Grantee Stories

Students and school district administrators from Cuba, NM visit CU ��ý��

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 17:15:47 +0000

Students and school district administrators from Cuba, NM visit CU ��ý�� Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 07/01/2026 - 11:15

High school students and district administrators from Cuba, NM with CU ��ý�� staff and faculty, John Wetenkamp (Policy Manager, Native American Affairs) and Michelle Renée Valladares (Faculty Affiliate, School of Education).

John Wetenkamp

On May 28, 2026, a group of 12 high school students from Cuba, NM with Cuba Independent School District administrators visited the ��ý�� (CU ��ý��) campus.

This was part of an ongoing partnership between the School of Education, the Public and Community Engaged Scholarship team and Cuba Independent School District, made possible by the years-long research of PhD candidate Revaline Nez and her advisor Michelle Renée Valladares. All students were part of the science club at Cuba High School, so there was an emphasis on CU ��ý��'s proximity to national institutions for scientific research.

Students began their day by meeting with Native American faculty and staff, then went on a tour of the campus, culminating in a 30-minute tour of CU ��ý��'s greenhouse collections on 30th Ave. The School of Education spent time with students discussing career paths, education issues in their community and some of the innovative practices being done by the School of Education.

A group of high school students and school district administrators from Cuba, NM visited the CU ��ý�� campus as a part of an ongoing partnership with the School of Education and the Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship team that aims to increase students' engagement in school and district level decision making.

Off

Traditional

White

PACES Sparks Engagement in 2026 Conference on World Affairs

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:08:39 +0000

PACES Sparks Engagement in 2026 Conference on World Affairs Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 04/30/2026 - 14:08

Gretchen Minekime

Gregor MacGregor, David Meens, Patty Limerick and Benny Shendo, Jr. at the opening Conference on World Affairs panel, Mon. April 13, 2026

At the 78th Conference on World Affairs (CWA), David Meens, assistant vice chancellor for public and community-engaged scholarship, opened a session with a question that gets to the heart of CU ��ý��’s public mission: Can a major research university be both world-class and deeply rooted in its home state?

Meens explored his question with the audience and fellow panelists, Associate Vice Chancellor for Native American Affairs Benny Shendo, Jr. and Professor of History Patty Limerick. Their session, “The University of Colorado’s Forgotten Land-Grant Origins and the Future of Public Impact,” introduced many audience members to something new: The university was established through Colorado’s Constitution—with funds provided from the dispossession of Indigenous lands. Likewise, Colorado's high school network, many business and municipal systems and all four CU campuses originated from University Extension’s efforts during the first half of the 20th century. It was after World War II that the university began establishing large-scale research and funding relationships with the federal government. Community-engaged scholarship in and around Colorado continued, but the focus on service that predominated in earlier years faded. Meens, Shendo, Jr. and Limerick challenged the audience to hold the university accountable to its origins—both how it was established and how it can be of critical and deep service to the residents of Colorado.

In addition to the panel, Meens and other members of Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) found ways to invite their community partners to participate in CWA.

Holly Oberle, assistant professor of political science at Colorado Mesa University, and Ruth Alminas, associate professor of political science at Fort Lewis College, each traveled to CWA, bringing eight undergraduate students with them. The students attended panels throughout the week, met CWA organizers and speakers and toured Colorado Law. Alminas was a panelist for “Flags, Borders and Belonging: The Politics of Nationalism” and moderated “From Rubble to Reconstruction: What Comes Next?” Oberle moderated “Pretty, Palatable or Political?” and is a new fellow with the PACES Higher Education and Democracy Initiative—a program that, in part, expands access to events like CWA for students and faculty at regional institutions across Colorado.

Students and faculty from Colorado Mesa University and Fort Lewis College join PACES team members for dinner at Mister Oso, Tues. April 13, 2026

"The Conference on World Affairs is an extremely unique event that brings together scholars, activists, practitioners, community members and students from high school to college to have tough conversations about the most pressing issues the world faces today,” said Oberle. “This was an especially unique opportunity for Colorado Mesa University students, as rural institutions don't always have the access or the resources to attend such events. I have never seen undergraduates come back from a conference with such enthusiasm and energy! The icing on the cake was meeting Malala."

