James Mejía, who has worked with leaders like former Denver Mayors John Hickenlooper and Wellington Webb, is set to take on another role in Denver — this time at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
The university announced that Mejía will be its new Chief Strategy Officer — a role that will see him coordinate implementation of its strategic plan and support university leadership in assessing programs, partnerships and projects by guiding strategic, inclusive and data-informed decision-making processes.
Mejía worked in Webb’s Cabinet as a Manager of the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and Executive Director for the Agency for Human Rights and Community Relations. He was also president and COO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and finished third in the 2011 Denver mayoral election — Denver’s closest mayoral race in history.
Mejía made history for the Denver Public Schools Board of Education when he became the first Latino elected citywide to serve a four-year role as at-large member for the board. In 2009, he was also named Community Leader of the Year by 9News and the Denver Chamber Leadership Foundation.
Through the German Marshall Fund, Mejía was named an American Marshall Memorial Fellow and was invited multiple times to participate in the International Career Advancement Program at the Aspen Institute.
Mejía graduated from East High School in Denver and attended the University of Notre Dame where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Following his time at Notre Dame, Mejía earned a master’s degree in business administration from Arizona State University where he was also a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society. At Princeton University, he earned a master’s degree in public policy where he studied policy issues at the municipal, state and federal levels.
Other ventures of Mejía include time serving as the founding president and CEO of the Denver Preschool Program and project manager for the $425 million bond project to build the Denver Justice Center.
Outside of Metropolitan State University of Denver, Mejía is the founder and CEO of Mejía & Associates. Mejía is the ninth of 13 children, and his parents, David and Ophelia Mejía, were educators. He has three daughters and enjoys ice hockey and tennis.
In a news story published in Metropolitan State University of Denver’s “Early Bird” newsletter, Mejía said he is excited to work with the university to implement its strategic plan.
One of the strategic-plan pillars that especially reso- nates with me is the first: Student Access, Service and Achievement. I think of this goal as central to the framework of why we are all at MSU Denver. To “attract, prepare and graduate students equipped to succeed in the 21st century” is critical in creating a University atmosphere where students, faculty and staff want to be — an atmosphere that helps create the best place in the state to study and work,” Mejía said in the newsletter story.
For a few years Mejia served as the top journalist for La Voz providing front page stories about major community issues. La Voz Publisher, Pauline Rivera adds, “Mejia is a brilliant individual whose experience and professionalism is a great addition to MSU.”
