Elevated Denver

10/14/2026

Did you know that people with fewer resources often demonstrate greater compassion than those with more? Researchers were surprised by this. We weren't.

Since we started our work five years ago, time and time again, the first people to raise their hands, to ask how they can help, to volunteer, or even to make a donation have so often been the very people who have the least to give.

Read more about the neuroscience of compassion in this article by our CEO Johnna Fandel Flood: https://elevateddenver.co/the-neuroscience-of-compassion/

10/12/2026

Please help us welcome our final new Advisory Board member, Tony Tomassetti!

Tony is an entrepreneur and real estate developer whose firm, Somatic Development, invests, builds, and operates in mountain communities across Colorado. Earlier in his career, he held a leadership role at Prologis and spent years advising CEOs and founders in Denver's startup community.

He joins Elevated Denver's Advisory Board to help sustain and scale its work on homelessness, drawing on his finance and operating experience and a belief that the best solutions start with the people closest to the problem.

10/10/2026

Johnna did a great job spreading the word about Elevated Denver during Conversations on a Bench yesterday!

10/09/2026

Please welcome another new member of our Advisory Board, Jenni Wilson! She is a social worker, social scientist, and the Director of Research and Impact at Shopworks Architecture in Denver. Jenni started her social work career in direct practice, first in community mental health, before working in homeless service provision as a case manager, shelter manager, and McKinney-Vento liaison. She found her way to research and evaluation, where she studied social innovations in homelessness, including tiny home villages, direct cash, safe parking, and AI in housing allocation.

Her current research explores the intersection of health, equity, and the built environment, examining trauma-informed design and its evolution into “Dignified Design”—a strengths-based, interdisciplinary framework that draws from neuroscience, biology, psychology, architecture, and other disciplines to promote healing and dignity. At Shopworks, Jenni co-leads a multidisciplinary team focused on advancing trauma-informed, Dignified Design practices in affordable housing and shelter environments. She loves spending time with friends and family, hiking, traveling, gardening, eating, and reading.

10/08/2026

DAF Day 2026 is here – a nationwide celebration of generosity through Donor-Advised Funds.

When you make a DAF gift to Elevated Denver today, you’re helping us center people with lived experience to build practical, lasting responses to homelessness.

Here’s how you can take part:

✅ Decide which organizations to support with your DAF – like Elevated Denver to help fund The Wisdom Collective leadership program and other projects that help us create human-centered, systemic solutions that prevent homelessness and support lasting housing stability
✅ Give easily and get counted in today's impact by giving through DAFpay at elevateddenver.co/donate
✅ Celebrate the power of giving together by spreading the word

🧡 Today your DAF can do more than ever before. Join us and be part of the movement.
👉 Give now: elevateddenver.co/donate

10/07/2026

Help us welcome John Olander to our Advisory Board! John is a native Denverite, 68 years young in his “Rewirement.” He attended Denver East High School and Jones Real Estate College, earning his Broker’s license at 21. Diversely experienced in many facets of Real Estate, he is a self-described DCCA, “Dot Connecting Change Agent.”

He is also diversely experienced as a person who struggled with being unhoused, exacerbated by substance use issues. Many years of sustained recovery have led to John making a real difference in helping people to reinvent their lives as a Peer in Humanity.

He is a writer, a multi-generational collaborative performance facilitator, and a lifelong learner. John is always seeking – and sometimes creating – “the new best thing.”

10/06/2026

Our CEO, Johnna Fandel Flood, is honored to join Denver Rescue Mission for Conversations on a Bench this week.

24 hours. One Bench. Important Conversations.

Follow along and join us in raising awareness about homelessness in our community.

She'll be joining Dennis Van Kampen, President/CEO of Denver Rescue Mission, on Friday, October 9, from 10:30-11:00 a.m.

Watch live: https://denverrescuemission.org/conversations-on-a-bench/
*Also streaming on Facebook and YouTube

Join us for a powerful and moving 24-hour livestream event designed to change the narrative around homelessness. "Conversations on a Bench" is more than just an event; it's a movement to rehumanize people experiencing homelessness in our community by sharing their authentic stories of transformation...

09/30/2026

Johnna, Myra, and Jamie had an amazing time attending and presenting at the National Lived Experience Leadership Conference in San Jose this week! During the workshop they led, “Supporting Lived Experience Leadership, A Collaborative Approach to Power and Practice,” they asked people to step into their gifts and creativity through collage. It was magical what people created and how they spoke about their creations.

They got tremendous feedback about The Wisdom Collective curriculum buckets and were thrilled to find that people want to bring the Wisdom Collective to their communities and work!

It's hard to capture how moving it was to be in this space. There were leaders from across the country there, most with lived experience, who activate that experience for transformative change in their communities. There is so much wisdom, brilliance, creativity, expression, beauty, compassion and care, and power in this space. It was such an honor to be a part of it.

09/25/2026

Members of our team are honored to be speaking at the 2026 National Lived Experience Leadership Conference next week in San Jose, California! Johnna Flood, Myra Nagy, and Jamie Morgan will lead a workshop on The Wisdom Collective and get feedback from a group of leaders with lived experience from all around the country.

During our workshop, entitled “Supporting Lived Experience Leadership, A Collaborative Approach to Power and Practice,” we will:
-Give a brief overview of Elevated Denver and our Collaboratory model
-Inform the audience about The Wisdom Collective, how it was developed, and what we are planning for this new leadership development program
-Lead a self-guided exploration activity for participants to uncover their gifts, strengths, limiting beliefs, and more
-Ask for feedback on The Wisdom Collective’s curriculum

We are excited to share more after the conference. Thank you to the National Coalition for the Homeless and Destination: Home for this opportunity!

09/09/2026

Thank you to these individuals and organizations for their recent donations and grants to support The Wisdom Collective and general operations:

The Colorado Trust Directed Contributions Program
The NowHere Fund
Don and Lynn Burnes
Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) Direct Effects Award to support the Hub

We are grateful to these funders for believing in our work and helping us continue to center people with lived experience to build practical, lasting solutions to homelessness prevention.