The 33-year-old cultivated his jewelry-making skills in high school and spent years in Wisconsin perfecting the trade. But the mountains and weather of Colorado Springs called to him, coincidentally at the same time Luisa Graff was expanding with a new location at 5901 N. Nevada Ave.

Llanas took a job there and soon distinguished himself as the only goldsmith there who uses computer technology to design jewelry.

Tell us about your job at Luisa Graff.

I’m a goldsmith at Luisa Graff Jewelers and am the only designer there who uses computer-aided design. I am able to set a full array of stone shapes and sizes in any precious metal. I talk with customers daily and help them to design their custom pieces of jewelry.

I take designs and either hand carve a wax or use a computer-aided design — CAD — to create a visual rendering or picture of the jewelry. From there, I will make a wax from the rendering or use the hand-carved wax to shape a metal piece. I use the lost wax process, which means I take the wax and put it in a mold and melt the wax out to leave a cavity which will then be filled with molten metal. I then take that metal piece, polish it and set any stone into it for a beautiful finished piece of art.

How did you get into jewelry design?

I started my jewelry career back in middle school, when playing with fire and banging on metal was fun. I continued taking metal art classes in high school, winning scholastic art awards and recognitions from industry businesses. During my senior year, I participated in a youth-teaching-youth program, where I would teach metal art classes at another area high school.

A teacher of mine knew of a position opening up in a small trade shop and referred me to the owner. I began an apprenticeship there in the summer of 1998. My training started with small repairs and sizings. In a few years, I began setting diamonds and other precious stones. In 2005, I took training courses to learn CAD software. Every day I try to learn something new.

How has what you love about your career changed over the years?

I believe I have evolved from a young fool who played with fire and hammered out metal into a knowledgeable, experienced adult who plays with fire and hammers out metal into finely crafted works of art. I love how the industry has adapted with the use of technology, mixing computers with handcrafted elements, allowing jewelers to keep their designs available with just a few clicks of a mouse.

What brought you to Colorado Springs; how did you choose it?

The weather and beauty of the mountains brought my family to Colorado Springs. We wanted a change from the cold, long winters of Waukesha, Wis. My first experience of Colorado Springs was on an extended road trip that took us to South Dakota, Yellowstone Park and to Pikes Peak. The area captivated me. Much like my hometown, it is a large, spread-out city. After a few more vacations here, we decided to move in 2011.

What are some of your career goals?

My career goals are to design and sell my own line of jewelry, and to work one-on-one with clients to create their personal custom creations. I would also like to set up an apprenticeship program so I can teach this fine craft to aspiring young artists.

What advantages and challenges do you feel young professionals have in Colorado Springs that they don’t have in other places?

An advantage of Colorado Springs is that it is a smaller city and there are better opportunities for a young professional to meet and learn from their peers and feel more connected to their industry’s community.

Now 38, Abel has been in Colorado Springs for 16 years, and has studied at Liberty University and Colorado Christian University.

She says the toughest part of her job is fundraising in a city with a number of important, nationally recognized nonprofits. But, she says, that’s changing as more nonprofits see the value of collaboration.

“I think you will see more nonprofits, especially faith-based agencies, open to business partnerships like never before,” she says. “In the past, many have been perceived as being insolated, based on our limited services and resources. By networking more with the business community, I think we will be more creative in helping the most vulnerable in our city.”

What made you decide to pursue a career with Family Life Services?

For most of my adult career, I found myself working with large, nationally focused nonprofits — mainly with organizations that served families. I had a great deal of experience with these companies in working to help local communities develop effective marketing and nonprofit best practices.

What began to happen personally, was I started to have a desire to begin to work more on a local level. I’m embarrassed to say I lived here a good 10 years before I even really had any idea what the local needs were in the community.

I started off getting my feet wet by serving at Family Life Services on the board of directors. In 2009, when the organization was searching for a new executive director, the board asked me if I would consider the position. The timing was perfect. Family Life Services was everything that I felt I could throw my gifts and talents into whole-heartedly. I was 100 percent behind the mission, because I had seen firsthand how single mothers and their children’s lives were changed. I was all in.

What are some of your biggest challenges?

Getting the word out and fundraising for a nonprofit in this community is challenging. There are so many fantastic organizations and ministries to support. We have a unique blend here in the Springs of national and local charities. It makes for so many options for folks to get behind. We are a very small organization in a large pond, so at times I have found it difficult to get recognition we need.

How do you overcome those challenges?

