Leadership

Executive Director
Deputy Director
Chief Financial Officer
Assistant Director of Interdepartmental & External Affairs

Inta Morris D. Rico Munn
Executive Director
Denver, CO

D. Rico Munn is the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Prior to his appointment by Governor Bill Ritter in November 2009, Mr. Munn served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies ("DORA"). Governor Ritter appointed Mr. Munn to the Cabinet in January 2007.

Mr. Munn holds a degree in Secondary Education and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. Prior to joining the Ritter administration, Mr. Munn was a corporate and commercial litigation partner with a national law firm. In his practice he represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of areas including products liability, intellectual property, First Amendment, employment, insurance subrogation, construction, oil and gas and environmental litigation.

Mr. Munn is very involved in community service and leadership. He is a graduate of the Leadership Denver program and he has served on the boards of numerous community and legal organizations. In 2002, Mr. Munn was elected to represent Colorado's First Congressional District on the State Board of Education where he served until 2007. On the State Board of Education, he focused on closing Colorado’s academic achievement gap, addressing concurrent enrollment in high school and higher education, and improving readiness for post secondary education. He has been recognized as one of Denver's "40 Under 40" business and community leaders by the Denver Business Journal. In 2008, he was awarded a Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a program recognizing future leaders in trans-Atlantic relationships.

Mr. Munn frequently presents seminars and publishes articles on topics ranging from legal ethics to current events. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Sturm College of Law.

Kim Poast
Deputy Director
Denver, CO

Dr. Poast has over seventeen years of professional experience in higher education administration and community engagement. She has a Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education, with a research emphasis on underrepresented student populations and gender.

At the university/college level, Dr. Poast has held a number of positions including Director of Student Life, Dean of Students, Academic Advisor and Executive Director of Institutional Advancement. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Community College of Denver, Regis University and the University of Northern Colorado.

Dr. Poast has served on a number of community boards including: the Denver Center for Crime Victims, Mind’s Matter Denver, the Cheshire Children’s Fund, the Academy for Urban Learning (Denver Public School Charter school), DPS Executive Internship Program, and is currently Vice-Chair of Denver Project Wise.

Dr. Poast received her B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Counseling Psychology from California Lutheran University, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education, Student Affairs Leadership from the University of Northern Colorado.

Mark Cavanaugh
Chief Financial Officer
Denver, CO

Mark Cavanaugh has been serving as the director of the Governor’s Economic Recovery Team overseeing compliance and accountability for $7 billion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for Colorado.

Prior to working on ARRA oversight, Mr. Cavanaugh managed Governor Ritter’s Government Efficiency and Management Performance Review, which resulted in over 90 specific recommendations to increase government efficiency that are expected to save $205 million over five years.

Mr. Cavanaugh has worked in budget and management positions for the Department of Defense, the National Park Service and the Colorado Office of State Planning and Budgeting under Governors Roy Romer and Bill Owens. From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Cavanaugh served as the vice chair to the Board of Trustees of Adams State College. He also was the deputy campaign manager for the Referenda C & D campaign.

He received his B.A. in Business and English from Regis College and a J.D. from the University of Utah.

Inta Morris
Assistant Director of Interdepartmental Affairs
Denver, CO

Inta Morris is the Assistant Director of Interdepartmental & External Affairs for the Colorado Department of Higher Education. Before joining the Department in July 2007, she served as Academic and Political Affairs Officer for the Canadian Consulate General in Denver, Colorado. In that position, she developed advocacy programs and strategies for advancing Canada’s positions with the political and academic communities in the Rocky Mountain region.

Previously, Ms. Morris served as Vice President of the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation, a nongovernmental organization focused on fostering ties between the scientific and academic communities of the United States and countries of the former Soviet Union. Prior to that position, she served as director of the Committee on International Security and Arms Control of the National Academy of Sciences and she worked in the International Affairs office of the National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences (now National Academies). She began her career working for Congressman David Skaggs, first as a member of his campaign staff and then as a legislative assistant in his congressional office.

Ms. Morris received her Masters degree from George Washington University and her Bachelors degree from the University of Colorado. She is multi-lingual and has traveled extensively in Europe, the countries of the former Soviet Union, Asia and Africa. Ms. Morris is married and has two stepdaughters.