Tim Foster, President Emeritus, Colorado Mesa University
Northwest Regional Council member since 2004
Tim Foster joined the Northwest Regional Council in 2004. During his time as President of Colorado Mesa University (CMU), he developed connections with several members of El Pomar Foundation leadership. For Tim, Regional Partnerships’ emphasis outside the Front Range piqued his interest: “I thought it was a great way to increase funding outside the front range and get that local perspective.” In addition, Tim saw opportunity in the flexibility given to the councils and was excited to see how his work on the Council could be impactful in the Northwest.
Even from the early beginnings of the Council as a whole, Tim recalled how its grant making excelled by trusting each member to responsibly report community needs. The Council funded requests in education, housing, and workforce development simultaneously. Further, the Council recommended more proactive grants towards childcare and drug abuse prevention thanks to the local perspective the Council members brought.
By 2011, the Council sought to make larger recommendations, including more than $187,000 to six youth-serving organizations and schools in support of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. Due to the region’s growing manufacturing economy, the Council understood the value in providing access to “quality STEM education as well as engineering and construction management degrees.”
By 2012, the Council shifted its focus area to increase access and awareness of post-secondary education. Tim says, “it was really about: how do you open kids’ eyes to the fact that college is interesting, and they can do it?” In response, the Council convened four regional college presidents, including Tim with CMU, to collaborate on a project aimed at highlighting the opportunities and accessibility of college to local middle to high school students. These conversations resulted in the Reach Your Peak (RYP) Partnership, a four-year $600,000 grant that funded college readiness summer camps and scholarships for at-risk students in the region. This program brought youth to college campuses to “open their eyes and tell them that they’re welcome and they’re fun places to be.” The program was successful, but also required flexibility from the Council as some scholarship funds were repurposed for summer camps. For Tim, the flexibility for councils and opportunity to take risks is encouraging because “not everything is going to work out as you envisioned it.”
In 2019, the Council saw an opportunity to support workforce development through a convening with business leaders from Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, and Craig. From these meetings, the Council recommended more than $623,000 for various initiatives supporting youth development and the economic transition resulting from the future closure of the coal-fired power plants in Craig. Tim shared how these grants addressed complicated issues tied to workforce development. He emphasized the localized knowledge of his fellow council members as integral to moving the Council towards pursuing solutions with confidence and efficiency.
Most recently, the Council added youth well-being to its focus area after discussing concerns about suicide rates and technology’s impact on youth mental health. Tim noted the Council’s current awareness of the work of Western Colorado Community Foundation in its ongoing education and public awareness campaigns designed to provide resources for young people to foster healthier social media and technology habits.
Tim hopes the Northwest Regional Council continues to chase down the issues of tomorrow while remaining flexible to address the region’s current needs. For new council members, Tim advises them to “speak up, don’t wait, you know as much about your region as anyone else around this table, so jump in.”
