Trinity has named Denny Marie Post ’78 as the 2019 Distinguished Alumna and Bonnie Flake ’77 as the Spirit of Trinity honoree. The Distinguished Alumni Award is given to a graduate who has distinguished themselves through remarkable personal or professional achievement, while the Spirit of Trinity Award is presented to someone who embodies the loyal and giving spirit of Trinity through their service to the University and wider community.
Both Post and Flake will be recognized during a reception and dinner at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, February 8, in the Great Hall of the Chapman Center. Attendance is open to the public at $40 per person, or a table can be purchased for $400. Contact Ana Vasquez at 210-999-8404 to make arrangements.
Denny Post is the president and chief executive officer of the casual restaurant food chain Red Robin. She brings to the company more than 35 years of leadership experience in consumer-driven marketing, product innovation, and building teams to develop and execute strategies that increase brand awareness and drive sales.
After graduating from Trinity with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and social science, Post dove into the world of business and has since accumulated experience at 13 different companies primarily in the food and beverage industry. Before joining Red Robin, Denny worked as the senior vice president and chief marketing officer at T-Mobile USA. While working at YUM! Brands, Post held several different management positions with KFC USA, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell Canada. She also held roles as senior vice president of Global Beverage, Food and Quality for Starbucks and senior vice president and chief concept officer for Burger King.
Never shying away from a challenge, Post plays an active role in the community in addition to her work. She is currently serving as chair of the Women’s Food Service Forum Board of Directors and also as a director on the boards of Wyndham Destinations and the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve bank of Kansas City. She is a culinary institute fellow and participates in the Denver CEOs Against Cancer Group. Once a month, she and her husband also cook and serve dinner to teenagers experiencing homelessness. Post helped raise funds for her 40th Trinity class reunion this past year.
Bonnie Flake has been, and continues to be, an inspiring advocate for higher education and close friend of the University. Flake is a firm believer in the power education has to expose a person to life’s possibilities. She served as alumni director for Trinity University from 1990 to 2006, where she oversaw the development and maintenance of multiple programs, such as Alumni Weekends, award presentations, and the establishment of new Alumni Chapters. As director, she succeeded in dramatically growing and streamlining the alumni network for generations of Trinity graduates to come.
Prior to becoming alumni director, Flake graduated from Trinity with a degree in journalism, broadcast, and film in 1977. She began her education at the University of Oklahoma, but reconnected with her passion for learning when she returned to school at Trinity. After graduating, Flake began working as an employee for the University in 1979 in the Summer School and Continuing Education Department. In 1987, she became the Trinity assistant alumni director, before beginning work as alumni director in 1990.
She and her husband, Francisco O. Garcia, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of religion at Trinity, remain closely connected to Trinity and active in the San Antonio community during retirement. Flake serves as the scholarship chair of the local chapter of the Association for Women in Communications. She also serves on the board for the Dote Foundation, which supports women and children with AIDS.
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