Javier Alberto Soto: Beyond the Fancy Chair

[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Katie Kramer, President and CEO of the Boettcher Foundation. Welcome to Colorado Leadership Stories, where we talk to everyday, courageous leaders who have made transformational impacts in their communities and are building a better state for everyone. You'll hear from leaders and organizations and communities throughout the state as we explore the idea that leadership is an activity that anyone can do.

[00:00:32] Joining us today is Javier Alberto Soto. His experience ranges from fighting for justice in the courtroom to leading transformative philanthropic initiatives in South Florida and now Colorado. He's now at the helm of the Denver Foundation, where he mobilizes resources to meet the needs of Metro Denver communities and strives to foster belonging across Colorado. Javier brings with him a wealth of experience serving as President and CEO of the Miami Foundation for 10 years before taking on the same title of the Miami Foundation.

[00:01:02] The Denver Foundation in October of 2019. His dedication to community involvement and advocacy has earned him recognition as a leader in diversity by the Denver Business Journal. Javier, it's great to see you and welcome to Colorado Leadership Stories.

[00:01:15] Thank you, Katie. Great to be here.

[00:01:17] Javier, I want to start at the beginning. You have a powerful story as the son of Cuban immigrants, and you were born in Madrid before your family moved to Miami when you were a young child. Tell us about your upbringing and your family.

[00:01:29] Yeah, glad to. So my parents left Cuba as refugees when my mother was pregnant with me, and they went to Spain, which is why I was born in Madrid. We have extended family in Spain going back several generations, and so that was a good place for them to go.

[00:01:47] And then after three years, we moved to Miami. So I grew up in Miami, been to Spain a bunch and have memories of Spain as a young person and an adult, but not as a toddler.

[00:01:57] So yeah, the connection to Spain is strong. The connection to Cuba is very, very strong.

[00:02:02] And growing up in Miami as you did, how did some of those experiences influence who you are today?

[00:02:08] You know, first, I have to say, with my parents being refugees working two jobs when we first came to this country, extended family who would sit in and, you know, babysit and take care of me after school and stuff like that.

[00:02:22] You know, we became very, very close and overcame certainly a lot of hardship as, you know, just young immigrant family in a new place.

[00:02:32] My parents have always had a very clear North Star around values and the importance of family.

[00:02:39] And so I grew up in, you know, what I think was a very, very rich household, not monetarily, but from a value standpoint, certainly that was the case.

[00:02:49] Do you find those values sort of showing up in your work now?

[00:02:53] Oh, 100%. I mean, I always say that my parents were the first philanthropists I knew, even though, again, they were working two jobs.

[00:03:00] You know, we were not well off economically, but, you know, my dad would get all these solicitations in the mail like we all do from different charities, et cetera.

[00:03:08] And he would, just like you would pay the light bill or pay the rent, he would write a check to a number of those charities.

[00:03:16] Small checks, $2, $3.

[00:03:18] If they were Catholic, they got $5.

[00:03:20] That's about it.

[00:03:22] Because that's what we could afford.

[00:03:23] But, you know, from the beginning, there was never any big speech attached to it.

[00:03:27] It was just something I observed, that it was, again, as important as paying the light bill and paying the rent was also contributing to others who are in need.

[00:03:37] And my mother's philanthropy was a little different.

[00:03:39] She, you know, she, to this day, cooks every single night.

[00:03:43] And whenever there was anybody who was ill in the neighborhood or, you know, just was down on their luck, my mother would bring them food.

[00:03:51] Whatever we ate, the neighbors could eat.

[00:03:54] And, you know, that's a form of philanthropy in my book as well.

[00:03:57] Absolutely.

[00:03:58] A tasty one at that.

[00:03:59] And that's partly how I grew up, too.

[00:04:02] That you, that's just something that you do.

[00:04:05] That's part of, you learn how to give because that's what you do.

[00:04:08] That's what your family does.

[00:04:10] Definitely.

[00:04:10] And whether it's taking the casserole to someone who's sick or putting some money in the collection plate on Sunday or someone that's down on their luck.

[00:04:19] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:04:20] And how funny that we ended up in these careers that are all about that, paying it forward.

[00:04:25] Exactly right.

[00:04:25] I love that.

[00:04:26] I want to learn a little bit more about you as a kid growing up.

[00:04:31] And so I'm curious about what type of student and learner you were in your adolescent years.

[00:04:38] Well, first, I think it's important to point out that English was my second language.

[00:04:42] So when I arrived to the United States at age three, I didn't speak any English.

[00:04:47] So I picked up all my English really once I started school at age five.

[00:04:52] And an interesting story about our immigration to the United States, because of the rules at the time, since I had been in Spain, I was allowed to come over as a three-year-old.

[00:05:03] My parents put me on a plane by myself.

[00:05:05] No way.

[00:05:06] Entrusted me to the flight attendant.

[00:05:08] And we had an extended family in Miami who was waiting for me.

[00:05:12] Wow.

[00:05:12] On arrival.

[00:05:13] And my parents came like a couple weeks later, again, because that's how the immigration rules work.

[00:05:18] Since I was a citizen of Spain, my parents were citizens of Cuba.

[00:05:22] Oh, my goodness.

[00:05:23] So the story that got told throughout my childhood is early on, obviously, I'm homesick.

[00:05:29] Obviously, like, I'm missing my parents.

[00:05:31] I don't know what has just happened.

[00:05:34] And so I guess I was pretty anxious and distressed.

