Education and Families Initiative

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In the spring of 2023, Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion launched a new Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­lies ini­tia­tive with Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion, a col­lec­tive impact net­work rep­re­sent­ing over 30 orga­ni­za­tions engaged in edu­ca­tion in Teton Coun­ty, Wyoming.

In the spring of 2023, the Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion launched a new Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­lies ini­tia­tive with Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion, a col­lec­tive impact net­work rep­re­sent­ing over 30 orga­ni­za­tions engaged in edu­ca­tion in Teton Coun­ty, Wyoming.

Back­bone Leader hired

Last spring, the Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion launched its Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­lies ini­tia­tive with Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion, a col­lec­tive impact net­work rep­re­sent­ing over 30 orga­ni­za­tions engaged in edu­ca­tion in Teton Coun­ty, Wyoming. Sys­tems of Education’s col­lec­tive actions aim to make out-of-school time more equi­table, acces­si­ble, and enrich­ing for all stu­dents and fam­i­lies in Teton Coun­ty, WY. Their mem­ber­ship includes non­prof­it orga­ni­za­tions, gov­ern­ment agen­cies, and businesses.


The Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion of Jack­son Hole is pleased to wel­come Col­by Mitchell as the Back­bone Leader of Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion, a part of the organization’s Edu­ca­tion and Fam­i­lies Initiative.

“It’s an hon­or to sup­port Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion in bring­ing our com­mu­ni­ty togeth­er to make out-of-school learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties more acces­si­ble to young learn­ers in Teton Coun­ty,” Mitchell remarked. ​“This amaz­ing net­work has cre­at­ed a stur­dy foun­da­tion upon which we can build the struc­tures nec­es­sary for more expan­sive col­lab­o­ra­tion and inno­va­tion. I’m look­ing for­ward to build­ing rela­tion­ships and facil­i­tat­ing con­ver­sa­tions that will fur­ther con­nect our com­mu­ni­ty and enrich the lives of the next gen­er­a­tion in Teton County.”

In his new role as Back­bone Leader, Col­by will be respon­si­ble for the following:

  • Pro­vid­ing strate­gic guid­ance toward the initiative’s com­mon vision
  • Guid­ing, coor­di­nat­ing, and facil­i­tat­ing ini­tia­tive activities
  • Cul­ti­vat­ing com­mu­ni­ty engage­ment in sup­port of the initiative’s work
  • Estab­lish­ing shared mea­sure­ment and learn­ing process­es and frame­works to eval­u­ate progress
  • Advanc­ing fund­ing to sup­port the initiative

Col­by will join a team of ini­tia­tive lead­ers at the Foun­da­tion includ­ing Kate Schelbe, Back­bone Leader of Teton Behav­ioral Health Alliance and Wendy Mar­tinez, Direc­tor, Hous­ing Solu­tions. This ini­tia­tive is aligned with the Com­mu­ni­ty Foundation’s 2022 – 25 Strate­gic Plan which pri­or­i­tizes act­ing on root caus­es of com­mu­ni­ty issues and putting fund­ing to work on com­mu­ni­ty-iden­ti­fied needs.

“Colby’s depth of sys­tems think­ing, his agili­ty in facil­i­tat­ing, and his pas­sion for sup­port­ing young peo­ple in Teton Coun­ty made him the ulti­mate can­di­date for this role,” Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion Pres­i­dent, Lau­rie Andrews said. 

The Foun­da­tion has been involved with Sys­tems of Edu­ca­tion since its found­ing in 2012. This ini­tia­tive is fund­ed in part by a lead gift from Alum­bra Inno­va­tions Foun­da­tion as part of their Place-based Teach­ing and Learn­ing Ini­tia­tive that sup­ports the devel­op­ment of cur­rent and future gen­er­a­tions of learn­ers and lead­ers who are deeply con­nect­ed to and engaged in the eco­nom­ic, social, and envi­ron­men­tal vital­i­ty of their local and glob­al communities.