"The Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains is a place for those that feel like they're not accepted, to be accepted."
- Megan Bruel, Community Member
Give today to secure a brighter tomorrow.
A place to call our own
Our building represents decades of growth and victory, struggle and joy for the LGBTQ+ community in Boulder County and beyond. It creates space for truly inclusive events. It provides room and facilities for our amazing cadre of support and social programming. It facilitates health and wellness at a time we need it most. It encourages our youth to flourish and grow.
We all belong here.
Capital Campaign Updates
Elevator Installation begins January 8
The elevator has been a focus of our Capital Campaign fundraising efforts since the beginning.
To keep the promise of our campaign, “We All Belong Here,” we knew we must have a way for everyone who comes to the Equality Center to access all of our services. We believe accessibility is not optional.
The elevator is estimated to be completed in June 2024.
Room Dedications in Progress
To truly make this a space of belonging, our Board of Directors has chosen to highlight the incredible contributions of Coloradans who have paved the way for this organization, this building, and the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Many thanks to our generous Capital Campaign donors for making this dream a reality.
Dedication Opportunities
Out Boulder County began as a group of LGBTQ+ community members organizing Pride out of the trunk of a car. Thanks to these founders and LGBTQ+ and Allied history makers, today's struggle for equality is taking place on a markedly different front.
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Ceal Barry, 1955- Present
Ceal Barry was Head Coach of the University of Colorado’s (CU) Women’s Basketball team.
Ceal racked up a 427-242 win record and brought her team to 12 NCAA tournaments and 13 conference championships. More importantly, Ceal graduated 95% of her team including 85 Academic All-Conference Student Athletes. She was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and the liaison to CU’s Office of Inclusion, Equity and Compliance, Ceal has always spoken up to address issues that affect LGBTQ+ people and their rights.
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Jean Dubofsky, 1942-Present
Jean Dubofsky was the first woman to become a Colorado Supreme Court Justice and Deputy Attorney General.
She received her undergraduate degree from Stanford, and subsequently graduated from Harvard Law. In 1993, Jean argued before the United States Supreme Court against Colorado’s Amendment 2, which banned laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Court ruled Amendment 2 unconstitutional by a 6–3 vote. This decision set the stage for same-sex marriage rights in Obergefell v. Hodges.
A Colorado Women’s Hall of fame inductee, Jean has served on numerous boards and commissions, including as president of the Colorado Center for Law and Policy, on the Colorado ACLU Board of Directors, and on our organization's Advocacy Committee.
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Tim Feifield, 1954-2010
Tim Leifield was the Executive Director of Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) from 1989 to 1995.
Tim played a major role in the growth of BCAP when HIV-AIDS was ravaging our community. Under Tim’s leadership, BCAP grew its programs and services exponentially to better meet the needs of people with HIV-AIDS and their loved ones. A prominent figure in Boulder’s nonprofit and LGBTQ+ communities for decades, Tim also worked at The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County.
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Bob Morehouse, 1948-Present
Bob Morehouse founded Vermilion, Inc., a creative agency which designed Boulder Pride’s first logo and the signage here at the Equality Center.
Bob’s passion for promoting human rights, the arts, LGBTQ+ rights, and local sustainability efforts are reflected in Vermilion’s mission. The company was established as a way to provide graphic design which “informs, clarifies, persuades and communicates the possibilities of working together for positive change.”
Bob has served on the board of the Community Foundation of Boulder County, the Colorado Chautauqua Association and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce. In 2022, he was inducted into the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame.
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Matt Patrick, 1959-2022
Matt Patrick was instrumental in founding Boulder Pride and was a member of its first Board of Directors.
Matt was Executive Director of Boulder County AIDS Project (BCAP) from 1995 to 2001. During his tenure, the advent of protease inhibitors and other HIV treatments brought renewed health and hope for people living with HIV. Under Matt’s leadership, BCAP hosted the first two national Gay Men's Health Summits. He served on the Colorado Governor's AIDS Council, and was on the board of several nonprofits.
Ever in love with the land, Matt trained as a master gardener in 2005 and ran his own natural landscape business.
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Clela Rorex, 1943 - 2022
Clela Rorex was the first County Clerk in the U.S. to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
On March 26, 1975, two men entered the Boulder County Clerk's office and requested a marriage license. Clela asked the Assistant District Attorney whether Colorado state law prohibited her from issuing the license to two people of the same sex. No such prohibition was found, and Clela issued the license. She would go on to issue five more before the Attorney General ordered her to stop.
Despite rampant backlash, Clela continued to dedicate her life to LGBTQ+ allyship and advocacy, often volunteering with our organization and marching in local Pride parades.
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Some examples of our in-progess dedications:
This Was Never Just About a Parade
Since the early 1990s, Out Boulder County has championed acceptance, visibility, and equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Some of those battles were civilized with incremental gains. Others left us bruised but never broken. But, throughout those years, we have always strived to be the organization that people want to fight with, side-by-side.
We’ve seen tremendous growth.
In the last five years alone, our operating budget has grown six-fold. That has allowed us to dramatically increase our staff, our programs, and our reach. It has allowed us to move from our beloved, but overly cozy, original offices into 3340 Mitchell Lane with the needed space and facilities to hold supportive and creative events, programs, and gatherings for the community. Through equity clinics we put 20,000 COVID-19 vaccines in people’s arms who otherwise may have been reluctant or excluded. And, most importantly, we’ve played a pivotal role in shaping this imperfect, yet infinitely more accepting cultural landscape for the LGBTQ+ community.
