Q&A with Camera’s Community Editorial Board

The members of the Daily Camera’s Community Editorial Board are residents of our Boulder community who are invested in local issues. To help readers get more familiar with the individuals who make up this board, we have asked them to answer a few questions. This is the first installment in a series that will feature answers from all eight board members.

What is your connection to Boulder?

• Elyse Morgan: When I moved to Boulder from NYC in 1981, I was certain it would be a short stay. Indeed, I found the very elements that drew people to Boulder somewhat unsettling: the Pearl Street Mall looked like a movie set, and I half-expected the storefronts to open onto empty space; the mountains seemed unapproachably inhospitable, with their winding roads conjuring up images of cars careening off cliffs; and the people were so friendly, daring to speak to me when I merely wanted to pay for my groceries. My plan was to finish graduate school at CU and return to NYC.

However, I drank the Koolaid, which, in this case, was herbal tea. This occurred gradually, with intermittent bursts of complaining. My brief return to NYC for an internship was, ironically, the ultimate impetus for my return to Boulder. Somewhat embarrassingly, I found myself missing some of the very things I had turned into comic fodder while in Boulder. I knew it was time to return when, to the other passengers’ shock, I thanked the NYC bus driver while exiting.

After more than 40 years here, I have thoroughly metabolized the herbal Koolaid, which I now use to wash down my extra-hot green chili.

• Diane Schwemm: My husband and I moved to Boulder in 1997 for his work thinking it would just be for a few years (we’re from “back east”), but luckily we stayed. Two of our three grown kids still live in the area, and as a total bonus, our oldest has a partner and a baby so we’re grandparents which is the best. We’ve lived in the same house for 25 years and love our neighbors and neighborhood, Parkside.

• Bill Wright: I grew up southeast of Denver but first came to Boulder in August 1980 as a freshman at CU. I came to learn rock climbing and engineering, and I fell in love with the town. The campus, the mall, the creek path, the Flatirons, and Eldorado Canyon.

By the time I finished college, I wanted to live here for the rest of my life. To be sure, I made myself move away. I returned nine years later with a graduate degree and a wife. After working as a hardware designer and a software engineer for 35 years, I retired last year (it didn’t take and

I’m working again now) to pursue my dream of teaching computer science at CU. This June, I’ll teach my first class there, coming full circle.

What is your background?

• Morgan: My move to Boulder also involved a career change. My first career, as a marketing and political consultant/analyst, left me disillusioned with the ways big data were being used to manipulate the public. I decided that I could have more of an impact by working with individuals and small groups as a clinical psychologist.

• Schwemm: Between work, volunteering and my family’s various interests, I’ve made wonderful friendships, connections and memories through the years. Work has included writing teen series fiction, being a stay-at-home parent, working at my kids’ elementary school, and most recently spending nearly a decade as editor and content manager at Collegiateparent, a small local company. Like a lot of Boulderites, I spend as much time as possible outdoors. Hiking and tending my community garden plot are two of my favorite activities, and I just started volunteering at Colorado Horse Rescue. On the cultural side, I love going to my oldest son’s choral concerts (he sings with Cantabile and Ars Nova), happily spent umpteen Thanksgiving breaks watching the Nutcracker ballet at Macky (our middle child danced), and look forward every summer to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (my family used to usher so we could see the plays for free).

• Wright: Growing up I was a competitive freestyle skier, swimmer and tennis player. Nowadays I spend my time rock climbing, trail running and cycling. Last year I biked across the U.S. — 3,800 miles in 50 days. I’m the Rattlesnake Ramble (4-mile trail race in Eldorado Canyon) Race Director, founder of Satan’s Minions Scrambling Club and I co-wrote a book on speed climbing.

I have a BS in EE/CS from CU and an MS in EE from Stanford.

I’m married to Sheri and we’ll be celebrating our 30th anniversary this June. She was a collegiate runner and also plays tennis. We have two boys: Danny and Derek. Danny also went to Stanford and got three degrees in five years. Derek got the same degree as I did from CU and now works on satellite software in Seattle.

What do you imagine for Boulder’s future?

• Morgan: I’m worried about Boulder’s future for the same reasons I’m worried about the future of our country and our planet. However, I’m somewhat hopeful when I think about starting with a relatively small community that has already led the way on important challenges.

• Schwemm: We all have different stories about how we came to Boulder and why we stay. Thinking about the city’s future, I know things will continue to change but I hope we can remain a community guided by compassion and inclusiveness and committed to social justice, health, sustainability, the best possible education for all our children and just plain taking good care of one another. Personally, I’m aware that I still have a lot to learn and discover, and I hope to keep finding ways to put myself out there. Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down, make conversation with people, walk through the mud instead of around it on trails and things like that. We can do pretty much anything if we do it together.

• Wright: I’m optimistic about Boulder’s future because it is populated with smart, caring people. The polarization that we read about isn’t nearly as acute nationally and, specifically here in Boulder. I see a more rational, reasoned response to climate change that allows us to divert funds to a homeless treatment center. We’ll start small, learn as we go, and make a difference for everyone in our community.