[00:05:38] And one of my relatives put me in front of the TV and turned on cartoons and turned on the Flintstones.

[00:05:43] And they figured, OK, this will calm the kid down a bit.

[00:05:47] And initially, I was quite excited to see the Flintstones on the TV.

[00:05:52] And then within a few moments, started wailing.

[00:05:56] And so my relatives came over trying to understand, like, what happened.

[00:06:00] Well, what happened was that I was used to seeing the Flintstones in Spanish.

[00:06:04] Oh.

[00:06:05] And so they sent me in front of these characters who were familiar visually.

[00:06:10] But now I couldn't understand them.

[00:06:11] And so that really threw me for a loop.

[00:06:13] So, again, the point being, I came here without, you know, speaking any English.

[00:06:17] So early on, I think it was all about just becoming culturally and linguistically bilingual throughout my early sort of education.

[00:06:28] And, yeah, ultimately, I would say what I remember from my report cards were I'd get a lot of A's in academics and a lot of C's or even worse in conduct because I just couldn't really sit still.

[00:06:41] And I think, you know, today they probably would have diagnosed me right away with ADHD.

[00:06:47] But at the time, that wasn't really something that was done.

[00:06:50] So I just couldn't sit still.

[00:06:52] But I was, you know, always really interested in learning and reading and all of that.

[00:06:57] So, yeah, did really great on the academic side but was, you know, getting pulled into the principal's office quite a bit.

[00:07:03] Was there a particular mentor or teacher that in your growing up that you drew inspiration from or was particularly helpful to you?

[00:07:14] Yeah, I'd fast forward to high school.

[00:07:15] There was one teacher who just had a tremendous impact on me.

[00:07:18] It's the reason why I ended up studying history in college.

[00:07:21] This was my AP European history teacher.

[00:07:24] His name was Joe Clark.

[00:07:27] He went by Silver Fox to those of us who were kind of in his band of supporters at school.

[00:07:33] And he just was, you know, just brilliant.

[00:07:36] And he made the lectures so incredibly fun.

[00:07:38] It's the first time that I really sort of dove into history and absorbed it and been a lifelong learner ever since.

[00:07:44] But beyond that, you know, Joe also taught us how to gamble at Hi-A-Li and at the racetrack.

[00:07:52] And he claimed to have invented the tuna melt.

[00:07:55] Wow, this guy.

[00:07:56] He was a Renaissance guy, right?

[00:07:59] And so I think that's what most sort of, you know, just drew me to Joe.

[00:08:04] And, you know, again, we had a group of us friends that stayed in touch with Joe for years until his death around 15 years ago.

[00:08:11] Yeah, because he was just he was a regular guy, you know, but he also, you know, just made us all appreciate and love history deeply.

[00:08:22] Thank you, teachers out there.

[00:08:24] They, you know, just make such an incredible impact, I think, on so many people.

[00:08:28] And they don't you never even realize what that impact is until later, later on.

[00:08:33] So wonderful.

[00:08:34] So you then go to Florida State University.

[00:08:37] Did you study history there?

[00:08:39] History, political science.

[00:08:41] OK.

[00:08:41] I understand you have a Deion Sanders connection.

[00:08:44] So you have to share.

[00:08:46] So I know everybody was excited when Coach Prime came to Boulder last year.

[00:08:50] I was particularly excited because when I was a freshman at Florida State, he was a senior.

[00:08:55] No way.

[00:08:56] Absolutely big man on campus.

[00:08:58] And I still have a 1988 FSU Deion Sanders jersey that I wore last year to see you games.

[00:09:05] And I'm looking forward to wearing this year to see you games.

[00:09:07] Wow.

[00:09:08] That is awesome.

[00:09:10] Great.

[00:09:10] Thanks for sharing that.

[00:09:11] And then law school.

[00:09:13] Right.

[00:09:14] Georgetown.

[00:09:14] Georgetown.

[00:09:15] And then started working as a litigator in Miami-Dade County Attorney General's office.

[00:09:21] Is that right?

[00:09:21] Yeah.

[00:09:22] The Miami-Dade County Attorney's Office, which is like the civil sort of litigation firm for

[00:09:26] county government.

[00:09:27] And I also litigated at Holland and Knight, a big international firm with offices here.

[00:09:32] Sure.

[00:09:33] So was that path to law school obvious to you from the beginning?

[00:09:38] Or was that something?

[00:09:39] And then how did you end up in this type of law versus, you know, going into a big firm

[00:09:46] somewhere?

[00:09:46] Yeah.

[00:09:47] And I did do the big firm thing for about a year and a half and quickly realized it wasn't

[00:09:52] for me.

[00:09:52] So I went back to government.

[00:09:53] So the law firm stint was in between two terms that I did in local government.

[00:09:59] But no, going to law school wasn't something that I always figured I would do.

[00:10:04] Originally, the plan was to be quarterback of the Miami Dolphins.

[00:10:07] That did not work out at all.

[00:10:09] And so I have a cousin who now is a retired judge.

[00:10:12] At the time, she was a public defender in South Florida.

[00:10:17] And as I was on my way to undergraduate at FSU, I visited with her and said, you know,

[00:10:25] look, I'm trying to sort this out.

[00:10:26] I don't really know what I'm going to do or study.

[00:10:28] And, you know, I think maybe law school might be something I'd think about.

[00:10:32] I remember saying to her, I don't know if I'm smart enough to go to law school and to

[00:10:38] be a lawyer.

