Director of community relations leaves legacy of trust
Cultivating relationships and building strong community ties between CU Boulder and external partners have been priorities for Kim Calomino, who is officially retiring today after eight years at CU Boulder, most recently as the university’s director of local government and community relations in the Office of Government and Community Engagement (OGCE).
Calomino came to CU Boulder in 2013 to serve as an external relations liaison, moved up to a manager position and later assumed her recent role as a director. Among other duties, she managed relationships and memberships with several chambers of commerce and economic development groups to better engage the university with the regional business community.
“Our intent is to help the local business community better understand what a research institution is, and the value CU Boulder brings to the community at large,” she said. “We do that by making it clear that the university’s leadership cares about the concerns and needs of the business community, reminding the community that we deliver top-notch graduates into the workforce, and generally serving as the face and front door should there be a desire to connect more deeply with the university.”
Calomino brought a wide-ranging knowledge of local government, relationship-building skills, and the ability to navigate complex relationships and situations to her work at CU Boulder.
“It’s vital that we have an educated citizenry to lead our democracy at the local level, all the way up to the federal level and to be a contributor to the local community,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of supporting the ethic of higher education as an important value in a community.”
Before arriving at CU Boulder, a significant part of Calomino’s career focused on managing local government relations for the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, where she became finely attuned to the value of engaging with associations such as chambers of commerce and how to develop and negotiate relationships in those organizations.
“It has always been important to me, in every job I’ve ever had, to feel like I provided value beyond myself,” Calomino said. “Not to just earn a paycheck but to make a contribution that had greater meaning to others and to the community.”
She is particularly proud of the role she has played in working with the local community, neighborhood groups and city government leaders during the CU Boulder South annexation process. CU Boulder owns a 308-acre parcel of land near U.S. 36 and Table Mesa Drive called CU Boulder South and is asking the city to annex the land to enable the university to develop the property while donating 80 acres of land for a flood mitigation project to protect downstream neighborhoods.
“The annexation is important work and can bring a lot of benefits to the community,” Calomino said. “Working on that project has been rewarding. Everybody on the team puts their shoulders together to help each other and keep things moving along. We’ve made great strides.”
Frances Draper, Calomino’s longtime colleague, manager and friend, said, “Few people realize the positive impact Kim has personally had on the reputation of the university and on our local community in particular.”
Draper, who retired on March 31 after 10 years in leadership positions at CU Boulder, said she and Calomino had tag-teamed on a variety of projects with the goals of reassuring city and university leaders alike and keeping them well-informed and connected. Calomino, she said, was “the lead author” of how the university worked closely with the city and the University Hill neighborhood during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Together, they advocated for the annexation of CU Boulder South.
“She built a relationship with Hill organizations as a trusted contact who would respond to their concerns,” Draper said. “In her time at CU Boulder, Kim has materially reshaped how we interact with the city and the local community to be a more positive relationship.”
Calomino, who earned a philosophy degree from Ottawa University, looks forward to spending more time in her garden, her “Zen place,” and relaxing, walking and traveling more alongside her husband, Martin. She also wants to become more engaged in her local community. Calomino and her husband live in Wheat Ridge and have three grown children who also live in the Denver metro area.
“It’s a strange thing to think about reaching this point in my life after having worked since I was in my early 20s. Work has always been an important part of my life,” Calomino said. “It has been rewarding to be part of this wonderful CU team in the last years of my career, and I send thanks to the many CU and city colleagues and community members who have supported me. It is their partnership that has made this a wonderfully rewarding job.”
Kirsten Schuchman, assistant vice chancellor for public policy and advocacy in the OGCE and a longtime colleague, said of Calomino, “Kim recognizes the importance of the university’s role in the community and has worked diligently to advance the work needed to address our common issues. She and her work will be sorely missed at CU Boulder even as we wish her the very best in her retirement.”