Arapahoe Libraries hosted a four-part community conversation series in 2024. These facilitated conversations were for guests to reflect on their own experiences and learn from the experiences of others. Each conversation was guided by an expert facilitator and diverse thought leaders who invited us to explore these topics more deeply.
The Community Conversation Series is designed to spark connection and promote listening and understanding.
2024 Event Facilitator
Angela Engel
Angela Engel, M.A., is a facilitator, writer and educator. She is a force for positive change with more than three decades of experience engaging communities, catalyzing action and empowering voices. Her books and articles shed light on critical social issues and offer practical solutions. Engel teaches graduate studies for the at-risk and alternative education program at Marian University preparing future educators to make a difference in the lives of underserved students. As the director of an education nonprofit, Angela has led numerous successful initiatives improving the lives of countless individuals and communities locally and nationally. Through Colorado State University’s Family Leadership Training Institute, Angela has empowered over 1,500 people with the skills and knowledge to advocate effectively for their communities. Whether working with small groups or large gatherings, Engel creates inclusive and inspiring spaces where everyone feels heard and valued. Her expertise in conflict resolution and consensus building helps diverse stakeholders collaborate effectively to achieve shared goals. She brings an authentic voice to the decision-making table, transforms lives through education and advocacy, and leaves a lasting positive impact on the communities she serves.
Peace and War
February 29, 2024 at Eloise May Library
- Explore this curated collection of Peace and War resources.
Meet the Panel
Ahmed Abd Rabou
Ahmed Abd Rabou is a visiting assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals on democratization in Egypt and other Arab nations. His current research focuses on civil-military relations, political Islam and democratization in the Middle East.
Steve Marxer
Steve Marxer is the director of space engineering for General Atomics. He was assigned to Air Force Space Command from 1985-2013, and his career in the defense industry includes 28 years at Lockheed Martin supporting civil, military and integrated combat programs. Marxer has a deep commitment to family. He has a son, Greg, and has been married to his wife, Sue, for more than 40 years.
Joan McWilliams
Joan McWilliams is an attorney, mediator, writer and peacemaker from Denver, Colorado. She has devoted her career to compassionate conflict resolution and family wellbeing. Through her legislative advocacy, books and pioneering mediation practice focused on amicable divorce, McWilliams has empowered countless families to resolve conflicts with empathy.
Individual Freedom and Public Protection
May 30, 2024 at Southglenn Library
Meet the Panel
James LaRue
James LaRue is the director of the Garfield County (Colorado) Public Library District. Author of “The New Inquisition: Understanding and Managing Intellectual Freedom Challenges,” (2007) and “On Censorship: A Public Librarian Examines Cancel Culture in the US,” (2023) LaRue has been a public library director for many years, as well as a weekly newspaper columnist and cable TV host. From January of 2016 to November of 2018, he was director of the Freedom to Read Foundation, and ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. He has written, spoken, and consulted extensively on intellectual freedom issues, leadership and organizational development, community engagement, and the future of libraries.
Kristi Burton Brown
Kristi Burton Brown is the Executive Vice President at the Advance Colorado Institute. She is the former Chairwoman of the Colorado Republican Party — the first woman to be elected in 40 years and the youngest Chair in Colorado Republican history. Kristi is a constitutional attorney, focusing on First Amendment and Equal Protection issues and is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a former Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a current board member of the Boy Scouts’ Greater Colorado Council and the Colorado Family Life Center. As the former managing editor of a news site, Kristi tutors 4th-6th graders in grammar and writing and is a guest host for the Dan Caplis Show on 630 KHOW. She lives with her family in Douglas County.
Sustaining Democracy
August 29, 2024 at Smoky Hill Library
- Explore this curated collection of Sustaining Democracy resources.
Meet the Panel
Morgan Carroll
Morgan Carroll served in the Colorado state legislature from 2004–2016, including as Senate Majority Leader and Senate President. She is author of Take Back Your Government: A Citizens Guide to Grassroots Change. She served as full-time chair of the Colorado Democratic Party from 2017–2023 and helped lead Colorado Democrats to the largest victories and majorities in Colorado history. She currently is Special Counsel at the Law Firm of Burg Simpson and works on accountability for human trafficking, civil sex assault, insurance bad faith, personal injury and class actions. She is on the Board of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, Colorado Women’s Bar Association and a Community Ambassador for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Rose Pugliese
Rose Pugliese is a State Representative for Colorado House District 14, which includes northern El Paso County and much of Colorado Springs. An attorney by profession, Pugliese earned her bachelor’s degree from Villanova University and a Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law. Before joining the Colorado House, she served two terms as Mesa County Commissioner from 2013–2021 and relocated to Colorado Springs in late 2020. During the 2023–2024 General Assembly session, she began as assistant minority leader and was later elected minority leader in January 2024.
Kale McMonagle
Kale McMonagle serves as the Collaboration Director at The Civic Canopy, where she leads efforts to build capacity for individuals, organizations, and coalitions across the state. Her role encompasses training, facilitation, coaching and project management for collaborative initiatives. Kale is dedicated to aligning projects with The Canopy’s Community Learning Model, utilizing its evaluation tools to drive success. With a wealth of experience in fostering regional relationships, designing innovative public processes, engaging diverse stakeholders and crafting compelling stories about collaboration, Kale’s expertise is integral to her role. She holds both a B.A. and M.A. in Communication Studies with a Deliberative Studies Specialization from Colorado State University.
Privilege, Power & Poverty: Moving from Division to Inclusion
February 29, 2024 at Koelbel Library
- Explore this curated collection of Privilege, Power & Poverty resources.
Meet the Panel
Javier Mabrey
Javier Mabrey is an eviction defense lawyer and he represents South West Denver in the Colorado State House. He has represented over three hundred families facing eviction and helped found Colorado Eviction Defense Project in 2020, which has grown into one of the largest anti-poverty organizations in the state. For Javier Mabrey tenants’ rights and poverty are personal. Javier was elected to the State House in 2022 and, since then, he has led the fight to expand renter’s rights in the state. He successfully passed some of the most progressive renters’ legislation in the country, including the Good Cause for Eviction Law in 2024. Javier proudly took on big pharma and led the fight to pass a cap on the price of EpiPens. He has passed legislation restricting the predatory practices of debt collectors and payday lenders and is a leader in the fights for Common Sense Gun safety legislation and expansion of the rights of workers to unionize and fight for living wages. He holds his B.A. from the University of Colorado summa cum laude and his J.D. from U.C. Berkeley School of Law.
Micah Smith
Micah Smith is an anchor and social equity reporter for Denver7. She joined the station in December 2018. She was born in Memphis, TN but grew up in St. Louis, MO. She is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism where she earned her Bachelor of Journalism degree with an emphasis in Broadcast. Before coming to Colorado, Micah worked as a reporter and weekend anchor at WBTV News in Charlotte, N.C. where she reported on stories that gained nation-wide attention including the death of Reverend Billy Graham and Hurricane Florence. She is a proud member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), president of the local chapter, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
John Brackney
John Brackney is a philosopher. Likely not a good one, but he has spent his life thinking about how to inspire people and to engage them in communities and a society that can help more people reach their higher calling. He is a bunch of “formers” and would like to add more to this list: campaign manager, small business owner, delivery guy, hod carrier, community organizer, enlisted man, Army officer, candidate, founder of a city, elected official (trice), political consultant, CEO, OpEd writer. In his real life he is a gardener, reader, husband, dad, trail runner. He believes he was to make a positive difference in the people he meets and the world he touches.
Joan Rinn
Joan Rinn is a retired Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer. During her 37-year career with a major defense contractor she held dozens of different roles designing equipment to operate in harsh near-space environments and automating difficult or impossible manual tasks with software, working with people from the full width and depth of the organization. At the age of 50 she chose a rather daring path by slowly and openly transitioning to female at work with a security clearance, before her personal life. She shares the experience of making this life change in full view of hundreds of coworkers she had known for decades and also those of a newly single woman working at a new campus in a new state and living in the heart of its downtown capital. She is an outspoken advocate for dignity and inclusion and led the Aurora campus GLBTA group, raising diversity awareness and sharing her experience company-wide. Her transition has given her a unique experience in American culture through both the male and female perspective, opening her eyes to some of the differences between how men and women are seen and treated by one another in society and how some of those dynamics are echoed throughout other diversity dimensions.
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