Board of Directors Spotlight - Anna
Anna Jaeger is a new member of the ECM board. She joined in November 2025 and jumped right into joining the Fundraising Extreme Team and volunteering at Art is in the Air. Keep reading to hear more from Anna about her experience being on the ECM board.
What is your professional background/experience and how do you bring that to the ECM board?
My professional background is in nonprofit leadership, with a focus on managing grassroots, community-based programs in many of the same Denver neighborhoods that ECM serves. Earlier in my career, I worked closely at the neighborhood level, building trust with residents, partnering with local organizations, and helping design programs that are responsive to what communities actually need.
I now work in philanthropy, which has given me a broader perspective on nonprofit sustainability, strategy, and impact. I also bring prior fundraising experience, which helps me think about how organizations tell their story, build relationships with supporters, and align resources with community-driven work. Together, those experiences allow me to contribute both a community-grounded and strategic lens to ECM’s board.
What about ECM’s mission drew you to join the board?
Through my work with a community-adjacent nonprofit, I became familiar with ECM’s work well before joining the board. I saw firsthand how often ECM showed up in the same neighborhoods and conversations I was already part of, and how respected the organization is among residents and partners. That early exposure made the mission feel very real and tangible to me. ECM’s focus on community-driven change really resonated with me, especially at this moment in time. We are in a period where many people feel disconnected, isolated, or overwhelmed, and the need for real, in-person community connection has never been more important. ECM is about showing up physically, consistently, and with care; not just talking about community but actively building it.
How has being on the board enhanced/changed your view of ECM?
Serving on the board has given me a deeper appreciation for the thoughtfulness behind ECM’s work and the people who guide it. I have been impressed by how forward-looking, curious, and mission-driven the board is, and by how much care goes into balancing immediate community needs with long-term vision. It has reinforced for me how intentional ECM is about doing this work well. What stands out to me is how often ECM’s name comes up organically in community spaces. Hearing residents and partner organizations speak positively about ECM, without prompting, says a lot about the organization’s credibility and the relationships it has built over time.
