As Market President, Andy Aye works across all business lines to deliver “one” U.S. Bank in Colorado.  He leads U.S. Bank’s local Advisory Board comprised of business and community leaders and steers the bank’s cross-functional Market Leadership Committee.  Aye champions the culture, relevance and growth of U.S. Bank by supporting empowered employees, solving problems in the business community and making a difference for those in need through service for others.

Aye brings over 30 years of commercial banking leadership to his role, including 8 years of relevant mezzanine debt and private equity experience.  His career began in Chicago with American National Bank and he joined Colorado National Bank (predecessor to U.S. Bank) after moving to Denver in 1994, where he led the most profitable Commercial Banking team.  He learned how to borrow money from a bank when he was a Director at Stonehenge Capital, where he was responsible for origination and management of all senior stretch, mezzanine and equity investments in Colorado.  He contributed to portfolio companies at a strategic level through board activity and successfully invested the fund with targeted returns.  Prior to joining U.S. Bank, Aye was the Colorado Market President for BOK Financial.  

Aye sits on the Executive Committee for the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and was a founding board member of Colorado Advanced Manufacturing Association (CAMA).  He is also a Board Member of ACE Scholarships and The Blue Bench.  He earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and his MS from the University of Colorado at Denver.  He resides in the Denver area with his wife and their three children.  He enjoys golf, tennis, learning through conversations and spending time with his family. 

U.S. Bank has 2,500 employees, over 130 branches and ranks third in deposit market share statewide.  U.S. Bank earned “Best Places to Work” recognition from the Denver Business Journal in 2014 and was named to the Denver Post “Top Workplaces” list in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  U.S. Bancorp, with more than 70,000 employees and $547 billion in assets as of June 30, 2020, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest bank in the United States.  U.S. Bank is committed to serving its millions of retail, business, wealth management, payment, commercial and corporate, and investment services customers across the country and around the world as a trusted financial partner, a commitment recognized by the Ethisphere Institute naming the bank a 2020 World’s Most Ethical Company

Coming Soon

Kevin has a multitude of experience in medical research, as well as small business operations management. He has an undergraduate degree in Biology from CSU and M.A. in Behavioral Psychology. In an ongoing commitment to community engagement, Kevin was a Cole Neighborhood Association Board member in 2016-2019, as well as a Steering Committee member of the Cole has a Soul Participatory Budgeting Project in Cole neighborhood.  Additionally, he has volunteered for the Houston Area Women’s Center and is honored to be serving as a new member of The Blue Bench where he aims to bring focus on assistance and awareness for sexual assault to all cultures and communities who feel underrepresented.

Kevin is a Houston, Texas native, he relocated to Colorado in 2012 with his wife and two sons.  Kevin is a strong advocate for equity, who enjoys traveling and spending time with his family, which include Biscuit the dog who thinks she is a cat and Binx the cat who thinks he is a dog. 

After serving as the Civil Rights Fellow in the Sturm College of Law's Civil Rights Clinic in the fall 2020 semester, Jenipher Jones Bonino is now Program Manager for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Social Justice Initiatives, helping advance Denver Law's institutional commitments to DEI and social justice. Jenipher supports a range of student-related initiatives, including academic advising, academic success, inclusion, well-being, and professional development, as well as our pipeline partnerships.

Prior to joining the law school, she graduated from Bennett College for Women with a BA in Political Science. She then attended law school at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law with membership to the Loyola Maritime Journal Law Journal, The International Legal Honor Society of Phi Delta Phi, and clinical study.

Jenipher began her career in civil rights as a Fellow at the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Jenipher has worked on law enforcement accountability issues, including a clerkship at the civilian law enforcement oversight agency, the City of New Orleans Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIPM), and a landmark federal consent decree involving the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD). She has also practiced at the National Employment Litigation Unit (NELU) of the United States Postal Service handling class action employment discrimination matters.

Most recently, at a civil rights law firm, Jenipher litigated complex civil litigation cases involving prisoners’ rights, law enforcement misconduct, and employment discrimination. She has been published in both domestic and international publications. Jenipher has also advocated for the rights of prisoners in the United States before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, The United Nations Association, and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Brian P. Bost is an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist as well as the Medical Director of Transgender Care for Kaiser Permanente in Denver. He received his MD from The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and a Masters of Public Health in Global Health from the University of Massachusetts. Outside of his professional career, Brian has been involved in reducing health disparities with at-risk populations in low- and middle-income countries such as Haiti, Kenya, South Africa, and Cambodia and has worked with refugee populations in Jordan and Bangladesh.

Brian joined the board because he has seen the impact of sexual violence in all communities that he has worked in, and given that Denver is his home, wants to be actively involved in supporting the work that The Blue Bench does. 

