Estes Park EDC Investor Spotlight: Stephanie Copeland

Stephanie Copeland is the newest Estes Park Economic Development Corporation’s (Estes Park EDC) Board member. She grew up in Quincy, Illinois and holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois in German and Commercial Studies. She completed post graduate courses at the University of Paderborn in Paderborn, Germany. In the early 1990s, she moved to St. Petersburg, Russia to take a management position with Cable & Wireless. After returning to the U.S. in 1994, she joined the team that started MFS International (a company that built some of the first competitive fiber networks in Europe). In 1998 she joined the early team at Level 3 Communications and spent three years in London building out Level 3’s business in Europe. She moved to Denver, Colorado in 2001. In 2016, she was asked to join Governor John Hickenlooper’s cabinet as the Executive Director for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. During her term, she started an investment fund leveraging tax incentives with a focus on rural areas of the state from Glennwood Springs to Estes Park.

In 2019, Stephanie became the Managing Partner of Four Points Funding. Estes Park was recognized as a key area in both growth of the state as well as the region. Four Points Funding development in the region helps address some of the essential workforce housing issues we face as a community. The new workforce housing development fits in their mission to support more supply in the market. In addition to providing workforce housing, they will also build a childcare center, another important need in the Estes Valley.

In addition to serving on the Estes Park EDC Board of Directors, Stephanie also sits on the Workforce Housing Committee. Her passion for economic vitality of Estes Park stems from the gorgeous mountain views and outdoor activities to the close knit community that this town has built.  While the area’s heavy dependence on tourism and visitation provides great economic development and resources, Estes Park is vulnerable to boom and bust cycles. Developing a more robust, year-round economy through diversification of the market and more infrastructure will create viability for the town. Stephanie wants the community to know that although Four Points Funding are for-profit investors, the community is a benefactor of their investments. Through continued development in the Estes Valley, the community will begin to see positive changes in economic growth and resilience.