Amy Nolan, founder and executive director of Crested Butte Development Team, gives insight into pioneering a non-profit organization

Crested Butte Development Team Executive Director Amy Nolan gives Devo participants a pre-race pep talk. [Photo by Nori Veit]

Amidst a gaggle of enthusiastic kids on mountain bikes, Crested Butte Development Team Executive Director Amy Nolan can be spotted buckling helmet straps, opening granola bar wrappers, and tying shoelaces for Devo participants of all ages in preparation for a day on bikes in the mountains of Crested Butte, Colorado. 

After loading upwards of 15 mountain bikes into a van to cart Devo groups to trailheads for an eight hour day of recreation on bikes, Nolan instills Development team participants with proper trail etiquette, healthy athletic nutrition practices, and social skills among riders in addition to technical mountain bike skills. 

“I see myself as the captain of a ship that’s driving everything forward, and I think that having that singular vision that isn’t muddled with distraction helps stick to the foundation of the mission and the philosophy of the organization,” explains Nolan in regards to her role as executive director of CB Devo. 

With social media and internet platforms as a means with which to organize fundraising opportunities and the addition of an assistant director, Nolan asserts that founding a nonprofit organization isn’t the daunting task it appears to be, and finds time to directly coach Devo participants in addition to the administrative and directive roles she fulfills. 

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the nonprofit sector has expanded dramatically in recent years. With roughly 1.1 million nonprofit organizations in existence in 1994, the nonprofit sector accounted for about 4.4 of all workers in the United States, about 5.4 million people. By 2007, there were more than 1.64 million nonprofit organizations, employing 8.7 million workers spanning healthcare, education, administrative support, and service occupations. 

In 2022, nonprofit organizations have continually gained economic traction in the employment industry. As explained by Zippia, a career statistics service, nonprofits employ 7.4% of the worldwide workforce as of April 25, 2022. 

With the total US nonprofit revenue currently standing at 2.62 trillion dollars, the industry is not one to be understated, even in communities with less than three thousand year-round residents, such as Crested Butte, CO. 

“Having started the organization from the ground up, I’ve had to navigate what needs to be done on the executive director side and program director side. Because of the program’s development, we’ve taken on an assistant director, Adam Oldstead, whose biggest role within the organization is helping with staffing, scheduling, coaching certifications and training, etc,” Quotes Nolan when asked about the specifications of her Executive Director Role and the program’s progression. 

Nolan, after pursuing an undergraduate degree as a pre-dental student, made an abrupt career-path shift in order to encompass her love for the outdoors. 

“During my internship in college, I watched a couple of root canals and thought to myself ‘I can’t do this,’” Nolan laughed, explaining why the dental healthcare system was not the career field in which she was truly interested. 

After moving to Colorado to finish her undergraduate studies with a physical education and biology major, Nolan was inspired by the youth mountain biking development programs she observed while attending collegiate mountain biking races, a career she briefly pursued alongside her degree. 

“The motivation really came from my observation of the Durango Development program at races I attended, and we really didn’t have anything like that here, in Crested Butte” Stated Nolan. Armed with observations of successful development programs in Colorado, Nolan founded Crested Butte Devo in 2016. 

“It was an opportunity to bring something of that model to Crested Butte, with a trail etiquette and educational component. Overall, a better, safer program,” Nolan reminisced. 

In reference to rapidly growing participant numbers since the inception of the program, Nolan observed that “In 2016 we had 66 kids, and now we’re up to around 200.” 

As the program expands and flourishes, Crested Butte Devo has taken on an assistant director, Adam Olmstead, to assist Nolan with staffing, programming and fundraising coordination, and scheduling. 

“It’s been a total leap of faith,” explained Nolan when interviewed. 

Though the addition of an assistant director has lifted many administrative duties from Nolan’s shoulders and allowed her more time to assume the role of a hands-on coach that can directly interact with CB Devo Participants, it has posed a challenge to the overall vision of the team, specifically keeping it consistent with Nolan’s initial mission. 

Looking into the future of Crested Butte Devo, Nolan anticipates additional growth in participant numbers, but emphasized the retention of fundamental values upon which the team was founded: 

“Fundamentally, we strive to create lifelong cyclists in a fun and safe environment.”