L3’s first Central Rockies class starts Friday

Leveraging Local Leaders, a program dedicated to recruiting and training a diverse group of leaders for civic involvement, has named its first Central Rockies class.

Local leaders were selected to take part in the Central Rockies cohort, which will run through June. The L3 program is a leadership course to teach participants about campaigning, civic and governmental processes, community and policy issues, and the essentials of good governance, according to a news release.

This is L3’s first chapter outside its founding chapter Northern Colorado in 2021 through a collaboration with The Vail Valley Partnership and the Summit County and Glenwood Springs chambers of commerce, the release stated.

The Inaugural Central Rockies Leveraging Local Leaders Class of 2025:

• Sarah Windholz.
• Ian Grask.
• Mark Bergman.
• Tony Martinez.
• Liz Qualman.
• Katie Coakley.
• Soffia Fecchino.
• Rick SundekumThomas Walsh.
• Estefania Godoy.
• Andie Noakes.
• Melina Valsecia-Monreal.
• Katherine Coe.
• Cameron Morgan.

“Local governments are the foundation of our communities and the bench for higher office. We’re excited to collaborate with L3 as it provides a nonpartisan platform for leaders who want to make a positive impact in Eagle County and the Central Mountain Region,” Chris Romer, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership, said in the release.

Tom Lucero, co-founder of L3, said: “We are grateful to Chris for his leadership and seeing the vision for L3. The 15 students who will comprise the inaugural class are as diverse as we have ever had. We are excited to start on January 10 and looking forward to working with future leaders in the Central Rockies.”

L3 was created in 2021 to identify and recruit local leaders to run for office. The six-month program meets one day a month. It is open to candidates of any political affiliation who are committed to collaborative pragmatic solutions through the pursuit of understanding, adhesion to civil discourse, and dedication to shared goals in service to their communities. To date, L3 has trained 38 people in four cohorts between 2021 and 2024, the release stated. 

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