Fresh on the hiking boot heels of its 30th anniversary and a change in leadership, local nonprofit Rocky Mountain Youth Corps is blazing the trail heading into its 2024 summer season. “I am honored to help lead RMYC into its next chapter,” says new CEO Ryan Banks, who took over from founder Gretchen Van De Carr in February. “I look forward to helping our team continuing to provide service opportunities to young people while strengthening our partnerships with land managers.” Housed in a 4,300-square-foot headquarters on a 3.4-acre campus in town, RMYC has served more than 13,000 youth in its three decades of service, including more than 5,000 through its Yampa Valley Science School and Natural Resource internship programs. Its crews perform such services as community cleanups; planting and watering trees; building and maintaining trails—including those leading up 14ers and along the Continental Divide; GIS programming; hydrology and archaeology projects; wildfire mitigation; and more. This year it will also field an all-women chainsaw crew for the second time and four Ladies Youth Crews. And save the date for its annual “Toast to Trails & Tales” fundraiser on Oct. 12 at Perry-Mansfield with auction items, dinner, dancing, and more. Info: www.rockymountainyouthcorps.org
