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

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. 

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.

Mona Karpouzos currently serves as the Firm Case Manager for The Noble Law Firm, PLLC, located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Mona graduated from the University of Denver, magna cum laude, with a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies and Business Administration. In 2016, she graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law.

As the firm case manager, Mona oversees all projects which flow from pre-litigation and litigation matters within our employment practice. Mona additionally provides considerable research and writing support to the firm’s employment attorneys and clients. 

For Mona, client advocacy is always at the forefront of her work. She has a longstanding history of advocating for clients across a variety of settings. Prior to law school, Mona spent 4 years serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in Colorado’s 18th Judicial District. She spent the next three years volunteering for the Korey Wise Innocence Project at Colorado Law. During her time at Colorado law, Mona also served as the Communications Secretary for the University of Colorado chapter of the ACLU.

In her spare time, Mona enjoys reading, running, and yoga. She lives in Aurora, Colorado with her husband, two children, and dog.

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.

Scott Weigel has spent the majority of his career in leadership roles at notable consumer tech marketplaces, such as Angi (HomeAdvisor, Angie’s List) and Nolo. He is currently the GM of Marketplaces at BiggerPockets, the largest community of real estate investors in the United States. Scott joined the board of The Blue Bench in 2022 with the goal of helping the organization support and prevent sexual violence.  He lives in Denver with his wife and three daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys playing music, the outdoors and traveling the world.