The CESR Advisory Board champions the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility (CESR) programs and activities which support students and facilitate collaboration across strategic programs at the Leeds School of Business, including:
- Student access to businesses for purposes of internships, mentoring, student interview opportunities, and student projects;
- Review of CESR activities and priorities, including the strategic plan, programs, and opportunities for campus and corporate collaboration;
- Program effectiveness assessment, advice and guidance on quality improvement; and,
- Fund development, including the expectation that each member of the Board participates financially at a level that is meaningful to him/her.
Grace Ebner
Master of Business Administration and Masters of the Environment graduate student
University of Colorado Boulder
Grace Ebner is currently a dual degree Master of Business Administration and Masters of the Environment graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is focused on corporate strategy, sustainable communications, ESG programs, and urban resilience. She serves as the inaugural Vice President of Sustainability for her MBA class, the President of the Leeds Social Impact Consultancy, and the President of Judge Relations for the Net Impact Case Competition. Prior to her studies at CU Boulder, Grace spent six years working for an environmental consulting nonprofit specializing in greenhouse gas accounting, carbon offset management, and building strategic partnerships. Grace aims to strengthen the intersection of climate action and corporate initiatives while communicating the business sense of sustainability and boosting the work of value-driven organizations.
Dr. Glyne A. Griffith II
Vice President of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Impact
Dallas Symphony Association
Dr. Glyne A. Griffith II holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree with a Specialization in Organizational Leadership. He currently serves as Vice President of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Impact for the Dallas Symphony Association. He works collaboratively across the organization to develop, monitor, and report on actionable EDI, culture goals, and social impact strategies and metrics in alignment with the organization’s mission and strategic plan.
Dr. Griffith was previously Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SiriusXM, which includes Pandora and Stitcher. In that role, he was a key contributor to the conception and execution of a company-wide monthly event series hosted by the DE&I team that educated and empowered employees, covering a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion topics, terms, and concepts. He also oversaw SiriusXM’s employee resource groups which provide support, visibility, and empowerment to Women, People of Color, Veterans, the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, and allies at the company. He created company-wide communications to celebrate, educate, and increase cultural awareness surrounding special observances throughout the year.
Dr. Griffith has a professional background in diversity, entertainment, marketing, and technology, with corporations including Nissan, General Motors, and Broadcast Music Incorporated. Dr. Griffith is a Certified Diversity Professional (CDP) and holds certifications in Social Impact Partnerships, as well as Corporate Social Responsibility from the Center for Ethics on Social Responsibility (CESR) of the University of Colorado, Leeds School of Business. He is also a singer, composer, and performer. Dr. Griffith is a vocalist with the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and his artistic background also includes piano, acting, and songwriting, with original compositions featured on various projects including a film soundtrack and a top Billboard-charting album.
Dr. Griffith is passionate about the role that arts and entertainment can play as a catalyst for unity and social impact. Griffith is a devoted husband and father of two.
Tonie Hansen
Sr Director, ESG
NVIDIA
Tonie’s passion is to build forward-thinking, resilient, and purpose-led technology companies.
At NVIDIA, she oversees corporate responsibility and ESG, a function she helped to build since starting in 2006. As a strategist and communicator, she drives initiatives that strengthen NVIDIA’s ESG and brand reputation. Tonie publishes the company’s ESG report and engages with shareholders, NGOs, and customers to understand their expectations and present NVIDIA’s positioning around ESG issues. She also helps NVIDIA keep its position as an ESG leader by delivering to execs insights on societal issues and their impact on the company, as well as robust benchmarking.
Prior to joining NVIDIA, Tonie spent 15 years in a variety of marketing roles. She earned her MBA in 2000 from Babson College, has been recognized by CRO Magazine as a CR Superstar, the Silicon Valley Business Journal as a Women of Influence, and received a YWCA Tribute to Women award. She previously served on the board of directors and as board president of the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley, and is currently helping the city of Sedona, AZ in the development of its strategic community plan.
