Leeds School of Business

CU ��ý��’s Rural Colorado Workshop Series Keeps Small Town Main Streets Alive

Anna Tolette — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 21:27:53 +0000

CU ��ý��’s Rural Colorado Workshop Series Keeps Small Town Main Streets Alive Anna Tolette Mon, 03/09/2026 - 15:27

Christie Sounart

Six years ago, southwest Colorado resident Mary Hearding launched Karma Tutors, providing academic support to students both locally in and near Telluride, Colorado, and globally through videoconferences. She also began the Karma Tutors Impact Fund to aid students who don’t have the financial means for a tutor.

The program’s successful launch was due in part to her involvement with the Rural Colorado Workshop Series (RCWS), a certificate course offered through CU ��ý��’s Leed’s Deming Center for Entrepreneurship for citizens in rural and native Colorado areas.

Led by Erick Mueller (MBA’99), executive director of the Deming Center, the volunteer-run program pairs CU business faculty with local organizations throughout Colorado. Each year for five years, community members attend an in-person, day-and-a-half meeting focused on entrepreneurship and business vitality in their region.

“CU ��ý�� is Colorado’s flagship university,” said Mueller. “I think it’s important we give back to our state.”

RCWS’ first two sessions focus on turning ideas into businesses, the third and fourth focus on scaling existing businesses and the final session provides tools for enhancing companies through aspects like technology, marketing or performance management.

Mueller has been involved in all 45 of the program’s weekend workshops since they began in 2015. He’s fueled by job creation and elevated entrepreneurial ecosystems, he said. One report out of Chaffee County, for instance, said 56 jobs were connected with workshop series attendees founding or growing companies.

“It’s such a gift to see these amazing community members act on their passions,” he said.

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Map image courtesy Raven Maps & Images

The workshop program visits regions, not cities, to help create community and collaboration.

KEY

Yellow: Southwest Colorado Region

Norwood

Telluride

Ignacio

Montrose

Red: Southeast Colorado Region

Trinidad

Pueblo

Green: Northeast Colorado Region

Sterling

Purple: Northwest Colorado Region

Hayden

Craig

Blue: Central Mountain Region

Buena Vista

Vail

The volunteer-run program pairs CU business faculty with local organizations throughout Colorado.

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Spring 2026

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Blazin’ Joe: Brewing a Sustainable Startup

Anna Tolette — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 18:20:32 +0000

Blazin’ Joe: Brewing a Sustainable Startup Anna Tolette Mon, 11/10/2025 - 11:20

Julia MacLean

Maddie Cataldo and Maya Nefs with their Blazin' Joe firelogs

In 2019, when freshman Maddie Cataldo (Mgmt’23) showed up to her first CU ��ý�� club hockey practice, she didn’t know anyone. But a spontaneous locker room conversation about skydiving ignited a friendship.

Maya Nefs (Mgmt’23), then a sophomore and fellow Leeds School of Business student, didn’t hesitate: “What are you doing next week? Let’s go.”

They went, tumbling into the air over Longmont, Colorado.

Years later, that same adventurous spirit fuels their company, Blazin’ Joe, which transforms coffee waste into sustainable firewood alternatives. Their business started in a college oven and now operates out of Nefs’ garage in Golden, Colorado.

Cataldo and Nefs’ journey as business partners is rooted in their shared CU experiences: business classes, a love for the outdoors and hockey.

“Being teammates really helped us work together,” Cataldo said. “We’re both super competitive, and there’s a level of bluntness that’s good and healthy to have. You could yell at each other on the ice and grab a beer right after.”

They’re also candid about the challenges of going into business together.

“I wouldn’t say it’s super easy going into business with a close friend,” Cataldo said. “We have a contract that tells us we need to spend a certain number of hours not talking about Blazin’ Joe, but just hanging out.”

Nefs added: “We’ll go play tennis or grab a happy hour drink. One of the most important aspects of the business is keeping our friendship healthy.”

It’s a priority that pays off personally and professionally.

“I wouldn’t be doing this with anyone else,” Nefs said. “Maddie has such a positive attitude, and I definitely find myself aspiring to carry the same positivity.”

