Building a camp from the ground up

Educo was a small nonprofit running adventure camps, outdoor leadership programs, school and group programs and community collaborations for young people. As a startup it needed an executive director who could do everything, and I did: graphic design, accounting, risk management and program design.

What I did

I led the acquisition and development of a 600-acre off-the-grid camp in the mountains outside Fort Collins and built the program to fit the land. Over six years the number of young people Educo served grew by 300%.

I then negotiated a merger that secured Educo's long-term viability.

Why it matters

This is where I learned every function of an organization firsthand. It's also where I first made the call to combine with another organization when that served the mission better than standing alone.