Board of DirectorsOur amazing board members are (left to right) Kayvan Khalatbari, Michael Miera,
Asia Dorsey, and Jeff Shanahan. |
|
Meet the Team
Yessica X. Holguin, Executive Director
|
Yessica was CCWB's first hire. She is responsible for leading the organization and carrying out the vision of a people-owned, inclusive, and sustainable metro Denver economy that catalyzes prosperous and resilient communities free from racism and injustice.
Yessica grew up in the Swansea neighborhood in Denver and has done grassroots community organizing with immigrant groups and low-income communities across the Denver Metro area since 2000. She has dedicated her life to empowering disenfranchised communities to break the cycle of poverty through education and entrepreneurship. She enjoys running, reading, and spending time with friends and family while drinking coffee. |
Michelle Sturm, Anchor Strategy Director
|
Michelle leads the anchor engagement strategy. She works with individuals at place-based institutions to help craft a local procurement, local hiring, and local investment strategy. Her engagement with Community Wealth Building dates from 2014, when she planned a Community Wealth Building conference that led to the creation of the CWB Network. From 2016-2018, she chaired the CWB Design Team that ultimately developed the Center for Community Wealth Building.
Michelle comes to this work from a 30+ year career in the nonprofit sector, post completing a year and a half of law school. Her experience spans frontline staff positions to executive director, and a ten year stint with the Anschutz Family Foundation. |
C. Paul Bindel, Cooperative Development Director
|
Paul co-leads CCWB’s Democratizing Ownership strategy, reaching traditionally underserved communities and supporting the creation of worker-owned and resident-owned enterprises.
Paul Bindel grew up in New Mexico and has called Denver home for 11 years. He is committed to building new forms of collective ownership in Colorado, shifting power and resources to community members. At CCWB, he supports BIPOC, LGBTQIA, immigrant, and low-income groups in building trust, securing land and housing, and managing shared resources through antiracist practices. Paul co-founded Queen City Cooperative and Colorado Solidarity Fund. He loves playing board games, reading, and writing. |
Michaela Holmes, Cooperative Development Co-Director |
|
Michaela co-leads our Democratizing Ownership strategy, which engages traditionally underserved communities in developing worker and resident-owned enterprises—her focus is on employee ownership conversions to worker cooperatives.
Michaela became passionate about worker ownership and cooperatives at the outset of Occupy Wall Street while pursuing her M.S. in Organizational Change Management from the New School. Splitting her time between the classroom and protesting in the streets, she had a real-life praxis of shared decision-making, group process, and the power of centering equity, anti-racism, and compassion in change-making. Dedicated to working towards a more equitable world, she completed an internship at Praxis Consulting Group in Philadelphia, researching leadership development programs and succession planning for nonprofits, worked at the Democracy at Work Institute as the Leadership Development and Training Coordinator, and was the Director of Cooperative Development at the Philadelphia Area Cooperative Alliance. She spent five years as a Board member of the Mariposa Food Co-op in Philadelphia and dreams of opening a food co-op in her neighborhood of North Park Hill. In her free time, she has a business with her mother, working with families to create collaborative care plans, is an end-of-life doula, and enjoys spending time with her partner, daughter, cat, and dog, pursuing forms of healing and joy as resistance and movement building. |
Salvador Gonzalez, Cooperative Development Specialist
|
Salvador works on our Democratizing Ownership strategy, reaching traditionally underserved communities and supporting the creation of worker-owned and resident-owned enterprises.
He grew up in the West Colfax neighborhood and has been involved in social justice campaigns organizing for food justice, food access, and food sovereignty. He is student of the theory, history, and modern applications of the cooperative movement. He sees the co-op model as a means of building an equitable economy that encompasses workers, community, and environment. Salvador spends time in the community learning about the issues members face and how to best support them in the process of becoming worker-owners of businesses. In his downtime, Salvador enjoys listening to music, health training, and spending time with friends and family. |
Hilda Gehrke, Bilingual Cooperative Developer
|
Hilda Gehrke is a social leadership coach, facilitator, and cooperative developer who migrated from Chihuahua, Mexico in 1996, making Colorado her home since then. She graduated with a B.S. in Psychology from Regis University and completed her training as an Ontological Coach from Newfield Network, INC in 2017. She has obtained several certifications as a facilitator and as a cooperative developer.
