Front Range Community College Hires First Executive Director to Focus on Equity

Front Range Community College has hired Abenicio Rael, M.Ed. as the school’s first executive director of equity and inclusion to provide equal opportunity for everyone.

Abenicio has held positions supporting and advocating for marginalized students at the University of Colorado (CU) Denver in his most recent role as the director of Latinx student services. In that role, he led the development of the university’s Equity plan.

“Creating this new position will sharpen FRCC’s focus on our goals of inclusive excellence, educational equity and advancing opportunity for all,” said Front Range Community College President Andy Dorsey.

Abenicio was also appointed by the chancellor of CU Denver to lead a task force that prepared CU Denver to become a designated Hispanic Serving Institution by the US Department of Education. He is a Colorado native with over 15 years of experience under his belt in areas of higher education administration, strategic planning, student services programs development, and equity and diversity leadership.

“I’m eager to support faculty and staff as they strive to align FRCC’s mission and values with the school’s initiatives,” said Abenicio. “We want these efforts to lead to tangible success for students of all backgrounds,” Abenicio said.

Abenicio’s passion lies in implementing institutional-focused initiatives that work to aid diverse, underrepresented, and disadvantaged students stay in school and earn their degrees. He currently serves as co-chair of the Denver Latino Commission and was appointed to this role by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.

Abenicio has worked to develop the city’s first equity and inclusion conference called “Empowering Voices of Color”.

“I’m extremely impressed with Abenicio’s dedication to serving students—and having him join us in this leadership position will strengthen FRCC’s efforts toward equity in education,” said Andy. “His guidance will help ensure that we’re making the right improvements and that we are truly supporting all of our students in reaching their educational and career goals,” Andy said.

For more information regarding Front Range Community College, visit: https://www.frontrange.edu