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The CSU Spur of the Moment Podcast tackles the issues of food, water, health, and sustainability by talking with people making a difference in these fields and exploring the unique pathways that have led them to their current roles. Hosted by the Colorado State University System's new Spur campus in Denver, this podcast builds on its mission of addressing global challenges through research collaboration, experiential education, and a shared vision of inspiring the next generation.
April Giles:
Frank Zappa has a quote that says, without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. And so I think that's where our innovators sit every single day.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Welcome to Spur of the Moment, the podcast of Colorado State Campus in Denver, Colorado.
April Giles:
That's what innovation is about, is stepping into that unknown and being willing to just take a big risk, believe because you're passionate and you've built a community around you that will support the work that you're doing and not taking no for an answer.
Jocelyn Hittle:
On this podcast, we talk with experts in food, water, health and sustainability and learn about their current work and their career journeys. I'm Jocelyn Hittle, associate Vice Chancellor of the CSU Spur campus. Today I'm joined by April Giles, vice President of Business Development for the Fitzsimmons Innovation Community at the University of Colorado. The Fitzsimmons Innovation Community is a place where health and life sciences companies are co-located on a collaborative campus and are close to the University of Colorado Medical School. Prior to this role, April was the president and CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association and worked in the office of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Colorado Denver. April has a degree in social work from the University of Kansas and is currently pursuing an executive MBA at the University of Denver. Welcome, April.
April Giles:
Hi, Jocelyn. Great to be with you today. That was a long introduction, so thank you so much.
Jocelyn Hittle:
It was, but it doesn't touch on all of the various facets of what you do. And I'm excited to dive a little bit into your work now first and then we'll talk a little bit more about your career journey. So can you tell us a little more about what the Fitzsimons Innovation community is and what you do?
April Giles:
I'm happy to, I am lucky enough to come to work every day to work with about 80 life science companies in what we call the Fitzsimmons Innovation Community. So we're a life sciences park and essentially we work with companies from startups all the way through commercial enterprises who are solely focused on innovating healthcare solutions. And we deal with those companies from big picture strategy, from regulatory to clinical trials all the way through their space needs and the growth trajectory that they're on within our community.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So can you give us an example of one of those organizations or businesses that is living with you there at Fit Simmons?
April Giles:
Yeah, I'd love to. So there's a company called Stack Pharma. They're a company that's doing what we call 5 0 1 3 B, so specialized pharmaceuticals for the pediatric space. If you think about it, when drug companies do clinical trials, they're not always targeted towards our small people in the world. And so doctors are constantly having to whittle down those drugs that are formulated for the adults into the pediatric sized patients. And so Stack Pharma is one of those companies that's working in that space. So not only do we work with Mark Speaker, their CEO, but he's also received investment from Children's Hospital and the innovations team on campus to continue their evolution of driving that value to our small kiddo patients.
Jocelyn Hittle:
That's great. I'm grateful to them for the work they're doing. Can you say a little bit more about why are they at Fit Simmons? What do they get from being a part of that community?
April Giles:
Yeah, I think it's leaning into some of those factors that I just mentioned. We really are here to drive not just the creation of a community that can help innovators from a technology perspective, but so much of what they do requires partnerships. And so sitting on a campus that's aligned with our hospital systems, so you see health and children's aligned with the University of Colorado CHUs Medical Campus where they can tap into those key opinion leaders and expertise to help drive that technology innovation to the market right from the bench to the bedside. But we say often. And so we play an important role in helping to be that conduit for the companies in our community to really take that technology to the bedside and have all of the leadership across the campus layer in multifaceted ways to support their innovation strategy.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So if I were going to look at the Fitzsimons innovation community as an outsider who was not a scientist, is it comparable to say a coworking space where people are leasing a desk or leasing some space, but get the benefits of being part of a larger community during their workday? Would that be an analogy that works?
