Our Board

The Secure World Foundation was established in December, 2002 as an endowed, private, operating family foundation by Marcel and Cynda Collins Arsenault who wished to put their financial resources to work towards creating a stable and secure world for future generations.  They have a strong belief in the capacity of the world to solve problems with intellect, wisdom and compassion.  The Board of Directors is comprised of Arsenault family members who rely heavily on the expertise of their staff and Advisory Committee to set the direction and goals of the Foundation.

Cynda Collins Arsenault, Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board, and President of Secure World Foundation, has 40 years of experience in non-profit work including peace and justice, prison, mental health, disability rights and environmental issues.  In additional to co-founding Secure World Foundation, she also co-founded the Arsenault Family Foundation.

Collins Arsenault is an author, activist and philanthropist.  Her activism and impact extend from her local community to outer space.  Starting out as a Girl Scout and 4H Club leader, she has served in numerous leadership roles on behalf of women and people with disabilities.  As a philanthropist concentrating on the empowerment and voice of women, she is part of the Women's Donor Network and Women Moving Millions.  Her philanthropy is based on a global and long-term lens.  Collins Arsenault is a visionary as well as a pragmatist-a rare combination that has allowed her to accomplish so much in a short amount of time.

She has been active in grass roots organizing and community building since the 1960s working on ways to build a secure and sustainable future for the children of the world. She has also been involved, for many years, in promoting opportunities for people with developmental disabilities and has authored two books on the subject. She is a member of the Women's Forum and Board President of the Association for Community Living.

Collins Arsenault received her BA in Sociology and Psychology at University of California Berkeley and earned her Masters Degree in  Education from Colorado State University.

Marcel J.C. Arsenault, Chairman, CEO and founder of Colorado & Santa Fe and co-founder of the Secure World Foundation.  Arsenault is also President and founder of the Arsenault Family Foundation and One Earth Future, an operating foundation focused on peace through governance. He continues to be an extremely successful entrepreneur, which allows him to fund his three foundations.  He is one of the largest and most active owners of commercial real estate in Colorado. Before entering real estate, he founded Mountain High Yoghurt, a highly successful brand of yogurt that he later sold.

Arsenault maintains a personal portfolio exceeding $200 million in commercial real estate assets. He has been a finalist for the Denver Business Journal's "Entrepreneur of the Year", is included in "Who's Who of Commercial Real Estate," has lectured at the University of Colorado, and has delivered numerous addresses to various real estate organizations. He has authored several papers on real estate and is a contributing author of How to Build a Real Estate Empire in which he describes the paths he took in creating a self-sustaining real estate empire.

Beyond the business world, Marcel served as a board member for the Metropolitan Association for Retarded Citizens (MARC) for five years. His achievements and vision have won him numerous awards including the "Conservationist Award" for his participation in several open space projects in Boulder, Colorado and the distinguished "Steven B. Hart" award from the Colorado Historical Society for saving and restoring the Tabor residence and the Tabor Grand Hotel in Leadville.  He was also an early board member and Vice Chair of Eco-Cycle Boulder, one of the earliest and largest non-profit recycling organizations in the United States.

His academic accomplishments include a B.S. degree from McGill University in Canada and four years toward a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Colorado.

John Fidel Collins Arsenault is currently earning a Diversified Studies Degree with an emphasis on bio-chemistry and philosophy at the University of Colorado in Boulder.  He is an avid musician and dj with numerous recordings.