Roxane White '85

Roxane White has devoted herself to helping the less fortunate. Born and raised in Montana, her journey has taken her to Lewis & Clark, where she majored in religious studies, to the San Francisco Theological Seminary and work in the Bay Area, and now on to Denver.

In 2003, Mayor John Hickenlooper appointed Roxane as manager of the Denver Department of Human Services. The department provides over $260 million in services and programs to the residents of the city and county of Denver. Roxane also chairs the Mayor’s Commission to End Homelessness and serves on the State of Colorado Child Welfare and Colorado Works Allocation Committees.

Prior to joining the City of Denver, Roxane spent sixteen years developing programs to serve the needs of homeless people in Colorado and San Francisco. She was president and chief executive officer of Urban Peak, which provides services to youth who are homeless in Denver and Colorado Springs, and was well known for creating outcome-driven programs. She was the executive director of Central Shelter, a program assisting homeless men. Prior to moving to Colorado, Roxane was the executive director of Larkin Street Services, a program assisting street youth in San Francisco.

Roxane has received several awards for her work, including the Mitch Snyder Advocacy Award from the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the President’s Award from the Capital Hill United Neighborhoods, and the 2004 Best Political Appointee for the City of Denver from Westword. She also has numerous publications to her name, having appeared in the Denver Post, the Journal of Community Health, and the Healthy Marriage Newsletter. In addition to her bachelor’s degree from Lewis & Clark, Roxane has a master’s degree in social work from San Francisco State University and a master’s degree in divinity from the San Francisco Theological Seminary.

(Posted August 2005)