April Giles:
I do. I think that's a big piece of it, right? When you're with a like-minded community of people who are all tackling different issues, but from similar angles, it does create an environment where there's a lot of mind share happening. And those coworking environments I think offer a similar solution where if you're challenged with a issue, you can walk down the hall, knock on a door of a colleague or a friend and just have a conversation with them about what struggles you might have from a business perspective or a technology perspective and create an opportunity of dialogue where they might be able to share experiences that you can pull from and draw from. And so the coworking space in a lab environment probably works very similar to a coworking space in an office environment. The added angle, of course is then the partnership that we can help facilitate with the campus community. And so that would be one added layer that's I think really critical from a technology based community that facilitates great things to happen.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Sure. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it is different to have a whole laboratory that you are working with and all of the and opportunities that come with doing some hard science as part of what your day in the office looks like. Can you talk a little bit about what you might say is one of your biggest successes? What is a company that has come in, worked within your walls and then maybe left or maybe they're still there but they're really rocket and rolling and you point to them as an example?
April Giles:
Oh gosh. I think a couple of companies that I think about, one company is no longer here but got their grassroots start within the community, and that's a company called Biodesix. They're now publicly traded. They're in a 90,000 square foot building, I think in Longmont, but they address the issue of lung cancer, lung nodules, and so they can track the progression of those nodules for clinicians to be able to understand whether that nodule will become cancerous over time. And so they have a predictive ability to analyze those nodules, which is a pretty unique space to be in. So it's a company that I certainly follow and have admired for a number of years and exciting to see the trajectory and the path that they are on. I would say there's another company within our community today called Regen, and this company was born out of a group called Clin Immune on campus.
And so clin immune does most of the transplant work across the country, so if you need a transplant, they will test the donors tissues and cells to make sure that transplant can be received. But what they learned was that there were certain genetic mutations that they could identify related to arthritis, and so they spun out a company called Regen that's really here to tackle rheumatoid arthritis for the patients that are really non-responders for any other treatment modalities. And so they are out raising capital to enter their clinical trials right now, and I understand they're close to closing a funding ground, which is exciting for them.
Jocelyn Hittle:
That's great. Those are great examples. Is there a company or one of the things that is being worked on within your walls that is particularly surprising, something that you never thought we would be able to do, or where you're like, wow, that's a very ingenious way of tackling a problem?
April Giles:
There's a company that I think has taken a unique way of looking at a challenge that has been kind of long-term problematic, which is a wound healing company, and it's a pretty noisy space is what we say. There's a lot of companies who are trying to tackle that work, but a company called ANA has the ability, I'm not a scientist, I have to clarify this, so I'm kind of speaking from a non-scientific lens,
Jocelyn Hittle:
Understood. All disclaimers have been made,
April Giles:
But they have the ability to, in their wound care solution, to embed molecules like pharmaceutical molecules that not only help the tissues to grow just more substantially and create the right type of matrix for the wound to close, but also have that healing element. And so as the wound closes, it also begins to heal the structure behind that wound, which is a pretty unique delivery system from a pharmaceutical perspective, and then from a matrix perspective of how your cells come together and grow across that wound.
Jocelyn Hittle:
That sounded perfectly scientific to me.
April Giles:
Okay, perfect.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. And you have companies that are everything from a very brand new startup to some more mature companies in this space. So I'm assuming that some of the more mature companies are really helpful for those folks who are just starting to get their feet under
April Giles:
Right. It's a fun place to be a part of because of exactly that, right? We always say that small companies want to be big someday, and big companies actually want to tap into the innovation structure of our small companies. And so creating a community where they can come together and really learn from one another quite honestly. So our small companies are tackling regulatory challenges or again, designing clinical trials, which is a fairly complicated world to live in. And again, being able to walk down the hall and just have those conversations with our large companies who are already commercial, who are manufacturing, who have products that are treating patients and have relationships with hospital systems creates that environment where those small companies can just move a lot faster along their pipeline or along their progression, make less mistakes is part of the goal because they're learning from those bigger companies and be able to just launch that much quicker for the patient population that they're here to serve.
Jocelyn Hittle:
It sounds like a pretty fun and vibrant place to be. Maybe you can give us a snapshot of what a day or a week in the life looks like for you. Tell us about your role.