Hilda has a particular interest in developing voices within the Latinx community and is actively involved. She is married and is a proud mom of 2 children, Brandon who graduated from CU in 2023 and Mariana who is currently serving in The U.S. Air Force, as well as a proud “abuela” of 3 grandchildren. Hilda enjoys hiking in the mountains, sunsets, reading a nice book and considers herself a “foodie”. |
Patrick Horvath, Administrative Officer
|
Patrick manages CCWB's internal operations, and also co-directs CCWB's community owned and benefitting real estate project, which helps cultural legacy small businesses avoid gentrification-driven displacement by owning and controlling their real estate.
Patrick joined CCWB in June 2022 after nearly 21 years at The Denver Foundation, where he directed the Foundation's Strengthening Neighborhoods and Economic Opportunity grantmaking programs. A passionate advocate for equitable economic systems change, Patrick was a member of the community network that laid the groundwork for CCWB's founding in 2017. An attorney by training, Patrick worked for many years representing adults experiencing homelessness in New York City before coming to Colorado in 2000. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the committed staff and inspiring community partners who are building a more equitable Metro Denver economy with CCWB. |
Karen Bartlett, Small Business Director
|
Karen leads our Small Business strategy, working with local business owners to provide the resources and support they need to maintain a sustainable level of growth for their enterprises.
Karen first got involved with community organizing and social justice work while studying at the University of Colorado. Karen brings 25+ years of experience as an educator, entrepreneur, facilitator, coach, and consultant. For the past five years, Karen has worked with leaders in the nonprofit and education sectors, supporting them with bringing a more human-centric and values-driven approach to their leadership. She has been working with women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and neurodivergent business owners, helping them to grow and scale their businesses to create more impact, equity, and freedom using an inclusive, justice-based framework. Karen has owned and operated four businesses, been an educator for people ages one through adults, and has worked both in and with nonprofits. |
Kimberly Bonner, Small Business Development Manager
|
Kimberly Bonner is the Center for Community Wealth Building’s Small Business Development Manager. She provides technical assistance to BIPOC entrepreneurs primarily in the skilled trades and catering industries.
Kimberly served as intellectual property legal counsel for tech firms at the beginning of her career. Eventually, she became the Executive Director of a national nonprofit intellectual property resource center, the Center for Intellectual Property, based in Maryland. For the past decade, she has helped build and scale franchise systems and family owned businesses. Most recently, she works with local governments and nonprofits around the U.S. to aid small, historically underserved businesses rebound from the devastation of the pandemic. |
Marcela Gaete, Small Business Outreach & Operations Specialist
|
Marcela Gaete Fuentes is an experienced Community and Small Business Outreach and Operations Specialist. She is fueled by a genuine passion for helping people flourish through access to opportunities, resources, and wealth. With over a decade of hands-on experience in community engagement and outreach, Marcela possesses a unique arsenal of skills tailored to uplifting individuals and projects.
Originally from the vibrant city of Santiago, Chile, Marcela embraces a deep appreciation for diverse cultures, traditions, languages, and customs, underlining her advocacy for global inclusivity and understanding. For Marcela, it's all about the connections—whether forging meaningful relationships, fostering community ties, or nurturing her growth journey. Currently juggling her passion for helping others with pursuing her bachelor's degree in communications, Marcela finds boundless inspiration in her two amazing children – her ultimate life project. When she's not busy changing the world, Marcela delights in spending her free time surrounded by the beauty of nature, grooving to her favorite tunes, and catching up with old and new friends over coffee or a stroll. So, let's connect, grow, and make a difference together! |