Metropolitan State University of Denver: A Legacy of Notable Alumni

Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) stands as a public university committed to accessible education and transformative opportunities. Founded in 1965, MSU Denver shares the Auraria campus with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver in the heart of the central business district. Over six decades, the university has fostered a diverse community of over 112,000 graduates who have significantly impacted Colorado's economy and various industries. MSU Denver’s alumni are an accomplished group who have spread their talents around Denver, the State of Colorado, the United States, and the world.

A Values-Driven Institution

MSU Denver has been a values-driven institution since opening its doors in 1965. This commitment is reflected in the university's CADRE values. The institution is dedicated to removing barriers and expanding opportunities for its students. MSU Denver was the first university to advocate for DREAMers to have a chance at higher education by providing in-state tuition rates under the ASSET bill. More than half of MSU Denver’s students are people of color, and nearly 60% are first-generation students.

Alumni Spotlights

The MSU Denver Alumni BirdTalk offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives and careers of the university’s accomplished alumni. Each episode features an in-depth interview with an alum who shares their unique journey and insights on how their time at MSU Denver shaped their success.

Arts and Culture

MSU Denver’s Featured Alumni Artist: MSU Denver’s Featured Alumni Artist was commissioned to help shape the visual identity of our 60th Anniversary celebration. This artwork is inspired the composition of the Rider-Waite ‘Page of Pentacles’ card, which when pulled is representative of pursuing education goals. The “coin” is the 60th anniversary seal, and the “page” is a roadrunner. The roadrunner, in addition to our mascot, is sometimes considered a symbol of resilience! The roadrunner holds a banner in its mouth that touts our CADRE values.

Isahar Mendez-Flores: Isahar Mendez-Flores, a Latinx first-generation MSU alumni from Commerce City, is the Mariachi Director, Executive Director, and Co-founder of the Colorado Youth Mariachi Program. She received lessons from the prestigious violinist Dr. Emily Ondracek-Peterson at MSU Denver and guidance from a number of amazing MSU Music faculty. In 2013, Isahar founded and directed the student lead group Mariachi Los Correcaminos de MSU Denver. In 2016, Isahar and her husband and partner, Victor Becerra, founded Colorado’s first youth mariachi program in her backyard with seven students.

Yvonne Garcia Bardwell: Yvonne Garcia Bardwell serves as the Associate Director of Community Relations at Denver Botanic Gardens. Yvonne’s involvement extends to MSU Denver, where she collaborates on initiatives like Dia de los Muertos and leverages the Gardens’ Latino community activity and MSU Denver’s HSI status. She has also shared her expertise at conferences, presenting the collaborative “veggie box” project developed with the Industrial Design program to improve access to fresh vegetables in food desert areas. As an advocate for positive change, Yvonne has established herself as a bridge-builder, fostering inclusivity, education, and collaboration.

Bobby LeFebre: Bobby LeFebre is an American poet, performer, and cultural worker. He is the current poet laureate for the state of Colorado. He is the state's youngest and first poet laureate of color.

Military and Government Service

General Laura J. Richardson: General Laura J. Richardson is a native of Northglenn, Colorado, and a graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado. She holds a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University’s Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. Over her career, General Richardson has commanded from the Company to Theater Army level. She commanded an Assault Helicopter Battalion in combat in the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), deploying her unit from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to Iraq 2003-04, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Katherine Archuleta: Katherine L. Archuleta is an American teacher and a political executive. She was the director of the United States Office of Personnel Management. President Barack Obama appointed her on May 23, 2013. She was sworn in on November 4, 2013.

Biem Benyamin: Biem Triani Benyamin is an Indonesian politician and businessman. He was Indonesian senator from Jakarta, known for proposing a judicial review allowing independent candidates to run in regional elections. He also chaired the special committee in the parliament for revising the Jakarta Special Capital Region Government Act.

Steve Lebsock: Steve Lebsock is an American politician who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 34th district as a member of the Democratic and Republican parties from 2013 until his expulsion in 2018. Prior to his tenure in the state house he served on the city council in Thornton, Colorado from 2003 to 2011.

Tom Sullivan: Leo Thomas Sullivan III is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Colorado Senate. He represents District 27, which includes all or parts of Aurora, Centennial, Dove Valley, Inverness and Foxfield in Arapahoe and Douglas counties.

Kevin Van Winkle: Kevin Van Winkle is a Colorado politician serving as a Douglas County Commissioner. He is a former member of the Colorado Senate, representing the 30th district in Douglas County. Previously, he served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the 43rd District, which encompassed Highlands Ranch, Colorado. A Republican, Van Winkle owns a small business based in Highlands Ranch.