April Giles:
Really interesting sitting in the world of business development, in an innovation community because it is multifaceted, I'm sure most of us have a number of challenges that we tackle in a day. I spend a lot of my time thinking about the big picture strategy of what's happening in Colorado and nationally around life sciences innovation, and how do we ensure that our positioning in the market is important and relevant right to the Colorado landscape that our relationships and our partnerships on campus are optimized to serve our community, both within Fit Simmons Innovation community campus as well as the Colorado ecosystem. And then nationally, I spend a lot of time thinking with our companies about what their growth trajectory looks like and what are the challenges that they might have on a day-to-day basis, and how can we bring in network partners that will help support the growth that they're tackling and where their next stages might develop into. And then from a real estate perspective, my main job is to put companies into our buildings. And so I think a lot about what's the outreach style need to look like, how do I build relationship with people in the community in ways that not only provides for a leasing opportunity, but continues to grow and develop the ecosystem here within the campus environments.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So for folks who are not as familiar with the term business development, often it can mean different things for different kinds of companies, but it sounds like for the Fit Simmons innovation community, it's partly about making sure your spaces are filled with new tenants who are there to be a part of the community, that it's partly what partnerships does it make sense for you to be forging to help those companies and to help your organization as sort of the holder of all of those companies in your space thrive. And then also keeping an eye on the landscape, what's happening within biosciences within life sciences so that you know how to provide the right resources. Did I get that about right?
April Giles:
Oh, I think that's a perfect summary, Jocelyn, of what business development is, and I think fundamentally it relies always on relationships, and so the driver of anything behind the scenes is how do you do that work and engage in partnerships and strategy in creating opportunity for Fitzsimons? Innovation community is really driven through relationships and finding those win-win opportunities of alliances between all of parties.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Okay, so never boring. I'm guessing you always have different things on your plate, which sounds great. Can you tell us a little bit about, in that one role that you mentioned of keeping your eye on trends and what's happening within life sciences or what's happening within, I suppose within laboratories across the country really in other innovation communities like this, what are some of the trends you're seeing as you keep your finger on the pulse and which are you excited about?
April Giles:
Yeah, I mean, I think from a technology perspective, there is a space called cell and gene therapy, which for us is an incredibly exciting space to be in. It's probably the most transformative area of the life sciences industry in the last decade. The campus that I sit on, the anhe Medical Campus and Fit Simmons Innovation Community have been really strategically investing in that space For the last probably five to seven years, the university announced to $200 million commitment to building expertise in cell and gene therapy, and then we have a number of companies in our community who are working in that space amongst the 30 across Colorado, 30 doesn't sound very big, but for an emerging sector within the life sciences community, 30 is actually a large number nationally. And so Colorado has an opportunity here to make a big play within that space, and it's great to see that the campus community here is making a strategic investment in that as well.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Yeah, that's exciting. I know there's some real potential for some life-changing, some medical field changing advancements coming out of cell and G therapy. It's really remarkable
April Giles:
Personalized medicine, and this is what it is. So for folks who aren't necessarily as familiar, it's really the ability to take your own cells out of your body to manipulate those cells in a way where let's say you have cancer where you can put those cells back into your body, reprogrammed and retrained to be able to fight that cancer that's in your system. Or for instance, rheumatoid arthritis. Argen has been able to identify specific gene where if they can turn that gene off for patients with ra, it will significantly change the lifespan of those patients and the ability to really cure that disease for them. So you think about curative measures, cell and gene therapy has huge opportunity and potential. Certainly lots of challenges with a new place for the industry to be in, but I think this is the future really of where we're going from a life sciences innovation perspective.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. Yeah, it's remarkable to think about your own cells sort of fighting for you in a way that's different than what they normally do. I mean, of course we always have our cells are always fighting disease, but it's interesting to think about it in a different context like that. I would love for my cells to fight my graying hair. How about that totally frivolous example, but if someone's working on that, I'm here to invest.
April Giles:
I am here to invest alongside you.
Jocelyn Hittle:
So can you talk a little bit about your whole entire community is called an innovation community. What does innovation really mean to, you're around innovators all the time, what's their definition?
