Nancy has provided educational services to students for over 30 years. She has worked in a variety of capacities including as an educational diagnostician, a Special Education teacher providing services for elementary and high school students to teaching adults English. She has developed curriculum and taught students in a Leadership and Scholarship program for 7 years. The students are an inspiration for Nancy. The Ambassador Foundation has a wealth of other-motivated young people with amazing talents, ideas and drive. Providing a young person with the opportunity for an education has a huge impact not only on the student but the family and the larger community. Her 2 children and 2 grandchildren are the light in Nancy’s life!
Get in touch: nkearney@theambassadorfoundation.org
For over 40 years, Joni has been working with students and their families to help make college a reality. She found that college advising was the best career choice for her. She believes that a college education is life changing, not only for each student, but their families, friends and all the people they will meet, support, and work with over the course of their lives. Joni likes to help students find their voice and message in their applications, essays, resume and interviews, the best school match after an informed search, and the funds to make the choice possible, through scholarships and grants.
Get in touch: jnoel@theambassadorfoundation.org
Marius Finch was born and raised in Denver, specifically in the Whittier neighborhood that he still is proud to call his home. As a product of the desegregation busing system he benefited from attending schools inside and outside of the neighborhood. As a recipient of a first generation scholarship, he attended the University of Colorado Boulder. There he received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and minored in Business Administration. With over 20 years of direct service he brings experience working in non profits and government agencies. This includes completing a 10 year cohort as a Program Director at Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation. And managing resident and community service programs for the Denver Housing Authority.
Get in touch: mfinch@theambassadorfoundation.org
Dariya comes to the Ambassador Foundation with over 12 years of leadership experience in the arts, where her key responsibilities included business management, exhibition programming, managing client and artist relationships, and partnering with national foundations, nonprofits and museums on public and private art projects. Originally from Ukraine, and having immigrated to the USA in 1999, she forged her own path navigating numerous challenges being an immigrant through her high school, college and professional career journeys. And so, her personal mission has become to pass it forward in supporting, mentoring and empowering other immigrants and under-represented populations, while building a strong and welcoming community in Colorado. Having lived in Denver since 2013, she has cultivated a powerful network of friends and colleagues who share in her mission and values. In her free time, Dariya enjoys working on website, accessibility and experience design projects for local immigrant and under-represented communities. The rest of the time, she is salsa dancing, hiking and spending time with her golden retriever dog, Truffle.
Get in touch: dbryant@theambassadorfoundation.org
For over 20 years, Jennifer has worked in Denver’s museums and non-profit communities engaging donors, policy makers, foreign dignitaries, and patrons to support philanthropic opportunities. Her robust network is a result of her passion for people’s stories and how they impact community. Her talent for making connections developed in art museums and galleries, where she was driven by curiosity in roles that intersect education and development. Here she used early studies in African art and work with project partners from dozens of countries to ignite a service-minded career. With a Masters from the University of Denver, Jennifer produced an endowed artist lecture series for the Denver Art Museum, created early content for the Clyfford Still Museum’s education department, and owned a wellness coaching business where she helped clients benefit from healthy practices. Among past volunteer rolls, she recently enjoyed serving on a steering committee for the Denver Art Museum’s curatorial interests and on the Colorado State Capitol Building Advisory Committee.
Get in touch: jporter@theambassadorfoundation.org
