Leadership Team
Andrea Morton,
President
Cornell University
Andrea Morton is an Architect and Founder with a passion for mentoring, team building, and lifelong learning. After nearly 20 years working in a variety of architecture firms in the Boston area, she launched her own practice. Her approach is rooted in collaboration, community building, and facilitating inclusion for those who have traditionally been underrepresented or less visible in leadership and decision-making roles.
While planning her move to Colorado, Andrea was tremendously proud to have mentored an employee in launching her own practice and transition to leadership.
Outside of work, Andrea enjoys bicycling, hanging out with her nephew, and being deep in the mountains.
Lara Jakubowski, Vice President
The Wharton School and University of Pennsylvania
Lara is a Partner with La Piana Consulting, a national management consulting firm serving nonprofits and foundations. She helps nonprofits solve complex issues related to financial sustainability, partnerships, strategic direction, and culture. She has led capacity-building organizations in the social sector, including the Nonprofit Centers Network and the Impact Development Fund.
Lara has an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. She started her nonprofit career in Philadelphia doing community development financing at the Reinvestment Fund.
She relocated to Denver in 1999 with her husband and raised two great humans who make her proud every day. In her spare time she enjoys cycling, hiking, skiing, and the Denver theater scene.
Bijal Choksi,
Director of Onboarding
Columbia University and The Wharton School
Bijal Choksi is an organizational psychologist with 25+ years of experience as a consultant, facilitator, and Coach. She is fascinated by human and organizational behavior – and the challenges that often come up living complex, modern, human lives. Bijal is an ICF-credentialed Coach, who is passionate about helping people achieve their full potential. She holds a Master’s in Organizational Psychology from Columbia, undergraduate from Wharton, and certifications from HPI, plus StandOut Strengths, the Science of Happiness, and HeartMath. Bijal founded a non-profit to support the dreams of high-achieving high school students from low-income households, and has two teenage boys and a husband, who think she’s a crazy biohacker.
Heidi Travis, Director of Events
University of Pennsylvania
Heidi currently works on CBRE’s Occupancy Management Consulting team. In this role, she works with corporate clients on short-term projects to help optimize space usage and realign business adjacencies.
Heidi has an MES degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a BFA degree from the University of Georgia. During her time at Penn, she was also a Project Manager for the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Medicine, responsible for life science lab space initiatives. She also previously worked as a commercial interior designer for 5 years at a boutique architecture and design firm; supporting projects end to end for many industries, including healthcare, corporate occupier, hospitality, and education.
Heidi moved to Colorado to live close enough to be a ‘cool aunt’ and even closer to great hiking. She also enjoys spending time with her dogs, traveling to new places, cycling, skiing, trying out new recipes, creating art, and reading historical fiction/fantasy.
Meghan Slattery, Director of Communications
Princeton University
Meghan Slattery is a responsible investment professional, specializing in healthcare impact analysis and data management. Previously, she worked as a sustainability consultant and moved to Denver after time in Charlotte, North Carolina. She enjoys volunteering and community outreach, and is working to start the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Princeton Women's Network with some fantastic fellow alumni. Meghan is also an active volunteer with Special Olympics Colorado, serving as a cycling and ski racing coach for athletes across the state. Meghan is thrilled to be joining the Ivy+ Women's Group, and looks forward to connecting with fellow members across the region.
Meghan graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Operations Research and Financial Engineering, and moved to Colorado in 2023. She enjoys swimming, ultrarunning and skiing in her free time, and is excited to connect with this great group!
Jennifer Thomson,
Treasurer
Cornell University and Denver's Daniels School of Business
Jennifer Thomson lives in Denver and is passionate about leveraging her strategic and financial expertise to support mission-driven organizations.
She has extensive experience working directly with C-suite leadership to develop and implement organizational infrastructures. Her nonprofit work includes partnering with an Executive Director and Medical Director to establish operational and financial management functions, assess development activities and donor retention, and create comprehensive financial reporting packages for Board presentations. She has expertise in budget preparation, cash flow management, risk and compliance assessment, and fund allocation. Prior to launching her consulting practice, Jennifer spent over a decade at Gavekal Capital, where she oversaw equities research and investment strategy.
Jennifer holds an International MBA from the University of Denver's Daniels School of Business and a B.A. in French Literature from Cornell University.
Monica Roers, Director of Board Recruitment and Succession Planning
Yale University
Monica Roers has been building strong and effective nonprofit organizations and governmental systems for over 25 years. A seasoned nonprofit executive, she has served as President & CEO of nonprofits focused on early childhood education, after-school and summer programming for youth, aging services, crisis counseling, women’s empowerment, racial justice, and nonprofit capacity building. She currently works for YWCA USA as National Member Services Director, coaching and supporting the CEOs of YWCAs across the US. She also re-designed complex government systems that provide public assistance to low income individuals and families. Monica earned a Master’s degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management, and has been an affiliate faculty member in Regis University’s Master in Nonprofit Management Program. She currently serves on the Governor’s Commission for Community Service. Monica has loved living in Denver for the past decade and also loves traveling … having been to all 50 states and various countries.
