With the resignation of Heidi Barfels, Visit Estes Park’s chief marketing officer, Rachel Ward-Oppermann is poised to take the reins of that position on Oct. 16, should no other internal staff member desire the job.
The tentative appointment complies with requirements under the Equal Pay Act, according to Mike Zumbaugh, VEP’s interim CEO, who has notified all staff of the available position and that Ward-Oppermann has been recommended for the role. Other applications for the job are due by Oct. 15.
Ward-Opperman has advertising agency experience as she previously worked for Miles Partnership, a Denver media firm, whose clients have included the Colorado Tourism Organization. She was hired as VEP’s public relations coordinator in 2018, a position she held for nearly two years before becoming marketing communications manager. In 2021 she was named senior manager of community relations and sustainability and just one year ago received a promotion to advocacy and sustainability director.
She has worked closely with Barfels since Barfels joined the VEP team as a member of the marketing department. “Based on conversations I have had with staff, no one else has an interest in applying.” Zumbaugh said.
“I firmly believe in promoting from within an organization when possible. said Zumbaugh. “She’s one of our two longest tenured staff,” Zumbaugh said, “and we’re ready to support her in any way we can. We’re looking at redistributing her current responsibilities to determine what others can take on and what energizes them.”
“We need to ensure continued leadership within the Marketing Department. Rachel will begin working with Heidi immediately to begin a knowledge and information transfer.”
Along with a change in staffing created by the resignation of Barfels, Mike Zumbaugh said he and Cindy Mackin have agreed to job title changes to better reflect the organization’s commitment to community values.
“To help alleviate the perception that VEP is top-heavy, Cindy and I are both willing to roll back our titles. The only chief we will have is the CEO,” he said. Mackin originally was hired as chief strategy officer earlier this year.
Her new title will be community engagement director. Once a new CEO position is filled on a permanent basis, Zumbaugh said his title will revert to finance director.
Ward-Oppermann has been an Allenspark resident for many years. In addition to her marketing and communications expertise, she’s a trained firefighter with the Allenspark Volunteer Fire Department.