Board of Directors

​Our amazing board is composed of Michael Miera, Asia Dorsey, Kayvan Khalatbari, and Patrick Horvath

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.  ​

Julian Valencia, Small Business Director

Julian Valencia is our Small Business Director, where he is responsible for empowering our businesses to grow through technical capacity building and access to business opportunities with local institutions.

He comes to us with an MBA from the University of Iowa as well as experience working in federal procurement, Malaria supply chain consulting for USAID and UNITAID, and starting multiple small businesses. Julian was born into an entrepreneurial immigrant community in Washington DC, is natively fluent in both English and Spanish and has a passion for empowering communities with the tools they need to prosper. In his free time, he enjoys gardening and biking as well as photographing birds and acts of kindness.  

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 leads our Democratizing Ownership strategy, reaching traditionally underserved communities and supporting the creation of worker-owned and resident-owned enterprises.  
Originally from New Mexico, Paul first witnessed the power of cooperatives first hand during graduate school at the University of Oregon when he lived in and served as President of the Student Cooperative Association. Paul has extensive experience in cooperative development and support, including co-founding Queen City Cooperative, a limited-equity housing cooperative, and the Colorado Solidarity Fund, a grassroots investment club focused on locally-owned cooperative businesses. 
Paul’s business background includes copywriting, video storytelling and digital marketing strategy. He has helped place-based organizations, city agencies, nonprofits and small businesses achieve their business goals through strategically executed content. He brings careful thinking, a vision for social equity and inspired energy to each project.