Welcome Aboard!

By Dave Sevick 

New Board Members
Tennyson Center welcomed five new appointments to its 36-member Board of Directors this past July, including Denver’s First Lady, Mary Louise Lee and Denver Broncos Linebacker, Wesley Woodyard.

Joining Woodyard and Lee for three year terms at Tennyson are Todd Blair, attorney with Bryan Cave HRO, Rob Swanson, Owner of RAS & Associates and Jeff Vaughan, President & CEO for Tracker Resource Development.

Current board members elected to a second, three-year term include Gary Shapiro, morning news anchor at KUSA-TV (9News); Matt Baldner, Executive Vice-President at Steele Street Bank & Trust; metro Denver banker, Rodney Witte; Steve Weidner, Senior Architect, Abel Consulting Services, Inc.; and Teacher and longtime community volunteer from Colorado Springs, Nancy May.

Woodyard, the first Denver Bronco to serve on the Tennyson Center Board, has been involved with Tennyson Center’s Operation Santa program since 2009, when a family being served through Tennyson Center’s Community-based Services division had no gifts to give their children at Christmas.  Upon hearing the sad news, he provided the gifts so that the family could enjoy a fulfilling Christmas.

He said, “Ever since that Christmas, I’ve been hooked so serving on the board of this incredible organization is truly an honor.”

Also effective July 1, Shaun Yancey has taken the helm as board chair.  Yancey is Senior Vice-President at PCL Construction Services, Inc.  New Vice-Chair is Colleen Stanley, President of Sales Leadership, Inc.  Both have served on the TCC board for several years.

New Chaplain: Angela Sanders
Tennyson Center is proud to introduce our new Chaplain, Angela Sanders.  Originally from the Los Angeles area (and a die-hard USC Trojan fan), Angela has an impressive background that spans from one coast to the other.

Early in her career, she worked in the entertainment industry in L.A. as marketing and public relations professional as well as an artist manager.  She even had an opportunity to work in artist management with American Idol winner, Fantasia Barrino.  But she recalls being told by one of her professors something that sticks with her today and was the impetus for her leaving the entertainment industry.

“Whatever profession you get into, your value system becomes exactly that.”  Angela knew it was time to pursue something else.  She left the entertainment industry to pursue her deeper passion for social work and theology.

She holds dual master’s degrees in Social Work from the University of Denver and in Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York, where she met Ben, the man she would later marry.  Ben was also earning a post-graduate degree in theology at Union, but he would soon travel to the University of Denver to pursue  PhD in Theology.  Although the ensuing long-distance relationship was tough for the couple, they endured and upon graduation from Union, Angela immediately followed her fiancée’s lead and moved to Denver to complete her dual degree.

On joining the Tennyson Center team she said, “This is an ideal position for me, especially given my love of children.  I really look forward to developing a unique spiritual program for the kids and staff and integrating spirituality into our treatment protocol.  This is such an amazing place and I’m honored to be a part of this amazing team of professionals.”

Angela is currently a member in Ministry Training at New Hope Baptist Church in Denver.  She is also training in family therapy at Denver Family Institute.  Now married for just over a year, she and Ben love everything about Denver, although Angela says she misses the ocean. But, she adds with a wink and a smile, “It’s OK. Colorado’s mountains almost make up for it.”

 ©2012 Tennyson Center for Children at Colorado Christian Home.