Create Boulder is a 501c3 non-profit powered by a community of leaders and arts advocates who believe that creativity is the essence of a vibrant and just community. We are committed to leveraging our resources to sustain a thriving and resilient arts and culture ecosystem in the City of Boulder.

Our Story

Founded in 2016, Create Boulder emerged to address chronic underinvestment in the arts. We started by building relationships with city leaders, artists, arts organizations, and community members to strengthen support for creativity in Boulder. When the pandemic hit, we stepped up quickly, delivering emergency funding and leading advocacy efforts to restore cultural support.

In 2023, our board members initiated and led the successful campaign for Ballot Measure 2A, securing $75 million in dedicated arts funding over 20 years. Create Boulder is now focusing on the future: championing the development ofcultural spaces, expanding grant support for the arts, and ensuring Boulder remains a place where our creative community not only belongs, but thrives.

Meet Our Board

 

  • Deborah Malden is a co-founder of Create Boulder and has served as the volunteer Arts Liaison at the Boulder Chamber since 2013. A lifelong dancer and former banking executive, she spent 20 years financing major infrastructure projects before turning her focus to strengthening the "soft infrastructure" that supports a vibrant, just society.

    She helped launch Boulder Arts Week in 2014 and continues to serve on its advisory group. Deborah has held leadership roles on the boards of 3rd Law Dance/Theater, The Dairy Arts Center (including as interim executive director), and the Scientific & Cultural Facilities Board (2017–2022). She’s also an active member of Social Venture Partners Boulder County.

    A 2021 certified Change Leader with Colorado Creative Industries, Deborah co-chairs Colorado Cultural Champions, a statewide arts advocacy initiative. She is a graduate of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts Leadership Arts program (2014), which launched her second career in arts advocacy.

    Deborah co-led the successful 2023 2A/Arts, Culture & Heritage Tax campaign. Her contributions have been recognized with the Dairy Center Honors (2017), Boulder Chamber’s Women Who Light the Community award (2022), and the PNC Bank Cultural Leadership Award from CBCA (2023).

  • Nick Forster is a co-founder of Create Boulder, a professional musician, record producer, arts and nonprofit entrepreneur, and radio host/producer. He is most widely known as a longstanding member of the award-winning bluegrass band, Hot Rize, and as the host and founder of the musical and environmental radio and podcast program, eTown, based in Boulder, Colorado.

    As a 30-year Executive Director of an arts nonprofit in Boulder, Nick has experienced firsthand the impact of major gaps in funding for artists and arts organizations.

    Born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in New York, Nick has called Boulder home since moving here in 1980. Married for 30 years to his partner in life and work, Helen Forster. She and Nick live in west Boulder with the cutest cat in the world (sorry, not sorry) named Emma. Nick has three grown daughters, and three grandchildren that keep him at his most playful.

  • Kathleen McCormick began singing in choirs in the fourth grade, sparking a lifelong commitment to music, arts, and culture. During her years working as a journalist in Washington D.C., she sang with the National Symphony Orchestra’s Choral Arts Society. In Boulder, she has sung for many years with large and small choral ensembles, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Bach Festival, Ars Nova, and Cantabile.

    Kathleen was appointed to the Boulder Arts Commission from 2016 to 2023 and served as chair for two years during the Covid pandemic. She also has served on the boards for the Dairy Arts Center and the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMoCA), and has worked with marketing teams for the Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) and other nonprofits. She was a ballot petitioner and organizer for the successful 2A/Arts, Culture & Heritage Tax campaign in 2023. She joined the Create Boulder Board in 2024.

    Kathleen moved to Boulder in 1993 with her husband, Michael Leccese, and raised their son and daughter here. As a writer and editor, she has freelanced for magazines and newspapers such as The New York Times and USA Today, and produced articles, reports, and books on sustainable environmental and urban design for the Urban Land Institute, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, the Sonoran Institute, design firms, and government agencies. Since 2020, she has served on the Better Boulder Board. She enjoys hiking, gardening, and attending amazing arts events in Boulder and while traveling. 

  • Lyn Ciocca McCaleb is a dedicated advocate for the arts and community service in Boulder, Colorado. With over two decades of experience on nonprofit boards spanning the arts and education, Lyn brings leadership expertise to help foster creativity and collaboration within the local arts community. She was an advocate for the Arts, Culture & Heritage Tax petition, which led to the successful approval of ballot measure 2A by voters. A passionate supporter of artistic expression, Lyn believes in the transformative power of the arts to connect individuals, inspire change, and enhance the quality of life.

    In addition to her nonprofit work, Lyn is an executive and leadership coach, collaborating with leaders and teams across startups, nonprofits, universities, and corporations. Earlier in her career, she led marketing for major consumer brands. Lyn holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from NYU.

    Originally from Sleepy Hollow, NY, Lyn resides in North Boulder with her husband, Rob. Together, they are avid scuba divers and enjoy camping throughout Colorado. Her diverse board experience includes The Coral Reef Alliance, The Dairy Arts Center, Passageworks and 3rd Law Dance.  She currently also serves on the NoBo Art District board.

  • Jan Burton is passionate about art and music, serving on numerous music boards in the past, including eTown and the Colorado Music Festival and currently serves on the University of Colorado College of Music Advisory Board. She regularly hosts concerts in her Boulder, Colorado home and is dedicated to creating a sustainable future for art and cultural organizations and musicians.

    Jan was a Boulder City Council member from 2015-2017 and enthusiastically advocated for the passing of the city’s first Community Cultural Plan in 2015. She is still actively engaged with the City of Boulder Office of Arts + Culture and city council around arts initiatives as well as other topics of interest in the Boulder.

    Jan helped to create the Colorado Music Festival’s “Mashup” series in 2013 to reach new audiences and create a social atmosphere for orchestral performances.

    She chairs the Open Boulder Foundation, an organization focused on various good governance initiatives and support of Boulder’s open space. She is an active pilot, aircraft owner, avid outdoor person, photographer, and art lover. Since 2014, she has traveled to 28 National Parks in her 1961 Airstream, blogging about the experience. She is a volunteer with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, helping to monitor and protect raptors in their mating season.