EDC Board of Directors

Dick Monfort is the Owner/Chairman and CEO for the Colorado Rockies franchise. A Colorado native, Monfort and the Colorado Rockies Ownership Group have established the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club as a leading organization in the Rocky Mountain region in both the sport and business of baseball.

Monfort spent 25 years in the cattle business, primarily with his family’s company. He became President of Monfort of Colorado, Inc. in 1987 and joined ConAgra Red Meats in 1991 as the President and CEO, then retiring from ConAgra in 1995. He helped launch the Montera Cattle Co. in 1996.

Monfort is the 2008 recipient of the United Way of Weld County Humanitarian of the Year Award. He has spearheaded many programs including a project that provided financial assistance to families of the Colorado National Guard and military reservists from Colorado stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, as well as a sponsorship of the Joining Forces program. He also helps fund the Boys & Girls Clubs in Metro Denver and Weld County.

Monfort has a B.A. in Business Management from the University of Northern Colorado and was recently awarded the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his contributions to Colorado, industry, and higher education by UNC. Monfort is the Chairman of the University of Northern Colorado Board of Trustees. He also serves on several area boards including University of Colorado Hospital and Denver Zoo.

J.J. Ament – Board Member

J. J. Ament is an investment banker and has participated in transactions totaling more than $12 billion. In addition to general investment banking services, Ament has particular expertise in structuring transactions in the capital markets to address public policy issues for state level clients.

Prior to joining the investment banking industry, Ament served as Director of Public Affairs at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, where he organized and directed the successful campaign to add light-rail along Denver’s I-25 corridor.

Ament graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a B.S. in Business Administration, with emphasis in Finance. He serves on numerous boards and advisory councils and holds life memberships in the National Western Stock Show Association, the Denver Agricultural & Livestock Club, and The University of Colorado Alumni Association. Ament is an active member of many charitable and civic organizations, and is a former chairman of the Colorado Municipal Bond Dealers Association. He is a graduate of the civic programs Leadership Denver and 50 for Colorado.

Millete Birhanemaskel – Board Member

Millete Birhanemaskel is a partner and Investment Executive at PB Advisors where she manages investments and is a strategic financial planner.

Prior to becoming a licensed advisor, Birhanemaskel was a reporter for six years. Highlights of her career include covering the election of Africa’s first female president, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in Liberia, as well as being awarded Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists Region IV.

In 2009, Birhanemaskel won the Social Responsibility Award from the Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce Chamber Connect. Her father, Birhanemaskel Madhaniy, was a freedom fighter and governor in Ethiopia. He also began the first Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Denver.

Birhanemaskel earned an MBA from Colorado State University and is a graduate of Leadership Denver. She founded of The Ethiopian Community Center in Denver and is a past board member of Project Education Sudan and Denver Sister Cities International.

Denise Brown – Board Member

Denise Brown’s career spans over 35 years working in both the public and private sectors in Colorado. Before retiring in 2012, she served as the Interim Executive Director of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, which is the developer of a bioscience business park affiliated with the University of Colorado. Prior to this appointment she spent three years as a consultant working with clients such as the University of Colorado, the Colorado BioScience Association, the Colorado Cleantech Industry Association, the Boettcher Foundation and the Fitzsimons Redevelopment.

Denise served as the first Executive Director of the Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA). During her tenure, the CBSA expanded to 400 members and evolved into an organization that provides over 60 programs annually for the industry. CBSA initiatives over the last three years resulted in over $30 million of new state-supported programs for early stage bioscience technologies and companies.

Denise also served in senior administrative positions for 20 years at the University of Colorado including Executive Assistant to the President of the University, Chief Planning Officer for the CU Health Sciences Center, and Assistant Director of the Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology. Prior to this, Denise worked for the House Majority Office at the Colorado General Assembly for two years (1975-1977). From 1977 through 1984, she worked for the Governor of Colorado as Assistant to the Governor for Human Services, Director of the Governor’s Job Training Office, and in the Office of Appointments to Boards and Commissions.

Denise attended the University of Denver and received a B.A. in political science.

