The Piton Fellowship is designed to support Metro Area leaders in developing the skills and experience necessary to spark change in their communities. An emphasis is being placed on leaders of color as part of an ongoing effort to bridge the historic gap between diverse talent and access to leadership opportunities.

Youth Cohort

The final Youth Cohort of the Fellowship took place in 2024

The Youth Cohort provided a summer experience designed to support changemakers ages 14-20 on their leadership journeys while surrounding them with a powerful network of community members.

As we continue to define our mission at Gary Community Ventures as a sunsetting organization and think about how we partner with our community to leverage business, policy, and philanthropic tools to increase access to opportunity for Colorado kids and families, we made the difficult decision to discontinue this cohort of the Piton Fellowship early in 2025. As we reflect on Gary’s approach to long-term impact and our commitment to systems work at this time, we believe focusing on our Early Career and Mid-Career cohorts gives us the best opportunity to affect meaningful systemic change as an organization.

We know there are many strong programs for leaders ages 14-20. Focusing our efforts on our Early Career and Mid-Career Cohorts offers us the chance to support up-and-coming leaders as they exit those programs and look to continue their personal and professional growth.

We applaud the work of our past Youth Cohorts, some of which is highlighted below, and we’re proud to call them members of our Piton Network.

Previous Fellowship Projects

Fellows were asked to lend their brilliance to a pair of pressing problems in the summer of 2023: youth mental health & youth self sufficiency

Fellows were asked to lend their brilliance to a pair of pressing problems in the summer of 2023: youth mental health & youth self sufficiency. The 2023 Youth Cohort diligently worked over the course of 6 weeks, with support from Audrey Hartfield and Anna Lin, our partners from the Urban Leaders Fellowship (ULF), conducting research, executing interviews, preparing presentations and learning activities on their findings and recommendations as to how our city and state might address two ongoing issues:

• The ongoing “state of emergency” for youth mental health, as articulated by Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Increasing self-sufficiency standards among K-12 youth, so that they might become better prepared for the world when they leave the public education system

The cohort presented their findings to an audience that included Gary Community Ventures employees, community partners and past Piton Fellowship participants. The Youth Cohort’s invaluable reports and findings will continue to inform solutions sought by the Gary team and the greater Denver community.

2023 PROJECT RECOMMENDATIONS

Across different research methodology and definitions, the fellows focused on self-sufficiency had similar findings and recommendations: 

• Transparent dialogues and discussions with students about what they are learning and how it will support their future pathways
• Required courses on home economics, financial literacy, and career pathways that will teach them the skills they need to be a functional adult 
• Opportunities for continued education past the classroom including fellowship, internship, apprenticeship, and work experience. 

The fellows focused on youth mental health recommended creating more inclusive mental health services designed by and for underrepresented groups. These include: 

• Advocacy and policy changes supportive of inclusive hiring practices
• Increased funding and resources for peer support groups
• Annual reports from mental health professionals regarding their client demographics
• Destigmatizing and promoting mental health services among children and youth

Past Youth Cohorts

Meet the Growing Piton Network

Our previous cohorts have roots everywhere from Ehtopia to Norway, China to Mexico and Five Points to Lakewood. They’re student athletes, musicians, environmental advocates, farmers, aspiring lawyers and culturally curious. During their time as fellows, they explored new approaches we might take to youth mental health and self sufficiency.

Learn More About the Piton Fellowship

Although our initiatives now live under the Gary Community Ventures name, we intentionally chose to honor our history as The Piton Foundation in selecting The Piton Fellowship as the title for this program. We did so because we believe this name tells a perfect story about the idea of ascendency in leadership that Piton has long represented.

There are three cohorts of the fellowship for Youth, Early Career and Mid-Career Professionals. Designed to accessibly fit into the busy lives of fellows, this free experience allows fellows to continue working and learning while building their leadership skills, networks and potential to create community impact. Upon completion of the program, Gary provides fellows a payment to use towards professional development and career-building opportunities.