Changemaker: Laura Lewis Marchino
A champion for southwest Colorado, Laura Lewis Marchino serves as Executive Director of the Region 9 Economic Development District where she leads efforts to enhance economic conditions and improve prosperity throughout five counties as well as the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian Tribes.
Laura didn’t expect that her career would lead her to spend more than 19 years in economic development at Region 9. As a journalism major in college with a focus on radio and television broadcasting, Laura saw a future as a newscaster. She moved to Durango in 1990 to work at the local news bureau and anchored a weeknight news insert providing local stories and segments to Grand Junction and Albuquerque news affiliates. Driven by an inquisitive nature, her experience in journalism built the foundation for her career in economic development.
“I was inherently curious about everything,” Laura recalled. “In my journalism career, if I wanted to learn something or know something, all I had to do was make a phone call. This was an important skill for economic development because you have to be a generalist and know a little bit about everything.”
After six years in journalism, Laura felt a drive to further engage with and empower her community. “I realized I was reporting on change agents instead of becoming one myself,” she said. She pivoted her career and began working in the nonprofit sector. She found a job at Operation Healthy Communities, a civic organizing entity with a focus on community-wide improvements in health and quality of life. “We hosted summits around key issues in the community including housing and mental health,” Laura said. “I’m proud that some of the initiatives developed as a result of the summits still exist today.”
During her tenure at Operation Healthy Communities, she was approached by a board member who also served as the director of Region 9 about an open position and decided to transition her career again. “I love that economic development is extremely diverse,” Laura said. “You never know what projects you’re going to be working on. The field fulfills everything that I wanted to do personally: help communities, build capacity, and inspire change.”
Laura has witnessed immense change in southwest Colorado in her 34 years as a community member and leader. “The region has done really well in terms of economic growth. The outdoor recreation and tourism industries draw people to communities and provide so much opportunity for entrepreneurship.”
Growth and prosperity come with challenges, however, Region 9 has worked to navigate. “The more attractive a community becomes, the higher the costs are,” Laura said. “But we try to think regionally and creatively. We emphasize collaboration over competition. When you operate in your own silo or ecosystem, you miss out on the bigger picture.”
Through collaboration and stewardship, Laura has proven that Region 9 is a trusted partner for southwest Colorado communities. “We’ve been able to show that we’re using resources wisely,” she said. “Region 9 is here for the long-term even as elected officials, project leaders, and municipal staff change. We’re able to keep projects, big and small, moving forward.”
Under Laura’s leadership, Region 9 has expanded its relationship with the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribes, continued to support an accelerator program for local start-up and scale-up companies, and grown its business loan fund to over $14 million. As Region 9’s second Executive Director in its 35-year history, she has successfully led the organization through recessions and recoveries.
“Our role is to improve regional economic conditions, but not all towns, municipalities, and tribes start at the same place. They’re on different playing fields,” Laura explained. “Region 9 helps them identify their priority projects and help move them forward with the resources we have.”
Looking toward the future for Region 9, Laura sees more opportunity for regional engagement while bridging Colorado’s urban/rural divide. “Resources go further at the regional level rather than to individual municipalities,” she said. “While the needs of each community are different, broader issues like housing, transportation, and aging cross county lines are better addressed region-wide.”
Laura’s passion for regional improvement has kept her motivated after nearly two decades at Region 9. “The work is never done,” she said. “There’s always something more to do. We want more investment in our region and our state.” As southwest Colorado continues to thrive, Region 9 has proven that its strong work in catalyzing investment, bringing public and private sectors together, and driving economic development is a key factor in the region’s success.