Arn Menconi (born 1959 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) was the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

candidate in the

2016 United States Senate election in Colorado The 2016 United States Senate election in Colorado was held November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Colorado, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to ...

. He was on the ballot for the November 2016 election in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Menconi served two terms on the county commission of

Eagle County, Colorado Eagle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 55,731. The county seat is the Eagle, Colorado, Town of Eagle and the most populous community is Edwards, Colora ...

. He is also the founder and former Executive Director of a national youth development charity SOS Outreach. He earned his M.B.A. at the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

and undergraduate in Communications at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Early life and education

After moving to

Vail, Colorado Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the num ...

in 1991, He started working at a ski rental shop in Avon with a bunch of local high school students. Arn saw a need for the snowboarding community to reach out to those who would not otherwise have an opportunity to visit the mountains. A fully certified snowboard instructor through the

American Association of Snowboard Instructors The Professional Ski Instructors of America and American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit education association involved in ski instruction. PSIA-AASI establishes certification standards for ...

, Menconi produced the largest amateur snowboard series for ten years through SOS. Menconi is also President of Vail Velo, the Vail Valley's biking club.

SOS Outreach

Menconi is the Founder and Executive Director of SOS Outreach, formerly the

Snowboard Outreach Society Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow."snowboarding." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 17 Mar ...

, the county's largest winter

sports-based youth development Sports-based youth development or SBYD is a theory and practice model for direct youth service. Grounded in youth development, sports psychology, and youth sports practice, SBYD aims to use the sport experience to contribute to positive youth develo ...

al agency. The mission of SOS Outreach is to build character in underserved and underprivileged youth to enhance decision-making for healthy and successful life experiences. Headquartered in

and founded in 1993, SOS teaches over 3000 kids each year at 30 ski resorts in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Political career

In 2000, Menconi was elected to the Board of County Commissioners in

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He was reelected to his second term in 2004 and term limited in 2008. He held many board positions on local economic, environmental and social capital posts and state and national designations. For six years he was the Vice Chair of the Colorado Counties, inc. Health and Human Services Committee and a board member of the National Association for Counties' Human Services board. He is the co-founder of the Eagle County Economics Council, a local economic development group. Menconi created the Eco Sports website, the county's only online mapping chamber for counties to showcase their recreational opportunities. Menconi's term was considered controversial by many. He advocated for a social justice focus by creating sustainable growth management,

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

, budget analysis leveraging social programs and early childhood development. Twice conservatives tried to recall him without success and his first opponent accused him of having snowboarders from a neighboring county illegally vote for him. Menconi is looking forward to spending more time with his family and with SOS Outreach upon his term limit at the end of 2008. In 2016, Menconi switched his party affiliation from the Democratic Party to the

. Also in 2016, he announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate in the state of Colorado, challenging Democratic incumbent Michael Bennet, who is running for a second term in the Senate. In August, Menconi officially endorsed

Jill Stein Jill Ellen Stein (born May 14, 1950) is an American physician, activist, and former political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidat ...

, the Green Party presidential nominee, in the 2016 election.

Early childhood development and environmental activism

In 2006, Menconi led a tax increase proposal to raise funds for early childhood development that lost at the polls. Menconi created a subsequent county-funded million dollar program that was the first early childcare program to bring together all four areas of early childhood — education, health, special needs and family resources.http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20080304/EDITS/655343215/-1/rss01 Menconi helped to bring permanent funding for open space and placed thousands of areas into preservation. He led the successful campaign to acquire the two largest open space parcels in Eagle County. Working with a multi-generational ranching family and community activists, prevailed over a two-year period to save a pristine parcel of ranch land that serves as the gateway to Glenwood Canyon. Menconi actively supported a public-private partnership to preserve a parcel of prime Eagle River land in the heart of the county's most populated area.

Social life and family

Menconi speaks on various topics of

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

, land use,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

leadership and sports-based youth development. He is the father of two children, Maya Rose and Matteo. In addition to

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

, he is an avid cyclist and has competed in over a dozen mountain bike races. He currently lives in

References

External links

Eagle County, Colorado Commissioners

Eagle County Economics Council

Arn Menconi's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menconi, Arn 1959 births Living people DePaul University alumni Colorado Democrats Colorado Greens American nonprofit executives American chief executives American snowboarders University of Denver alumni United States Senate elections in Colorado Politicians from Denver Green Party of the United States