The idea for Blazin’ Joe began in Cataldo’s senior capstone course, the New Venture Launch, taught through the business school’s Deming Center for Entrepreneurship. Her class project pitch centered on a fire log made from used coffee grounds, which was inspired by her father’s entrepreneurial research in biofuels.

Blazin' Joe firelogs

“I remember using the oven in my college house 24/7 to dry coffee grounds,” said Cataldo. “My roommates were awesome because the house always smelled like coffee — even our clothes.”

Cataldo’s professor, Brad Werner, saw something unique in her.

“She wasn’t just presenting a business idea — she was sharing something she truly believed in,” Werner said. “I look for students who demonstrate genuine customer obsession — not just talking about their product, but showing they truly understand their customers’ pain points.”

Cataldo’s team won the pitch at the end of the capstone class, impressing Werner with their compelling presentation, and walking away with first-place recognition.

After graduation, Cataldo tried running the business alone until Nefs stepped in.

“She was thinking of putting it on pause,” Nefs said. “I told her, ‘Don’t do that. I’ll work on it with you.’ The company had so much potential, and people were buying the product; it just needed two people behind it.”

Today, Blazin’ Joe makes fire logs and fire starters from coffee chaff — the light, flaky skin of the coffee bean discarded during roasting. It burns clean, hot and efficiently, without the toxic chemicals found in traditional fire-related products.

“We started out using coffee grounds,” Cataldo said, “but realized drying them used too much energy. Chaff was the game-changer: it’s dry, burns well and it’s a huge waste stream in the industry.”

They now collect chaff from local Colorado roasters like Sweet Bloom Coffee, Otis Craft Collective and Copper Door Coffee Roasters. They use about four pounds of chaff per log, Cataldo said, and grind it down and press it to shape in Nefs’ garage.

“I’m grateful for the setup,” Nefs said. “We’re not paying rent on a space, and for a small startup, that’s critical. We’re growing sustainably, on our own terms.”

Since launching into retail in January, Blazin’ Joe has found traction in farmers markets and local stores like McGuckin Hardware and Lucky’s Market. In May, they also won the Next Cycle Colorado Pitch, which supports companies repurposing waste streams in Colorado.

Cataldo is eager to grow the business more.

“Our ultimate goal is to work towards making the coffee industry circular,” she said. “We’d love to partner with bigger roasters on a larger scale and repurpose as much waste as possible.”

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Photos courtesy Graham Gardner (Sparrow Creative)

Maddie Cataldo and Maya Nefs turned a shared love of adventure and entrepreneurship into Blazin’ Joe, a sustainable startup that transforms coffee waste into firelogs and fire starters.

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Fall 2025

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Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:43:34 +0000

Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:43

Kelsey Yandura

Did Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film boost Birkenstock sales? Does a high-fat diet increase anxiousness? How are business leaders addressing “Zoom fatigue” among employees? Can a jellyfish-inspired robot track climate change?

The questions facing industry professionals today can range from complex to straight out of a science fiction novel. To keep up with and prepare students for the ever-evolving times, academic institutions need to constantly reevaluate course content and degree offerings.

CU ��ý��’s leadership strategically approaches the challenges of continuous modernization in higher education by examining both what and how students learn. This allows the university to remain on the leading edge of education while empowering students to navigate a fast-changing world.

“Our degrees don’t focus on a finite set of competencies, but on teaching students how to learn and lead,” said Katherine Eggert, vice chancellor for academic planning and assessment at CU ��ý��. “What our graduates learn today may be outdated by tomorrow. They’ll need to acquire new skills quickly from the moment they start their careers.”

The university’s academic strategy is centered on equipping students with adaptable, real-world skills in programs that embrace multidisciplinary approaches, foster collaboration and generate creative solutions to complex problems.

Here are five of the latest undergraduate and graduate degree paths CU ��ý�� has unveiled over the past four years.

Corporate Communication (MA)

CU ��ý�� Online

When Kiana Junior (MCorpComm’25) graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, job prospects in her field of study were dire.

“I took the first job I could, which happened to be in the real estate industry,” said Junior. Three years later, she’s bounding ahead on a totally new path: working as a brand communicator and pursuing her master’s in corporate communication at CU, a fully online degree program introduced in 2020.

In the field of corporate communication, professionals study the way companies and organizations communicate with internal and external audiences to share information and manage brand perception.

