Who is Ismael Garcia?

Ismael C. Garcia is Coordinator of Leadership Programs at Community College of Denver, whose mission is to provide “Education and Opportunity in a Diverse World.”  For the last seven years Ismael has strived to develop student leaders and engage them in meeting the needs of a diverse community.  He is a Certified Instructor of the Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Development Studies Program which he uses to teach at Community College of Denver.  Through this work Ismael has seen the valuable need of preparing every child with a rigorous, demanding, quality education so that they are well prepared for college, career and life.

Ismael has lived in District 2 since 2002 and has served the community in varying capacities of leadership.  He served as a founding board member of West Denver Prep, a new Denver Public School Charter established in 2005.  He was also a member of the Southwest Early College Initiative in collaboration with Community College of Denver.  In 2002 he served as president of the Westwood Neighborhood Association.  Before that he worked for the District Attorney’s office organizing neighborhood residents, business, civic, faith, and educational leaders, in the Valverde and Westwood neighborhoods addressing crime and quality of life concerns.

He is an ordained minister and has held ministry positions in Longmont and Denver.  His most exciting work was being part of a team that re-envisioned a dying urban church along Federal Boulevard named The Pearl, which received local and national media attention for its accomplishments. Raised in San Antonio, Texas, Ismael now lives with his 3 boys (all attending Castro Elementary) and wonderful wife in Denver, CO.