Mary Lou Makepeace's Email & Phone

Mary Lou Makepeace is currently the vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado. She joined the Gill Foundation as the director of the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado in December 2003. In this role, she oversees the fund's programs, builds alliances with Colorado communities and other nonprofits, and directs the fund's staff and policy. Prior to joining the Gill Foundation, Mary Lou was the executive director for Leadership Pikes Peak, where she managed an array of community leadership programs designed to develop leadership skills and promote civic involvement. She was the first female mayor of Colorado Springs, serving from 1997 to 2003. As mayor, she lead a nine-member city council, served as chairman of the board of Colorado Springs Utilities and provided oversight to city-owned Memorial Hospital. In addition, she is an adjunct faculty member for the Center for Creative Leadership at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, as well as running the Mary Lou Makepeace Group. From 1974 to 1982, Mary Lou was a caseworker working with child abuse cases, and an administrator for the El Paso County Department of Social Services. She then served as executive director of the Community Council of the Pikes Peak Region, assisting in the development of the Montgomery Center for the homeless, Project Cope to assist low income and elderly with utility bills, and the award-winning Golf Acres Senior Services Complex. She lead the child placement agency, STAY, Inc., from 1995-1997, providing out of home placement services to troubled adolescents. Her experience also includes being a teacher at the American School in Tananarive, Madagascar; assistant to the Defense Attaché at the American Embassy in Prague, Czechoslovakia following the Soviet invasion; and the adult education officer at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. Mary Lou has served on a variety of state, local and national committees, including the Colorado Space Advisory Committee, the Policy Advisory Council of the American Public Power Association, the Energy Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Leadership Training Council of the National League of Cities. Mary Lou attended the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University, and holds a Masters of Public Affairs from the University of Colorado and a bachelors degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota.