As the business community’s nonpartisan voice for early childhood, EPIC leads efforts to build infrastructure and advance policies that support the workforce of today while developing the workforce of tomorrow. Our vision is powered by the business community’s leadership and commitment to early care and education, that all children entering kindergarten will have the skills they need to reach their full potential. We have outlined our 2023 priorities below: Priority #1: Support children’s development and the needs of working families Child care enables families to work, and families need access to a variety of affordable, high-quality early childhood supports and choices for their children. Colorado must strive for funding and program administration that is an aligned, user-friendly, transparent, and effective system of resources centered on serving the needs of families and young children while ensuring that children have high-quality care and early education experiences. Support a mixed delivery system of early childhood care and education services Provide input on Universal Preschool implementation and program design Inform rulemaking for Department of Early Childhood programs and funding Access to services that meet the needs of the whole child and their families Priority #2: Invest in child care infrastructure to support and grow our economy Childcare is a critical service for economic development and growth in Colorado. We need to invest in the physical infrastructure necessary to support child care services. Communities and employers should be incentivized and supported to innovatively design, create, and sustain early child care and education services. Incentives for employers, developers, land/building owners, government, and other community partners to invest in child care infrastructure and programs Expanded real estate solutions and financial resources to support the creation of child care facilities Address regulatory barriers to the creation of new child care capacity and businesses Priority #3: Recognize and stabilize early childhood small businesses It is critical to elevate the voices of those providing critical early childhood services and ensure that we design our systems to support and stabilize the early childhood sector through the development, design, and ongoing implementation of early childhood funds and programs. The business of early childhood is incredibly challenging in many ways, and in order to ensure a sufficient supply of early childhood services, we need policies that value and create financial stability for these small businesses. Create business supports, technical assistance resources, and incentives to ensure early childhood business owners can enter and remain in the sector Development and investment in innovative career pathway/workforce support Support and advance opportunities for early childhood business owners to participate in and inform policy Address regulatory and legal barriers to entry for the industry We appreciate and rely on your leadership and commitment to early care and education, and we welcome you to get involved so that our vision of that all children entering kindergarten will receive the skills they need to reach their full potential.
Thank you for your dedication, David Hammond! EPIC is thankful to our Chairman of the Board, David Hammond, as his tenure serving as EPIC’s board chair comes to an end this month. David has been board chair since 2019 and has been critical to the organization’s growth and development since that time. David will continue to remain engaged in EPIC and will now have more time to enjoy Colorado as an outdoor enthusiast and cyclist. EPIC will announce David’s successor in our January newsletter. Thank you for your service and impact, Susan Steele! We are incredibly happy for EPIC Board Member, Susan Steele as she enters retirement. Susan has a 30-year history with the Buell Foundation and is a founding EPIC board member. Susan’s leadership, passion, and knowledge have been instrumental in creating strong support for children and families in Colorado. We are excited to have her continued voice and advocacy for children as an EPIC member moving forward, and we wish her many great adventures in her retirement. Thank you, Susan and David, for your service and incredible contributions to EPIC and for being early childhood advocates and leaders throughout Colorado. Congratulations Governor Medal Awardee, Amy Schwartz! Since 2015, Governor Jared Polis has bestowed Citizenship Medals on leaders and organizations that inspire excellence and public service. The medals are the state’s highest honor recognizing significant contributions to communities across Colorado. EPIC founding Board and Executive member, Amy Schwartz, has received the Governor’s Growth and Innovation Award. Amy is a founder of the STEAD School, a high school created in Commerce City in 2021, focused on agricultural education through an active STEM perspective. Congratulations and Thank You, David, Susan and Amy!
https://www.epicimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/David-Susan-and-Amy-1.jpg12271491Cassie Leyva/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/epic-logo-sm.pngCassie Leyva2022-12-19 13:38:052025-06-12 14:27:55Thank You and Congratulations to our Biggest Advocates
EPIC has a powerful voice and is grateful to engage in opportunities to strengthen initiatives, funding, and programs for the child care ecosystem in Colorado and promote idea generation nationally. Here are a few things we’ve been working on to bring access and quality early care and education to all children and families. Assistant Secretary Visit EPIC was honored to host a very special roundtable with Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF Administration for Children and Families), January Contreras, in August at Guild Education. EPIC members and partners had the opportunity to discuss public-private partnership efforts with the Assistant Secretary, as well as share EPIC’s work to bridge the gap between the business community and early childhood. 2022 Hunt Institute Early Childhood Leadership Summit Nicole Riehl, was invited to The Hunt Institute’s 2022 Early Childhood Leadership Summit as a panelist with Barry Ford from Council for a Strong America and Jack McBride from Contec, Inc. They discussed the business case for early child care support and positive outcomes that come with fiscal support. The Summit is a national event, which hosts governors, lieutenant governors, legislators, and state leaders to discuss current challenges and opportunities in early childhood education, supporting child care for infants and toddlers, building a stronger early learning workforce, and the state of the American child care industry. EPIC was honored to participate, share the work we are doing, and learn from other experts across the country. Building Up: Child Care Insights and Opportunities for Action EPIC’s Building Up retreat brought together business leaders, community organizations, and early child care experts and advocates to share insights and pinpoint opportunities for action. Participants helped select the most impactful elements for our exciting new tool in development, EPIC’s Child Care Map. We envision this tool as support for emerging and existing providers, along with community partners and child care advocates. The event featured high-impact strategies to support and improve child care access and sustainability, highlighting opportunities for increased access to capital, access to low-cost or free real estate, and strategies for operational sustainability. The event included a panel round table that included the leading industry voices of Dr. Lisa Roy, Colorado Department of Early Childhood; Dave Rogers, Government, and Public Services; Debra Locke, Second Family Child Care; Whisper Mondragon, Unique Play Place; Nim Patel, Colorado Enterprise Fund; and Jeanne McQueeney, Eagle Couty Commissioner. Finally, we looked at policy and regulatory reform opportunities to remove barriers to entry and develop key support across Colorado’s provider network. This insightful discussion will help us develop our 2023 advocacy and action plans. Thank you to our friends at Mile High United Way for hosting our Building Up retreat! EPIC in front of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation On September 27, Nicole Riehl had the opportunity to serve on a panel for child care in the Centennial State, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Facilitated by Sasha Caputo, Senior Coordinator of the US CCF, […]
https://www.epicimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/executive-teamwork.jpg8001166Colorado EPIC/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/epic-logo-sm.pngColorado EPIC2022-10-31 14:46:572025-06-12 14:24:02EPIC’s Local and National Engagement
From the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! On September 19, 1783, the first hot air balloon showcased humans in flight for the first time ever to human eyes at the palace of Versailles in France. When asked by a skeptic what possible use a human in flight could be, Leonardo DaVinci, who was in the crowd that day replied, “Friend, what use is a newborn baby?” DaVinci saw the possibility in the spark of an idea, and EPIC is inspired by this notion and others in our observance and support for current innovative and ambitious projects in Colorado communities and at the legislative level, and partnerships and funding streams that are paving the way towards a stronger child care infrastructure and workforce and Colorado for all. READ ON for some highlights of what’s happening in… Creativity in Community Partnerships: When is Empty Space Community Space? More than ever, creativity and innovation are needed in our communities to make programming, places, and resources of all kinds accessible to our population at large. In early care and education, ideas about real estate, funding, and endeavors that bring together partners with mutually beneficial resources and knowledge are continuing to take shape around the state. This month, we are highlighting the Revive Community Church Project in Arvada, which is developing its vision of adapting their new space, The Bridge, to house community partners that will provide direct and indirect services addressing economic, relational, and spiritual vulnerability. Their vision includes the development of affordable housing, workforce development, health care services, and other mutually beneficial services/tenants that generate revenues and create opportunities for Revive Church to serve others. The project also includes plans to utilize a significant portion of real estate for child care and Revive is in talks with an operator with the plan to complete the project by Late 2022. EPIC will continue to highlight this work as it moves forward as one of Building Up’s Projects of Promise to track progress and aid in the development of regulatory barriers to help this and other endeavors thrive. Stay tuned for more news! Progress at the Legislative Level EPIC is very proud to have our own President and CEO, Nicole Riehl, advocate alongside EPIC members and ECE stakeholders to support several bills this legislative session. Among these are bills that will create a refundable tax credit for early educators, help build a database of real estate throughout the state that can be an asset to developing child care capacity, support the removal of financial barriers to early care and education businesses, and of course, the Universal PreK bill. This pivotal bill was signed into law on April 25, making preschool within reach for thousands of Colorado families. EPIC is proud to have advocated for additional Funding and Support for ECE with the passing of House Bill 22-213 which will provide an additional $100 million in funding. This includes investments in capacity, workforce, and diverse […]
