Lucia Guzman Papers

Collection

Identifier: WH2082

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains papers from Guzman's pastoral and political career, including correspondence, biographical information, resume, speech notes, sermons, photographs, awards, commendations, newspaper clippings, ephemera (1949-2015).

Dates

1964-2016

Creator

Guzmán, Lucía,1945- (Person)
Guzmán, Lucía, 1945- (Person)

Language of Materials

English.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

Biographical / Historical

Lucía Guzmán was born in Katy, Tex. in 1945, the daughter of a Mexican farm worker and railroad laborer. She was the only member of her family to attend college receiving a B.S. from Sam Houston University, Houston, Tex. and an M.S. in Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology, Denver, Colo. Guzmán is an ordained pastor of the Methodist Church and served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches. She has also served as Vice President of the Denver Public Schools Board and on the boards of many non-profit agencies. For her public service related work, Guzmán has received numerous commendations and awards. In 2003, she was appointed Director of Human Rights/Community Relations by Denver, Colo. Mayor John Hickenlooper. She was appointed to the Colo. State Senate in May 2010, and was elected to a full four-year term in the November 2010 election.

Lucia Guzman was appointed Director of Human Rights/Community Relations by Mayor Hickenlooper on October 7, 2003. In this role she brought a wealth of experience to the city as a small business owner and community leader. In the 1990s Guzman owned and operated a popular neighborhood coffee house, Lucia’s Casa de Café. She represented west and northwest Denver on the Denver Public Schools Board of Education serving as Vice President, and as the board’s representative on the Citizen’s Committee for Facility Needs, as well as on the Denver Public Schools Foundation. In 1994, Guzman became the first woman and first Mexican-American to serve as the Executive Director of the Colorado Council of Churches where she helped to coordinate community events, oversaw staffing, budgeting, fundraising and volunteerism. Guzman spent five years as a pastor at Berkeley United Methodist Church. From 1975 to 1983, she worked at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, as Dean of Students and Assistant to the President of Human Affairs. Throughout her career, she served on the boards of many non-profit agencies and received numerous awards for her service. Guzman received her bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University and her Master of Divinity from Denver Iliff School of Theology. She became an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church in 1992.