Colorado Connection

Before being elected the first female president of Liberia, or serving as a World Bank economist, or getting exiled from her home country, or spending time in prison, or having her life threatened by then-Liberian president Charles Taylor, or receiving a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf called Colorado home when she attended the Economic Institute at the University of Colorado.

After more than three decades of successes, exile, prison and death threats, Johnson-Sirleaf returns to the Front Range to lecture on her often challenging life immersed in African government. Tonight, the Unique Lives Series rounds out its tenth year in Denver with the internationally recognized “Iron Lady” of Africa. Named one of Forbes magazine’s Most Influential Women, Johnson-Sirleaf is a testament to what can be overcome with vision, intelligence and heart.

Armed with the goal of presenting “intelligent women to intelligent women,” Unique Lives brings some of the most inspiring women of our time to town. “It’s like a smart girls’ night out,” says media contact Janette Ramirez. Johnson-Sirleaf speaks at 7:30 p.m. at the Buell Theatre in the Denver Performing Arts Complex; tickets range from $47.75 to $115. For more information, call 877-872-8124 or go to www.eventsunlimited.com.
Mon., June 2, 2008