“It’s the practice and art of distilling information with integrity and consistency,” said Junior. “Consumers and employees expect transparency and social responsibility from corporations, now more than ever — especially when it comes to social responsibility, environmental compliance and diversity.”

The curriculum is designed to be student-centric. “The students learn from a mix of university faculty and current and distinguished practitioners who are working in the field,” said Tobias Hopp, director of the program. “It’s a dynamic educational experience.”

The results speak for themselves.

“I could read something in class one day and take it to work the next day,” said Junior. “It’s directly applicable every single week.”

Business Analytics (BS)

Leeds School of Business

Businesses have access to more data than ever — but it’s what they do with this data that provides value. Streaming site subscriptions, airline loyalty memberships, coffee shop sales and nail salon customer reviews — each of these datasets can provide a wealth of information for the respective businesses.

That’s where business analytics comes in: using data to glean insights, inform strategic decisions and recommend meaningful changes within a business. This fast-growing field of study became a new undergraduate focus within the Leeds School of Business in 2022.

“It’s about critical thinking with data,” said Kai R. Larsen, professor of information systems at Leeds. “Datasets are only getting bigger. We tried to imagine what a major would look like so that students could really understand the story behind the numbers.”

Business analytics students learn how to translate and distill hard numbers into helpful information. It is designed to be paired with another area of emphasis within the business school, such as marketing, finance or accounting.

“The beauty comes from how to put all these parts together,” said Larsen. “Not only understand the problem, but be able to analyze and also distill the information into something that’s valuable.”

Public Health (BA)

College of Arts and Sciences

After wildfires in California in 2008, Colleen Reid, an associate professor of geography at CU ��ý��, began studies to understand how wildfire smoke affects population health. Recently, she has been collecting data to understand how wildfire smoke gets into homes and schools and may affect children’s health in the Denver metro area. Reid hopes school districts can use the findings from her work to protect children from future high air pollution events, such as wildfires. Her work demonstrates the importance of careers in public health.

Starting in the fall of 2025, CU students will have the opportunity to pursue similar lines of work through the new public health major (BA) — a discipline focused on protecting and improving the health and well-being of communities and people. The field examines the underlying determinants of health within populations. For this new major at CU, students will learn about public health through courses within many different disciplines, including biology, statistics, geography, physiology, sociology, psychology and more.

“Public health goes beyond just individual bodies,” said Reid. “Seat belts are public health. Parks are public health. Climate change policy is public health. Food safety inspections at restaurants are public health.”

CU’s public health program plans to equip students with the tools to address the needs of today’s world — making strides to not only solve health problems, but also prevent them.

Biomedical Engineering (BS, MS, PhD)

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Earlier this year, a CU ��ý��-led team made strides in the quest to develop naturalistic materials that can repair and replace human tissue. Their breakthrough focused on creating a “Band-Aid for the heart,” and the process consisted of 3D printing adhesive, elastic materials that are strong enough to support tissue mechanically.

This work, which can lead to revolutionary uses such as internal bandages and cartilage patches, demonstrates the innovative possibilities in biomedical engineering. By connecting engineering principles to the fields of medicine and biology, professionals in this discipline create enhancements to health care.

“A biomedical engineer on a team can form a crucial bridge between the clinicians and the engineers,” said Jessica McLaughlin, a teaching assistant professor in CU’s biomedical engineering (BME) department. “It’s critical to have someone at the table who can speak both languages.”

Since 2020, students at CU ��ý�� have had this professional pathway open to them through undergraduate and graduate biomedical engineering degrees. The multidisciplinary major teaches students how to create technology to address complex health problems.

“Anyone who cares about human health should be interested in this,” said Corey Nue, a biomedical professor at CU ��ý��. “As engineers, we’re really uniquely positioned to impact the field through new devices, diagnostics and therapeutics.”

Robotics (MA, PhD)

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Perhaps the most futuristic major on the list is CU’s new graduate program in robotics, which kicked off in the fall of 2023. The program combines coursework and research from a variety of engineering fields, bridging the gaps between science, engineering and artificial intelligence.

“Robotics takes everything from computer science to mechanical engineering to electrical engineering,” said Sean Humbert, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Robotics Program at CU ��ý��. “These are the types of students we want to be getting — folks that want this multidisciplinary background to solve all sorts of problems.”