https://www.epicimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/preschoolersbuildingwithblocks.jpeg10011500Colorado EPIC/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/epic-logo-sm.pngColorado EPIC2022-06-03 15:40:442025-06-12 14:26:24Innovation and Community Support: A Powerful Recipe for Change
From the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! It has been bittersweet to see the snow melt away, put away our ski gear and begin to see and hear the first signs of Spring, from the occasional birdsong to tiny tulip leaves and purple flowers making themselves known as we walk familiar paths in the neighborhood. At EPIC, we are busier than ever with the legislative session, numerous incredible community projects in early education and employee benefit development that we have the honor of supporting and guiding forward, and our pursuit of innovation and unique partnerships to develop the infrastructure of Colorado’s child care. We have been so lucky in the first quarter to have not only completed the inaugural Employer Based Child Care Design Lab but also to support to begin to rethink the possibilities of how early education support impacts and benefits all business operations. Read on for an update on our statewide initiative, Building Up! A Building ‘UP-date’ The Building Up Advisory Group Kickoff Meeting was held on February 23rd, with Real Estate, Finance, and General advisors from the early child care and education sector starting the discussion around efforts to identify promising project and policy solutions to explore. In addition, EPIC consulted with the Reinvestment Fund, a national CDFI, to compile and analyze critical financial data for the early child care and education sector. This data will be utilized for the pending landscape analysis being conducted in partnership with the Common Sense Institute to illuminate the true cost of care and challenges plaguing the child care business model. The landscape analysis is expected to be complete by May 2022, and EPIC will be planning an event with business and economic development leaders in late May to highlight the opportunities revealed through the landscape analysis. During the kickoff, Building Up advisory members met with group members in their prospective areas of expertise. Highlights from these discussions included: supporting small businesses that experience common barriers to accessing loans and other forms of financial and capital development support real property and business tax changes, incentivizing inclusion in affordable housing projects for land owners and developers, creating an online database to match businesses with potential real estate sites, work with the faith-based community and public entities to identify potential child care facility locations subsidy and fund development opportunities for those pursuing child care businesses, changes in underwriting requirements for early care and education businesses, as well the continued pursuit of loan guarantee programs to support landlords and business owners alike in the viability and sustainability of their businesses. We have already had the chance to see firsthand prototypes and models of some of these systems and ideas, and the potential impact these can have on early education development in our communities is very exciting. The Building Up real estate and finance groups met separately on April 11th and 14th alongside key members of our general advisory to expand on these […]
EPIC’s 2023 Advocacy & Policy Priorities
/in BlogAs the business community’s nonpartisan voice for early childhood, EPIC leads efforts to build infrastructure and advance policies that support the workforce of today while developing the workforce of tomorrow. Our vision is powered by the business community’s leadership and commitment to early care and education, that all children entering kindergarten will have the skills they need to reach their full potential. We have outlined our 2023 priorities below: Priority #1: Support children’s development and the needs of working families Child care enables families to work, and families need access to a variety of affordable, high-quality early childhood supports and choices for their children. Colorado must strive for funding and program administration that is an aligned, user-friendly, transparent, and effective system of resources centered on serving the needs of families and young children while ensuring that children have high-quality care and early education experiences. Support a mixed delivery system of early childhood care and education services Provide input on Universal Preschool implementation and program design Inform rulemaking for Department of Early Childhood programs and funding Access to services that meet the needs of the whole child and their families Priority #2: Invest in child care infrastructure to support and grow our economy Childcare is a critical service for economic development and growth in Colorado. We need to invest in the physical infrastructure necessary to support child care services. Communities and employers should be incentivized and supported to innovatively design, create, and sustain early child care and education services. Incentives for employers, developers, land/building owners, government, and other community partners to invest in child care infrastructure and programs Expanded real estate solutions and financial resources to support the creation of child care facilities Address regulatory barriers to the creation of new child care capacity and businesses Priority #3: Recognize and stabilize early childhood small businesses It is critical to elevate the voices of those providing critical early childhood services and ensure that we design our systems to support and stabilize the early childhood sector through the development, design, and ongoing implementation of early childhood funds and programs. The business of early childhood is incredibly challenging in many ways, and in order to ensure a sufficient supply of early childhood services, we need policies that value and create financial stability for these small businesses. Create business supports, technical assistance resources, and incentives to ensure early childhood business owners can enter and remain in the sector Development and investment in innovative career pathway/workforce support Support and advance opportunities for early childhood business owners to participate in and inform policy Address regulatory and legal barriers to entry for the industry We appreciate and rely on your leadership and commitment to early care and education, and we welcome you to get involved so that our vision of that all children entering kindergarten will receive the skills they need to reach their full potential.
