RANDY SYLVAN, CHAIR
Randall (Randy) Sylvan (he/him) has been involved with Lighthouse for close to twenty years. He is on his second term with the Board and is honored to be the new Board Chair. He is very thankful to Lighthouse for enhancing his writing skills and helping him realize a lifetime dream of becoming a published writer. He generally writes short stories, which are generally a fictionalized version of his experiences with his special needs son. He is passionate about supporting the special needs community and also serves on the Board of Directors at Sewall Child Development Center. He has spent essentially his entire career in the Broadband industry, and is currently Vice President, FPA, at Comcast, where he oversees the budgeting and forecasting of Capital expenditures. He is married, has two sons, aged 19 and 17, and is a huge Denver Nuggets fan. He loves playing golf, biking, and spending time in the mountains.
LAURA BOND, SECRETARY
A devoted member of the Lighthouse community for more than 20 years, Laura Bond (she/her) joined the Board of Directors in 2022. She currently serves as Assistant Vice President of Engagement for Regis University, where she leads alumni and community engagement and development communications. Laura's journalism and creative nonfiction have appeared in several local and national publications, including Westword, where she served as an Editor and Staff Writer for six years. Though she once wrote a concert review of an Ozzy Osbourne concert for Rolling Stone, her favorite publishing credits include profiles of leaders in the arts, mental health, and social justice, as well as a trilingual children's book that was distributed throughout Ethiopia. Laura has filled many roles with nonprofit organizations across Denver, including Flobots.org (now Youth on Record), Colorado Symphony, and The Denver Foundation. Laura currently serves on the Foundation's Advisory Committee for Community Impact. She lives in Denver and is working on books about thrift store shopping and the Denver Nuggets.
REBECCA ARNO, TREASURER
Rebecca Arno (she/her) is the Chief Executive Officer of Prosperity Denver Fund. The Fund deploys resources from Denver sales tax to support Denver students as they build and pursue their post-high school futures. She has more than three decades of experience in the philanthropic sector, including as Chief Impact and Innovation Officer of the Barton Institute for Community Action, Vice President for Operations and Communications for The Denver Foundation, and Vice President of Communications for the Daniels Fund. Rebecca earned her Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Regis University as part of the Colorado Trust Fellows program and teaches in the Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership Program at the University of Denver. Rebecca has served on numerous boards, including as chair of the Washington, D.C.-based Communications Network and of the Colorado Nonprofit Association. She is currently on the board of Lighthouse Writers Workshop and a member of the Reisher Scholarship Committee at The Denver Foundation.
R. ALAN BROOKS
R. Alan Brooks (he/him) wrote his 1st graphic novel in 2017. Now, he teaches graphic novel writing for MFA programs like Regis University and Wilkes University, as well as at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and more. He’s the author of The Burning Metronome and Anguish Garden–graphic novels featuring insightful social commentary. His award-winning weekly comic for The Colorado Sun, "What’d I Miss?," has also been praised for its direct engagement with social issues. His TED Talk on the importance of art reached one million views in two months. His graphic novel work is featured in the Denver Art Museum and has been featured in the Museum of Contemporary Art – Denver, as well as the Amon Carter Museum in Texas. He hosted the Museum of Contemporary Art - Denver's podcast, How Art Is Born, as well as his own Mother F**ker In A Cape comics podcast, and has written comic books for Image Comics, Zenescope Entertainment, Pop Culture Classroom, and more.
