“True economic mobility comes when communities work together to remove barriers and create pathways for people to succeed. The EMAN community foundations and their partners are showing how local leadership, collaboration, and trust can create lasting change for everyone.” Mary L. Thomas President and CEO, CFLeads
From September 2024 through October 2025, Community Foundation Boulder County was honored to participate in the CFLeads Economic Mobility Action Network (EMAN). This year-long peer learning program is designed to help community foundations from across the country engage their communities to develop and refine a local economic mobility agenda while building the foundation’s capacity to advance the work.
“While Boulder County is known as a place that has beautiful open spaces for recreation and preservation, it is increasingly becoming an unaffordable and less diverse place to live in. The county is aligning through collaborative, focused leadership to meet the need for affordable, attainable homes.” Sarah Harrison Vice President of Programs, Community Foundation Boulder County
CFBC engaged local civic and nonprofit partners — including Lisa Ritchie from the Regional Housing Partnership, and Susanna Lopez-Baker from Boulder County Housing Authority — through the CFLeads EMAN process to explore how the foundation could support the community’s Regional Housing Strategy. By participating in the EMAN cohort, CFBC and its partners were able to take stock of the work that’s already been done, recognize where gaps exist, and move forward collectively. Through the process, the foundation also recognized the need for additional staff capacity in this area, and in June of 2026, hired a Director of Housing Initiatives to focus on this work.
“We’re working to make Boulder County a place everyone can call home and ensure belonging—economically, culturally, and environmentally,” says Tatiana Hernandez, CEO of Community Foundation Boulder County. “As a community that has the resources and values to live this vision, we want to be a model of equity for the entire country.”
Read a full case study from CFLeads on Community Foundation Boulder County’s Economic Mobility Action Network journey, learnings, and the work ahead.
Learn more about CFLeads Economic Mobility Action Network