Howard Gelt – Board Member

Howard Gelt has more than 30 years of experience working with business owners, developers, and state and local governments. He handles a variety of matters with an emphasis on commercial and residential real estate development and transactions including, sales and acquisitions, zoning and land use, public and private financing, construction, and operations. Howard has served as lead counsel for a number of high-profile master-planned, multifamily, and mixed use projects in Colorado and across the United States. He also has an extensive background in economic development and transportation issues, assisting clients with regulatory, legislative, and litigation matters related to development opportunities.  

Howard has been active in a variety of political activities throughout his career, including serving on the senior staff for Governor Richard D. Lamm, as the Chairman of the Political Action Committee for Mayor Federico Pena, as the Chairman of the finance committee for Governor Roy Romer, and as the Chairman of the Colorado State Democratic party and a key member of the Clinton for Colorado Committee. He is currently a member of the Finance Committee for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. Howard also serves as a member of the State of Colorado Economic Development Commission and the Metropolitan Denver Economic Development Corporation.

Noel Ginsburg – Board Member

In 1980, while still in his senior year at the University of Denver, Ginsburg founded Intertech Plastics. The company is a custom injection molding business, manufacturing products for the consumer, packaging, industrial and high-tech markets. In July of 2013, Intertech purchased Image Molding, a contract manufacturer serving the medical device and disposable market.

Throughout his career, Noel has been active in many community organizations and is currently the founding chair of the Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (CAMA), which is focused on building manufacturing and manufacturing jobs in Colorado. He has served as the board chair and general campaign chair of the Mile High United Way, is a founding member and past chair of the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado, and is a past President of the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation. Noel and his wife Leslie sponsored 42 inner city children through the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation. He received the Daniel L. Ritchie Award for Ethics in Business in 1998 and the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Business Award in 1995.

Frances Koncilja – Board Member

Frances A. Koncilja, a Colorado native, has been a trial lawyer in the Denver area since 1972. She has handled a broad range of criminal, commercial, civil and bankruptcy disputes for clients ranging from the indigent to Fortune 500 companies.

Frances began her career in the Denver Public Defender’s Office, where she spent five years trying criminal cases. She was an Assistant United States Attorney in Denver before entering private practice. She was a partner in the Denver office of a 640 lawyer law firm. In 1993, she established her own law firm. Koncilja and Associates offices are located in the historic Ghost Building at 18th and Stout.

 Frances is a past president of the Colorado Bar Association and has served on a number of bar, judicial and civic boards and commissions including the State Fair Authority Board of Commissioners, the Colorado Lawyer Trust Account Foundation, University of Colorado Law School Alumni Board, the Alfred A. Arraj Inn of Court, Colorado Supreme Court Grievance Committee, Federal Grievance Committee. She was elected to the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation, as well as the Colorado Bar Foundation, and was one of the founding and charter members of the Colorado Women’s Bar.

Frances received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Southern Colorado and was honored as an outstanding alumnus in 1995. She received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Charles J. “Chuck” Murphy – Board Member

After graduating from Denver’s Regis College, Chuck Murphy moved to Chicago where he attended law school. In 1960, he returned home to Colorado Springs to establish Murphy & Company, and spent 50 years in the construction business. His construction company, now known as Murphy Constructors of Colorado Springs, has gained recognition as a high quality contracting company specializing in new construction, renovation and tenant finish. Murphy Constructors is best known for its expertise in the restoration and renovation of 19th and early 20th century buildings, such as The Barker House, The Cliff House and The Manitou Springs Spa Building. Chuck also owned and operated The Garden of the Gods Campground for 37 years, and he also owns Gray Line Tours of Colorado Springs and Denver.

Chuck is a native of Colorado Springs and is a long-time supporter of the arts in the Pikes Peak region. He’s an active member of the community and has served on the boards of Pikes Peak Hospice, Pikes Peak Mental Health, Silver Key, ComCor, The Pioneer Museum, The Fine Arts Center, Goodwill, Regis University Board of Regents, The Downtown Business Improvement District, The Julie Penrose Center, Pikes Peak Highway Advisory Board, The Downtown Partnership, The Colorado Springs Planning Department and The Historic Preservation Alliance. Chuck is an accomplished nature photographer with several exhibitions to his credit.

