A Seat at the Table with Debbie Brown

Westminster Chamber of Commerce featuring President & CEO Juliet Abdel

Juliet Abdel is President/CEO of the Westminster Chamber of Commerce whose goal is to continuously improve the business climate and build opportunities for growth in Westminster and surrounding areas.

Juliet has a background in Chamber and private sector management, is a former small business owner and worked in public policy. She has served as Regent on the U.S. Chamber Institute for Organization’s National Board of Trustees, Advisory Council for Front Range Community College and was awarded the 40 under 40 recognition by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Currently she is a member of the Advisory Council for Colorado Women’s Alliance, the Leadership Program of The Rockies, a participant in the cohort for Leadership Diversity & Inclusion through ACCE and in the Colorado Tourism Leadership Journey through OEDIT. Juliet is also Miss Colorado for America, an honor she was awarded in July 2020. 

On this week's episode, Juliet shares her professional journey, discusses what differentiates the Westminster Chamber from other chambers, how COVID-19 has impacted her day-to-day business dealings, and why she ultimately pursued the Miss Colorado for America crown. It's a friendly, informative conversation with a savvy and driven professional.

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Executives Partnering to Invest in Children featuring President and CEO Nicole Riehl

Nicole Riehl is the President and CEO of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC), which serves as the business community's nonpartisan voice for early childhood and leads efforts to build infrastructure and advance policies that support the workforce of today while developing the workforce of tomorrow.  Powered by the business community's leadership and commitment to early care education, EPIC strives to ensure all children entering kindergarten have the skills they need to reach their full education and career potential.  

 

Nicole joined EPIC as President & CEO in September of 2019. Her experience spans across the private and non-profit sectors, with her career beginning as an early childhood teacher at an on-site corporate child care program. After working in the financial sector on behalf of a large national homebuilder for several years, Nicole returned to early childhood and supported the quality ratings and onboarding of over 200 child care programs participating in the Denver Preschool Program after it was authorized by Denver voters in 2006.  Her work grew to include the management of quality improvement initiatives and grant contracts at Qualistar Colorado, which sparked her passion for non-profit leadership and management.

She joins Profits & Purpose to discuss her journey, the important work of EPIC, the challenges of childcare during a global pandemic, and how companies are innovating to meet those challenges thanks in large part to organizations like EPIC. 

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting featuring Director Lauren Larson

Lauren Larson is the Director of the Governor's Office of State Planning and Budgeting for Colorado. The office provides the Governor with timely and complete information and recommendations necessary to make sound public policy and budget decisions. Their mission is to foster the responsible use of state resources through effective and efficient planning, budgeting, and evaluation of state programs in a manner that is performance and outcome-focused.

On this week's episode Lauren shares her journey that led her to Washington, D.C. working under three different presidential administrations, why she came to Colorado, and what her role as the Director of OSPB entails. She also provides insight into the budgeting process under COVID-19, why she's an optimist at heart, and how Colorado has worked to prepare for the next phase.

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Workforce Development Month featuring Colorado Workforce Development Council

September is Workforce Development Month, and we're pleased to welcome members of the Colorado Workforce Development Council to the show to discuss the work CWDC does, their Talent Equity Agenda, and highlight some of the work in Boulder and Mesa Counties, in particular.

Joining us are Lee Wheeler-Berliner, Managing Director of the CWDC; Kelly Mitchell, a consultant for the Colorado Workforce Development Council Office with a focus on education and serves as the statewide postsecondary and workforce readiness coordinator for Colorado. She serves in a shared position between the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and the Colorado Department of Education; Erin Jones, Executive Director for Workforce Boulder County; and Curtis Englehart, Director of the Mesa County Workforce Center.

Please visit Connecting Colorado and Colorado Workforce Development Council's websites for more information about the important and exciting work this terrific organization is doing. 

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Colorado Association of REALTORS featuring Vice President of Government Affairs Elizabeth Peetz

The Colorado Association of REALTORS® is the state’s largest professional, voluntary, non-profit, real estate trade association that is dedicated to serving more than 25,000 REALTOR® members across the state. These agents are also members of 33 local associations statewide and the National Association of REALTORS®.

Liz Peetz is the Vice President of Government Affairs at the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. Ms. Peetz directs the public policy efforts of the Colorado Association of Realtors and manages many functions of the government affairs division, but she specializes in policy development, advocacy, and legislative affairs. She also oversees CAR’s Legislative Policy Committee and candidate endorsement process through the Colorado Association of REALTORS® Political Action Committee. Ms. Peetz is a licensed attorney in CO, NE, and Washington D.C.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Peetz has more than 15 years of experience in government affairs and legal analysis in Washington D.C. and Colorado with previous roles as a US. Congressional staffer, and work in various business and non-profit organizations focusing on healthcare related issues, counterterrorism legal operations, litigation, and democracy promotion and civil society training.  

