Empower Media Exchange

09/26/2026

We were proud to share Beneath the Skyline at the inaugural Common Ground Design Festival, bringing community stories into a space designed around connection, belonging and placemaking.

Developed through the Downtown Denver Leadership Program’s 2026 cohort, the project highlights the people, histories and experiences that shape downtown Denver beyond its buildings and skyline.

Throughout the festival, visitors were able to stop, read and engage with stories collected from across the downtown community. The project will continue beyond Common Ground through CityStory Denver and future activations across the city.

At Empower Media Exchange, this work reflects our commitment to creating more opportunities for people to tell their own stories and to see those stories represented in the places they live, work and gather.

09/22/2026

Empower Media Exchange is proud to join Gray Panthers NYC for an upcoming webinar focused on intergenerational collaboration and the work of challenging ageism.

At EMX, we believe stronger communities and a stronger media and information ecosystem are built when people across generations have opportunities to learn from one another, share knowledge and contribute their experiences.

That belief is reflected throughout our work in journalism, media literacy, professional development and community storytelling. Bringing younger and older generations into the same spaces helps expand perspective, strengthen understanding and create more opportunities for meaningful participation.

We look forward to sharing more about our work and joining fellow Voices Fellows in a conversation about how cogenerational collaboration can strengthen communities and help address age-based assumptions.

Thank you to Gray Panthers NYC and Art Against Ageism for convening this conversation.

09/02/2026

Empower Media Exchange is seeking community feedback to help shape the next phase of our journalism, media literacy, training and community engagement work.

We want to hear directly from the people we serve about the issues that matter most, where information gaps exist, what local media may be overlooking and where EMX can be more useful.

If you have a few minutes, please complete our community feedback survey. Your responses will help inform the stories we pursue, the programs we develop and the ways we serve communities across Colorado.

Everyone who completes the survey will receive one entry to win a $25 Amazon gift card.

Complete the survey here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJawU7pW43jZZNt_ixveROoES5imdYLq3KAkvWglXw93XPdw/viewform?usp=publish-editor

Please share this with others whose perspectives we should hear.

09/01/2026

Empower Media Exchange’s three-part editorial series on Baby Bonds in Colorado examines the policy from the ground up, from the economic conditions that shape wealth-building to the practical questions involved in creating a statewide program.

The series explores why assets matter alongside income, how Baby Bonds are designed to provide children with a publicly funded financial starting point, what Colorado families and community members say they need to build long-term financial security, and what new Colorado-specific research shows about program costs, eligibility, funding, financial education and implementation.

Read the full series:

Part 1: Baby Bonds Could Give Colorado Children a Stronger Financial Starting Point
https://empowermediaexchange.org/baby-bonds-in-colorado/

Part 2: The Infrastructure Behind Baby Bonds
https://empowermediaexchange.org/baby-bonds-in-colorado-part-two-infrastructure/

Part 3: Baby Bonds in Colorado: What the Numbers Show
https://empowermediaexchange.org/baby-bonds-in-colorado-part-three-feasibility/

Watch the interview with CFI Deputy Director, Esther Turcios:
https://youtu.be/gUVRBD9WxkY?si=pIOcTdAGVTneup2S

The series was produced by Empower Media Exchange in partnership with the Colorado Fiscal Institute and Soul 2 Soul Sisters, with the goal of giving Coloradans a clear, accessible look at how Baby Bonds work, what they are intended to address and what a Colorado program could require in practice.

Read, share and explore the full series.

08/25/2026

**Baby Bonds could change the way we think about building financial opportunity for children, starting from the very beginning of their lives.**

Over the past several weeks, Empower Media Exchange and has been taking a closer look at what Baby Bonds are, how they work and what the idea could mean for families here in Colorado.

🎙️ In a special edition of The Exchange Podcast, Ruby Jones sat down with Esther Turcios of the Colorado Fiscal Institute to talk about the difference between income and wealth, how an investment made at birth can grow over time, and why financial education and family stability are important parts of the conversation.

📰 In Part One of our three-part editorial series, we break down the basics of Baby Bonds and explore how giving children an asset early in life could create a stronger financial starting point when they reach adulthood.

