Keynote Speaker
Mary Lou Makepeace
Mary Lou Makepeace is currently the vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado. She joined the Gill Foundation as the director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado in December 2003. Prior to joining the Gill Foundation, Mary Lou was the executive director for Leadership Pikes Peak, where she managed an array of community leadership programs. Mary Lou Makepeace was the first female mayor of Colorado Springs, serving from 1997 to 2003. Her experience also includes being a teacher at the American School in Tananarive, Madagascar; assistant to the Defense Attaché at the American Embassy in Prague, Czechoslovakia following the Soviet invasion; and the adult education officer at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Mary Lou has served on a variety of state, local and national committees, including the Colorado Space Advisory Committee, the Policy Advisory Council of the American Public Power Association, the Energy Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Leadership Training Council of the National League of Cities. Mary Lou attended the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University, and holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Colorado and a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota.
Educational Speakers
Dr. Nita Harris
Dr. Deborah Jalowiec
Dr. Joe Lee
Dr. Joseph Rota
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Our Survivor
Beth Pritts
I was born with two congenital heart defects. My doctors always believed I would need my Aortic valve replaced, and in February of 2009, my echocardiogram revealed it was time. On June 18, 2009, two weeks before my 40th birthday, I went in for surgery. Once the valve was replaced, the doctors were unable to restart my heart. The left side of my heart had hardened and the right side of my heart was failing. I was diagnosed with a rare condition called stone heart. I hope that you will attend the luncheon and hear more about why I Go Red.