WHO WE ARE

Our mission is to improve the quality of early education through strategic contributions and partnerships. 

Our organization is comprised of an all-volunteer board of directors who fulfill the roles and responsibilities of a staff. This allows us to devote all donations and contributions to our mission.

The foundation was created in 1996 by Andre Ransom. In 2014, it was renamed the Kingsbury Foundation to honor Dan Kingsbury. Dan was instrumental in creating the Colorado Preschool Program. He worked tirelessly for high quality early education and child care. He also advocated for providers and teachers, who he saw as unsung heroes. 

The following individuals were also instrumental in our formation and success:

Board of directors

Mills Snowden – President
msnowden@kingsburyfoundation.org

Mills Snowden has served as Board President since 2008. He has been in a management role with Kaplan Early Learning Company for over 12 years. Prior to joining Kaplan, Mills was the General Manager of Applied EcoSystems (AES), a Colorado based, international environmental consulting and construction company. Concurrently he was a Partner and Vice President of Fossil Fuels Inc, a subsidiary of AES. Mills also held a number of financial and business development related positions with Total Petroleum and PACE Membership Warehouse. Mills graduated in 1991 with a Masters degree from the University of Colorado, Graduate School of Public Administration. Mills is currently a board member of the Early Childhood Education Association, and a past board member of the Colorado Head Start Association.

Andre Ransom
aransom@kingsburyfoundation.org

Andre Ransom is a consultant whose expertise encompasses all aspects of child care center and development, operations, and training. She has authored many articles and designed workshops related to management, operations, training and government relations. Andre was the founder of Children’s Development Company which operated up to fourteen early education and child care centers in the Denver metropolitan area from 1978-1994. She has been an active participant on many national and local boards.

Ken Clifton
kclifton@kingsburyfoundation.org

Ken Clifton graduated from Colorado State University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He attended law school at the University of Nebraska. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a JAG officer in the United States Army and assigned to the 1st Armored Division located in Baumholder, Germany. After returning to the United States in 1998, he worked as a Deputy District Attorney in Arapahoe County, Colorado. From 2000 to 2005, he maintained a private law practice, taught real estate law and invested in residential real estate. Since 2005, Ken has focused on the development, growth and success of OPENair Academy, which he co-owns with Heather Eversley. Ken is a former board member for the Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado.

Roseann Drew
rdrew@kingsburyfoundation.org

Roseann Drew has been involved in the field of early childhood education and administration since 1971. Her experience includes serving as a classroom teacher for the Department of Defense, adjunct faculty member at Coastal Carolina Community College and Piedmont Technical College, and founder of The Sunshine House, where she was engaged in many capacities including classroom teacher, center director, regional director, VP of education, and CEO.  In addition she served on the Board of Directors for the National Child Care Association (officer), Carolina Youth Development, Professional Association of Childhood Educators of North Carolina,  South Carolina Association for Children under Six, (district president) and the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation (vice president, president) 

In addition she established an education foundation at her alma mater, Eastern Illinois University and was recipient of the distinguished alumni award at that institution. She earned her Masters degree from Clemson University.

Chris Natzke
cnatzke@kingsburyfoundation.org

For over 40 years, Chris Natzke has been a dedicated student and teacher of the martial arts, achieving the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt/Master Instructor, ranking him in the top 1% of all martial artists in the world. Also an accomplished national competitor, Chris won the United States National Taekwondo Championships in 1999.  In 1995, he left a very successful career in corporate sales to create his martial arts organization, the Colorado Alliance of Martial Arts (CAMA). Since that time, the lives of thousands of students have been positively impacted through his teachings, with over 700 reaching beginning and advanced ranks of Black Belt.  Chris now speaks nationally of the subject of life leadership, is an executive and life-leadership coach, workshop facilitator and is author of the book, Black Belt Leadership: 7 Keys to Creating a Life of Purpose by Discovering your Inner Champion.