As we hit one week out from Founded in FoCo, I wanted to talk about the power of small actionable steps, community outreach, and the power of cross-domain knowledge.

My friend Luke Doescher and I first met when he volunteered for my campaign for City Council. He tirelessly went from neighborhood to neighborhood with me, knocking on doors and talking to neighbors. From there, he took on the role of campaign manager for the RCV for Fort Collins team. He’s now the aide for one of our State Representatives and works daily at the Capitol where he was able to give me the inside scoop during our Leadership Fort Collins state government day. Luke is a case study in taking actionable steps toward your goals to accomplish great things.

Representative Andrew Boesenecker and Minority Leader Mike Lynch spoke about the importance of outreach and how asking the right questions at the right moment can lead to helpful policy and new laws.

From the Capitol, our LFC class visited the new CSU Spur campus – a 3-building effort designed to provide an on-ramp for the community (kids especially) to learn about animal science, agriculture, health, food, water, and so much more – empowering future careers and making tomorrow that much brighter.

At the end of the day, Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt joined us alongside Dr. Sybil Sharvelle, who helped to design water reclamation systems for the Space Station and now helps keep water in our rivers through her graywater research at CSU. Jeni’s deep water knowledge, paired with her sensible policy approach, has served Colorado and Fort Collins well so far – positioning us to lead well on historically tricky issues.

The confluence of these ideas is the heart of what makes Founded in FoCo so valuable: small actionable steps, ongoing community outreach, and cross-domain knowledge that empowers new perspectives. I hope to see you there taking your own actionable steps!

Big thanks to Leadership Fort Collins, Luke, Representatives Boesenecker and Lynch, Mayor Arndt, and Dr. Sharvelle for a wonderful day of learning.