Stronger Together

Convergence 27

August 8 – 11, 2025

Room A (Georgetown) | Saturday | 11:15 am – 12:15 pm

Join us for a roundtable discussion with Colorado nonprofits Urban Peak, Youth on Record, Electronic Saviours, and Danu’s Wardrobe to explore the incredible work these organizations are doing in the community. Get inspired and get involved in creating community and opportunity.

Panelists

Coleen D. Caraway

Coleen D. Caraway, owner of Danu’s Wardrobe, a fantasy-style bookstore pop-up and event production company, creates unique community collaboration events for local businesses to help the community grow and increase awareness of the struggles of small businesses. She has worked with multiple outreach programs including Make Mental Health Matter, Colorado Gay Rodeo, and Alpha Behavior Strategies, where she supports neurodivergent individuals to obtain and maintain their desired employment and life skills. In her spare time Coleen enjoys dancing, eating good food, and hosting themed events.

Conrad Mata

Conrad Mata is a producer, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist whose album, Still, received wide acclaim for its versatility in genre, originality in style, and earworm melodies. A previous participant of the Youth on Record programs, Conrad now works on staff of Youth on Record on the development team to ensure the continued impact of this cherished organization and community resource.

Jim Semonik

Jim Semonik is a cancer survivor, industrial music promoter, DJ, and founder of Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer. After being diagnosed with stage 2B colorectal cancer in 2008, Jim turned his experience into a massive charitable music project, bringing together artists from across the industrial scene to raise money for cancer research and support organizations. Since its launch in 2010, Electronic Saviors has grown into a six-volume series (with a seventh on the way), featuring exclusive tracks from over 230 bands including KMFDM, Assemblage 23, Chemlab, and Stabbing Westward’s Chris Hall. To date, the project has raised more than $117,000 for cancer-related causes.

Jim also runs Distortion Productions, a label with over 150 releases, and continues to DJ, perform with his band Red Lokust, and support the scene through live event promotion and community building. In recognition of his efforts, Jim was awarded the ASCRS Local Hero Award in 2019 and even knighted on stage at Coldwaves Chicago. He holds a BA in Psychology from Penn State and is over ten years cancer-free.

Daniel Sparks

Daniel Sparks is a Denver, CO native who has been working in youth services for 20+ years. At Urban Peak, Daniel actively serves as the young adult shelter program manager. His program primarily focuses on providing appropriate shelter services for young adults who are experiencing homelessness between the ages of 18-24.”

“Urban Peak is an organization that provides services to young adults experiencing homelessness from ages 12-24 with services. Services include emergency shelter, housing, education & employment, case management, social emotional, and basic needs essentials.

Curtis Zito

Curtis Zito – Chairman of the Board of Alternative Community Triage – Curtis moved to Denver in the mid 90’s and has been active in its underground and alternative scene ever since. He has always believed in the strength of these communities and the power of collective organization. Alternative Community Triage (ACT) was founded in 2021 as a defensive action against the pandemic with the vision of working to keep our alternative communities together. Today the primary focus of ACT is combating poverty so we don’t lose people to eviction and homelessness.