Alyssa Street – Development Director A Thousand Summers (John Austin Cheley Foundation)

Alyssa Street is an “all in” kind of person. That’s true whether it comes to her playing sports, like competitive racquetball, or in her professional sphere. In the 23 years since graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in PR/Mass Communications and German, Street has had three employers and spent more than six years at each.

The Development Director at A Thousand Summers (the John Austin Cheley Foundation) exemplifies dedication, not only in the jobs she’s held, but the organizations she’s gifted her time and talent as a volunteer.

That dedication and dependability are just a few of the reasons Street was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year at the 2022 CPGR Summer Symposium. She will complete seven years on CPGR’s Board of Directors – two terms plus her initial appointment of an unfulfilled term – in December, and plans to continue her role with the Marketing Committee, where she’s served as co-chair since 2016.

A native of Colorado, Street, who grew up in Brighton, didn’t set out to work in development. She started in the petroleum industry working in communications. While there, she earned a master’s in International Administration from the University of Denver and realized her values more aligned with nonprofit work.

She joined the Colorado Cattleman’s Agricultural Land Trust handling their marketing and communications when she had the idea to add a donation envelope to one of their outreach pieces. That grew into her being offered a director of development and communications position, and her obtaining a Certificate in Fundraising Management from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. She also went through the Institute for Leadership in Development program.

To learn about planned giving, she joined CPGR and became a mentee, where she fulfilled her volunteer obligation by joining the marketing committee. In CPGR, she says she found an organization that takes care of its members, and offers incredible resources.

“There are so many experts who have been so giving of their time. It’s really a community of members coming together to help each other out.”

She’s cherished working with Tina Drum, executive director, and her fellow board members, and was totally and pleasantly surprised when her name was announced as Volunteer of the Year – not an easy feat given as she serves on the Executive Committee and is Secretary for the board. “It really meant a lot to me.” she said. “Everyone on the CPGR board is truly amazing, and I will miss working with all of them when I roll off the board in December."

In addition to her volunteer work with CPGR, Street serves on the Girl Scouts Denver Council Highest Award Committee and as a mentor for high school girls looking to earn the Girl Scout Gold Award, which she was awarded as a teen. She also previously served on the board for the Colorado Racquetball Association.

She and her husband, Martin, have a 12-year-old border collie, Cole, and enjoy hiking and spending time in the mountains.

Written by Olivia Mayer, Director of Donor Relations at Christian Living Communities