Member Portal

Back to News

Trip to Salt Lake Inspires Interest in Bringing Skills, Mentoring Program to Denver

Understanding motivation—why someone makes a certain choice—is not the first step toward creating meaningful social change. Instead, developing the skills needed to change comes first. It was a provocative idea put forth to delegates of the Leadership Exchange last week by Joseph Grenny, the social scientist known for his bestselling book Influence: The New Science […]

Download PDF

Denver Metro Chamber

Blog Author

Table of Content

Lorem Ipsum Dolor Sit Amet Consectetur?

View All

Understanding motivation—why someone makes a certain choice—is not the first step toward creating meaningful social change. Instead, developing the skills needed to change comes first. It was a provocative idea put forth to delegates of the Leadership Exchange last week by Joseph Grenny, the social scientist known for his bestselling book Influence: The New Science of Leading Change.

The 165 business and civic leaders in the room, brought to Salt Lake City by the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, didn’t just take Grenny’s word for it. He introduced them to Dave Durocher.

In and out of prison and looking at a sentence of 29 years, Durocher took the opportunity to go to Delancey Street, a place that would give him skills and support he needed to turn around his life. He went through the program, and then stayed there to grow it. Today, he serves as managing director of The Other Side Academy in Salt Lake, a two-year program for people who have been incarcerated, experienced homelessness or dealt with substance abuse, offering vocational training, education, counseling, mentorship and leadership training—all at no cost.

It’s an approach that inspired a number of delegates of the 27th Leadership Exchange trip. Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock challenged the delegation to learn more about this model. Dozens of delegates stood to show their support to explore the current services in Denver and continue to engage with The Other Side Academy.

This was just one way delegates got a behind-the-scenes look at the city on the Wasatch Front over this three-day trip. The delegation also focused on big, bold events like the Sundance Film Festival and the 2002 Winter Olympics, as well as how Salt Lake has engaged its community on how to grow, invest in infrastructure and support an increasingly tech and outdoor rec industries.

For more information or to get involved, please email Kirsten Vermulen at kirsten.vermulen@denverchamber.org.

Sara Crocker is communications manager for the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Related Resources

View More Chamber in the News

View All Resources

Manage Workers’ Compensation Claims More Effectively in Four Steps

An employee gets injured on the job. What do you do? After asking those critical questions—“Are you okay? What hurts? What can I do to help?”—and getting them what they need, then what? That’s when the claims process starts. Knowing what steps to take beyond filing the initial claim can help mitigate your risks. Your […]

Our Strong Workforce

For many of us, Labor Day is the signal that summer is ending and school is beginning. But Labor Day was established at a time in our country (way back in 1894) when industrialization required that more managers begin to see workers less as an input into the business and more as the critical element […]

Chamber Weighs in on Ballot Measures

Voters can breathe a sigh of relief that they will not see ballot initiatives targeting the oil and gas industry on the ballot in November, avoiding a divisive and costly election battle. These initiatives would have damaged Colorado’s economy and created endless litigation, but Coloradoans again proved they can work together to find solutions instead […]

2 Things to Know about Colorado’s Civic Health (and How to Stay Civically Fit)

Colorado is consistently ranked as one of the most physically active states in the country, but are we leaders in civic health? Earlier this month, six major Colorado civic institutions, including the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, released the Colorado Civic Health Index, a report measure how actively citizens engage in their communities through activities […]
downloadmagnifiercrossmenuarrow-leftarrow-right