[00:10:39] And I forget, she said, you have no idea how much smarter you are than most of the lawyers

[00:10:46] that I know.

[00:10:46] So you're already ready.

[00:10:48] So don't even worry about that.

[00:10:50] You absolutely are smart enough to do this.

[00:10:52] And it's just a question of whether you want to do it or not.

[00:10:55] And I think for me, it became apparent that the law degree would open up a number of different

[00:11:01] paths.

[00:11:02] And that's certainly proven to be the case.

[00:11:04] I started out litigating because, you know, just as one of the very, very few lawyers, my

[00:11:10] cousin, the judge and me in the family, I figured people would come to me.

[00:11:15] And so like knowing my way around a courtroom felt like something that would probably make

[00:11:19] some sense once I got out of law school.

[00:11:21] So I did that.

[00:11:22] But I quickly discovered that litigation is such a destructive process.

[00:11:27] And it wasn't really fueling me either in the public sector or the private sector.

[00:11:32] Yeah, it was just it was disputes over money at the end of the day for the most part.

[00:11:37] And so I wanted to pivot to something that would feel more constructive and not destructive.

[00:11:42] And so I pivoted from working in the county attorney's office to working in the county mayor's

[00:11:47] office in a policy role and ultimately as chief of staff to the county mayor for the last three

[00:11:53] years of his term.

[00:11:54] So this through line of public service and then you end up in philanthropy.

[00:11:59] So how did that happen that you ended up at the Miami Foundation?

[00:12:03] You know, fast forward a few years after I had finished working with the mayor's office,

[00:12:08] a recruiter called me and said, hey, the head of what was then the Dade Community Foundation

[00:12:14] is about to retire.

[00:12:16] Is this something that you would maybe consider or think about?

[00:12:19] And the recruiter knew me just through my involvement in community working in the mayor's

[00:12:23] office.

[00:12:24] And the first words out of my mouth were the what foundation?

[00:12:28] I had no idea what he was talking about.

[00:12:30] I did not know what a community foundation was.

[00:12:31] And to me, philanthropy was, you know, Rockefeller and Ford Foundation and these, you know, really

[00:12:38] just impenetrable, obtuse organizations, long, long distance from my reality in any way.

[00:12:48] And so I said to him, like, well, I'm happy to, you know, come over and have coffee with

[00:12:54] you.

[00:12:54] But I mean, I don't think this is going to be for me.

[00:12:57] And so, you know, a few days later, I did go have coffee.

[00:13:00] And before I did that, I looked up community foundations and what they did.

[00:13:04] And I saw a number of community foundations around the country doing some stuff that seemed

[00:13:09] to take the stuff that I really loved about being in the mayor's office, you know, community

[00:13:14] impact and policy work and convening and those types of things, but stripped out the things

[00:13:20] I didn't like so much about being in a mayor's office around the politics and the constant

[00:13:25] crisis management and those types of things.

[00:13:27] So, yeah, I had that meeting and he said, I'd love for you to talk to this committee, this

[00:13:33] panel that's looking for the replacement for Ruth Schack, who's a huge figure in philanthropy

[00:13:38] in Florida.

[00:13:40] And so I said, OK, fine.

[00:13:42] And, you know, they, for whatever reason, thought that, you know, I might be able to pull

[00:13:46] this off.

[00:13:47] And so I went into the Miami, again, it was the Dade Community Foundation.

[00:13:51] We went through a rebrand to the Miami Foundation shortly after I got there.

[00:13:54] And, yeah, just as I grew in my appreciation and understanding for what was possible, particularly

[00:14:02] within a community foundation, I mean, I just totally loved it and, you know, set some really

[00:14:08] big aspirational goals for the foundation.

[00:14:10] And we had tremendous success.

[00:14:13] Yes, you did.

[00:14:14] And then Denver found you, right?

[00:14:17] And so tell us about coming to the Denver Foundation and share a little bit of history about

[00:14:23] the Denver Foundation as well.

[00:14:25] I think it could be wrong in this stat, but you may be the oldest foundation in the state

[00:14:30] of Colorado or close.

[00:14:31] 1925.

[00:14:32] Is that right?

[00:14:33] Yep.

[00:14:33] Getting ready to celebrate our centennial next year.

[00:14:35] That's amazing.

[00:14:36] Amazing.

[00:14:37] So how'd you end up here in Denver?

[00:14:39] And tell us about the Denver Foundation.

[00:14:43] I guess I was coming up on my 10th year anniversary at the Miami Foundation and really felt like it

[00:14:47] was an inflection point for me professionally and personally.

[00:14:51] And so I said, yeah, you know, I'll see what's out there potentially.

[00:14:56] And, you know, so I had been getting calls from recruiters, but it never really entertained

[00:15:00] them.

[00:15:00] And so that year I decided, let me pay attention and see what might be possible.

[00:15:05] And there were a few community foundations doing CEO searches around the country then.

[00:15:09] And so I went through a few of these processes and Denver came on the scene a little further

[00:15:15] in that process.

[00:15:17] And when Denver came on the scene, I thought, well, that's a place that I know pretty well

[00:15:22] because one of my best friends from high school, who was part of the Joe Clark entourage,

[00:15:30] moved to Boulder, I guess now 15 years ago or so.

[00:15:34] And so we would come out here to visit all the time.

[00:15:35] And every time I'd come out here, I'd look around and say, why doesn't everybody live

[00:15:40] here?

[00:15:41] This place is really amazing.

[00:15:43] And so when Denver sort of came on the radar, it became really an interesting option potentially

[00:15:51] for us.