Angela Spangler, Board Member at Large
Cornell University
Angela Spangler is a leader in healthy building design with over a decade of experience helping organizations foster environments where people thrive. With a master’s degree from Cornell in Design and Environmental Analysis and a professional background supporting the global adoption of the WELL Building Standard, she specializes in translating complex research into actionable, human-centered strategies.
As the founder of Advantage Ergonomics and a Denver-based real estate agent with West + Main Homes, Angela brings a unique interdisciplinary perspective to her work. She supports individuals and organizations alike in making informed decisions about the spaces they inhabit — whether optimizing workplace well-being or helping clients find a home aligned with their values and lifestyle.
Angela is deeply engaged in the Colorado community, from organizing monthly hikes for women to championing connection and leadership among local Ivy+ alumni. She is also an enthusiastic DIY renovator and endurance athlete currently completing the World Marathon Majors series.
Tory Tripp, Board Member at Large
University of Pennsylvania
Tory Tripp has been working in education for the last 15 years, serving as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, researcher, policy advocate and much more. After spending a decade teaching math, Tory was given the opportunity to teach Financial Literacy and became captivated by the life-changing influence of this content. This prompted a career pivot to focus more intently on empowering others through financial knowledge. She currently serves as the Financial Literacy Specialist at the Colorado Department of Education and sits on the board of the nonprofit, Economic Literacy Colorado. Despite transitioning out of the classroom, Tory continues to leverage her expertise through her concurrent work as an instructional consultant and as an adjunct professor in the University of Denver’s teacher preparation program.
Tory has a MA in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Denver, and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. She played 4 years of soccer for Penn, and though she works out more in the gym than on the field these days, she will always identify as a soccer player. Tory is an avid traveler, a moderate reader, and an amateur furniture-builder. She is a proud 4th-Generation Oregonian, and after 12 years in Colorado is still adjusting to the inverted sun to water ratio.
Advisors
Kelly Dwyer, President Emeritus, Board Advisor
Cornell University
Kelly Dwyer is an executive coach and business consultant who works with clients to build awareness and choice. Clients improve performance, strengthen relationships, build self-confidence, and experience personal and professional satisfaction.
Kelly has extensive experience across operations, strategic projects, and program management, where she created and launched new departments, business services, and teams. Her years in startup and high-growth environments have given her skills in innovation, a visceral experience of what it means to be Agile, and the ability to formulate frameworks, strategies, and processes for new initiatives.
She co-authored "Pivot with Purpose: The Path to Remarkable Work", is an engaging speaker, and is deeply passionate about coaching. Kelly holds an MBA in Sustainable Global Business from Cornell University and a BS in Journalism from the University of Colorado. She is a certified coach and received her training from Compassionate Leaders Circle and Erickson Coaching International.
Dare Rosebery, Co-Founder, President Emeritus, Board Advisor
The Wharton School
Dare Rosebery has devoted her life to the success of others - people and organizations in the US and Europe - for more than 25 years. Galvanized by the vision of people self-developing who they are first and thus inspiring others to transform, Dare joined People Programs Group in 2015. PPG designs and leads Planning and Performance Intensives with follow-on coaching programs that get beyond learning about leadership to producing leaders who can realize success that is predictable, repeatable, consistent, and sustaining.
To nurture a better tomorrow, Dare leads pro bono Transformational Planning Intensives for non-profit organizations and helps Alumni connect and build meaningful relationships. She initiated a Proactive Connections Program as a Board Member of the Wharton Club of Colorado, is a Co-Founder/Past President/Board Advisor of Colorado Ivy+ Women, and is currently serving as a Co-Facilitator for Wharton Women’s Circles and partnering with alumni leaders to evolve a multi-club Ring of Reciprocity Program as a Board Member of the Wharton Club of Dallas/Ft. Worth. Dare graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a B.S. in Economics.
Ashley Kappel,
President Emeritus, Board Advisor
Princeton University
Ashley Kappel is a Customer Success Account Director at Qualia, a real estate tech company, where she builds and supports customer relationships with title companies and lenders. Before working at Qualia, Ashley was a real estate attorney for nearly a decade. She owned her own firm for two years after working for two top national firms. Ashley is active in the Denver metro community. She was a founding board member of Colorado Ivy+ Women and served on the board of Raise the Future, Roots Elementary School, and Wish for Wheels in the past. Before becoming an attorney, Ashley was a teacher, school leader, and nonprofit director. In her free time, Ashley loves to write, paint, hike, and ski with her family at their second home in Salida, Colorado.