New and returning leaders bring international affairs, business, governance, community relationships and a shared commitment to citizen diplomacy.
Over the past several weeks, Denver Sister Cities International has been going through an important transition. Our members elected four new interim directors, and this week the newly constituted Board came together to formally organize itself and select the officers who will help guide DSCI through the remainder of the year.
We are pleased to introduce the team that has stepped forward.
Cherish Edwards will serve as Chair, Mark Dillen as Vice Chair, and Fred Kaplan as Treasurer and Secretary. They are joined on the Board by newly elected directors Susan Weller, Jim Wagenlander and Jeff Popiel. Janice Pugh-Wohler will continue to serve as DSCI’s General Manager through the end of the year, providing continuity and organizational support during the transition.
Several members of the Board also serve as leaders or active participants in DSCI’s Sister City and Friendship City committees. In their role as directors, however, they serve DSCI as a whole—not as representatives of any individual committee. That distinction is important as the Board works to support all of our city relationships and strengthen the organization they share.
This is also an interim Board, and our work to build the 2027 Board has already begun. As part of that process, we are actively working to fill the Board representation contemplated in DSCI’s bylaws, including representation from the City and County of Denver and a liaison from DSCI’s City Leadership Advisory Council (CLAC), the body made up of leaders from our Sister City committees. As we build the 2027 Board, we will also be seeking DSCI’s next Treasurer, as our current Treasurer completes his final term, as well as additional leaders who can bring new skills, perspectives and community connections to the organization.
Each member of the current team arrives at this moment with a different background and perspective, but with a common belief: DSCI has tremendous relationships, history and goodwill to build upon, and the months ahead should be used to strengthen the organization while creating more opportunities for members and committees to participate.
Fred Kaplan — Treasurer and Secretary
Fred Kaplan continues his longstanding service to DSCI as Treasurer and brings an exceptional depth of institutional knowledge to the new Board. This will be Fred’s final term as Treasurer, making it an important opportunity to recognize the extraordinary volunteer commitment he has made to the organization over the years.
Much of Fred’s contribution has happened quietly behind the scenes. He has overseen DSCI’s financial reporting, committee accounts, donor records, insurance and financial controls, while also helping committee leaders navigate the practical details that allow their programs and events to move forward. His involvement has extended well beyond the traditional responsibilities of a Treasurer, from preserving organizational records and history to supporting events, communications and the day-to-day needs of DSCI’s committees.
That commitment became particularly important during this year’s leadership transition. When a series of resignations left Fred and Cherish Edwards as the two remaining directors, Fred helped maintain organizational continuity while the membership process to restore the Board was developed and carried out.
For the remainder of this interim term, Fred has also agreed to serve as Secretary, helping ensure that Board decisions, resolutions and official records are properly documented while continuing to guide the Board through DSCI’s financial position, obligations and existing commitments.
As DSCI begins the search for its next Treasurer, Fred’s final term also gives us an opportunity to recognize something that can be easy to overlook in a volunteer organization: years of dependable service represent thousands of individual acts of responsibility—reports completed, questions answered, records maintained, events supported and problems quietly solved.
We are deeply grateful to Fred for that commitment and for agreeing to help guide DSCI through one more important transition.
Cherish Edwards — Chair
Cherish Edwards’ connection to Denver Sister Cities began before she joined the Board. She and her family have hosted students from Brest, France, and Cherish has traveled to Brest herself. Her involvement later expanded to Ulaanbaatar, where she has traveled to Mongolia and helped welcome Mongolian delegates to Colorado. Those experiences gave her a firsthand appreciation for the friendships that can grow from Sister City relationships.
Those connections have also influenced her professional life. A relationship made through Denver’s Sister City partnership with Takayama, Japan, ultimately led Cherish into the commercial space industry. Today, she is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Narravity, Inc., a Colorado-based commercial space company working to make microgravity research more accessible. She is also an active and recognized speaker in Colorado’s startup and entrepreneurial community.
In recent years, Cherish has worked across a number of DSCI programs, including Brest, Ulaanbaatar, Dnipro and Kunming, helped strengthen connections with Denver’s Human Rights & Community Partnerships office, and supported the organization through its 2026 leadership transition.
As Chair, she hopes to build on what first drew her to DSCI: the belief that international relationships are ultimately built person to person—by traveling, welcoming people into our homes and communities, and creating friendships that continue long after an official visit ends.
Mark Dillen — Vice Chair
Mark Dillen brings decades of experience in international affairs, diplomacy, communications and public service.
A former Senior Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State, Mark served in Washington and at U.S. embassies in Moscow, Berlin, Bonn, Rome, Belgrade and Sofia. His career has included senior work in public affairs, journalism, international development and strategic communications.
Closer to home, Mark has been deeply involved with Denver’s Ukrainian community. He serves on the board of Ukrainians of Colorado and has been instrumental, together with Marina Dubrova and others, in developing Denver’s new Friendship City relationship with Dnipro, Ukraine. He is also Honorary Consul-designate for Ukraine.
