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Meet Our Staff

Robert J. Osborn, ESQ.
Executive Director


Mr. Robert J. Osborn, Esq., is the Executive Director of Wheat Ridge 2020 (WR2020), a non- profit community and Economic Development Organization dedicated to sustainable development in Wheat Ridge Colorado. WR2020 was established in 2005 to pursue the goals of the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy as adopted by Wheat Ridge City Council in July of 2005.  As the first Executive Director, Rob has been managing the organization’s corporate startup, hiring staff, and promoting program and policy development.  Rob participates in local and regional planning sessions to promote responsible real estate development in Wheat Ridge.  Additionally, Rob is leading property redevelopment projects that fit within the City’s comprehensive and sub area plans.

Rob is the former Executive Director of the Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) in Allentown Pennsylvania.  Allentown is the third largest City in the state of Pennsylvania.  During Rob’s tenure with AEDC, he managed financing and investment programs, business development programs, real estate holdings, and facilitated the development of zoning laws and public ordinances to enhance development opportunities in Allentown. Rob formed the first Satellite office for the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Agency, in Allentown, and combined the resources of this program with the resources available at the AEDC small business incubator to promote business growth for the minority community in and around Allentown. While at AEDC, Rob secured more than $50 Million in project development as he and staff coordinated complex projects ranging from museum construction, large office development, brown field remediation, and mixed use infill redevelopment in the urban setting of Allentown.  While at AEDC, Rob coordinated the Downtown Redevelopment initiative and worked with Urban Land Institute to identify goals, and strategies to bring prosperity back to Allentown’s urban core. 

Rob is a licensed attorney in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, and practiced law in Pennsylvania focusing on real estate development.

Rob has more than 10 years of experience in government and construction management. He worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a project management team member on many diverse projects including the historic restoration of the Massachusetts State House.  He also worked with a national mechanical contracting firm, building power and water treatment facilities across the county. 

Rob received his B.S. in Civil Engineering and Construction Management from Temple University in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in 1994. He attended Suffolk University Law School, and received his J. D. in 2001.  He is married to his wife Dawn who is a Healthcare Financial Consultant with Accenture Consulting.

Rob is an avid skier and runner.  He has completed 6 marathons with a personal best time of 3 hours 32 minutes.



Britta Fisher
Director of Community and Small Business Development


Britta Fisher works to ensure that Wheat Ridge businesses are thriving and that neighbors feel pride while contributing to a vibrant Wheat Ridge. She staffs the Public Relations & Communications Committee as well as the Neighborhood Initiatives Committee. Her duties include everything from generating communication materials to staffing the Wheat Ridge Business District to underwriting the Home Investment Program.
 
Britta was a member of the Colorado Blue Ribbon Panel on Housing, which was tasked with making recommendations to provide housing solutions and balance in Colorado. She is the current chair of the Colorado Housing Investment Fund Coalition, which is working to create a dedicated and dependable source of funding for affordable housing investment. Britta is also a member of the Urban Land Institute.
 
Previously, Britta worked as the Statewide Advocacy Manager for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. She managed the Fair Housing Program, traveled the state speaking on homeless and housing issues, and encouraged advocacy through the Colorado Homeless Action Network. Her background in non-profit management also extends back to her experience as the first Executive Director for Housing Justice!, a faith-based housing advocacy organization. She holds a B.A. in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations from Wartburg College in Waverly, IA. Britta is excited to bring her non-profit background and start-up experience to Wheat Ridge 2020. 

Born into a farming family in rural Minnesota, Britta was raised in a community where service and involvement were expected. Nurtured in this environment, she has always believed in the power of people coming together to create solutions. “I feel fortunate to work professionally in a field where I can make my community a better place to live and do business,” she said.

Britta and her husband, Ryan, make their home in Wheat Ridge and enjoy the nearby mountains for snowboarding, hiking, and photography.



Denise Balkas
Director of Real Estate Devlopment


Denise has director level experience in local government planning, private consulting and public policy development here in Colorado and on the east coast.

 Her east coast experience focused on planning, urban renewal and public/private partnerships to promote reinvestment in declining communities. Activities included downtown revitalization, hotel, retail, Mets AAA stadium, historic preservation, waterfront amenities and neighborhood residential and commercial development.
 
Here in Colorado she was a planning director for a Front Range community during a period of rapid population and development growth and major redevelopment projects. 
 
She recently was the Executive Director of a non-profit (government/business community coalition) along a multi-jurisdictional highway corridor. The organization was involved in transportation planning to support economic development, advocacy for transportation improvements and alternate modes of travel.
 
Denise holds a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University.

She is a 2005 graduate of Denver’s BigHorn Center for Public Policy- Fellowship on Sustainable Development and sits on the ULI Colorado Chapter’s Executive Committee. She is a certified city planner by the American Planning Association.


Anne Brown
Finance Manager
abrown @ wheatridge2020.org

Bio coming soon






Julie Stark
Office Manager
jstark @ wheatridge2020.org
Photo and bio coming soon