Colorado Succeeds

C. Tim Taylor – President

Tim Taylor is the founding president of Colorado Succeeds bringing a unique background of executive, non-profit and public policy experience. He began his career on Capitol Hill as an assistant to Congressman Richard Burr (NC) and advanced to serve as the Senior Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Saxby Chambliss (GA). After re-locating to Colorado in 1998, Tim served as an independent political consultant and Director of Public Relations and Government Affairs for the Colorado Health Care Association. He is the Founder of Open Fairways, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk and underprivileged children through the game of golf and its core values of honor, etiquette and respect. Immediately prior to launching Colorado Succeeds, he served as the Director of Marketing for Colorado AvidGolfer Magazine.

Tim is a founding board member of the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network and serves on the board of Highline Academy Charter School. He is the founder and co-chairman of the Coca-Cola Politics & Pros charity golf tournament in Washington, DC featuring Members of Congress and PGA Tour professionals which benefits America's Promise Alliance and The First Tee.

Tim is a graduate of Randolph-Macon College in Virginia, and studied at the Goethe-Institute in Bonn, Germany. He earned a Masters degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University. He lives in Denver with his wife Clare, son Macon, daughter Ellie and a Boykin Spaniel.

Scott Laband - Vice President

Scott brings experience in business management and education policy to Colorado Succeeds. He began his career as an Associate at HVS International, where he provided asset valuation, economic impact studies, and investment management and development consulting for commercial real estate developers, hotel chains, private investors, institutional lenders, and municipalities. Later, Scott joined the Qdoba Restaurant Corporation as a Marketing Manager, where he directed strategic marketing and branding campaigns in corporate markets across the country. Most recently, Scott worked as the Legislative Director for Senator Mike Johnston, where he oversaw the education policy agenda, including the passage of S.B. 191 as the point person for both internal strategy negotiations with other Colorado state legislators and external relations and coalition-building with advocates and interest groups.

Based on his experience, Scott wrote "Creating a Winning Legislative Campaign: the Colorado Story" for Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) to provide reform-minded legislators and advocacy organizations around the country with a roadmap to pursue similar policies in their states.

He is a founding board member of the Rocky Mountain Preparatory School and serves as its Vice Chairman. Scott graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Business Administration. While at CU, Scott was a member of the President’s Leadership Class and studied at the IFALPES French Institute of Annecy. Scott earned a Masters Degree in Education, Leadership, and Organizational Change from the University of Denver.

Kaitlin Pennington - Policy Analyst

Kate brings classroom teaching and policy experience to Colorado Succeeds. As a Teach For America corps member, Kate taught middle school English and Language Arts in Washington, DC, where she developed and implemented the 6th grade reading and writing curriculum for 160 high-needs students at Friendship Public Charter School, led professional development on analyzing data to improve instruction, and won district-wide awards for leading her students to significant academic gains. After seeing the profound impact excellent teaching has in closing the achievement gap, Kate dedicated her career to working toward educational equality.

Recently, Kate worked in the Office of Senator Mike Johnston and the Office of School Reform and Innovation at Denver Public Schools as an Urban Leaders Fellow. During the fellowship, Kate worked on a policy propsal for the 2012 legislative session, supported innovation schools' grant proposals, and researched school data for DPS charter schools applying for renewal.

Kate holds a Master of Arts in Education from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science from Syracuse University, where she was a Renee Crown University Honors student, graduated summa cum laude, and was one of tweleve seniors given the University's highest academic achievement award, University Scholar. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Kate lives in Denver, and relentlessly cheers on her Steelers.