HomeFoundation Board

Foundation Board of Directors

Mark Clouatre – Chair (he/him/his)

Mark Clouatre is a Partner with Nelson Mullins. Mr. Clouatre has litigation experience both in and out of the courtroom. He focuses his practice on complex commercial litigation, including franchise litigation. He also handles product liability, toxic tort, employment, malpractice defense, and general tort cases. Mr. Clouatre’s clients include nationally recognized automotive manufacturers, airlines, shipping providers, and professional service firms. Mr. Clouatre has litigated more than 25 complex cases before judges and juries in trial and appellate courts and before administrative agencies in 11 states from Alaska to Florida. He also oversaw and co-managed, with one other firm, more than 400 arbitrations in 48 states during a seven-month span following the bankruptcy of a former automotive group. He personally arbitrated eight of the matters in California and Texas.

Kristine Roper – Treasurer (she/her/hers)

Tessa Becker – (she/her/hers)

Tessa Becker is an experienced employment attorney and DEI (Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion) professional who is Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Acadia Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Acadia, Tessa served as in-house counsel at National CineMedia, LLC. Tessa's practice at NCM included the company’s DEI initiatives and employment law for employees across 50 states. Her specific contributions at NCM include successfully placing the company as a voluntary participant on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index with improved scores year over year – securing the “Best Place to Work” for LGBTQ employees award in 2020 and 2021. Tessa is also recognized as a thought leader on the topic of DEI initiatives in the workplace, including speaking at events for organizations like the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar and the Colorado LGBT Bar Association.

Prior to joining the Foundation Board, Tessa served as the Annual Dinner Chair as well as on the Programming Committee for the Colorado LGBT Bar Association. Tessa is also an active mentor to DU Law Students and a member of the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Inn of Court. Tessa received an Honorable Mention for the Inclusiveness@Work award from the Center for Legal Inclusiveness in 2018 and the President's Service Award from the Colorado LGBT Bar Association in both 2019 and 2020.

David Beller (he/him/his)

David Beller specializes in criminal defense, attorney and judicial discipline, and internal investigations. He represents individuals and organizations involved as targets, subjects, or witnesses in state and federal criminal investigations and related grand jury and pretrial proceedings, including antitrust actions.

He has defended actions throughout Colorado and worked opposite both municipal and state prosecutors, Colorado Attorney General, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, Department of Human & Health Services (TRAILS), Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, Judicial Discipline Commission, university disciplinary boards, SEC, Department of Justice, and United States Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Colorado and the Eastern District of California. His litigation skills have also been called on to assist in the representation and support of firm clients in complex civil and regulatory actions.

Prior to joining Recht Kornfeld, P.C., David was a Colorado State Public Defender. He is a Colorado native and attended school in Fort Collins, earning a Bachelor of Science in Public Health/Biomedical Science in 1999, and his Juris Doctor in Ohio in 2004. In 2007 David joined Recht Kornfeld, PC and was made a Partner in 2011.

David served as President of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, proudly serving 1000 criminal defense lawyers, paralegals and investigators. He is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Denver College of Law and at Metropolitan State University. He is a faculty member of Colorado Alternate Defense Counsel and National Criminal Defense College, teaching trial skills to Colorado criminal defense lawyers. He serves by appointment of the Denver Presiding Judge as a Commissioner of the Office of Municipal Public Defender, and by the Colorado Supreme Court to serve on the Committee for Character and Fitness.

Since starting his legal career, David has consistently been recognized as one of Denver’s premier attorneys. In 2007, he was named by Law Week Magazine as one of Denver’s Top 20 Up and Coming Lawyers. He has been named one of Denver’s best criminal defense lawyers in each of the 2009-2021 editions of Super Lawyers Magazine and 5280 Magazine named him a Denver Top Lawyer every year since 2017. In March 2015, the Denver Business Journal named David amongst Denver's Top 40 business leaders under the age of 40.

Robert Dodd (he/him/his)

Robert Dodd is a First Assistant Attorney General with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. He focuses his practice on tax and regulatory matters. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt Law School and his undergraduate degree from Auburn University.

Robert began his legal career in his hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. Several years later, he relocated to Denver and took a position with the Attorney General’s office.

John McHugh (he/him/his)

John McHugh is a partner with Reilly Pozner LLP where he focuses his practice on civil and complex commercial litigation. Since becoming an attorney, John has worked on high-stakes and notable matters. At Reilly Pozner, he has represented prominent clients including professional sports teams, SEC investment advisors, and national title companies. In 2014, John served as the lead attorney in the landmark lawsuit challenging Colorado’s laws that prohibit same-sex marriage. For his work in that case, he was named the “Barrister of the Year” Award from the GLBT Community Center of Colorado, “Lawyer of the Year” and an “Up-and-Coming Lawyer” by Law Week Colorado and “Volunteer Lawyer of the Year” by the Denver Bar Association. He has also been selected to the Rising Stars list published nationwide in Colorado Super Lawyers. Prior to joining Reilly Pozner, John was an associate with the international law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in New York City. He earned his law degree from New York University School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree, with honors, in English and classical studies from the University of Idaho.

