This past year marked a period of significant growth, change, and action for JEWISHcolorado’s Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), beginning with the hiring of its first-ever expanded professional team, Senior Director Brandon Rattiner and Deputy Director Liz Lebeaux Vantine, and the onboarding of multiple new member organizations. This investment reflects JEWISHcolorado’s commitment to strengthening its community relations portfolio.
In their inaugural year, Rattiner and Lebeaux Vantine focused on three strategic areas:
Advocating for the Jewish Future
At the start of the year, a guiding question emerged: How can the JCRC help our community become its own strongest advocate?
This led to the launch of the Mobilization Corps, a first-of-its-kind program offering training, resources, and support to help Jewish community members and allies engage confidently in effective advocacy and democratic processes.
JCRC Mobilization Corps Kickoff Event
Since its official launch in March, the Mobilization Corps has engaged nearly 200 community members through training sessions and meetings with elected officials. Corps members have learned the best practices for political advocacy and public testimony, shared concerns with state lawmakers and state parties, advocated for additional security funding, and heard from national experts about winning messaging.
At the Mobilization Kickoff event with Boundless Israel, participant Sydney Paine reflected:
“The meeting [with our state senator] was successful… Local Jewish constituents were able to create a line of communication to work in partnership moving forward. This wouldn’t have been possible without the help and framework JCRC provides… One of the core Jewish values is tikkun olam, the obligation to repair the world. I cannot think of a better way to fulfill this mitzvah than becoming involved in my local government—because at home is where it starts.”
JCRC and JEWISHcolorado connect Jewish communal leaders with University of Colorado President Todd Saliman and CU Boulder Chancellor Dr. Justin Schwartz
Beyond connecting constituents with public officials, the JCRC also sought to build connections within the community itself. The Jewish Civic Network (JCN) brought together Jewish professionals from government, education, policy, nonprofit, and civic-adjacent organizations, creating a supportive network for navigating Jewish identity in these kinds of professional spaces. JCN participants came from a wide variety and public and private sector roles, but all shared the desire to connect with Jewish colleagues who were equally invested in bolstering civic engagement throughout Colorado.
The JCN’s final event of the year featured a legislative update from our lobbying partners at The Capstone Group, LLC, highlighting JCRC’s impact at the Capitol and fostering opportunities for deeper collaboration during the upcoming legislative session.
Engaging our Public Officials
As the public affairs arm of Colorado’s Jewish community, the JCRC continued its 40+ year legacy of cultivating meaningful relationships at all levels of government.
JCRC hosts a meeting with the Jewish Caucus and Amy Spitalnick, CEO of Jewish Council for Public Affairs
JCRC played a key role in organizing a more active Jewish Caucus at the Capitol. During her trip to Colorado, the JCRC hosted a meeting with the Jewish Caucus and Amy Spitalnick, CEO of Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), to discuss the experiences of Jewish legislators across the country. Later in the session, the JCRC joined the Jewish Caucus for the annual presentation of the Holocaust Memorial Joint Resolution on the Senate floor. Having a more active Jewish Caucus helps elevate Jewish interests at the Capitol and can play an important leadership role, as we saw when the Caucus weighed in after the antisemitic attack in Boulder.
Following several canceled trips and flight disruptions, the JCRC successfully brought Colorado legislators to Israel for its first Public Officials Mission (POM) since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. A bipartisan delegation of 11 statewide representatives spent a week exploring Israel’s geopolitical conflicts, Jewish history and identity, antisemitism, and the deep connections between Colorado and Israel.
Public Officials Mission 2025
POM participant Representative Anthony Hartsook (CO-44) shared:
“I spent 26 years in the U.S. Army and served multiple combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan…But I had never been to Israel, and I wanted to see the country to understand more about its relevance to America and to the Western way of life from a geopolitical perspective. It is the center of major religions with thousands of years of incredible history, and I wanted to experience that firsthand. And because the trip is bipartisan in nature, it offers the opportunity to build deeper relationships that go beyond everyday encounters at the Capitol.”
Supporting our Community in Crisis
The antisemitic attack on the Run for Their Lives Walk in Boulder was a stark reminder of the rising dangers of being visibly Jewish in public spaces. In the aftermath, the JCRC provided strategic support to elevate the voices of the Boulder Jewish community.
Governor Polis speaks at Run for Their Lives Community Gathering in Boulder
A major component of this support was crisis messaging and media response, working closely with a coalition of Jewish partners that included ADL Mountain States, the Boulder JCC, CU Boulder Hillel, Hillel of Colorado, Israeli-American Council, StandWithUs, and Stop Antisemitism Colorado. Between June 1-9, nearly 700 local, national, and international news stories were tracked, with JCRC professional and lay leadership publishing Op-Eds in The Denver Post, Haaretz, The Colorado Sun, and USA Today.
The JCRC elevated our concerns about rising incidents of identity-based violence, convening a town hall with Senator Michael Bennet to discuss ways he could advocate for the Colorado Jewish community at the federal level. Following that conversation, Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper sent a joint letter to Senate leadership calling for increased and more flexible Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) funding. Later in the month, JCRC staff and lay leadership joined an emergency mission to Washington, D.C. to further these federal advocacy efforts in meetings with members of the Colorado congressional delegation that included: Representatives Crow, Hurd, and Neguse.
Town hall with Attorney General Phil Weiser
In partnership with the Staenberg-Loup JCC, the JCRC hosted an additional town hall with Attorney General Phil Weiser to explore state-level strategies to protect Jewish communities and raise awareness about how anti-Zionist rhetoric fuels antisemitism and violence against Jewish people. These efforts yielded tangible results: Governor Jared Polis concluded the fiscal year with the release of an additional $250,000 in nonprofit security funding, as well as the eligibility expansion to access these funds.
After an antisemitic incident at a Denver Academy of Torah (DAT) basketball game, JCRC helped to coordinate the response effort. This included drafting press releases, engaging with national and local media, connecting concerned parents with SCN resources, and serving as a thought partner to DAT leadership.
Looking Ahead
As the JCRC enters a new year, a new guiding question emerges: How can the JCRC ensure Jewish Coloradans are safer and more empowered to participate in public life as their full selves?
To answer this, the JCRC is launching a new programmatic portfolio focused on organizing a broad, values-driven coalition. The goal is to reinforce civic norms and protect against antisemitism, anti-Zionism, polarization, and all forms of identity-based or political violence.
As always, our success will rely on the partnership of our member organizations, legislative allies, and dedicated community advocates. We look forward to continuing this vital conversation—and expanding our collective impact—in the year to come.