Front Range teens from the Caminos Project also attended the conference finale featuring Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai. The Caminos Project receives grant funding from PACES and helps bi/multilingual youth develop research and advocacy skills about policy and programming to support their peers within school districts and to encourage civic engagement. CU ��ý�� Research Assistant Laura Meinzen described the experience as incredibly meaningful for the Caminos students.

“Seeing Malala speak with a student from Pakistan was powerful,” said Meinzen. “In the middle of the talk, that student turned to me suddenly to remind me, full of pride: ‘I’m from her country. I speak her language.’ When Malala was asked at the end of the interview what gives you hope, and she responded about all the brave girls still fighting for an education, our student turned to me and said, ‘like me.’”

Seeing the local in the national or global and vice versa is a significant aspect of what attending CWA offers—exactly the kind of experience that becomes transformative when it includes people who wouldn’t otherwise have a seat at the table.

CWA 2026 saw an increase in faculty-sponsored speakers and a fruitful partnership between the Department of Cinema Studies and Moving-Image Arts. That partnership resulted in multiple panels, including one featuring Lulu Wang, director of the critically-acclaimed film “The Farewell.” Wang was joined by leaders from Sundance and an undergraduate film major, with moderation by Colorado Public Radio’s Ryan Warner. Ben Teitelbaum, faculty director for strategic events and public discourse, sees such rich and diverse panels as a model to build on.

“These are the types of community-campus partnerships I would like to see more of,” said Teitelbaum.

“CWA brings people of different places, ages, cultures and interests to listen and learn together. That is a precious and expansive experience, and one that becomes even richer when the people in the room reflect the full range of communities CU ��ý�� is here to serve,” said Meens.

PACES leveraged the Conference on World Affairs to engage their community partners and team.

Off

Traditional

White

Malala Yousafzai joins Colorado Mesa University students and faculty for a photo before her keynote presentation at the 2026 Conference on World Affairs

Expanding tools for therapists supporting suicidal youth

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 19:45:40 +0000

Expanding tools for therapists supporting suicidal youth Arielle Wiedenbeck Sat, 04/25/2026 - 13:45

Tamar Kodish with her PACES funded project "Strengthening Support for Therapists Working with Suicidal Youth".

Madeline Brant

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth in Colorado, making suicide prevention an urgent priority. Unfortunately, many therapists working with adolescents in crisis report feeling overwhelmed and isolated, with limited access to training, support and practical tools for handling more complex cases. A new project led by Assistant Professor Tamar Kodish and Sherry Burkhard, executive director of Rise against Suicide (Rise), aims to change that by providing resources for clinicians. In partnership with Rise a local nonprofit that supports youth up to age 19 who are at risk of suicide, Kodish is developing an online toolkit to directly support therapists.

According to Burkhard, the collaboration with Kodish “works to better support efforts from both the therapists’ perspective as well as from the infrastructure of a nonprofit perspective.”

Rise Against Suicide works with youth in ��ý�� and surrounding counties, providing treatment to children who otherwise would not have access to such mental health care. By eliminating financial and social barriers, Rise helps children and families feel more comfortable reaching out for help.

“Rise Against Suicide has this incredible group of therapists who provide different kinds of treatment to kids in school settings for free, and they wanted to improve support for their therapists,” said Kodish. As every child requires a different approach, the knowledge and skills demanded of counselors continue to grow. The toolkit will initially be released to therapists working for Rise, and who encounter a wide range of cases with varying needs.

The toolkit project, funded by CU ��ý��’s Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES), focuses on providing evidence-based practices, including practical solutions for crisis and therapist burnout, as well as introducing a digital platform to help therapists use evidence-based interventions and better navigate systems of care, like schools. These resources are intended to enhance both therapists’ well-being and professional development.

Kodish and Rise Against Suicide prioritized a feasible and accessible toolkit, intending to “create something for the therapists in Rise, but also something to scale out more broadly. We have therapists across the world doing amazing work, but without enough resources and support,” Kodish said.

Rooted in an engaged scholarship approach, Kodish works directly with therapists involved in youth suicide prevention. “One of our goals was to give therapists a space to talk about their own experiences,” said Kodish. “We can learn so much from them. They have valuable knowledge and insight that isn’t fully captured in the research literature.”

