CU Denver School of Public Affairs would like to cordially invite you to our panel series: First Fridays.

Federal COVID/Stimulus funds and Colorado:  How did it flow?

During the early years of COVID, the federal government authorized unprecedented funding -- partly to deal directly with the incredible public health challenges, and partly to keep businesses, nonprofits and local governments afloat financially.  Much of that money flowed through state government mechanisms.

Now that the money has been nearly all authorized, what lessons can we learn? Our economy did recover remarkably well (albeit with a spike of high inflation), and people working from home, and in virtual meetings, worked better than most of us might have expected. This First Friday panel will explore questions such as: How effective was the spending? Did it get to the right people and places in the best ways?  What challenges and barriers were overcome? What challenges remain when trying to spend, manage and track this type of influx of funds? 

CU Denver alum Pat Meyers was a key member of Colorado’s initial COVID response, and then became Chief State Recovery Officer and director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT).  He will present his perspectives on the federal funding and related Colorado issues.

He will be joined by panelists who will provide an on-the-ground perspective from local government and nonprofit organizations. SPA Professor Deserai Anderson Crow, an expert on resiliency and government response, will moderate the panel.

In person

Terrace Room (2nd floor), Lawrence Street Center
1380 Lawrence St, Denver, CO 80204

Virtual

Zoom

Program

Friday, February 2, 2023
8:30 – 8:50 a.m.
Check-in and breakfast buffet for in-person attendees

8:50 a.m. – 10 a.m.
Programming for in-person and virtual attendees