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

The Denver Institute for Faith & Work's vision is that every person’s work brings hope and life to their city. From their website : "If people believe their work is central to God’s work in the world, they will find hope for and in their work and become agents of life in their workplaces, professions, industries, and cities. Our mission is to prepare people to serve God and others in their dai...

Our President & CEO Nicole Riehl was recently a guest on the Colorado Chamber's Office Hours Podcast where she discussed four bills currently making their way through the Colorado legislature, and issues pertinent to child care in general. You can find that original episode here . Below is the description from this episode's landing page. If one figure tells the story of why childcare is so in...

Nicole Dorsey is Vice President of Client & Community Relations at PNC and Sally McCrady is Chair and President of the PNC Foundation . PNC is constantly innovating to help their clients succeed and to have a big impact in Denver and beyond. They provide their customers with new ideas, offer valuable insights and create customized solutions to help propel businesses forward. The PNC Foundation...

On September 9th, EPIC brought together Colorado business leaders to celebrate our 16th Annual Business Leaders Dinner in Glendale, CO. We always have an educational discussion as part of our dinner program to hear from leaders and partners as they share their own perspectives and work related to child care and early education.   This year we welcomed the ever-amazing Barbara Grogan, whom we honor...

Our President & CEO Nicole Riehl was recently a guest on the Wooden Teeth Show , where she joined host Jake Williams to discuss the business challenges of childcare and how they impact price and availability for families. We're grateful for the opportunity to appear on Wooden Teeth, and to share the episode here on our platform.  You can find Wooden Teeth at their website and on their YouTube...

In December 2024, EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the National Child Care Innovation Summit. This invite-only event, presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, brought together business leaders in Washington, D.C. for an intimate, engaging environment of workshops, panels, and networking—designed to turn inspiration into action in their own communities.  In...

In December 2024, EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the National Child Care Innovation Summit. This invite-only event, presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, brought together business leaders in Washington, D.C. for an intimate, engaging environment of workshops, panels, and networking—designed to turn inspiration into action in their own communities.  On...

In December 2024, EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the National Child Care Innovation Summit. This invite-only event, presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, brought together business leaders in Washington, D.C. for an intimate, engaging environment of workshops, panels, and networking—designed to turn inspiration into action in their own communities. On...

William Browning is President & CEO of Clayton Early Learning . He passionately leads Clayton’s work to build opportunities for children and families to live to their endless potential. With more than 30 years of distinguished leadership experience in strategic social impact development, program development, fundraising, change management, and business operations, he brings deep connections to...

On September 10th, EPIC brought together Colorado business leaders to celebrate our 15th Annual Business Leaders Dinner in Glendale, CO. This year's event was a terrific success as we welcomed more than 275 business leaders, members and partners. On this episode of The Drop-Off, we welcome you to listen in on Nicole Riehl's Fireside Chat with Aparna Mathur, Senior Manager in Economics at Amazon an...

Geta Asfaw co-leads The Asfaw Family Foundation International (AFFI) , a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with his wife Janice. Since the early 1980’s, Geta and Janice have operated their family business in the Denver Metropolitan area as owner/operators of McDonald’s restaurants. Throughout the years they have supported a number of community groups and organizations. To date, the family has served...

With 40 years of executive leadership in medical device and health care services, David Perez serves as an independent board member of EPIC and advisor to several corporations and non-profit organizations. His expertise encompasses growing highly regulated global businesses organically through R&D and innovation and inorganically through M&A, leading within a variety of foreign, public and...

Sue Renner is the Vice President and Executive Director of The David & Laura Merage Foundation which creates opportunities for future generations through venture philanthropy by investing in initiatives, organizations, and ideas that move society toward a more equitable future for all. She recently announced her retirement as Executive Director. On this episode of The Drop-Off, Sue joins Nicol...

Beth Melton is the founder and principal consultant at Melton Strategic Solutions . Most recently, she served as a full-time local elected official in Routt County, Colorado. Her run for office and her work in office were motivated by a desire to support working families with child care solutions. She is a part of the EPIC team and she joins our Nicole Riehl on this episode of The Drop Off to disc...

Colin Stewart is the Founder & CEO of STEM Child Care, a facility in Castle Rock, CO dedicated to providing an environment that is both safe and nurturing for children from six weeks to six years old, allowing your child to explore their passions and creativity while cultivating their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills. On this episode of The Drop Off, Colin joins Nicole...

On October 4, EPIC brought together Colorado business leaders across industries to celebrate “Today’s Vision, Tomorrow’s Success” EPIC’s 14th 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, part of the evening featured a Fireside Chat with Natriece Bryant, Director...

Ryan Beiser is Regional President and Head of Corporate Banking for  PNC . PNC is constantly innovating to help their clients succeed and to have a big impact in Denver. They provide their customers with new ideas, offer valuable insight and create customized solutions that will help propel a business forward. Ryan is also  Chairman of the Board for EPIC . On this episode of The Drop Off, Ryan joi...

Christine Benero is the President & CEO of Mile High United Way . On the About page of their website, they describe themselves thusly: "Working side-by-side with the community, Mile High United Way takes on critical human services issues facing our seven-county footprint including the Metro Denver, Boulder, and Broomfield communities. Through our community programs and initiatives, we focus on...

Stacie Packard is President of Delwest Management Corp , a Denver-based real estate development firm focused on creating value within local communities through a unique combination of leadership and partnership. With a portfolio including multi-family rental properties (both luxury and affordable), whole communities of single-family homes, and renovated historical homes and buildings, Delwest is c...

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 o...

Brad Busse, President of Busse Ventures, was there for the founding of EPIC. In this episode of The Drop-Off, Brad gives everyone a behind-the-scenes look at the formation of EPIC and how a group of powerful, like-minded business leaders came together when they saw that child-care supply was a major challenge. In his estimation, it is imperative the business community support early childhood educa...

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 ca...

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 eve...

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...

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 "any...