2023 Judging Panel

Crystal Walsh
Operations Support
Crystal Walsh currently supports the operations of the Colorado Venture Capital Authority (VCA) program, a Special Purpose Authority subdivision, within the Office of Economic Development and International Trade Department (OEDIT). The VCA program supports access to venture capital for Colorado's entrepreneurs and startup businesses by partnering with professional fund managers to deploy federal and state funds.
Crystal is a Colorado native, third generation veteran and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Colorado. Her experience includes 10 years in banking where she had the opportunity to service small businesses in person. With the VCA and OEDIT, she is following her passion to be part of economic development with seed and early-stage businesses on a larger scale and across Colorado.

Renise Walker
Assistant Director of Systems Innovation
Renise serves as the assistant director of systems innovation for the CWDC Office. Serving as an active leader for the CWDC Office, Renise represents the CWDC Office at state and national conferences and continues to innovate and be a thought leader in the talent development landscape in Colorado and nationally. She is responsible for critical relationship development with external partners and provides management and alignment of CWDC's efforts to lead and support industry-led networks, develop and strengthen career pathway systems, and implement stimulus-funded initiatives in support of Colorado's economic recovery. Prior to joining the CWDC in 2015, Renise led the backbone efforts of a collective impact initiative working to advance affordable housing, workforce development, and economic mobility for underserved populations in the nation’s capital.
Walker believes strongly that enacting large-scale social challenges requires a willingness to innovate, break down silos, and collaborate across traditional boundaries. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. As a proud third-generation Coloradan, Renise cares deeply about the future of Colorado and creating and sustaining opportunities for Colorado residents.

Samuel L. Bishop, AICP
Community Development Director

Alex Cioth
Founder & CEO

Shina Culberson
President
Shina Culberson, President of Quist Valuation, brings +25 years of financial and valuation experience to her leadership and guidance of the firm. Known for her direct style and laser focus, Shina specializes in business and securities valuation engagements.
Shina’s passion is working with company owners to help them understand the value drivers of their business and to provide actionable insights in order to improve performance, valuation, and management decision making.
Prior to joining Quist, Shina was an Equity Analyst for Cohen Independent Research Group where she provided security valuation and investment recommendations on public companies in the biotech, high-tech, and entertainment industries. Additionally, she served as a Director at Charles Schwab Investment Management where she managed the International Credit Research team covering international financial institutions and emerging market Asia and Latin America sovereign investments.
Shina graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, holds the CFA designation and is a member of the Society of Analysts in Denver. Shina is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and a faculty member for the Exit Planning Institute.
Morgan Honea serves as the Executive Vice President and COO for Contexture. Contexture was established as the merged entity between the previous Colorado and Arizona HIEs (CORHIO and Health Current) providing HIE services to over 200 hospital facilities and hundreds of healthcare organizations across both states.
Prior to his role at Contexture, Morgan served as the CEO of CORHIO since 2014. Under his leadership, CORHIO experienced tremendous growth and positioned itself as a national leader in health information exchange.
Prior to joining the CORHIO, Honea served as CEO of Plains Medical Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving more than 10,000 patients in rural and frontier eastern Colorado. In this role, he helped the organization achieve meaningful use, NCQA Patient Centered Medical Home status, and consistent profitability.
Honea lives in Centennial with his wife, Henny, and his two children, Andrew and Emma. He received a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Missouri State University and a Bachelor’s in Accounting from the University of Tulsa.

Kay Martin
Founder, Owner, and CEO

Dr. Dawn Thilmany
Professor of Agricultural Economics
Office of Engagement and Extension at Colorado State University

David Thomson
Vice President of Private Client Services
With over 30 years in real estate development experience, David Thomson was selected in the Who’s Who in Real Estate by the Denver Business Journal for many years and then the 40 under 40, Denver Business Journal in 2002. Thomson was responsible for bringing the likes of GE, Arrow Electronics, and NBH to Colorado as the Global Business Development Director for Governor Hickenlooper. Thomson has been associated with large scale development projects that include the base village of Winter Park Ski Resort, base village-River Run of Keystone Ski Resort, and Cordillera in Vail, Colorado. As COO and a partner to East West Partners, Thomson was jointly responsible for bringing the Riverfront Park Community to Denver.
Thomson serves on various boards including The Winter Park Ski Resort Trust, Denver Colfax Marathon, and The Burns Society DU Real Estate School, CU Denver College of Arts and Media, as well as serving as the founder and President of The Nathan Yip Foundation and the Honor Connor Pledge. He is a graduate of The University of Denver and Thunderbird University and enjoys the outdoors of Colorado with his son and is an active skier and runner.