Using Creativity to Drive Inclusion in Colorado Business: Arts, Equity, and Access as Tools for Economic Growth

Using Creativity to Drive Inclusion in Colorado Business will amplify the work of entrepreneurs and small businesses who use arts, media and creativity to drive economic growth and build inclusion in business and industry. Resources, storytelling, discussion, and intentional interaction will help set a road map for the Colorado business sector whose recovery and growth will be dependent on models that prioritize access, innovation, and equity.

This free event is open to business leaders, creative entrepreneurs and those looking to place-make in the future of the Colorado economy. Followed by a networking happy hour at Tivoli Taproom.

Speakers and Panelists

Barbara Brooks

Founder and CEO, SecondActWomen

Barbara Brooks at 54 years-young is the founder and CEO of SecondActWomen. Built by and for women 40 and beyond, the company is an IRL and virtual club for women 40 & 50+ that provides access to professional and self-development courses and workshops led by industry experts, resources and on-demand content, and a network of women entering middlescence with vigor. Founded to counter the ageist bias waged against females 40 & 50+ in corporate, business ownership and in society, SecondActWomen gives women the opportunity to ReThink, ReTool and ReBoot in order to design their future on their terms.

Brian Corrigan

Designer and Creative Placemaking Strategist

Brian Corrigan is a creative placemaking artist-designer-entrepreneur working at the intersection of creative economy, technology and community development. His socially engaged practice spans rural/urban/suburban communities and is focused on sparking and supporting the development of healthy, inclusive and vibrant neighborhoods for all people. His work has been recognized by NPR, PBS, Cool Hunting, Springwise, Denver Post, Streetwise, Business Journal and Dwell. He is an ArtPlace America Grantee, NewCities Global Urban Innovator Finalist, Knight Public Spaces Fellowship Finalist and an International Award for Public Art Finalist. His projects have been published in Streets Reconsidered: Inclusive Design for the Public Realm and The Digital City: Media and the Social Production of Place.

Theo Edmonds

Associate Dean for Transdisciplinary Research & Innovation, University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) College of Arts & Media (CAM)

Theo Edmonds is the Associate Dean for Transdisciplinary Research & Innovation at University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) College of Arts & Media (CAM). Before coming to Colorado in 2021, Edmonds served at the University of Louisville School of Public Health & Information Science where he founded and co-led the Center for Creative Placehealing—a culture, innovation, and entrepreneurship program at the intersection of public health and the creative industries. In addition to his work in healthcare and higher education, Edmonds is the co-founder of Underestimated People of Purpose (UPOP), a for-profit public benefit organization that uses cultural wellbeing science to support quality improvement and strategic communications processes that humanize the future of work and spark inclusive innovation. Along with his husband, Josh Miller, Edmonds founded IDEAS xLab, an artist-run nonprofit that champions inclusion and belonging through creativity, art, and action.

Sara Moore

Executive Director, Colorado Dragon Boat

Sara Moore is the Executive Director for Colorado Dragon Boat, the umbrella organization that encompasses the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, the Colorado Dragon Boat Film Festival, and the AAPI Emerging Leaders Program. Sara has been with the organization since December 2017 and some of her proudest accomplishments to-date are: creating and implementing a sustainable budget and hosting the largest Dragon Boat Festival in North America in 2019 (150K attendees).
Sara’s passions include rock climbing, hiking, and learning about her Japanese heritage. Sara can talk on end about her grandfather, Masamichi (Mac) Suzuki. Mac was interned during WWII as a nisei at Tule Lake, California. He later served on the ABCC (Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission) in Hiroshima, Japan, as an OBGYN studying fertility in the victims of the atomic bombs, later retiring from the U.S. Army as a Captain. Sara is honored to be a part of this amazing organization that helps promote and celebrate the contributions and accomplishments from the Asian Pacific American community here in Colorado.

Event Co-Hosts