By directly working with therapists and basing the toolkit around their clinical experiences, the toolkit is tailored to challenges real therapists face. Better equipped clinicians can respond more effectively to a variety of complex cases, creating more reliable care. Expanding resources for people in this line of work addresses an additional issue in the field: a shrinking number of people who want to step into these roles. The shortage of therapists across the United States continues to limit access to care for many people without sufficient financial or community-based resources.

“We believe the availability of this toolkit will help more therapists feel equipped to step into this work,” said Burkhard. By increasing communication and support, initiatives like this toolkit encourage more people to feel equipped and willing to enter this profession – expanding care to those who need it the most.

Learn more about the Strengthening Support for Therapists Working with Suicidal Youth project here.

Many therapists working with adolescents in crisis report feeling overwhelmed and isolated, with limited access to training, support and practical tools. A new project led by Assistant Professor Tamar Kodish and Sherry Burkhard, executive director of ��ý�� nonprofit Rise Against Suicide, aims to change that by providing therapists with an online toolkit.

Off

Traditional

Tamar Kodish with her PACES funded project "Strengthening Support for Therapists Working with Suicidal Youth".

White

Sherry Burkhard (left) and Anabel Salimian (right) present on the project "Strengthening Support for Therapists Working with Suicidal Youth" at Community Engagement Week 2026

Centers help K-12 educators understand and implement Colorado’s inclusive curriculum laws

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 22:25:15 +0000

Centers help K-12 educators understand and implement Colorado’s inclusive curriculum laws Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 03/31/2026 - 16:25

Elle Moscinski

At a time when teachers and students across the country feel their classrooms are increasingly surveilled and politicized, as indicated in this 2024 survey from the Pew Research Center, two University of Colorado centers are coming together to choose collaboration over competition, coalition over silos and hope for educators and students alike.

This summer, the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education (BUENO) and A Queer Endeavor (AQE), both based in the CU ��ý�� School of Education, will co-host the Chords of Esperanza: Queering Biliteracy, Centering Justicia conference, designed to support K-12 educators with understanding Colorado’s inclusive curriculum laws and how to support their students within the scope of these laws.

Bethy Leonardi, a professor in the School of Education and co-leader of AQE, described the current climate as one of fear and uncertainty. Through their work with schools, representatives from both centers are hearing from educators who feel increasing pressure about how they support students.

Tania Hogan, executive director of BUENO, said that book bans and restrictions on bilingual education and inclusive curriculum have intensified debates about what teachers can teach and how they can support students. In some cases, Hogan said, educators have been discouraged from affirming students’ identities and teaching inclusive material – even though inclusive curriculum aligns with Colorado law.

Hogan also mentioned how underrepresented communities are feeling increasingly targeted and that educators have also shared concerns about declining student attendance and families feeling hesitant to attend school meetings.

“It’s the best time to stand in solidarity together and have our two centers collaborate that haven’t before,” said Hogan.

For both centers, the conclusion was clear: collaboration would combine their strengths, providing educators with deeper support and enhanced professional development and community-building opportunities.

Both organizations are nationally recognized research and community engagement hubs. A Queer Endeavor focuses on gender and sexual diversity in education to create safe spaces for students, families and staff.

“A Queer Endeavor’s main goal is to create partnerships with school districts, schools and teachers to support schools being places of possibility for all students with a particular emphasis on students whose gender and sexual identities disrupt what counts as “normal,” said Leonardi.

BUENO works with culturally and linguistically diverse students and teachers to create equitable educational opportunities. The two centers share commitments to justice in queer and multicultural communities and, more broadly, to equity in education.

“We’re overdue in truly coming together in solidarity ... and of merging our commitments, resources and expertise to support people who might not ordinarily go to a conference focused on queer topics or a conference focused on language or immigration status,” said Leonardi.

The Chords of Esperanza will be a conference designed by educators, for educators. It is meant to be a supportive rally or refuge that offers resources, community and inspiration.

“People from a multitude of backgrounds and communities feel as though they are being silenced, so the conference is an opportunity to bring together art, music and to create a space of collective resistance and care,” said Hogan. She also said she hopes people will be challenged to get messy, be uncomfortable and to work in situations they are unfamiliar with.