RENNY FAGAN
Renny Fagan (he/him) provides consulting services to nonprofits and government entities about strategic direction, board governance, stakeholder facilitation, and public policy advocacy. He was the President & CEO of Colorado Nonprofit Association for almost 12 years. With 1,400 nonprofit member organizations statewide, the association provides knowledge resources and advocates for the entire nonprofit sector. Renny is a former state legislator, Director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, Deputy Attorney General, and State Director for U.S. Senator Ken Salazar. A Colorado native, he serves on the boards of Jefferson County Public Library, Mile High United Way, Colorado Channel Authority, Colorado Education Initiative, and Jeffco Prosperity Partners. He was formerly a board member and chair of the National Council of Nonprofits and served one term on the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
ELIZABETH KATKIN
Elizabeth (Liz) Katkin (she/her) is a lawyer, author, and fertility consultant. An international corporate lawyer for more than 25 years, Liz now serves dual roles as General Counsel of LDK Logistics, Inc. and Ridgefield Partners. Following the publication of her award-winning first book, Conceivability: What I Learned Exploring the Frontiers of Fertility, Liz has been advising aspiring parents, largely pro bono, on all aspects of the fertility journey. Apart from her day jobs, Liz has long been engaged in her community. She is a longstanding Trustee of Colorado Ballet and has served on the boards of Skolkovo School of Management in Moscow, Russia, the Alumni Council of the School of International Affairs at Columbia University, and as a Trustee of Friends of International House UK. She also served as a Governor’s Fellow during the administration of Governor Jared Polis (Colorado). She and her husband, Richard, have two wonderful children.
ALEX LEACH
Alex Leach (she/her) is the Nondiscrimination Coordinator at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDHPE). Prior to her role at CDPHE, Alex served as the Assistant Director of Institutional Equity at Mines. Alex is passionate about civil rights and equity and teaches as an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University (MSU)-Denver and the University of Denver’s schools of social work. Alex received her bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, a dual MSW/MPH from the University of Michigan, and a law degree from the University of Denver.
KERRY MCGINLEY
Originally a journalist, Kerry McGinley’s (she/her) career has spanned broadcast, newspaper, magazine, and online reporting. She later shifted to nonprofit public relations and then corporate communications before the pandemic brought her back to freelance writing. That was when she discovered Lighthouse and the joys of online craft classes from a range of instructors who encouraged her to keep going and helped her hone her skills. Through The Book Project, she found mentorship and built friendships that have carried her through the ups and downs of drafting a first novel. She’s honored to join the board for a network of creatives who share her enthusiasm for storytelling and building community.
LISA RAMOS
Lisa Ramos (she/her) is a writer and lawyer raised in California’s Central Valley and happily transplanted to Denver, Colorado. She loves storytelling of all kinds and writes mostly about people in the part of the world now known as the Southwestern United States. Lisa draws creative inspiration from nature, friends and family, travel, and dabbles in all things. Before retiring from the law to pursue writing and travel, Lisa’s professional life focused on representing, advising, and training labor union leaders, members, and staff.
KAREN ROSICA
Karen Rosica (she/her) is a psychologist/psychoanalyst in private practice in Denver, Colorado, on the faculty of the Denver Institute for Psychoanalysis at the University of Colorado Anschutz Health Sciences Center. She has published several articles and serves as an associate editor of the peer-reviewed, psychoanalytic journal, Psychoanalytic Dialogues: The International Journal of Psychoanalytic Perspectives. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College in 2000, for which she completed an internship at Creative Non-Fiction: The Journal and New Letters on the Air, a PBS magazine.
NANCY SHARP
Nancy Sharp (she/her) is a TEDx speaker and the award-winning author of Both Sides Now: A True Story of Love, Loss and Bold Living, a book that was originally hatched at Lighthouse. Nancy holds an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College, is a certified instructor in Guided Autobiography, and is the architect of Life Letters–a written legacy that conveys what matters most and can be used to connect people and communities. Nancy brings more than three decades of experience in executive communications and speechwriting and is proud to serve in her current role at Denver Health. She has been a longtime member of Lighthouse and has published numerous essays. In the fall of 2025, Nancy will be teaching narrative medicine for the University of Colorado Hospital’s Bioethics and the Humanities, where she has been a longstanding community board member. What really drives Nancy? She is passionate about helping others tell their stories.
CATHY SUNSHINE
Cathy Sunshine (she/her) received her MBA from Colorado State University, is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honorary Society, is a Certified Management Consultant (Institute of Management Consultants), a Fellow in the Family Firm Institute, and is a member of the International Women’s Forum. She has served as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Denver’s School of Professional Psychology. She has postgraduate training from the Bowen Institute in Family Systems Theory, Comparative Theories of Family Therapy at the University of Denver. She has designed and taught courses in the art and science of executive coaching, family systems change management, and organization structure and design. She serves on the Board of Shalom Park and is a second-generation Denverite. She has two grown children, three grandchildren, and two fabulous puppies!