Dear Rocky Mountain Partnership -
Twenty-three years ago, the tragedy of Columbine was an event that ignited fire in the belly amongst community leaders for this partnership. While beyond the traditional bounds of our region, our local law enforcement was deployed that day, and our school district leaders pledged “not on our watch.” Partners came together, over data, in the spirit of ‘never again. It breaks my heart, and as a parent and community member, keeps me up at night to see Colorado and the nation experience similar tragedies again and again. The event in Uvalde this week reminds me that the work of this partnership was important more than two decades ago and remains ever relevant because it is the collective care and collective action we take that will change the trajectory of our community and our children’s futures.
As I pass the torch, I feel humbled and incredibly grateful for the relationships and lessons I’ve learned while kindling the fire of the Adams County Youth Initiative / Rocky Mountain Partnership with YOU. It is you - the community leaders who created the many sparks for this partnership over the years - who I honor today. My gratitude to those who…
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Ignited the belief that we could do far more together than we can apart to improve outcomes for kids and families, particularly the leaders of the Safe Schools / Healthy Students Grant and the 17th Judicial District - District Attorney’s Office. It’s on your shoulders that the spirit and foundation of this partnership were established. (2005 - 2011)
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Illuminated the data and built the shared commitment by five school districts to use that data to drive decisions, as evidenced by the Adams County Student Survey, which was one of the first, annual, census-level student surveys in the nation. You shifted the paradigm from collaboration to shared accountability. (2008 - 2019)
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Fanned the flame by formalizing the partnership by incorporating as a stand-alone 501(c)3 with 18 organizations signing a resolution of commitment. Your dedication to each other and to creating lasting change for this community was solidified. (2011 - 2022).
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Spotlight on Adams 12 Five Star Schools Board of Education and leadership, including Chris Gdowski and Pat Hamilton (who served as a founding Board Member and founding Co-Chair of the Leadership Table, respectively), Kevin West, and numerous other Adams 12 staff who have generously provided leadership and resources on behalf of the partnership.
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Spotlight on Community Reach Center leadership including Rick Doucet and Christi Mecillas who provided in-kind resources that contributed to the organization’s growth along the way.
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Lit up the voices and power of community members, especially youth, particularly our national affiliate, StriveTogether, and international partner, Girl Effect, who selected Adams County as the first Technology Enabled Girl Ambassadors (TEGA) pilot in the Network, and our brilliant and strong TEGAs themselves. Your dedication to working WITH and IN community, is what makes transformation possible, and your youth-led co-design of solutions was recognized at the national level. (2017 - present).
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Added fuel to the fire to maintain momentum, funding, and engagement with the re-commitment by partnership leaders to driving the strategic plan and re-establishing the Steering Committee and doubling down on the need to embrace the value of equity, inclusion, and diversity which really been the whole darn point all along. Your continued commitment built trust that the partnership is an advocate for ALL youth and families for the long-run. (2018 - present).
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Served as a guiding light in building and sustaining the movement, particularly friends and colleagues at StriveTogether, All Hands Raised, Milwaukee Succeeds, Promise Partnership Salt Lake, Mission: Graduate, and the National StriveTogether Lady Leaders. You demonstrated what is possible through this approach and supported me to grow, aspire, and evolve in my leadership. (2011 - present)
It is each of you who made the work possible and it is each of you, alongside our eager and enthusiastic team, new CEO, Board of Directors, and Leadership Table, who will keep your Rocky Mountain Partnership ablaze. To keep the heat ever focused on the outcomes we create, I hope you will continued to BE curious, courageous, and committed to aligning your efforts, resources, and policies to what works for kids and families, especially those often marginalized. My is hope each time you come together as a collaborative that you ask yourselves: What is working? Who is it working for (and who is it not?) What will we do differently? Do we do what we say we will? And is anyone better off as a result?
With Love and Light,
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