The Drop Off: EPIC Conversations About the Workforce of Today and the Talent of Tomorrow

Ep. 27: PNC Is The Early Childhood Education Bank with Nicole Dorsey and Sally McCrady

Nicole Dorsey is Vice President of Client & Community Relations at PNC and Sally McCrady is Chair and President of the PNC Foundation. PNC is constantly innovating to help their clients succeed and to have a big impact in Denver and beyond. They provide their customers with new ideas, offer valuable insights and create customized solutions to help propel businesses forward. The PNC Foundation's priority is to form partnerships with community-based nonprofit organizations in order to enhance educational opportunities, with an emphasis on early childhood education, and to promote the growth of communities through economic development initiatives.
On this episode of The Drop Off, Nicole and Sally join Nicole Riehl to discuss PNC's deep commitment to early childhood education, why they became known as "the early childhood education bank," and how PNC works as part of a larger ecosystem of businesses and organizations that seek to enhance the understanding of how investing in early childhood education is an investment in the future of the workforce and economic prosperity for all.
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 26: A Live Fireside Chat with Barbara Grogan and Steve ErkenBrack

On September 9th, EPIC brought together Colorado business leaders to celebrate our 16th Annual Business Leaders Dinner in Glendale, CO. We always have an educational discussion as part of our dinner program to hear from leaders and partners as they share their own perspectives and work related to child care and early education.   This year we welcomed the ever-amazing Barbara Grogan, whom we honored with the 2025 EPIC Award, and Steve ErkenBrack, President and CEO of Buell Foundation. 
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 25: Why Is Childcare So Expensive? (Wooden Teeth Crossover Episode Event!)

Our President & CEO Nicole Riehl was recently a guest on the Wooden Teeth Show, where she joined host Jake Williams to discuss the business challenges of childcare and how they impact price and availability for families. We're grateful for the opportunity to appear on Wooden Teeth, and to share the episode here on our platform. 
You can find Wooden Teeth at their website and on their YouTube channel.
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 24: How to Support Providers in Community-Wide or Non-Traditional Solutions

In December 2024, EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the National Child Care Innovation Summit. This invite-only event, presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, brought together business leaders in Washington, D.C. for an intimate, engaging environment of workshops, panels, and networking—designed to turn inspiration into action in their own communities. 
In this episode, we’re proud to share the panel “How to Support Providers in Community-Wide or Non-Traditional Solutions.” Hosted by Michelle Kang, CEO of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and featuring Erica Phillips of the National Association for Family Child Care, Dr. Calvin Moore, Jr. of Council for Professional Recognition, Lucy Recio of Third Bloom Consulting, and Ellicia Lanier of Urban Sprouts. 
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 23: From the National Child Care Innovation Summit: Paying Dividends: Employer Investments & Community Impacts

In December 2024, EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the National Child Care Innovation Summit. This invite-only event, presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, brought together business leaders in Washington, D.C. for an intimate, engaging environment of workshops, panels, and networking—designed to turn inspiration into action in their own communities. 
On this episode of The Drop Off, we’re proud to share “Paying Dividends: Employer Investments & Community Impacts.” Hosted by Aaron Merchen of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and featuring Kathy Szenda Wilson and Maria Ortiz Borden of Pulse, Ananda Sweet of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, and David Duro of theTreasure Valley Family YMCA,” this conversation highlights how investments in child care benefit both the business community, and the community at-large.
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 22: From the National Child Care Innovation Summit: How Providers & Employers Can Build Successful Relationships

In December 2024, EPIC partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation for the National Child Care Innovation Summit. This invite-only event, presented by the David and Laura Merage Foundation, brought together business leaders in Washington, D.C. for an intimate, engaging environment of workshops, panels, and networking—designed to turn inspiration into action in their own communities. On this episode of The Drop Off, we’re proud to share “How Providers & Employers Can Build Successful Relationships.” Hosted by Adam Alson of Appleseed Childhood Education, and featuring Ella Zander of Yellow Hen Child Care and Jennifer Knott of Access Early Education Foundation, the conversation sheds light on how to foster dialogue and partnership in each unique business environment. Anecdotes, insights, and useful information abound in this dynamic conversation among three leaders in the field.
 
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 21: The Partnership of Clayton Early Learning and PNC Bank featuring William Browning and Ryan Beiser

William Browning is President & CEO of Clayton Early Learning. He passionately leads Clayton’s work to build opportunities for children and families to live to their endless potential. With more than 30 years of distinguished leadership experience in strategic social impact development, program development, fundraising, change management, and business operations, he brings deep connections to the local and national philanthropy communities. Ryan Beiser is Regional President and Head of Corporate Banking for PNC. PNC is constantly innovating to help their clients succeed and to have a big impact in Denver. They provide their customers with new ideas, offer valuable insight and create customized solutions that will help propel a business forward. Ryan is also Chairman of the Board for EPIC. 
On this episode of The Drop Off, William and Ryan join Nicole Riehl to discuss how these two organizations have forged a partnership that marries PNC's deep commitment to the cause of early childhood education with Clayton's innovative and robust model of helping the community meet its need for good options in this space. They discuss the current lay of the land as it pertains to workforce, how programs like these will help to shape the workforce of tomorrow, and much more. 
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 20: A Live Fireside Chat with Aparna Mathur

On September 10th, EPIC brought together Colorado business leaders to celebrate our 15th Annual Business Leaders Dinner in Glendale, CO. This year's event was a terrific success as we welcomed more than 275 business leaders, members and partners. On this episode of The Drop-Off, we welcome you to listen in on Nicole Riehl's Fireside Chat with Aparna Mathur, Senior Manager in Economics at Amazon and former Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School where we discussed. While much of our dinner presentations focused on how to support the workforce of today and tomorrow locally, Nicole's conversation with Aparna dove deep into the national and federal conversation around how to support strong families and children, including tax credits. 
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 19: Geta Asfaw Shares Insights Into Business, Policy and Giving Back

Geta Asfaw co-leads The Asfaw Family Foundation International (AFFI), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with his wife Janice. Since the early 1980’s, Geta and Janice have operated their family business in the Denver Metropolitan area as owner/operators of McDonald’s restaurants. Throughout the years they have supported a number of community groups and organizations. To date, the family has served thousands of individuals. Geta is also a founding member of EPIC.
On this episode of The Drop-Off, Geta joins Nicole Riehl to share his remarkable story of emigrating from Ethiopia, what prevented him from returning to his home country for 26 years, how he started his own businesses, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Geta is a thoughtful, community-focused leader who has a stunning track record of success and giving back, and it's our pleasure to feature him on The Drop-Off.
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe. 

Ep. 18: Driving Change: Conversations on Business and Advocacy with David Perez

With 40 years of executive leadership in medical device and health care services, David Perez serves as an independent board member of EPIC and advisor to several corporations and non-profit organizations. His expertise encompasses growing highly regulated global businesses organically through R&D and innovation and inorganically through M&A, leading within a variety of foreign, public and private equity ownership structures, strategic planning, culture and talent development, succession planning, enterprise risk management, operations, compliance, and corporate governance.
On this episode of The Drop-Off, David joins Nicole Riehl to discuss his incredible career, why and how he became a self-described "professional board member" and the importance of public policy. This episode touches on everything from healthcare to child care to the generational impact of crafting good public policy. David has remarkable command of a variety of subjects and this conversation flies by. 
This episode is available on podcatchers everywhere and the EPIC website. Please rate, review and subscribe.