Greg Felt, County Commissioner, Chaffee County
Central Peaks Council member since 2021
Greg Felt joined the Central Peaks Regional Council in September 2021, which was focused on affordable housing at the time. Greg recalls being introduced to Regional Partnerships and the Council through a former council member connecting him with Kyle Hybl, El Pomar’s President & CEO and the region’s Trustee.
When he joined, Greg was the Chairman of both the Chaffee County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Health. Greg’s roles in public health and government placed him at the heart of the COVID-19 response efforts for his community. Supporting kids and schools during that time gave him insight into the ongoing and growing need for mental health resources for youth, especially with the closure of schools, lack of in-person experiences, and growing use of social media. Greg expressed his concerns regarding the schools’ ability to provide for students, which contributed to the Council’s shift to focus on youth mental health and resiliency. Greg emphasized “it’s not just about providing treatment and helping people recover from behavioral health challenges, but also about laying a foundation so that people can better withstand the things that knock them down.”
With its new focus area, the Council recommended funding to a broad range of organizations in early 2022, including Boys & Girls Clubs, the Chaffee County Department of Health & Human Services, and the Green Thumb Initiative. The Council worked collaboratively to prioritize funding recommendations more equitably across the region. This was implemented by relying on Council members’ geographically based expertise to ensure each county received funding.
In August 2023, the Council sought to partner with local schools to support programs already engaging with youth. Greg explained “there was such a spectrum of youth behavioral health support available in the school districts that we felt it was the most consistent touchstone for kids.” The Central Peaks Regional Council recommended 13 grants totaling $160,000 to ongoing mental health programming, more than $100,000 of which went to eight different school districts across the region.
At the beginning of 2024, the Council took on a strategic planning process that resulted in the following impact statement: The Council will search for grant opportunities that meet the diverse youth mental health needs of each county, with special consideration for early childhood education, after-school programming, and food support. Greg added that the Council has “diverse characteristics and diverse needs” in each county and the Council respects the knowledge each council member brings to the table regarding their respective community.
Greg hopes the Central Peaks Regional Council continues to invest in creative initiatives that maximize
the impact of its annual allocation and “grows [community partnerships] beyond the initial grant.” Lastly, Greg shared that new council members should know that “everyone involved with El Pomar is doing so for an excellent reason” and he emphasized the value he has personally found in discovering what pushes people to serve.