[00:15:52] And so, yeah, went through the process.

[00:15:55] And, you know, the more I learned about the Denver Foundation and about this community,

[00:16:00] the more excited I became.

[00:16:01] I knew David Miller a little bit because when I was at the Miami Foundation,

[00:16:05] he was leading the Denver Foundation and got to know him and reached out to him and said,

[00:16:10] hey, what do you think?

[00:16:11] And Linda Childers, who you know as well, who used to be at the Daniels Fund, she and

[00:16:15] I knew each other from our time on the board of the Council on Foundations.

[00:16:18] And I called Linda and said, hey, what do you think?

[00:16:20] And they were both so encouraging and supportive.

[00:16:25] And this will be great.

[00:16:27] You totally should see if it works out.

[00:16:30] And so we did.

[00:16:31] And so here we are five years later.

[00:16:34] Well, and what an interesting time that you come to Denver, right?

[00:16:37] Fall of 2019.

[00:16:38] And I love the story about you biking all over Denver to get to get to know it.

[00:16:44] So tell us why you chose that.

[00:16:45] There's a lot of ways that you can do listening and sort of getting grounded as a new CEO.

[00:16:50] I thought that was really creative and really on the ground, right?

[00:16:54] That you were able to see community, knowing that also was on the heels.

[00:16:59] The pandemic came right after that.

[00:17:00] So it's been an interesting transition here and then a couple of years.

[00:17:04] So reflect on that for us.

[00:17:05] Yeah.

[00:17:06] The initial six months were great, you know, getting absorbed and just immersed in the community.

[00:17:12] And the bike tour played a big role in that.

[00:17:13] You know, I should tell you that the bike tour idea was an answer to a question I got in one

[00:17:19] of the interviews for this job.

[00:17:21] So I think it may have been something like, you know, what are you going to do in your first

[00:17:24] hundred days or something?

[00:17:24] Sure.

[00:17:25] Like, well, I'm going to get on my bike and go just ride around and get to know this community

[00:17:29] and get to know our partners in the community.

[00:17:32] So once I got the job, I was like, oh, I guess I really ought to do that now since I told

[00:17:36] them I went to the interview.

[00:17:37] And it was, yeah, it served a few purposes.

[00:17:39] One, definitely to get to know the community.

[00:17:42] So, you know, I said, okay, I'm going to go on my bike into all 78 neighborhoods, at

[00:17:47] least through all the neighborhoods.

[00:17:48] And, you know, let's set up these endpoints where I can talk to some of our partners, nonprofit

[00:17:54] partners, neighborhood leaders, community partners, et cetera, and just get to know some

[00:17:58] of the issues of the community, some of the aspirations, et cetera.

[00:18:01] And so that's exactly how we set it up.

[00:18:03] The first one was in Montbello.

[00:18:05] And it was just such a rich experience everywhere I went to get to know the folks that we work

[00:18:11] with and the folks that are really sort of having the most impact on the ground throughout

[00:18:15] this community.

[00:18:15] Oftentimes, as you know, philanthropy invites people in to our offices.

[00:18:20] And, you know, I thought reversing that could also help to just make philanthropy a little

[00:18:27] more approachable for folks, right?

[00:18:30] And, you know, obviously we're not rolling up in SUVs with fancy clothes or anything else.

[00:18:34] I'm literally on two wheels wearing spandex.

[00:18:36] And, you know, so it's a very comfortable environment for folks.

[00:18:40] A number of these we've done in Spanish, by the way, because the first couple times out,

[00:18:45] we had these translation devices.

[00:18:47] And I realized in one that they were translating my English into Spanish for everyone in the room.

[00:18:54] And I said, does everybody here speak Spanish?

[00:18:57] Like, we just get rid of the middle band.

[00:19:00] And so we did them in Spanish, which was great.

[00:19:02] And again, just another way to be just more approachable as philanthropy to people who, again,

[00:19:07] are doing the really hard work in community.

[00:19:09] So, yeah, we did all 78 neighborhoods.

[00:19:11] And now we're branching out.

[00:19:13] You know, Denver Foundation's geography is a seven-county metro.

[00:19:15] So we just did one in Jeffco and we're doing Adams County in a couple weeks.

[00:19:19] Oh, that's great.

[00:19:20] When you were on the road in that way, was there anything surprising or specifically memorable

[00:19:26] during the bike tour that informed sort of how you ended up developing your strategy the last couple of years?

[00:19:33] Yeah, you know, I think it was Tip O'Neill who famously said all politics is local.

[00:19:37] Right.

[00:19:37] You know, all community issues are neighborhood issues.

[00:19:40] And so while at some of these gatherings I would hear some of the macro concerns, you know,

[00:19:47] very quickly it would turn to micro concerns.

[00:19:52] Broken sidewalks in Montbello.

[00:19:55] The possibility of a venture capital firm buying a mobile home park in Westwood.

[00:20:01] And so those really became the dominant issues that we talked about in those sessions.

[00:20:08] And to the extent that we were able to, we then, you know, used our leverage, be that financial

[00:20:15] or convening power or policy advocacy, to help line up with that community in support of solutions

[00:20:23] to those issues.

[00:20:24] So, you know, that sidewalk referendum that we had here a couple years ago, I would say

[00:20:30] that the conversation in Montbello about broken sidewalks greatly influenced our decision

[00:20:34] to get behind that initiative.