📰 Part Two goes deeper into the Colorado research, including the feasibility study commissioned by the Colorado Fiscal Institute and Soul 2 Soul Sisters. We explore what it could take to implement a program here and why investing in a child’s future can work alongside efforts to strengthen families today.

And on Aug. 25, we’ll learn what the researchers found.

The feasibility study was led by the Systems for Equity and Economic Dignity (SEED) research team at the Colorado School of Public Health on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. During the webinar, the partners will share the findings and discuss what a Baby Bonds program could actually look like for families across Colorado.

If Baby Bonds are new to you, there are several ways to get caught up before tomorrow’s conversation:

🎙️ Watch The Exchange: https://youtu.be/gUVRBD9WxkY?si=9aS6-txVDFXjefK_
📰 Read Part One: https://coloradofocus.com/baby-bonds-in-colorado/
📰 Read Part Two: https://coloradofocus.com/baby-bonds-in-colorado-part-two-infrastructure/
💻 Register for the Aug. 25 webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/uUyS8hXATRyBqRrjcY74IA #/registration

Then stay with us... Following the release of the feasibility study findings, Part Three will bring the research together and take a closer look at implementation, cost and what could come next for Baby Bonds in Colorado.

What if every child started life with an investment in their future...

01/31/2026

Welcome to the Community Information Commons Move Through Yoga!

As a Community Information Partner, you are strengthening the connection between community organizations and the people they serve, which highlighting the important services you provide 🎉

To learn more about Empower Media Exchange and opportunities to amplify your organization's work through the Community Information Commons, visit https://empowermediaexchange.org/community-information-commons

01/23/2026

We are excited to share that Empower Media Exchange will participate in the CoGenerate Community of Practice as a member of the 2026 cohort to strengthen youth leadership through intergenerational co-creation.

Learn more about this fantastic opportunity here:

Empower Media Exchange joins CoGenerate’s Community of Practice, deepening its commitment to intergenerational co-creation.

01/19/2026

We’re honored to share that Empower Media Exchange has been selected as one of five Denver-based community organizations to participate in the inaugural Common Ground Denver Community Design Festival.

Common Ground is a collaboration between the Denver Mayor's Office, the Lavender Hill Cultural District, and the University of Colorado Denver College of Architecture and Planning, bringing civic leaders, designers, students and community organizations together to explore how design can foster shared ownership of public space.

As we lay the groundwork for CityStory Denver, we're excited for the ways municipal and community partnerships are fueling community storytelling, and we can't wait to hear YOUR story! Visit citystorydenver.com to learn more, and share your CityStory today.

01/06/2026

🌐 Help shape the future of local media and community connection!

Empower Media Exchange is seeking community members to serve on our Community Advisory Board.

We’re inviting people who care deeply about their local community, believe access to trustworthy information matters and want to help strengthen the relationship between media and the people it serves. Advisory Board members will help guide how community voices, stories, events and resources are shared, ensuring local information channels are accessible, inclusive and responsive.

This is an opportunity to:
• Contribute lived experience and local insight
• Strengthen community information flow
• Support transparent, people-centered local journalism
• Help shape how media and community work together moving forward

If you believe informed communities are stronger communities, we’d love to hear from you.

Learn more and apply here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdD056mhTQlkCuZOImOAKsLxSfqdgafUrReJFSAIBi3gvO4Bw/viewform
➕ Please share with someone who should be at the table.

12/02/2025

✨ Today is Giving Tuesday, and we’re inviting you to contribute to an important cause...

At Empower Media Exchange (EMX), we believe that stories build community, and that communities deserve access to trusted information, inclusive media and opportunities to be heard.

From youth storytelling labs to local news coverage, the Community Information Commons and the CityStory Denver project, our mission is purpose-driven and real:

We empower people by amplifying their voices.

❤️If you believe in independent journalism…
❤️If you value community storytelling…
❤️If you want young creators to have a future in this industry…

Your donation today makes all of it possible.
✨ Please donate at https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/Empower-Media-Exchange-Co

Thank you so much 💕