Team
Courageous Colorado is staffed by two individuals with backgrounds in education, social impact, democracy, and community-driven change. Intentionally brought together by various community leaders at the start of the project, Landon and Jamie are inspired to serve Colorado in this special endeavor.
Dr. Landon Mascareñaz is the founding Executive Director of Courageous Colorado and Courageous Colorado Action, a bold new initiative working to build a more representative and courageous civic future for our state. He leads the vision, strategy, and statewide coalition-building efforts to advance a bold 2030 civic agenda while serving as a trusted public voice, convener, and catalyst for democratic renewal in Colorado.
A lifelong coalition-builder, Landon has led efforts across education, democracy, and economic development—whether it was teaching and partnering on the Navajo Nation, driving family and community engagement for Denver Public Schools, or building teams to grow the Homegrown Talent Initiative and Emergent Campus to support rural economic mobility. He helped convene recent efforts to bring ranked choice voting to Denver and has worked on statewide campaigns to open up Colorado’s democracy through structural reform and inclusive civic engagement. With family roots that stretch back generations in Colorado and New Mexico, Landon brings a deep commitment to inclusive leadership, public courage, and civic imagination.
He currently serves as Chair of the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education, where he helps lead governance and strategic direction for one of the most important education systems in the state. He also chairs the Reisher Scholars Committee, soon to be the largest scholarship program in the state. Landon advised The Colorado Project and the Denver Democracy Summit at the Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs at the University of Denver. Along with his great friend Doannie Tran, they co-founded The Open System Institute, an organization focused on the intersection of democracy and education, and is the co-author of The Open System (Harvard Education Press), a book that guides leaders in a time of polarization and institutional distrust. Landon also serves on the board of the Caring for Colorado Foundation which is a driving force to better communities across the state and Latinos for Education, a groundbreaking nonprofit to accelerate Latino leadership.
Landon lives in Denver, offices in Trinidad at the AR Mitchell Museum of Western Art where he serves on the board, and holds a doctorate in Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He believes Colorado can become a national beacon for civic renewal—and is committed to convening, connecting, and catalyzing the coalitions that will help shape a bold and inclusive future.
Founding Executive Director
Jamie Engel is the founding Deputy Director of Courageous Colorado. She is an educator, strategist, and civic innovator working to expand opportunities for people to engage meaningfully in public life. As the Deputy Director of Courageous Colorado, she is leading program, operations, and outreach across the organization.
She began her career as a middle school English Language Arts teacher in Lynn, Massachusetts, where she saw the power of education to shape civic identity and agency. Following her time in the classroom, she helped launch Democracy Entrepreneurs, a national nonpartisan network of civic entrepreneurs, where she shaped strategy, secured early funding, and organized a flagship conference at Harvard Kennedy School that convened more than 150 civic leaders from across the country.
Jamie went on to serve as Director of Programs and Civic Community at the National Conference on Citizenship where she led a national network of more than 5,000 community leaders, built a strategic learning framework, and oversaw the organization’s annual convening.
Most recently, Jamie was Principal Consultant at Knight Impact, where she advised nonprofit and philanthropic clients on strategic planning, program development, and field-building initiatives. As part of this work, she was the Civic Health Advisor to the YMCA of the USA, where she led the national expansion of the Civic Health Champions program for middle and high school students and co-developed the Youth Civic Health Survey, which has reached over 16,000 young people across 15 states.
Outside of her full-time roles, Jamie has designed and facilitated campaign and advocacy training programs for college students at the Harvard Institute of Politics and remains an active volunteer on local, state, and national campaigns.
She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Boston University Young Alumni Council, helping strengthen alumni engagement and support for emerging leaders.
Jamie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Education from Boston University, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, where she was an Education Entrepreneurship Fellow and a Pforzheimer Fellow.
After more than a decade on the East Coast, Jamie is grateful to be back in her hometown of Denver with her husband, John. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and watching women’s sports.
Founding Deputy Director