District Governor Nominee Designate Colleen Coons

Colleen Coons has been selected to serve as the Rotary District 5495 Governor for 2027/2028. After retiring from a 29-year career as a director at UPS in 2021, she joined the Rotary Club of Mesa West in June 2019. Colleen is the immediate Past President (2023/24) of the Rotary Club of Mesa West.  A notable Rotary Moment includes developing and executing the “Rotary Builds Bridges, McKinney Vento” program, which supports homeless and unaccompanied high school students.  Building trust and believing in them encourages these students to graduate and pursue further education.

Previously, Colleen served as District 5495 Rotaract Chair, establishing a dynamic and diverse District Rotaract Council that increased the number of active Rotaract clubs from one to six, including two community-based clubs. Passionate about youth, she has hosted multiple Rotary Youth Exchange students, mentored at RYLA in both Prescott and Ponderosa, and served as an advisor on international service trips, including Crutches 4 Africa (Kenya) and Ambassadors to Mexico.

Currently, Colleen is the Vice President of the Mesa West Rotary Foundation and a board member of the District Charitable Fund. She is a graduate of Mesa Leadership, Class of 2023, and is enrolled in the Rotary Leadership Academy. Outside of Rotary, she serves on the board of Her Rights and supports OCA Advocates, focusing on projects that better the community.

A U.S. Army veteran who served at Ft. Hood, TX, and Frankfurt, Germany, Colleen holds a degree in Marketing and Economics from Cal State Long Beach. She is married to Dan Coons, a long-time Rotarian and member of The Rotary Club of Queen Creek. They are proud parents of two sons, Ryan (25) and Nicholas (24), both of whom were Rotary Youth Exchange Ambassadors. Colleen resides in Gilbert, AZ, and enjoys local and global service, continuous learning, cooking, yoga, healthy habits, and spending time with her family.