Keynote Speaker

Marissa Molina, MSU Denver Board of Trustees and
Director of Career Connected Learning at HCM Strategies

Marissa Molina’s family immigrated to Colorado’s Western Slope from a small town in Mexico when she was just 9 years old. Her parents’ decision to come to the U.S. was driven by their desire to give their daughter a better life through education. In elementary school, after being unable to test into a gifted-and-talented program because the test was only offered in English, Molina began teaching herself English with a dictionary gifted to her by her father.

In high school, the reality of being an undocumented citizen set in when she began to apply for colleges and, despite having an impressive track record, faced limited options. Undeterred by her challenges, Molina graduated Summa Cum Laude from Fort Lewis College with a bachelor of arts in 2014 and attributes her success to her dedicated high school counselor, who helped her navigate the complicated application process for undocumented citizens. After working at the Admissions Office while in college and seeing the difficulties that families like hers faced, she was inspired to become a high school teacher, beginning her career in public education with Teach for America.

Since then, Marissa has continued her journey as an advocate for education and social justice, participating in impactful fellowships like the Urban Leaders Fellowship, the Education Pioneers Career Track Fellowship, and the Women’s Foundation of Colorado Public Policy Fellowship. She also served as manager of community engagement for Rocky Mountain Prep. Molina previously served as the Regional Government Affairs Director for Fwd.us, where she played a pivotal role in advancing immigration policy and protecting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. In 2015, she was named a White House Champion of Change. This honor is given to extraordinary educators with DACA status who have been strong role models for students and families as well as change agents within their communities.

Currently, Molina is HCM’s Director of Career Connected Learning, where she champions education equity and affordable access to higher education. She was appointed to the MSU Denver Board of Trustees in 2019, making her the first DACA recipient to serve on a state board. She is also the Chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee. Molina recently completed her master’s in public policy at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.

Rowena Alegría ’91, Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver

Rowena Alegría has served as chief storyteller for the City and County of Denver, founder and director of the Denver Office of Storytelling since 2019. The world’s only storytelling, cultural preservation and narrative change project has created nine documentary films and about 100 short films, made about 4 million impressions on social media and hosted more than 70 community events in which stories opened into conversations about our collective history, challenges and triumphs. The work has been selected for five film festivals, nominated for six Heartland Emmy Awards and honored with some 27 different awards, including History Colorado’s Josephine H. Miles Award for a major contribution to state history.

Alegría has spoken around the world about the power of storytelling, including before the National Civic League, the Georgetown University Center for Social Impact, the American Planning Association, Smart Cities Connect, the Center for Public Safety Excellence and Sorbonne University. She was Naropa University’s 2024 Cobb Peace Lecturer and will be among the urban thought leaders at the first Bruner Debates on Urban Excellence.

As an appointee of former Mayor Michael B. Hancock, Alegría served in one of the state’s most challenging and high-profile communications positions, directing strategy for crisis, issues and media management while also launching proactive campaigns and coordinating communications for events such as the 2012 Presidential Debate and several Denver Broncos rallies. She organized and staffed some 14 interviews and appearances for Hancock in New York City as part of Super Bowl XLVIII, including his appearances on the Today Show, The Colbert Report, ESPN and MSNBC. A video she conceived, wrote and directed around Hancock’s playoff bet with Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake made national and local news plus ESPN’s Top 10 Plays of the Day and attracted 190,000 views on YouTube.

For her creative writing, Alegría has received several fellowships and residencies. Her work has appeared in publications including The Rumpus, Mississippi Review, Hennepin Review and the We Are the West anthology. She is writing a novel that plays with form and the history of the Southwest.

She has received the Denver Business Journal’s 2023 DEI Award and a Latinas First Foundation Trailblazer Award. Alegría was a charter member of the Honors Program at Metropolitan State University of Denver and graduated Magna Cum Laude with her B.A. She earned an MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts.