2023 COLORADO GOVERNOR’S CITIZENSHIP MEDAL RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED

Annual award honors exceptional Colorado leaders living their legacy

This year’s honorees for the Colorado Governor’s Citizenship Medals were announced by Governor Jared Polis in partnership with CiviCO, the state’s premier nonprofit leadership development organization. The medals are bestowed upon citizens and organizations who inspire excellence and service. 2023’s six recipients will be honored with a dedicated ceremony on January 25, 2024 at History Colorado Center as part of Colorado Leadership Month.

The 2023 recipients and categories:

• John Fielder, Photographer — Colorado Mountain Leader Award (posthumous)
• Dr. Carlotta Walls LaNier, Civil Rights Leader — Vanguard Legacy Medal
• John Street, CEO and co-founder, PAX8 — Growth and Innovation Medal
• Lauren Young  Casteel, President and CEO, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado— Public and Community Service Medal
• Osvaldo Garcia Barron, Student — Emerging Community Leader Medal
• Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation, Rob Perlman, President and COO — Corporate Citizenship Medal

The medals, established in 2015, and inspired by the Presidential Medal of Freedom, represent the highest honor recognizing each recipient’s significant contributions to communities across Colorado. Nominating partners cultivate a list of community leaders, which are presented to the Governor for his final selection process. Each of the 2023 medal recipients share the distinct quality of living their legacies through their life’s work. 

“Each year, it is an honor to award the Governor’s Citizenship medals and celebrate the incredible people, organizations, nonprofits, and businesses, committed to bettering Colorado, ” said Governor Jared Polis. “The six recipients selected this year have gone above and beyond in their commitment to our state. On behalf of all Coloradans, I thank those being honored for working to make Colorado a great place to live and inspiring others to do the same.”  

Additional 2023 recipient and category details and link to all honoree headshots:

Colorado Mountain Leader - John Fielder, Photographer

This posthumous award is given at the discretion of the governor to community leaders who    have made significant contributions to Colorado through their legacy.

John Fielder was and will always be “Colorado’s Photographer,” capturing the essence of our state’s greatness.  Since 1973, he has traversed every one of Colorado's 104,984 square miles, bringing us closer to the awe-inspiring splendor of our surrounding landscape. 

In his lifetime, Mr. Fielder was an unwavering champion of environmental conservation. He received the prestigious Ansel Adams Award from the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club. His name now graces the annals of the Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame, and his life’s work finds its home to make multigenerational impact at History Colorado.

Mr. Fielder leaves behind a legacy of profound consequence, having cultivated a deep-seated appreciation and guardianship of Colorado's natural wonders. His unique perspective and storytelling through the art of photography have not only allowed people to connect with the magnificent outdoors but have also kindled the flames of stewardship for our environment.

 

Vanguard Legacy Medal - Dr. Carlotta Walls LaNier, Civil Rights Leader and Changemaker

Honoring a community leader who has made transformational contributions to the community throughout his or her career.

Dr. Carlotta Walls LaNier, a civil-rights legend, is the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine, who in 1957, were the first black students to attend classes at Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas, our nation’s proving ground for Brown v. Board of Education. Dr. Walls LaNier received the Congressional Gold Medal, NAACP’s Spingarn Medal; she is an inductee in the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame as well as the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She serves as president of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, created to promote equality of opportunity for all, particularly in the field of education. Dr. LaNier moved to Colorado to attend Colorado State College, known today as the University of Northern Colorado. In 2009, she completed her biography, A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School.

Emerging Community Leader Medal —Osvaldo Garcia Barron, Boulder High School

Recognizing a young community leader who has demonstrated excellence and made a positive impact on their school and community.

Osvaldo's extensive civic engagement and leadership roles at Boulder High School and within the Boulder community reflect a deep commitment to fostering inclusivity and advocating for the Latino community. As President of the Boulder High School Latino Student Organization (LSO), Osvaldo recruited and led a membership of more than 25 students. Osvaldo served as a board member on the Boulder Valley School District Youth Equity Council and mentored at Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). His role as an appointed youth board member with the Youth Opportunities Advisory Board helped to promote youth voices in the Boulder community & advise the municipal government on youth-related matters. 

During the summer of 2023, Osvaldo served as an intern for the Office of Equity & Belonging. In this capacity, he compiled research on Immigrant Legal Defense Funds across the country, contributing to the forthcoming City of Boulder Legal Defense Fund. Osvaldo grew up in Boulder with five sisters and his parents, and graduated from Boulder High School in 2023. He is currently a freshman at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. 

