Back to Work: Ana Gallardo

May 25, 2023 By cmctestgenesis

Back to Work: Ana Gallardo

Ana Gallardo lives in Glenwood Springs and attends the CMC Spring Valley campus, just outside of town, where she is a nursing student. She’ll graduate this spring with an associate degree and is planning to pursue her Bachelor of Science in nursing, as well.

“I started school as a young mom, years ago, but I wasn’t financially stable, so I dropped out,” she said.

Ana was able to return to school thanks to a Back to Work scholarship, which has allowed her to focus more clearly on her studies, as well as her clinical work in the community and at facilities in Grand Junction and Denver.

“The scholarship really helped alleviate the financial burden,” she said. “That’s given me more focus in school, and I’m able to perform way better in my classes.”

Part of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative at CMC, the Back to Work scholarship can provide students with up to $4,000 based on a student's field of study and financial need. If students remain in good standing, their grants can be renewed.

“I enjoy taking care of patients and helping them feel better. I work in the ICU and the medical/surgical floor, and it’s great when you see people being discharged.”

With less student debt to deal with, Ana looks forward to taking part-time classes and spending the time she needs to complete her full nursing degree. She says she is appreciative of the ways that CMC has been able to help her achieve her working goals.

“Coming out with zero debt – that’s amazing,” Ana said. “That’s the reason I came to CMC. It’s just been amazing that these donors help students to grow and be successful. Everyone should be taking these opportunities for education if they qualify.”

CMC and partners secure funds to support water resource management in the Upper Yampa River Basin

April 4, 2023 By cmctestgenesis

CMC and partners secure funds to support water resource management in the Upper Yampa River Basin

The Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E), Yampa Valley Sustainability Council (YVSC) and key partners Colorado Mountain College (CMC) and Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District (UYWCD) have secured $860,000 in funding for the project, “Enhancing Soil Moisture Observations to Support Water Resource Management in the Upper Yampa River Basin.” This funding enables the project team to expand upon the first soil moisture monitoring station that was installed in the Yampa River Basin in September 2022 and install eight more stations over the next two years.

The expanding Yampa Basin soil moisture network measures moisture concentrations in the soil as well as soil and air temperature, precipitation, snow depth, fuel moisture, and other key climatic variables. Soil moisture data is key to understanding how snowpack relates to spring runoff and river flows. Snow-to-flow dynamics – or how much water is delivered to our rivers from our snowpack – are mediated by soil moisture. Drier soils in upland areas function like dry sponges and absorb water, reducing the amount of water delivered to rivers and thus reducing flows. The Yampa Basin is already experiencing changes in snow-to-flow dynamics, where normal snowpack years are followed by low spring and summer flows.

“The timing for the launch of the network is key,” said Dr. Michelle Stewart, Executive Director of YVSC. “Our snow-to-flow patterns have been changing considerably in recent years and monitoring soil moisture data is an important step towards a better understanding of how water in our basin is changing due to changing climate.”

The Yampa Basin soil moisture network stands to benefit forecasters, water managers, and water users to better understand water supply by increasing the understanding of soils, which Dr. Marty Ralph, Principal Investigator on the project and Director of CW3E, calls the “fourth reservoir” in water planning. The primary types of reservoirs water managers think about are snow, rivers/streams, and reservoirs, but soils have been a missing part of the puzzle. The project goals are to reduce uncertainty in seasonal snowmelt runoff predictions and work with stakeholders in the Yampa Valley to appropriately integrate these data into water management decision support, including at sub-seasonal to seasonal forecast lead times ranging from weeks, months, and seasons. The network will be critical to establishing a baseline for long-term monitoring of new trends in soil moisture expected due to greater evapotranspiration – the cumulative transfer of moisture from soils and plants to the atmosphere – related to warming as climate changes.

The funding is an exciting development for the Basin because it allows for investments in infrastructure that increase resilience to water changes in the basin. According to Andy Rossi, General Manager of the UYWCD, “the data will be invaluable to UYWCD in forecasting runoff and assisting with reservoir and water resource management decisions,” and the hope is that, “this network will help close a data gap in the Yampa River Basin and serve as a useful tool for water managers in our basin and beyond.” UYWCD’s initial funding has been instrumental to the successful installation of this first station and an important anchor for building out the network.

Colorado Mountain College, which will partner to provide student career training in climate monitoring and instrument maintenance, sees the expansion of the network as an important contribution to regional workforce development. Dr. Nathan Stewart, Professor of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, identifies this funding as integral to student career pathways in water.

“Expansion of our region’s Soil Moisture monitoring network will provide us with a state-of-the-art platform for technical training in meteorology, hydrology, and ecosystem science,” says Stewart. “Student engagement with this network is essential to the recruitment and development of our future western water workforce.”

The Yampa Basin soil moisture network began in 2021 when extreme drought conditions led CW3E and YVSC to partner with the UYWCD to identify critical areas for soil moisture monitoring in the basin through a basin analysis. In 2022, UYWCD funded an additional $130,000 for the installation of the first soil moisture and surface meteorological monitoring station near Stagecoach Reservoir and the development of an online data portal site for project partners and public use.

Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) approved $560,025 in Water Plan Grant funds for Enhancing Soil Moisture Observations to Support Water Resource Management in the Upper Yampa River Basin at a March 16 meeting. In addition to Water Plan Grant funding, CW3E, YVSC, UYWCD, and CMC secured $140,017 from the Colorado River District’s (CRD) Community Funding Partnership for a total of $700,042 in grant awards so far in 2023. This project is further supported by the UYWCD, which has committed $100,000 to network expansion. The project received its full funding request of $864,980 over three years.

