Purpose Dinner - "Leadership for All"

Stephanie O’Malley, JD

Stephanie Y. O’Malley is a licensed attorney in the State of Colorado and serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Government Relations and Community Affairs for the University of Denver. In this role, Ms. O’Malley supports the University of Denver by building effective partnerships between the university and federal, state, and local governments as well as community residents, businesses, and non-profits. She is an integral piece of DU’s advocacy for university needs, interests, and its mission to serve the public good.

Prior to joining DU, Ms. O’Malley attended as a public servant leader for over sixteen years. Her professional career as a public servant has spanned across three mayoral administrations including a four-year term serving as Denver’s first elected County Clerk and Recorder. Within the public sector, she led a total of three municipal departments with annual aggregate budgets totaling more than $550,000,000 and served as a trusted advisor to two elected Mayors.

Ms. O’Malley received her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Here at DU, Ms. O’Malley has served as Co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Council and facilitated a session for a HerDU conference. She is currently a board member of the Women’s Foundation of Colorado and has been recognized for her civic engagement and leadership efforts by many organizations.

Paul Kosempel, PhD

Paul's professional experience includes over thirty years in institutions of higher education in various capacities including career development, leadership education, operations, and event management. He received his doctorate from the University of Denver in 2008 and his dissertation explored communication dynamics in mentoring relationships. He has written and presented on topics of sustainability leadership and outcomes of leadership education among others. Paul was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in Fall of 2023 to teach and consult at Technological University of Dublin, Ireland that semester. He is an active member of the International Leadership Association and has served as the co-convenor of its Sustainability Leadership Learning Community. At DU, he teaches in Leadership Studies and directs the department that includes PLP and CWC. He has also created and co-created multiple international interterm courses in Belize, Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Czechia.

Outside of DU, Paul plays the traditional Irish sports of hurling and Gaelic football, having been part of two national championship teams for the Denver Gaels. He stays active with his family in Colorado and enjoys snowboarding, hiking, playing golf, and is an avid Denver sports fan.

Sarah Pessin, PhD

Dr. Sarah Pessin is Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Thought at University of Denver and SAIE's Director of Spiritual Life. Dr. Pessin's research and teaching center on topics in coexistence, interfaith civics, philosophy of religion, a wide range of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian philosophical and mystical writings, and intercultural and interdisciplinary approaches to hope. She is currently developing a civics game called "Together Tiles," working on a project on "hard hope," and writing a book on embodied ethical life. She also likes making collages, writing poetry, boxing, gardening, and anything related to goats.

Krystoff Kissoon, DA

Krystoff earned his Bachelor of Political Science and International Studies in 2017, and his Master of Public Administration and Doctor of Arts in Political Science in 2022, at Idaho State University (ISU).

Throughout his time at ISU, he served in leadership positions including President of the International Students Association, President of the Political Science Club, and Senator in the Associated Students of Idaho State University Student Government for three terms. He worked in the Office of Marketing and Communications, the Office of Alumni Relations, and the Department of Political Science as a Graduate Teaching Assistant. He also hosted and produced his own award-winning public affairs program, Navigating Diversity, at KISU-FM, ISU’s NPR-affiliated public radio station.

His research interests include identity politics and international relations, looking particularly at the intersection of race, gender and sexuality and their combined impact on government policies. He presented research at the Midwest Political Science Association Conference and Intermountain Gender & Sexuality Conference.

His hobbies include creative writing, taking walks in nature, listening to podcasts, watching foreign films and shows, and cooking. He is a proud national of Trinidad & Tobago, a twin-island country in the Southern Caribbean. He was born to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother—descended from Indian indentured laborers—and has four loving and supportive older siblings.

Leasa Weimer, PhD

Before joining DU, Leasa served as the Assistant Director of Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives for the Fulbright Finland Foundation in Helsinki. Prior to this position, she led knowledge development efforts with the European Association for International Education (EAIE) in Amsterdam.

Leasa has over 20 years of experience as a scholar-practitioner in international higher education, including roles as a Fulbright fellow, president of the global Erasmus Mundus Association, and an expert in numerous European projects. Bridging research with practice, she continues to contribute to thought-leadership in the field of internationalization and has authored and edited numerous international publications. Her career in higher education began in student affairs, and alumni and parent relations at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

She holds a PhD in higher education policy from the University of Georgia, an Erasmus Mundus joint master’s degree in European higher education from the University of Oslo, Norway; University of Tampere, Finland; and University of Aveiro, Portugal, and an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Communications from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Jill Valdez, MA

Jill Valdez (M.A., University of Northern Colorado) is a Teaching and Learning Specialist and adjunct faculty for the College of Professional Studies. Previously, she worked in the K-12 arena serving as a classroom teacher, followed by a consulting role that focused on delivering professional development to educators. She currently coaches and supports adjunct faculty, facilitates the Student Success Course, and coordinates the Teaching Excellence Program. Jill is passionate about building relationships to foster student learning and has been with the University of Denver since the fall of 2021.

Keith Miller, PhD

Dr. Keith Miller is a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Denver. A graduate of US Naval Academy with a BS in Chemistry, he served in the US Navy as well as in the environmental remediation industry before returning to graduate school, completing his PhD in analytical chemistry from the University of Washington in 2000. He was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, CO prior to his faculty appointment at DU in 2003. He has served the University in leadership roles as associate provost for Graduate Education and as the director of the University Honors Program. As director of the University Honors Program, he became actively involved in internationalization efforts for undergraduate students, including developing course materials to support students when they returned from their study abroad experience, and has incorporated intercultural learning theories, activities and practices into other courses as well as the workplace. Dr. Miller has served in advisory roles outside academia, including the science advisor for the Food and Drug Administration’s Denver District Laboratory in Lakewood, CO. His research interests primarily focus on analytical challenges associated with aquatic environments and foods, and his teaching interests include integrating problem-based learning, sustainability challenges, public engagement opportunities with science and play-based learning into undergraduate courses.