[00:20:36] And the mobile home park issue in Westwood, we ended up first supporting legislation at

[00:20:43] the state level that made it easier for residents of mobile home parks who own the home but not

[00:20:48] the land to purchase the mobile home parks.

[00:20:51] Because when a VC firm comes in and buys a mobile home park, the end result for those residents

[00:20:57] usually is not good.

[00:20:59] And these things, while they're called mobile homes, aren't really mobile.

[00:21:02] You can't just pick it up and go across the street.

[00:21:04] So not owning the land still makes you subject to the whims of this landlord.

[00:21:10] And when it's a distant, non-local VC firm, again, the residents end up losing out.

[00:21:17] So we supported legislation that passed that made it easier for residents to come together

[00:21:22] and purchase mobile home parks.

[00:21:24] And then we came in as an impact investor.

[00:21:26] And we're part of the capital stack that allowed for those residents to form a co-op and purchase

[00:21:33] the home.

[00:21:33] So, you know, and housing is one of the key issues that we work on.

[00:21:37] And it just was such a micro issue important to that community.

[00:21:41] But it did speak to the macro problem that we have around affordability of housing, etc.

[00:21:46] So just a really unique way for us to be involved and, again, leverage all the different things

[00:21:51] that a community foundation does.

[00:21:52] Had it not been for that conversation as part of the bike tour, I don't know that this would

[00:21:58] have been on our radar.

[00:21:59] Love that story.

[00:22:00] And I want you, Javier, to talk a little bit more about the power of and opportunity of

[00:22:06] community foundations.

[00:22:07] I think that they play a really special role in addressing, like you said, super local needs.

[00:22:14] It's a place where people can contribute to and have specific impact.

[00:22:20] And then you talked about a couple of the philanthropic tools just in that answer about impact investing

[00:22:25] and some of those things.

[00:22:26] Share a little bit more about community foundations as opposed to, you know, we're a private

[00:22:30] family foundation, a little bit different.

[00:22:32] But community foundations are really special.

[00:22:35] Well, I absolutely agree that community foundations do play a really special role in community.

[00:22:41] And, you know, there are different levers that we can pull to try to bring about positive

[00:22:49] change in a community.

[00:22:50] And our strategic framework, we're now, I think, in year four of our strategic framework, really

[00:22:55] sort of directed us to sharpen all of those tools in the tool shed and not solely rely on grant

[00:23:04] making, but also have vigorous policy work as part of the impact we're trying to make.

[00:23:12] Use our investment portfolio, whether impact investing or just our normal kind of portfolio

[00:23:18] that we manage investments in toward to align towards impact in those areas that we work

[00:23:23] in.

[00:23:25] So I think for community foundations, we do have a variety of ways where we can help the community

[00:23:31] to thrive.

[00:23:33] As you said earlier, we've been doing this work for 99 years.

[00:23:36] And, you know, in many ways, we operate like the community's endowment, just like a university

[00:23:42] or hospital has an endowment.

[00:23:43] Denver has an endowment.

[00:23:44] It's called the Denver Foundation.

[00:23:45] But we also, as you know, partner with families, individuals, corporations to help fuel and

[00:23:51] facilitate their own personal philanthropy.

[00:23:54] Right.

[00:23:54] So we have over 1,000 funds at the Denver Foundation where families, individuals, et cetera, are also

[00:24:01] pursuing their philanthropic aims in partnership with the Denver Foundation, leveraging all of

[00:24:06] our resources, be they accounting or the knowledge that we have based on all of the years of investing

[00:24:14] in community organizations throughout the community.

[00:24:16] So these fund holders, as we call them, or donors come to the Denver Foundation and access

[00:24:22] all of those resources that we have available in order to then drive their own philanthropic

[00:24:27] giving.

[00:24:28] And whether that's in the arts or it's an education, whatever it is, we partner with

[00:24:33] them to make them more effective philanthropists.

[00:24:35] So we play this really interesting dual role.

[00:24:38] And one side of that operation, frankly, strengthens the other side.

[00:24:42] So one of the things we did after the strategic framework is we blended together our community

[00:24:48] impact or programmatic folks with our donor services folks.

[00:24:52] And so that's all one team now working in concert with nonprofit partners, neighborhood

[00:24:57] leaders, and donors to find the best solutions and invest the resources.

[00:25:02] necessary to help fuel those solutions.

[00:25:05] Well, it's wonderful.

[00:25:07] And I think one of the most exciting things that you're up to right now that all of us

[00:25:11] are just excited to see how it unfolds and be a part of it is the Belonging Colorado work

[00:25:16] that you're doing.

[00:25:17] Tell us more about that initiative and in particular, how it came about and what you're kind of learning

[00:25:23] as it's getting started.

[00:25:25] Yeah, very early days.

[00:25:26] So we launched this just a couple of months ago at Red Rocks.

[00:25:29] Yeah.

[00:25:29] And, you know, it really is around making this a place that feels like home to everyone

[00:25:37] who comes here from wherever you come or how long you've been here.

[00:25:42] I remember one of the things that struck me when I first moved here was within the first

[00:25:46] couple of minutes of a conversation with someone I was meeting for the first time, they'd tell

[00:25:50] me how many generations back they went in Colorado, which I thought was great.

[00:25:54] That's not something that happens in Florida because there isn't that kind of legacy generational

[00:25:59] population in Florida.

[00:26:02] But here it absolutely is the case and it matters.

[00:26:06] At the same time, as you know, within the last year or so, we've welcomed 50,000 migrants

[00:26:13] from Central and South America, 95% of them from Venezuela.

