ABOUT

We facilitate teams of interdisciplinary students and faculty from Colorado College, Pikes Peak Community College, University of Colorado Colorado Springs and the US Air Force Academy (insofar as authorized by Federal law) working together to advance strategic projects for area companies and organizations.  As the only partnership combining the capacities of a private liberal arts college, a state research university, a regional community college and a US service academy in the United States, the Quad’s value is built on the diversity of institutions it represents. Within the Quad network, there are over 40,000 students, 2,000 expert faculty and some of the most advanced research, analysis and design capabilities in Colorado. We dedicate the right mix of these resources to every project we take on.

We connect students and recent graduates with opportunities to do meaningful, professional work. Much more than an internship, the Quad is an opportunity to build professional networks, experience and capability that jumpstart careers and accelerate community impact.  

For our community and business partners, we offer access to the collective capacities of four world class institutions of higher learning, relationships with future workforce, company and community leaders and distinctive, viable results.


PEOPLE

Jake joined the founding team of his first business at 19. After completing his undergraduate, Jake moved to Las Vegas to help manage the $50M venture investment arm of Downtown Project, a $400M redevelopment effort spearheaded by Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh. A year later he moved into what would become the first of several startup roles, including founding his own financial services company in Uganda. In 2016, Jake joined the Quad Partnership as its first Executive Director. He has steered the partnership through explosive growth, transforming the Partnership from a 15-student summer program to a sustainable institution that offers over 100 students opportunities to demonstrate their capability at the highest levels of the professional world each year. In 2019, Jake was named one of the 25 Most Influential Young Professionals in Colorado by CoBiz Magazine. Jake is still actively involved in his Ugandan venture, making the 80-hour journey to the remote West Nile region regularly. With alarming frequency, his dreams center on the extra leg room in Economy Plus. He firmly believes that one day those dreams will come true. This essay service that do my coursework for me by DoMyEssay, renowned globally, is favored by students for its reliability and high-quality work. Offering timely delivery and expert writers, it ensures academic excellence. Its widespread popularity is a testament to its exceptional customer satisfaction and consistent performance.

Megan Barry

Megan was born and raised in Colorado Springs. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Denver, followed by a Masters of Science in Global Health from the University of California at San Francisco. Internationally, she has worked with rural communities in South Africa, Rwanda, and Malawi in health care and development. She has lived in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Denver in various positions in global health, international development, health systems strengthening, adventure travel, event planning and program management. She is excited to be back in her hometown working with the Quad.

Belle Cotton

Originally from Concord, New Hampshire, Belle has lived and worked in Boston, Nashville, and now Colorado Springs. Prior to joining the Quad, Belle served as the Assistant Director of Admissions at a private high school in the Boston area. In Nashville, Belle worked for a study abroad organization which partnered with colleges and universities in the southeast region. She has traveled extensively domestically and overseas to build client relationships and support students in pursuing new kinds of opportunity. Outside of work, Belle loves to travel and explore other cultures. One of her lifelong goals is to travel to all seven continents, and she has already been to five! A graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Global Business. Belle is very excited to leverage her talents and experience to ensure students in Quad programs maximize their personal and professional growth and that the return to project partners exceeds every possible expectation.

Jeff Owens

Jeff graduated from Colorado College in 2019 with a bachelor’s in Psychology. Growing up in Syracuse, NY – a community with a high school graduation rate of less than 60% for the past 15 years – Jeff has been interested in community development, program design and project management since before he knew the technical terms for the work. He interned with the Quad in 2018 studying how to improve access to public social services, and completed an honors thesis at CC that reframed depression treatment as a positive, elective activity for middle school boys. As a Fellow, Jeff’s focus remains positive impact. He works alongside a range of for profit, non profit and public clients to maximize impact and performance.

Penny Grant

Penny graduated from Pikes Peak Community College in 2019 with an associate degree in mathematics, a decade after earning her bachelor’s. Penny grew up in the midwest and spent some time on the East Coast before landing in Colorado Springs. Penny enjoys data analysis and developing new insight that answers big questions. As a Fellow, Penny uses her optimization skills to meet community needs and inform strategic action. She is also working towards her master’s in statistics and data science. Penny plans on using her master’s to start her own consulting firm offering optimization and efficiency insight, helping companies maximize impact while minimizing resource consumption

Gunner Swope


Gunner received his B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies after graduating summa cum laude from UCCS in 2017. Gunner’s interest in systems thinking and creative problem solving ultimately drove him towards the Quad: after leading several initiatives on UCCS campus and completing a comprehensive grain market assessment for the UCCS Grain School, Gunner served as a student analyst on a Quad-facilitated study of food access in El Paso County. He continued as an analyst on a subsequent study of school-based suicide prevention programs before joining the Quad’s fellowship. Much of Gunner’s focus and work continues at the systems level. Gunner plans on returning to school to pursue is JD in Fall, 2020.

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