Who We Are

Trained as a fashion designer, Carol has spent her life working in ‘design thinking’ and improving the lives of others. She incorporated her interest in garment construction and sewing into teaching experience in technical and higher education. Along the way, she worked with the community to create social capital and founded the Denver Design Incubator along with many industry symposiums with clothing, textiles, and manufacturers. Her teaching career at Colorado State University, with graduate degrees in Design & Merchandising and Education & Human Resources, was enriched by working with students to professionally prepare them for internships and careers. She brought her life experience of raising five children on a sustainable farm along with her work in Rotary International Youth Leadership to the university campus. Carol’s research led to a National Science Foundation Science of Organization grant to study network industry professionals in Apparel and Manufacturing. She co-founded the Rural Colorado Apparel Manufacturing network and worked with state economic development and small communities to develop small-batch manufacturing centers. Her passion for social-emotional skill development and effective communication came full circle as she co-led the project team to develop the concept and purpose for the School of Statesmanship, Stewardship, and Service – SOSSAS. Carol devotes her time to constructing course content and curriculum, planning the launch of this new non-profit, and preparing classes that will lead others to create a future we all want to live in.

Public service has led to professional choices for Mike Butler. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a B.S. in Behavioral Sciences, Mike began his 41-year career in law enforcement in Boulder, Colorado with a desire to serve and make a difference.

In 1993, he was selected as Police Chief in Longmont, Colorado and set into action his ideals for community policing to improve public safety. In 2008, he became Public Safety Chief of Longmont overseeing Police, Fire, and Emergency Management. Along the way, Mike incorporated stewardship principles in his leadership. He co-founded the Longmont Community Justice Partnership (LCJP), a non-profit organization, and introduced restorative practices and principles as an alternative to the criminal justice system. He worked with the community to develop strategic plans for public safety in the community. Many of the initiatives he led assisted citizens dealing with substance addiction and mental health including the Angel Program, the EDGE Program, LEAD (Law Enforcement Assistance Diversion), CORE (Community responder teams) and LEVI (Longmont Ending Violence Initiative). He was named ‘Individual of the Year’ in 2018 by Mental Health Colorado. From 2013 to 2018, Mike and a former city councilman walked neighborhoods every Sunday to invite citizens to engage with their community in the ‘Belonging Revolution.”

After retiring from his office in 2020, Mike founded SOSSAS as a non-profit organization with a group of active citizens as outreach and leadership training of statesmanship, stewardship, and service for the world. The school and customized training teaches the skills and application of principles he practiced in public safety. Mike serves as a Board member of LEAP, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a national progressive police organization, a public speaker and writer on healthy relationships, neighborhoods, public safety and civic responsibility. His illustrious and countercultural leadership style is featured in the newly released book, “Walk the Walk: How Three Police Chiefs Defied the Odds and Changed Cop Culture” by Neil Gross.

Chris is a nationally recognized expert on the topic of valuing S corporations for federal gift and estate tax purposes. At the request of the Hon. David Laro of the U.S. Tax Court and Dr. Shannon Pratt, he co-authored a chapter on the topic in their book, Business Valuation and Taxes: Procedure, Law & Perspective. His S corporation valuation model also appears in Financial Valuation Models and Applications Third Edition, Fannon’s Guide to the Valuation of Subchapter S Corporations, and other books. Additionally, his co-authored white paper prepared for the S Corporation Association has been widely distributed by the Treasury Department. He has co-hosted national teleconferences on the subject (including a private program for IRS business valuation employees), has been published in the only peer-reviewed business valuation journal, and has done presentation to state, national and international business valuation conferences.

Chris is a faculty member of the American Society of Appraisers’ Principles of Valuation training courses, as well as a member of the Editorial Review Board for the peer-reviewed professional journal Business Valuation Review. Additionally, he testified before the Treasury Department regarding the proposed IRC Section 2704 regulation.

