Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has appointed Jill Hawley and Jordan Dresser to serve on Fort Lewis College’s Board of Trustees.
A news release from the college said Hawley and Dresser bring a wealth of cultural and professional knowledge to the 11-member board, nine of whom are appointed by Polis, while the other two are nonvoting student and faculty representatives
According to the release, the board is “responsible for guiding the institution’s strategic priorities and ensuring it continues to fulfill its public mission.”
In addition to the new appointments, Polis reappointed trustees Julia Duvall of Lakewood and Mary Rubadeau, a longtime education leader based in southwestern Colorado.
Dresser, the release said, is a museum curator, award-winning journalist and filmmaker, and a citizen of the Northern Arapaho Tribe with a career in public service and Indigenous advocacy.
Dresser’s public service includes his role as tribal chairman of the Northern Arapaho Tribe from 2020 to 2022, where he “developed policies on renewable energy, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and natural resources.” In 2022, Dresser was appointed to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Not Invisible Act Commission and the Secretary’s Tribal Advisory Committee by then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
Dresser received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wyoming and a master’s in museum studies from the University of San Francisco, the release said. He has produced award-winning journalism, including the PBS documentary “What Was Ours,” the film “Home from School: The Children of Carlisle” and his directorial debut “Who She Is.”
The release said that in addition to his role on the board, Dresser works as curator of collections at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, where he manages and expands the museum’s collections with “an emphasis on community engagement and cultural representation.” Prior to that, Dresser worked as manager for the Northern Arapaho Tribal Historic Preservation Office and as public relations officer, curating tribal culture and history exhibits for the Wind River Hotel and Casino, the release said.
According to the release, Hawley brings more than 20 years of “executive leadership experience in education, philanthropy and public service.”
In addition to her appointment to the board, Hawley works as the chief impact officer at Gary Community Ventures, a “philanthropic organization that combines the power of business, policy and philanthropy to increase opportunities for Colorado kids and families,” where she leads investment strategies “focusing on youth success, school readiness and family economic mobility.” Hawley formerly worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s K-12 team, where she oversaw a $60 million grant portfolio supporting career readiness for Black, Latino and low-income students.
Hawley, a Stanford University and Harvard Business School graduate, also has experience in the public sector, including executive roles at the Colorado Department of Education and Denver Public Schools, where she advanced policy and academic strategies for early literacy, educator effectiveness and innovation, the release stated.
The release said that the appointments of Dresser and Hawley bring a “fresh blend of cultural insight and policy acumen that reflect both the college’s heritage and its future.” According to the college’s website, FLC, which was formerly an Indian boarding school, is now designated as a Native American-serving nonfederal institution with a highly diverse student body.
“Fort Lewis has distinguished itself as a top public college in the West and a leader in serving Native American students,” Hawley said in the release. “The college has demonstrated that it’s possible to reconcile a racist and harmful past through tough, ongoing community-centered conversations that acknowledge harm, identify and implement repairs, and work toward a more just and equitable future.”
Dresser was quoted in the release as saying: “I believe in the power of higher education for Native people and the possibilities it can create for these marginalized communities. As a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, I bring in a unique perspective and I hope to help make connections with the source communities to help bring success to each student’s academic journey.”
A previous version of this story gave an incorrect number of board members on the Fort Lewis College Board of Trustees.
