Jason Corzine
CEO, Telluride Foundation
Q: What drew you to Telluride on a full-time basis?
A: Joining the Telluride Foundation as its second ever CEO. When the former CEO of the Foundation stepped down, I was contacted about the position, but it wasn’t the right time for me to consider leaving the National Park Foundation (NPF). Fast forward a year later and a life changing experience with the pandemic the position was still open. After several meaningful conversations with Foundation Board members, community members and my family – we decided to go all in and embrace the opportunity to relocate to Telluride.
Q: Which projects are you most passionate about with the Foundation?
A: The Foundation is headed into its 25th year of positive community impact in Telluride and the surrounding communities. My immediate goal is to honor that legacy of work and the partnerships that have been built since inception.
The Foundation staff and board have the exciting challenge of pivoting our work to serve communities with shifting demographics. We will focus our future efforts on issues related to workforce development and retention – infrastructure and affordable housing, transportation barriers, and health and education inequities.
Q: What’s a project or initiative at the Foundation that you’re especially proud of?
A: While it’s not good conversation fodder to say all of them – it really is all of them. However, a few stand out to me in the short amount of time I’ve been in this position. Our work with the Rural Homes team (supporting organization of the Foundation) to develop a model to help address the most critical issue of workforce housing has been incredibly positive. Our partnership with the Telluride Venture Network (an initiative of the Foundation) to standup the Latino Bootcamp – Como Construir Un Negocio – which helps entrepreneurs in the Latino community develop and launch small business that are vital to our regional economy.
Q: If I’m visiting Telluride for a weekend in the summer, what do you recommend?
A: As you enter town, stop at Society Turn, and take in the vastness of the Valley Floor and the remote box canyon we call home. Embrace this quaint town that is a recognized National Historic Landmark District, take a minute to catch your breath, and savor the 360-degree views of the surrounding San Juans.
Hungry? Head to the Butcher and the Baker for coffee & pastry to start your day. Rent a paddleboard from Jagged Edge Mountain Gear and put in at Town Park, float or fish your way down the San Miguel River through the permanently protected Valley Floor Conservation Area. Relax and enjoy this magnificent stretch of water whose source originated high above the east end of town. If you are here in the summer, there’s a good chance you are attending one of our many festivals.
Q: I’ve been to Telluride in the summer and it’s a magical place to visit. What’s it like as a local?
A: It is a bit surreal to wake up in this incredible box canyon and call it home. As I said, I first came to this region in the early 80s and that same sense of wonder and awe I experienced as a child, I still experience daily. The “sense of place” that is unique to Telluride has always held a special place in my soul and I’m very grateful to live here. As the saying goes – “if you’re lucky enough to live in Telluride, you’re lucky enough!”
Q: How do you see the relationship of Telluride’s history and what it’s like today?
A: Innovation and dogged determination have always been at the heart of Telluride; it’s literally in the DNA of the community going back to the 19th century roots as a boom/bust mining community. Telluride, like most places in the west has changed a lot in the last 25+ years but that same sense of innovation and determination has allowed this community and surrounding communities to thrive in the new west paradigm. Our community culture is a distinguishing attribute that separates Telluride from other bustling ski towns and that culture is alive and well today. The old-timers and new timers are sharing a ski lift together or breaking bread at local restaurant and both are here to share and experience the authenticity of the community.