April 18, 2025 @ 4:00 p.m. MT
About the Lecture
When every turn of the channel, the page, or swipe of the screen shrieks about the breadth and depth of the housing crisis, it can be easy to insist that the solution simply lies in building more. Build it anywhere, at all cost. History tells us this cannot and does not work. As builders, developers, designers, and planners we have the power to make better decisions. And we all know with great power comes great responsibility (thanks, Spiderman). We’ll explore multiple case studies for how to make choices about the right places, right types of homes, and right creative programs to bring lasting housing solutions to bear in all types of communities.
Speaker Bio
Born and raised in Connecticut, Heather has lived in the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado for 25 years. She came to the area to work for Design Workshop-Aspen where she managed projects of every size and scale all over the country. She eventually ran their 35-person Aspen office and departed the firm in 2009 as the firmwide Legacy Environment Forum Leader, at the time responsible for bringing sustainable building practices to the entire 250-person firm and infusing these practices into every project. Heather co-founded Connect One Design in 2010, a 15-person firm with a vast portfolio of work including affordable housing, parks and open space, playgrounds (including outdoor childcare), streetscapes, redevelopment, master plans, comprehensive planning, land conservation, land use approvals, etc. Her clients have included public, quasi-public, non-profit and private sector groups seeking thoughtful approaches to complex problems. Having left Connect One to join Aspen One (https://aspen.com/) as the Vice President of Housing and Childcare, Heather now focuses entirely on the nexus of housing, childcare, and transportation. While an accomplished speaker and trained facilitator, Heather is also an engaged volunteer in the community. Her civil service has spanned the same 25 years. She has volunteered for organizations throughout her community, been an elected official in Carbondale, and is one of the founding members of the West Mountain Regional Housing Coalition. Believing that one should play as hard as one works, Heather enjoys everything the mountain lifestyle has to offer and hits every mountain, river, and trail with gusto (and the dog in tow).
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