Presenters: Marjorie Schreiber Lear, Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, and Ana Vega Terrazas, Manager of Access & Equity Initiatives, Colorado Mountain College

Are you looking to launch, scale and sustain transformative efforts at your HSI? Bring your experience, opportunities and questions to this interactive session about how grant funding can kickstart and carry forward momentum towards institutional improvement.

Presenters: Dr. Miguel Salinas, Associate Professor of Teacher Education, and Dr. Liz Qualman, Director of Teacher Education, Colorado Mountain College

This interactive workshop will explore how concurrent enrollment courses in Spanish are creating a pathway of future bilingual educators in Colorado’s rural and mountain communities.

Presenter: Dr. Junior Reina Toc, Regis University 

Belonging is essential to student success—especially for underrepresented, first-generation Hispanic/Latino/x/e and Indigenous students navigating intersectional identities in higher education. Rooted in the Jesuit values of cura personalis (care for the whole person) and magis (the greater good), this session offers an equity-centered framework for cultivating identity-affirming leadership, inclusive spaces, and community-driven engagement.

Presenters: Fabiola Trejo, Academic Coordinator, CMC Rifle and Colorado Mountain College students: Faviola Jannet Molinar Ordóñez; Antonia Peña; Divia Pizarro; Luz Elia Gutiérrez; Verónica Reyes de Velasco; Elvira Suárez; Hilda Perez

The Power of Family and Welcoming : CMC Rifle’s Viernes en Familia transforms a college campus into a welcoming, intergenerational space for families (children, parents, and grandparents) who might not otherwise engage with higher education.

Presenters: Dr. Valerie Richmond, Leasership for Educational Equity, University of Colorado Denver; Dr. Jessica Luna-Garcia, University of Colorado Anschutz: Educational Outreach & Pathways Initiatuves; Melinda Rossi, University of Colorado Denver

Grounded in narratives and frameworks from Más que promesas, this session equips participants with tools to assess and reimagine student engagement structures at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).

Presenters: Karl Diaz-Sanders, President on the Executive Board of CoCEAL; and Christine Velez,  Associate Director and Senior Evaluator at The Evaluation Center, University of Colorado Denver

In June 2024, CU Denver STEM faculty and staff launched a project to explore how engineering education can better serve historically underrepresented students. Supported by a Type I Development Award, the initiative focused on understanding the experiences of Hispanic engineering students—especially in light of CU Denver’s recent designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Conducted by The Evaluation Center, the self-study offers insights relevant to any institution committed to inclusive and equitable STEM education.

Presenter: Dr. Alejandro Covarrubias 

This session will first present an overview of a change management process that can be adapted by HSI committees and leaders to more effectively move their organization towards a culture of servingness.

Presenter: Zachary Haberler, PhD., Manager of Strategic Analytics, Colorado Mountain College

The Role of Data in Servingness: From Data Collection to Engaging with Narratives: The session will provide an overview of how to leverage multiple sources of data to monitor and understand the student experience.

Presenter: Dr. Rosana Reyes, President, Lamar Community College

Rooted and Resilient: Leading Rural Institutions with Equity at the Center: Rural institutions play a vital yet often underrecognized role in shaping educational and economic opportunities in their regions.

Presenters: David Smith, Program Director; and Steven Garcia Machuca, Program Coordinator, Roaring Fork PreCollegiate; and Alejandro Flores, Program Coordinator, Glenwood Springs High School 

Structuring Community: Siquiendo quien soy.: After briefly introducing our program, we would like to delve into the process of admission, recruitment, and retention and the role that HSIs play with our student population, highlighting the power of our IHE partnerships.

Presenters: Tiffany Jaramillo, Manager of Career Services and CAREERS, and Yazmine Garcia, Community Career Pathway Navigator (CAREERS), Emily Griffith Technical College

Centering Immigrants and Multilingual Learners in higher education: From Barriers to Bridges: How can higher education programs better serve immigrants, refugees, and multilingual learners? This session highlights Emily Griffith Technical College’s institutional wide efforts to help immigrants thrive, spotlighting the CAREERS and CTE Prep for English Language Learners programs.

Presenter: ​Philip Ficsor, ​Metropolitan State University of Denver 

Student Presenters: Ashley Irvine 

Presenter: Dr. Florencio U. Aranda III, Vice President of Community and Global Impact, Adams State University

Legislating Community Cultural Wealth: The Education Policy Advocacy of Latino U.S. Congressmen to Inform HSI Servingness: Using interview and bill sponsorship and co-sponsorship data for four Latino U.

Presenters: Delia Greth, Director of Study Abroad/Affiliate Faculty; and Tomás Esquibel, Assistant Director, Office of Admissions, Regis University

Empowering Latine Student Leadership through HSI Advisory Committees : This session will showcase the creation, structure, and impact of the HSI Student Advisory Committee at Regis University.

Presenters: Evan Schulte, Assistant Program Director, ESL, HSE & ESL/CTE Preparation; Ceci Peterson, ESL and HSE Advisor; Brenda Rivera, Senior Enrollment Services Specialist/Academic Advisor I for ESL & HSE  and Sarah Gordon, Senior Enrollment Services Specialist/Academic Advisor I for ESL & HSE, Colorado Mountain College

Community Breeds Community: Pre-enrollment Guidance and Holistic Advising Systems for ESL, AHSD and HSE Students: The presentation will show how we went from zero advising sessions for the largest department at the college (a department whose student body is 85% Hispanic) to now having over 1,000 advising sessions a year just centrally and how we have now expanded these sessions to the majority of our 8 campus locations.

Presenter: Joshua Margolin, Assistant Director Admissions, Recruitment & Outreach, Community College of Denver and Dwenna Holden, Ed.D, Program Director ESL, HSD, HSE, MAPAS, and Abigail Crew, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Academic Planning, Assessment, Improvement, and Impact, Colorado Mountain College

Accessible Adult Ed: College & Career Bridge Programming - The High School Diploma: CO State Senate Bills 23-007 & 24-051 authorize community colleges to award high school diplomas through a skills/competency-based curriculum.

Cultural Capital & Career Readiness: CMC's Essential Skills and English & Dual Language Certificates  : We will share CMC’s new stackable Essential Skills certificate, English Acquisition for Academic Purposes certificate, and Dual Language certificate and how they equip students with critical tools and knowledge for engaging with the world.

Presenter: Dr. Nancy Hernandez, Community College of Aurora

Student Presenters: Lynette Garcia and Sayuri Toribio 

Presenter: Dr. Mike Benitez, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, Metropolitan State University of Denver  

Presenter: RaeAnn Gutierrez, Director of Recruitment & First Year Programs, Pueblo Community College

Enacting Servingness in First Year Experience Programs: The session will explore the journey of the Title V OPTICA grant at PCC that focused on onboarding and how it integrated with the Office of Recruitment to create a high impact Recruitment & First Year Programs office.

Presenters: Dr. Chalane Lechuga, Director of Diverse Faculty Research and Development in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Metropolitan State University of Denver