On this week's show, Liz discusses what CAR does, the policy issues pertinent to the real estate industry in Colorado, how COVID has impacted the industry, and much more.

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Activate Workforce Solutions and Inclusive Economy featuring Helen Young Hayes

Helen Young Hayes is Founder and CEO of Activate Workforce Solutions, a people-centered placement agency and professional coaching firm. Activate lives in the space between recruiting and retention, helping businesses find and keep the talent they’re looking for by identifying, matching, and coaching people who want to be unleashed.

She is also one of the founders and leaders of Inclusive Economy, which is a collection of CEOs, EDs, and other business leaders who have the vision and grit to rebuild Colorado’s economy in a way that works for all.

Helen is a 20-year veteran of the financial industry. As the portfolio manager of the Janus Worldwide and Overseas funds, she built and invested a $50 billion franchise in global and international equities. While at Janus, she was the Chief Investment Officer, heading up the 100-person asset management team. Helen founded Activate Workforce Solutions to alleviate poverty through creating pathways to employment. She brings the same passion and dedication of investing in and discovering the potential of companies to investing in and discovering the potential of underserved men and women. Helen was the 2018 winner of the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Woman in Business Mile High Leader Award.

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown.

Mortenson Construction featuring Ale Spray

Ale Spray is Business Development Manager - Community Engagement for Mortenson Construction. Born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and resident of Colorado since 1999, Ale Spray has over 20 years of construction experience. Throughout her career, Ale has held roles such as Project Engineer, Marketing and most recently in Business Development. Ale has been dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to obtain projects, promoting diversity and inclusivity, community connections and continued support for minority companies and small businesses throughout Colorado. 

 

On this week's show, Ale discusses what drew her to engineering, the importance of encouraging young girls to pursue their interests in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and the challenges and opportunities for construction dating back to 2008 and taking us through the current pandemic. Construction in many ways is the backbone of our economy, and Ale's varied and important duties in the industry means she has incredible insight.

 

Also appearing: Immigration Policy Director for Colorado Business Roundtable Megan Peiffer. 

 

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Colorado Technology Association featuring President and CEO Frannie Matthews

Frannie Matthews is the President & CEO of Colorado Technology Association, which seeks to advance Colorado’s tech ecosystem through talent, advocacy, economic development and community. Colorado Technology Association has been at the heart of the Colorado tech movement since 1994, providing leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs the resources they need to thrive. 

 

On this week's episode Frannie shares her journey of how she became engaged in the tech industry, how she came to lead the Colorado Technology Association, what challenges exist for the tech industry in both a non-COVID, and COVID-affected world, and what lies ahead for the tech industry. Tech touches so many aspects of the business world, the insights you'll learn from Frannie are staggering. 

 

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. 

Running a Nonprofit Like a Business with Arc Thrift CEO Lloyd Lewis

Lloyd Lewis is the President and CEO of Arc Thrift, where he has served in that capacity for more than 15 years. In this time, he has grown the organization from 500 employees in 2005 to more than 1,000 today, including over 300 employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

 

Additionally, Arc has funded over $100 million dollars to 15 Arc chapters across Colorado, who help individuals and their families with I/DD find jobs, housing, medical services, and services in schools.  He is the proud father of a 16 year-old son, Kennedy, who has Down syndrome.

 

On this week's episode, Lloyd shares how he grew Arc Thrift and turned the company around. He discusses treating a nonprofit like business, how the organization is weathering the COVID-19 pandemic, what it did to give back, and more about its enterprise mission of supporting and emboldening those with intellectual disabilities. 

 

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown.

Immigration and Workforce Policy featuring Megan Peiffer

Megan Peiffer is Immigration Policy Director for Colorado Business Roundtable. Megan brings 14 years of public policy experience comprising of 8 years in government affairs in the State of Iowa developing and executing legislative strategy on behalf of various member associations, and 7 years of public affairs and strategic communications experience in a variety of states, including Colorado. A political enthusiast from an early age, Megan began her career during high school working for congressional races, a presidential campaign in college, then as intern in Washington, D.C. for the Office of Federal Government Relations for Iowa State University, where she earned her B.A. in Political Science.

On this week's episode, Megan discusses the grant that brought her to work for COBRT on issues pertaining to immigration and workforce development. She shares what the goals of the grant are, and what she's learned so far about things like job availability and how immigrants fill them (in industries like computer science, for instance), the amount of taxes paid by immigrants and much more. Her insights are compelling, and with several months left on the grant, are likely to continue and deepen.

Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown.