Meet the Finalists for BEN Colorado’s Inaugural Community Champion Award
Colorado’s entrepreneurial community is strengthened by expert volunteers who share what they know, create opportunities for others, challenge barriers, and invest their time and resources back into the communities around them.
That spirit is at the heart of BEN Colorado’s inaugural Community Champion Award.
Created to recognize an early growth-stage Founder/CEO who is leading a breakout company while making a positive difference in their community, the Community Champion Award celebrates entrepreneurial leaders who are traditionally underserved and/or underrepresented. Beyond building promising organizations, these leaders are actively giving back through mentorship, volunteerism, partnerships, advocacy, and other measurable contributions to their communities.
After receiving nominations from across the BEN community, we are thrilled to introduce the five finalists for the inaugural award.
Vote Now
Public voting is now open and will close on Friday, October 9. All five finalists will be recognized, and the winner will be announced during BEN Colorado’s 4th Annual Celebration of Entrepreneurship on Thursday, October 22 at Coors Field.
Tayaru Bayyana, SereniCare AI
Inspired by her personal experience caring for her father, Tayaru Bayyana, Founder & CEO of SereniCare AI, set out to help patients and families navigate serious illness with greater support and dignity.
SereniCare AI allows patients to remotely report symptoms, helping enable earlier clinical intervention. The technology has the potential to be especially impactful for rural and underserved patients who may live far from specialized palliative care and have fewer opportunities to access the support they need.
But Tayaru’s approach to building SereniCare AI started with people, not technology. She interviewed dozens of clinicians to better understand their needs and the challenges facing patients, families, and care teams. Her philosophy is that technology should give caregivers more time for human connection rather than attempt to replace it.
Through SereniCare AI, Tayaru is building a company around both innovation and a deeply personal understanding of the people it has the potential to serve.
Mike Hess, Blind Institute of Technology
Mike Hess is the Founder and Executive Director of the Blind Institute of Technology (BIT), a nonprofit dedicated to helping individuals with disabilities build meaningful careers.
After spending two decades managing multimillion-dollar technology projects for Fortune 500 companies, Mike founded BIT to address the barriers people with disabilities continue to face in employment and career advancement.
Today, BIT operates the BIT Academy®, the only Salesforce-approved training provider dedicated to professionals with disabilities, as well as a U.S. Department of Labor-registered apprenticeship program.
Under Mike’s leadership, BIT also secured an $8 million Disability Innovation Fund grant from the U.S. Department of Education to expand workforce development opportunities nationwide.
His work is helping create pathways into meaningful careers while demonstrating what becomes possible when accessibility and opportunity are intentionally built into workforce development.
Amanda Gordon, GoJo Auto
Amanda Gordon, Founder & CEO of GoJo Auto, made history as the first Black woman to own a car dealership in Colorado, but the impact of her work extends well beyond that milestone.
Amanda has built GoJo Auto around representation, transparency, education, and access, bringing a different approach to an industry where women and people of color have historically been underrepresented.
Along the way, she has become a visible advocate for greater representation and inclusion within the automotive industry, a mentor to other women, and a respected voice within the broader community.
Amanda’s leadership demonstrates how entrepreneurship can create change both through the business being built and through the example a founder sets for the people coming behind them.
Sheila Van de Graaph, YouthRoots
As Executive Director of YouthRoots, Sheila Van de Graaph brings more than 20 years of global experience to a simple but powerful conviction: young people are leaders today, not only leaders of the future.
Under Sheila’s leadership, more than 1,255 youth have distributed nearly $1 million to 222 nonprofits.
YouthRoots programs such as YouthScan and Youth Insight Labs also turn young people’s perspectives into actionable data, giving community leaders the opportunity to make decisions informed by the voices of the people their work affects.
Sheila has carried that philosophy into YouthRoots itself, including giving a young person a voting seat on the organization’s board.
Her leadership is creating tangible opportunities for young people to influence their communities, participate in philanthropy, and experience what it means to have their voices taken seriously.
Paige Wiese, Tree Ring Digital & Asseto
Paige Wiese first grew Tree Ring Digital into a successful company before launching Asseto in response to unmet needs she saw among her loyal clients. As she has built her businesses, Paige has also made giving back a consistent part of how she operates.
Her contributions include 15 years of donated advisory work to Support a Soldier, $15,000 in pro bono work for Outdoor Mindset, and paid internships for five people with no previous experience, all of whom went on to be placed in careers.
Paige also funds prizes for a free public challenge, leads free workshops, and runs a monthly M&A roundtable to share knowledge and create opportunities for others.
Her willingness to contribute her expertise, resources, and time has made generosity a tangible part of her approach to entrepreneurship and leadership.
Honorable Mentions
We also want to recognize the incredible leaders who were recommended for this year’s Community Champion Award. Each nomination reflects the impact these entrepreneurs and community leaders are making across Colorado, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to celebrate their work.
Celebrated Nominees include:
Ashleigh Bowen - Kyngs & Queens LLC
Priscila Newbold - Cafe Amor & Love n' Juice.
Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees, and thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate a leader who is making a difference in our community.
Cast Your Vote for the 2026 Community Champion
These five finalists represent different industries, missions, experiences, and approaches to entrepreneurship, but they share something important: their impact extends beyond the organizations they lead.
They are creating opportunities. Opening doors. Sharing knowledge. Expanding access. And using entrepreneurship and leadership as vehicles to strengthen the communities around them.
Now, it’s time for the community to help select our inaugural winner.
Public voting for the BEN Community Champion Award is open through Friday, October 9.
Then join us on Thursday, October 22, from 3:30–6:00 p.m. at Coors Field for BEN Colorado’s 4th Annual Celebration of Entrepreneurship, where we’ll recognize all five finalists and announce the inaugural Community Champion Award winner.
We can’t wait to celebrate these five leaders and the many entrepreneurs who continue to make Colorado’s entrepreneurial community stronger.