2016-2017 Directors
Omar D. Blair School Charter School
4905 Cathay St. Denver, CO 80249 (303) 371-9570
"Every scholar educated, empowered, and ready for continued success"
4905 Cathay St. Denver, CO 80249 (303) 371-9570
"Every scholar educated, empowered, and ready for continued success"
Current Board of Directors:
Aniekan Ekiko, Board Chair
Debbi Blair-Minter, Vice Chair
Fred Drake, Secretary
Evans Mensah, Treasurer
Brad Jacobson, Director
Jose Silva, Director
Brad Jacobson, Director
Jose Silva, Director
Meet the Board of Directors of Omar D. Blair Charter School
Dan Jacobs - Juris Doctor - Attorney at Law - Board Chair (Term: December 2018)
Attorney at Law - Mile High Sports Radio
Dan Jacobs grew up in Aurora, CO and graduated from Rangeview High School, where he participated in an internship program that allowed him to gain employment at Sportsradio 950 The Fan during his senior year. He went on to receive Journalism degrees at Northeastern Colorado Junior College and the University of Denver. After DU, Dan went on to become the Senior Producer at the SportsFan Radio Network in Las Vegas, working with such celebrities as Shaquille Oneal, Pete Rose, Bob Costas, James Brown, Hunter S. Thompson and many others.
After SportsFan, Dan returned home to Denver and served as a Talk Show Host and Executive Producer at Denver's twin $30 million dollar radio stations - KKFN The Fan and ESPN The Zone. As a Talk Show Host, Dan achieved the highest ratings any ESPN station had ever reached in Denver. As a radio Executive, Dan guided the station to its first ever #1 ranking in the Arbitron ratings. His day to day duties included managing relationships with all of Denver's major sports teams, including the Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, CU Buffs and CSU Rams.
On a personal level, Dan and his wife Kimberly, agreed to help raise his nephew Trevor Brown. Unfortunately, Trevor passed away from a very rare form of brain cancer. After Trevor passed, Dan organized a fundraiser that raised a record shattering $110,000 in one day for the Children's Hospital in Trevor's memory. After being inspired by Trevor to attend law school, Dan has established a vibrant law and real estate practice. In addition to serving at Omar D. Blair, he volunteers each week as a mentor for Kids Hope USA and actively raises funds for worthy causes.
Aniekan Ekiko - Vice-Chair (Term: June 2019)
Jennifer Brown - Secretary (Term: June 2018)
Kaplan Medical
Jennifer Brown, our current secretary, is a local professional that has been a Green Valley Ranch resident for a decade. She grew up in Aurora and returned to Denver after receiving graduating Cum Laude from Harvard. She currently works with medical schools in the western half of the country to help their students meet their goals on licensing examinations, and owns and operates a holistic nutrition business as well. She is also very active in the Rocky Mountain Harvard University Club's Schools committee. Her years of business experience in the higher education field and her passion for education make her a strong addition to the ODB team.
Brit Havey, Director (Term: June 2018)
Climb Higher Colorado
Brit Havey is Director-at-Large at Omar D. Blair Charter School and Outreach Director for Climb Higher Colorado. Brit has been an advocate for students since college where she worked as Legislative Affairs Director for the University of Colorado Student Government to make higher education more affordable and accessible.
In 2010, she joined Teach for America in New Orleans and taught sixth and second-grade. Teaching in NOLA, she observed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the effects of systemic poverty, and the incredible resilience of kids. After moving back to the mountains, she contributed research and content to 50 seminars and four textbooks
around student success and an iPad app aligned to Common Core math. She also continued to work with students by serving as a learning specialist for 15 students in the Denver area and teaching math for the Challenge Foundation's summer program. In addition to Brit's role at CHC and Omar D. Blair, she is also an America Achieves Lead Fellow and serves on the board for the Ghana Educational Collaborative.
Brit earned a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Journalism with an emphasis in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Teaching Certification in Middle School Mathematics from the Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program.
Brad Jacobson, Director (Term: June 2019)
Brad has lived in Green Valley Ranch for 9 years and has a child beginning at Omar D. Blair in fall 2017. He moved from Illinois after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in History and a Master’s in Higher Education Student Affairs and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Student Affair Leadership Program at the University of Northern Colorado. Brad’s research is focused on the development and success of first generation, low-income college students; the education gap in Aurora and the surrounding area is a focal point of his inquiry.
Professionally, Brad spent 8 years working at the Community College of Aurora developing support systems for its most at-risk populations. In January 2016, he accepted a position as Advisor and Retention Coordinator in the Math, Computer Science, and Physics departments at Metropolitan State University of Denver. While at CCA, Brad wrote and received the college’s first Federal TriO Grant providing $1.2 million to support first generation, low-income students. In addition he created and developed the Transfer Success Program – serving over 200 CCA students with the dream of earning a baccalaureate degree. Through the CCA foundation, Brad assisted with fundraising for scholarships to support at-risk students, cultivating relationships with donors while making them aware of the needs of the students that he served. Brad’s experiences in fundraising will be a welcome addition to the board and his knowledge of higher education, of the barriers that face students, and of support and success strategies for these populations will be beneficial for ODB students. We look forward to his insight as we prepare our students to begin their path to college.