Mari Newman (she/her/hers)

Mari Newman is a Colorado based civil rights and employment lawyer who has dedicated her entire career to advocating on behalf of the underdog and disenfranchised against government and corporate abuse. Mari has been a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in both the courtroom and the legislature for over two decades. She has represented LGBTQ+ clients in cases involving discrimination in employment, public accommodations and jails, and was lead counsel in the federal case that helped establish marriage equality in Colorado. She was also instrumental in the passage of many of Colorado’s LGBTQ+ civil rights protections, including amendments to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and the Denver Anti-Discrimination Ordinance. Mari has been honored as Denver’s top Civil Rights Lawyer by Best Lawyers in America and voted one of the top ten lawyers in the State of Colorado by Super Lawyers, across all areas of legal practice. Mari has received numerous awards for her work from organizations including the Southern Center for Human Rights, the ACLU of Colorado, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation, the LGBT Bar Association Foundation, and the Colorado Press Association, to name a few. Mari’s civil rights work extends outside the courtroom, where she serves on the Board of Directors for organizations including the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, and the Colorado LGBT Bar Association Foundation. She previously served on Denver’s LGBT Commission for over a decade through two mayoral administrations. Mari also advocates in the legislature, writes, lectures, and marches for social justice.

Practice Areas:

Civil Rights

Employment Law

Jamey Seely– (she/her/hers)

Jamey Seely has served as a Section 16 officer for multiple global, publicly traded companies across the energy, industrial and animal-health care sectors. Her experience in the energy sector includes oil and gas services, manufacturing, IP development and management, retail energy, electricity and power, coal, nuclear, solar, wind and electric vehicle projects. Her experience in the industrial sector includes manufacturing, sales, and IP development and management across the heavy industrial, robotics, construction, agriculture, energy, automotive and transportation industries. In the animal-health care sector, she has has been involved in software sales and solutions, supply chain businesses and compounding, pharmacy and prescription management businesses.

Ms. Seely’s diverse roles in both public and private high-growth companies have provided her valuable experience in such areas as business and strategic leadership, project development, mergers and acquisition, finance, human resources, cyber security, risk management, investor relations, legal, and compliance. She also brings significant experience working with Boards who are managing through difficult litigation, proxy contests, financial restructurings, transitioning to public companies and other transformational opportunities. Most notably, Ms. Seely successfully led a proxy contest to approve executive compensation and other key shareholder initiatives in an economic downturn environment during her tenure at ION Geophysical Corporation. She subsequently led a multi-million dollar bond refinancing that included complex shareholder and bond holder approvals. While there, Ms. Seely also successfully reversed $100 million in IP infringement damages. Most recently, Ms. Seely led the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Gates Industrial Corporation plc, raising over $799.2 million and creating a market capitalization in excess of $5 billion and is leading Covetrus in it’s transition to a public company. Ms. Seely has also spearheaded multi-billion dollar development projects and financings, resolved numerous bet-the-company litigations, and directed the strategy and business analysis for the acquisition of multiple start-ups, mid-sized and large businesses.

Ms. Seely currently serves as the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Covetrus, Inc. Prior to Covetrus, Inc., Ms. Seely was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Gates Industrial Corporation plc. and was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for ION Geophysical Corporation. She also previously served in a business role as the Senior Vice President of Alternative Energy for NRG Energy, Inc., with management and legal oversight of multiple new business and startup ventures related to enhanced oil recovery, solar power and nuclear project development. Prior to NRG Energy, Ms. Seely acted as Vice President and General Counsel at Direct Energy, and was a Partner in Corporate and Securities law with Thompson & Knight LLP, a leading private law firm.

Ms. Seely was recently named as the Winner of the “2019 Outstanding Women in Business Awards, Large Corporation” by the Denver Business Journal, a “2019 Trailblazer in Business” by Aspoineer and “One of the 25 Most Powerful Women” by the Denver Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Seely was named a “Trailblazer in Energy Law” by the National Law Journal in 2017, one of the “Top 50 Women in Energy” by the Texas Diversity Council and one of the “Top Women in Energy for 2016” by Texas Lawyer. She was also recognized by Diversity Magazine as one of the “Most Powerful & Influential Women in Texas” in 2008 and as a “Diversity First Award” winner at the Texas Diversity & Leadership Conference. Ms. Seely won the “Champion of Diversity Award” in 2007, and was a two-time finalist for the “Best Corporate Counsel Awards” by the Houston Business Journal and the Association of Corporate Counsel. In addition, Ms. Seely has been featured in several publications including Modern Counsel and Profiles magazine.

She is currently co-authoring the chapter on Executive Compensation in an upcoming treatise to be published by Thomson Reuters called Successful Partnering Between Inside and Outside Counsel. She is also an avid adventure marathoner, recently having completed adventure marathons across the Great Wall of China and through a wild game preserve in South Africa. Her race in South Africa was featured in “Conquering the Corporate Jungle” by Profiles Magazine. She has also cycled in the Pyrenees and Himalaya mountains and enjoys racing cars and painting.

Ms. Seely holds a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude at Baylor University. She also holds a Professional Certificate in Energy Innovation & Emerging Technologies from Stanford University. She is licensed to practice in Texas, Colorado and New York.

Liz Titus (she/her/hers)

Elizabeth (Liz) Titus is a Partner with Hogan Lovells. She is a problem solver. Her clients in the energy and natural resource industries rely on her to provide frank advice and find solutions to their most difficult problems. Liz’s practice focuses on the extractive industries, particularly oil and gas (upstream and midstream) and mining. Liz combines her “fixer” mentality with keen industry know-how to help her clients achieve business success. Liz supports clients with projects and operations on both private and public lands. She negotiates commercial agreements with purchasers, land owners, royalty holders, and other business partners. She is also experienced in acquisitions and divestments. Liz is a trained litigator and has trial court, appellate, and administrative hearing experience. She has represented clients in both state and federal court in commercial disputes and class actions. Her disputes work has covered the processing, sale, and transportation of oil, natural gas, and related products; rights to surface use; and payment of royalties. Liz has represented clients in regulatory enforcement actions before the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA), the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (FMSHRC), and the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC). Liz’s clients are subject to extensive federal, state, and often local regulation; she helps them comply at all levels of government.