What do you do for work?
As Region 9's Office Manager, I assist in loan servicing, organizing the quarterly board meetings, various secretarial duties, and anything asked of me that leads to the overall success of our company. 

Why did you join the YPOD Board?
I wanted to become a YPOD board member to expand my professional peer network, to add to my resume, and to have the opportunity to use my skills in a fun way outside of the workplace. 

What are your hobbies and interests?
In my spare time, you can find me Irish Dancing, Skiing, playing Ultimate Frisbee, hiking (Fun Fact: I have what's known as the 'triple crown' in the hiking community), slaying at Banana Grams, and spending time with friends and family.

Welcome the 2024 Young Professionals of Durango Board!
​
Returning Board Members:
Joseph Kuzma - President - Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County / Blue Lily Productions 
Ryan Simonovich - Vice President - Verde Brand Communications
Sean Perry - Secretary - Brightside Health
Kierstan Ellender - State of Colorado
 
New YPOD Board Members:
Kaikea Cavaliero - Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County 
Elizabeth Heine - Region 9 Economic Development
Clara Welles Raley - New Mexico State University
David Bratcher - Vectra Bank
Benjamin Brewer - Visit Durango

Social, Educational, and Philanthropic events
The mission of the YPODs is to connect, empower, and educate people aged 20-40 throughout the Four Corners community through social, educational, and philanthropic events. 

• Social - This year we hosted happy hour events at locations such as Zia Cantina, Public House 701, and Animas Brewing Co. These are great ways to meet new people, make friends, and network! 
• Educational - Our educational workshops include topics such as How to Network, Personal Finance 101, and How to Negotiate. Stay tuned for our upcoming First Time Home Buyer’s workshop in February 2024. 
• Philanthropic - We also facilitate volunteer opportunities with organizations like Durango Botanical Gardens, Manna Soup Kitchen, and Eso Terra Cider. 

YPOD Membership Benefits
Here’s a look at what your YPOD Membership includes and a sneak peak at what’s to come in 2024. 

• Mentorship program - New for 2024
• Private optional Slack group chat for members - New for 2024
• Member pricing for YPOD and Chamber events
• Referral Program
• Networking opportunities
• Professional development
• Community involvement

Reach out today or join online if you are interested in becoming a Young Professional of Durango!

This month, YPOD sat down with Pam Moore, director of HomesFund, to peer into the world of home buying​

With many YPOD members beginning to wonder, “can I make a home in Durango?” we were eager for this ‘Adulting 101’info. 
 HomesFund is a nonprofit helping people achieve their homeownership goals. Through education and loans, they help prevent Durango from turning into an elite-only vacation destination. 
 One option is they’ll co-invest $50k into your home purchase, ‘buying into’ your new home with you. In return, you owe them that $50k, plus however much that portion appreciated by the time you sell. 

 With the typical home price in Durango approaching $600k, the support from HomesFund can make the difference between homeownership being a pipe dream and reality. In fact, they provide the MOST generous down payment assistance in Colorado. 

 Besides financial assistance, HomesFund also offers a monthly crash course in home buying as well as one-on-one financial counseling. These services are offered FREE to our community (besides the small costs of a workbook and credit check.) An impressive 2,500 people have taken the course — of which 1,250 went on to purchase homes. 
 To those of us nearing this journey, Pam advised us to stay on top of money management, reduce our debt, and keep on saving. 

 Whether or not you’re in the market for a home, HomesFund is doing terrific work helping locals plant meaningful roots in Durango — in spite of our daunting market. 
​
 Writer: Maddie Côté

This week we dove into all things small business ownership with Katie Burford, owner of Durango’s favorite ice cream shop Cream Bean Berry. Formerly “Lunches with Leaders”, this YPOD event was held after hours with snazzy appetizers and drinks.

Katie’s background is a colorful whirlwind of travel, career changes, and following passion like a North Star. Originally from Oklahoma, Katie and her brother got a first-hand look at business ownership when her parents took over a business in an industry that slumped soon after. She associated that life with struggle and nonstop upkeep.

With interests in both journalism and psychology, Katie worked in a psychiatric hospital and later as a foreign correspondent. She nannied in Spain, then worked for the Associated Press in Chile and Mexico. Her priorities rearranged, as they do for new parents, when she gave birth to her first child in Mexico City.

A move to prioritize quality of life brought Katie and her family to Durango, where her partner had attended college. Katie got a job at The Herald, but faced the reality all of us in Durango face at one point or another: comfortable living in Durango is hard to achieve without going the route of creating your own work. She wondered what of her eclectic experiences she could spin into a business...

As a child of 1970’s convenience-foods, Katie experienced something of a revolution discovering all the quality goods she could whip up from scratch in her own kitchen.

Ice cream, she noticed, was the food she saw the most difference in when it came to homemade vs. store bought. The idea of an ice cream shop was born.

Katie studied up at Gelato University (you read that right), a week-long immersion in North Carolina, among other programs for top dessert makers. Funding the business seemed the biggest challenge. Even with support from the community via a Kickstarter campaign, the Carver’s, the Fort’s SBDC, grants and loans, she ultimately fell shy of the needed capital - and was heartbroken.

Despite massive disappointment and temptation to abandon the endeavor, Katie pushed on. That first year of business in 2013, Katie sold scoops from a bicycle cart along the Animas River.

A one-woman scrappy operation, she juggled motherhood with labor-intensive ice cream making.

Her next season was a bit more grounded, opening shop at the Smiley Building. Through trial and error she learned that ice cream is an impulse buy; time and place are everything, and she needed to be where the traffic was.

Her current location on Main Street came next. The first year ran on a shoestring budget, but business only got better from there.

Reflecting on her career, Katie acknowledges that mistakes were indispensable to getting things right. Navigating the seasonality of an ice cream business, learning to relinquish control to employees and value the unique contributions they all make to the company.

One YPOD asked about the challenge of staffing. To that, Katie responded that she thinks the formula to happy employees is quite simple:

• show them respect and appreciation
• trust in their competence

• be flexible around the demands of their lives; as they are students, parents, and whole people. 
  
  

The takeaway she left us with, in both work and life, is to see things in perspective of one’s whole life. Also, work-life balance really matters. Why have children or live in a place like Durango if you can’t make time to appreciate those gifts?

As a self-employed writer early in my career, Katie’s message helped alleviate some pressure I feel to have it all figured out, ASAP. Even a business owner admired in town took a long, winding, and sometimes four-wheel drive road to be where she is today.

Join us at the next Leaders After Hours if you’d like to hear the inner workings of a local mover and shaker like Katie Burford.

Maddie Côté
Freelance Copywriter