Tony Kingsbury
President and owner
TKingsbury LLC
Tony Kingsbury is President and owner of TKingsbury LLC a boutique consulting group specializing in plastics, packaging, and chemical sustainability. He also service on the advisory boards of SPRING (Sustainable Packaging Research Innovation Networking Group) and Archipelago Eco Investors.
Kingsbury is the retired EMEA Director of Sustainability and Advocacy for Dow’s Packaging & Specialty Plastics (P&SP) business. He was responsible for developing and implementing the business sustainability strategy to stop plastic from entering the environment, delivering circular economy solutions, reducing the carbon footprint, and increasing impact through partnerships.
Kingsbury honed his sustainability expertise during a three-decade long career in a variety of roles including both inside and outside Dow. He is a recognized expert in circular economy, bio-based & biodegradable plastics, ocean plastics, green chemistry, value chain sustainability, public policy, life cycle thinking, corporate and product sustainability. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies around the globe in supply chains ranging from packaging to consumer electronics, and from apparel to toys. He is known for using his wide-ranging knowledge of the whole supply chain to find workable solutions to complex challenges and for distilling complex messages into understandable language.
Kingsbury spent the period between 2007 and 2012 as an Executive in Residence and Professional Faculty member at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. In this role, he led the multidisciplinary sustainability center and taught a variety of graduate level courses on sustainability. In 2012 he left Dow to consult, specializing in sustainable plastics, packaging, and chemicals. In early 2019 he returned to Dow in Switzerland before retiring in 2021.
Kingsbury holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Oregon State University and completed the ESADE/Stanford Executive Program in Corporate Responsibility.
He lives in northern California with his wife and enjoys travel, bocce pickleball, scuba diving and photography.
Michael S. Leeds
Co-Director
Harbor Glow Foundation
Michael Leeds served as Chairperson of the Leeds School of Business Advisory Board from 2002 to 2007. In 2001, he led his family’s endowment of the University of Colorado’s then College of Business to increase academic excellence, expand its curriculum to include Ethics and Social Responsibility as part of the core-curriculum and to increase diversity in the student body, the faculty and the PHD program. He continues to be very active in the Board’s leadership as Chair Emeritus.
Until 1999 Michael was President and CEO of CMP Media, Inc., one of the leading media companies focused on technology, computers and the Internet. Under his leadership, CMP was selected as one of Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” and consistently recognized in Working Women’s “100 Best Companies for Women to Work for.” Mike was named Ernst and Young Master Entrepreneur of the Year New York - Region in 1998. He was named one of Newsday’s “40 under 40” to watch in 1989.
After joining CMP in 1984 to launch a Travel division and Business Travel News, Mike led the company from 1988 through 1999 including taking the company public and reaching nearly $500 million in sales. As the technology industry grew and flourished, he recognized the coming shift from print newspapers and magazines to the Internet and web-based media. Subsequently, Mike managed the sale of CMP to United Business Media (UBM) for nearly a billion dollars in 1999. (Not so coincidently, in 1994 Mike had sold CMP’s Travel Division to UBM.)
The CMP sale was a win for shareholders and employees. The company had gone public at $22 per share in 1997 and sold at $39 per share less than two years later. In addition to shares the employees had received and purchased following the company’s IPO, the 2,000 employees shared in a $50 million gift from the Leeds Family after sale. Long term employees received at least six figures.
Since the sale of CMP, Michael has pursued business interests and focused intensively on philanthropic activities. He and his wife Andrea, through their Harbor Glow Foundation, are active in education, healthcare and Jewish causes. Of course, the Leeds School of Business is one of his top priorities.
Mike earned his BS in business administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1974. In partnership with Dr. Donna Sockell, Michael developed and taught the Leeds School course: Leadership and Ethics—Challenges in Moral Courage. Annually Mike addresses the Leadership Challenges class, mentors students and graduates as well as engaging with students and alums in classes and other events. Currently he serves on the Leeds Advisory Board and the Leeds School’s Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility.