Family Life Services has been blessed to have a longstanding history in our city. Once people realize who we are, and where we are located, there is a personal connection. I find connecting with people through inviting them to come on site and volunteer first at our facility allows them to become invested and build ownership into our mission — which is to provide families with opportunities for spiritual and emotional healing through counseling, mentoring and training in a secure environment.

Last year when we merged with Women of Courage, another longstanding nonprofit to single mothers in the community, our personal connection with families and volunteers tripled.

Almost everyone has a family member, friend or someone they work with who has struggled through difficult family situations. Our volunteers are able to tap into that felt need and really connect. Usually this translates into beginning to offer financial support. It is all about building relationships, and that is what we do best.

Have any mentors helped your career success?

I have two women who specifically come to mind. Nancy Parker Brummett, a board member for us for nine years, is a local writer and an all-around first class lady. She believed in me during those early days when I stepped into the position for FLS. It meant the world to me to know she had my back.

Debbie Rusch was one of the early board members for the Ronald McDonald House of Southern Colorado, and is currently the board chair for Mercy’s Gate. Deb is a senior strategist for Compassion International. Over the years I gleaned many leadership lessons from her. I find myself modeling a great deal of her management style and approach.

The common theme for both of these mentors was they taught me it is OK to be comfortable in my skin and to make mistakes. Success does not happen overnight, so they both stressed the importance of character in adversity and making good decisions.

How will nonprofit services like FLS change in the coming years?

I believe you are going to see more of us working together and collaborating. We have to. The community wants to see us networking and providing cross-functional programs and services. This will attract a new generation of supporters and open up more opportunities to allow folks to engage in our work.

How do you relax when not working?

I love writing. I am currently taking a stab at my first novel. It is a fun outlet for me creatively. I also help my husband with our branding and social media consulting for other nonprofits. But my absolute favorite way to relax is four-wheeling Colorado trails in our family’s Jeep Rubicon. You can’t beat Colorado blue sky, pines and a difficult trail in a Jeep.

Most of the 24-year-old’s business takes him away from Colorado Springs. So, when the city made a request for proposals for a big event, Poch knew exactly what to offer. He expects his first Pikes Peak Celtic Festival, June 28-30 in Memorial Park, to draw 10,000 visitors.

Tell us about your business, Innovative Moments.

Innovative Moments is a production and event services company. We provide services such as dynamic colorful lighting, close proximity and indoor digitally controlled pyrotechnics, live event HD video solutions, original music content and more. We build multi-sensorial productions and branded environments.

How did you come to own an event planning and marketing business at 24?

As a kid growing up, my grandparents owned The Scottish and Irish Regalia Shoppe here in town. I started going to the Highland Games, Irish Festivals, and Celtic events when I was very young and also started to play the pipes with the Pikes Peak Highlanders here and later danced with Celtic Steps for 15 years. So, my background growing up had close connections within the Celtic community.

I got into events through writing and orchestrating music for large international military productions, known as “military tattoos.” These tattoos are traditionally a combination of hundreds of bagpipes and military brass and reed bands along with other performing units.

It was because of my music background with the pipes that I was able to get into writing for these large productions. Then there was a need to digitally connect the music to what was happening with production lighting, video, and pyrotechnics and that was how Innovative Moments was born.

I started doing some projects with John and Carol O’Donnell — who have been prominent special event planners in town since 1985. They took me under their wings and really started to teach me the ins and outs of the community special events business. I had known John and Carol for years so that worked out well. Innovative Moments now handles not just production details, but also logistics and promotional items for community special events throughout the local area and for international events.

Why did you choose to present a Celtic Festival in response to the city’s RFP for community events?

Colorado Springs seemed to me to be searching for an event that would bring in people from out of town. First-year events are difficult enough to get the people in town to show up let alone getting out-of-towners here. The Celtic, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and British communities are prominent everywhere you go. Offering a new location for the community to gather will bring people to Colorado Springs who would not otherwise be here.

In addition, the Pikes Peak Highland Games ended in 1999 and had an attempt in 2004, but the Colorado Springs community has not had a Celtic gathering other than the St. Patrick’s Day downtown celebrations. We have top-quality Irish and Scottish pubs, world champion Celtic Steps Irish Dancers, pipers, Scottish Athletes, dozens of Irish and Celtic bands, and more niche communities that are always traveling out of town to do what they do. It was time that we brought a festival back to our community that would bring people here.

What is planned for the Celtic Festival? What will the scale of the event be in comparison to other events you organize?