“It is an exciting opportunity for our Center and key partners YVSC and CMC to pull together and create this network,” says Ralph. “It is envisioned as a pathfinder for the future. We are excited to be working closely with UYWCD, CRD, and CWCB to develop this capability and apply it to the special water management needs in the Yampa, from local to state and regional scales.”

This collaborative effort between CW3E, YVSC, CMC, and UYWCD includes additional project partners at Aspen Global Change Institute and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Beatriz Soto, Keynote Speaker

March 13, 2023 By cmctestgenesis

About the Keynote Speaker 2023

CMC Sustainability and Ecology Conference 2023

Beatriz Oliva Soto Ruvalcaba (she, her, ella) is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, through her childhood and youth she grew up in a bi-cultural setting between Mexico and the United States navigating the broken US immigration system. She has a Bachelor Degree in Architecture from the Instituto Tecnologico de Chihuahua and practiced architecture for over 15 years.

She has been at the intersection of community building and working towards a stable climate for the past two decades. Beatriz is a LEED certified architect and has worked on a variety of energy related projects, from Net-Zero affordable housing and commercial buildings to high performance custom homes, sustainable developments in the pacific coast of Mexico, as well as providing professional development workshops with the US and the Mexican Green Building Councils. Beatriz developed a bilingual program on building science for just transition and empowerment of construction workforce, which she ran for the Community Office of Resources Efficiency in Pitkin County, Colorado.

In 2021 Beatriz was appointed to serve on the Colorado Environmental Justice Action Task Force representing Disproportionately Impacted Communities in Congressional District 3, the recommendations set forward by the taskforce have currently been endorsed by Colorado Gov. Polis and will begin to be implemented across state agencies. She was also a proud member of the US delegation at the World Forestry Congress in Seoul, South Korea in 2022, where her work elevating diverse and minority voices in conservation and the future of the US mountain west resort economies was shared at a global scale.

Beatriz is former Director of Defiende Nuestra Tierra for The Wilderness Workshop, also a co-founding member of Voces Unidas de las Montañas, first political non-profit organization in the central mountain region, made up of Latino and Latina leaders that helps create opportunities for local leaders to speak and advocate for themselves. She currently is the Director of Protegete, a statewide program from Conservation Colorado, who has the mission to elevate Latino driven solutions to protect our lands, water, air and fight for environmental and climate justice. You can find her volunteering in local schools to encourage Latinx youth to see themselves as leaders in STEM fields, become stewards of the land and to understand the importance of their voice in environmental and social issues.

Finish What You Started: Nikki Johnson

March 7, 2023 By cmctestgenesis

Finish What You Started: Nikki Johnson

Nikki Johnson lives in Silverthorne where she takes classes at Colorado Mountain College Breckenridge and Dillon. She enrolled in the spring of 2022, earning a 4.0 grade point average that semester. Nikki is working towards a bachelor's degree in sustainability studies.

Now 37, Nikki said she left a 10-year career as a hair stylist to return to college. Her previous college experience? "It was not that great,” she said.

What compelled Nikki to want to give college another try? "There was a lot of help at CMC," she said. "My advisor steered me toward Finish What You Started."

Part of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative at Colorado Mountain College, the Finish What You Started program can provide students with up to $4,000 based on a student's field of study and financial need. If students remain in good standing, their grants can be renewed.

"It was one of the better options for me and where I'm at in my education," Nikki said.

She had received other grants but said the Finish What You Started grant was an "extra perfect fit."

Now in her third semester, Nikki said she likes the smaller class sizes at CMC.

"It's been great so far," she added. "CMC has been really helpful with the financial aspects of my education."

Nikki said the grant helped with expenses like books, supplies and tuition.

"It's nice to know there are these kinds of [financial] programs available for people who don't go to college right out of high school," she added.

Finish What You Started: Katie Anderson

February 23, 2023 By cmctestgenesis

Finish What You Started: Katie Anderson

Katie Anderson lives in Avon and takes classes online and at the CMC Vail Valley at Edwards campus. She completed her emergency medical technician certificate at Colorado Mountain College, passed the state certification test and now works for an ambulance service.

She also wanted to get a paramedic certificate, so she started those classes at CMC. Katie, 37, received a Finish What You Started grant to help with college expenses.

Part of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative at CMC, the Finish What You Started program can provide students with up to $4,000 based on a student's field of study and financial need. If students remain in good standing, their grants can be renewed.

"It's been super helpful," she said. "Especially at this stage of my life, with kids and a family."

Katie juggles family life with classes and work shifts.

"Education costs money, so it's been great" to have the grant, she said. "I'm getting great experience working on an ambulance and I'm slowly taking classes for the paramedic certificate. I'm kind of on a five-year plan."

Katie said once she earns a paramedic certificate, she might decide to be a paramedic with Eagle County Paramedic Services or work in the hospital. “Either way, my EMT certificate has already opened the door to so much opportunity,” Katie said.

Finish What You Started: Miranda Murphy

December 12, 2022 By cmctestgenesis

Finish What You Started: Miranda Murphy

Miranda Murphy lives in Rifle where she takes Colorado Mountain College classes online and at the Rifle campus. She will earn her Associate of Arts degree and then plans to pursue a bachelor's degree in sustainability studies.

Miranda learned about Finish What You Started through CMC’s TRIO Student Support Services program, which offers several federally funded programs to help low-income students enter and graduate from college.

"I was coming back to college after 20 years so it was right down my alley," Miranda said of the grant. "It really helps out because I'm a full-time student, I'm an older student and have things like a mortgage."

Miranda said the program and CMC have been "helpful and amazing."

Miranda’s grant has helped to ensure her internet service is paid up so she can take classes and pay similar expenses that support her education.

"CMC makes it very easy to find the information I need,” she said. “They have a lot of workshops that are very helpful, too. The Finish What You Started program definitely serves a purpose and will really help me finish my education."