2017 Judging Panel
Judges
RICK NINNEMAN
SAM BAILEY
Executive Vice Chair
Metro Denver EDC
GREG GREENWOOD
ALISON DUNNEBECKE
JULIA HILL-NICHOLS
David graduated from Duke Law School in 1994 and received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Richmond in 1991. David is boldly committed to racing bikes on the road and in the mud, coaching the full-court press, applauding musical theater, singing harmony, knowing interesting people, visiting new places and having memorable experiences.
Sumer participates in advisory groups to local manufacturing task forces, economic development councils, community colleges, workforce centers, sector strategies, and is currently setting on the CO Active Association board of directors. Sumer is intimately familiar with the MEP system, and participates in a number of national sub-committees, and is a recent graduate of the MEP Emerging Leaders program.
Sumer has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with emphasis in information systems from Colorado Mesa University.
Rich is currently the president of the National Association for Business Economics. He also participates annually in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Regional Economic Roundtable and is a contributor to the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast newsletter. He is a member of the Governor’s Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee, the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Forecast 2035 Advisory Committee, the Colorado Tourism Office Education and Research Committee, the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority and the Boulder Economic Council. For his efforts in community development and outreach, Wobbekind was awarded the 1997 University of Colorado Bank One Community Outreach Award. In 2006 he was awarded the Robert L. Stearns award for lifetime contributions in teaching, research and service.
Wobbekind teaches MBA students in macroeconomics, public policy, entrepreneurship and managerial economics. He has received three awards for teaching excellence from the students of the Leeds School.Wobbekind has lived in Colorado for more than 34 years and has spent much of his time studying the development of the Colorado and regional economies. He received a BA in economics from Bucknell University and an MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Judge Facilitator
Judge Facilitator
Prior to joining Hein in 1989, Alison was a Tax Supervisor for Laventhol & Horwath in its Denver office. She is currently a member of the Colorado Technology (CTA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), past Chair and Vice Chair of the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA) State Taxation Committee. She currently serves as the Treasurer for the Association for Corporate Growth in Denver and serves on the Executive Committee and as the Treasurer for Colorado Companies to Watch. Alison previously served as the Finance Committee Chair, Executive Committee Member and Board of Trustees Member of the YMCA. She obtained both her bachelor of science in accounting and her master’s in professional accountancy from the University of Utah.