Thank You and Congratulations to our Biggest Advocates
/in BlogThank you for your dedication, David Hammond! EPIC is thankful to our Chairman of the Board, David Hammond, as his tenure serving as EPIC’s board chair comes to an end this month. David has been board chair since 2019 and has been critical to the organization’s growth and development since that time. David will continue to remain engaged in EPIC and will now have more time to enjoy Colorado as an outdoor enthusiast and cyclist. EPIC will announce David’s successor in our January newsletter. Thank you for your service and impact, Susan Steele! We are incredibly happy for EPIC Board Member, Susan Steele as she enters retirement. Susan has a 30-year history with the Buell Foundation and is a founding EPIC board member. Susan’s leadership, passion, and knowledge have been instrumental in creating strong support for children and families in Colorado. We are excited to have her continued voice and advocacy for children as an EPIC member moving forward, and we wish her many great adventures in her retirement. Thank you, Susan and David, for your service and incredible contributions to EPIC and for being early childhood advocates and leaders throughout Colorado. Congratulations Governor Medal Awardee, Amy Schwartz! Since 2015, Governor Jared Polis has bestowed Citizenship Medals on leaders and organizations that inspire excellence and public service. The medals are the state’s highest honor recognizing significant contributions to communities across Colorado. EPIC founding Board and Executive member, Amy Schwartz, has received the Governor’s Growth and Innovation Award. Amy is a founder of the STEAD School, a high school created in Commerce City in 2021, focused on agricultural education through an active STEM perspective. Congratulations and Thank You, David, Susan and Amy!
EPIC’s Local and National Engagement
/in BlogEPIC has a powerful voice and is grateful to engage in opportunities to strengthen initiatives, funding, and programs for the child care ecosystem in Colorado and promote idea generation nationally. Here are a few things we’ve been working on to bring access and quality early care and education to all children and families. Assistant Secretary Visit EPIC was honored to host a very special roundtable with Assistant Secretary of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF Administration for Children and Families), January Contreras, in August at Guild Education. EPIC members and partners had the opportunity to discuss public-private partnership efforts with the Assistant Secretary, as well as share EPIC’s work to bridge the gap between the business community and early childhood. 2022 Hunt Institute Early Childhood Leadership Summit Nicole Riehl, was invited to The Hunt Institute’s 2022 Early Childhood Leadership Summit as a panelist with Barry Ford from Council for a Strong America and Jack McBride from Contec, Inc. They discussed the business case for early child care support and positive outcomes that come with fiscal support. The Summit is a national event, which hosts governors, lieutenant governors, legislators, and state leaders to discuss current challenges and opportunities in early childhood education, supporting child care for infants and toddlers, building a stronger early learning workforce, and the state of the American child care industry. EPIC was honored to participate, share the work we are doing, and learn from other experts across the country. Building Up: Child Care Insights and Opportunities for Action EPIC’s Building Up retreat brought together business leaders, community organizations, and early child care experts and advocates to share insights and pinpoint opportunities for action. Participants helped select the most impactful elements for our exciting new tool in development, EPIC’s Child Care Map. We envision this tool as support for emerging and existing providers, along with community partners and child care advocates. The event featured high-impact strategies to support and improve child care access and sustainability, highlighting opportunities for increased access to capital, access to low-cost or free real estate, and strategies for operational sustainability. The event included a panel round table that included the leading industry voices of Dr. Lisa Roy, Colorado Department of Early Childhood; Dave Rogers, Government, and Public Services; Debra Locke, Second Family Child Care; Whisper Mondragon, Unique Play Place; Nim Patel, Colorado Enterprise Fund; and Jeanne McQueeney, Eagle Couty Commissioner. Finally, we looked at policy and regulatory reform opportunities to remove barriers to entry and develop key support across Colorado’s provider network. This insightful discussion will help us develop our 2023 advocacy and action plans. Thank you to our friends at Mile High United Way for hosting our Building Up retreat! EPIC in front of the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation On September 27, Nicole Riehl had the opportunity to serve on a panel for child care in the Centennial State, hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Facilitated by Sasha Caputo, Senior Coordinator of the US CCF, […]
Innovation and Community Support: A Powerful Recipe for Change