The word chords in the title references the conference’s musical theme, which the organizers use as a metaphor for collaboration. Just as different tunes come together to form a melody, participants are encouraged to learn from one another as they create something new. Esperanza means hope.

“Inclusive practice allows us to center hope, to center joy, and celebrate each other and all the ways we show up, in any policy context,” said a graduate student collaborating on the project and who has chosen to remain anonymous.

The conference will focus on policy awareness and education. The organizers want to help teachers understand what laws and policies exist in Colorado and within different school districts, and that the policies support inclusive curriculum and teaching rather than hinder it. Specifically, they want to support participating teachers with navigating policies that affect students in vulnerable and legally complex circumstances. There will also be resources related to curriculum, supporting families and engaging school boards. Educators will leave with new and expanded networks of other educators who are also dedicated to justice work.

“We don’t want them to feel alone. I think a lot of educators feel like they’re doing this all by themselves, and it’s weighing heavily on them,” said Hogan.

Leonardi hopes to inspire participants to think about how they can be in solidarity to challenge and shift oppressive structures that impact specific communities with regard to gender, sexuality, language, documentation, dis/ability and intersections of these. Many organizations collaborate with each other on justice work, but truly bringing communities together is difficult and requires time and commitment. It is especially important to navigate justice work slowly and intentionally so that potential pushback and impact on students’ lives is considered.

“It’s a true, almost daily navigation of what this work needs to look like right now . . . it’s often context-specific, person-specific. So, it’s really taking the time to figure out what’s going to be the softest way forward that will make the greatest impact,” said Leonardi.

Above all, Leonardi hopes the conference will facilitate conversations about how to put the humanity of others first. “I hope that we have conversations with people that we never dreamed we’d have and that we are changed from them,” she said.

“I think there aren’t a ton of models that show us how to do coalition building in service of education justice, so the partnership is a really cool opportunity for us to model what it looks like and to resist binaries, transcend boundaries and come together in thick, complex and humanizing ways,” said a participating graduate student who chose to remain anonymous.

For now, planning is bringing together two centers with shared commitments to justice in education, but organizers say they plan to keep working together on future projects and see this partnership as a foundation for additional collaborators to join as the work grows. Chords of Esperanza may serve as a model for other organizations that hope to tackle educational equity and coalition building. Just as a symphony is composed of multiple sections of instruments playing together in harmony, social justice work requires collaboration across communities, working in tandem to create progress, unity and more hopeful futures.

To learn more about Chords of Esperanza, including how to attend and apply to present, click here.

At a time when teachers and students across the country feel their classrooms are increasingly surveilled and politicized, two University of Colorado centers are coming together to choose collaboration over competition, coalition over silos and hope for educators and students alike.

Off

Traditional

Bethy Leonardi, Tania Hogan and Sara Staley at the Queer Endeavor and BUENO Center booths at Community Engagement Week

White

Bethy Leonardi, Tania Hogan and Nicole Sager at the A Queer Endeavor and BUENO Center booth during Community Engagement Week

Announcing Spring 2026 Tier 1 and 2 Grant Recipients

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 21:11:58 +0000

Announcing Spring 2026 Tier 1 and 2 Grant Recipients Arielle Wiedenbeck Thu, 03/26/2026 - 15:11

From investigating the health impacts of pollution emissions on residents in Gloster, Mississippi, to a week-long coding bootcamp for Denver-area community college students, 14 projects received over $49,000 in funding.

Spring 2026 Tier 2 Grant Recipients

Benthic Macroinvertebrates as Recreational/Municipal Water Quality Indicators
Analiese Terrell, M.S. Student
Department of Environmental Studies

Community-Engaged Investigation of Biomass Energy Pollution Impacts
Grace Berg, PhD Student
Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Indigenous Sovereignty and Sacred Lands Convening
Christina Stanton, Associate Professor of Law
Clinical Education Program

Measuring the Impact of School Gardens
Alice Reznickova, Teaching Associate Professor
Department of Environmental Studies

Partnership with Local Shelter: Houseless Community Writing Program
Josalyn Monahan, M.A. Student
Department of English

Providing Science Support to Regional Water Planning
Nels Bjarke, Research Scientist
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) Western Water Assessment

