Colorado Resilience Engine Internship Program
In Spring 2025, ICLEI USA launched the Colorado Resilience Engine (CORE) Internship Program to support climate resilience work across Colorado. Interns are actively working with host organizations to advance resilience initiatives and gain practical experience planning and implementing climate action.
Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, NSF, CO-WY Engine, Innosphere, & ICLEI USA
About the Program
ICLEI USA launched the Climate Resilience Engine (CORE) Internship Program with a clear mission: to build capacity among Colorado local governments and train the next generation of resilience professionals.
With support from the CO-WY Ascend Engine, Innosphere, the National Science Foundation, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), the program placed five graduate-level interns with Colorado local governments. Each intern brought experience in environmental science, planning, or public policy. Each host community provided a real-world project focused on community resilience, disaster preparedness, or natural resource management.
These teams are already making a difference. Interns are building community-driven climate frameworks, supporting hazard preparedness and outreach, and developing strategies for community resilience. All of this is happening inside local governments, where interns are learning how climate policy gets implemented on the ground.
CORE Program Goals
- Accelerate local innovation in resilience for smaller rural and suburban communities
- Strengthen the resilience workforce pipeline
- Deliver tangible benefits to Colorado communities in critical areas like disaster preparedness, food system resilience, and community engagement
Meet the Interns and Their Host Communities
Daniel Tigreros is supporting the implementation of Telluride’s 2022 Climate Action Plan, with a focus on goals related to community wellbeing, resilience, and natural systems. He is also contributing to program development and community engagement.
Erin Spencer is coordinating a wildfire mitigation event in an at-risk neighborhood, helping the City launch a disaster preparedness communication campaign, and developing impactful adaptation programming. She is updating the City’s website to align with best practices in sustainability communications.
Colton Zadkovic is developing a community climate resiliency framework informed by staff and resident insights. To ensure that the framework is actionable, he is assessing proposed solutions based on feasibility and potential funding opportunities and identifying case studies to demonstrate implementation success.
Brooke Miller is conducting a gap analysis of potential neighborhood resilience hubs in Lafayette. Resilience hubs are community-serving facilities that support residents in preparing for and recovering from hazards. For the gap analysis, Brooke is assessing available infrastructure and resources to ensure potential hubs can effectively support residents during emergencies, while also delivering everyday services important to build social and economic resilience.
Eloise Armour is collecting data to inform local heat programs, contributing to the City’s Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessment, and supporting community engagement efforts. Her work is laying the foundation for long-term planning centering on community well-being.
ICLEI USA Staff
This pilot program proves the CORE workforce development model works. Want to learn more? Contact program coordinator Angelica Greco (angelica.greco@iclei.org).