The Pikes Peak Celtic Festival is in its infancy as an event and many of the other events have 30 years plus of culture-building years. However, Colorado is a state that has very rich and deep Irish, Scottish, British and Welsh roots and they are all very deeply connected to American heritage. American culture embraces similar characteristics. To the point, I would suspect for the first year that we will have around 10,000 total attendees. Those attendees will enjoy:

• A large festival field
• The Massed Pipe Bands of the Western United States Pipe Band Association
• Sanctioned piping competitions
• Sanctioned Scottish athletic competitions (the caber toss)
• World champion Irish dancers from Celtic Steps
• Highland and Scottish country dancing
• Celtic rock and traditional Music
• Specialty food vendors such as Oz Highland Farm and local pubs serving up their favorites
• Clans and societies
• Guinness beer
• Dozens of different events all day long

What opportunities and challenges do you feel you have in Colorado Springs as a young professional that you might not have other places?

I think there are a lot of opportunities for young professionals here. There are many networking groups and professional groups for young professionals that have some real movers in them, and it’s still small enough that it is easy to connect. I think much of the community here will be very surprised at what young professionals are accomplishing and are going to accomplish in the next one, three and five years.

The challenge — and it’s no secret — is that young professionals are choosing to leave our community and go places where it’s easier to raise funds and get the movement they need to make their business benefit the community. At times, as a city, we have even ushered the young entrepreneurs out. What I see, however, is a market area of around 600,000 people who are ready to do something that is world class, something that when anyone in the world sees it, they will say “Wow.” It will take time for the community as a whole to build up to that, but I believe we have great cultural organizations here taking every step in the right direction of that bigger-than-life vision.

Her daughter was born when Bien was just 18, and she relied on Peak Vista to help care for her child.

A Colorado Springs native and Doherty High School graduate, Bien’s first job was as a certified nursing assistant. After years of education and hard work, the 36-year-old now works in the administrative side of health care. She earned a GED in 1995 and now is working toward a nursing sciences master’s degree, as well as a master’s of business administration.

What made you decide on a career in health care?

I have a strong drive and passion to help others. I started as a certified nursing assistant and quickly realized how much I wanted to help others. My mom and aunt are both nurses and they influenced me in making a decision to continue my education. I also have my daughter to thank. She made me realize that I deserved more, as did she, and that I could do anything I set my mind to.

What do you like most about Peak Vista?

I love the mission of Peak Vista and that it is connected to my vision of being a nurse. When I began nursing I worked in hospitals and enjoyed caring for patients, but I wanted to do more and make certain that patients were taken care of at a deeper level than just being “treated and streeted.”

What are some of the challenges Peak Vista will face when the Affordable Care Act is implemented?

This is the million dollar question. I think change is the biggest challenge we will face. We are working hard to ensure that we’re ready for the changes and that we continue to provide exceptional healthcare to people facing access barriers.

How do you help Peak Vista meet its goals of caring for the uninsured and the underinsured?

When I started with Peak Vista I was a charge nurse in our Family Health Center and enjoyed working closely with patients to make sure their needs were met. Then I moved into a clinical management role in both our Pediatric Health Center and our Convenient Care Center. I then moved to the Director of Clinical Operations, supporting the operation of the clinics. During that time I helped develop and build the nursing staff, training department and immunization programs. I have mentored many staff, both managers and nurses, to excel and move up to support the mission of Peak Vista.

Do you have any mentors who guided the way for you?

Pam McManus is our CEO and she has been a strong support system and mentor as I have transformed more into the administration side of care. She has strong passion for her role in the community that influences me every day to ensure that what I do continues to provide great operational support for the clinics that provide the care for the patients.

Another is my grandmother, Lorraine Blackburn. She is one of the most caring people I have ever met. She has given me such strong values and taught me how important it is to open your heart and to care for others. She has never given up on me and stood by me even at times when others thought I would not succeed. She is consistently positive, viewing the glass as half full, and seeking out those who need encouragement and support.

What advice would you give other young professionals in the health care field?

Never lose touch with your passion for people. Health care is ever-changing and challenging, but if you remember that you are truly affecting a person’s life you’ll stay true to your passion.

Siegel will get that chance when he soon takes over as executive director of the Bee Vradenburg Foundation. It’s that very organization, which helps fund the arts, that gave him the chance to study at the Colorado Springs Conservatory when he was in middle school.

Siegel graduated from the conservatory and went on to earn a bachelor’s in music in violin performance in 2012 from the Manhattan School of Music. It was an opportunity to learn from some of the best, but the 23-year-old musician and Palmer High School graduate was eager to return to the Springs.

“New Yorkers have this arrogant attitude that, ‘if it didn’t happen in NY, it didn’t happen at all.’ I couldn’t wait to move back to Colorado and prove them wrong. The Pikes Peak region has incredible artists doing incredible work,” he said.