April Giles:
I thought about this question a lot just because it is such a broad term for something that is so unique and really special to be around every single day. Frank Zappa has a quote that says, without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible. And so I think that's where our innovators sit every single day is looking outside of the usual, recognizing where there are challenges and really having a lot of chutzpah and perseverance to just go for it. I think people are risk takers. When I look at our companies being a non-scientist in the science world, the risks that they take every day, the really tackle challenges that most of the country would say that can't be done. That's what innovation is about, is stepping into that unknown and being willing to just take a big risk, believe because you're passionate and you've built a community around you that will support the work that you're doing and not taking no for an answer.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great, great description. I think that will resonate with a lot of people who are innovators, think of themselves as innovators, work with innovators, not taking no for an answer in particular, probably for a lot of the folks who are around those innovators all the time. So you have a new initiative that you're a part of. I wonder if you could briefly tell us a little about the Hub for Health Impact.
April Giles:
Yes, I would be happy to Thank you for asking. The Hub for Health Impact is a national campaign. It's really being led by the Colorado Bioscience Association, which is our industry trade group in Colorado to take the Colorado success story of what's happening in the life science community to a national audience. We've been watching the trends of the industry over the last five to seven years, maybe even 10 years, and recognizing that Colorado has built something really special and that we want to share the work that's happening here with a national audience to gain some continued momentum around what's been happening in our ecosystem. We've seen our community grow from 200 companies to over 700 companies now in Colorado. 10 years ago, our companies were raising 350 million a year, and we're now in that billion dollar range, a billion and a half, 2 billion every year.
Over the last, I think seven years now, our research institutions are continually ranked as top talent developers for the industry. So CSU is certainly a key partner in that effort. And so you start to layer all of the successes that are happening across the community here and you start to see companies move again from the startup enterprises to growth stage companies to now commercial companies. There's a message to tell, and while we love Boston and we love California to visit from a visitor's perspective, we think we're on par with the work that's happening in those communities and we just need to start to capture a voice around that. And so the hub for Health impact is us capturing the momentum that's happening in Colorado and building a notoriety around it for the work that's being done here.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. Thanks. And it's really impressive to hear the change over the course of the last 10 years here in Colorado. I know we have a pretty significant entrepreneurial community here, and it sounds like that's no different within life sciences and in fact, life sciences and biosciences are probably driving a lot of that. So great to hear a little bit more of that. So I'm going to do a few lightning round style questions for you about what a day in the life is like for you in a bit more detail. So on a typical, whatever that means, typical workday, what's a task that you have to do that you dislike and what's one you're actually kind of surprised you don't mind doing?
April Giles:
Well, today I had was in a conversation about HVAC and building automation systems, and while I appreciate it, it's probably the least interesting part of my job
Jocelyn Hittle:
And HVAC for those who are not in the building space, heating, ventilating and air conditioning, very important, but maybe not that fun to talk about
April Giles:
Critically important and others probably will love it. It's just not my forte at all. I think the thing that I underappreciated and now have high appreciation for is the shared lab space. Prior to starting this role, I really didn't understand the limitations in Colorado for helping startups in a shared community, particularly in a lab environment and with 30 companies on our waiting list to need that type of place to work. I have a high appreciation now for how we fit into that value chain.
Jocelyn Hittle:
And is there a task that you like doing, you appreciate, oh
April Giles:
Gosh,
Jocelyn Hittle:
Laboratory sciences.
April Giles:
That's great. That would answer the task.
Jocelyn Hittle:
No, you can't dodge it.
April Giles:
Let's see. Probably helping to design space. I think I had an eye for it, but I actually really enjoy the design process. Yeah,
Jocelyn Hittle:
It's particularly fun as I'm sure you have also experienced to design something and then be in it once it is built, right,
April Giles:
And see the companies operating in that space and realizing how space actually activates amazing things to happen.
Jocelyn Hittle:
It's not about the building, it's about what happens within it, and it's really fun to see it all come to life. Yes. Okay. When you come up against a challenge in your day or a problem you're trying to solve, is there someone that you call for advice?
April Giles:
I don't always call her for advice, but I do channel her. So Denise Frow, Denise Brown was the original CEO of the Colorado Bioscience Association, and I got to join her team about three years into the organization, and she is someone dearly love and admire to this day. She's just a person that I just would like to emulate. So when there's a challenge that I'm unsure how to handle, I may call her, I may have drinks with her, but many times I channel her and think to myself, what would Denise do? So WWDD is my mantra because I know she would make the right decision every single time. So if I should just ground myself in the decision she would make, I know I'm heading in the right path.
