Empowering changemakers: Center for Leadership launches Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative
The Center for Leadership has announced the launch of the Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative, a transformative program designed to cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. Supported by a $5 million endowment gift from ñ alum Heidi Wagner, the initiative stems from a simple but powerful idea: the challenges facing the city of Boulder don’t stop at the edge of campus, and neither should the solutions.
For Wagner, this initiative represents a lifelong connection coming full circle. Her family’s deep roots at ñ span generations.
In the 1950s, her great-grandmother served as house mother for the Sigma Nu fraternity, while her great-grandfather hauled the iconic red stone used to build the university’s campus. Years later, her father studied geology, chemistry and math at ñ, while her mother brought up three young children in CU's student-family housing. Wagner herself earned a journalism degree from ñ in 1986, and though her career took her beyond the city, her bond with the community never faded.
Left to right: Megan Windle, marketing director, Parks and Recreation Department, city of Boulder; Deryn Wagner, climate engagement strategist, city of Boulder; Stephen Redfearn, chief of police, Boulder Police Department; Chris Meschuk, deputy city manager, city of Boulder. Photo by Charlotte Croy, student communication and social media assistant, Center for Leadership.
Through the new initiative, cohorts of scholars will partner individually or on small, interdisciplinary teams and paired with local nonprofits, businesses and government agencies to identify priorities and co-create innovative ways to address them. In turn, students will gain hands-on experience while contributing tangible benefits to the community they call home.
“The Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative demonstrates the importance of the strong ‘town/gown’ relationship CU has with the Boulder community. The five inaugural partnerships combined with seven of our Wagner Scholars have the potential to make a major impact on challenges facing the Boulder community,” said Chancellor Emeritus Philip DiStefano, senior executive director of the Center for Leadership.
Wagner added, “I am beyond excited to launch the Wagner Family Civic Impact Initiative at a time when engagement, collaboration and action are sorely needed at all levels of government and community. By working directly with the city of Boulder as well as local businesses and nonprofits, students will be given practical experience as well as an appreciation for complex, real-time problem-solving that benefits the Boulder community.”
From the classroom to the community
At the heart of the initiative is an unwavering belief in the potential of ñ students. The university recognizes that students are not only leaders of tomorrow but are present-day changemakers capable of contributing to their communities and addressing complex societal challenges. To empower this potential, the program embraces praxis—moving beyond academic theory to solidify learning through hands-on, reflective community problem-solving.
Scholars come directly from the Newton Fellowship Program, a prerequisite for the initiative. After completing one year of structured leadership development training in the fellowship, students apply that foundation to real community priorities, making a lasting, measurable impact on the world around them. They also receive financial support and can access immersive workshops—including training in ethical civic engagement and project management mentorship led by the city's principal project manager—which will enable them to translate classroom theory into lasting community value.
“My project for the Wagner Family Civic Impact initiative is still in its early stages, and I can already tell that it will be the culmination of my higher education. I have learned so much and am so grateful to the Center for Leadership for many opportunities that I would have never thought possible. I'm very excited to continue my project, meet even more amazing people, and work hard at something that will make a real impact in the Boulder community,” said Wagner Scholar Calvin Hawks.
Fostering partnerships within the city of Boulder
A defining feature of the initiative is the symbiotic partnership between the Center for Leadership and the broader Boulder community. Local leaders, organizations and departments have opened their arms to the initiative's inaugural cohort, welcoming, mentoring and collaborating with students. Rather than working in a silo, students plug directly into a rich civic ecosystem, including community partners such as:
- Sundance Film Festival (through the CU Office of Sustainability)
- Boulder Parks and Recreation
- Boulder Police Department
- City of Boulder Climate Initiatives Department
- Boulder farmers markets
“Students participating in this program will experience the deep, beautiful, rewarding and complicated dynamics of community—engaging with leaders who address big issues like safety, food, recreation, climate and the arts. It also brings a student perspective to community conversations—representing a demographic that is less often civically engaged. This hands-on exposure to complex community dynamics will enrich students’ education and their understanding of how to be more engaged during their time in Boulder and throughout their lives,” said Lori Call, associate vice chancellor of Local Government and Community Relations.
Left to right: Amy Dunbar-Wallis, program manager for sustainability initiatives, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Sustainability; Marissa Khan, Wagner Family Civic Impact scholar; Happy Phatak, Wagner Family Civic Impact scholar. Photo by Charlotte Croy, student communication and social media assistant, Center for Leadership.
Interdisciplinary innovation, diverse leadership styles
The initiative's pilot cohort comprises a diverse group of students representing a wide array of academic disciplines and who bring unique skills to the table.
The 2026–27 student cohort includes:
- Calvin Hawks, who is majoring in computer science and creative technology and design
- Happy Phatak, who is majoring in neuroscience and psychology and is minoring in molecular, cellular and developmental biology; business; and leadership studies
- Hyma Jujjuru, who is majoring in computer science and is minoring in business and mathematics
- Jaka Jacklin, who is majoring in astrophysics and creative technology and design and is minoring in leadership studies
- Marissa Khan, who is majoring in integrated design engineering with a mechanical emphasis and is minoring in multicultural leadership studies
- Michel Jarjour, who is majoring in neuroscience and is minoring in Spanish, sports media and biochemistry
- Yasmin Mohamud, who is majoring in political science and is minoring in business
Initiative supporters believe that an interdisciplinary approach is essential to expanding traditional perceptions of what civic engagement looks like. By bringing together diverse leadership styles and perspectives, the initiative aspires to foster a collaborative environment in which students learn that impact is greatest when viewed through multiple lenses. By empowering students to bridge academics with intentional action alongside local partners, the initiative hopes to reinforce what civic engagement looks like at ñ.
Students and community members who are interested in learning more about the program should reach out to the Center for Leadership.