Doug McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer

Doug McCarthy, M.B.A., is a longtime resident of La Plata County, a local business owner, and a healthcare policy expert. As chair of the Southwest Healthcare Steering Committee, he supports our efforts to promote affordable local healthcare solutions in partnership with the Peak Health Alliance.

Doug has extensive experience in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He previously directed the Commonwealth Fund’s Health System Tracking team, which produces scorecards and case study research on promising practices in health care delivery. He was a public policy fellow at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a leadership fellow of the Denver-based Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership. He is a member of the La Plata County Board of Health and previously served on the board of Colorado’s Center for Improving Value in Health Care.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Kip Koso, Board Chair

Kip grew up in Durango as a Riverview Eagle, Smiley Saint and Durango Demon before moving away for undergraduate and graduate school. He and his family had to move away at times for school or work, but always knew they would be back to live in La Plata County.

Kip has been in the health and wellness industry for over 30 years starting at a health club folding towels to his current work as a consultant. He spent 9 years as Director of the SunUte Community Center for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe where he and his team embraced a community focused perspective that he still uses to this day in his work. In 2016, Kip moved back to Durango for the final time (fingers crossed) and worked remotely as a consultant for UPMC, which is a large medical organization based mostly on the East Coast. Impact rather than just participation drives his work and personal philosophy when it comes to people and organizations. He firmly believes organizations need to be changing lives for the better from the work they do, or we are all just using up budget and time that we cannot afford.

Jeanne Randazzo Szczech

With a firm belief that generosity and gratitude create joy and prosperity, Jeanne has been the owner and independent broker of Arete Mortgage in Durango since 2003. She is also a co-owner of Good Day Sunshine Solar Cleaning and was previously the co-owner/manager of Colorado Mountain Expeditions from 2007 through 2022. Jeanne has been a member of several local boards and has devoted countless volunteer hours within the Durango 9-R schools. Jeanne brings her experience in the local real estate and finance market as well as her passion for the community’s local business collective and environmental stewardship to the Local First Foundation Board.