Jocelyn Hittle:
That's great. That's great to have someone like that life and in your head, I guess that's your
April Giles:
Think you. Exactly.
Jocelyn Hittle:
If you're channeling, that's great. So I hope that we each have a moment in our days where we feel like I was just good at my job, I just did something. Well, for you, what has just happened when you feel that way?
April Giles:
For me, I love developing my team. So while I love the work that I do for our community, I take pride in helping the growth of our companies, being able to be a part of developing people individually and increasing their capacity to do well and to do good is my end all be all. And so when I feel like I've had a great day at work, it's really been about asking my team great questions, trusting in their leadership, being of service to them and their growth trajectory, and really helping to support all things related to their success. And so I think that's very similar to working with our companies, but that's really what gives me great joy in a day when I walk away from those conversations feeling like they are just in a better spot.
Jocelyn Hittle:
The flip side of that is we are in the middle of our careers. We're pretty far along in our careers. I don't know how you want to say that, but you are not new at your job, but what does still make you feel like, Ooh, I'm still learning what has just happened.
April Giles:
There are so many considerations that have to play together for success, and as many times as we can try to play out the scenarios in our brain to try to get that matrix exactly right. At the end of the day, I feel like inevitably something doesn't play out exactly how you expect or a ball gets dropped in a way that makes you have to pivot or pause or reconsider. And so those moments are those oof moments. It doesn't mean that you stop, but it does mean that you just have to take, you do have to pause, reconsider your path or your direction, and then figure out how you get back onto the right track.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Absolutely. A moment of after action, right?
April Giles:
Yeah. Reflection, exactly.
Jocelyn Hittle:
A little bit of a reflection to see what you might be able to do differently. And we certainly all have those and there are things that are outside of your control in all of those situations as well. In complicated, complex situations, there are things that you can control and things can't
April Giles:
Always things that are out of your control. And all you can do is just try to anticipate the best that you can and then be willing to respond when things don't exactly go as you hoped that they would.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Exactly. We all wish we had a little more control than we do. I think. So I have my first spur of the moment question for you, and then we're going to talk a little bit about how you got where you are. I am actually going to ask you, what is your favorite pair of shoes and why?
April Giles:
I have a green suede pair of flat shoes that are not only super cushy, but they just have a little bit of flair to them. Exactly.
Jocelyn Hittle:
A little pop of bright green shoe. I like it. Let's move on now to talking a little bit about your journey, how you got where you are. Maybe you can just give us the broad brush strokes. How did you end up in this role?
April Giles:
I'm going to try to be succinct here because it is a bit of a story, but essentially it's been an interesting kind of trajectory in life. Having a mom who went to medical school on the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, really the Health Sciences Center campus of eighth and Colorado prior to moving out here when I was in elementary school. And so I spent my elementary school years in the hallways of the hospital and the university while my mom was getting her MD degree. Wow, that's
Jocelyn Hittle:
Pretty special. That's a pretty special. It
April Giles:
Was very special
Jocelyn Hittle:
Origin.
April Giles:
And sitting at the table at dinnertime talking about considerations that she had for her patients gaps in care, being able to really meet the needs of her patients from a technology perspective or insurance or other factors that were really limiting her ability to do what she thought was best for her community.
Jocelyn Hittle:
What kind of a doctor was she? April, sorry to interrupt.
April Giles:
She was an ob, GYN. Okay. Which is also very special after having two kids. But then she was super involved in community. She was one of the doctors that wrote some of the first protocols for domestic violence and how to have those candid conversations with your patients. And so I first leaned into that side of the world, not necessarily the domestic violence side, but I became a social worker. I worked with kids that had some challenges, spent about seven years doing that. And then the University of Colorado was thinking about building the tchu medical campus. And so I was fortunate enough to join the Vice Chancellor for External Affairs who was on the team that really had the vision for building the campus as it is today, was able to make the move to join his team, which was a phenomenal experience spending five years thinking about the funding structures that needed to happen to accelerate the move of the campus to build research buildings and to create federal funding partnerships between all of the institutions.