Python Bootcamp for Earth Science
Vikas Hanasoge Nataraja, PhD Candidate
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Resilient Futures Teacher Workshop 2026
Katya Schloesser, CEEE Associate and Curriculum Developer
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science (CIRES) Center for Education, Evaluation and Engagement

Spring 2026 Tier 1 Grant Recipients

Antarctica Unearthed Film Screening and Q&A
Gabe Allen, Senior Communications Specialist
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR)

Art and Social Change in Local Indigenous Communities
Michela Ardizzoni, Associate Professor
Department of French and Italian

Comparative Studies on Communicative Praxis of Deliberative Democracy
Xiaodong Yan, PhD Student
Communication

Design as Protest Chapbook Launch: Mobilizing Design Justice
Sophie Chien, Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow for Faculty Diversity
Program in Environmental Design

Disconnected—Life In a Digital Reality
Ben Forman, Undergraduate Student
Engineering

Emergence: Exploring Quantum Technology Through Music and Dance
Stacey Forsyth, Director
CU Science Discovery

Off

Traditional

White

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:30:15 +0000

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 03/03/2026 - 12:30

Teaching East Asia, Center for Asian Studies

Mentored by staff from the Program for Teaching East Asia, ��ý�� students develop picture books that focus on a specific region of East Asia. These books are then used as teaching tools in K-12 classrooms across Colorado.

Off

Traditional

White

Community Engagement Week Re-cap: Celebrating 150 years of Service and Engagement

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:42:57 +0000

Community Engagement Week Re-cap: Celebrating 150 years of Service and Engagement Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 02/25/2026 - 13:42

Madeline Brant , Gretchen Minekime

The first month of CU ��ý��’s sesquicentennial year was the perfect time to host the campus’s inaugural Community Engagement Week. Produced by the Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES),the late-January event brought together a cross-section of faculty, staff and students passionate about partnering with communities beyond campus.

Through panels, workshops and a poster showcase, attendees shared experiences, networked and built their knowledge and skills for conducting community engagement. They also learned about the university’s history and a long-standing charge “to render to the state at large such public service as may lie within its power.”

According to David Meens, assistant vice chancellor for public and community-engaged scholarship, “Events like this give us a chance to see that bigger picture of service and engagement, to see our role within it. It’s great for morale and for making new connections. A lot of folks I spoke with said they learned of activities they weren’t aware of and made connections that might lead to new collaborations.”

Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Ann Schmiesing set the week’s tone by detailing the historical, current and future priorities for community engagement at CU ��ý��. Schmiesing described the newly instated“hub and spoke” model the campus will follow and emphasized the importance of forming collaborative partnerships across Colorado and within the university. She also celebrated CU ��ý��’s first-time application and attainment of the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement.

Marisol Morales, executive director of Carnegie Elective Classifications, attended to celebrate CU ��ý��’s accomplishment and to speak on a panel alongside Colorado State Senator Iman Jodeh and Diane Doberneck, director for faculty and professional development at the Office for Public Engagement and Scholarship at Michigan State University. Moderated by David Humphrey, associate vice chancellor for leadership support and programming, the panel addressed the civic role of universities and what it means to step out and lead.

Attendees reported being deeply inspired by presentations from Max Boykoff, Jota Samper, Valeria Henao, Beth Osnes-Stoedefalke and Karla Trujillo, as well as by the 42 showcase presenters whose work spans from engineering education for rural K-12 students to music research. Workshops were hosted on days two and three, with sessions led by Doberneck and Patti Clayton, senior scholar at the Institute for Community and Economic Engagement at University of North Carolina Greensboro.

The workshops provided a forum for individuals with diverse experiences in community-engaged scholarship specifically to share their work and to reflect on how context shapes approaches to engaged-research, teachingand creative work. Both Doberneck and Clayton emphasized the importance of honoring community partners, co-designing engagement activities and fostering trust and mutual respect. CU ��ý��’s own Michelle Renée Valladares led a workshop about funding community-engaged scholarship and will build on that content with additional offerings on March 10 and April 14.

