Since starting CRL 26 years ago, Maria Garcia Berry has been the guiding force behind what is today one of the most influential public affairs firms in Colorado. In fact, for three consecutive years, Denver’s 5280 magazine named her one of Denver’s “25 Most Powerful People.”

As Chief Executive Officer of CRL Associates, Inc., Maria is highly respected for her skills in negotiation, mediation and advocacy and she is experienced at forging links among diverse interests and groups. She is widely recognized in her field for her expertise in government and public decision making, public finance, strategic planning, coalition building, crisis communications, community outreach, public positioning and legislative advocacy.

Maria Garcia Berry is a member of the Board of Trustees of Metropolitan State College, the Auraria Higher Education Center Board of Directors and the Citywide Banks Board. Her community involvement includes the boards of the Regional Transportation District, the American Israel Friendship League and the Colorado Children’s Campaign. She is a member of the Colorado Advisory Committee for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the Urban Land Institute. She is a member of the Denver Partnership and an associate member of the Colorado Municipal League. Maria is an alumna of Leadership Denver.

Maria is married to Chuck Berry, president of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. They have three children.

Back to top

For 14 years, spanning the 1980s and 90s, Porter Wharton III headed The Wharton Group and was involved in many of the major projects that changed the face of Denver including the Colorado Convention Center phase I, Denver International Airport, Coors Field culminating in his leadership of the effort that resulted in the development of Invesco Field for the Denver Broncos. Porter has negotiated and lobbied state legislatures, county commissions and city councils across the country as well as port authorities, federal and state agencies and the U.S. Congress.

He is a nationally recognized expert in public/private sector partnerships having led or made significant contributions to efforts resulting in, among many, five NFL stadiums, two Major League Ball ballparks, three key market convention centers and resort projects for Ritz Carlton and Rock Resorts. From 2000 to 2004, he was Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for Vail Resorts. Most recently Porter has been a real estate developer and consultant with Interloc, Inc. and Mosaic Partners.

In his new role at CRL, Porter will be focusing on business development, generating new clients on the local and national level along with assisting CRL’s clients as needed.

Back to top

Roger Sherman joined CRL Associates in 2005 and brings more than 17 years of public and private sector experience in project management, financial administration, policy development and implementation and communication. Roger represents clients in the real estate and development, transportation and public policy sectors, including the Regional Transportation District (RTD), Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), Jacobs, Brookfield Properties, Kroenke Sports Enterprises and Intrawest.

Roger has served in various leadership roles with candidate campaigns throughout the Denver metro area, including races for auditor (Denver), mayor (Aurora), and county commissioner (Arapahoe). He has expertise at creating and implementing winning issue campaigns and community relations strategies, most recently leading the successful campaign to defeat an “annexation by vote” initiative in Boulder. In 2004, Roger served as the finance director for the successful FasTracks Yes campaign, the largest mass transit expansion effort in the country.

From January 2001 to August 2003, Roger served as chief of staff for Denver City Councilman Ed Thomas. He was responsible for constituent services, issue research, political strategy, community outreach and communication and office management. He was widely recognized for his skills at strategic planning, coalition building and conflict resolution.

Prior to his employment with the City and County of Denver, Roger was president and chief executive officer of Front Range Management, a regional community association management company. The company was sold in 2000.

Roger earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Colorado State University. He is actively involved in several civic and charitable efforts in Denver. He is a former member of the Regional Transportation District’s board of directors.

Back to top

As part of CRL Associates since 1998, Holly Brown Nichols has secured Denver City Council votes, including the inaugural Shell Grand Prix of Denver; the amendment of an urban renewal district for a convention headquarters hotel; the rezoning of the Sears redevelopment site in Cherry Creek North; and a successful public and political outreach for the new site of the Denver Newspaper Agency.

Holly also has a successful record lobbying local governments throughout the metro area on a variety of issues, including rezoning of more than 5,000 acres in Douglas County. Her primary duties include general lobbying/legislative advocacy, strategy development, quality control over client delivery, budgetary management, marketing, and business development.

Holly rejoined the firm after leaving for a year to run the 2002 Inaugural Shell Grand Prix of Denver. Her duties with the Grand Prix included running the day-to-day operations of the organization, including securing the necessary approvals for running a CART race on the streets of Denver. Her efforts resulted in an attendance of more than 100,000 people at the three-day event. It was called one of the “finest first time events” in racing, according to CART’s Chief Executive Officer, Christopher Pook.

Holly is a full member of the Urban Land Institute.

Back to top

Since joining CRL in 2007, Kim has worked with a broad array of clients to successfully navigate city systems.  Her strong background in zoning issues and transportation matters lend great value to CRL's clients.  Her highly effective consensus-building skills along with her broad experience in strategic planning and community outreach serve clients on all fronts.

She developed strong relationships with the City Of Denver while serving more than eight years as senior council aide to Councilwoman Judy Montero and former Councilwoman Debbie Ortega. 

In 2009, serving as lead from CRL, Kim was selected to provide consensus-building services for the 14th Street Initiative, a $20M public-private partnership between the City and County of Denver and property owners along 14th Street. The project seeks to bring together diverse interests to create a re-designed 14th Street from Market Street to Colfax Avenue.

Kim holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and master’s degree from the University of Houston.

Back to top

Sean Maley serves a wide range of client needs as a government affairs specialist. Sean’s knowledge of local policy issues and expertise in strategic community outreach and zoning matters serve as an asset for a broad range of CRL's clients, including small and large businesses, real estate development and statewide and regional trade associations.

Sean has a background in public policy and local government, having served as a council aide to Denver City Councilwoman Jeanne Robb. He has specialized knowledge of zoning codes, development and permitting procedures, local and metropolitan planning initiatives, economic development and public finance tools.

This broad skill set is coupled with an understanding of strategic community relations, which enables Sean to provide a wide range of lobbying services.

He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado-Boulder and participated in the 2007 Downtown Denver Partnership Leadership Program, which helped develop a business engagement program to enable the Greenprint Denver initiative to attract and recruit business involvement. In addition, Sean supervises CRL’s internship program in partnership with the University of Colorado and Metropolitan State College of Denver.

Back to top

Peg provides in-depth research into projects and issues for CRL clients. She manages client archives and communicates strategic items of interest to staff and clients.

Prior to joining CRL, Peg was the Denver City Council District 10 council aide and legislative analyst, in which role she successfully advocated for the district’s diverse constituency. She has extensive public relations and marketing experience having served as public relations director for the Colorado Historical Society for 17 years.

Peg has a master’s degree in Western U.S. History. She is an alumna of the Denver Community Leadership Forum and the Outward Bound Leadership Program. Her memberships include the Denver Press Club and the Denver Woman’s Press Club (president 1997-1999). In addition, Peg is an adjunct Colorado history instructor at Metropolitan State College.
Peg is often referred to as the “Hat Lady.” She owns more than 150 of them.

Back to top

Cathie is a veteran when it comes to expertly juggling the wide range of administrative needs of top officials. She’s served some distinguished executives, including the Dean of Law at the University of British Columbia. The more variety a job presents, the more she enjoys it. Cathie just can’t stand not being busy, which is never a problem at CRL.

Back to top

Kelley has been with CRL Associates since 1998. With her strong background in music, she also serves as the Youth Music Director at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial and directs the Swallow Hill Choir at Denver’s Swallow Hill Music Association. Kelley’s main job, though, is being mom to her four beautiful children, Sarah, Tessa, Josiah and Isaac.

Back to top

Sharon has been with CRL Associates for 10 years and never fails to put our clients and guests at ease. She truly enjoys helping others. Every year you will find her assisting at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival.

Back to top