Sojourner Salutes

HOLIDAY 2016-2017

VINTAGE STYLE AN ASPEN HOME BRINGS A WINECOUNTRY AESTHETIC TO THE MOUNTAINS

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or more than two decades, Aspen Sojourner has annually honored three locals (or local couples) for their noteworthy contributions to making Aspen, and the Roaring Fork Valley, a better community. This year’s Sojourner Salutes winners include a farmer/chef dedicated to building a strong sustainable food system, an animal lover who has devoted her career to assisting Pitkin County’s four-legged residents, and a philanthropic couple who are passionate about education.

HOLIDAY 2016–2017

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Terri and Tony Caine with some of the students who participated in the Summer Advantage program at Basalt Elementary School

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HOLIDAY 2016–2017

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n 2010, Tony Caine, an avid hiker, climbed all 54 of Colorado’s 14,000-footplus peaks in one season.

But he wasn’t in it for the bragging rights. Instead, his mission was to raise awareness of educational opportunities for promising low-income kids. That same year, Tony and his wife, Terri, launched their nonprofit, Summit 54, to help students in Colorado achieve scholastic success.

“Climbing a mountain can seem like a daunting task if you’ve never done it before,” says Tony. “The same can be said for a child that comes from nothing. Summiting all those 14ers was a kind of analogy. If you are prepared with a plan, perseverance—no matter the odds—comes more easily.”

The founder of Spyglass, an early Internet software company, and chairman of two hedge funds, Tony is passionate about improving children’s lives through education.

Earlier in his career, while working for Apple, he was charged with administering educational grants for his region, an assignment he says immediately tugged at his heart-

strings. “In good years, I was able to distribute generous sums of money with a smile on my face,” he recalls.

In leaner times, he had to deliver the bad news of grant requests unmet, a task so emotionally draining that he chokes up just talking about it.

Terri, a 32-year Roaring Fork Valley resident and former public relations exec, shares her husband’s passion. They aim to ensure that all Colorado students graduate from high school ready for a career or college. It’s a tall order, but one the Caines feel optimistic they can achieve through their methodic approach.

Currently, Summit 54’s efforts reach more than 1,000 students annually. Terri and Tony use the same business acumen that informed their respective careers to gather datadriven metrics for optimal resource allocation, leverage private philanthropic funding with public sources, and foster partnerships between school districts and other entities.

The Caines are particularly proud of their partnership with the Roaring Fork School District (RFSD).

In 2012, budget cuts eliminated a program designed to reverse summer

learning loss, considered especially prevalent among lower-income kids.

In response—and unbeknownst to district officials—Terri applied for and received a grant to bring in Summer Advantage, a voluntary five-week intensive learning program.

Basalt Elementary School principal Suzanne Wheeler-del Piccolo recalls her first meeting with Terri.

“She introduced this program that would have a tremendous impact on helping our kids succeed because it was well-rounded in both life experience and academics. Why would I ever say no to that?”

Now offered in Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs, Summer Advantage has a proven track record of helping students in grades K-4 maintain reading and math skills. Terri notes that 84 percent of local program participants already receive free or reduced lunch through the National School Lunch program, a statistic she says can be hard to comprehend. “The RFSD is 20 minutes away from Aspen, and yet so many people simply don’t realize how much poverty exists in our valley.”

Through Summit 54, the Caines have also partnered with College Track, a national college preparatory program, and helped fund a public charter school network in Denver.

Locally, they work with the RFSD’s Pre-Collegiate Program, which gives academic and financial support to secondary-school students who would be the first in their families to attend college.

The couple also serves on several boards: she at Theatre Aspen and Aspen Country Day School, where their 12-year-old daughter is a student, he at the Aspen Community Foundation.

Terri credits her long career in Aspen for her altruistic outlook. “So many opportunities have come my way, and always in the back of my mind, I’ve wanted to give back,” she says. Fortunately for the students benefitting from Summit 54, that time has come.—SARAH CHASE SHAW

HOLIDAY 2016–2017

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