Community Engagement Week’s closing event punctuated the importance of reflecting on the university's past as we move forward. Meens was joined by Richard B. Williams, president of People of the Sacred Land; Patty Limerick, professor of history; and Gregor McGregor, professor of environmental studies, for a presentation and panel titled Land Grants, Extension Service and Institutional Amnesia: The University of Colorado’s Forgotten Origins and Possible Futures.

“Most of us know that the land the ��ý�� campus sits upon was made available through the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples. What many do not know is that, through the 1875 Enabling Act that authorized Colorado statehood, "the State University” (CU) also received 72 sections of land that were taken from tribal nations and likely scattered throughout the West. The leasing or sale of these sections provided critical financial support in the early decades of the university. This forgotten aspect of our origins underscores our obligation not just to the residents of Colorado but also the Native Americans whose mistreatment is intertwined with our legacies of transformative research, education and service.”

Community Engagement Week was made possible with support from various partners and sponsors, including Chancellor Justin Schwartz; Senior Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Ann Schmiesing; Outreach and Community Engagement; Division of Continuing Education; Office of Faculty Affairs; Research and Innovation Office; Center for Teaching and Learning; and Service Learning and Impact in Community Engagement.

PACES is part of Outreach and Community Engagement in the Chancellor’s Office. Visit colorado.edu/paces for more information about resources available for engaged scholars at CU ��ý��.

Through panels, workshops and a poster showcase, attendees of CU ��ý��'s first ever Community Engagement Week shared experiences, networked and built their knowledge and skills for conducting community engagement.

Off

Traditional

White

Bridging Research and Action: How Collaboration has Changed Wildfire Approach and Response

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 16:23:42 +0000

Bridging Research and Action: How Collaboration has Changed Wildfire Approach and Response Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 02/24/2026 - 09:23

Madeline Brant

Wildfire risk in Colorado and the U.S. is growing at an alarming rate, putting more homes and lives in danger than ever before. The growing threat prompts more education about wildfire risk and mitigation, and every community faces different challenges.

Effective strategies for advancing resistance and resilience are increased when researchers and community practitioners work together. Practitioners in this field work at the interface of wildfire and communities, meaning they are responsible for connecting disciplines such as ecology, firefighting, forest management or emergency management and relating them to wildfire risks.

Collaborative efforts for wildfire education have been long-standing, with online forums, discussions and workshops playing an important role with linking practitioners and researchers, particularly when practitioner organizations face funding and staffing challenges that can limit opportunities for in-person meetings.

The WiRē (Wildfire Research) Center, a nonprofit formed by researchers and practitioners involved with wildfire prevention, resilience and research, works to support the efforts of both groups through collaborative projects. Recognizing that researchers and practitioners typically work separately, the WiRē Center launched a Community of Practice (CoP) in 2021. Meeting quarterly, the CoP enhances opportunities for reciprocal learning. The first in-person CoP was hosted in Denver, Colorado in 2023. In 2025, funding from CU ��ý��’s Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship (PACES) supported a second in-person workshop, which brought a more geographically and professionally diverse group of practitioners together.

Hannah Brenkert-Smith, research associate professor at the Institute of Behavioral Science and board member for the WiRē Center, described how the workshop is essential to the development of wildfire mitigation and preparedness across, not only communities in Colorado, but the whole nation.

“The funding from the PACES grant brought everybody together to have a workshop where we presented research, and they presented what they’re doing with their programs. Participating practitioners highlighted where they were using those data to really grow their programs in new and successful ways,” said Brenkert-Smith.

Passionate about bridging the gap between action and research, WiRē Center works to develop data and convey findings to communities across Colorado. Each project includes parcel-level wildfire risk assessments for every residential property in the study area. The assessment data collection includes building materials (e.g., roof and siding), the distance from the home to nearby vegetation, background conditions such as the density of nearby vegetation, slope and topography, and the accessibility of the residence for firefighters. Each homeowner is also mailed a household survey to collect data on a range of topics including wildfire risk perceptions and mitigation and preparedness actions. When paired together, the data enable the creation of tailored outreach approaches for different communities.

“[Participants] are using [the data] to tailor their programs and to foster conversations with land management agencies adjacent to the communities they serve, so that the management process goes more smoothly and is more successful,” said Brenkert-Smith. These conversations lead to strengthened strategies within local fire departments, leading to better preparation and mitigation practices across communities.

