Academic Historian

Dr. Lisa Roy is the newly appointed Executive Director for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. The Department will manage Colorado’s new universal preschool program, serving 4-year-olds statewide starting in the summer of 2023. The Department will also manage comprehensive programs and services for young children, families and early childhood professionals, utilizing a “one-stop shop” application process.

Dr. Roy previously served as the director of program development for the Buffett Early Childhood Institute and as the executive director of early childhood education for Denver Public Schools. She has volunteered and worked in non-profit and government roles supporting families with young children for over 30 years.

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Boards Dr. Roy has served on include: Emily Griffith Foundation, Denver Early Childhood Council, Afterschool Alliance, KIPP Colorado, Mental Health Center of Denver, Tony Grampsas Youth Crime Prevention and Intervention, and Denver Welfare Reform.
Dr. Roy’s current memberships include: National Association for the Education of Young Children, Colorado Women’s Forum, and Golden Key Society
Dr. Roy was recently honored with the Harmon Award for Early Childhood Mental Health from the Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health.
Dr. Roy has presented several times a year at local (Omaha and Nebraska for the last few years, and Denver and Colorado for more than three decades), as well as National webinars and conferences.
Dr. Roy writes for pleasure as a literary nonfiction and historical writer primarily. Dr. Roy’s writings include:
Prairie Pioneer, Essay Daily – January 31, 2022
Submit, Ouch, Revise, Resubmit, Brevity Blog – December 30, 2021
Summer of ’68: Crab Feast, The Linden Review – December 7, 2021
Various articles with Blackpast.org, Blackpast.org – January 12, 2020
Salsa Soul and Spirit Book Review, Taylor and Francis Online – January 29, 2015

Jacob Francis Wheaton (1835-1924)

Jacob Francis Wheaton’s home in Hagerstown, Maryland was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before crossing over to Pennsylvania. His family members (Buckinghams, Wheatons, and Bruners) owned homes in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan and were coopers and sextons by trade. Jacob Wheaton … Read MoreJacob Francis Wheaton (1835-1924)

Shorter AME Church, Denver, Colorado (1868- )

(Image Courtesy of Rosemarie Allen) Shorter AME Church was organized in 1868.  Two women, Mary Smith and Mary Randolph founded the church.  The original members met on the South Platte River in 1863 until the Church was given land located at 19th and Holiday (now … Read MoreShorter AME Church, Denver, Colorado (1868- )

Zion Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado (1865- )

Zion Baptist Church was founded on November 15, 1865 by an intrepid group of black pioneers who settled in Denver, Colorado Territory when the city’s total population was less than 5,000 people. Among its founders was Barney Ford who would later become one of Denver’s … Read MoreZion Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado (1865- )