Brittany Pettersen: Brittany Pettersen has served as a U.S. representative from Colorado's 7th congressional district since 2023. She previously served as a member of the Colorado Senate from the 22nd district, and in the Colorado House of Representatives, representing the 28th district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Business and Technology

Brenda Rodriguez-Vera: Brenda Rodriguez-Vera is a dynamic individual whose journey is rooted in her identity as a first-generation immigrant Latina and DACA recipient. Armed with a BS in Marketing and a Sales Certification, Brenda’s educational background reflects her dedication to merging her passion for helping others with the world of business. Currently, she holds a prestigious role at ADP as an Elite District Manager and Business Consultant.

Justin: Justin began working for Rocket Lab where her was the Director of Technology and the Program Manager of the DARPA Blackjack Pit Boss program where he spent four years developing full scale constellation autonomy that will keep safety on the earth by monitoring for missile launches and provide RF technology such as geo-location services and streams for the military across the Earth. Recently, Justin recently started at Blue Origin as the Senior Manager of Software Development, Testing & Deployment. He is supporting the NASA SLD mission to return humans to the moon, this time to stay.

Healthcare

Garrett Chism: Garrett Chism is a dedicated healthcare leader with 30 years of experience. Garrett trained and worked as a Paramedic in Los Angeles, then moved to Denver, Colorado to work with the Denver Health Paramedic Division. In 2020, Garrett transitioned to academia full-time as the Director for the Master of Health Administration program at Metropolitan State University Denver. In 2022, MSU Denver College of Health and Human Services recognized Garrett with the Collaboration award. In addition to academia, he continues to work as a Paramedic for the STAR program in Denver.

Kayla Wright-Jackson: Kayla Wright-Jackson is a transformative leader in the healthcare industry. Hailing from Denver, Colorado, her dedication to healthcare is rooted in personal experience.

Athletics

Michael Seeley: Michael Seeley attended MSU Denver (then Metropolitan State College) in the 70s, and in 1972, Michael, a first-generation student, graduated with his B.S. in Mathematics. He played on the men’s basketball team from 1969-1972 and was inducted into the Roadrunners Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.

Nick Kay: Nicholas Colin Kay is an Australian professional basketball player for Shimane Susanoo Magic of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Metro State Roadrunners before beginning his professional career in the National Basketball League (NBL). In 2021, he won a bronze medal with the Australian national team at the Tokyo Olympics.

David Barlow: David Barlow is an Australian former professional basketball player. He has won five championships in the National Basketball League (NBL).

Hayden Smith: Hayden Smith is an Australian retired professional rugby union player who played for Saracens FC and the United States national rugby union team. Smith also spent two years playing professional American football as a tight end for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL).

Sarena: Sarena was the first person in her family to get a degree. Working in sports has always been a dream of hers and the opportunity to work in baseball originated when the Colorado Rockies and MSU Denver decided to partner on a 50/50 raffle at Coors Field. She joined the Rockies in April of 2018, during the establishment of the program. She is part of a program that has raised over $3 million since inception and is now Community Affairs Manager for the Colorado Rockies.

Abby Lundien: Abby Lundien was a member of the 2017 inaugural graduating class-and the first female graduate-of MSU Denver’s Brewery Operations program. She is currently a “brewess” at the Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, also the first woman on staff at the brewhouse.

Dani Rylan: Dani Rylan Kearney is an American entrepreneur and former ice hockey player. She is the founder and former commissioner of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), the first professional women's hockey league in the United States, and the first professional women's hockey league ever to pay its players in North America.

Science and Academia

Ezequiel Villanueva Ruiz: Global Green Community Organizer Ezequiel Villanueva Ruiz is a Ph.D. Candidate in Horticulture from the University of Guelph in Canada. Ezequiel has been involved with several education and horticulture organizations. He has received grants and awards for developing sustainable greenhouse, hydroponics, and aquaponics systems.

Omar Hurricane: Omar Hurricane is a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in the thermonuclear and inertial confinement fusion design division.

Other Notable Alumni

Pam Grier: Pamela Suzette Grier is an American actress, singer, and martial artist. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitation and women-in-prison films for American International Pictures and New World Pictures.

Ricardo Baca: Ricardo Baca is an American journalist best known for being the first full-time marijuana rights editor for a major American newspaper. He was an editor at The Denver Post, producing The Cannabist for over three years until December, 2016.

David W. Ball: David Wadsworth Ball is an American author whose novels include Empires of Sand (1999), China Run (2002) and Ironfire (2004).

Giving Back

Many alumni actively support MSU Denver through various programs and scholarships. Michael and Rachella Seeley, for example, have supported various programs and scholarships for over thirty years. Last year, they established the Seeley Family Foundation Scholarship, providing scholarships to Mathematics majors, Nursing majors, and student-athletes. Diana, as an alum, has given back in an advisory role to student organizations. Diana is now the Assistant Director of Donor Relations for the MSU Denver University Advancement division. She supports fund management efforts and strategic donor engagement activities.

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