June Meeting times and locations listed below

I imagine we have all read dozens of books on leadership.

Leadership is vital to the work of the Downtown Boulder Partnership. Our staff, our Boards, and our constituents are all leaders, and together we have earned Downtown Boulder the reputation of being a leader among downtown districts.

You've probably heard the quote about how Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels. In order to be successful, we need to be just as good at following as we are at leading, if not better. That takes form in a few different ways.

A couple of weeks ago, our own Terri Takata Smith spent a week in New York as part of the International Downtown Association's Emerging Leadership Fellows (ELF) cohort. As part of this leadership development program, Terri has been taking in volumes of information about best practices and innovative programs. By following the lead of other district management professionals, she has been able to strengthen her own leadership and the leadership of our organization.

Similarly, Chris Zachariasse and Brandon Lowe from our operations leadership spent a few days in Texas at a conference presented by our clean and safe service provider, Block by Block, following leaders in all things operations. You know the fun stuff like public bathrooms and homelessness response.

Meanwhile, as the community wrestles over possible outcomes for the West End of Pearl Street, DBP is following both the stated needs of the businesses most impacted and input from experts.

In the weeks ahead, we will be gathering lots of information from our community. Working with MIG and in partnership with the City of Boulder, we have already begun to embark on revealing a 5-year Vision Plan for Downtown. An important part of this process will be following and listening. We must ask the right questions of our stakeholders, our community, and, as best as we can, those outsiders who should be part of downtown but for whatever reason aren't yet..

It's through following the lead of our community that we will find our strength as an organization to provide thoughtful leadership.

I look forward to all that will follow!

Chip

Shifts range from 2 hours to 4 hours in length. Every volunteer will receive a FREE coffee card (courtesy of our friends at Capital One Café), a slice of pizza from Pizza Colore, and a drink at the end of their shift.

DBP received impressive responses to the RFP issued in April. MIG presented particular experience with an emphasis on the value of stakeholder/community outreach and engagement. The MIG project team is up and running and will be working closely with the Downtown Boulder Partnership and the City of Boulder to embark on developing a five-year Vision Plan for downtown. The Downtown Vision plan is anticipated to be completed this October.