Get to Know the People Powering the Chamber

As president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the leading voice for Colorado's business community, J. J. Ament is focused on effectively advocating for small and large businesses in our region. Before being appointed to his current position, he served from 2017 to 2021 as the chief executive officer of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, a part of the Chamber family of organizations and the largest privately funded and governed economic development organization in Colorado. With experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, J. J. brings a unique combination of expertise to the role.

An investment banker for most of his career, he participated in more than $15 billion of transactions for governments and public-private partnerships throughout the U.S. before leaving the industry in 2016. J. J. has been a member and chairman of the Colorado Economic Development Commission, where he considered state economic development incentives, grants and tax credits for business and tourism projects statewide.

Kristen Blessman is Executive Vice President of the Denver Metro Chamber and President of Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation. She has over 20 years of leadership experience, including strategic marketing, business development and executive management; working within nonprofit as well as for-profit businesses. Blessman is also an entrepreneur, having started multiple ventures. She is a change-agent leader with a focus on revenue development through the areas of innovation, strategic planning, start-up social enterprise, rebranding, and award-winning marketing and advertising campaigns.

Blessman served as the President and General Manager of PBS12, Impact Media for Colorado. As CEO of PBS12, Blessman re-invented the hyper local media landscape for Colorado by telling local stories that inspire. Blessman was brought on as president of the organization to do what she does best; bring innovation, advocacy and change to the nonprofit media organization. Under her tenure, the organization launched entirely new local programming, spearheaded several local content partnerships and won an Emmy and Telly award and best new program from the Colorado Broadcaster’s Association.

Kristen currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Western Colorado University and has served on the boards of The International Women’s Forum of Colorado, The American Marketing Association, and The Denver Press Club. She also serves as an advisory board member and guest faculty for the Jake Jabs School for Entrepreneurship at CU Denver and is a Civico Governor’s Fellow.

Raymond H. Gonzales brings over 26 years of leadership experience across government administration, including roles such as New Mexico’s Deputy Cabinet Secretary under Governor Bill Richardson and County Manager for Adams County, Colorado. Passionate about economic development, Raymond leads the Metro Denver EDC, uniting over 100 cities, counties, and agencies to foster regional prosperity through business attraction and expansion activities, overseeing billions in potential capital expenditures and the creation of thousands of jobs.

He has been instrumental in advancing the Colorado-Wyoming Engine, a key initiative funded through the National Science Foundation, driving regional innovation and collaboration. Raymond also serves as Executive Vice President of the Denver Metro Chamber.