[00:26:18] And what we believe and what Belonging Colorado aims to achieve is that both that fifth generation

[00:26:24] Chicano and that Venezuelan family who arrived here six months ago can feel like this is a

[00:26:31] place that welcomes them.

[00:26:34] Yes.

[00:26:35] Well, it's exciting to see how that will unfold.

[00:26:38] And it's statewide.

[00:26:38] Isn't that right?

[00:26:39] Correct.

[00:26:39] Yes.

[00:26:40] Yes.

[00:26:40] And that's in partnership.

[00:26:41] I mentioned our donors and fundholders earlier.

[00:26:43] That's in partnership with one of our donor families that we work with who came to us

[00:26:48] with the idea and wanted to invest some resources in this kind of work.

[00:26:53] Javier, I want to turn this back to you as you reflect on your own leadership and how

[00:26:59] all the pieces, the different careers that you've had, the different communities that you've

[00:27:04] lived in, how your family has influenced you as a leader.

[00:27:08] What are some of those moments or experiences that have made you who you are?

[00:27:16] I'm going to tell you a story.

[00:27:18] When I was very young, and I mentioned earlier that my parents worked two jobs.

[00:27:22] So one of my parents' jobs was to clean an office building at night.

[00:27:26] And when they didn't have one of my great aunts or somebody to take care of me, I would go with

[00:27:32] them to this office building and help empty out waste paper baskets or what have you.

[00:27:37] I remember one time going into this executive office.

[00:27:40] It must have been the big boss's office.

[00:27:42] And before I picked up the waste paper basket, I was so enthralled by the chair that this guy

[00:27:51] had behind the desk.

[00:27:52] It was just one of those big, ornate, leather chairs that people used to use.

[00:27:58] And I sat in it.

[00:28:00] And I remember thinking like, yeah, one day, like, this is the chair that I want to have.

[00:28:05] Like, this is my aspiration.

[00:28:06] And so for a long time growing up, like, that chair symbolized what I aspired to be.

[00:28:14] That chair symbolized success to me.

[00:28:18] And so I'll fast forward to when I left county government and went to Holland and Knight,

[00:28:24] a big private law firm.

[00:28:26] I was given a chair, not quite as ornate, but certainly very expensive chair.

[00:28:31] And I sat in it that first day as an associate at Holland and Knight and thought, this is it.

[00:28:38] This is success.

[00:28:39] But it turned out I didn't really like that job.

[00:28:41] And frankly, I wasn't even very good at that job, in large part because I didn't like it.

[00:28:45] And so I only stayed in that job and in that chair for a year and a half and decided, as I said earlier,

[00:28:51] I've got to do something more constructive with my life.

[00:28:53] And so there was such a dramatic pivot as to what success meant to me.

[00:28:58] And so I went back into public service where the chair was a lot less fancy, but I felt a lot more fulfilled.

[00:29:06] And that took my career in just a radically different direction.

[00:29:12] And so my North Star ever since then hasn't been the fancy chair or the trappings of what we traditionally would think of as success,

[00:29:20] but rather, am I making a difference?

[00:29:23] Am I helping out folks?

[00:29:26] Like, at the end of the day, when I go home, like, can I feel good about what I've done all day?

[00:29:33] And, you know, frankly, I think I eventually reached it.

[00:29:37] Well, I love that metaphor.

[00:29:38] And thinking about this story that you've told us about your life, too,

[00:29:43] that you've traded that type of chair for a folding chair in a community room or a bike seat.

[00:29:49] And I think that that has made you so grounded in the way that you serve the community through the Denver Foundation.

[00:29:57] I appreciate that.

[00:29:58] You know, I never make this about me.

[00:30:00] I try to lead with humility.

[00:30:03] Anybody who's ever worked with me throughout my now 30 years in career,

[00:30:07] I hope would list that first among qualities that people might ascribe to me.

[00:30:14] I think for leaders to lead effectively, you have to have humility at your core.

[00:30:21] Otherwise, you're just making it about yourself and promoting an agenda that isn't helping anybody else.

[00:30:27] Well, it's connected and grounded to the people you're serving.

[00:30:31] The other thing I want to I don't feel like we could be complete in this interview without asking you about Javier is

[00:30:36] You've experienced a lot of resiliency, I think, in throughout your life.

[00:30:41] And I know that recently, the loss of your daughter just two years ago, right?

[00:30:48] Tragic and unexpectedly, you're beautiful and talented Sophia Isabel.

[00:30:53] She passed away.

[00:30:54] Tell us about how you're doing.

[00:30:55] Share a memory about her life and maybe how you're remembering her today.

[00:31:01] Yeah, I appreciate the question.

[00:31:02] I think about Sophia every day throughout the entirety of the day from the moment I wake up to when I go to sleep.

[00:31:10] She was 14.

[00:31:11] She was a really talented singer, big collector of all things.

[00:31:17] Koalas.

[00:31:18] Do I remember that?

[00:31:19] Stuffed koalas were a big, big part of that collection.

[00:31:22] She was my first.

[00:31:24] And her loss is something that changed me dramatically.

[00:31:29] And, you know, I'll never fully recover from it.

[00:31:32] But, you know, you mentioned resilience.

[00:31:34] And, yeah, when you suffer a loss like this, you really do have to make a choice every day to be resilient and to keep moving forward.

[00:31:43] You know, I feel blessed to have just a tremendous support system of friends and family.

[00:31:47] And, you know, that happened.

