Operations & Finance Executive · COO
Nearly 20 years turning early-stage ideas into durable, well-run institutions — across climate education, affordable housing, sustainable infrastructure, and impact investing.
About
Nearly 20 years ago, I started asking a question I haven't stopped asking since: how do you take a compelling idea and build something that actually lasts?
Vision is common. Execution is hard. The distance between a great idea and a functioning organization is filled with unglamorous, essential work — the financial model, the governance structure, the compliance system, the budget process that forces real tradeoffs.
That's the work I love. That's the work I'm good at.
I do my best work in organizations where the mission is real, the team is committed, and the problem is hard enough that everyone has to matter.
Core Competencies
Selected Work
Three examples that capture the range of what I do and how I work — from policy-to-scale program operations to complex infrastructure finance to mission-driven startup capitalization.
Climate Education · Policy to Scale · National Expansion
Lyra Colorado — Served as core operational leader for the Seal of Climate Literacy from policy inception through Colorado's first 425 graduates. Now leading the national expansion infrastructure.
A first-of-its-kind high school diploma endorsement recognizing climate literacy didn't exist anywhere in the country. Lyra Colorado had the vision to create one — but vision doesn't pass legislation, stand up a microgrant program, recruit school partners, or put a credential in students' hands. Someone had to build all of that simultaneously, with a startup-sized team and no playbook to follow.
I served as the core operational leader for the Seal of Climate Literacy from policy inception through statewide scale — managing workstreams across legislation, brand development, partner implementation, microgrant administration, and student recognition. I also contributed to the successful pursuit of over $4.75M in competitive grants that funded the work, including a $750K Jobs for the Future award and a $3M state OEDIT grant, and directed a proactive communications strategy generating 22 unique media placements including four national outlets.
Colorado's first 425 Seal graduates now hold a credential that signals scientific and civic readiness for the challenges ahead. Today I'm leading the national expansion infrastructure: a new U.S.-facing website, partner measurement system, state-level operational agreements, and a multi-year fundraising pitch to capitalize the growth campaign.
Sustainable Infrastructure · P3 Finance · Multi-Stakeholder Negotiation
National Western Center Authority — Key leader on team negotiating a $185M, 42-year P3 contract with EAS Energy, plus four associated contracts with Colorado State University, Western Stock Show, City of Denver, and Metro Water Recovery.
The National Western Center Authority had a bold sustainability vision for its 250-acre, $765M campus redevelopment: a renewable district energy system unlike anything built at this scale in North America. Executing that vision required structuring a $185M, 42-year public-private partnership — and then securing four associated operating and loan contracts with partners who each had their own governance structures, legal requirements, and definitions of what a good deal looked like.
I was a key leader on the negotiating team, managing the multi-stakeholder engagement strategy essential to getting the deal across the finish line. The four partner organizations — Colorado State University, the Western Stock Show Association, the City of Denver, and Metro Water Recovery — had to be aligned simultaneously while the primary P3 negotiation with EAS Energy proceeded in parallel. I also contributed to a broader sustainability strategy including 20-year contracts for on-site community solar gardens and microgrid energy resiliency infrastructure.
NWCA closed North America's largest sewer heat recovery district energy system — a 42-year P3 that will define the campus's environmental footprint for a generation. All four associated operating and loan contracts were executed. The project represents a genuine precedent in sustainable infrastructure finance.
Affordable Housing · Capital Formation · Nonprofit Startup
Gary Community Ventures — Collaborated with the President & CEO to conceptualize, validate, and secure $24M in startup capital for Elevation Community Land Trust, now stewarding 700+ permanently affordable homes in Colorado.
Permanently affordable for-sale homeownership at scale in Colorado required more than a good policy argument. It required an organization — with capital, governance, operational systems, and community relationships — that didn't yet exist. Gary Community Ventures wanted to help build it from the inside of a philanthropic institution, which required a very particular kind of leadership.
Working alongside the President & CEO of Gary Community Ventures, I helped conceptualize and validate the Elevation Community Land Trust model, built the business case, and helped secure $24M in startup capital to launch the organization. Before Elevation had its own staff, I spearheaded its startup operations across multiple stakeholder groups — standing up systems, processes, and relationships so the new team could hit the ground running from day one.
Elevation Community Land Trust is now stewarding 700+ permanently affordable for-sale homes across Colorado — a durable, well-run institution that will compound its impact for decades. It is one of the most significant community land trust launches in recent Colorado history.
Writing
No frameworks for their own sake. Hard-won perspective from nearly 20 years in the COO seat — across sectors, organization types, and stages of growth.
Contact
I'm currently exploring COO and senior operations and finance leadership opportunities — ideally with mission-driven organizations at a meaningful inflection point. That might mean a nonprofit ready to move from startup to scale, an impact enterprise preparing for a complex capital transaction, or a growing organization that needs someone to build the operational infrastructure it's been running without.
Based in Denver, Colorado