Siegel says the Springs is in a unique position to emerge as a nationally recognized arts community.

What made you interested in the executive director job at the Bee Vradenberg Foundation?

I received a Bee Vradenburg scholarship to attend the Colorado Springs Conservatory in middle school. Years later I called Susan Edmondson on a whim, hoping to find funding for an internship I had set up at the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region. Together we created the Bee Vradenburg Summer Fellowship in Arts Administration — the program is now in its fourth year. I have experienced what a tremendous force for good the Foundation is in the Pikes Peak region and the opportunity to continue this good work (and Bee’s remarkable legacy) was very exciting.

What are your goals for the first year?

Having recently moved back from New York City, my first goal is to meet with as many artists, patrons, business leaders, teachers, old people and young people as possible. There are so many smart people in this town and I’d like to get their take on the arts scene and the community as a whole. You could call it a caffeine tour of sorts.

What are some of the challenges that the arts face in the uncertain economic environment?

Great art that challenges audiences to think in new ways will continue to be a respite for our community in tough times. Art in the Pikes Peak region has come through the Great Recession remarkably unscathed (especially compared to other communities around the country). Because of this, we’re in a unique position to emerge as a nationally recognized arts community.

What role should the arts and culture play in defining a city’s character?

Good art is good for business, good for families, and good for a community. The Philharmonic, for instance, has a $2 million budget and a $7 million economic impact. Time and again, art and culture have been used to transform the economic environment in communities around the country- look at Charlotte, Boise, or Brooklyn. By continuing to support artists and arts organizations, we will attract industry, young professionals and cultural tourism.

What is your favorite thing about Colorado Springs?

It’s cliché, but the people. New Yorkers have this arrogant attitude that “if it didn’t happen in NY, it didn’t happen at all.” I couldn’t wait to move back to Colorado and prove them wrong. The Pikes Peak region has incredible artists doing incredible work. And that big mountain to the west isn’t bad either!

What was the last book you read?

“The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth through Music” by Victor Wooten

Who are your mentors?

First and foremost my parents, Edie Greene and Alan Siegel, to this day they’re always happy to edit my work at the drop of a hat. Christina McGrath is a great role model for me as a young professional, and Linda Weise has been reminding me to practice my violin daily and say “thank you” since I started at the Colorado Springs Conservatory when I was 11. Lastly, I have the privilege of working with 14 incredible young professionals at El Pomar; their wisdom, friendship, and work ethic inspires me daily.

He had a great idea for an online forum dedicated to college students and had mild success with it until a little thing called Facebook erupted.

“Needless to say, I lost that battle,” he said.

But Lee, a Doherty High School graduate, never stops innovating. The 33-year-old is a co-founder of Tins.ly, a company specializing in social media management, and he’s the CFO of The High Society, a Colorado Springs-based record label.

He also spends time connecting with other entrepreneurs and marvels at the energy that is generated when a group of entrepreneurs get together. He wants to talk to them, find out what they know and share information. He’s a co-founder of Startup Colorado Springs and one of the organizers behind this month’s Startup Weekend, where entrepreneurs pitched their best ideas and then formed working teams to develop a business and marketing plan in 54 hours.

Pitch Nights, coffee meet-ups and a lineup of nationally known speakers, are part of a growing Colorado Springs entrepreneurial community. The idea, Lee says, is to break down barriers among community and business groups and start working on getting startups up and running.

What is this passion you have with the entrepreneurial scene in Colorado Springs?

I’ve always been interested in connecting with other entrepreneurs. It’s amazing to feel the energy that happens when a group of entrepreneurs gather together. I felt that from time to time in Colorado Springs but what really sparked my passion was spending some of last summer in Boulder working with a company that was going through TechStars. Boulder just so much embraces startups that it’s part of their culture — everyone is a founder of something, or has an idea for something, or is contributing to something disruptive. It’s that energy constantly. It’s truly amazing. I decided to make it my personal mission to try to foster that feeling in Colorado Springs. This is my hometown. I grew up here. I’m committed to growing the community here.

What is the difference between a startup and a small business?

I think of a startup as a company that is usually technology-related and working on a highly scalable way to disrupt an existing market or create a new market. A startup is inherently incredibly high risk. Anytime you’re working at the forefront of an industry or working on a new technology or way of doing something, there are countless factors that could result in failure. Startup founders do everything in their power to mitigate that risk but they understand that, no matter how hard they try, they are always operating in a high risk environment. Because of that, when startup founders do experience success, they can expect a much higher rate of return than a traditional small business.

