Meet Our Members

Founding Members

Our founding members came together in 2016 to plan a multigenerational cohousing neighborhood within walking distance Ridgway’s amenities. It started as a conversation, then a meeting and a workshop. The following dedicated and committed individuals helped to create this vision—and then along came others who believe an intentional community as a beautiful way to live…

Kathy

If you enjoy pondering spiritual matters with others, I am with you! I’ve spent many hours reading about, talking through, and accepting the challenge of learning to live out just what that means.

If you join me on our front porch or at our home to discuss such ideas, we might even walk our outdoor labyrinth on the 35 acres of our property near Ridgway. There, I can also enjoy local wildflowers in my own backyard as I walk the land with our beloved dog, Bandee, a Border Collie.

Since our kids and grandkids all live quite close, we enjoy connecting with them, whether for family outings or the grandkids’ sporting, theatrical and musical events. And, of course, I love to cook for all these folks and often enjoy making old favorites or trying new recipes. With seven growing grandsons, the food disappears very quickly.

Mick

Unlike some seniors, I like change! Those of us who have lived a number of decades look back on our lives and are stunned at the immense levels of change we have experienced. I embrace change when I think it makes sense, such as embracing technology that improves our lives.

I want to continue learning for as long as I live. I find nothing more exhilarating than a book or video that teaches me something that I don't know. There are always new topics for me to dig into to help me learn and change— mostly for the better, I hope.

I enjoy making chess sets out of pieces of hardware. I have made a set for each grandson's 12th birthday: five so far with two to go. I think the chess pieces look good, and have a good feel, too. They are heavy and don't tip over easily. If you like, I'll show you a set when you come to visit.

Don

While my academic and professional backgrounds range from mechanical engineering to dentistry, in my spare time I enjoy pondering the universe and our place in it. I am particularly interested in the nexus among science, the spiritual, and consciousness. I am currently enjoying the works of David Bohm, Larry Dossey, and Eben Alexander to name a few. I believe that humankind is in a transformative time; a time that will hopefully benefit us all.

How does cohousing fit into this? From subatomic particles to the cosmos, it is all about relationships. And, what is cohousing but healthy, positive personal relationships with neighbors?

Sally

I really like to explore – trails, mountains, out-of-the-way places, new ways of thinking, working and living, and learning about different spiritual paths. I once made a special trip north of the Arctic Circle just to see what it was like! We have a trip planned to Morocco for 2021. Hopefully we can travel again by then.

I never tire of learning about new people and their ways of life. Fortunately we don’t always have to go to other places to explore. Isn’t that what gathering at our Common House is for?

Community is taking time to listen, be friends, and enjoy a family group. I am looking forward to having a smaller home and a simpler life. We will have opportunities to help each other out. We will cook together and plan community events. I just can’t wait!

Christi

As a neighbor, I am respectful, quiet and tend to love being at home. I work A LOT from home, and so I also love respectful and quiet neighbors.  

I have a deep belief in the power of community and have been cultivating compassionate communities for as long as I can remember – from housing environments to classrooms and diversity and inclusion work. So despite being an introvert, my life's work has pushed me to be in a lot of leadership roles. 

I've always known that a "more beautiful world" is possible – one set up to help human beings and nature to thrive. One where difference does not mean division. And where people are willing to listen and care for one another. So, cohousing to me, is putting my money and time where my beliefs and values are! 

And then along came…

Sara

My Alpenglow neighbors should know that if they are preparing a recipe and need one teaspoon of some weird herb or spice that they have never heard of, they should probably call me because I most likely will have it. And will gladly share it, along with whatever random advice I might have about the dish or cooking in general. I have a lot of unusual kitchen utensils too! Also available to borrow.

As a former caterer, I can't wait to start cooking again for more than one person. I am about burned out on eating meals by myself consisting of cottage cheese and clementines. I am really looking forward to some "team cooking" and some "team wine tasting", too, of course! Isn't that the main purpose of the patio of the Common House?

Maggie G.

