Denver – Governor Bill Ritter has appointed two new members to the State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education, the nine-member panel that oversees the Colorado Community College System, the state’s largest higher education system.

The newly appointed members include Bernadette Marquez, filling a vacant at-large position, and Dr. John Trefny, representing the 7^th district.

“The backgrounds of these two individuals demonstrate Governor Ritter’s commitment to the pre-school through college concept of seamless education for Colorado’s students,” said Barbara McKellar, chairman of the State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational Education.

Marquez manages the Community Partnership Program for an independent oil company which provides industry grants. She also serves as the executive director of the Marquez Family Foundation creating, implementing and managing their grant process. She co-founded the Denver Scholarship Foundation, which works with Denver’s high school students, and currently serves as the treasurer of its board of directors. She is a member of the Denver Foundation’s Health Committee which distributes grants to various health organizations. 

President Emeritus of Colorado School of Mines, Dr. John U. Trefny retired from the School of Mines in 2006.  Prior to his appointment as president in 2000, he served for nearly five years as CSM’s vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of faculty. Earlier, he was a Mine’s physics professor and physics department head. For many years, he has been active in pre-college education. Before joining Mines in 1977, he held positions at Cornell University and Wesleyan University. Among numerous awards, he received the “Excellence in Science Teaching Award” (1992) and the “Friend of Science Education Award” (1990) from the Colorado Association of Science Teachers.