[00:31:49] We'd only been here for a couple of years in Denver.

[00:31:52] And I couldn't believe the incredible amount of support from people here in this community who, frankly, at that point I didn't really know all that well.

[00:32:00] It was overwhelming.

[00:32:02] You know, so we leaned into that.

[00:32:05] I've become, you know, much more vulnerable, I think.

[00:32:08] I've always been a pretty private guy.

[00:32:12] But, you know, I felt like when that happened it was just so much bigger than me that I needed to be vulnerable and talk to people about what I was experiencing because I, you know, I was absolutely shattered.

[00:32:25] And, you know, every day I try to piece the little pieces back together and keep them in place.

[00:32:31] But, yeah, that support group and that support network here has been incredible along with our support group in Miami.

[00:32:39] You know, one organization that played a key role in that process, especially that early grief journey, is Judy's House.

[00:32:47] Oh, love that organization.

[00:32:49] I mean, the folks there just were unbelievable and, you know, really just care a tremendous amount.

[00:32:56] And to be surrounded by others who are going through the same journey was really important for me.

[00:33:00] And so I'm just so thankful to the folks at Judy's House.

[00:33:04] I also read a lot of grief memoirs early on, and I still do.

[00:33:08] But early on it was a way to be in dialogue with people who'd gone through the same exact thing.

[00:33:13] And so, yeah, I just did everything I could to keep moving forward and not give up.

[00:33:19] Sophie wouldn't have wanted me to give up.

[00:33:21] And so, yeah, we've done a lot of work to be able to just be resilient.

[00:33:28] And then, you know, one other way that I'd love to mention, if I could, is I set up a couple of funds for Sophia.

[00:33:36] Sophia was on the autism spectrum.

[00:33:37] So there's an organization that we're really close to in Miami, the University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disorders,

[00:33:44] and one here in Denver, Firefly Autism.

[00:33:46] Yes, indeed.

[00:33:47] That are super close to our family.

[00:33:49] And so I set up funds for Sophia in Sophia's name right after she passed.

[00:33:54] And what I said at the time was do a super Colorado thing to raise money for these funds every year.

[00:34:01] I'll climb a 14er.

[00:34:03] I had not climbed a 14er before that, so maybe I would have come up with a different fundraising idea today.

[00:34:09] But I've now done three of them, and we've raised over $200,000 for the different funds.

[00:34:16] So it's just a really super rewarding way to honor her and obviously to support organizations that are doing such incredible work to help families like ours.

[00:34:27] Love that story.

[00:34:28] Well, you've made it to the lightning round.

[00:34:30] We have just four more.

[00:34:31] And this will be fun to hear your answers to that because you're sort of new-ish to our state.

[00:34:36] So what is your favorite Colorado hobby?

[00:34:39] Hiking.

[00:34:40] Absolutely hiking.

[00:34:41] That is my happy place just to be out on a trail in the mountains.

[00:34:45] There's just nothing like it.

[00:34:47] I mean, I just feel such an incredible elevation of my mood and just, yeah, I can't get enough of the trails out here.

[00:34:56] It's just so gorgeous.

[00:34:57] And, you know, frankly, it's been a big part of my healing journey on my grief path as well.

[00:35:03] Well, I bet.

[00:35:04] And I admire there's a difference between the type of hiking that I enjoy and 14ers.

[00:35:10] So that's pretty intense.

[00:35:13] Is there a place that you like to go in particular?

[00:35:15] Well, Rocky Mountain National Park is just so gorgeous.

[00:35:17] Totally.

[00:35:18] You know, in terms of, like, big Colorado landmarks.

[00:35:20] But I'll tell you, Jeffco's Open Space Group, they do such an amazing job.

[00:35:25] You know, I tend to go by myself.

[00:35:27] So I like well-marked trails.

[00:35:29] Yes.

[00:35:30] Just Jeffco does such an incredible job.

[00:35:32] And it's so close, right?

[00:35:34] Right.

[00:35:34] So I try to get up before anybody else in my house gets up.

[00:35:37] And so I get out there and, yeah, I hit the closest Jeffco trail that I can.

[00:35:42] Love it.

[00:35:43] Okay.

[00:35:44] What's your favorite Colorado landmark?

[00:35:46] Besides Rocky Mountain National Park, and I know this is probably a controversial thing

[00:35:50] to say, but I love Lucifer.

[00:35:53] Whether I'm coming or going, like, it's just, it's like I'm back or I'm, you know,

[00:35:57] I'll see you soon, Lucifer.

[00:35:58] And I think it's just such a cool thing that we have here.

[00:36:02] So, yeah, it's become something that I've really embraced.

[00:36:05] That's great.

[00:36:06] Okay.

[00:36:06] What action hero do you most identify with?

[00:36:09] So I know that you're a big Star Wars fan.

[00:36:12] I am.

[00:36:13] And I couldn't get that out of my head as I was, as I reflected on action heroes.

[00:36:19] And so I'm going to say Han Solo.

[00:36:21] You know, the thing about Han Solo is that while he appears to be overly concerned with

[00:36:29] himself, deep down, he's really all about the greater good and caring for others.

[00:36:37] And that resonates with me, especially at a time where I feel like too many people that

[00:36:42] we look up to are the inverse of that.

[00:36:45] They say that they're in it for the greater good, but they're really driving a personal

[00:36:49] agenda.

[00:36:50] So Han Solo is absolutely the opposite of that.

[00:36:53] And yeah, it's just super cool.

