Who We Are

Hannah Berman

Senior Sustainability and Philanthropy Manager, Aspen One

Basalt Town Council Member

“Parents should have a financially feasible option to stay in the workforce. There are multiple benefits to making this happen, from allowing the employee to stay in their career track to the employer not having to find a replacement.”

Mark & Lindsay Gould

Gould Construction

“The lack of affordable childcare in our region is holding our economy, businesses, and families back. It is not just a family issue–our local economy depends on parents of young children being able to go to work. Childcare investments should be considered infrastructure investments.”

Dr. Jennifer Baugh

Superintendent, Garfield County School District 16

“Investing in high-quality and accessible early childhood education now will improve the social, emotional, and academic outcomes for our children in the future while supporting the workforce in the valley today.”

Esmeralda Zuniga

Colorado River Valley Team

“Childcare is a lifeline for families struggling to make ends meet. That's why we support taking this big step to alleviate this financial burden for working families and ensure that every child – regardless of where they live in the region – has access to the nurturing care they deserve.”

Tharyn Mulberry

Superintendent, Aspen School District

“The foundation of a child's learning, emotions, and interactions is built before age five, a period of rapid brain development. The experiences and opportunities they have during these early years shape their future. That’s why high-quality programs for our youngest community members aren’t just important—they’re essential to ensuring the bright futures we all want and deserve.”

Aspen Valley Hospital

“Being the second-largest employer in the Roaring Fork Valley, there is no more important resource than our employees. Our organization exists primarily to serve our local community, so any pinch point we hear from our employees naturally concerns us. We execute a wellness survey with our staff every year, and in addition to general financial stress (driven primarily by affordable housing pressures), the other top pressure is the lack of adequate early childhood care options for our employees. Almost any study you read when it comes to the key components of a healthy and thriving community is its educational system and related investments, and we certainly extend that to the early childhood years. We don’t want to fall into a cycle where we hire amazing employees, and when they decide to sink their roots in and start a family here, this becomes the reason they are forced to leave the Valley. We believe in the strategy and vision of CECE to tackle this ongoing issue aggressively and from a regional point of view. This initiative has the full support of Aspen Valley Hospital.”

Focused Kids

“Early experiences from 0-5 shape the architecture of a child’s brain, laying the foundation for lifelong learning, health, and success. Investing in early childhood education and providing families with the resources and support they need ensures that every child has the opportunity to thrive.”