Shontel M. Lewis currently serves as the Director of Equity and Innovation, where she is responsible for ensuring youth voice shapes education policy. In a previous role, she served at the Director of Choices, a program of Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center in collaboration with the Gang Reduction Initiative of Denver as an Outreach Mentor. In that role she was responsible for the program development of the CHOICES program to provide wraparound support to gang involved youth to assist with the facilitation of pro-social activities. 

 

In her past position she was responsible for youth workforce development where she planned, designed and implemented youth need-based after school after school programming from focus groups for the 

21st Century Community Learning Grant within several Denver Public Schools and Aurora Public Schools. The work within this position focused on the exposure of post-secondary options for all participants as 

well as facilitating workforce readiness curriculum focused on youth employment and retention. 

 

Shontel serves on the YMCA Advisory Board for Community Programs, a unique program located in Manual High School responsible for fundraising events to directly benefit youth development for Manual High School students and the surrounding communities. Additionally, she served on the Parent Teacher Association for Whittier K – 8 School responsible for the planning and implementation of events that generate funding to support art, music and gym for the students. 

 

Additionally, she has been involved in the Manual High School Renewal Process which stemmed from the devastating closure of Manual High School, is a co-founder of Project VOYCE (Voices of Youth Changing Education), a guest teacher in at the University of Colorado Boulder, and a presenter for the Teachers of Color and Allies Summit in Denver and Chicago. She also has published research in Education View, University of Colorado Boulder School of Education and Captured Words and Free 

Thoughts. 

 

Shontel received her Bachelors’ of Art Degree in Communication from the University of Colorado-Denver. She is a dedicated mother with a passion for equitable education, workforce development and youth.