RiNo Art District Appoints Edwin Rapp Chief Financial Officer
RiNo Art District, a 501(c)(6) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to fostering a welcoming, creative community where a diversity of artists, residents and businesses thrive, recently announced the hire of Edwin Rapp to serve as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer.
“As a seasoned leader with decades of proven financial management and operations expertise, Ed will support the stewardship of RiNo’s resources and expand our ability to strategically fund and support the arts community,” said Charity Von Guinness, executive director of RiNo Art District. “We’re confident Ed’s deep appreciation for the arts community, combined with his financial leadership, will help us continue to foster a thoughtful, inclusive approach to growth in our District.”
Prior to joining the RiNo team, Rapp served as the CFO for SourceNRG, Colorado’s largest residential solar company. There, Ed led SourceNRG in growing into a fully integrated sales, design, engineering, operations, procurement and installation company. Through this process, he designed, implemented and directed the activities of accounting, finance, law, operations, compliance, sales support and more.
In addition to his contributions to SourceNRG, Rapp spent two decades as principal at Golden Buffalo Professional Services, collaborating closely with mid-to-large client management teams to create innovative solutions through enhanced strategic planning and skilled leadership.
“Over the last 25 years, I’ve had the unique opportunity to help build a strong financial infrastructure for clients across a wide variety of industries,” said Rapp. “I understand the challenges and opportunities that come with operating a large nonprofit organization and look forward to bringing my experience to bear across the RiNo family of organizations. On a more personal note, an artist myself, I am thrilled to contribute to not only the growth and success of this organization, but the entire creative community here in the RiNo Art District.”
Ed received a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder a Master’s degree in Telecommunications Management from Webster University, St. Louis and is also a Certified Internal Control Auditor.
This is the second major hire for the RiNo organization in as many months. RiNo recently brought on Sarah Cawrse as director of urban strategy and design. The hires follow the appointment of Charity Von Guinness as the organization’s executive director in late 2022.
Studio K2 Architecture Welcomes Paola Larios as Architectural Designer
Studio K2 Architecture (SK2) announced the addition of Paola Larios to the firm as architectural designer and project manager. Larios interned at the firm for more than a year before joining SK2 full-time after graduation.
Larios attained a Master of Architecture from the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning in May. Her education there includes certificates in design-build and historic preservation. She’s supporting several current projects including The Karaoke Café, an “eatertainment” venue expanding in the Capital Hill neighborhood in Denver later this year, a confidential residential addition, and several cannabis projects the firm is designing across the U.S.
“A career in architecture is multi-faceted,” Larios says, adding what she enjoys most at the moment is “learning about the near-constant development of new materials and software in development and how these tools can make it easier to design and build more environmentally responsible projects.”
“We’re thrilled to bring Paola to the firm full-time,” says Geneva Kowalski, partner and principal at SK2. “Her passion for sustainability is a natural fit with our focus on adaptive reuse and historic preservation. That zeal, along with her outstanding technical skills and interdisciplinary understanding of how everything must come together for a successful project is an incredible asset to the firm,” she adds.
Larios anticipates scheduling her first Architecture Registration Examination (ARE) this fall. In her spare time, she is drawn to music – she’s learning to play guitar – or writing fiction. She recently wrote and produced a mini audiobook called “Hope of Those Left Behind” and is considering developing it into a complete book.
Small-Balance Lending Specialist Joins CBRE in Denver
CBRE announced that Kellen Dick joined its Denver office as a vice president of Debt & Structured Finance. Mr. Dick specializes in small-balance lending for all commercial property types, including multifamily. He works with private investors nationwide to source financing solutions across agency lenders, life insurance companies, debt funds, CMBS, and bank and bridge lenders. His experience includes the Freddie Mac Small Balance Loan program, which remains a competitive source of funding.
Mr. Dick comes to CBRE from Collegiate Peaks Bank where he was a vice president in commercial real estate lending, underwriting, risk analysis and loan portfolio management. He previously spent a decade with FirstBank in Denver.
He joins CBRE’s Denver-based Debt & Structured Finance team led by Brady O’Donnell.
“Kellen is an ideal complement to our team. His track record and specialization in the small-balance lending and private capital space allows us to fully service client needs across the entire loan spectrum,” said Mr. O’Donnell, vice chairman, CBRE.
Mr. Dick received a master’s degree in banking from the Pacific Coast Banking School and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska. He is a board member of local non-profit Shiloh House and serves as a mentor for the student leadership program Big Idea Project.
Pless Law Firm Announces New Hire
Christopher Campbell joins Denver-based Pless Law Firm, bringing twenty years of commercial real estate expertise to his role as senior counsel. Chris represents a wide range of clients including institutional owners and operators, local and regional banks, high net worth investors as well as landlords and tenants. He primarily focuses his practice on acquisitions, dispositions, equity investments, syndications and fund formations, leasing, financing, and tenant-in-common structures.
Chris is a graduate of the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He is licensed to practice law in California, Colorado, and Texas. He will be based in the firm’s Denver office.
