1.) This is a new position at CC. What does the job entail?
Engaging parents in the life of the college is a top priority. Their support is critical to ensure that students enjoy the world-class educational and immersive learning opportunities that make Colorado College a one-of-a-kind academic experience. In collaboration with parents, we can bolster innovative educational programs, deepen our scholarship, expand our reach, and cultivate the minds of our students.
2.) What are some personal or professional experiences you’ve had either at CC or outside of it that play into your current role?
I’ve had the privilege of working in 20 countries and all of those experiences have been mind-expanding, transformative, and fascinating. Encounters that stand out include doing prison outreach in Northeast Germany and corporate community impact initiatives through build-a-bike programs targeting inner-city youth. Within higher education, I’ve had rich and varying experiences which have given me a holistic perspective. In my first post in higher education, I served as the director of leadership gifts and later transitioned to the role of corporate and community relations director (fundraising).
3.) How do you think your position will impact CC?
Being able to help parents and family members optimize their philanthropy to Colorado College to support their sons and daughters’ transformative Colorado College experience is rewarding. Gifts made to the Parents’ Fund support every part of the CC experience, including financial aid, faculty and academic programming, athletics, experiential career placement, independent research, outdoor education programs, global study, and our beautiful campus.
4.) Can you tell us a bit about your background before CC?
I completed my undergraduate degree and M.B.A. from private liberal arts institutions in Wisconsin. I arrived to Colorado College during the summer of 2008 and absolutely love it. I grew up in Saint Albert, Alberta, Canada. After working for a global non-profit based out of Denver, I fell in love with the region and wanted to come back. Raising kids out West was a priority. I saw a position for Colorado College posted online via Higher Ed Jobs.com. It was the first and only position I applied for, and three months later I was here.
5.) Tell us a little more about your experience doing prison outreach in Northeast Germany.
The prison outreach was a component of a broader dialogue program about personal responsibility, intersecting identities, social justice, and multiculturalism, stimulated by frequent, intense interactions among peers and people with vastly different backgrounds and world views — it was life-changing.
6.) What do you do with your personal time?
I have three incredible kids ages 9, 6, and 4; we go hiking in the mountains with our Golden Retriever “Buddy” every weekend. Colorado is an incredible place for adventures and establishing memories that my kids will have for a lifetime.
7.) Do you have a favorite place to hike with your kids?
My favorite place to hike with the kids is Section 16, the Crags, Barr Trail, and Helen Hunt Falls.
8.) What’s your most memorable hike?
My most memorable hike with the kids was up to the Continental Divide — not too far from Breckenridge. Hiking with kids invigorates the joy of discovering things in nature that we take for granted.
9.) What is your passion?
I’m passionate about being a father and traveling to new places. I find that traveling, both domestically and internationally, expands my mind. Not necessarily because of what I’m experiencing with the senses, but what I experience first-hand by encountering new cultures and lifestyles that nuances my perspective and understanding of the world around me.
10.) Wild card: Can you tell us something about yourself that might be surprising?
Like a true liberal arts person, I have eclectic passions and interests. I graduated from a musical theatre high school and was involved with an acting agency for about 10 years. I never made it big; however, I met lots of fascinating people and grew a lot as a person. Growing up I ran track and cross-country and played soccer, basketball, and football. I also was involved in dance, jazz choir, and the creative process of short scene production. However, what I enjoyed the most was playing amateur football in the Canadian Junior Football League as a running back and kick-returner (and running for my life!)
