Meet Our Board
Executive Committee & Officers
Rick Gillit
President
Rick joined the Board of Peak Education in 2019. He has always been drawn to organizations that seek to uplift youth, giving them opportunities to achieve more than they might have on their own. Toward that end, he recently served on the Board of Atlas Preparatory School, and was the Board Treasurer for Bizkids, an organization which helps young people understand and launch entrepreneurial ventures. A successful entrepreneur himself, Rick has owned his own insurance company for the past three years. Prior to that, he worked in finance and wealth management for over 16 years.
The son of a German father and a Mexican mother, both immigrants who served in the Air Force, Rick grew up largely in the Denver area, graduating from Englewood High School. He pursued higher education at Lee University in Tennessee, where he earned his AA degree before a lack of funding required him to return home.
Aside from Atlas and Bizkids, Rick has contributed his time and expertise to many other community organizations, including Citizen-Soldier, which helps bridge the gap between military and civilian life. Additionally has served as Committee Chair for the Pikes Peak Rodeo, Mutton-busting competition, and was elected to Chair the the Pikes Peak Regional Building Committee for six years.
Porschae Brown
Vice President
Porschae Chitmon-Turner grew up in Colorado Springs and is an alumnae of Peak Education. She considers Colorado Springs her home and loves having the mountains as her backdrop for inspiration. As a Colorado native, she attended Harrison High School which is where she now works as an English, Film and Literature and Yearbook teacher. She is in her 6th year of teaching and enjoys how much teaching includes learning from students.
She graduated from Colorado College with a B.A. in English and recently received her M.A in English from Arizona State University. Porschae is an avid reader and dog lover. She is passionate about seeing students succeed and reach their full potential. Porschae is also a mentor for a college mentor program called Elevated. This program seeks to provide African American students a road map for their future. She is also an alum of Peak Education.
Heather Cassidy
Secretary
Dr. Cassidy is an internal medicine physician and medical educator. She practices primary care and geriatrics at Evans Army Community Hospital where she cares for veterans and their families. She is also a volunteer physician with several local “safety net” clinics that serve our community including Mission Medical Center, Marian House’s Homeless Clinic, and Springs Rescue Mission.
Dr. Cassidy has been an integral member of the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Colorado Springs Branch (CSB) leadership team since its launch in 2016. She is the Co-Director of the Colorado Springs Branch’s longitudinal integrated clerkships; she oversees medical students' core clinical education and professional identity development and empowers community-based clinical faculty in their roles as mentors and teachers of medical students. She is the Director of the CSB's Health Equity curriculum, which approaches health equity from a community-engaged lens with an emphasis on service-learning collaborations, and the CSB’s Liaison for Admissions. Her previous roles include Assistant Dean for Community-Based Medical Education for the CU School of Medicine, and Director for Community Engagement for the Colorado Springs Branch.
Heather grew up in Colorado Springs and finds purpose in building community and capacity in the place that formed her. She believes in opening doors, creating opportunities, and supporting students of all ages in finding belonging and purpose in healthcare professions.
Davis Tutt
Treasurer
Davis Tutt works for the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation as the Director of Sports Tourism and Olympic Engagement where he is responsible for leading the Sports Commission pillar of the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. In this position, he works to identify national and international sports events compatible with Colorado Springs and complete bids to secure those events in our City - all with the aim of growing Sports Tourism in Olympic City USA.
He previously served as the Director of Operations at the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, overseeing the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off (the largest annual event held in Colorado Springs, attracting over 200,000 to the City over two and a half days and a 10-year running winner of The Best of the Springs Favorite Local Festival), The Broadmoor Winter Polo Classic, and the Colorado Springs Summer Fest/Winter Fest (formerly the downtown Olympic and Paralympic Celebrations).
Outside of the Sports Corp and Peak Education, Davis serves as a member of the Fountain Valley School Board of Trustees, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College Museum Subcommittee, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum Board, and the Board President of the Colorado Springs Youth Sports/El Pomar Youth Sports Park. He currently lives in Colorado Springs with his wife where they spend time cruising around town on their bikes, enjoying the outdoors, and playing golf...a lot of golf.
Members
Carrie McKee
Carrie currently serves as the Vice President of Regional Innovation Centers at Rocky Mountain PBS. Prior to her current position, she held several leadership roles at local area nonprofits including as the President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southern Colorado, Executive Vice President of Pikes Peak United Way (where she learned about Peak Education for the first time) and an Area Director at Young Life.
She attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied Speech/Communication and played on the 1994 national basketball championship team.
Sarah Long
Dr. Sarah Long currently serves as the Assistant Dean/Director of Student Affairs for the College of Education at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). Previously, she served in roles such as the Associate Director for the Gateway Program Seminar and as the Strengthening Institutions Program Manager at UCCS.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and theatre from the State University of New York at Oswego, a master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Buffalo, and a master’s degree in leadership from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Sarah earned her Ph.D. from Colorado State University, where she researched the statistical manipulation of student retention data using modification methods for missing values. Sarah has been affiliated with UCCS and Colorado Springs since 2014, having moved from upstate New York. She made the move with just three trash bags of clothes, a box of books, and her two cats, armed only with an acceptance letter from the UCCS College of Education.
When she’s not strategizing student affairs, Sarah enjoys running up Pikes Peak, spin class at the Cycology Studio, and indulging in cat cuddles.
Enrique Romo
Dr. Enrique Romo was born in El Paso, TX but lived in Mexico for most of his childhood before returning to El Paso, TX with his family to finish high school. He attended the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) as an undergraduate, then completed a master’s degree at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, a Ph.D. at The University of Texas at Austin, and an MBA from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.
He has held multiple higher education leadership roles in student support, student life, diversity, equity, and inclusion. In his work, Dr. Romo creates inclusive and welcoming co-curricular environments for all students with particular emphasis on historically excluded populations.
As the Vice President for Student Experience and Equity at Pikes Peak State College, Dr. Romo oversees Commencement, Student Experience and Leadership, Sustainability, Fitness and Wellness Center, Single Stop, The Community Table, and Counseling, while also providing the college community with direction, support, and resources related to equity.
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Christopher J. Kilroy
Christopher J. Kilroy is an innovative and visionary educational leader with nearly 30 years of experience working with youth and over a decade in school administration. Currently serving as Director of Choice and Enrollment for Colorado Springs School District 11, Chris has led transformative initiatives to address enrollment trends and enhance student outcomes.
His leadership journey includes principal roles at Cheyenne Mountain Elementary and North Middle School, where he pioneered equity-based Gifted and Talented programs, advanced learning tracks, and mental health services.
With a strong foundation in social work and counseling, Chris brings a results-oriented approach grounded in strategic planning, and data-driven decision-making.
Jeremy Loew
Attorney Jeremy Loew is widely recognized as one of Colorado’s leading criminal defense and personal injury attorneys. Known for his relentless advocacy and commanding presence in the courtroom, Mr. Loew is unafraid to take on the toughest, most high-stakes cases.
With more than fifteen years of litigation experience, he has successfully handled some of the highest-profile criminal matters in the Colorado Springs area. His expertise has earned him national attention, with appearances on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CrimeDoorTV, and other nationally broadcast programs and podcasts. Locally, he is a frequent contributor to news outlets, providing trusted legal analysis on high-profile cases.
Mr. Loew’s personal injury practice is equally distinguished. He has secured tens of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts for clients in cases involving auto and motorcycle accidents, dog bites, and slip-and-fall injuries. Renowned for his aggressive approach against insurance companies, he takes on cases that others might shy away from—viewing them as opportunities to fight for justice and expand his expertise.
His excellence has been consistently recognized. Colorado Springs Magazine has named him Top Criminal Defense Lawyer in the city eleven of the past twelve years. In addition, he has been honored by Super Lawyers—selected as a Super Lawyer for the past five years after being named a Rising Star, an award reserved for the top 2% of attorneys under 40 in Colorado.
Beyond criminal defense and personal injury, Mr. Loew also represents both petitioners and respondents in protection order cases. He has partnered with TESSA, a nonprofit supporting survivors of domestic violence, to help victims obtain restraining orders and critical legal protections.
Outside the courtroom, Mr. Loew values time with his eleven-year-old daughter and enjoys traveling. He has spent years coaching youth soccer and has served on the board of directors at his local synagogue. A passionate supporter of the arts, he regularly attends Broadway productions, local film festivals, and live concerts.
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Thomas Muldoon
Thomas Muldoon is a seasoned leader in athletics, youth development, and nonprofit program design, currently serving as the Assistant Coach and Director of Operations for the Men’s Lacrosse Program at the United States Air Force Academy. He brings a decade-plus of experience building character-driven programs that blend high-performance coaching with education, community engagement, and personal growth.
A graduate of Brown University, Muldoon was a standout student-athlete, earning All-American honors and leading the Bears to multiple Ivy League titles and a NCAA Championship appearance. After college, he played professionally in the MLL.
Beyond the field, Muldoon has consistently aligned his career with service and education. He began his post-playing career as a teacher, coach, and academic advisor at the Salisbury School in Connecticut, and later founded Go Kuleana, a nonprofit youth initiative in Hawai’i providing enrichment programs for underserved children. After his time in Hawaii, Muldoon began his career as a college coach at Colorado College, Amherst College and the United States Air Force Academy.
In 2015, he launched Earth Lacrosse — a unique non-profit youth development organization focused on integrating sport with nature, Indigenous traditions, and mentorship. Through Earth Lacrosse, Muldoon has led wilderness-immersive programming that helps young athletes grow not just as players, but as thoughtful, grounded individuals.
With a strong background in operations, leadership, and nonprofit strategy, Thomas brings to the boardroom a deep understanding of how to build values-based programs, lead diverse teams, and drive impact in both youth-serving & higher education spaces.
He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, Laurette, and their two sons, Neo & Eden.
Co-Founders
Dr. H. Dalton Conner
A pioneering periodontal surgeon now retired, Dr. Dalton launched Peak Education in 1997 along with co-founder Steven U. Mullens an outreach program helping boys and girls in Southeast Colorado Springs escape lives where violence and drugs too often kept youth from graduating from high school and pursuing postsecondary education.
Begun as a scholarship initiative Peak Education quickly transformed into a comprehensive set of programs focused on college and career readiness; leadership development; family engagement; and community connection. Dalton’s overarching aspiration from the beginning has been “to prevent talent from being wasted."
Steven U. Mullens
As a co-founder of Peak Education, Steve brought to our mission his love of books and a deep belief in literacy and educational opportunity as essential to building lives of possibility. It was this that energized his commitment to our scholars and families more than anything else. He served on the Peak Education board from its inception until his passing in June 2015.
A well-respected attorney, Steve came to Colorado Springs in 1974 and established himself as one of the leading practitioners in workers compensation law in Colorado. Peak Education remains grateful for his leadership, the inspiration he provided and his expectation that when each of our scholars achieves their educational goals, they will find ways to give back to those who follow in their footsteps.