CSU Spur of the Moment

Laura Weinberg believes that the best way to improve a community is to bring everyone to the table — not just government, but private industry, neighboring cities, and the people who live and work there every day. For Laura, real progress on complex challenges like housing doesn't come from a single solution, but from collaboration across borders and sectors.

Laura is the Mayor of Golden, Colorado, a city of roughly equal parts residents and daily commuters, home to Colorado School of Mines, Coors Brewery, and a thriving outdoor recreation economy. Before running for office, Laura built a career in IT and business strategy, working across financial services and software companies, ultimately running her own consulting practice. When she decided to run for city council — and later for mayor — she did it her way. She also works as a fitness instructor, a role she says provides crucial balance to the policy-heavy demands of public service.

Laura joined the podcast to discuss what it's really like to be a part-time mayor with a full-time workload, her through line of improving systems across every chapter of her career, and why staying curious and true to yourself matters more than having a plan.

Abby Bysshe believes the most powerful museum experiences start with fun and lead to curiosity. From hands-on exhibits to full-body interactive moments, her work centers on creating spaces where visitors of all ages can explore science, ask questions, and leave inspired to learn more long after they walk out the door.

Abby is the Chief Experience and Strategy Officer at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, one of the nation’s oldest and most visited science museums. She has spent nearly a decade at the Institute overseeing exhibitions, live science programming, and the overall visitor experience. Prior to that, she worked at the National Geographic Society and the National Gallery of Art, building a career at the intersection of design, storytelling, and cultural institutions.

Abby joined the podcast to discuss designing engaging museum experiences, sparking curiosity through play, and her career path through the museum world, along with insights on lifelong learning, creative leadership, and staying open to unexpected opportunities.

How do great teams solve hard problems? Dr. Michaela Kerrissey believes it starts with curiosity, care, and a willingness to work together. Her research explores what makes teams thrive—how people from different backgrounds can bridge gaps, listen to one another, and turn collaboration into real innovation.

Michaela is an Associate Professor of Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where she studies how healthcare organizations innovate, improve, and integrate services. Her work focuses on team dynamics, cross-sector collaboration, and leadership behaviors that help groups move from impasse to impact. She was named to the 2023 Thinkers 50 Radar list of top global management thinkers.

Michaela joined the podcast to discuss what makes teams effective, why a “we mindset” matters, and how to build cultures of openness, excellence, and shared problem-solving in any organization.

Michaela joined the podcast to discuss what makes teams effective, why a “we mindset” matters, and how to build cultures of openness, excellence, and shared problem-solving in any organization.

George Sparks believes that cultural institutions have the power to bring people together. Not just literally in a collective space but by making a display of the inherent understanding that we are all a part of nature. 

George is the CEO of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and has been with the museum for 20 years. Before that, he spent 24 years in the electronics measurement business at Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies. His career included marketing, sales, and general management of global businesses and software systems and services.

George joined the podcast to discuss his work connecting humans and nature, his path to his current role, and the importance of building relationships and staying curious throughout your career. 

Denver Museum of Nature and Science Website

Referenced in the episode: Laws of Notion Podcast with Kristan Uhlenbrock

The Water in the West Symposium, hosted at CSU Spur, brings in speakers from different disciplines from around the world every year to discuss global and local water challenges. The 2023 symposium was centered around “Next Gen Water: From AI to Gen Z,” and in this special episode of CSU Spur of the Moment you will hear a panel discussion that focuses on Indigenous and Tribal water challenges and solutions. It featured Mike Preston of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Water Resources Committee and Kathryn Redhorse from the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs. The panel was moderated by Ernest House Jr of the Keystone Policy Center and also a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. 

Their discussion touched on a range of topics, including tribal engagement and decision-making, the impact of drought and climate change on water rights and access, and the needs of the younger generation of Indigenous youth.

Mike Gabel laughs anytime he sees food scientists depicted as wearing lab coats and looking through microscopes. It’s not how he sees himself and the work that he does. In fact, he claims that in his 20-year career as a food scientist, he’s never even used a microscope. Instead, Mike helps food entrepreneurs develop products and bring them to market. 