The American Society of Appraisers designated Chris as an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA), and The National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts awarded him the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) business valuation designation. Additionally, he is a licensed Professional Engineer and real estate broker in Colorado. His academic background includes a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA in finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Stephanie came into the world knowing she wanted to be a teacher and was fortunate to have inspirational teachers along the way that helped understand why this became a calling for her. Her first job was teaching the Russian language and American and Colorado history at Carmody Middle School in Lakewood, Colorado and that was August 1980. She spent 14 years at the middle school and developed a Leadership Class for teenagers. She also created a restorative justice program at the school and in 1992 developed a month-long series of diversity workshops where she invited all walks of life (PFLAG, Gray Panthers, Native American tribal members, religious, atheists, etc.) to help students understand that we all belong and must learn how to use our voice.  She transferred to Wheat Ridge High School (WRHS) during the Fall of 1994 where she continued teaching social studies topics (American government, geography, and American history) for 26 years. She also developed an Indigenous Peoples Course for students and had “a collective of womyn” as adolescent girls called themselves to write an American history book from the perspective of women. She earned her master’s degree in Social Sciences with an emphasis in Indigenous Political Systems from CU Denver in 1996.

Stephanie received the honor from students and peers to train in the Facing History and Ourselves Holocaust Curriculum and was the recipient of Williams College Olmstead Award in 2015, the Colorado Education Association’s John M. and Gladys N. Bates Multicultural Award in teaching in April 2009, and a National Education Association Excellence in Teaching as a Top Five Finalist in February 2009. Congressman Ed Perlmutter presented her with the Congressional Heroes Award in May 2020 as she retired.

Stephanie’s exceptional ability to convey complex topics in a simple manner have greatly contributed to the evolution of SOSSAS curriculum. She values and embodies the principles of statesmanship, making her a passionate, competent, and sincere instructor.

Accomplished and integrity driven, real estate professional Christine Cavalier has had 30 years of business success with strong concentration in marketing, business development, building consultative relationships with clients and vendors. She has performed home staging and financial analysis with an emphasis on building wealth throughout the home ownership process.
Throughout her career, Christine has consistently been recognized as a top performer. She won Senior Sales Consultant of the Year, Southwest District, Novartis Pharmaceuticals; was a finalist for Reno/Sparks Community Initiative for developing a community wide health/fitness program; received the annual Overskud Award recipient from Training for Warriors for her intense commitment to self-improvement; and has achieved top 3% of sales associates in the nation at Wells Fargo Bank.
Christine contemplated starting a project to unify the culture in the United States. Her grandfather was a Navy admiral during WWII and met President Harry S. Truman while serving, giving her a deep devotion and sense of duty to her country. When she learned about SSOSAS, it was an obvious fit for her.
Christine longs to see citizens realize that we are all human beings who want and need much of the same things out of life. By making SOSSAS a reality, she is confident that we can re-engage our communities in taking personal responsibility for the outcomes in our society and help them learn how to engage in productive conversations that will result in viable collaboration and creative compromises.

Before that, Jake dedicated seven years to supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. During this time, he played a pivotal role in helping individuals secure housing through host homes. Focusing on fostering community living and independence.

Jake joined the SOSSAS board because he believes in the institution’s mission to foster positive change within the community. It is so important to be part of an organization that empowers individuals with essential leadership skills and promotes a culture of civility, empathy, and active citizenship.

In his 30 year career as a line manager, executive and consultant, Bill specialized in turning around failing operations. The critical issues were never technical; they were always fundamental leadership issues. During that time, he tested and proved the concepts that became his Authentic Leadership Insights model which is the foundation of his Executive Leadership Development practice.

In working with Executive Leadership teams, his company guided the creation of agile, enthusiastically engaged teams that create for themselves, a low-stress environmental ecosystem, free of chaos and destructive conflict.

He found that the key was evolving “HOT” Relationships, that is, relationships grounded in Honesty, Openness and Trust, where the leaders acquire a high level of Social Emotional Intelligence. These leaders project their individual authentic presence-generally characterized by humility, humor, intuition, curiosity and vulnerability. They create a safe environment where creativity and innovation flourish.

Bill’s extensive background in executive leadership development and unique contributions to the practice were invaluable assets to the SOSSAS board and participants. He offered deep experiential wisdom with a jovial and sincere delivery so as to inspire and encourage anyone seeking to elevate themselves in their lives and leadership abilities.

After ongoing negotiation with prostate and bone cancer, Bill quietly and gently passed from this adventure to the next one on October 15th 2023, aged 89 years. His jovial, energetic, and compassionate presence forever touched the lives of everyone with whom he interacted. Bill’s legacy and wisdom were an integral part of the forming of SOSSAS, so we honor him as Chairman Emeritus.