Keynotes: Stories of Collective Impact

The creation of the Kwiyagat Community Academy is the cornerstone of Growing Ute Futures, but it is not the only impact of the endeavor. Growing Ute Futures is an education masterplan for the entire community as there are so many more families with students –from Kindergarten all through high school—who don’t attend KCA than do. Growing Ute Futures serves students and familie

Kwiyagat Community Academy officially opened in 2021 and was finally able to put into practice what had previously just been an abstract plan – a culture-based curriculum grounded in Ute traditions that also delivers a modern academic education to prepare young students for the world. When you hear the world trailblazing—that’s exactly what this approach is. But the school wo

In the second part of our four-part series on the Growing Ute Futures initiative, we highlight the bold steps taken by Tribal leaders and their partners to upend generations of educational missed opportunities: the creation of the state’s first-ever tribal-run charter school operation on an Indian Reservation. This is the story of the creation of the Kwiyagat Community Academy.Li

In 2020, at the direction of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Council, educators, and families, Keystone Policy Center began facilitating strategic planning to develop an innovative, culturally-based education system for students and their families on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. A central pillar of this plan was integrating Ute arts, language, and culture into all levels of educat

We're thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2023 Keystone Leadership Award. Keystone Policy Center established the Keystone Leadership Awards in 1994 to recognize extraordinary leadership by individuals and organizations whose work embraces our model, spirit, and mission of creating lasting solutions through strategic collaboration. Keystone honors individuals and organiz

Agricultural soils are a large land-based sink for atmospheric carbon with additional potential to contribute to the sequestration of atmospheric carbon, though questions still remain as to the magnitude and rate of this mitigation opportunity. This potential has spurred a desire to connect growers with carbon markets to realize the environmental and economic value of agricultural

The Browns Canyon National Monument was designated for federal protection in 2015 and encompasses more than 21,000 acres of scenic and diverse natural resources along the upper Arkansas River in Colorado. It was the culmination of decades of advocacy from local residents to protect the pristine lands. However, federal designation was only the first step in protecting these pristine

Collaboration is a powerful concept that requires a methodical approach to be most effective. To streamline this approach and help other organizations foster collaboration, Keystone partnered with Dow to create a step-by-step guide called the Collaborative Action Toolkit that provides a roadmap for anyone to develop a more collaborative mindset and organize their stakeholders and c

Federal and state governments are legally required to consult with Native American Tribes on issues impacting them, but city governments don't have the same mandate. In this episode, we highlight the work of the city of Boulder, Colorado, which has partnered with Keystone to develop and implement a city/Tribal consultation process that has opened a dialogue around issues of cu

In the final episode of this three-part series, we how leaders in Northwest Colorado are working together on collaborative initiatives that have impact for their communities. We also highlight how these collaborative efforts, in partnership with nonprofit leaders like El Pomar Foundation and Keystone Policy Center, help these communities navigate the best path forward to best utili