the Girls Scouts of Colorado, and been honored twice by the Denver Business Journal as a “PowerBook” award recipient and one of the “Forty Under 40” top young business leaders. She’s received national recognition from the Universal Press Syndicate as part of its “Workwise” Awards, honoring innovation and creativity among workplace leaders. In addition, she was named a “Woman of Achievement” by the Association for Women in Communications. Leanna is a proud DPS parent.

Charlie Kercheval has held a wide variety of roles throughout his 23-year career at FirstBank, and is currently President of the Cherry Creek market, overseeing approximately $500 million in assets. Since 1988, Kercheval has played an integral role in establishing and sustaining the FirstBank Colorado Scholars program which has supported high performing, low to moderate-income students across the state with $1,100,000 in scholarships to date.

Kercheval’s board service includes CollegeInvest, the Public Education and Business Coalition, the Cherry Creek North Business Improvement District, the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, the Hospice of St. John, the Samaritan Institute, and the Alliance committee of the Colorado/Wyoming District of the International Council of Shopping Centers. Past service includes board chair of the Douglas County Educational Foundation

David Shapiro is a Senior Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for Davita, Inc., a Fortune 500 health care company that provides life sustaining dialysis services to over 120,000 patients across the country. DaVita relocated its corporate headquarters to downtown Denver in 2010. Shapiro joined DaVita in March 2008 as Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, and was appointed to his current position in October 2008.

Before joining DaVita, Shapiro practiced law representing clients in the health care industry. He served as a trial attorney with the Civil Frauds Section of the United States Department of Justice from 2003 to 2007, during which time he was recognized with the Award of Excellence from the GSA Office of Inspector General for his work. Shapiro also was in private practice in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Connecticut.

Shapiro and his family moved to Denver last summer. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation.

Three current DPS Foundation board members have also renewed their commitment to serve. Brooke Brown, a board member since 2008, is a DPS alumnus, former DPS teacher, and serves as Executive Director of the Carson Foundation. Francisco Garcia, who has served on the board of directors since 2005, is President of Garcia International. Margot Pinto, also a board member since 2008, is a Denver community leader.

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Contact:

Denver Public Schools Foundation

Sarah Dixon

Director of Marketing & Communications

sdixon@dpsfoundation.org

720-423-3877