From agriculture and health care to security and defense, the applications of a robotics degree are endless. Students enrolled in the program can choose from more than 40 different courses taught by experts in areas like field robotics, reasoning and assurance, smart materials, human-centered robotics and biomedical robotics.

When leading the charge to bring the robotics program to life, Humbert envisioned a department built on flexibility and an eye for developing trends.

“It’s a rapidly changing field, and our terrific faculty span all of these different bins of research,” said Humbert. “We’ll be able to educate students and develop new classes as the new tools appear. It’s really exciting.”

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Illustrations by Israel Vargas

Take a peek at five new undergraduate and graduate degree paths CU ��ý�� has unveiled over the past four years.

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Fall 2024

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Soft Skills Are the New Power Skills

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Soft Skills Are the New Power Skills Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 07/16/2024 - 00:00

Katy Hill

For decades, the archetypal C-suite executive stood tall as a domineering figure, leading from a distant corner office. Interpersonal skills — literally labeled “soft skills” — were seen as expendable on the corporate ladder.

However, a growing body of research shows that company leaders who exhibit communication, flexibility and compassion help teams collaborate more effectively, motivate workforces and retain employees. As a result, modern paradigms are shifting to reframe these “soft skills” as highly coveted “power skills” among today’s top leaders.

“Being a good leader is being a good human,” said Tony Kong, associate professor of organizational leadership and informational analytics at Leeds Business School. “When a leader can show tenderness, sympathy and compassion, especially in times of crisis and uncertainty, it can trigger employees’ feelings of gratitude and make them want to go above and beyond.”

The stress and upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic underscored the need for empathetic leaders and a more nurturing workplace culture, Kong said. And today, corporate downsizing and emerging technologies further compound that need. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs Report, skills like creativity, resilience, flexibility, self-awareness and empathy will be among the most valued over the next five years.

Kong, also the faculty director of Leeds’ leadership certificate, and David Hekman, associate professor of organizational leadership and information analytics, share more research-backed insights about the benefits of empathy and humility in company leadership and why leaders at all levels need to embody these skills.

The surprising power of humility

By acknowledging their mistakes, highlighting others’ strengths and exhibiting a learning mindset, leaders cultivate a workplace culture oriented toward growth.

“Humility in leadership benefits teams, individuals and entire organizations,” Hekman said. “It helps people experience more psychological freedom, authenticity, job satisfaction, improved team performance and motivation.”

Hekman studies how leader humility influences team performance. One such study, published in the Academy of Management Journal in 2016, examined the operations of 84 laboratory teams and 77 health care teams. It revealed that when leaders exercise humility, it can effectively propagate throughout a team.

“Humility spreads — it’s contagious,” Hekman said. “It enhances feelings of safety, so you can feel safe speaking up to your boss. It reduces turnover and results in a more motivated workforce.”

Although it’s clear that leader humility benefits teams and organizations, there is a widespread belief that humility may hinder leaders from advancing through the corporate ranks.

However, Hekman’s recent research indicates that there is a “humble route” to career advancement.

“Conventional wisdom is that you’ve got to be Machiavellian and self-promote and bully to rise to the top, but humility is also a catalyst for leadership success,” said Hekman, who co-authored a study on humility and career advancement that was published in the January 2024 edition of the Journal of Human Resource Management.

Informal career mentoring, which helps cultivate a network of loyal followers, is key to humble leader advancement. “It gives them status in the organization because passing on skills, tips and tricks builds up a lot of social capital,” Hekman said. “So they build this network of people who end up being an army of very talented, very motivated, trusting people, which is unbeatable.” The elevated status often leads to promotions.

Warmth in the workplace

Interpersonal warmth is also crucial in fostering a positive workplace culture, Kong’s research shows. Employees are more likely to be engaged and motivated when a leader is understanding and supportive. Similarly, leaders who convey “warmth” can build trust with their direct reports, fostering open communication and acceptance of new ideas.

Warm and empathetic leaders can also help lessen employees’ negative work stress. According to a study published in April 2023 in the Academy of Management Journal and co-authored by Kong, whether an employee sees a work stressor as a challenge or threat hinges on how they view their direct manager.

Based on two surveys of more than 250 employee-leader pairs in 234 companies and organizations in more than 40 industries in China, researchers found that employees view the prospect of performance-based pay raises positively when they view their manager as competent and warm.