My whole life has been serendipitous! A casual suggestion by an acquaintance prompted me to move to the United States from my native England. Some years later, an upgrade from a small sailboat to a 37-foot catamaran resulted in a multi-year sailing adventure culminating in an Atlantic crossing. Then my physics degree and career owning a tech company morphed into textbook authorship and a career teaching math to high schoolers.

I seem unable to resist the opportunity presented by a new and unexpected challenge. While all of these life adventures have come under the heading of "unplanned yet fortunate occurrences”, life in cohousing offers an opportunity for the intentional – planned — acceptance of responsibility for a new "family”, one to whom you are not related by blood, but have a true bond nonetheless. So, "why not?" For me, this will be the joy of cohousing.

Arleen

I have been welcomed to life in Ridgway by so many generous new friends, locals who have shared their favorite hiking and camping locations— and hopefully one day cherished mushroom foraging spots! New friends have included me in their meditation and yoga sessions and encouraged my participation in rewarding wilderness outdoor volunteer work.

I look forward to sharing what I have learned in my journey of discovery about Ouray County with others new to the area, as we enjoy the abundance of our experiences together. I may guide you at the Community Garden with what I have learned about growing vegetables at this elevation, and you then teach me a delicious curry using the produce we grew in our garden to enjoy together at one of our Common House dinners.

I have always been drawn to cooperative living. One of the great pleasures of cohousing is that we each have our own quiet cozy homes along with the opportunity to share a vibrant community life together. Alpenglow CoHousing offers the best of both worlds. I hope you will join us!

Pam

I fell in love with western Colorado as a 16-year-old when my mom and I rode our bicycles 800 miles around the state. I still love the freedom of long bike tours and am always happiest when discovering new places. I am, however, perfectly capable of sitting for long periods of time looking at the mountains or next to a stream, and am glad to do so with one or two friends.  

I've worked as a university administrator and as an instructional designer on projects as diverse as conservation, clinical trials for vaccines and corporate training in the U.S. and abroad. In work and in volunteer efforts I always prefer working cooperatively, believing that heeding others' perspectives and needs will usually result in a more robust solution. I have done a lot of facilitation work with groups making decisions by consensus, and look forward to using those skills at Alpenglow.

Shawn and I live in Indiana and are thrilled to be returning to Colorado! 

Shawn

I can say the word dumpling in multiple languages and enjoy eating them in their native habitats and many splendid incarnations. I love hiking and biking in order to fully enjoy said dumplings.

At Alpenglow, I look forward to relaxing at the end of the day on the Common House deck with neighbors. Maybe even sharing a dumpling or two.

Abby and Steve

Abby and Steve hail from Bodega, California. Abby visited Ridgway in her youth and fell in love. She’s bringing her horse along with Steve…
Steve found a great quote in the Flyfish Journal (a surprisingly erudite and philosophical magazine) that we think captures what community means to us. The article in Volume 12, Issue 1, entitled Sangha and written by Jimmy Watts, describes the fishing camaraderie of shared purpose similarly. He writes: "...[it] reminds me of a Sangha – a word found in the oldest known Buddhist texts. Translated from Sanskrit, it means a community or order that encourages you and helps you grow: it's a crew that takes you farther than you could otherwise travel alone.”
Read more about Abby and Steve, and their intentional living experiences.

Maggie C.

Maggie Childs comes from yet another state—Kansas. She is a professor of Japanese and Chair of the East Asian Languages and Cultures Department at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. Her dissertation on how the love affairs of medieval Buddhist monks led them to religious awakenings is one we will have to discuss by our Common House fireside! Born in New York, Maggie developed a love of the outdoors through family camping trips and hiking in the Adirondacks. In Kansas she took up competitive trail riding and will be bringing her horse, Goodness Gracious, with her to Ridgway. She joins Alpenglower, Abby, in bringing a horse to Ridgway -- and hopefully Skijoring in Ridgway in 2022!

Maggie also brings to us a background in political activism around LGBTQ rights, climate change and racial equity. In cohousing Maggie hopes to find camaraderie and mutual help and moral support. She has been dreaming of retiring to hike and ride in the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. Asked what she would like her new community to know about her, Maggie responded, “Well, I can come off as brusque, though I don’t mean to be. But I do think direct communication is the best policy.”