Bringing leaders together can spark conversation. What happens after they leave the room can create lasting impact.
When leaders from across Southwest Colorado gathered in Durango this spring for the Boettcher Foundation’s first State of Leadership regional convening of 2026, they came ready to talk about what was working in their communities, what was getting in the way, and who wasn’t yet at the table.
A few months later, some of those conversations are turning into action.
State of Leadership
The State of Leadership initiative is the Foundation’s multiyear effort to better understand, strengthen, and connect Colorado’s leadership ecosystem.
In 2025, the Foundation focused on listening and learning from more than 1,000 leaders across Colorado’s 64 counties.
In 2026, the work has moved from listening to action. In March, the Foundation brought together people who convene and develop leaders across Colorado for the State of Leadership Convener Convening. The conversation surfaced several themes, including the need to build trust, strengthen coordination across Colorado’s leadership ecosystem, and move beyond relying on the “same ten people” to lead in rural communities.
The Foundation is continuing those conversations through regional convenings across Colorado. These gatherings bring together leaders to explore the strengths, challenges, and opportunities within their local leadership ecosystems. Through facilitated conversations, participants share their experiences, build connections, and identify ways to strengthen leadership and create pathways for emerging leaders in their communities.
Southwest Colorado was the first region to take up that conversation.
Leadership in the Southwest
A central question at the State of Leadership Southwest Regional Convening in Durango on May 1 was how communities could move beyond relying on the “same ten people” and create opportunities for others to lead. Participants explored what helps new leaders emerge, what gets in their way, and what it would take to create more accessible pathways into leadership.
Their conversations affirmed a leadership ecosystem that is deeply committed and strongly relational but also faces structural challenges. Participants pointed to relationships, mentorship, and commitment to their communities as regional strengths. At the same time, limited funding, lack of affordable housing and childcare, and other barriers can make it difficult for people to step into leadership opportunities. Participants also discussed the need to make leadership systems more accessible and inclusive of people who have historically been left out.
For Tawnie Knight, a councilwoman for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe who participated in the convening, the similarities across communities stood out.
“There are so many leaders around our region, and we all have the same types of concerns regarding our communities,” Knight said. “Even though we may have different demographics, we still face the same challenges.”
She also heard a shared sense of commitment to the people and places participants serve.
“Everyone voiced their love for their community and people,” Knight said. “If we do not have that compassion, then why are we doing the work?”
From there, the conversation turned toward what could change. Participants identified opportunities to:
- Build stronger mentorship and peer networks.
- Identify and encourage emerging leaders earlier.
- Strengthen succession planning and create opportunities for younger leaders.
- Expand leadership development offered in Spanish and other native languages.
It didn’t take long for some of those ideas to begin moving forward.
From Conversation to Catalyst
Participants in the Southwest convening had the opportunity to apply for the Boettcher Foundation’s State of Leadership Catalyst Grants, designed to help turn ideas and connections from the convening into action.
Two collaborative projects emerged, each bringing together organizations from across the region to create new pathways for leaders.
Semillas de Liderazgo
The Good Food Collective, fiscally sponsored by Onward! A Legacy Foundation, received a $7,500 Catalyst Grant from the Boettcher Foundation to launch Semillas de Liderazgo, or Seeds of Leadership, a Spanish-language leadership development cohort for emerging Latino leaders in Southwest Colorado.
The program builds on the Good Food Collective’s existing Voces de la Comunidad work, which has created opportunities for Latina women to build confidence, develop skills, and participate in decisions affecting their communities. Through that work, organizers saw a need for more sustained leadership development designed specifically for Spanish-speaking leaders.
“While leadership development programs exist in Southwest Colorado, we identified a gap in in-person, Spanish-language, and culturally responsive opportunities for emerging Latino leaders,” said Silvana Torres, Community Engagement Coordinator. “For many people, participating in programs designed in English and delivered through interpretation can create additional barriers to fully expressing themselves, building relationships, and connecting what they are learning to their own experiences and communities.”
The Southwest Regional Convening helped put that need into a broader regional context. Silvana said conversations with other participants revealed that challenges identified through Voces, including childcare, lack of time, and other responsibilities, were shared across communities.
“This helped us understand that this is not only a need within Voces, but a broader opportunity to create more accessible and inclusive forms of leadership,” she said.
Semillas de Liderazgo will offer mentorship and peer learning alongside opportunities to build skills in areas such as communication, facilitation, civic engagement, advocacy, community organizing, conflict resolution, and resilience. The first cohort is expected to engage at least 15 emerging leaders.
For Silvana, the goal extends beyond any individual training.
“At its core, Semillas de Liderazgo seeks to cultivate the seeds that already exist within our community and create the conditions for them to grow,” she said.
Nonprofit Leadership Accelerator Program
The La Plata Economic Development Alliance also received a $7,500 Catalyst Grant from the Boettcher Foundation to develop a Nonprofit Leadership Accelerator Program for new and emerging nonprofit leaders in Southwest Colorado.
Building on Project RUN, an existing workforce development initiative created with Fort Lewis College, the nine-month program will provide professional development and peer learning for an expected first cohort of 20 to 25 nonprofit leaders.
The program responds to challenges that nonprofit leaders across the region are navigating, from workforce shortages and the high cost of living to limited organizational capacity and funding. 
“Nonprofit leaders in the Southwest are navigating challenges similar to those faced by business leaders, including limited workforce talent, high cost of living, attainable housing for the workforce, and access to early childcare,” said Sarah Tober. “Nonprofit leaders also face an additional layer of complexity due to limited resources, capacity, and funding.”
The curriculum is being developed by local experts to pair leadership development with the technical skills needed to run a nonprofit, including board governance, financial management, organizational operations, strategic planning, and resource development.
Just as important is creating a network leaders can turn to after the training ends.
“The goal of the Nonprofit Leadership Accelerator Program is to create a nine-month leadership cohort that combines practical nonprofit management skills, leadership development, peer learning, mentorship, and regional connection,” Sarah said. “The experience is designed to build confidence, competence, and community while giving participants tools they can immediately apply within their organizations.”
Like Semillas de Liderazgo, the idea gained momentum through conversations at the Southwest Regional Convening.
“Without the State of Leadership Southwest Regional Convening, the need for a Nonprofit Leadership Accelerator Program would not have surfaced so clearly,” Sarah said. “With leadership turnover throughout La Plata County and this region, it has been demonstrated that nonprofit leaders need more support systems.”
Building Leadership Connections
The Catalyst Grants are one sign of the momentum growing in the region. This year, 12 people from Southwest Colorado applied for the Boettcher Foundation’s Doers & Difference Makers Fellowship, and two were selected for the 2026 cohort: Tawnie Knight of Towaoc and Vanessa Malloy of Dolores.
For Knight, the Fellowship provides an opportunity to continue building on the leadership and connection she discussed at the Southwest Regional Convening. She hopes to learn more about leadership and mentoring and bring those lessons back to her community.
“Some people think that you are a leader only if you are given the title, but I know that all people can be leaders,” Knight said. “I want to learn how to interact with others to bring out their leadership qualities.”
From Conversation to Action
The work underway in Southwest Colorado offers an early look at what the Foundation hopes to achieve through the State of Leadership initiative: creating opportunities for leaders to connect, sharing what their communities need, and building on those conversations together.
What started with a gathering in Durango is already extending beyond the room.
That’s the spirit of Boettcher.
Learn more about the Boettcher Foundation’s State of Leadership initiative and how we’re working to better understand, strengthen, and connect Colorado’s leadership ecosystem at boettcherfoundation.org/state-of-leadership/.
