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They’re uncommon achievers, whether as entrepreneurs, CEOs, nonprofit leaders, visionaries critical to their companies’ success or, in some cases, all of those roles. This year’s Top 25 Young Professionals figure to continue making a difference professionally and in their communities for years to come.
Read on to learn about the 2023 Top 25 Young Professionals and to see the list of this year’s top 50 finalists.
READ: GenXYZ 2023 — Top 25 Finalists
Nicole Riehl, 39
President & CEO, Colorado EPIC | Denver
When Nicole Riehl joined Colorado EPIC as president and CEO in 2019, she brought with her a wealth of experience as an early-childhood teacher at an on-site corporate child-care program.
With Riehl at the helm, EPIC (Executives Partnering to Invest in Children) has engaged more than 20 employers and organizations that serve more than 70,000 employees throughout the state, nation and world and directly supported projects that stand to create more than 1,000 new child-care slots in Colorado in the next five years.
Since joining EPIC, Riehl has led initiatives and policies that have improved access to quality, affordable early child care and education for children of parents who are continuing their own education and career advancement. The initiatives include the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, Family Friendly Toolkit and Assessment, Colorado Business Reads, and the passage of the full-day kindergarten and universal preschool law.
Under Riehl’s leadership, EPIC has created its community and service-based initiatives, including its consulting program for employers related to child-care benefits; the Child Care Design lab, which creates sustainable and affordable employer-based child-care models; and the Building UP initiative, which works to reverse the trend of child-care program closures and the disappearance of child-care slots in Colorado.
Riehl is active in her community, serving on the board of organizations like the YMCA of Metro Denver, Book Trust and The City and County of Denver’s Welfare Reform Board. Gov. Jared Polis recently appointed Riehl to serve on the Early Childhood Leadership Commission as a representative of the local business community.