Rich Shockey

CEO

Rich comes to SVP with over 20 years of experience serving in non-profit leadership. Most recently, he served as the Executive Director of Flourish Furniture Bank in Kansas City, which has served over 5000 unhoused neighbors and others in crisis in the community with a home full of furnishings during his tenure. He has dedicated himself to serving under-resourced and disempowered communities both in his professional and personal life.

Rich also served as a foster parent for 13 years, providing a safe and nurturing home for nearly 75 children in need, and now serves on the board of directors for his foster agency, EmberHope. He has worked in legislative advocacy as well, leveraging his expertise and passion to advance policies that promote social and racial justice, health, and equity.

Rich loves travel and gastronomic adventures with his wife and two teenage sons and can often be found watching youth soccer on weekends. LinkedIn Profile

Akila Copeland

Director of Impact Programs

Akila brings over 8 years of experience supporting the nonprofit sector through capacity building and
philanthropy. Originally from Colorado, Akila is passionate about strengthening local communities via
facilitating collaboration and creative problem solving. Most recently, Akila served as a Program
Officer at Caring for Denver Foundation, where she managed a grant portfolio focused on improving
mental health and substance misuse outcomes for Denver residents.

Akila holds an MBA in Strategy and Leadership from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
She also stays engaged in her community through board and committee service. Her involvement
has included serving on the Women's Leadership Foundation Community Boardbound Committee,
chairing the Colorado Collaborative of Nonprofits Committee, and serving as a Board Member for
Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Denver. She is currently the Vice Chair of One Colorado.
Outside of the office, you can find Akila training for cycling or running events, spending time with her
family, and baking gluten free treats! LinkedIn Profile

Eliana Blancas

Director of Development

Eliana brings 11 years of experience in ecosystem building across nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Living in the heart of Chicago, her work focused on hyper-local capacity investment through equitable infrastructure development, food sovereignty, and wealth/resource distribution.

Most recently, Eliana co-founded Terra Collaborative, a Regenerative Ag Cooperative supporting food sovereignty along the Colorado Front Range. Over the past year and a half, Eliana and her team have collaborated with farmers, producers, and local policy organizers with the goal of creating a Boulder County food incubation hub within the next two years. During these early planning stages, Eliana’s team continues to foster collaborative engagement, equipping organizers in diverse market entry, leadership development, early-stage business planning, and regenerative community-focused crop planning. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

• Terra Collaborative, Co-Founder 
• Go-Farm Denver, Advisor
• Flatirons Young Farmers Coalition, Member 
• FoodNotBombs Denver/Boulder 
• Growing Systems Alliance, Member

Dara Bellinson

Program Manager

Dara, originally from Michigan, has spent years working in the social impact sphere with focuses on transformative fundraising, homelessness and food insecurity, and early childhood education.

Alongside their work with SVP Denver, Dara co-founded Community Resource Collective (CRCL) where they supported grassroots organizations in New York City by mobilizing resourced young professionals to engage in informed, sustainable, and lifelong philanthropy. They have enjoyed continuing this work in Denver, grounding themself in the Denver organizational sphere and working alongside incredible Colorado-based changemakers! 

Dara loves trees, playing pool, the smell of winter, and looking at mountains. LinkedIn Profile

Karen Mortimer

Relationship Coordinator

Karen is an Illinois native who joined the ranks of Coloradans in 1997.  Karen has been an administrator with education organizations such as Facing History and Ourselves & the Donnell-Kay Foundation and volunteers extensively within the education space where she focuses on efforts to amplify parent voice, especially within marginalized communities, and to promote transparency and equity. Her husband, Greg (a Colorado native), is in IT management for the Adams 12 School District.  Their son is in high school in DPS and their daughter is in college at Loyola University New Orleans.  LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

• Chair, Denver Public Schools District Accountability Committee
• Team Member, Colorado Immigrant Justice Fund
• Former Education Committee Member, Together Colorado