Our Board
Ajay Bajaj
Board ChairAjay Bajaj has been on the Bridge of Hope Board since June 2015. Ajay is a Director with Summit Investment Management’s acquisition group where he has worked for over 7 years. Ajay has over 18 years of experience in real estate and corporate finance. Ajay’s education includes a MBA from the Anderson School of Business at UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts from Wichita State University.
He enjoys spending time with family and hobbies include golf, cycling, skiing, and other outdoor sports. Ajay lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with his wife of 21 years and his son and daughter.
Laura Asbell
Board TreasurerLaura was one of the mentors for the first Denver BOH family in December 2015 and is still in touch with the family today. She joined the Board in August 2019 and was asked to be the Treasurer in 2020. Laura has over 40 years of accounting experience as a Controller, small business owner, and public accountant. She got her CPA 30 years ago when she moved to the Denver area from the East Coast. Currently she is a Senior Tax Manager at CBIZ, a publicly traded corporation. She has a Master’s of Taxation (University of Denver), MBA (Loyola College Baltimore) and BA (Duke University).
Laura has been married for 29 years and has a blended family of four sons and seven grandchildren. She loves to travel with her husband, children ,and grandchildren. Other interests include swimming, Zumba classes, and plans to take up quilting again upon retirement.
Marie Myhr
Board MemberMarie started volunteering with Bridge of Hope in July 2014. She serves on the program committee and has had the blessing of interviewing many of the women that Bridge of Hope has been privileged to serve. In January 2019, she joined the board. Marie works in the mortgage industry. She has four adult children and four grand children. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, biking and playing pickleball.
Nate Melchior
Board MemberAdele Funk
Board MemberAdele Furukawa Funk is a speaker, leader, wife, mother, grandmother, and advocate for social justice, immigrants, and the poor. She helps women hear from God using the Word of God, mentors women to have hope for the future, leads abortion recovery groups, and works to flourish the lives of the poor, disadvantaged, and under-employed through a non-profit ministry called Synergy Village that she directs. One of Adele’s recent quotes she heard and loves states ” some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful”.
Adele was the South/East Teaching Leader for Bible Study Fellowship International (BSF). She is now an Area Advisor for BSF and travels to classes in the area to encourage and build them up.
Adele has been married to her CSU sweetheart, Loren Funk for 43 years. She has two children and several grandchildren. The things she loves most in life are spending time with her grandchildren and spoiling them as much possible, teaching the Bible, Synergy Village, being on the water with friends helping them learn to surf, eating charcuterie, and hanging out with friends in Colorado mountain towns.
Ric Lukasiewicz
Board MemberRic’s bio is forthcoming.
Valerie Philips
Board MemberValerie joined the Bridge of Hope Board in January of 2023. Valerie has been the owner of Falling Star Consulting since 2015, which helps small business owners with accounting and bookkeeping solutions. Along with her husband, Shane, they also own First Steps Help, which provides financial resources to individuals after the death of a loved one. Valerie resides in Castle Rock with her husband and five children. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, golfing, hiking, and volunteering at her church and her children’s schools.