/in BlogFrom the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! On September 19, 1783, the first hot air balloon showcased humans in flight for the first time ever to human eyes at the palace of Versailles in France. When asked by a skeptic what possible use a human in flight could be, Leonardo DaVinci, who was in the crowd that day replied, “Friend, what use is a newborn baby?” DaVinci saw the possibility in the spark of an idea, and EPIC is inspired by this notion and others in our observance and support for current innovative and ambitious projects in Colorado communities and at the legislative level, and partnerships and funding streams that are paving the way towards a stronger child care infrastructure and workforce and Colorado for all. READ ON for some highlights of what’s happening in… Creativity in Community Partnerships: When is Empty Space Community Space? More than ever, creativity and innovation are needed in our communities to make programming, places, and resources of all kinds accessible to our population at large. In early care and education, ideas about real estate, funding, and endeavors that bring together partners with mutually beneficial resources and knowledge are continuing to take shape around the state. This month, we are highlighting the Revive Community Church Project in Arvada, which is developing its vision of adapting their new space, The Bridge, to house community partners that will provide direct and indirect services addressing economic, relational, and spiritual vulnerability. Their vision includes the development of affordable housing, workforce development, health care services, and other mutually beneficial services/tenants that generate revenues and create opportunities for Revive Church to serve others. The project also includes plans to utilize a significant portion of real estate for child care and Revive is in talks with an operator with the plan to complete the project by Late 2022. EPIC will continue to highlight this work as it moves forward as one of Building Up’s Projects of Promise to track progress and aid in the development of regulatory barriers to help this and other endeavors thrive. Stay tuned for more news! Progress at the Legislative Level EPIC is very proud to have our own President and CEO, Nicole Riehl, advocate alongside EPIC members and ECE stakeholders to support several bills this legislative session. Among these are bills that will create a refundable tax credit for early educators, help build a database of real estate throughout the state that can be an asset to developing child care capacity, support the removal of financial barriers to early care and education businesses, and of course, the Universal PreK bill. This pivotal bill was signed into law on April 25, making preschool within reach for thousands of Colorado families. EPIC is proud to have advocated for additional Funding and Support for ECE with the passing of House Bill 22-213 which will provide an additional $100 million in funding. This includes investments in capacity, workforce, and diverse […]
A Building ‘UP-date’
/in BlogFrom the Desk of the Director of Programs and Initiatives: Alethea Gomez Hello Friends and Members of EPIC! It has been bittersweet to see the snow melt away, put away our ski gear and begin to see and hear the first signs of Spring, from the occasional birdsong to tiny tulip leaves and purple flowers making themselves known as we walk familiar paths in the neighborhood. At EPIC, we are busier than ever with the legislative session, numerous incredible community projects in early education and employee benefit development that we have the honor of supporting and guiding forward, and our pursuit of innovation and unique partnerships to develop the infrastructure of Colorado’s child care. We have been so lucky in the first quarter to have not only completed the inaugural Employer Based Child Care Design Lab but also to support to begin to rethink the possibilities of how early education support impacts and benefits all business operations. Read on for an update on our statewide initiative, Building Up! A Building ‘UP-date’ The Building Up Advisory Group Kickoff Meeting was held on February 23rd, with Real Estate, Finance, and General advisors from the early child care and education sector starting the discussion around efforts to identify promising project and policy solutions to explore. In addition, EPIC consulted with the Reinvestment Fund, a national CDFI, to compile and analyze critical financial data for the early child care and education sector. This data will be utilized for the pending landscape analysis being conducted in partnership with the Common Sense Institute to illuminate the true cost of care and challenges plaguing the child care business model. The landscape analysis is expected to be complete by May 2022, and EPIC will be planning an event with business and economic development leaders in late May to highlight the opportunities revealed through the landscape analysis. During the kickoff, Building Up advisory members met with group members in their prospective areas of expertise. Highlights from these discussions included: supporting small businesses that experience common barriers to accessing loans and other forms of financial and capital development support real property and business tax changes, incentivizing inclusion in affordable housing projects for land owners and developers, creating an online database to match businesses with potential real estate sites, work with the faith-based community and public entities to identify potential child care facility locations subsidy and fund development opportunities for those pursuing child care businesses, changes in underwriting requirements for early care and education businesses, as well the continued pursuit of loan guarantee programs to support landlords and business owners alike in the viability and sustainability of their businesses. We have already had the chance to see firsthand prototypes and models of some of these systems and ideas, and the potential impact these can have on early education development in our communities is very exciting. The Building Up real estate and finance groups met separately on April 11th and 14th alongside key members of our general advisory to expand on these […]