Exploring Life & Business with Susan Edmondson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Edmondson.

Hi Susan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m President & CEO of Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs, a nonprofit business membership organization working to ensure that Downtown Colorado Springs serves as the economic, civic and cultural heart of the Pikes Peak Region. I’ve been in this role about seven-plus years, although my route to this position is a bit unusual in that I don’t don’t have a degree in urban planning or anything like that. I’m originally from California and after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, I worked as a journalist, first in Las Vegas and then here in Colorado Springs.

I became Arts & Entertainment editor at what was then the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. This was at a time before newspapers started experiencing such rapid change and layoffs; we had really robust coverage or our arts scene, plus lots of overnight reviews and newsy arts reporting. While in this job, I got my master’s in public administration at UCCS and then left journalism to become executive director at the Bee Vradenburg Foundation, a newly formed foundation focused solely on giving in the arts in the Pikes Peak Region. I was with the foundation for a decade, serving our arts community through grants and advocacy; during that time I also co-founded our local arts agency, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region. I became more involved with Downtown and was serving on the board of the Downtown Development Authority when the opportunity came up to lead Downtown Partnership.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I feel very fortunate that my path has taken me this direction. Of course, some of it was luck and timing, but my MPA and volunteer service and communications experience all have served me well in my current role. I especially marvel that the arts have always been a part of my career path even though that wasn’t intentional – going back to being A&E Editor at my college newspaper, and then again here in Colorado Springs, then running an arts foundation and now with a placemaking organization.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
At Downtown Partnership, our scope is vast even though we’re serving an area of just over one square mile. Our work includes business attraction and retention, planning and mobility initiatives, public art administration and other urban engagement programs, cleaning services, landscaping, marketing services, catalytic development projects and much more. The work is eclectic and is strengthened by collaborations among the government, nonprofit and business sectors. We’re proud that over 90 percent of our street-level business Downtown are locally owned and operated, and we boast the largest concentration of independent restaurants in Southern Colorado. We’re also a state-certified creative district with amazing galleries and a high concentration of super talented creatives such as architects, graphic artists, distillers and brewers. What really distinguishes Downtown Colorado Springs is that we are building this wonderful, walkable, lively urban lifestyle that is seamlessly connected to our great outdoors. Here, someone can leave their Class A office space or urban loft at lunchtime and have a world-class mountain bike ride and be back an hour later. That’s an experience you can’t really have anywhere else in Colorado or even around the country.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I follow a lot of urbanists on Twitter and follow sources like Next City, Streetsblog and Bloomberg City Lab. I think the Colorado Sun and Rocky Mountain PBS do a great job covering issues across Colorado. When it comes to reading books, I don’t read many leadership or business-oriented books – I think people can go overboard on those kind of things. I much prefer memoirs, political and social history, and other kinds of reading. I think we can learn as much or more from great fiction and poetry instead of the latest catchy business trend book. I’ve been reading a lot of James Baldwin this year – I’m embarrassed it took me so long to dive into his works!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.DowntownCS.com
• Instagram: downtown_CS
• Facebook: @DowntownColoradoSprings
• Twitter: @DowntownCS

Image Credits:
Stellar Propeller