Elevate Ethics 2022: The Future of Business Education in Law, Public Policy and Ethics

April 27, 2022
Tuscan Ballroom, Joy Burns Center

The Elevate Ethics series was proud to present a panel of high-level leaders and experts in their industries that reflected on the current state of education in law, public policy and ethics and charted a course for the future.

The three panelists understand the needs of students as they enter into the business world and have recently made significant contributions to the education of Daniels students as guest speakers and panelists in classes and symposia sponsored by the Institute and by the department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies.

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Panelists

George Curtis

Former deputy director of enforcement, regional director of the SEC and securities attorney

George Curtis is a retired trial lawyer who specialized in securities law-related issues. For 30+ years he defended accounting and securities professionals, officers and directors in a wide range of matters pending before federal, state and administrative courts. He has tried cases to conclusion in each such forum.
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In 2006, he retired from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP where he had practiced law for his entire professional career and joined the SEC staff as Denver regional director. As the regional director he was responsible for enforcement and examination efforts in a seven-state region. In the summer of 2008 he was appointed deputy director of enforcement and worked in the Home Office of the Commission on nationwide enforcement efforts. In December of 2009 he resigned from the SEC staff and rejoined Gibson, Dunn where he resumed his securities trial practice. He works out of the firm’s Denver and Washington, D.C., offices. Curtis has his JD from the University of Chicago and his PhD and MA from the University of Virginia. He has lectured and written extensively on securities law issues.

Kristin Strohm

Founder and CEO of Common Sense Institute

Kristin Strohm is a leading voice for free enterprise and economic opportunity in Colorado, with a career spanning small business, public policy and philanthropy. She was one of the original founders of CSI, and for almost a decade she served as a strategic adviser to the research institute until taking a full-time leadership role as president and CEO in early 2019.
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Previously, as a small business owner, Strohm was president and co-founder of the Starboard Group, one of the nation’s most influential political fundraising consulting firms. She is actively involved in the philanthropic community. Kristin has been honored to serve as a board member for a number of charities, including the Women’s Bean Project, the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, National Vote at Home Institute, and the Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise. She is currently board president of the Strohm-Link Family Foundation and serves on the board of trustees of her alma mater, Coe College, where she founded the college’s Tri Delta Leadership Scholarship. Strohm studied history and Spanish at Coe College and later earned an MBA from the University of Denver. She and her husband, Josh Penry, currently make their home in the Denver area with their four children.

Bob Vanourek

Former corporate CEO and co-author of "Triple Crown Leadership"

Bob Vanourek, now retired, is the former CEO of five firms, ranging from a startup to a $1 billion New York Stock Exchange company. He is co-author of “Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical, and Enduring Organizations” (an International Book Awards winner, called “the best leadership book since Good to Great”) and author of “Leadership Wisdom: Lessons from Poetry, Prose, and Curious Verse.”
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After his 30-year business career, Vanourek taught leadership as an instructor at Colorado Mountain College and the University of Denver. He served on eleven for-profit and nonprofit boards and chaired four of them. He is a Baker Scholar graduate of the Harvard Business School and magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University. Vanourek was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Trust Across America—Trust Around the World. He’s a decorated Army officer and a lifelong student of leadership. He is married to his high school sweetheart, June.

Moderator

John Holcomb

Former Chair of the Department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies

John Holcomb served as a professor for 32 years at the Daniels College of Business, where he was instrumental in bringing ethics, public policy and the global dimensions of business into the classroom.

Elevate Ethics Video Archive

Elevate Ethics is a signature event of the Institute for Enterprise Ethics at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver (DU). The event features a dialogue among senior business leaders as they discuss the state of corporate responsibility and integrity in business today. A complete list of Elevate Ethics speakers and the video link to watch each event is listed below.

Elevate Ethics 2022

George Curtis, former deputy director of enforcement and regional director of the SEC and securities attorney, Valyant AI
Kristin Strohm, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Institute
Bob Vanourek, Former corporate CEO and author of “Triple Crown Leadership”
Moderator: John Holcomb, former chair of the Department of Business Ethics and Legal Studies

Elevate Ethics 2019

Rob Carpenter, CEO & Founder, Valyant AI
Kevin R. Krauth, CEO & Founder, Orderly Health
Suma Nallapati, Chief Digital Officer, DISH Network
Josh Reitsema, Strategy and Investment Manager, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Moderator: Tamara Chuang, cofounder and technology writer for the Colorado Sun

Elevate Ethics 2018

David Eves, President, Excel Energy-Colorado
Nancy Buese, CFO, Newmont Mining
Peter Lorenzen, Global GM, IBM Network Services & Senior IBM Executive, Colorado
Moderator: Doug Scrivner, Chairman of the DU’s Board of Trustees & Former General Counsel for Accenture

Elevate Ethics 2017

Douglas Conant, New York Times Bestselling Author; former President and CEO, Campbell’s Soup
Barbara Mowry, Founder and CEO GoreCreek Advisors
Mark Soane, Managing Director, Appian Ventures
Moderator: Buie Seawell, Professor of Practice, Executive Education, Daniels College of Business

Elevate Ethics 2016

Robert Swieringa, Independent director on the board of GE
Deborah DeHaas, Vice Chairman, Chief Inclusion Officer; National Managing Partner for the Center for Corporate Governance and Board Member with Deloitte
Gary Burandt, Executive Director of ICOM
Moderator: Bill Heck, Principal, Harlon Group

Elevate Ethics 2015

Federico Pena, Independent director, Wells Fargo Board of Directors; Senior Advisor, Vestar Capital Partners; former U.S. Secretary of Energy and Transportation during Clinton Administration
Scott Key, President and CEO of IHS; Member of the Company’s Board of Directors
Teresa Taylor, CEO of Blue Valley Advisors; independent director on the T-Mobile, NiSource and First Interstate BancSystems Boards of Directors
Moderator: Ted Willey, Founder & President, Willey & Associates

Elevate Ethics 2014

Andrew Crouch, Regional President, North America and APAC, Level 3 Communications
Mary McBride, President, CoBank
Rick Ambrose, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin Space Systems
Moderator: Bob Vanourek, co-author of Triple Crown Leadership: Building Excellent, Ethical and Enduring Organizations