Tell me about Tins.ly. When did you start the company? What do you specialize in and what are your growth opportunities?

My cousin Ian and I started Tins.ly (then named ‘Engage’) in 2010. We were a company focused on Social Media Management for small businesses. We quickly realized that the growth potential in that market just wasn’t what we wanted so we pivoted to start developing applications to bolster small business marketing efforts. The first product we developed was QRlette. It’s a new take on QR Code marketing. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the level of adoption that we were hoping for so we’re currently working on our next idea. That’s important to point out. We, as a startup community, need to be public about our failures as much as our successes. We need to celebrate them the same. If you take enough risks, you’re going to fail eventually. What’s important is that you don’t stop trying.

How did you get involved in a music production company, The High Society?

My life crossed paths with John Stewart. John is an incredibly talented sound engineer and DJ that found himself in a perfect situation to start an independent record label. He needed some business help so he got me and my cousin Ian involved. Almost all of the credit there lies with John and his talent and connections.

You have been so involved in the entrepreneurial scene in Colorado Springs. How would you describe what has happened in the Springs in the last two years?

The Colorado Springs entrepreneurial community is an interesting animal. I’d argue that we’re growing faster now than we ever have in recent history. Some people thrive in times of change and embrace it wholly. Some people view it as a threat and react accordingly — that’s understandable. The important thing is that we keep progressing and being positive about everything. There are a lot of silos and hierarchies in the community. The best thing we can do is break those down and realize that everyone in the community is on the same level and can work together towards a common goal. No one is more important or influential than anyone else in the community. We are all the community. The community leads the community. We need to all focus on having the community’s best interest direct our behavior and that will solve a lot of the issues. There is a lot of jockeying for position among some groups and some individuals in town. That’s never productive when you’re working on a goal with no completion date. Our work will never be ‘done.’ It’s a long-term plan that will outlast anyone in the community now. The sooner we realize that, and start embodying it, the more we can focus on doing cool stuff. The community is definitely thriving more than it was two years ago and there’s still much to be done. That’s exciting.

How do you feel about the Springs entrepreneurial ecosystem going forward? Could the Springs really become a Boulder?

I think that’s a common saying: ‘We can be the next Boulder’. I understand the comparison. But, we won’t be the next Boulder, or the next Silicon Valley or Boston, etc. We will be Colorado Springs and it will be amazing. We’re on a 20 year timeline and we’re in year number two of actively building the Startup community here. Boulder is in year 15 or 20 (or more depending on how you look at it). The thing about being a community focused around technology is that it changes so much so fast. To think that, in 20 years, Colorado Springs will be where Boulder is now, just isn’t right. We’re starting and growing at a different time in history. It’s important to understand that. But, we do follow some of the principles that they used to grow and develop their community because they’re pretty universal. Colorado Springs will be different and it will be incredible.

You were behind Startup Weekend — where entrepreneurs had an opportunity to pitch an idea and then work in teams to come up with a solid business plan. What was the goal of the event?

The goal at Startup Weekend is to get a group of entrepreneurs with various skills and skill levels and get them working together. That ‘energy’ that I mentioned earlier is incredibly, incredibly high all weekend. It is absolutely exhilarating. It’s a great learning experience to get people to think about, and directly experience, all of the necessary steps to launch a startup company. The fact that it’s compressed into 54 hours makes it that much more exciting. There are a lot of events in town that attract 50 or 100+ people and those are great; but, you just can’t have an impact with those like you can when you spend an entire weekend with a small group of people. I went home after the event on Sunday night and felt like I completely accomplished my personal mission that weekend. That level of fulfillment and inspiration doesn’t happen very often. I can’t wait until the next one.

“Spending the day in the mountains and the same night hitting a hip art opening and happy hour downtown,” she said. “The proximity is incredible. We should all take advantage of that more and be proud that Colorado Springs’ arts scene is as special as its views.”

Seals, 33, is the new development officer for COPPeR, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region, focused on developing the Peak Arts Fund, a campaign to raise money for 18 arts nonprofits that deliver music, theater, art exhibits, opera, dance and festivals during the year.

She says growing the art community is an important part of revitalizing downtown because the arts create a sense of place.

And she’s focused on helping young professionals find their own place in the city. She points professionals to PeakRadar.com, the arts and culture calendar sponsored by COPPeR, and the Peak Radar Pass, a benefits card available to people who donate $60 to the Peak Arts Fund. Cardholders receive discounts at shows, galleries and restaurants.

What is your job description at COPPeR?

