Welcome to the Volunteer Spotlight
We’re sharing some of the stories and experiences of our amazing volunteers as a way to show our gratitude for the positive impact they have on our work and throughout their lives.
Ready to nominate a volunteer for the spotlight?
Aiden Barenholtz
Digital Readiness
I was born and raised in New Jersey. Then I made my way to Gainesville to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Florida (Go Gators!). While there I was introduced to Emerging Enterprise Consulting. This was a group run through the university’s entrepreneurship program. It was a great learning opportunity on what kind of challenges small business owners experience. We got to work with similar size businesses as we do here at Energize Colorado. In February of 2020, I moved to Denver to work for KPMG in the advisory department helping companies implement Oracle Cloud, focusing on building custom UIs. I have had the pleasure of getting to work with Ziah Orion professionally and he introduced me to EC. I applied and now help in the Digital Readiness group.
I like the idea of getting to help people achieve something. When you get to see people improve their lives and the joy they get from doing that, it is special. Also working with small businesses gives me the opportunity to see the impact first hand.
I spend my free time hiking, camping, fishing (often these happen together) and play golf or pickup basketball during the warm weather. I picked up skiing this past winter and now bought both Ikon and Epic passes so big season ahead of us here. I have a very good dog at home, he is a 7 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback. I also enjoy watching football, college > NFL, and the NBA.
I am newly out of college, so I am still in the process of what I want to try to be good at. I am very interested in data analytics, so helping small businesses who have tons of data but don’t know what to do with it. There is opportunity to possibly give them valuable insight into their business that they might not have been able to see on their own.
Connect with Aiden on LinkedIn
Jason Strasser
Mentorship Connections
I’ve spent the past 20 years in learning and development with various roles from implementing strategy to designing, developing, and delivering learning interventions. I started in the “dot-com” bubble era teaching myself how to code in HTML which progressed into developing websites and e-learning. I worked in several different industries (retail, non-profit, financial services, etc.) and all within the learning and development function.
Before the pandemic, I worked in a hybrid model for a financial services company. When we transitioned to fully remote work, I was well-prepared for the shift as I had lots of practice in conducting virtual meetings. Now, I work 100% remote and enjoy the flexibility in my day to go for a walk or take time away from the desk and read a book.
Outside of work, I like to play tennis and compete in tennis leagues. The camaraderie mixed with the competition provides a good balance in my life.
I’m still learning as I’m fairly new to Colorado and all it has to offer. I believe small businesses are the engine of our economy and want every small business owner to be successful. Whatever small part I can play in helping with that makes my day. I like to network and learn about others’ career interests. Energize Colorado has been great about making new connections and giving me exposure to all the types of businesses we support.
I want to help others and I get lots of energy from giving my time. I believe in and practice servant leadership and Energize Colorado helps me deliver on that promise to myself.