  

Growth and Innovation Medal—John Street, CEO and co-founder, PAX8

 

This award is given to an entrepreneur who has led with exceptional ingenuity and growth while inspiring and creating new possibilities among all in our state. 

                                          

Mr. John Street is associated with a legacy of innovation for creating disruptive technology that empowers companies to flourish. He is a visionary who institutes a human-centric approach to building extraordinary employee cultures. Throughout his career, Mr. Street built four start-ups in Colorado – Telephone Express, USA.Net, MX Logic, and in 2012, Pax8 – all of which garnered Inc. 5000 status. In an intensely competitive landscape, he pioneered the concept of a cloud marketplace. In the last year, Mr. Street's vision of Pax8 becoming the world's premier cloud marketplace has transformed into reality.

 

 Mr. Street's approach to leadership is firmly grounded in servant leadership, prioritizing people above all else and promoting equality and justice. His passion for giving back to the community and advancing corporate social responsibility is evident in the formation of Pax8's Social Impact Team.  A cornerstone of his legacy is mentorship, with many of Colorado's top business leaders benefiting from his guidance over the years.

 

Public and Community Service Medal—Lauren Young Casteel - President and CEO, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado

 

Honoring a government or community leader who serves the public through innovation, operational excellence and progressive vision.

 

A commitment to social justice of all forms has been Lauren Young Casteel’s life-long driving force. Ms. Casteel currently serves as president and CEO of The Women’s Foundation of Colorado (WFCO), the only statewide, community-funded foundation protecting the progress and advancing gender, racial, and economic equity for all Colorado women. During her tenure she has more than doubled The Foundation’s annual grantmaking total, reaching $2.76 million in Fiscal Year 2022-23 while diversifying WFCO’s giving communities and investments. 

She is also the first person in Colorado to lead three foundations collectively with more than 30 years of philanthropic leadership. Throughout her career, Ms. Casteel has earned numerous accolades. Most recently, she received the 2023 Athena Leadership Award from the Colorado Women's Chamber of Commerce; the Anti Defamation League Mountain States Region's 2018 Civil Rights Award; the 2016 Monte Pascoe Civic Leadership Award, presented annually by Denver’s Mayor to a member of the community; and one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in 2015 by the Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce. In 2014, she was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. In 2021, Ms. Casteel received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Colorado.

 

2023 Corporate Citizenship Medal - Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation, Rob Perlman, President and COO

 

          Recognizing a Colorado-based company that has made a significant positive impact in the   

          community through its culture, vision and execution.

 

Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation's (SSRC) vision is to be the friendliest, most welcoming mountain destination in the world and they fulfill that by, in their own words, "Celebrating, caring for, protecting, and encouraging a vibrant and resilient community. We believe in treating our people and our community well, and along the way, contributing to those who share our vision and our passion for Doing Good." 

They have three key pillars under which they organize their work: Prioritizing People, Protecting the Planet, and Investing in Community and their efforts can be seen on a daily basis. Most recently Steamboat took the lead in developing an Employer-Based child care facility with spaces for 35 local children, to find a collaborative solution for a crisis in their community and blaze a trail for employee support in rural and resort areas.  Steamboat continues to lead the way in sustainability with audits and innovative approaches to climate issues that impact their community and industry. The leadership team, under the guidance of Rob Perlman, are active community participants serving as board members and participants at a variety of local nonprofit organizations including Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, The Steamboat Chamber, Boys & Girls Club, Community Ag Alliance and more.

 

“This year’s medal recipients are bold leaders who lived their legacy,” said Ryan Heckman, chairman of CiviCO. “It is an honor to partner with Governor Polis and former governors to celebrate the power of leadership  and recognize the enduring and powerful impact these award honorees have made and continue to make in Colorado.”

This year’s medal recipients will be honored at a ceremony held at History Colorado Center on January 25, 2024. Ticket and sponsorship opportunities are limited. Please visit https://www.theeventcgcm.org/ for more information. 

 

ABOUT CiviCO

CiviCO is the premier nonprofit that cultivates civic-minded leaders to improve the state of Colorado. By providing access to leadership programming and a vast network of community role models, mentors and thought leaders, CivicCO fosters community-driven, multi-generational leaders who purposely change our communities across the state through positive actions. CiviCO’s signature programs include: Colorado Governor’s Citizenship Medals, the Governors Fellowship,  and the “What’s Your Story” exhibit at the History Colorado Center. To learn how an organization or individual can create positive action for a better Colorado or become a member of the CiviCO community visit www.livecivico.org or contact Info@LiveCiviCO.org.