As Development Officer, I’m focusing this spring on Peak Arts Fund, a united campaign to raise money and grow audiences for 18 arts nonprofits that deliver music, theater, film, art exhibits, opera, dance, festivals, and arts education opportunities all year long to people in Colorado Springs and throughout El Paso County. At COPPeR, we envision a community united by creativity — and Peak Arts Fund does that by uniting our resources to fuel arts organizations that are shining examples of what the arts can do for all of us. It’s an exciting job and has been a great way to quickly meet a lot of personalities in our local arts scene, since I just moved here from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Your background is in art. In what ways do you think art can help revitalize an area?

The arts enliven and strengthen our neighborhoods, without question. That’s part of why it’s so important to support them. They unite neighbors by building community identity, inclusion and dialogue at a time when that is so important. They attract the innovative workforce, jobs and cultural tourists that power the local economy. But I particularly value how they foster an authentic sense of place. Commercialism makes a lot of communities look the same anymore. I want to know where I am — the distinct flavors, ideas and heritage of the people who are around me — and the arts collect, interpret and express that like nothing else. When I first visited and experienced the artisans in Manitou, the incredible classical music scene here, the surprising public art on every corner of Downtown — it awakened my curiosity to know this place and its people better. That vibrancy is real quality of life. And I’m proof that it attracts people, talent and dollars to the city!

Tell CSBJ readers about your new programs for young professionals.

I have to share 2 of the coolest resources to plug in to the arts & culture scene here, because more young professionals needs to discover them, as I have:

PeakRadar.com. This is the number 1 arts & culture calendar in the region — you’ll find everything from the big, centerpiece festivals to the hip, off-the-beaten path happenings, plus ticket giveaways, artist highlights and more. You’re not allowed to say nothing is happening this weekend anymore!

Peak Radar Pass. This is a VIP benefits card that is your gift for a donation of at least $60 to Peak Arts Fund. Cardholders get a full year of discounts at shows, galleries, restaurants and more — serious discounts, like happy hour drink prices anytime or Buy One Get One tickets — just by showing it at the register or box office. Check out the list of benefits and get yours at www.peakradar.com/pass. (100% of every dollar donated goes directly to the arts.)

What are some of the challenges you face in your job? How do you plan to meet those challenges?

One of the challenges of growing support for the arts is that a lot of people just think of them as entertainment, a pretty accessory to life. But when we talk about supporting creative industries in the Pikes Peak region, we’re talking about 2,500 companies and organizations, including 7,000 employees! Our creative industries sector ranks 23rd in the nation. Arts nonprofits alone generate $72 million in economic impact. Those are real numbers. My work and COPPeR’s work is to tell that story, to rally people into believing in what the arts can do here for the real health of the region.

He built Lego structures and bike ramps and tennis-ball slingshots. In high school he made hand tools, a robotic arm and an electric motor.

Now, at 25, Wenger has turned his childhood explorations into a career as project manager at one of the city’s largest machining and fabrication plants, Springs Fabrication.

The Doherty High School graduate, who studied construction management at Colorado State University, worries now that local high schools have abandoned their woods and metals classes, meaning that young people don’t have the opportunity to make things with their hands.

Visualizing a project, and how the crew will build it, is his favorite part of the job. The loss of school programs is one reason Springs Fabrication gives tours of its plant to student groups, Wenger said, so they can see how metal products are made and, hopefully, be inspired into careers in manufacturing.

You have enjoyed working with your hands since you were a kid. What kind of things did you build?

When I was a kid, I used to build everything; Legos, bike ramps, a tennis-ball slingshot, etc. In middle school and high school, I took every metals class I could. In these classes, I made hand tools, a robotic arm, a simple electric motor, sheet metal boxes and many aluminum castings.

What made you choose construction management as a major in college?

I was drawn to construction management because I love seeing structures progress from blueprints to a finished functioning building. I really enjoyed my job framing houses in high school and I wanted to be a part of construction on a larger scale.

What is your favorite part of your job at Springs Fabrication?

The aspect of my job a Springs Fabrication I enjoy the most is reviewing drawings during the quoting stage and determining how we will fabricate each project. Nearly every project I quote teaches me something new about fabrication and machining practices. Another part of my job I love is seeing projects progress from drawings to processed raw materials, to sub-assemblies, to final finished products. It is very rewarding to see the finished product on the truck, ready for delivery.

There is a lot of talk these days about the manufacturing industry. How do you feel about the state of manufacturing in the city and state or country?

Unfortunately, in the last 10 years, it seems that manufacturing has been on the decline in this region. It saddens me very much to drive past empty manufacturing facilities with waist-high weeds growing through the parking lot.