During the workshop, conversations with practitioners allow the researchers to witness the impact of their research, instead of merely summarizing it and sending it along. “[Older methods] are more extractive, and this is more collaborative. This is a co-production,” said Brenkert-Smith. “Collaborative, co-productive research gives back to the practitioner, and values practitioner insights, work and time as co-equals. I think that is the future of the best type of research.”

Organizers plan to continue quarterly CoP meetings to foster the connections made and propel necessary conversations. With projects across the West, the efforts made by each researcher and practitioner transcend Coloradoto other parts of the U.S. For example, a collaborative project currently underway in North Carolina brings practitioners serving fire-prone communities in the Southeast, where wildfire risks look different from Colorado.

Brenkert-Smith and her colleagues at the WiRē Center help develop wildfire prevention and mitigation and further necessary engagement with the public. Their unique model accounts for not only those with boots on the ground, but for community members and researchers resulting in more resilient communities.

In fire-prone communities, wildfire practitioners are often the sole advocates for making adaptations and are isolated from professional peers and researchers. A community of practice—representing 82 practitioners from eight states—convened for its second workshop to learn from one another and researchers.

Off

Traditional

WiRe Center Group photo

White

CU ��ý�� celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:02:14 +0000

CU ��ý�� celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action Arielle Wiedenbeck Wed, 02/04/2026 - 12:02

CU ��ý�� held its first Community Engagement Week, exploring ways to deepen, extend public outreach moving forward

Off

Traditional

White

Taking the Bard "Down Under"

Arielle Wiedenbeck — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 18:01:15 +0000

Taking the Bard "Down Under" Arielle Wiedenbeck Tue, 12/09/2025 - 11:01

Gretchen Minekime

Amanda Giguere, Colorado Shakespeare Festival Director of Outreach, recently traveled to Australia as a featured guest of the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative at the University of Melbourne. Giguere was invited to share research about the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program (a collaboration between the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (CSF), the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, and the Department of Theatre and Dance), and to discuss her new book: Shakespeare & Violence Prevention: A Practical Handbook for Educators (University Press of Colorado, 2025).

During her week in Australia, Giguere delivered an interactive keynote, featuring professional actors from Melbourne, participated in a documentary video series, On Humanities, and conducted training sessions at the University of Melbourne and at Bell Shakespeare (Australia’s leading Shakespeare theatre). While in Sydney, Giguere met with Bell Shakespeare leadership about CSF’s innovative project, and hopes that the work which originated at CU ��ý�� can impact people in Australia.

“I wrote the book about Shakespeare & Violence Prevention so other educators could learn from what we’ve done here in Colorado,” said Giguere. “It’s so inspiring to hear, when I share this work with people outside of Colorado, that it resonates with others in meaningful ways.”

For more information about Giguere’s new book: https://upcolorado.com/university-of-wyoming-press/item/6749-shakespeare-violence-prevention

For more information about the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program, currently touring Colorado’s K-12 schools: https://cupresents.org/performance/10050/shakespeare/csf-schools/

Amanda Giguere, Colorado Shakespeare Festival Director of Outreach, recently traveled to Australia as a featured guest of the University of Melbourne to share research about the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program.

Off

Traditional

White

Grantee Stories

Students and school district administrators from Cuba, NM visit CU ������ý����

Off

PACES Sparks Engagement in 2026 Conference on World Affairs

Off

Expanding tools for therapists supporting suicidal youth

Off

Centers help K-12 educators understand and implement Colorado’s inclusive curriculum laws

Off

Announcing Spring 2026 Tier 1 and 2 Grant Recipients

Spring 2026 Tier 2 Grant Recipients

Spring 2026 Tier 1 Grant Recipients

Off

Teaching East Asia Through Picture Books receives excellence in civic and community engagement award

Off

Community Engagement Week Re-cap: Celebrating 150 years of Service and Engagement

Off

Bridging Research and Action: How Collaboration has Changed Wildfire Approach and Response

Off

CU ������ý���� celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action

Off

Taking the Bard "Down Under"

Off

Students and school district administrators from Cuba, NM visit CU ��ý��

CU ��ý�� celebrates its public outreach efforts, community action