His work with Dnipro offers a good example of the approach he brings to DSCI: establishing a Friendship City relationship is only the beginning. The work that follows—building connections among City agencies, community organizations, educational institutions and people—is what gives the relationship meaning.
Susan Weller — Director
Susan Weller joins the Board with a strong interest in DSCI’s international programs and the people who make them possible. She brings an important perspective to conversations about committee engagement, international programming, membership and participation.
DSCI’s committees are where much of citizen diplomacy actually happens. They organize exchanges, welcome delegations, preserve decades-long international friendships and create opportunities for Denver residents to experience another culture.
One of the opportunities ahead is making those committees easier for members to discover and join. Susan’s perspective will be valuable as the Board considers how DSCI can better support committee leaders while inviting new volunteers into the organization.
Jim Wagenlander — Director
Jim Wagenlander brings decades of international experience to the Board. An attorney with longstanding involvement in international affairs, Jim serves as Honorary Consul for Mongolia and is active in Colorado’s consular community. His connection with Mongolia also gives him firsthand experience with the kind of long-term relationships Sister Cities organizations are designed to foster.
Jim brings particular experience in governance, policy, strategic planning and international relations. That perspective will be valuable as the Board reviews DSCI’s governance practices and works to build a stronger foundation for the future while remaining focused on its central mission of citizen diplomacy.
Jeff Popiel — Director
Jeff Popiel brings another important dimension to the Board: international business and economic development.
As Chair of the World Trade Center Denver Board, Jeff is connected to a broad network of internationally engaged companies, trade professionals and organizations throughout Colorado. His experience creates opportunities for DSCI to think more intentionally about business and trade, fundraising, strategic partnerships and professional exchange.
Sister City relationships can connect not only cultures and students, but entrepreneurs, professionals, universities, industries and economic-development organizations. Jeff’s experience can help DSCI explore what those relationships might look like in Denver.
Janice Pugh-Wohler — General Manager
Alongside our Board leadership, we also want to recognize Janice Pugh-Wohler, who continues to serve as DSCI’s General Manager through this important transition.
Janice has been at the center of DSCI’s day-to-day work for the past 18 months and carries an extraordinary amount of knowledge about our Sister City relationships, committees, members, programs and City connections. She has also participated in four DSCI delegation trips, giving her firsthand experience with the international relationships behind the organization’s work.
Janice has worked with committee leaders, welcomed international visitors, supported delegations and events, maintained relationships throughout Denver’s international community, and handled countless details behind the scenes.
That knowledge has been especially valuable during the current transition. She is working closely with the Board to develop a clearer picture of DSCI’s finances, committee needs, operating costs, expected revenues and existing commitments as we begin planning for 2027.
It is a reminder of something easily overlooked in a volunteer-driven organization: DSCI doesn’t run itself. Behind every delegation, event, committee meeting and international relationship are people handling correspondence, schedules, records, introductions, budgets and logistics.
We are grateful to Janice for her service and for the work she is doing now to help position DSCI for its next chapter.
Different Backgrounds, One Organization
Looking across this Board, there is an interesting mix of experience: diplomacy and foreign affairs, international business, law and governance, communications, community engagement, finance, entrepreneurship and cultural exchange. Just as importantly, there are people with firsthand experience participating in the international relationships DSCI exists to foster.
The immediate task is not to reinvent Denver Sister Cities International. It is to strengthen what already works, address the areas that need attention, and create an organization capable of supporting its committees and relationships for years to come.
That includes improving governance and financial sustainability, strengthening our relationship with the City of Denver, supporting active Sister City committees, developing new community and institutional partnerships, and finding better ways to welcome people into DSCI.
The Board Is Only Part of DSCI
Agreements between cities may establish Sister City relationships, but people give those relationships life.
That means DSCI’s future won’t be determined by six Board members alone.
It will be shaped by the person who volunteers to host an international visitor. The teacher who imagines an exchange between classrooms. The business leader who introduces counterparts in two cities. The student who becomes curious about another country. The longtime committee member who shares decades of history with someone attending their first meeting.
It will be shaped by you.
Over the coming months, we hope to create more opportunities for members to meet our committees, participate in programs, contribute ideas and help us imagine what the next chapter of Denver’s international relationships could look like.
If you’ve been a member for years but haven’t been involved recently, we’d love to welcome you back.
If you’re new to DSCI and aren’t quite sure where you fit, reach out.
And if you’ve been doing this work quietly for years, thank you. Much of what this new Board inherits exists because people before us kept these friendships alive.
Interested in getting involved? Contact us at info@denversistercities.org and tell us what interests you. We’ll help make the connection.
There is a lot of work ahead, but there is also an enormous amount to build upon. We’re looking forward to doing it together.
Connecting Globally, Inspiring Locally.
