Jeremy Kinney has lit the hearts and minds of so many throughout his life. While he was an undergrad in American Studies at Yale University, he volunteered as a Big Brother for underserved neighborhoods in New Haven, CT, helping kids as a mentor and teaching them to read, write, and become leaders. After graduating from Yale in 1968, he became a lieutenant in the Marines, commanding 250 troops in Okinawa. As their officer, he earned the respect of his troops during a contentious time of the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged in 1971 and enrolled at Harvard Business School. He continued to serve in the Marines Corps Reserves until 1973.

In 1981, Jeremy founded Kinney Oil Company and moved to Colorado. Following his love of arts, he made generous contributions to the newly formed Opera Colorado and volunteered his time to become Chairman of the Board from 1985 -1987. During his time as Chairman, Jeremy worked with other arts and cultural institutions of the time and became one of the founders of the Scientific Cultural Facilities District, lobbying the legislature to pass SCFD in 1986 and 1987. Today, SCFD funds over 300 arts and cultural organizations with 80 million dollars annually. Jeremy currently serves as Honorary Chairman of Opera Colorado.

In 1998, Jeremy encouraged Holly Kinney, his wife, to create the Tesoro Cultural Center, a Colorado non-profit. He has served as voluntary Chairman of the Board of Tesoro for over 25 years. Without Jeremy’s leadership and dedication to the community, the Tesoro Cultural Center would have never existed.