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Gladys Gonzalez
Gladys Gonzalez nació y creció en Bogotá, Colombia, Sur América, donde obtuvo su título universitario en negocios, además de 3 años de comunicaciones. Gladys trabajó para el gobierno Colombiano por 9 años en Ecuador, además de haber trabajado por muchos años en compañías multinacionales y en la industria bancaria. En 1991 emigró a Estados Unidos por motivos de seguridad cuando trabajaba para la oficina de Representación del “Manufacturers Hanover Trust” en Bogotá. Gladys escogió Utah como su nuevo hogar.
Gladys cree en integración y en enriquecer su vida a través de la interacción con diferentes comunidades, compartiendo sus talentos y disfrutando de la inmersión en otras culturas. Ella ha servido en varias juntas directivas incluyendo Envision Utah, Salt Lake Airport Authority Board,United Way of Salt Lake, y muchas otras. En el 2001 Gladys fundó el “Suazo Business Center”, una organización sin ánimo de lucro dedicada a ser un recurso de negocios para las comunidades minoritarias de bajos recursos. Con el apoyo del Senador de Utah en el Congreso de Estados Unidos, Robert Bennet; el CEO de Zions Bank, Scott Anderson, y otros prominentes accionistas de poderosos negocios en Utah, la organización se convirtió en un motor de desarrollo económico para el estado.
Actualmente Gladys está jubilada y vive en el Norte de Dallas, Texas. Es una entrenadora de motivación y bienestar y profesora de meditación. Ella ama la naturaleza y la espiritualidad. A finales del 2018 Gladys unió esfuerzos con un grupo de ejecutivos amigos que comparten su manera de pensar e ideales (Dos de ellos de Utah) y fundó una organización sin ánimo de lucro bajo el nombre “Our Color is Peace “ – Nuestro color es Paz- a la cual dedica todo su tiempo y esfuerzo.
Deena Ott
Deena Ott was born and raised in Utah. She graduated from Southern Utah University with a Bachelor’s in Social Work and Psychology and received her MSW from the University of Utah.
Deena has worked in the field of social work for the past 20 years. Prior to 2016, she worked in the State of Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services. She started with DCFS as a Child Protective Service Investigator. After receiving her Masters, she provided in home services for families at risk of having their children removed from their custody. The last six years of her Child Welfare career, she spent as an Administrator over the Salt Lake Valley Region office, overseeing staff working directly with teenagers in foster care as they prepare to transition out of the Child Welfare system.
Deena currently holds both a Utah and Texas, Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) license and has worked for two non-profFit organizations working with families and children. She recently became a certified life coach with niches as a relationship facilitator coach and a goal setting coach.
Claudia Essenburg
Ms. Essenburg has a passion for helping others find their own coping skills for a more peaceful and joyful life no matter where they live nor who they are. She graduated from Baylor University with an MFA and a bilingual education degree from the University of California at Northridge. She has experience as a business owner in advertising and marketing. She has also spent 14 years teaching bilingual children. Her goal in life is to make a difference and an advocate for change for the betterment of one group: humanity.
Edward Bennett
As a seasoned manager, teacher, personal coach, and advisor, Edward has spent over two decades in education, leadership, management and the development of systems and human resources. His professional experience is broad-based and has been designed to continually allow for his own personal growth and development, as well as that of his staff and clients. This background has brought him to Our Color is Peace in a role he is excited to fill to help the organization develop.
He graduated from Westminster College of Salt Lake City with a major in Economics and a minor in Psychology. Since then, he has continued his studies focusing on Education, Political Science, and History. He has spent the majority of his career managing within therapeutic programs, academic institutions, and business and real estate companies. Outside his professional career, he has volunteered for dozens of organizations and currently sits (or has formerly sat) on the Board of Directors or Managers for several non-profit and educational organizations.
Stephen Tolpinrud
Stephen Tolpinrud comes from the sagebrush-covered region of northern Utah. He studied Environmental Studies as an undergraduate at the University of Utah; Agroecology as a certificate at the University of California, Santa Cruz; and International Relations and Sustainable Development as a graduate degree at American University and the University for Peace. Over the past number of years he has worked on diversified organic vegetable production farms in the U.S., while also working on projects that promote agroecology in Colombia and Guatemala with the help of multiple non-profits. It is his life’s goal to promote ecological and social wellbeing through the lenses of food and agriculture.
Claudia Essenburg
Carlos is senior level creative with an advertising background with a passion for bringing ideas to life. For more than two decades, he has brought strategic insight and creativity to global brands within the restaurant, retail, health, and financial industries.
After graduating from Portfolio Center in Atlanta, GA., Carlos moved to St.Louis to work for DMB&B on the Budweiser account. After years of working on broadcast and branding on the Bud account, he decided to take his talents to the slopes of Colorado. In Colorado he helped start up one of the hottest design firms in Denver, Factory Design. More recently he relocated to Dallas/Ft. Worth where he’s worked on brands such as Subaru of America, Nationwide Insurance, Pizza Hut, Sonic Drive-In, Mercedes-Benz, and Chili’s Restaurant Global business.
When he’s not developing ideas for global brands, he enjoys spending time with his wife Mey-Ling, and playing with his two very creative children, Sebastian and Gabriela. Carlos also has an intense desire to unlock the full potential of the human spirit through communication, kindness, and peace.