OWL CLUB OF DENVER 

Denver 

News: For the past several months, the Owl Club of Denver has filled its social media platforms with salutes to, and testimony from, the women who, following their presentation at the club’s annual Debutante Cotillion, have gone on to excel, achieve and set positive examples for those who follow. 

Women such as former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (1971) and Dr. Trudi Morrison (1968), the first woman and first Black to serve as U.S. Senate Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms. In addition, she was the highest-ranking Black woman in President Ronald Reagan’s White House, serving as associate director of the Office of Public Liaison and director of the President’s 50 States Project. 

In showcasing their prominence, the club members weren’t just bragging about having chosen graduating high school seniors with a clear sense of direction. They were offering proof to the 2026 debutantes that it’s perfectly OK to set lofty goals because with hard work and perseverance, dreams can indeed come true. 

The 75th Owl Club Debutante Cotillion was held on June 6 at the Renaissance Denver Hotel & Conference Center. The theme was Honoring Our Past … Inspiring Our Future. 

Gregory Anderson, founder and chief investment officer of GRAnderson Wealth Management, was the chairman; past president Penfield Tate, an attorney and former state legislator, was master of ceremonies. The keynote address was delivered by Simone D. Morrison, a 2000 debutante who is now president and chief executive officer of the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. Her son, Gavin Ross, was the escort for debutante Jakiyah Harper. 

The 13 debutantes were selected from a field of 86 nominees and were introduced by Nina Washington, whose daughter, Chelsea Aghaji, was a debutante in 2005 and whose granddaughter, Camiyah Jones, was being presented that night. Washington’s husband, Ronald, is an Owl Club member. 

The debutantes entered the hotel ballroom to the sound of piano selections by Daryl J. Walker, whose mother, Yvonne, was a debutante in 1952. 

Those in the Class of 2026 were:  

• Janet Alias, a graduate of Mullen High School, where she was a member of the French National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America. She plans to major in biology at the University of Colorado Boulder as the first step toward graduating from medical school and becoming a pediatrician. 
• Jacquelyn Alvaro, a graduate of Denver School of the Arts, where she maintained a 4.0 grade point average and belonged to the Black Student Alliance and the Sources of Strength Club. A dancer and choreographer, she will attend Point Park University in Pennsylvania and plans to return to Denver and open her own dance studio. 
•  Japera Clark made the Principal’s Honor Roll for each of her four years at East High School, where she was varsity cheer captain and recipient of state Sen. James Coleman’s Black Student Excellence Award. She will major in biological sciences at Louisiana State University with the goal of becoming an OB-GYN. 
• Amina Frazier is a graduate of Legacy High School, where she was a member of the National Thespian Honor Society and participated in a Black Issues Forum. She will study political science at Hampton University with the goal of becoming a lawyer. 
• Amari Green, an East High grad, was honored as a Minted Fellow for the first cohort of the Hancock Foundation’s 2025 scholars and was a teen speaker at the 2025 Porter-Billups Leadership Foundation Gala. She will study mass media arts at Clark Atlanta University. 
• Jakiyah Harper was on the principal’s and academic honor rolls at Gateway High School, where she was a member of the girls’ swim team, the National Art Honor Society and JROTC. She’s going to major in journalism and minor in anthropology at the University of Northern Colorado. 
• Deonna Jackson was a four-year member of the honor roll and high honor roll at Vista Peak Preparatory, where she served on the student council and was a member of the concert choir and step team. Her first step toward becoming a pediatric nurse will be enrolling in the nursing program at Metropolitan State University of Denver. 
• Arhianna Jateny is a graduate of Mullen High School, where she was a member of the Music Honor Society, the Social Studies National Honor Society and was yearbook editor-in-chief. She will study biology and the health sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder with the goal of becoming a pediatrician. 
• Camiyah Jones lettered in girls wrestling and cheerleading during her years at East High School, where she served on the student council and was a member of the National Honor Society, the school choir, and received certification as an emergency medical technician. She will be a biology major at Xavier University in New Orleans. 
• Nia Pollard, granddaughter of former state Sen. Rhonda Fields, is a graduate of Smoky Hill High School, where she was president of the Fashion Club and a member of the National Honor Society. “My passion is fashion,” she said, and toward that end she will study fashion design at Parsons School of Design in New York City. 
• Sikira Raji was born in Ghana and came to America with her family as a child. She graduated from Prairie View High School, where she was a four-time member of the Principal’s Honor Roll, president of the African and Black Student Union and had dual enrollment at Front Range Community College. She has worked as a phlebotomy technician and volunteered at UCHealth. She will be a biochemistry major at the University of Colorado Denver. 
• Niyah Williams graduated from Prairie View High School with academic letters and placement in the Top 10 percent on a national exam for the Flagship High School of Business Program. A former member of the Brighton Youth Committee, she will attend the University of San Francisco. 
• Jasmine Yol graduated from Prairie View High School as an eight-time member of the Principal’s Honor Roll and a Top 15 Student Award. She was a member of the student council, the first Black president of the Prairie View chapter of the National Honor Society and received a Black Student Union honor cord at graduation. Her higher education goals were inspired by her mother, who has a master’s degree, and her father, who holds a Ph.D. Jasmine will study pre-law at the University of California San Diego. 

The 260 attendees at this Diamond Jubilee celebration included 50 former debutantes.  

About the organization: Chartered in 1949, the Owl Club of Denver is a social and service organization whose members are leaders in fields that include law, medicine, finance, business, the military, and politics. In 1951, the club hosted Denver’s first debutante cotillion, an event where 10 young ladies from Manual and East high schools were presented at a ceremony held at Park Hill Country Club. Each debutante was selected for her scholastic performance and history of community service.  

Website: theowlclubofdenverinc.com 

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