And then when I was on his team, this Colorado Bioscience Association was formed. That association really represents the industry that I work with today. And so I was lucky enough to join their team and spent about 12 years with the Bioscience Association thinking about how to grow the industry in Colorado. So from a policy perspective, what could the state do to help support the growth of companies here? From a federal perspective working with our congressional members was what are the regulatory issues that our companies need to address or are dealing with to make sure that they're doing things the right way, that the patients that are taking their medications are safe, but that there isn't so much regulatory burden that a company can't get a drug or new technology to market. Doing that work for 12 years, I really miss getting to work with companies and being a part of the strategy enterprise of their individual growth because I worked on big systemic level issues for the industry. And so I really wanted to get back to the basics. And obviously the Fitzsimons innovation community brought me back to my mom. And so it's kind of full circle being back on this campus now, both from growing up with a mom again, who became a doctor when I was in elementary school, being a part of the team that had the vision for what the ANT campus could become, and working with our vice chancellor on that vision and then being now a part of the industry side of that campus communities to support that growth.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Okay, so what a story That's so great, the family connection. It feels like sometimes I'll have conversations with people about their stories in it. It's either that they followed in the footsteps of someone or were adjacent to someone within their family, or they went somewhere very, very different. So I love those connections to early days and kitchen table conversations.
April Giles:
Not always a parent. I think when you first enter something, right? I wouldn't have said 15 or 20 years ago when I started down this path, it was because of my mother. But it's always upon reflection that those dots get connected and you start to realize how the cycle continues maybe in a bit of a different way, but the influence and the evolution continues to move forward.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Yeah, that's right. My dad was an engineer who did building energy modeling software development. He did hvac. I know that's not your thing, but it was his thing and solar energy. So yeah, here we are. Let's talk a little bit about the different phases. So you've had, I'd say, I don't know, three or four different chunks of time in there. And the transitions between them more. There are any transitions that were particularly challenging or felt really good, you're making the right move, or maybe they all felt that way.
April Giles:
I think when I was a social worker and then realizing that wasn't the path that I was going to be on for the rest of my career was certainly a pivot point for me where I had to dig deep and really think about what that meant from a persona perspective. I had identified myself in that vein. Again, growing up with a mom who'd done so much work in that arena, and then being so committed to the kids that I was caring for that it was really a turning point for me and a challenge to step away, even though I knew it was the right decision. And so I'd say that was a critical moment in my career path. Secondarily was when I was with the Board of Regents at the university and moving into the vice chancellor's office here, we were embarking on initiatives and endeavors where I had zero experience, and they were really leaning on having someone who had a history of working with all the federal funding agencies and knew how to interact in a way that there was a certainty or a guarantee that those funding mechanisms could be leveraged pretty significantly to build the research towers.
And I had zero of that background. And so taking on an initiative in a role when you have your own self limitations is a bit of a challenge to overcome and to think about being courageous, persevering, and really having a level of trust in yourself to dig deep and overcome really what ultimately weren't limitations. Because again, the foundation of what I've always done is about building relationships. And so if I just kind of settled myself in that strategy, whether it was a social worker or whether it was working for the university and all the federal funding agencies, if I knew I could build a strong relationship and have good strategy around the potential of partnerships, I could over overcome the perceived barriers into reality of actually delivering great things.
Jocelyn Hittle:
That's so interesting to hear you say that part of the challenge and part of the issue with a transition is overcoming maybe self-doubt or self-imposed limitations, imposter syndrome, however you want to think about it, that it's not actually that the work situation was hard, but how you felt about it was,
April Giles:
I don't think that's unlike many women unfortunately. And maybe that's not a great way to classify it, but the statistics kind of prove themselves. And we look at a position description, 80% of women will look at that job description and see the things they cannot do versus the things that they can, where a majority of men will look at the job description and say, I can do this. Even if they haven't done 80% of the identified items. I mean, I don't know what the exact stat is. I do think getting out of our own ways, not overprocessing or overplaying, what we perceive our limitations to be, and understanding that people have as much trust in ourselves as we have in ourselves, is a really big barrier that we have to figure out how to overcome.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Absolutely. I can absolutely relate also to the, I have never done this before. Now I have, right? I mean spur, no one has done any of this before. So good luck finding someone who knew exactly how to do it. And I think that's kind of the same for you, that this was all innovative. No one had pulled all of these pieces together in the way that you ended up doing it. And I think it speaks to your ability to make the connections, to pull the right people together into the room to know who to call, and just be sure it's getting done and look at what you can accomplish just leaning into those skills.
