On June 28, Gov. Jared Polis announced the appointment of Dr. Brenda Campos-Spitze, of Greeley, to the University of Northern Colorado’s Board of Trustees. She will serve through the end of the year, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Trustee Patricia Barela Rivera, of Denver, whose term was set to expire in December. 

Campos-Spitze, or Doctora Campos as her patients call her, is a Latina family physician in Greeley who works at Sunrise Community Health. She also serves as a school board director for Greeley-Evans School District 6 and is a member of the advisory board for UNC’s proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine. 

“I'm pleased to welcome Brenda to the Board of Trustees,” said board Chairman Dick Monfort. “Her experience as a family physician and a leader in the Greeley community make her well positioned to help advance UNC’s strategic priorities, including establishing a college of osteopathic medicine. I look forward to working with her.” 

Campos-Spitze graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies from the University of California, Davis. She then earned her medical degree at the University of California, Irvine, and her master’s in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  

During medical school she was part of a dual-degree program known as the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC), a five-year M.D./master’s program designed to create leaders and physician activists who will work in Latino underserved communities. Attracted by Greeley’s diversity, she and her husband moved to Greeley in 2014 to complete their three-year family medicine residency training at the Banner North Colorado Family Medicine Residency Training program and subsequently decided to make Greeley their home. 

The daughter of El Salvadoran immigrant parents who gave her the gift of bilingualism and instilled in her strong values of service, Campos-Spitze is passionate about providing cultural representation, promoting equity in education and mentoring pre-health students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds like her own.  

In her new role on the board, Campos-Spitze said she is most excited about ensuring that the new college of medicine attracts a medical student body that reflects the diversity in the region and would like to help establish a D6-UNC pipeline program into the new school. 

“I am excited by this opportunity and look forward to working with President Feinstein and the board,” Campos-Spitze said. “As a member of the College of Osteopathic Medicine advisory board, I have been impressed by UNC’s vision for the future and commitment to serving the region and the state. I am honored to join the board at this exciting time and expand my role in serving the university.” 

Although Campos-Spitze's appointment will expire at the end of the year, she will be eligible for a full four-year term after that time. 

UNC’s Board of Trustees consists of seven members appointed by the governor, plus a non-voting faculty member and student who are elected by their peers. More information about the board is available on the Board of Trustees website.