Michael and his wife Andrea live in Beaver Creek Colorado. They have 3 daughters, a son-in-law and 2 grandsons! Michael has flown and managed a corporate jet and teaches skiing at Beaver Creek. He has over 500 skydives including 2 from El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
Michelle Ried
Senior Director, Analytics & Insights
Breakthru Beverage Group
Michelle Ried is an experienced analytical professional, ethical leader and culture creator. Driven by passion and curiosity, she takes pride in telling powerful stories through analytics.
She has been a leader in the beverage alcohol space for eleven years. She has recently been appointed the Senior Director of Analytics and Insights for the Breakthru Beverage Group. Her primary focus will be to lead and enhance Breakthru’s analytics strategy and create a superior data driven culture.
Her previous positions include Director of Analytics, National Accounts for the Breakthru Beverage Group and the Director of Analytics and Business Management for Breakthru Beverage Colorado. Michelle can also be credited with contributions to the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
She holds undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, attended the WSWA Women in Leadership Executive Education Course at Columbia Business School, and currently resides in Denver, Colorado.
Jeannie Renné-Malone
Vice President, Global Sustainability
VF Corporation
Jeannie leads global sustainability at VF Corporation, overseeing all aspects of VF’s sustainability strategy across its brands, operations, supply chain, materials, and products. Ms. Renné-Malone has extensive experience in the development and implementation of sustainability goals and strategies, stakeholder engagement, and tracking and reporting of sustainability/ESG results. At VF, she has led various strategic initiatives, including the development of VF’s Science-Based Targets roadmap and its Green Bond Framework, which resulted in the first green bond issuance in the apparel and footwear industry. Under her leadership, VF has integrated circular design, sustainable materials and innovation across its portfolio of brands from farm to cradle, reducing energy, waste, carbon emissions and water usage, encouraging regenerative farming practices and embedding renewable energy and sustainability priorities across its operations and supply chain.
Renné-Malone has an MA in International Finance and Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, a BA in Spanish from the University of Washington, and holds several sustainability credentials and certifications. She sits on several committees for environmental and apparel industry organizations. She is a Board Member of the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross, and a Board Member of the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies Social Science Foundation. She is fluent in Spanish.
Mark Retzloff
Co-Founder
Horizon Organic Dairy
Mark Retzloff is a pioneer in the organic and natural foods industry with a 48-year career starting and managing successful companies. He co-founded Aurora Organic Dairy in 2003 as President and Chief Organic Officer, leading the company’s organic industry and sustainability initiatives, and now serves as Chairman of the Board.
Mark started his career in 1969 as a co-founder of Eden Foods, a natural food store in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he attended the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources. He went on to co-found Rainbow Grocery, which was eventually acquired by United Natural Foods, and he was a founder, CEO and Chairman of Alfalfa’s Market, a regional chain of natural foods stores that merged with Wild Oats Markets in 1996, eventually being acquired by Whole Foods Market. Mark became the Chairman of the Organic Alliance in 1990, and was instrumental in lobbying Congress for a federal standard for organic agricultural production, which resulted in the passage of the Organic Foods Production Act.
After spending the early part of his career in natural foods retail, Mark became one of the co-founders of Horizon Organic Dairy, which continues to be one of the leading organic consumer brands in the U.S. There he served in several senior management, sales and marketing roles, including Chairman, CEO and President International before Horizon was acquired by Dean Foods. He then became Chairman of Rudi’s Organic Bakery – the largest organic baked goods company in the U.S. – where he helped execute a successful turn-around of the business.
Mark continues to actively share his knowledge and experience as a board member and partner to emerging organic products companies, which have included Blue Horizon Organic Seafood, Living Harvest Hemp Milk, Under the Canopy, Boulder Ice Cream, BlueSun BioDiesel, Traditional Medicinals and Crocs Footwear. He is one of the co-founders and venture partners of Greenmont Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to sustainable businesses. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The Organic Center, RSF Social Finance, The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business, and serves on both the Center for Sustainable Systems Board and the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the School of Natural Resources & Environment at the University of Michigan.
