The Drop Off: EPIC Conversations About the Workforce of Today and the Talent of Tomorrow

Linda Weise is the President and CEO of the Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective, a 501C3 dedicated solely to the preservation and revitalization of the historic Colorado Springs City Auditorium. She is also the Founding CEO of the Colorado Springs Conservatory (CSC). She established the Conservatory in 1994 to bring world-class performing arts education to the region.

On this episode of The Drop-Off, Linda shares her professional journey that took her from performing to business to making the entrepreneurial leap. She joins Nicole Riehl to discuss issues pertinent to the arts and to early childhood, shares how the challenges have changed in the last 30 years, and how she came to be inspired by EPIC to be more involved at the State Capitol. 

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

This month we met with Lisa Steven, Founder and Executive Director of Hope House Colorado and EPIC Executive Member. Hope House serves over 250 teen moms teaching how to achieve personal and economic self-sufficiency. Lisa explains that, “we don’t know where we would be without EPIC” and the opportunity to be a Project of Promise has been critical to remove the barriers and challenges of child care.

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

From oral health to universal pre-school, Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation's Adeeb Khan tells EPIC CEO and President, Nicole Riehl, how we all can have positive longterm outcomes by investing in children at an early age. Listen in as Adeeb explains how getting kids “set up on the right track” will help our workforce to be better off in the long run. 

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

David Hammond served as EPIC’s Board Chair from 2019 to 2022 and has been critical to the organization’s growth and development since its inception in 2010. In this podcast, David tells Nicole about his interest in early childhood education and advocacy since he was a young father and the strategies that have been key to support the early childhood system in Colorado. 

David explains that emerging leaders now have powerful arguments around the need for high quality child care and how it was a “silver lining during the pandemic" to highlighting this critical need. EPIC is happy that David will remain on EPIC’s board and his emerging opportunities outside of the child care realm because building stronger, safer communities is crucial.

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Nicole interviewed early-childhood champion, Susan Steele, recently-retired President and CEO of the Buell Foundation and EPIC founding board member. Among other things, Susan shares her serendipitous entrance as a leading changemaker for children and families in Colorado and how she learned to meet the pressing needs of the times. Listen as she shares her life experiences, successes, and how "anyone can be an advocate from wherever they sit.

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Steamboat Ski Resort is passionate about their employees and the community in Routt County. In mid-December EPIC interviewed them on opening day of their new child care facility. Learn how Steamboat “got over their skis” to tackle the problem of a lack of child care along with collaboration from EPIC’s Design Lab and others who contributed to the solution.

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

On September 29th EPIC brought together Colorado business leaders across industries to celebrate “Today’s Vision, Tomorrow’s Success” EPIC’s Annual Business Leaders Dinner. The event was a tremendous success with over 220 area business leaders, EPIC members, and partners in attendance. In case you were not able to join, we hosted a robust lineup for our panel portion of the evening and this month’s podcast features key insights and contributions from that conversation. Each of our panelists has a unique position addressing critical issues around early care and education and we deeply appreciate their participation.

Special thanks to all of EPIC’s supporters including Governor Jared Polis, Nicole Brady from 7News, Jon Haubert, Publisher of ColoradoBiz Magazine and our amazing sponsors.

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

David Merage is the co-founder of Chef America, a national frozen food manufacturer known for inventing and marketing Hot Pockets©, Lean Pockets©, and Croissant Pockets©, and Consolidated Investment Group. He is also one of the founding members of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC). On the debut episode of The Drop Off, he shares the many insights he's acquired as one of the country's most successful and influential entrepreneurs including the importance of surrounding oneself with incredible people, why he doesn't focus on the negative, and the upside of businesses investing in child care. He relates an epiphany he had while talking to one of his team members that led to his continued advocacy of ensuring every worker in America has access to high-quality, affordable child care.

This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe.