A month isn’t a lot of time to acclimate to a new community, a new job, a new set of employees, or a new employer. But Sarah Leonard, who officially joined Visit Estes Park as CEO on Dec. 1, seems to be taking it all in stride.
That could be because Leonard didn’t wait for the ink to dry on signing her contract. She was making “getting to know you” appointments with board members, elected town officials, and others in leadership positions who deal with Visit Estes Park and the tourism industry here.
That, she said, was the result of taking a page from the playbook of her father, a retired Wisconsin high school and college football coach and recruiter. She recalled that people would know him everywhere.
“Subconsciously, I think that instilled in me the value of relationships,” Leonard said.
Building relationships in tourism led the way for Leonard, who grew up in Wisconsin and received a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin before traveling to Tempe, Ariz. There, she worked in a marketing role for Arizona State Parks while completing a master’s degree in recreation management and tourism from Arizona State University.
Not long after that, she was off to Alaska.
The move became part of a background that includes more than 20 years of experience advancing tourism policy, championing destination marketing and management funding, and promoting quality visitor experiences.
Leonard worked for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, where she promoted wildlife viewing, The Nature Conservancy in Alaska, and the Alaska Wilderness Recreation & Tourism Association. She eventually became president and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association, the state’s destination marketing organization, a position she held for 10 years.
And then, along came COVID-19. Leonard said the pandemic period gave her family time to think. Their extended families were all in the lower 48. When their son chose to attend the University of Colorado to study aerospace engineering, moving south was a much easier decision.
They landed in Longmont three years ago, where Leonard says there definitely is tourism. Yet when the Visit Estes Park opportunity arose, it aligned with her background in dealing with mountain communities, climate challenges, sustainable tourism, and brand stewardship.
But first, Leonard must address the staff’s cultural relationship at Visit Estes Park, which has been operating without permanent leadership since 2024.
“Being at Visit Longmont, and in the travel and tourism space in Colorado, people in the industry have seen that Visit Estes Park has navigated through a challenging year. You can see from the outside things that they’ve gone through,” Leonard said. “I think I was hired to come in and refresh the culture.”
“While change can be difficult, it also creates opportunities. So, my commitment to the board and to the staff is to lead. I want to really commit, to myself and to them, to lead with purpose, be thoughtful, and to elevate our work.”
Beyond that, though, Leonard is looking past the traditional foundation of destination marketing to “building destination stewardship and being in community and really hearing from and working with residents, as well as providing quality experiences to visitors,” she said.
“And along with that is my commitment and passion for sustainable tourism. We should be thinking about everything from recycling to supporting local businesses to really, how do we, as a travel professional, have a voice in climate change issues,” Leonard said.
“So it’s the whole spectrum, and I think that our industry has really become more comprehensive in how we look at destination marketing and management. That’s what I want to help think about in my role at Visit Estes Park,” Leonard said.
And, until Leonard and her husband are able to move their household to Estes Park, she will continue to enjoy the daily drive to work.
“I love Estes. This is authentic. It is such a beautiful community. When you come over the rise, and you’re in the mountains, and you have such amazing beauty right outside your window,” Leonard said with her voice trailing off, as it does for so many people, even those who have lived in Estes Park for years.
“I’m super excited to relocate into a mountain town,” she said.
When will VEP ever learn? What is that cliche about insanity, “Doing the same thing over and over again and…”? Ms. Leonard is already following the predictable vintage VEP CEO playbook. Her Golden Parachute will billow in 20 months or less. The silver threads in that parachute have all to do with zero results oriented performance metrics. By January 2028 – poof!