Capable and supportive leaders create fulfilling work environments, inspiring employees to rise to the challenge with increased work engagement and performance.

On the other hand, “If my leader is cold, untrustworthy, unfriendly and unsupportive, then I’ll perceive pay for performance as a threat,” Kong said. “I’ll be stressed and withdraw from my work, maybe coming to work late and leaving early. I will perform worse because I’m disengaged.”

Kong’s research also shows the importance of prioritizing employees’ psychological needs during a crisis. A 2021 study he co-authored, published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, surveyed employees during the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that when supervisors acknowledged their employees’ suffering and provided emotional support and flexibility, it improved relationships and evoked gratitude among their reports. It also helped employees adapt and increased their engagement at work.

The study underscores why prioritizing human connection is essential for a positive work culture, Kong said.

“When a leader shows empathy, people appreciate it,” Kong said. “They actually do more even though it’s not a requirement.”

A cornerstone for inclusion

Empathy can help managers lead with inclusivity and better understand others’ perspectives and worldviews.

According to a 2021 survey by Catalyst, employees across different genders and racial groups feel more valued and respected while working with an empathetic leader compared to less empathetic ones.

Kong said it’s also important for leaders to consider diversity in a wider context.

“Diversity is very complex, but often we fixate our attention on demographics and forget that people have different perspectives, different backgrounds and different ideologies,” said Kong, who teaches a module on managing diversity in Leeds’ Executive Leadership Program.

“Instead of using demographics as a proxy, why don’t we try to better understand people’s perspectives, worldviews and experiences? That’s using empathy to understand and respect others’ points of view.”

Empathetic leaders value diverse perspectives and create a culture of respect, acceptance and unity, which helps foster a sense of community among employees.

“Over time, I think practicing empathy will not only give you emotional talent, but also cultural intelligence,” said Kong.

Powering up “soft skills”

Empathy and emotional intelligence are hard to quantify, and they’re often overlooked when it comes to hiring, according to Kong.

“It’s not a luxury for leaders to have empathy. It is a necessity,” said Kong. “But oftentimes, we promote leaders in terms of technical skills. And sometimes we find that they don’t understand people. They only understand what they do, but they don’t understand who they’re working with.”

Kong explained that companies often prioritize short-term performance over long-term culture building because return on investment (ROI) is not attached to these relationship-building skills. “We need to shift the thinking about who we hire, who we promote and what kind of culture we want,” he said.

Hekman and Kong believe companies should implement systems that promote and cultivate “power skills.” For example, human resources departments can work with companies’ leadership to promote mentoring programs, create systems that provide transparency, and facilitate leadership training programs that contribute to career success and organizational growth.

Meanwhile, company leaders at any level should focus on providing quality feedback to employees more often, Kong said. “Providing good feedback is a skill set. It’s a leadership skill that requires empathy,” he said.

“A lot of times leaders do not know how to give feedback, but employees crave it for self-growth,” he added. “Try to frame feedback sessions as more constructive and focus on strengths instead of limitations. Take perspective and try to put the right people in the right positions according to their strengths.”

This shifting emphasis promises lasting repercussions — especially as companies integrate AI technology into their operations. According to recent research, employers will increasingly value these “power skills” that enhance human interactions in the AI age.

“We don’t know what is going to happen, but my hunch is that our human advantage is going to be our [interpersonal] skills,” Hekman said.

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Illustrations by Ben Kircher

“Soft skills” are getting a rebrand. Studies show today’s business leaders need increasing levels of empathy, humility and emotional intelligence to navigate a rapidly changing world.

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Summer 2024

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Leeds School of Business

CU ������ý����’s Rural Colorado Workshop Series Keeps Small Town Main Streets Alive

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Blazin’ Joe: Brewing a Sustainable Startup

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Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees

Corporate Communication (MA)

Business Analytics (BS)

Public Health (BA)

Biomedical Engineering (BS, MS, PhD)

Robotics (MA, PhD)

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Soft Skills Are the New Power Skills

The surprising power of humility

Warmth in the workplace

A cornerstone for inclusion

Powering up “soft skills”

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CU ��ý��’s Rural Colorado Workshop Series Keeps Small Town Main Streets Alive