About Boulder Housing Network
BHN aims to get more people involved where and when it matters most: in the early stages of the City of Boulder’s planning processes.
Affordable housing is an essential element of an inclusive and equitable community, but the vast majority of housing in Boulder is beyond the reach of low and middle income earners. Public hearings on new developments that will provide additional housing are attended by well-organized, wealthy neighbors who do not want denser or more affordable housing near them. Their voices are loud and insistent. The City needs to be reminded that there are many other residents who support ethical, attainable housing.
BHN is managed by a small group of volunteers.
Macon Cowles
Founder and Managing Editor - Macon is a Boulder lawyer with a keen interest in sustainability—which includes places for people to live. He served on the Boulder Planning Board, the Boulder City Council and on the Denver Regional Council of Governments Board of Directors. A recipient of the Colorado American Planning Association President’s Award, he advocates for housing because so many young people and people of color are locked out of housing in high opportunity areas like Boulder.
Mark Bloomfield
Editor - Mark has extensive experience in, and passion for, the built environment. Starting with 12 years as a sustainable building consultant, Mark also has a leadership position with Better Boulder, and is a Planning Commissioner for Boulder County. Mark is also working on developing an equity coop to create attainable housing with a focus on community building.
Kathleen McCormick
Editor - Kathleen McCormick, principal of Fountainhead Communications in Boulder, is a writer and editor focused on healthy and sustainable communities. She has been a contributing editor for Land Lines, published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and has written many articles and special reports for the Urban Land Institute on affordable housing, mixed-use and transit-oriented development, sustainable design, and climate resilience. She was co-editor of Charter of the New Urbanism for the Congress for the New Urbanism, and has published articles in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Planning and produced publications for federal and municipal agencies and nonprofit organizations. She is on the Boulder Arts Commission and the boards for the Dairy Arts Center and Better Boulder.
Kurt Nordbeck
Editor - Kurt moved to Boulder with his family at age 4. He grew up on University Hill, attending Boulder schools and CU. Professionally he is a software engineer, but his real passions are urban design and transportation policy.
Shawn Rupp
Editor - Shawn Rupp is an advocate for equitable access to housing, walkable communities, and energy efficiency. In 2018, Shawn earned his master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from CU Boulder with a concentration in Building Systems. He is currently working as a consultant in the electric utility industry, where he helps utilities think through how to add more renewable energy and eventually transition to 100% carbon-free generation.
In 2020 and 2021, Shawn volunteered with Bedrooms are for People, a group dedicated to making Boulder more inclusive by increasing occupancy limits in the city. He continues to be passionate about affordable housing and tenants’ rights and is committed to making Boulder more accessible.
Caitlin Ryan
Editor - Caitlin Ryan, PhD, is a geographer, educator, writer and researcher. She teaches courses on international development, global public health, and global economic change in CU-Boulder’s department of Geography. Her research in Central Asia investigated urban transformation and its intersection with process of ethnic and class-based segregation. Previously, Caitlin worked with Transparency International and the Eurasia Foundation in the South Caucasus, where she led advocacy-based research programs that tracked flows of international aid to refugees and IDPs, as well as good governance reforms. Caitlin views affordable housing as fundamental to advancing social and environmental justice.
Claudia Hanson Thiem
Editor - Claudia is a nice lady that writes articles.