Some seasoned professionals in manufacturing are nervous about their future workforce, wondering if young people are interested in manufacturing. What could be done to lure more young people to your profession?

Unfortunately, most, or all of the industrial technology, i.e. woods and metals classes, have been eliminated from local schools. It seems as though schools have traded their shop equipment for iPads. My shop teachers used to tell us every day how lucky we were to still have a metals and a woods class. At that time, the school I went to was the only school in the district that still had both.

Today, most young people are pressured into college, whereas a trade school, or apprenticeship, may better utilize their strengths. I don’t think very many high school students are aware of the many manufacturing careers available in their own backyard.

We need to bring industrial technology classes back into schools. It would also help young people to visit local manufacturing facilities to catch a glimpse of the industry. Springs Fabrication does a great job of hosting field trips for students, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts who likely were not previously aware of manufacturing careers.

The Montana native worked in event management, advertising and retail before she found her true calling. Farnes is one of the country’s youngest master faceters. She cuts gemstones for The Gilded Artisan, a local custom jeweler. When she got into the business five years ago, she learned there would be more work for gem cutters by 2013 than they could do in a typical 40-hour workweek.

She said the average age of today’s master faceters is 65 and there aren’t many young people or women entering the profession.

How did you end up in Colorado Springs?

I grew up in Montana as the youngest of three. I was so much younger than my two brothers that we didn’t grow up together – they were more like uncles I suppose. When I was, 20 I decided to take my first paid vacation from my full-time job to visit Arizona and get to know my oldest brother better. We spent time 4-wheel driving and I fell in love with the desert in the spring when the cactus was in bloom.

With some encouragement from my brother, I submitted my resume for different jobs in Phoenix. I received a few offers – the most intriguing being an events manager position with a large-scale promotions company. I packed up and moved to Arizona and worked for the promotions company for several years.

I traveled the country, met some of my favorite music artists and learned many lessons about business operations. Unfortunately the heat of the summers in Phoenix was a bit too much for me to handle. A friend of mine was offered a job transfer to Colorado Springs, and he knew I was trying to find a way to get out of the heat. He offered to move and store my stuff with his so I could collect my belongings once I moved to the area. It took a few months, but I did end up in Colorado Springs as a manager of a retail store.

Tell us about your long relationship with rocks and what you love about them?

My youngest older brother had a fondness of fossils. When we were camping as a family, he would go looking for fossils and unique minerals. My mother always forced him to take his baby sister along, and reluctantly he would. We would find unusual rocks everywhere and my mother let me bring home my backpack full of anything that would fit.

My youngest brother got married when I was 5, and the wedding gift he gave me for being the flower girl was his collection of crystal specimens, all hand-labeled in individual cases. It was my most treasured possession for years.

I continued collecting rocks throughout my youth – dragging boyfriends along in my early 20s – and now have amassed such a collection that many of my minerals are yard ornaments that my husband and I joke about (the rocks stay with the house if we ever move). I think what I love most about rocks (most specifically crystals) is how nature has created such incredible and mathematically complex structures – and that with an artist’s touch any crystal be turned into a piece of fine art jewelry.

What were you doing professionally before became a master facetor?

I attended the University of Montana with a focus on Radio/TV broadcasting, and I was a commercial traffic programmer for a TV station and a disc jockey for a radio station while in school. After moving to Arizona in 2000, I stayed in-touch with my media background as an events manager – scheduling celebrity interviews for upcoming concerts in different cities while working the logistics side of advertising versus ticket sales.

Not long after moving to Colorado I learned the art of stone faceting, but initially made my living here in retail. I found a new calling in retail sales management by motivating teams to achieve sales goals, and celebrating successes with the people that made it happen. After being recruited through different retail stores, I decided to return to my media background, and started working for an advertising agency as a media buyer in 2004, negotiating advertising rates for automotive dealers across the country.

In the meantime, I had been performing gemstone repairs for jewelers around Colorado – usually one or two jobs a week. My name started to get around as a Master Gemstone Facetor, and soon jewelers all across the country were calling for my services. Five years ago I had to choose between my rapidly growing small business of gemstone faceting, or keeping a career in advertising.

How did you find your way into the gem-cutting business?

In 2003 my family reunion was in Montana near one of my favorite crystal digging sites. I decided it was the best time to introduce my husband to rock-hounding – so we traveled toward Montana ahead of the reunion to play in the dirt. After two days of digging, we had collected over 10 pounds of clear crystal points. A few months later my husband wanted to buy me a pendant for our anniversary, and we both thought it would be special to have one of our crystals cut and put into a necklace. Neither of us knew if it was even possible to find anyone who could do that, but surely someone somewhere cuts the rocks you see in jewelry stores.

