During the legislative session at the Denver Capitol on Wednesday, April 12, four new Adams State University Board of Trustees were confirmed.
Duane Bussey, Tom Kim, Karen Middleton, and LeRoy Salazar, have been voting members since January 1, 2023.
Duane Bussey
Duane Bussey, Class of 1982, worked at San Luis Valley Federal Bank for 39 years. He held a variety of positions in the Loan Department before becoming the Senior VP in 1999 and then served as President/CEO from 2004 until retiring in 2021.
Mr. Bussey has been involved with Adams State over the years. He served as president of the Alumni Association, the Grizzly Club Board, and the Adams State Foundation. He resigned his position on the Foundation after 20+ years of service upon his appointment as a Trustee.
He grew up in Colorado Springs and came to Adams State as a student athlete in 1976. He felt fortunate to be a member of the Adams State basketball team for four years, learning so many life lessons from his time on the court. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in business administration and psychology and continues to be thankful for small class sizes and outstanding professors who made themselves accessible.
Mr. Bussey has been involved in the San Luis Valley community and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of San Luis Valley Federal Bank, the San Luis Valley Health Foundation Board and the San Luis Valley Trout Unlimited Board. He and his wife Lorey, Class of 1980, have three adult daughters, two of whom are Adams State alumni, and four grandchildren. He loves to follow Adams State athletics, enjoys flyfishing and has been working to master golf and pickleball, with mixed results.
Mr. Bussey’s term ends on Dec. 31, 2025. He replaces Jennifer Mueller.
Tom Kim
Tom Kim, J.D., is the founder and managing director of r2 advisors llc, a Denver-based business consulting firm. Attorney Kim has spent his career helping businesses improve their financial and operational performance. He and his colleagues develop and implement strategies for effecting change in urgent situations. These situations range from mild to severe and include services such as performance improvement, restructuring and turnarounds, mergers and acquisitions, and bankruptcy.
Attorney Kim understands the value of education. He is committed to ensuring that educational opportunities remain open and available for all Coloradans. In addition, Tom is passionate about closing the divide between urban and rural Colorado. He sees the value that these diverse communities bring to our State and the strength we derive by promoting all. Tom is a member of the Roundup Riders of the Rockies, a member of the Board of Directors for Denver Health and Hospital Authority and the Colorado State Fair. He was the President and then Chairman of the Turnaround Management Association beginning in 2013.
Attorney Kim has lived in the Denver-metro area since 1996. He received his J.D./M.B.A. in 1988 from Santa Clara University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1984 from the University of Utah. Tom resides in Centennial with his wife, two of his three children and their dogs, cats and horses.
Attorney Kim’s term ends December 31, 2026.
Karen Middleton
Karen Middleton is president of Cobalt, a Colorado based organization that advances reproductive rights. She is a longtime advocate for education and has served as an administrator, faculty member, and policy leader. Previously, Ms. Middleton served as the president of Emerge America, a national organization that trains women to run for elected office. Karen served in the Colorado State Legislature from February 2008 through 2010, where she was majority caucus chair and a member of the Education and Business Affairs and Labor Committees. From November 2004 until February 2008, she served on Colorado’s elected State Board of Education representing the 7th Congressional District.
Ms. Middleton’s experience includes teaching political science at the Community College of Aurora and the Metro State University of Denver. She worked for the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), eCollege, and as assistant dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. While at WICHE, she established the North American Council for On-Line Learning, an international association of online K-12 schools.
As a Colorado state legislator, Ms. Middleton continued her work in education and sought ways to create a strong bridge from high school to college. Key bipartisan policy successes include: the Colorado School Counselor Corps grant program, the Office of Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement, and master plan for Colorado’s post-secondary education system as well as aligning common core courses. These are lasting efforts that are serving Colorado’s students and building on years of strong public policy and implementation. Throughout her career, she has taken time to mentor the next generation of public servants, regardless of age.
Ms. Middleton holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College in women’s studies and politics; a Master of Arts in political science from the University of Colorado at Denver; and a Master of Arts in higher education governance from the University of Denver.
Ms. Middleton lives in Aurora, Colorado with her fiancé, Christian, and her daughter, Zoe. Her stepdaughters, Molly and Katie, live in New York.
Ms. Middleton’s term ends December 31, 2026.
LeRoy Salazar
A fifth-generation farmer, LeRoy Salazar currently manages the family farm which raises seed potatoes, barley, and other crops. This is Mr. Salazar’s third term on the Board of Trustees. He served from 2003 for three years and again from 2010 until 2016.
Mr. Salazar received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural engineering from Colorado State University.
Mr. Salazar co-founded and served as president and CEO of Agro Engineering, Inc., from 1982 to 2000. He has served as a member of the Colorado Agricultural Commission, the United Fresh Potato Growers of Colorado and as a director of Citizens for Colorado Water. He served on the North Conejos School District Board of Education for 9 years with several years as its president.
He has been heavily involved in helping to develop strategies for creating a sustainable water supply system in the San Luis Valley. Mr. Salazar served on the State Engineer’s Advisory Committee as the Colorado State Engineer developed Ground Water Rules and Regulations for the San Luis Valley. He helped found the Confined Aquifer Sustainability Organization which is dedicated to the development of solutions to groundwater issues and which provided input to the State Engineer on drafting the Rules and Regulations. Mr. Salazar currently serves as president of Subdistrict 3 of the Rio Grande Water Conservation District.
Mr. Salazar served as Director of San Luis Valley Federal Bank Board for 25 years and retired as chairman.
He helped found the Hope for Children Foundation which supports orphans, abandoned, and severely impoverished children in Mexico. He has been a member of Rotary clubs since 1995 and is a Paul Harris Fellow. In 2018 he received the Statewide Leadership and Service Award from the El Pomar Foundation. Mr. Salazar’s term ends on Dec. 31, 2024. He replaces Amanda DeLaRosa
Other board members are chair Michele Lueck, executive director of Partners for Children’s Mental Health at Children’s Hospital Colorado and senior clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; Pam Bricker, business owner in Del Norte; Jonathan Marquez, senior tax manager for VMware; Mark Martinez, business owner in Alamosa; and Arthur Ortegon, partner Law Firm Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP.
The Adams State University Board of Trustees consists of nine voting members appointed by the governor with the consent of the state Senate, and two non-voting members elected by the faculty and the students, respectively. The two current non-voting members are Beth Bonnstetter, Ph.D., faculty trustee, and Jose Villagomez, student trustee.
