For three and a half decades, the community foundation has worked to support the needs of the Boulder County community. Our Board of Directors brings expertise and perspective to our work, and today, we’re thrilled to announce that 3 new community leaders — Sarah Halle, Ann O’Connell, and Attila Safari — are joining our Board of Directors.
These three new board members will help guide the organization’s strategy as it continues to nurture and activate the community’s ideas, generosity, and leadership to galvanize resources and support equitable solutions for all who live and work in Boulder County.
“These three amazing community members bring a wealth of valuable expertise to our Board of Directors,” said Deb Gardner, newly appointed Chair of Community Foundation Boulder County’s Board of Directors. “Their breadth of experience — both professionally and in support of Boulder County’s nonprofit community — will strengthen our board as we guide the work of the community foundation.”
Sarah Halle is Partner, Creative at Vermilion, an integrated brand and marketing B Corp agency based in Boulder, where she translates strategies into remarkable creative across purpose-led CPG; outdoor and environment; and health and wellbeing sectors. Her work focuses on helping organizations activate their brand in ways that earn their place in the lives of the audiences worth reaching.
As a partner, Sarah contributes to Vermilion’s long-term strategy and the agency’s performance, including P&L management, talent development and values-driven innovation. She brings a strong understanding of how brand, strategy and operations align to support sustainable growth and organizational impact. Under her creative leadership, Vermilion has elevated the agency’s reputation and earned statewide industry recognition.
She also spent four years as Co-Chair of the local chapter of Ladies, Wine & Design, convening women in creative roles to build the kinds of connections that open doors for each other. Sarah brings an integrated creative perspective to board service, with a focus on helping organizations activate their purpose in ways that relevantly connect and drive businesses forward.
Ann O’Connell is a Legal Editor and Attorney at Nolo specializing in landlord-tenant and real estate law. Ann is a coauthor of Nolo’s Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home, which won a silver Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association in 2020, Every Landlord’s Legal Guide, Saving the Family Cottage, Renter’s Rights, Leases and Rental Agreements, and Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.
Before joining Nolo as an editor, Ann practiced civil litigation and transactional law in California and Colorado. Her practice over the years has focused mainly on real estate, landlord-tenant, and small business matters.
Ann earned her B.A. from Boston College and her J.D. from UC Berkeley Law. She has passed the bar exams in California, Nevada, and Colorado, where she is both an active attorney and a real estate broker.
Ann’s favorite part of writing about landlord-tenant matters is the opportunity to help tenants — who often find it difficult to afford or hire a lawyer to represent them — understand and assert their rights. Ann’s research and writing on coronavirus-related eviction bans and tenant rights have been cited by numerous news outlets and government agencies, including Yahoo Finance, CNET, Fannie Mae, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Attila Safari left Iran at 17, embarking on an international journey that took him to England to study Computer Science at the University of Manchester, and eventually to the United States. After a brief stint in Los Angeles, he settled in Boulder, Colorado, in 1984.
Attila spent nine years honing his craft as a software developer at CareerTrack before his entrepreneurial spirit took over. Starting with a web development consultancy run out of his basement, he laid the groundwork for RegOnline, a SaaS company he founded in 1996. After 12 rewarding years of scaling the business and navigating a rapidly evolving tech landscape, Attila successfully sold the company. He later co-founded a real estate venture with a close friend before officially retiring in 2015 to fully enjoy the community he has called home for over four decades.
Today, Attila trades the office for the great outdoors as often as possible. You can usually find him navigating mountain bike trails, hiking the foothills, or exploring new corners of the globe. Yet, beyond his professional successes and outdoor pursuits, he considers his three beautiful daughters to be his greatest pride.
The community foundation Board of Directors also appointed current Vice-Chair, Deb Gardner, as Chair of the Board of Directors and current board member, Meredith Carleton, as Vice-Chair. Gardner and Carleton assume their new roles on the Executive Committee alongside current officers Patty Leslie as treasurer and Arvind Sundar as secretary. Gardner and Carleton will take on these responsibilities in addition to their roles as existing members of the Board of Directors.