After a few inquiries, I was directed to call a man who invited me over to his home so he could look at what my husband and I had found. He lived off a dirt road within a hidden neighborhood in Colorado Springs – a friendly older gentleman with kind eyes. He poured me a cup of coffee and looked through my Quartz specimens with a discerning eye – picking out a few good candidates for faceting. He began to share stories of how he had learned the faceting art, and we told each other stories of looking for rocks in rain/sleet/wind/snow, often laughing at how crazy people can be (ourselves included) when searching for precious gems. At the end of our meeting he looked me in the eye and said, “If you truly like rocks this much, you should learn to cut.” The next week I became his Apprentice.

What do you love about your work and where do you want to go from here?

Jewelry is about having a story represented in wearable art. Anyone can go into a store and buy something they think is pretty and be happy. What I love is bringing out their story in the design of the jewelry and the cut of the stones. Sometimes people just want to have the most brilliant birthstones possible to represent their loved ones, and some want to select a specific color that reminds them of a special event, and others bring me a gemstone they have found and let me choose the best faceting design to then give them inspiration for their custom jewelry. It is honoring a cherished memory in a way that is unique to the individual.

Do you feel like there any opportunities or obstacles for young professionals in Colorado Springs that you wouldn’t find in other places?

Colorado Springs holds many opportunities for young people, but I think the distancing we experience in this age of technology can be a challenge. You can reach your new customers with a good website and social media connections, but keep in mind that your reputation is your success or failure. Don’t lose focus on taking care of your customer because you are too busy worrying about updating your website status. Referrals always carry more weight than a fancy website without a reputable owner. If you are honest with your clients and do good business, they will want to tell their friends about the amazing service they received!

The 36-year-old professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering first came to Colorado Springs while working for Agilent Technologies. After earning a Ph.D. in engineering from Oregon State University, she now focuses on teaching and researching — exploring ways to develop efficient methods of collecting and storing solar energy.

She’s also overseeing graduate students in the Sustainable Energy Collection and Transport Laboratory and helping undergraduates find research projects as part of the Undergraduate Research Academy.

Why did you decide to work as a mechanical engineer?

Mechanical engineering is a very broad field with many interesting applications. With many of those applications comes the opportunity to help address the problems our society is currently facing, a prospect that really appealed to me when I was choosing a career path and still does. For example, the focus of my current work is to help improve the viability of solar energy. Through mechanical engineering fundamentals we are developing more efficient methods of collecting and storing solar energy.

What are the challenges with your field?

As a mechanical engineering professor I must balance the roles of teacher and researcher. I manage the Sustainable Energy Collection and Transport (SECanT) Laboratory. Our lab is composed of five students working on several different funded research projects. In addition to mentoring the students and managing the research projects, I attend conferences and write journal articles to disseminate our findings as well as write grant proposals to secure funding to further support our work. I am also spearheading a university-wide undergraduate research initiative. We created the Undergraduate Research Academy to provide motivated and qualified undergraduates from all disciplines with the opportunity to work on meaningful research projects. The goal of the academy is to further stimulate research on campus while providing our students with an incomparable experiential learning opportunity. Balancing these roles requires time, effort, and a sense of humor to make sure I strike the right balance and do the best job possible.

As a young woman in a field that doesn’t have many women, how do you mentor students who might be interested in engineering?

I believe the best way to help all students, male or female, is to teach by example. So I feel, to help our female students, one of the most effective things I can do is to be a positive role model. Mentorship is also an important part of a student’s development and it is a responsibility I do not take lightly. My approach is to have very high expectations for my students and to provide them with all the help and guidance they need to meet those expectations.

What’s the most exciting thing about your job?

I love to learn, and in both my teaching and research roles as a professor at UCCS I have that opportunity every day. As a teacher, I am always looking for new material and real world examples to integrate into class. I also seek out more effective methods of teaching. As a researcher, I determine what has already been done through background studies and use that information to design experiments that allow us to make new discoveries. Research projects with local industry are particularly fulfilling because they are typically outside of what I do on a day to day basis. They provide me with an opportunity to expand my knowledge base and to become a better engineer and professor.

What do you do for fun?

I enjoy skiing, biking, running, and swimming. Every summer my husband and I try to sign up for races in locations we haven’t been to before. This gives us an opportunity to compete and travel. Our honeymoon is a perfect example. We signed up for the Alp d’Huez Triathlon in France and then spent the two weeks after the race riding our bikes through the Alps.