Francene Ortega’s desire to finish school was almost shattered when a teacher told her she wouldn’t amount to much.
But the rebellious teen, who had been labeled a troublemaker at North High School in the late 1980s, got another chance when she met educator and community activist Pierre Jimenez, who challenged Ortega to turn her life around by honestly looking at herself.
Ortega stopped cutting class and swapped summer fun for summer school. She became a cheerleader, and in 1986 she graduated.
“It was nice to have someone who believed in you,” Ortega said of the mentorship, which has evolved into a lifelong friendship. “He touched our lives and made us better adults.”
Ortega, like many who credit Jimenez with helping them, is raising money for a liver transplant for Jimenez, who is desperately ill with hepatitis C. Without a transplant, Jimenez, founder of the Denver Arts & Technology Academy, may die within a year, his doctors have told him.
Jimenez has no medical insurance.
Friends of Jimenez’s have held fundraisers and donated more than $100,000 of the approximately $200,000 needed for the transplant.
“If we lose him, it will leave a big void,” said longtime friend Jerry Natividad, who co- sponsored a raffle and concert.
Jimenez, 54, was born and raised in north Denver. Two years ago, his wife, Mary, died of breast cancer. He has two sons, Paul and David, and one granddaughter.
He has headed the Police Community Partnership, a Denver organization aimed at improving police and minority relations. He also served on the Denver Police Review Committee. He has matched students with mentors as chairman of Hispanics of Colorado and mentored students himself when he ran the Youth Adult Community Service Project at the Auraria Community Center.
Jimenez was also an aide to former Denver Auditor Bob Crider and managed Crider’s 1995 mayoral campaign. He was deputy director for the Department of Economic Development and International Trade under Gov. Bill Owens.
Today, Jimenez will be one of six community leaders to receive the Champions of Change award during the sixth annual Flor y Canto festival at the Denver Center Galleria.
“He’s not done it for personal gain, but in service to children of our community,” said Nita Gonzales , executive director of Escuela Tlatelolco, a dual-language public school.
Staff writer Annette Espinoza can be reached at 303-820-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com.