Victoria Cunningham is a Managing Partner and Portfolio Manager in the Wealth Management group at Segall Bryant & Hamill, a Registered Investment Advisor. Prior to joining the firm in 2000, Ms. Cunningham was a Senior Portfolio Manager with Wells Fargo Private Asset Management for nine years, and worked for five years as a Portfolio Manager with United Asset Management Services. Ms. Cunningham received a BA from Colorado College. She is a member of CFA Institute and CFA Society Colorado.

Victoria joined the board of The Blue Bench in 2018. She has a keen interest in issues impacting women having served on the Investment Committee of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and travelling around the state presenting seminars empowering woman to realize their financial goals. At The Blue Bench, she aspires to be a meaningful voice in the ongoing cultural shift in attitudes and behavior towards sexual assault in this community.

Teri has worked for Voice Media Group, LLC / Westword for the past 22 years. As the Advertising Director for Voice Media's Denver location, Teri oversees the sales and training initiatives including: print, digital, search engine optimization, programmatic marketing, special issues and events. She joined the Board of Directors in 2019 where she also serves on the Operations Committee. She is a native of Denver, CO with a degree in English Writing from the University of Colorado.  She has a passion for the mountains, hiking, writing, and spending time with her husband and two teenage children. She is a loyal believer in The Blue Bench's mission of ending sexual violence through education and empowerment, and is honored to be a part of their voice.

Brooke Smith has spent her career working with start-ups in the education space, and most recently concluded a five year stint at General Assembly, an education technology company, where she was the Regional Director of Colorado. Brooke now oversees her own business, Brelis Consulting, where she advises executives and business owners on the implementation and prioritization of Learning and Development across the employee lifecycle. She is also currently serving on the Women's Council at The Commons on Champa, a board dedicated to supporting the growth of female entrepreneurs. Brooke joined the Board because she believes in the power of education, believing that the prevention work being done by The Blue Bench in our schools, police stations, bars and other venues is invaluable in the fight to eradicate sexual assault.

Cliff Stricklin is a partner with the international law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner where he guides companies and executives through critical situations where litigation is a possible result.  He also is a member of BCLP’s governing board.

Prior to turning to private practice, Cliff served over twenty years in various roles with the government.  He is the former First Assistant for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado and was the lead prosecutor in the securities fraud trial against former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio.  Prior to that, Cliff served two years on the U.S. Department of Justices’ Enron Task Force where he was a key member of the prosecution team that convicted Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay as well as the lead prosecutor in the case against five defendants in Enron’s telecommunications business unit. 

From 2001 through 2004, Cliff was a State District Judge in Dallas, Texas.  Though one of the youngest judges on the bench, after only two years his judicial colleagues elected him as presiding judge of the district courts.  Cliff used the position to overhaul the indigent representations appointments system, address bail reform, and create the first of its kind mental health court.  He was also a member of the City of Dallas’ Ethics Task Force that drafted the city’s Code of Ethics.

Cliff’s legal experience includes time as a senior attorney at one of Texas’ leading law firms, 8 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, an adjunct professor of law at CU’s School of Law and SMU’s Dedman School of Law, and a law clerk  with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.  He has also served in Washington DC as an intelligence analyst with the Drug Enforcement Administration and a Special Assistant with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and has traveled extensively with the U.S. Department of State and USAID to provide anti-corruption guidance in developing nations.

Jamie Tafoya, a Senior Vice President at FirstBank, has been in the financial services industry for 15 years. Since joining FirstBank in 2005, Jamie has held several roles within the organization, most recently in the Bank’s Lock Desk and Capital Markets area. Jamie is also responsible for the development and implementation of the Bank’s special purpose credit programs, specifically designed to increase homeownership in underserved communities.    

Since her tenure with FirstBank, Jamie has helped lead award winning advertising and public relations campaigns, increased the Bank’s loan and deposit portfolio, and played an integral part in the creation of Colorado Gives Day. Outside of FirstBank, Jamie is highly active in communities where she lives and works. Jamie joined the Board because as a survivor of sexual assault herself, she understands the value and importance of an organization designed not only to  support survivors, but to prevent sexual assault from happening in the first place.

Jeff currently serves as Operations Manager for Gary Permian, LLC, a private equity backed oil and gas company located in Denver, CO. Jeff has over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, and has previously worked in various management and engineering roles for Encana Corporation, and prior to that Schlumberger Ltd. Mr. Villalobos holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Jeff joined The Blue Bench Board in 2016 and currently serves as Treasurer on the Executive Committee. Jeff and his family have been active supporters of The Blue Bench over several years, and in the ongoing mission of the organization.