Regional issues continuously impact our resort economy. These regional issues – economic development, health care, workforce development and I-70 impacts, among others – impact our businesses, our visitors and our community as a whole.
Vail Valley Partnership is proud to take a leadership role on many regional issues and to be an active participant in helping our community raise awareness of our business interests at a regional and state level. One of the issues facing our community – and one of four issues we’ll be exploring in detail at the Vail Valley Business Forum on July 22 – is workforce development. Last week in this space we explored regional collaboration and regional economic development; we’ll explore health care and I-70 impacts in upcoming weeks leading up to the Business Forum.
Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of Colorado Mountain College, will be speaking at the Business Forum with a focus on workforce and the role of Colorado Mountain College (CMC). CMC is a public two and four-year degree granting institution with eleven learning locations that serve 12,000 square miles of the picturesque central Rocky Mountains, including a location in Edwards that serves the Vail Valley.
One item of specific interest to the business community, related to Colorado Mountain College, is the stated goal of community and economic development, specifically to serve the local community and help businesses thrive. One way that CMC can help the local business community thrive is through workforce development – not only through the traditional education channel, but customized business services, professional development and vocational services.
Dr. Hauser’s career has included a variety of leadership and management roles in higher education institutions, private foundations, and the public policy arena. Prior to Colorado Mountain College, Hauser served as a senior fellow for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and as president and CEO of Kauffman Scholars, Inc. Before joining Kauffman, Hauser was vice president for advancement and external relations at Metropolitan State University of Denver and executive director of its foundation.
Consistent with her lifelong commitment to increase access to higher education, Hauser also served as vice president and an original senior officer of the Daniels Fund, where she led the design and implementation of the Daniels College Prep and Scholarship Program and the Daniels Opportunity Awards. While at Daniels, she was a loaned executive who advised Denver’s mayor on a citywide college scholarship program and assisting the Metro Denver Sports Commission on an initiative to attract top-tier international sporting events, including the Olympic Games.
Hauser’s board and commission service includes the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and its Foundation (chair), the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, the Metro Denver Sports Commission (co-chair, 2012 Women’s Final Four), Visit Denver, the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter, and AfricAid. She received gubernatorial appointments to Colorado’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, and a mayoral appointment to Denver’s Justice Center Taskforce. She is currently a member of the Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows and the Glenwood Springs Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
At the national level, Hauser is past president of the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) and has served on the Pathways to College Network executive committee and as an Educational Policy Institute board member. She has been recognized as the 9News Leader of the Year (Denver’s NBC affiliate and the Colorado Leadership Alliance), one of the Fifty for the Future of Colorado (Colorado Statesman), and the Outstanding Coloradoan Award (Colorado Jaycees).
We are excited to have Dr. Hauser speak to our community about current and future programming at Colorado Mountain College and to explore workforce development opportunities to better meet the needs of our business community. Local leaders Mike Rushmore and Johannes Faessler will lead a moderated Q&A following Dr. Hauser’s presentation.
We invite you to join us for the Vail Valley Business Forum on Tuesday, July 22 from 8:30 am-11 am to help bring discussion of a variety of regional issues, including workforce development, to our community. Tickets are available to VVP members for $15 (non-member tickets are $30). Complete program information is available at www.vailvalleypartnership.com.
Chris Romer is president & CEO of Vail Valley Partnership