VOC Crew Chef: Laura Mapes
Alex Schupp • March 17, 2015
VOC Crew Chef: Laura Mapes
VOC regularly highlights different VOC leaders, in all capacities, so that we can share with you the inspiring work they do to care for Colorado's outdoors! Here, we'd like to recognize VOC Crew Chef-to-be, Laura Mapes.
While Laura is relatively new to VOC, having just gotten involved in October 2013, she has already made a huge impression.
"I feel as though I've gained a family through VOC in the last year and a half," she said of VOC's tight-knit community. "Since moving to Colorado from Los Angeles in 2013, VOC has helped make Colorado a true home for me and my fiancé, Scott."
Laura's first project with VOC was the Pence Park Trail Construction and Reroute. She has since volunteered on a number of other trail restoration projects and is currently training to become a VOC Crew Chef.
"I'm so excited about becoming a Crew chef because laughter, satisfaction, and good friends can be founded through food. I look forward to being able to provide tasty meals to volunteers after they have been working hard on the trails," said Laura.
Aside from volunteering and her full-time position with global professional services firm Marsh & McLennan Companies in Denver, Laura enjoys snowboarding, cooking, brewing beer, and making new friends. Laura now lives in Aurora in a friendly, down-to-earth state where priority is placed on "quality of life and sustainable living." She is looking forward to exploring many new places in Colorado that VOC projects take her to!
Have someone in mind who you'd like us to spotlight so that we can share with others the inspiring work they do? Email Kellie
with why that leader (new or seasoned!) should be selected.
Grossman Scholar Kace reflects on their path in conservation biology and how VOC’s scholarship is helping them pursue hands-on research and fieldwork at CSU.
After three meaningful decades, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) will be saying goodbye to our longtime home at the Dos Chappell Bathhouse in Denver's beloved Washington Park. In the early 1990s, VOC signed a 30-year lease with the City of Denver to transform the historic bathhouse in Washington Park into a headquarters that could support our growing mission. With generous support from our community, we launched a capital campaign and raised $700,000 to complete the initial renovations, which were finalized in 1996. Altogether, including the original renovations, VOC has invested more than $1 million in improvements and ongoing maintenance, creating a space that is enjoyed by our staff, volunteers, and the broader Washington Park community. In 2000, the building was renamed in honor of Dos Chappell, VOC’s former Executive Director (1988–1999), whose vision and leadership left a lasting legacy on our organization and Colorado’s outdoor stewardship movement. This space has been more than just an office—it’s been a gathering place, a launchpad for thousands of volunteers, and a visible symbol of our commitment to caring for Colorado.
Hi! My name is Cecilia Huber,
Hello, my name is Nic Woods.
Hello, my name is Jovanna Fierro,
Cairn Students Complete Their Final Project
Hello! My name is Lydia Meakins,
Hello! My name is Oliver Smock,
Hello! My name is Lucia Keller-Otto,
Cairn Participants Conduct a Site Visit and Learn What It Means To Be a Crew Leader
