CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE 

Denver 

News: Thirteen civic leaders, including Kourtny Garrett, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Denver Partnership; Nick Lopez, CEO of the Latin American Education Foundation; and CBS Colorado anchor/reporter Kelly Werthmann, have agreed to take part in the 2026 edition of Dancing with the Denver Stars. 

A fundraiser for Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Dancing with the Denver Stars, will take place Aug. 22 at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, with CBS Colorado anchor Michelle Griego and U.S. Bank’s Chris Ross serving as chairmen. Karen McNeil-Miller, president/CEO of the Colorado Health Foundation, is the honorary chair. 

Others joining Garrett, Lopez and Werthmann in the 2026 cast are: 

Jeremy Fusilier, assistant vice president and senior operations manager at U.S. Bank; Andrew Holder, director of community relations and local government affairs for Xcel Energy Colorado; Dr. Jimmy Johnson, senior director of wildlife health and conservation for the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance; Mike Katz, market CEO for BOK Financial; Annie Lee, president/CEO of Colorado Access. 

Also, Dr. Janet Lopez, senior director of policy, partnerships and learning at the Denver Foundation; Jonna McGrath, vice president of airport operations/DEN for United Airlines; Kevin Sullivan, managing director at Southwest Business; Jaco Swart, vice president at PCL Construction; and Srinivas Vallem, technical lead/information technology at CoBank. 

They were introduced at a reception held on May 11 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. 

Each celebrity participant will be paired with a professional dancer from the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble or the Cleo II troupe. They’ll spend the next three and a half months selecting costumes, storyline and music tied to the 2026 theme, We Are Family: Celebrating Musical Families and Dance, and rehearsing their performance a minimum of four times. 

Tickets for this always-sold-out dinner, performance and auction are now on sale. They can be reserved by emailing Hillary Harding, hillary@cleoparkerdance.org 

About the organization: Now in its 55^th season, the Denver-based Cleo Parker Robinson Dance is an international performing arts and educational institution rooted in African American traditions, dedicated to excellence in providing cross-cultural performances and enrichment programs. 

Website: cleoparkerdance.org 

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