He received his B.S. degree in Conservation & Resource Planning from the University of Michigan and has received several leadership awards, including the Organic Trade Association's Lifetime Achievement award and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce's Entrepreneur of the Year award. Mark was recently named one of the “Icons of Boulder” by the Boulder County Business Report for the City’s 150th Anniversary, and he was credited with helping to nurture Boulder’s positioning as the cradle of the natural products industry.
Renner Skidmore
Sophomore
Leeds School of Business
Renner Skidmore is a sophomore at the Leeds School of Business. In school he is emphasizing social responsibility, information management and analytics. Growing up in Bozeman, Montana, he spent much of his formative years in the outdoors and learning about the importance of the natural world. Renner stays involved on campus as a member of the Leeds Scholars Program and an executive of the CESR Fellows club. During his time at Boulder, Renner has organized ski movie premiers, pursued his professional skiing career, and become a meaningful part of the Boulder undergraduate community all while making the Dean’s list both semesters of freshman year. In addition to sustainability and skiing, Renner is passionate about being a global citizen and promoting businesses that give back in local communities and around the world. This past summer Renner had the opportunity to spend 3 months immersed in Spanish in Argentina and Bolivia. He is curious, adventurous, and excited to contribute as the undergraduate representative on this board.
Craig Smith
Executive Chairman Emeritus
Owens & Minor
Craig R. Smith is Executive Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Owens & Minor, a Fortune 500 Company and a leading healthcare logistics company dedicated to Connecting the World of Medical Products to the Point of CareTM by providing vital supply chain services to healthcare providers and manufacturers of healthcare products. With logistics platforms strategically located in the United States and Europe, Owens & Minor today serves markets where three quarters of global healthcare spending occurs.
Craig was named Chairman of the Board in April 2013. For one year beginning September 2014, Craig acted as Executive Chairman & Chairman of the Board. Prior to that, he served as Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, from April 2013 until August 2013, when he relinquished the president’s title. He was named Chief Executive Officer in July 2005, after serving as President & Chief Operating Officer since 1999. Craig was also named to the Owens & Minor board of directors in 2005. He was promoted to Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer in 1995. Craig joined Owens & Minor in 1989 as the Los Angeles Division Vice President and later served in a variety of roles including: Group Vice President, Western Region; Senior Vice President, Distribution & Information Systems; and Executive Vice President, Distribution & Information Systems.
Craig has been active in the healthcare industry and in the community as a volunteer. In 2021, Craig was inducted into the Bellweather hall of fame for healthcare. He served as a governor‘s appointee on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority from July 2010 to June 2013. He also served on the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business Executive Advisory Council, and is a past member of the Board of Directors of CrossOver Ministry of Richmond, which provides healthcare services to those in need. In addition, Craig served as the Chairman of the successful 2009 Central Virginia United Way Campaign.
Currently, Craig serves as chair for the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business Advsory Board and as a member of the University of Southern California’s Board of Leaders. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from the University of Southern California, and completed the executive program at the Colgate Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. Mr. Smith and his wife, Cynthia, have two sons and reside in Denver, Colorado.
Diane Solinger
Senior Change Management Practitioner
Google
Diane joined Google in June 2012 and is the Director of Communications and Culture for the sumUX team. sumUX provides user experience research and design for some of Google’s most prominent products such as Search, Assistant, the daily Google Doodle and Maps. Prior to this role she lead Google’s global employee giving and volunteering programs. Diane joined Google with over 25 years in the not for profit sector, and spent 13 years leading a consultancy that helped companies design and implement corporate social responsibility programs. Diane is passionate about purpose driven work and ensuring that the workplace is an inclusive environment where employees can thrive and grow professionally. Diane is a mother of two young adults, an avid runner, a pretty good cook and really enjoys being with interesting, smart people who have a good sense of humor. She’s an alumna of the University of Colorado, Boulder, has a Certificate in Corporate Citizenship from Boston College and is a graduate of the Stanford University Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders. She is the recipient of the Hoffman Prize from the California Governor’s Office, a Jefferson Award winner for Public Service and a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum. Currently Diane serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association for Volunteer Effort and the Advisory Board for the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado, Boulder.