April Giles:
I dunno if this is the right way to look at it, Jocelyn, but I have often said I'm not always the smartest person in the room, but I do have the ability to see the opportunity and bring people together around it. So I may not be the technical expert. I sit in a room with people who are scientifically incredibly smart at what they do. I'm always a person that's willing to ask the stupid questions to try to figure out what it means from a actionable strategic, how do we actually make this happen? There's nothing worse to me than having a really big picture vision and not being able to execute against it. And so I am that person that will just raise my hand. I'll ask questions, I'll listen, and then I'll try to partner things together in ways that sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't work, and that's okay.
I don't mind either way. But it is really thrilling when you see something come together that you never thought could, and all of a sudden it starts to gain momentum, like the hub for Health impact. You asked me before I spent a year thinking about that strategy, trying to pull it together, asking lots of questions, and the timing just wasn't right. And then it was all of a sudden and it became super opportunistic, and we were able to launch it in just a couple of months versus a year worth of trial and tribulation of trying to put the pieces together. So you just never know when things are going to hit. But being open to that, those opportunities is really, I think the big strategic vision for anyone. Just don't close the door.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Right. What's the saying about luck? It's where preparation meets opportunity or something along those lines. What you're saying. Also, there's some other saying about, it was a year long overnight success. So that year that you spent doing that preparation, not necessarily giving it up on this idea, but maybe not pushing it before it was ready or before everyone else was ready, but recognizing that part of the reason it did work as quickly as it did to get it up and running is because of all the work you had done to prepare. So along the way, have there been any mentors or teachers or people in your career that have been particularly influential?
April Giles:
I think Denise Brown, my what would Denise do is definitely someone that has been influential to me, and she's really the culture side of who I think about how to make sure that when I'm making a decision, I'm making it from the right kind of vein of values and culture. And then the other person that I think is my constant champion and someone that I just admire is Mark Speaker. He was my board chair when I first started my CEO position at CBSA. He was a huge advocate to help support my ability to join the chamber, to get on to the chamber board. So he's just that constant partner that's always looking for opportunities to make me better and to put me in positions where I get to learn and experience from others.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Great. Excellent example. So quick question about advice for young people. So if you were going to give a 15-year-old some advice, what would you say? How about a 25-year-old, and how about yourself at 25? Oh gosh, three questions In one,
April Giles:
A 15-year-old, I would say have fun. Be open to possibilities. 25-year-old, I would say build your network. Start to explore beyond your worldview today. Start to get involved in community. Start to build your network broader than your potential or your path that you're on so you can start to see the world from a very different frame of lenses. And what would I say today to my 25-year-old self? Is that the last question? I would say let go. I was so when I was young, and even to this day, my A type of personality has always been on this mode of being driven and on a path that I needed to achieve. And while I have loved that, I think there were moments of time where just letting go and not being so linear and my path would have probably served me just from an experience of life perspective.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Yes, I understand that. The type A drive I do. I get it. Okay. Well, my last spur of the moment, question for you is, do you have a place that you have traveled to that you would love to go back to over and over again? So
April Giles:
The place that I am going to retire someday is definitely Portugal. So Lisbon, Portugal is probably my favorite place of all. We've been three times now, and I just love it dearly. My husband has a phenomenal tailor there. So if anybody,
Jocelyn Hittle:
Wow. Very specific. Okay.
April Giles:
I
Jocelyn Hittle:
Know, it's crazy. It's a clothing journey.
April Giles:
It's worth the journey just for the Taylor himself.
Jocelyn Hittle:
Wow. Okay. Well, April, this has been a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for the work that you are doing to create a space and a community and connections and partnerships that help drive innovation in Colorado and beyond. The companies that are coming out of the Fitzsimmons Innovation Campus, I know are going to impact lives. And so thank you for the role you play in helping them to do that. Thanks so much, April for your time today.
April Giles:
Alright, have a good one.
Jocelyn Hittle:
The CSU Spur of the Moment Podcast is produced by Kevin Samuelson, and our theme music is by kea. Please visit the show notes for links mentioned in this episode. We hope you'll join us in two weeks for the next episode. Until then, be well.