Welcome to the Board of Directors Table.

At the Colorado Springs World Affairs Council (CSWAC), we rely heavily on the diverse perspectives, advice and passion of our Board of Directors. We are uplifted by such a tremendous team of professionals dedicated to supporting and promoting greater understanding and connection with the world in Colorado Springs. In May, we were able to welcome two more accomplished members to our Board of Directors – introducing Joy Love and Alfred Ortiz.

Joy Love, Treasurer.

Love's interest in foreign affairs was born at a young age.

"I have always been fascinated by politics since I learned in elementary school that WWI was started by a wrong turn," Love said. "Having a terrible sense of direction, myself, only exacerbated my late-night eight-year-old musings."

Since those "musings" as a young girl, Love has earned herself master's degrees in economics, mathematics, and statistics and has lived and worked in six countries and three continents.

"After graduate school (Economics and Mathematics), I lived and worked in Europe (Greece, Italy, Belgium, and France) for eight years, Love said. "I returned to the US and then moved to Abu Dhabi, returning in late 2020."

She has worked in academia, software, management consulting and various medical fields. Not to mention she has been just as involved in Colorado Springs' non-profit sector serving in leadership roles with the Junior League of Colorado Springs, Children's Literacy Center and Girl Scouts Wagon Wheel Council.

With such extensive international exposure, Love sees less of the boundaries that define people and cultures.

"When you live overseas, it is impossible to think of others as stereotypes or "they," Love said. "When I would fly to Abu Dhabi from the U.S., people would inevitably say, 'Be careful over there in the Middle East.' And I would just think, 'um, Abu Dhabi and Dubai are literally among the safest cities in the world, I'm good.'"

While in Abu Dhabi, she would attend lectures at New York University Abu Dhabi and The Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research of which Jane Goodall and Lech Walesa were her favorites. Upon moving back to Colorado in 2020, she was "thrilled" to hear about the quality of presenters hosted at CSWAC events and wanted to get more involved.

Love is interested in using her voice among the Board of Directors to increase members and advocate for youth education on world politics and events.

"I think that we often overlook children because they're "just kids," Love said. "This, therefore, limits their worldview as adults. Bridging that gap while they are still optimistic and open-minded is a game-changer."

As CSWAC Treasurer, Love is most looking forward to advocating for an increase in staff compensation.

"Honestly, I'd love to see our staff members get huge raises," Love said. "They do an unbelievable job on shoestring budgets. The international visitors we have coming through town, the quality of speakers and conferences, the level of professionalism and commitment. "Those three individuals deserve all the praise!" 

Alfred Ortiz, Board Member.

Growing up in California, only 100 miles from the US / Mexico border, Ortiz was exposed to many cultures and ways of life.

"There were numerous times as a youngster, visiting our neighbor to the south, that taught me about speaking various languages, currency exchange, conversion from standard to metric and what it was like to travel across an international border, Ortiz said. "I didn't realize at the time, but this set the stage for my interest in world affairs."

In high school, Ortiz was selected as an American Field Service (AFS) exchange student to represent the United States in Indonesia. He followed such an experience by pursuing a degree in Political Science and International Relations at California Polytechnic State University and working for a U.S. Congressman. He later went on to earn an MBA from the University of Incarnate Word and executive education from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ortiz went on to start his own cybersecurity company CSD Cyber where he is currently the CEO. He frequently travels to IE University in Madrid, Spain where he is a doctoral candidate in Information Systems. However, Colorado Springs is his home base.

"I've had roots here in Colorado Springs for the past 20 years and wanted to make further contributions to my community, bringing a little of the world to COS, so we can all learn just a bit more about what the world has to offer."

After attending an event and connecting with Board President Karl Schneider, Ortiz knew CSWAC was doing just that.

"I was impressed by the caliber of people on the CSWAC staff, board and its members," Ortiz said. "After meeting everyone and the mission of educating the community about world affairs I knew that this was an organization where I wanted to be involved."

Ortiz is eager to propel the mission of CSWAC through his diverse outlook on the world.

"I am in a unique position to make contributions to the BOD as someone who sees world affairs from the perspective of Iberia and Latin America," said Ortiz. "Also, I am still active with AFS as a mentor for some students and I see the need for the young adults to get involved with CSWAC and make a concerted effort to bring these future leaders to events so they can have an international perspective and get involved. I also want to keep bringing top-caliber people from around the world to come to speak and visit our home, Colorado Springs, so we can all learn just a little more about the world around us."

We are delighted to welcome these two individuals and their unique worldviews to our Board of Directors' table.