Calendar of Events

Staff

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 is the Co-founder and Director of Organization Relations at Community Resource Collective (CRCL) where they support grassroots organizations in New York City by mobilizing resourced young professionals to engage in informed, sustainable, and lifelong philanthropy. They are excited to be 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

Board

Amy Aldridge

Board Chair

Amy Aldridge is a partner at Tributary Real Estate with more than 14 years of experience in commercial real estate. Her primary focus is advising scaling companies on office space strategies to accommodate their immediate needs, while also planning for growth.  Amy has been recognized as a Denver Business Journal 2021 40 Under 40 award winner, a Top 25 GenXYZ finalist by ColoradoBiz Magazine, a Heavy Hitter finalist (Young Broker of Denver) by the Denver Metro Commercial Association of REALTORS, and as a Breakout Broker of the Year by JLL. Amy graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University in business administration, with a double concentration in commercial real estate and real estate finance.  LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Board of Governors of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
  • Advisory Board for the Colorado State University’s Everitt Real Estate Center
  • Member of the Green and Gold Foundation
  • Center City Leadership Council of the Downtown Denver Partnership
  • Former President of the Rocky Mountain Alliance Children’s Foundation

Tricia Allen

Tricia Allen is Vice President – Community Impact of Mile High United Way. She is responsible for helping to develop and implement the strategic vision for the Community Impact Division in general and the following program areas: Careers United, United for Business, and Tax Help Colorado. Prior to joining Mile High United Way, Tricia served as President and CEO of Adams County Economic Development (ACED) where she was responsible for developing and executing the organization’s new strategic plan to position it as the region’s leader in economic development. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Political Science and is currently writing her doctoral dissertation in the same discipline. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Chair, 211 Colorado Statewide Collaborative
  • New Americans Initiative, Member
  • Level Leaders, Member
  • Board member, MOC, A Neighborhood Development Corporation
  • Colorado Black Women for Political Action, Member
  • Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Member

Sara Bayless

Sara is a Director at the OMNI Institute, a non-profit social science consulting firm in Denver. Sara is passionate about making data meaningful and actionable. At OMNI, she uses research and evaluation methods to help organizations and initiatives understand and improve the impact their programs have on their communities. Prior to OMNI, Sara was a postdoctoral research fellow at Arizona State University. She holds a BA in Psychology from Tufts University, and an MA and PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology from Fordham University.  LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Founding Team, Left Behind Workers Fund
  • Spirit of Service Award Winner, Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking
  • Tufts University 10th Reunion Committee

Josh Cashman

Josh Cashman is an impact investment professional with a background in financial analysis and investment management. Josh comes to SVP Denver with experience evaluating early-stage venture and private equity businesses for impact and debt / equity investment. Josh and his colleagues at iiiQ provide deep capital markets perspective to impact investing. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • University Park Elementary, PTA Board
  • DU’s Daniels School of Business, Adjunct Professor

Paul Collier

Paul Collier is the founder of Coeffect, a nonprofit consulting firm that has worked with over four dozen for-impact clients across Colorado, California, and Washington D.C. In addition to his pro bono work with Social Venture Partners Denver, Paul has also led trainings around impact measurement strategy for hundreds of nonprofit professionals through the Colorado Nonprofit Association, Nonprofit Learning Lab, and at several social sector conferences. Prior to Coeffect, Paul served as the Data and Evaluation Manager at Safe & Sound, a leading family resource center developing a data-informed model to help families raise thriving kids. Paul received bachelor’s degrees in Business Management and Arts Administration from Arizona State University, and has completed additional graduate-level coursework in data science and data analytics. Linkedin Profile.
Community Participation:
  • Lead organizer, Denver Data Storytellers
  • Metro Caring Data & Evaluation Committee Member
  • Member of the Colorado Evaluation Network
  • Member of the Colorao Nonprofit Association

Justin Folkestad

Justin Folkestad is the head of ABS consulting which focuses on helping small-to-medium businesses and nonprofits work through rapid growth and come out stronger on the other side. Through his work in varying fields from aerospace, to 3D printing, to corporate finance, Justin has developed a diverse skillset and the ability to holistically analyze business performance. Justin is a Colorado native that holds a B.S. in Manufacturing Technology Management from Colorado State University and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Finance from the University of Colorado. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Hands of the Carpenter Board of Directors

Jim Goebelbecker

Secretary

Jim is an entrepreneur, executive, and Certified Presence-Based executive coach who actively collaborates to build relationships with key stakeholders to help meet organization objectives and improve individual leadership skills. Jim has experience practicing the skill and art of leadership as an entrepreneur and in the non-profit sector most recently as the CEO of Denver Kids. Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business management from St. Bonaventure University, an MBA from Seattle Pacific University, and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. degree in Human and Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Denver Kids
  • Rotary Club of Denver

Miranda Graul

Treasurer

Miranda is the Director of Philanthropy at WellPower, Denver’s Community Behavioral Health Center. With more than 20 years in the nonprofit sector, 15 of which has been devoted to fundraising and marketing, Miranda has a passion for finding what motivates people and creating pathways for them to contribute their time, treasure, talent, testimony, and ties to that endeavor. Miranda received her bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from the University of Colorado Boulder and has dedicated her professional career to supporting the work of mission led organizations.  LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Member of Association for Fundraising Professionals
  • Member of Colorado Nonprofit Association
  • Institute for Leaders in Development Class of 2017, University of Denver

Khalid Morris

Khalid is a business executive with a proven track record of working on teams and leading teams to success and is currently the Director of Strategy and Transformation for Third Stage Consulting Group. He has over 20 years of professional and educational experience in business consulting, technology, finance, and development. Khalid has a passion for economic development in underserved areas and believes in volunteering his time and energy to make the world around him a better place. To this end, Khalid is involved in an entrepreneurial effort through launching the Family Tree Food Market, a grocery store seeking to build healthy communities with healthy families through an affordable, high quality food offering. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Leadership Denver, Class of 2021 
  • Family Tree Market, Founder

Theresa Rinne-Meyers

Theresa is the Director of Impact at Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute, a nonprofit organization and Community Development Financial Institution supporting entrepreneurs across Colorado. In her role, Theresa oversees the organization’s impact strategy, data systems, research partnerships, and advocacy work – which has included participating in SVP’s Theory of Change cohort. Prior to her RMMFI role and moving to Colorado in early 2020, Theresa served as Chief of Staff at DC Central Kitchen, a nationally recognized social enterprise working to reduce disparities in health and economic opportunity. She holds an MPA focused on social sector evaluation and public policy, an MBA Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship, and a bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management from Indiana University. LinkedIn Profile

Community Participation:

  • Member, Colorado Entrepreneurship Coalition
  • Member, Rural Capital Collaborative
  • Advisory Committee Member, B:Side Fund
  • Grant Reviewer, OEDIT Cannabis Business Office
  • Phone Bank Volunteer, Colorado Working Families Party
  • Impact Denver Class of 2022, Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation