Q & A with Adam Frisch, RFL Academy 2006

In 2022, Adam Frisch drove over 24,000 miles on his campaign trail for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, one of the largest and most diverse rural districts in the U.S. An RFL Academy alum who’s lived in Aspen for over 30 years, Adam has embraced politics as “elective community service.” Whether it’s addressing affordable housing through serving on the Aspen City Council or becoming a part-time substitute teacher in local public schools during COVID, the leadership skills and civic engagement Adam learned through RFL have been foundational to his journey from local politics to running a Congressional campaign.

Roaring Fork Leadership: Can you introduce yourself and describe your background?

Adam Frisch: I was born on the Fort Peck Indian reservation in northeastern Montana. My dad worked as a doctor for the Indian Health Service. I lived in Montana for five years, but we moved to Minneapolis when I was in kindergarten. I grew up ski racing and ended up at the University of Colorado Boulder. After I graduated, I moved to New York City in 1990. I started off waiting tables and then spent over a decade working in the financial industry, with a focus on the global emerging market interest rate and foreign exchange.

I went to a lot of 9/11 funerals and moved back to Colorado to take a break. I was going to ski bum the winter of 2001-2002 and ended up meeting a gal on the western slope. We got married and wanted to build a business and a family based in the Roaring Fork Valley. We’ve been here since 2003. I got into homebuilding and construction, and I did RFL Academy 2006. In 2009, I ran for Aspen City Council and lost, so I ran again in 2011 and ended up serving from 2011-2019.

RFL: What drew you to RFL Academy?

AF: Shortly after I moved to Aspen, there was an advertisement in the paper for a forum or something about how decisions get made in the local community. I knew that at some point I wanted to get involved in community leadership – elected or not, I wasn’t exactly sure. I went to the forum, and it was an eye-opening conversation. Soon after that, I heard about Roaring Fork Leadership and I thought that would be a great thing. I’m very interested in leadership, whether it’s at the local level or the national level. I think we can all agree that even though there’s a lot of talk and stuff that happens out of Washington, DC, it’s your county commissioners and your local city council people who are going to affect a good chunk of your life.

RFL: How did you get involved in politics?

AF: After I went through Academy, I got on the Pitkin County Financial Advisory Board because I thought I could offer some of what I’d learned working in finance. I saw how important the affordable housing conversation was to the community, but I didn’t see much conversation around that issue happening in City Council. At the time, there weren’t a lot of people on City Council with a business background, so I thought I could bring a different perspective to the table. I ended up running in 2009 and came very close, and after coming so close, someone from an affordable housing group asked me to join them to work on a long-term housing strategy. After that, I ended up running for city council again, focusing on the small business community and affordable housing.

RFL: What did you learn from RFL Academy and how did it shape you as a leader?

AF: A buddy of my mine who was in Congress made this comment. He said, “look, it’s hard to work with people you don’t trust. And it’s hard to trust people you don’t know.” I knew that if I wanted to take on some leadership roles, I needed to start building trust with other current and future leaders. I knew I should spend some time integrating myself into the community even more, which was a huge upside of RFL. I learned from the other people in my cohort, particularly around consensus building, which is important in small towns. I’ve always said that life is about making decisions and leadership is about making tough decisions. And there’s a whole other level of making tough decisions when you’re in a small community and you’re making decisions that have a direct effect on your best friend. At RFL, we spent a lot of time learning about decision making. And I thought that was really, really important. Those were some of my big takeaways from RFL – the importance of building relationships and trust, especially in a small town.

RFL: What influence has RFL played in your political career?

AF: I realized that learning from — and listening to — a lot of people is important. I think something that a lot of people running for Congress or who are currently serving us are lacking is the ability to listen to a diverse group of people. Everyone assumes the Roaring Fork Valley is just a bunch of wealthy fancy pants type people, but there’s a variety of economic diversity in the community and some racial and ethnic diversity, too. I realized that I was fairly good at building trust with people and being a good listener. And those are two things that are not exactly overflowing in the US Congress these days.

RFL: Yeah, that is an understatement! What leadership lessons have you learned in running for office?

AF: I do think there are fundamental attributes and traits that make people successful leaders. Being humble, being a good listener, having the self-confidence to speak truth to constituents. It’s hard when there’s a minority opinion that you think is the right way to go. To stand in front of your friends and family members and say, “I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t think this is the right way” takes a lot of courage.

RFL: How’s your campaign going?

AF: It’s been a wild ride. I’m only in town for five days a month. We have a district that’s bigger than the state of Pennsylvania – it takes 10 hours to drive across. It’s a district that’s 22%, Democrat, 32% Republican and 45% Independent – that’s diversity! We have counties that are 85%, Democrat; we have counties that are 85% Republican; we have some of the wealthiest counties in the country; and we have some of the poorest counties in the country. You have to show up and be willing to listen to a truly diverse group of people.