[00:36:56] I mean, what kid didn't want to be Han Solo?

[00:36:58] Totally.

[00:36:59] Yes.

[00:36:59] Super cool.

[00:37:00] Well, and I think he's deeply loyal on the character traits of Han Solo.

[00:37:04] And now that we're talking about that, I mean, to Chewbacca and also his friends.

[00:37:07] So brave, courageous.

[00:37:09] There's a lot of things to like there.

[00:37:11] Thank you for sharing that one.

[00:37:12] I love it.

[00:37:13] Okay.

[00:37:13] And final question.

[00:37:14] What are you currently binging?

[00:37:16] Is there a show, a book or a podcast that is either maybe wasting your time or maybe you're

[00:37:20] drawing some inspiration from these days?

[00:37:22] So I could talk about this question forever.

[00:37:24] Oh, good.

[00:37:25] Because I consume a whole lot of just media.

[00:37:28] Yeah.

[00:37:29] So first on the book side, I just read Unreasonable Hospitality.

[00:37:34] Oh.

[00:37:35] By Will Didada.

[00:37:36] So he was a co-owner of 11 Madison Park in New York City, which was at one point ranked

[00:37:43] as the number one restaurant in the world.

[00:37:45] And so while on the surface, this book is all about how to excel in the restaurant and

[00:37:51] hospitality business, it applies to any and every industry I can think of.

[00:37:57] It certainly applies to what we do at the Denver Foundation.

[00:38:00] I think it's relevant for leaders.

[00:38:02] It's absolutely relevant for people who are customer facing in any way.

[00:38:07] And it's just about making the person that you are serving feel special and have a special

[00:38:13] experience.

[00:38:14] And if more people approached life with unreasonable hospitality, we'd be a much better place.

[00:38:20] So that's one that I just finished.

[00:38:22] And then we have a book club at the Denver Foundation focused on themes around race, ethnicity,

[00:38:29] lived experience in general.

[00:38:30] And we are now reading Solito about a Central American migrant who walks to the United States

[00:38:38] and shares his story.

[00:38:40] It's a really gripping and powerful account of what that looks like.

[00:38:43] And again, for me, as someone who came to this country, I'm not understanding the Flintstones

[00:38:48] in English.

[00:38:49] You know, there's a lot that sort of resonates with me there.

[00:38:52] That's on the book side.

[00:38:55] Podcasts?

[00:38:56] Yeah, you bet.

[00:38:57] So This American Life is a must for me.

[00:39:00] Just come away always with just feeling good about humanity when I read that.

[00:39:06] But I'm also a big, big sports fan and nut.

[00:39:11] And a good friend of mine, David Sampson, has a podcast called Nothing Personal with David

[00:39:16] Sampson, which is about the business of sports.

[00:39:18] And increasingly, sports is all about business.

[00:39:21] So David's got a really interesting take on those things because he was president of a

[00:39:25] professional baseball team, the Miami Marlins, before he did this.

[00:39:28] And then as a history major, there's one called History That Doesn't Suck, which is about U.S.

[00:39:34] history.

[00:39:35] And as you can tell by the title, the professor who does the show doesn't take himself too,

[00:39:42] too seriously.

[00:39:42] But the content absolutely is super well researched and everything else.

[00:39:46] Just a fun way to think about history and those different turning points that have caused

[00:39:50] us to be where we are today.

[00:39:53] Well, that is a great and thorough answer.

[00:39:54] And I have now added many more things to my list.

[00:39:57] Can I give you a show to binge?

[00:39:59] Yes, please.

[00:40:00] You have kids too, right?

[00:40:00] I do.

[00:40:01] I do.

[00:40:01] How old?

[00:40:02] 18 and 12.

[00:40:04] Perfect.

[00:40:05] Especially for the 12-year-old, but maybe even the 18-year-old.

[00:40:07] So there's a show called Somebody Feed Phil.

[00:40:09] Oh, I haven't heard of this.

[00:40:11] So this is a PG version of Anthony Bourdain.

[00:40:15] Oh.

[00:40:16] So this has become our family binge choice.

[00:40:20] Oh, I love it.

[00:40:21] To watch.

[00:40:22] And so Phil, who was the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond.

[00:40:26] Yeah.

[00:40:26] I remember that show.

[00:40:27] Yeah.

[00:40:28] He goes around the world to all these cities and eats really cool food.

[00:40:31] But he's just a really super sweet and gentle guy.

[00:40:35] And what I appreciate, he throws in dad jokes regularly.

[00:40:38] So it is a very family-friendly Anthony Bourdain-like experience.

[00:40:44] I love that.

[00:40:45] We'll definitely have to check that out.

[00:40:47] Wonderful.

[00:40:47] Well, Javier, thank you so much.

[00:40:49] It was just wonderful spending some time with you and getting to know your story.

[00:40:53] So I appreciate that.

[00:40:55] Thank you.

[00:40:55] This was fun.

[00:40:56] Thank you for joining Colorado Leadership Stories, where we hope to inspire the next generation

[00:41:01] of Colorado community builders, doers, and difference makers.

[00:41:06] Colorado Leadership Stories is presented by the Boettcher Foundation.

[00:41:11] The Boettcher Foundation supports Colorado by empowering leaders and communities with tools

[00:41:16] to tackle challenges and pursue opportunities, building a better state for everyone.

[00:41:21] With an 85-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus-year legacy of giving back, we're committed to amplifying our impact for future generations.

[00:41:30] That's the spirit of Boettcher.