Mr. Richard Chavez is the executive director of the Latin American Educational Foundation (LAEF).  Prior to his appointment as executive director, Jim served on the Board of Directors for LAEF for 6 years.  Jim has dedicated much of his professional life working for education related causes.   As a board member and staff member of the Colorado Student Obligation Bond Authority, Jim was instrumental in creating Colorado’s first prepaid college tuition program, which became known as CollegeInvest, and then worked across the country to develop and implement numerous state college savings programs or Section 529 plans.  He began his career as a certified public accountant with the firm Ernst & Young.

 
     Jim serves on the boards of many organizations, including as a member of the Board of Trustees for the University of Northern Colorado, the Board of Commissioners for the Denver Housing Authority, Trustee for the Clayton Early Learning Center and Board member of Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Corporation.  He is a graduate of Colorado State University.