As you read through our history and vision, we hope you are inspired to support Out Boulder County in our efforts to secure our community’s future.
If you are a first-time supporter, know that you will be welcomed into our fold. If you are a long-time supporter, know that everything we have become in these last decades is because of you.
Welcome to the future of Out Boulder County.
We all belong here.
Belonging. Inclusion. Safety.
The Impact of the Equality Center
Check out some interviews from our Grand Opening of the Equality Center of the Rocky Mountains on April 8, 2022!
Want to know more about the benefits of the new space and why we chose this location?
Read more here.
Capital Campaign Committee Members
Kevin Ellis (Co-Chair)
Jahnavi Brenner (Co-Chair)
Mary Dineen
Laura Edwards
Neil Fishman
Nicole Garcia, MA NCC
Libby Neumann
Ann Noonan
Karla Rikansrud
Xanthe Thomassen
Honorary Committee Members
Jennifer Caracciolo
Randy Clapp & James Hoppe
Kevin Daly
Michael Dougherty
Jennifer Egbert
Dave Ensign & Mike Mills
Lin Erhardt
Nancy Grimes
Jean Hodges
Eric & Sandy Hozempa
Dorothy Rupert
Elaina Shively
John & Molly Tayer
Diane Wild
Bob & Katy Yates
Generous Supporters
Individual Donors
Bryn & Yvonne Long
Bob Morehouse & Noel Maye
Melissa Leonhardt
Liz Armstrong
Bruce Hensley
Diane Wild & Karla Hensley
James Bailey
Nancy Clark & Dr. Cheryl Lovell
Liz & Josh Silberstein
Ann Miles & Ann Morrow
Drs. Carl Clark & Mark Groshek
Katy Withers
Mary Dineen & Sue Masterson
Neil Fishman
Teresa De
Ani & Anne Stockham
Audrey & Andy Franklin
Wayne & Deborah Simmons
Eileen & Derek Kiernan-Johnson
Mardi Moore
Ric Perez
Thomas Frank
Ellen Greenhouse & Lester Wall
Kyl Caragol & Tina Guenther
Larry Hoyt & Bryan Russell
Michael & Antonia Dougherty
Alicia & James Starr-Noonan
Jahnavi & Scott Brenner
Bob Miller and Rod Pierce
Josie & Rollie Heath
Mark & Nick Holdbrooks
Sonya Lewis & Allison Lotspeich
Lynn Hellerstein
Dave Ensign & Mike Mills
Kevin Daly & Brendan Picker
Natalie Ahn
Amy & Jock Danforth
Helen Kearney
Bruce and Carl Brothers
Claire & Andrew Clurman
Riley Combelic
Casey Gallagher & Andrew Burwick
Jabe Hickey
Elisabeth Borden
Janet Buhlmann
Laura Larson
Lin Ernhardt
Nancy Grimes
Sarah Brown
Whitney Plantilla
Chris Davids
Ann Noonan
Lisa Banner
Gretchen McKee
Kathryn Lynch
Nicole Garcia
Christine Leifield Burrage
Frances Dahlberg
Kim Smith
Libby Neumann
Mark and Deborah
Sue Hirschfeld
Susan Schmidt
Rory & Sam Kennedy
Angie and Jason Adkins
Amanda Kearney-Smith
Elizabeth Murphy
Eric and Sandy Hozempa
Karen Raforth
Lorraine Fuller & Martha Coder
Marcia Weaks
Melanie Reiser
Nadya Sustache & Kate Kelsch
The Harmon Family
Melissa Cauthen
Carrie Barker & Pat Thomas
Kathleen Sepeda
Mary Ellen Bates
Sue Leifield
Jane Ireland
Ari Perlstein
Elizabeth Starr
Barbara B League
Nancy Grimes
Nona Gandelman
Alice Guinther
Amy Brown
Ellen Davies
Jessica Krebs
Jonathan Lehmann
Leslie Schafer
May Claire Hetzel
Sarah Peapples
Carol Kobel
Erin Jones
Jill Lawrence
Judy Underwood
Louise E Knapp
Nancy Consolloy & Rebecca Smith-Woody
Patricia M. Lang
Ron & Jennifer Gould
Eladia Rivera
Cat Cantor
Maureen Espinoza
Sharin Berger
Alannah Rose Blaise
Ann Haebig
Anna Schoettle
Gabriel Hottinger
Janine D'Anniballe
Kay & Gordon Conkling
Amy Dickinson
Nate George & Mark Stevens
Patty Jackson
Emily Lewis
Three Brodsky
Nancy Miller
Rebecca Oerter
Sophia Carmien
Ann Kurtz
Lynn Patrick
Matthew Fox
Robin Allegra
Sally Blaser
Corporate Donors
Wana Brands Foundation
Melton Design + Build
Hubbard Homes
Otten Johnson Robinson Neff + Ragonetti
Sue Masterson Re/MAX
Trailhead Wealth Management
Martin Law Associates
Colorado Financial
Grantmakers
Boulder County Worthy Cause
Lighthouse Future Fund
Open Door Fund
Kemper Family Foundation
Bamboo Fund
August First Fund
Sage Fund
Twisted Foundation
Benjamin Family Foundation
The ESJ Daughters Fund
The Hilltop Fund
Orchard House Foundation
Do Justice, Love Kindness Fund
Boston Williams Rev. Trust