In the News

Q & A with Josh Axler, RFL Academy 2021 Alum These days, you won’t find Josh Axler behind a desk — or even on dry land — very frequently. The RFL Academy 2021 alum spends much of his time at sea, sailing a large carbon race boat or his own, much smaller, wooden boat, Heike. "She's my baby!" he says. Axler realized the hard way that he was not suited for a conventional path through life. At school in Flagstaff, Arizona, he struggled to sit through class and stay focused and eventually got kicked out of the ninth grade (technically, [...]

Q & A with Susan Harig, RFL Board President and 2018 RFL Mastermind Alumni Susan Harig Susan Harig moved to the Roaring Fork Valley from Las Vegas in 2013 with her husband, Jeff, and their son, Tillman. Tired of the intense heat and confines of city life, she found the big life change she sought in the valley’s cool mountain air and rural setting — a place where her son could climb trees and play outside on his own. In her professional life, too, Susan was also looking for a change. Previously, she was wearing suits and [...]

Q & A with Mitzi Rapkin, RFL Academy 2013 Alumni: You might recognize longtime Roaring Fork Valley resident, Mitzi Rapkin, from her podcast, First Draft, where she interviews authors about their writing — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and essays. She’s also a former outdoor educator, guide, public radio reporter, and most recently, an entrepreneur. We chatted with Mitzi about starting a life-coaching business and the role RFL has played in her varied career path.  RFL: First off, how long have you lived in the valley?  Mitzi Rapkin: Twenty years. Back in the summer of 1992, I was an intern for ACES [...]

Q & A with Jannette Whitcomb, RFL Academy 2002 Originally from Illinois, Jannette Whitcomb moved to the Roaring Fork Valley 24 years ago to work for the City of Aspen’s Environmental Health Department where she focused on providing programs that empowered the community to improve their health and well-being. After years of “leading from the side,” as Jannette describes, this past June, she achieved a longtime career goal of taking on a director-level position when she was named Garfield County’s new Environmental Health Manager.   Recently, RFL sat down with Jannette to learn more about her career path and how [...]

There is a need for upskilling, reskilling, onboarding, and rebounding training to ensure a vital workforce.  Employers directly benefit from investing in their employees through education, training, and development. Additionally, investing in staff results in increased productivity, engagement, and organizational success. Our rural Colorado workforce has changed over the past two years with more remote workers, up to five generations working in the workforce, globalization, high housing prices, lack of affordable housing, and lack of child care options or cost. There are pockets of progress and innovative ideas on these issues, although we continue to struggle. Roaring Fork Leadership (RFL), [...]

Q & A with Julie Warren, RFL Academy 2013 Alumni In 2019, Julie Warren suffered the devastating loss of her 16-year-old daughter, Anna, after a three-year battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma. That year she started the ALC Foundation to honor her daughter by raising money for organizations that support families fighting pediatric cancer. As the Chief Marketing Officer for the River Valley Ranch Golf Course and co-owner with her husband, Red Cunningham, of the Homestead Bar & Grill in Carbondale, Warren came to RFL Academy 2013 hoping to improve her management and leadership skills, with the goal of building better a [...]