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Senate committee advances two nominees to College Invest board
Summary
The Senate Education Committee unanimously recommended Christine Heights and David Gross for appointment to the College Invest Board, the state’s 529 and ABLE program overseer; witnesses described the nominees' backgrounds in education, finance and investment oversight.
The Senate Education Committee voted unanimously to recommend Christine Heights and David Gross to the College Invest Board and moved both nominations to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.
Angela Beyer, chief executive officer of College Invest, introduced the nominees and described College Invest as the state’s 529 college-savings program. Beyer said the program helps families save for postsecondary education and reported assets under management of about $12.7 billion, noting average account owners save roughly $4,600 per year and hold an average account balance of about $30,000.
Christine Heights, introduced by Beyer, said she is CEO of Colorado Thrives, a CEO coalition focused on economic mobility, and described a professional background in education funding, K–12 networks and postsecondary strategy and operations. She said she is a parent and active in a mothers’ advocacy group and emphasized her interest in enabling families to invest in their children’s postsecondary pathways.
David Gross described his academic and professional background in finance, saying he holds an MBA and a PhD and has taught investment and portfolio management at the University of Colorado Boulder for nearly 30 years. Gross said he has experience in investment oversight roles with private-equity and nonprofit entities and framed oversight of College Invest’s nearly $13 billion in assets as ‘‘my sweet spot’’ professionally.
Senators asked brief operational questions, including one about how 529 plan dividends are handled; witnesses said the committee could follow up offline on specific account mechanics. Senator Kipp and other members expressed support for the nominees.
A motion to send the appointments to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation was made and carried unanimously by roll call. The committee also recommended placing the confirmations on the consent calendar; no objections were recorded.
The committee’s action forwards the appointments to the full Senate for final confirmation.
