Congratulations, Dwayne Romero (RFL Class of 2000), joins the Aspen Board of Education!
Dwayne Romero will join the Aspen Board of Education as the fifth member in the wake of former board treasurer Bob Glah’s midterm resignation.
The board came to its decision during a special board meeting Friday morning.
On Thursday, the board conducted its final interview with the three prospective candidates during a Q&A panel.
During the interview, Romero identified his passion for service and education as his primary motivation for wanting to serve on the school board.
A graduate of both the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Harvard Business School, Romero said he has devoted “thousands and thousands of personal hours” throughout his extensive service involvement.
Romero served as a U.S. Army officer for more than six years and won a bronze medal for his Leadership Valor during the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
In 1997, Romero relocated from Boston to Aspen, where he has translated his national service into local service.
Throughout his near 20 years in the Roaring Fork Valley, Romero has been a member of several boards, including that of the Aspen Rotary Club, Aspen Historical Society, Aspen Fire Protection District and Roaring Fork Transportation Authority.
He also served on the Aspen City Council for two terms from 2007 to 2011 and 2013 to 2015.
“Simply put, it is in my DNA to serve,” Romero said in an interview with The Aspen Times.
He also noted his “vested interest” in the Aspen School District:
Romero’s wife of 25 years, Margaret, is a kindergarten teacher at Aspen Elementary School.
Together they have three daughters – a fifth-grader and a seventh-grader at Aspen Middle and a sophomore at Aspen High School.
“I’m very much aware of the challenges and opportunities at the teacher level,” Romero said.
However, he made clear his belief that the board position is “about the health and well being and opportunities for all 1,600 children.”
“We [Margaret and I) have a passion for public education and have for quite some time,” Romero said.
Outside of his service roles, Romero was the general manager and president of Related Colorado, the development team responsible for Snowmass Base Village, from September 2008 through April 2015.
In November 2015, Romero founded the Basalt-based management group The Romero Group.
Last fall, Romero worked as a consultant for developer Mark Hunt as Hunt campaigned to get voter approval for his Base2 Lodge development.
School Board President Susan Marolt said the board faced a challenging decision between three excellent candidates, but ultimately selected Romero because of his commitment to education and service and his impressive list of public service positions.
“He is a financially savvy and a strong believer in the team model,” she said. “He also believes in building strong relationships within the community.”
“All of these traits will be assets to our district and we look forward to working with Dwayne,” Marolt said.
The board will swear Romero into office at its June 9 board meeting.
The term of office for the position is until the November 2017 election.
erobbie@aspentimes.com (Published in the Aspen Times 6/3/16)
