Colorado Legacy Foundation Announces Appointments of Two Key Leadership Positions

(Denver, CO) As a result of an organizational restructure designed to accommodate its rapid growth over the past 18 months, today the Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) announced Nina Lopez as the Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships and Yee-Ann Cho as its new Vice President of Programs.

“The contribution that Nina Lopez has made to the success of this organization cannot be overstated,” said President and CEO, Dr. Helayne Jones.  “As the new VP of Strategy and Partnerships, she will lend her knowledge, experience and leadership to strategically map out a sustainable path for CLF, which includes the effective engagement of education reform contingents in Colorado and throughout the country.”

Until recently, Lopez split her time serving as CLF’s Director of Educator Effectiveness and as Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Education. In that role, she served as Vice-Chair of the State Council for Educator Effectiveness and led the Department’s design and implementation of educator effectiveness priorities.  Lopez will work closely with Vice President of Programs, Yee-Ann Cho, who will be overseeing the expanding portfolio of programming at CLF.

“The success of this organization is predicated on our ability to effectively deliver on our commitment to our funders,” said Dr. Jones.  “Having served as a Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as garnering extensive public and private sector education experience, Yee-Ann Cho is uniquely qualified to ensure our programs drive our mission to have an effective leader in every school, an effective teacher in every classroom and a healthy child in every seat.”

Prior to joining CLF, Cho served as the Chief of Staff to the then-Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, Barbara O’Brien.  As such, she was responsible for managing the daily activities of the office, supervising staff, and overseeing initiatives in the areas of K-12 education reform, early childhood, community service, and Indian affairs.

Founded in 2007, the Colorado Legacy Foundation is an independent 501(c )(3) that serves as a critical friend and partner to the Colorado Department of Education in the effective implementation of  good public policy. CLF works to identify promising practices, invest in innovative work, recommend policy, evaluate results, and share our findings with all Colorado school districts and schools.