Finally, Brad is also an Eagle Scout and loves saltwater fish tanks and the Chicago Bears. But his favorite things to do are play with his sons – ages 1 ½ and 4, and hang out with his wife, Roxanne.
Jose Silva, Director (Term: June 2019)
Evans Mensah, Treasurer (Term: June 2020)
Attorney at Law - Mile High Sports Radio
Dan Jacobs grew up in Aurora, CO and graduated from Rangeview High School, where he participated in an internship program that allowed him to gain employment at Sportsradio 950 The Fan during his senior year. He went on to receive Journalism degrees at Northeastern Colorado Junior College and the University of Denver. After DU, Dan went on to become the Senior Producer at the SportsFan Radio Network in Las Vegas, working with such celebrities as Shaquille Oneal, Pete Rose, Bob Costas, James Brown, Hunter S. Thompson and many others.
After SportsFan, Dan returned home to Denver and served as a Talk Show Host and Executive Producer at Denver's twin $30 million dollar radio stations - KKFN The Fan and ESPN The Zone. As a Talk Show Host, Dan achieved the highest ratings any ESPN station had ever reached in Denver. As a radio Executive, Dan guided the station to its first ever #1 ranking in the Arbitron ratings. His day to day duties included managing relationships with all of Denver's major sports teams, including the Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, CU Buffs and CSU Rams.
On a personal level, Dan and his wife Kimberly, agreed to help raise his nephew Trevor Brown. Unfortunately, Trevor passed away from a very rare form of brain cancer. After Trevor passed, Dan organized a fundraiser that raised a record shattering $110,000 in one day for the Children's Hospital in Trevor's memory. After being inspired by Trevor to attend law school, Dan has established a vibrant law and real estate practice. In addition to serving at Omar D. Blair, he volunteers each week as a mentor for Kids Hope USA and actively raises funds for worthy causes.
Aniekan Ekiko - Vice-Chair (Term: June 2019)
Jennifer Brown - Secretary (Term: June 2018)
Kaplan Medical
Jennifer Brown, our current secretary, is a local professional that has been a Green Valley Ranch resident for a decade. She grew up in Aurora and returned to Denver after receiving graduating Cum Laude from Harvard. She currently works with medical schools in the western half of the country to help their students meet their goals on licensing examinations, and owns and operates a holistic nutrition business as well. She is also very active in the Rocky Mountain Harvard University Club's Schools committee. Her years of business experience in the higher education field and her passion for education make her a strong addition to the ODB team.
Brit Havey, Director (Term: June 2018)
Climb Higher Colorado
Brit Havey is Director-at-Large at Omar D. Blair Charter School and Outreach Director for Climb Higher Colorado. Brit has been an advocate for students since college where she worked as Legislative Affairs Director for the University of Colorado Student Government to make higher education more affordable and accessible.
In 2010, she joined Teach for America in New Orleans and taught sixth and second-grade. Teaching in NOLA, she observed the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the effects of systemic poverty, and the incredible resilience of kids. After moving back to the mountains, she contributed research and content to 50 seminars and four textbooks
around student success and an iPad app aligned to Common Core math. She also continued to work with students by serving as a learning specialist for 15 students in the Denver area and teaching math for the Challenge Foundation's summer program. In addition to Brit's role at CHC and Omar D. Blair, she is also an America Achieves Lead Fellow and serves on the board for the Ghana Educational Collaborative.
Brit earned a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Journalism with an emphasis in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Teaching Certification in Middle School Mathematics from the Louisiana Practitioner Teacher Program.
Brad Jacobson, Director (Term: June 2019)
Brad has lived in Green Valley Ranch for 9 years and has a child beginning at Omar D. Blair in fall 2017. He moved from Illinois after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in History and a Master’s in Higher Education Student Affairs and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Higher Education Student Affair Leadership Program at the University of Northern Colorado. Brad’s research is focused on the development and success of first generation, low-income college students; the education gap in Aurora and the surrounding area is a focal point of his inquiry.
Professionally, Brad spent 8 years working at the Community College of Aurora developing support systems for its most at-risk populations. In January 2016, he accepted a position as Advisor and Retention Coordinator in the Math, Computer Science, and Physics departments at Metropolitan State University of Denver. While at CCA, Brad wrote and received the college’s first Federal TriO Grant providing $1.2 million to support first generation, low-income students. In addition he created and developed the Transfer Success Program – serving over 200 CCA students with the dream of earning a baccalaureate degree. Through the CCA foundation, Brad assisted with fundraising for scholarships to support at-risk students, cultivating relationships with donors while making them aware of the needs of the students that he served. Brad’s experiences in fundraising will be a welcome addition to the board and his knowledge of higher education, of the barriers that face students, and of support and success strategies for these populations will be beneficial for ODB students. We look forward to his insight as we prepare our students to begin their path to college.
Finally, Brad is also an Eagle Scout and loves saltwater fish tanks and the Chicago Bears. But his favorite things to do are play with his sons – ages 1 ½ and 4, and hang out with his wife, Roxanne.
Jose Silva, Director (Term: June 2019)
Evans Mensah, Treasurer (Term: June 2020)
Fred Drake, Secretary (Term: June 2021)
Debbi Blair-Minter (Term: June 2021)