Jay Seaton – Board Member

Jay Seaton is the publisher of The Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado. Jay also oversees several local publications in western Colorado.

Prior to his arrival at the Sentinel in August 2009, Jay was a corporate and commercial litigation partner at the law firm of Lewis Rice & Fingersh in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to his position at Lewis Rice & Fingersh, Jay worked in toxic tort litigation at the law firm of Shook Hardy & Bacon.

Jay is former chair of the Grand Junction Economic Partnership and serves on the boards of the Riverside Education Center, the Saccomanno Higher Educatin Foundation, St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and Rocky Mountain Health Plans. Jay is also a member of The Colorado Forum. Jay holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and received his juris doctorate from Kasas University in 1996.

Mashenka Lundberg – Board Member

Mashenka Lundberg is general counsel for CoBank. As general counsel Ms. Lundberg is responsible for providing legal counsel to all areas of CoBank’s business operations. She also oversees the bank’s board relations function and serves on the Senior Leadership Team.

Prior to coming to CoBank, Ms. Lundberg served as a partner with Bryan Cave LLP and was based in its Denver office. Previously, she was a partner with Holme Roberts & Owen LLP, which combined with Bryan Cave in 2012. Lundberg joined Holme Roberts & Owen in 1994 and was promoted to partner in 2000. She also served on the firm’s executive committee and as the firm’s General Counsel.

In March 2014, Ms. Lundberg was appointed by Governor John Hickenlooper to the Colorado Economic Development Commission. She also has been appointed by two different Colorado governors to serve on the Colorado Securities Board, where she currently serves as vice chair. She is a graduate of Stanford University School of Law and holds a bchelor’s degree from Georgetown University.

Carrie Schiff – Board Member

Carrie Schiff is a business lawyer specializing in corporate and transactional matters. As both a seasoned business executive and outside counsel, Carrie has participated in the development and execution of commercialization strategies for a range of companies, from global multinational companis to start-ups, in industries ranging from telecomunicaitons to organic food. Prior to co-founding Sage Law Group, Carrie was Chief Legal and Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of MWH Global, Inc., a leading multinational, employee-owned civil engineering and construction firm based in Broomfield.

Before joining MWH, Carrie served as SVP, general Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Flextronics International, Ltd. (Nasdaq:FLEX), a leading global electronics manufacturing services company. Carrie’s past in-house experience also includes serving as SVP, Corporate Development and General Counsel at USA.NET, Inc. in Colorado Springs.

Carrie came to Boulder to open the Colorado practice of Cooley LLP in 1993. Carrie was a member of the Board of Directors of the Colorado Chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel and was a recipient of the Legends in Law Burton Award in 2008.

Fiona Arnold – Executive Director

Fiona is an experienced executive with exceptional strategic and business management experience across diverse industries. She joins OEDIT most recently from River North Investment Company LLC, where she serves as owner and president of the real estate development company focused on commercial and residential urban redevelopment projects, including the redevelopment of a city block in the River North (RiNo) District of Denver. Previously, Arnold served as executive vice president and general counsel for Vail Resorts, where she was a key advisor to the CEO and the board of directors and provided leadership and oversight of the company’s acquisitions and transactions.

Prior to Vail Resorts, Fiona served as associate general counsel at Western Gas Resources Inc. (now Anadarko Petroleum), and prior to that, she served as vice president of legal and business affairs at Crown Media Holdings in Greenwood Village, CO. Fiona began her career as an attorney in Australia before joining the international law firm of Jones Day in Dallas, Texas and then moving to Colorado in 2001.

Fiona holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from the University of Tasmania; a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide; and a Master of Laws, International & Comparative, from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She currently serves as a board member for the nonprofit Dress for Success, Colorado, as well as co-chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of Colorado, School of Law. Previously, she served as a board member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Corporate Counsel, as well as the Colorado Chief Legal Officer Group.