Mike is the Director of the Food Innovation Center here at CSU Spur, which has the goal of supporting food innovators through various services and by creating a place for their ideas to be fostered and grow. He has led innovation teams at Windsor Foods, ConAgra Foods, and recently at Barilla where he spent five years at their headquarters in Parma, Italy.

He sat down to talk about his passion for food sciences, his career journey, and the secret behind how Jelly Belly makes their jellybeans taste exactly like the foods they intend to replicate.

Sign up to be a CSU Spur Taste Bud here

If you talk to George Franklin he’ll be the first to tell you that lobbyists have a bad rap. Ask him and he will emphasize that integrity and building trust with those around you is what make a good lobbyist, and those things are not often the image that’s depicted on screen and online. 

In this special episode of Spur of the Moment, you will hear a conversation between Kristin Kirkpatrick, Managing Director of CSU Spur Partnerships and Advancement, and George Franklin, author, speaker, long-time lawyer, lobbyist, and former Vice President of Government Relations for the Kellogg Company. George has written numerous books, both fiction and non-fiction, that draw on his experience working in Washington, including “Raisin Bran and Other Cereal Wars” and “So You Think You Want to Run for Congress.”

Hear some colorful stories from George’s illustrious career, including big antitrust lawsuits and traveling with Mohammed Ali, and get an inside look at what the life of a lobbyist actually looks like — it’s not quite what you remember from “Thank You for Smoking.” 

George Franklin’s Website

Connect with George on LinkedIn

April Giles gets to see things every day that most people don’t — people trying to change the world. Whether it’s predicting lung cancer, molecular wound care, or groundbreaking arthritis treatment, she works closely with organizations from startups to commercial enterprises that are focused on healthcare and life science innovation. 

April Giles is the Vice President of Business Development for the Fitzsimons Innovation Community at the University of Colorado. The Fitzsimons Innovation Community is a place where health and life sciences companies are co-located on a collaborative campus and are close to the University of Colorado Medical School. Prior to this role, April was the president and CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association and worked in the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver.

April joined the podcast to talk about her day-to-day work with innovative organizations, the unique pathway that brought her to the Fitzsimons Innovation Community, and why Portugal is the one place she’s been to more than anywhere — it’s probably not the reason you would think! 

Fitzsimons Innovation Community Website
Connect on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

Nature conservation can mean a lot of things in different contexts — it’s not just working in wetlands and forests, but it also has a role to play in the ways our cities function, too. Additionally, nature doesn’t recognize boundaries or borders, and it requires cooperation between the different countries and states that many natural areas cover. This is the kind of work Leslie Harroun focuses on every day as Executive Director of the Salazar Center for North American Conservation. 

The Salazar Center works to build conservation, leadership, thinking, and practice across North America to restore and sustain our natural world for future generations. Before joining the Salazar Center, Leslie led the Next System Project at the Democracy Collaborative where she worked to design and articulate a common sense next economic system that is equitable, democratic, and ecological. Previously, Leslie was a founding director of the Partners for a New Economy and International Donor Collaborative focused on conservation in the economy and senior program officer at the Oak Foundation

Leslie joined Jocelyn to talk about where her passion for nature conservation came from, her day-to-day work and the path that brought her to the Salazar Center, and her favorite pair of shoes that get her through a long day of meetings. 

Salazar Center for North American Conservation Website

Salazar Center on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognized brands on the planet, but how much do you know about their efforts towards a more sustainable planet? For instance their global goal of replenishing 100% of water used during beverage production? Or collecting and recycling a bottle or can for every one sold by 2030? They’re big-time ambitions, and Bruce Karas and his team were tasked with making that happen. 

Bruce Karas is the Principal Consultant at Circular Futures. He has over 30 years of experience as an environmental safety professional and worked with various companies on health stewardship. Notably, he led Coca-Cola North America's environmental efforts focused on water stewardship, climate protection, energy efficiency, packaging and recycling, and sustainable agriculture. 

Bruce joined Jocelyn to talk about his passion for water conservation and recycling, his unique career journey that brought him to where he is today, and one surprise dish he’s well-known for cooking. 

You can find Bruce Karas on LinkedIn

Circular Futures Website