Roxane White is leaving her post as manager of Denver’s Human Services Department to become executive director of the Timothy and Bernadette Marquez Foundation.
White has been a key figure in Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s administration, championing and crafting during her five-year tenure the mayor’s initiative against homelessness.
“The really good ones, if you’re lucky, you get to keep them three years or four years,” the mayor said in an interview. “She is one of the most talented people I’ve worked with.”
Marquez, an oilman, and his wife have been instrumental players in establishing the Denver Scholarship Foundation, which will pay for underprivileged Denver high school graduates to go to college. The two created a $50 million matching-gift scholarship program.
White will head a new foundation, which will focus on human-services issues.
A month ago, the foundation contacted White and asked if she knew of anyone who would be interested in the job or if she herself would be interested. She was offered the job this week.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” White said in an interview. “Seldom do you get to do a startup with a foundation.”
Her resignation is occurring at a time when Denver’s Human Services Department has come under criticism for its handling of three cases in which children had contact with the agency but later died. The agency has hired outside consultants to review the deaths and child-welfare policies.
White said the move was unrelated to the deaths or the external review, which she requested.
Hickenlooper said that under White’s leadership, the city had seen rates of re-abuse of children decline and had seen improvements in “pretty much every performance measure.”
“She totally restructured human services and rebuilt morale,” said the mayor, stressing that he never encouraged White to leave but supported her efforts after she told him she was interested in the foundation job.
White’s resignation will be effective April 15. Valerie Brooks, deputy manager, will take over as acting manager of the department. The mayor said he will initiate a national search for a replacement.
Human Services provides more than $260 million in services and programs to the residents of the city and county of Denver.
“It is always hard to lose dedicated, talented people, but Roxane has built a good team, and I am confident human services will continue to function at a high level,” Hickenlooper said in a prepared statement.
White is chairwoman of the Mayor’s Commission to End Homelessness and also is on the Denver Preschool Program Board of Directors.
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
