Naturally Boulder’s Executive Director Departs
Naturally Boulder, an economic development and networking organization devoted to nurturing and promoting organic and natural products businesses, has revealed that Arron Mansika resigned from the position of executive director, effective Dec. 31, 2020.
Since 2006, Mansika has guided Naturally Boulder’s growth, sitting on its first board of directors before taking the Boulder, Colorado-based company’s first staff position and eventually becoming its inaugural executive director in 2014.
Under Mansika’s leadership, Naturally Boulder expanded to 1,500 members with a network of more than 1,000 companies representing 69,000-plus employees, according to a recent study conducted by the nonprofit trade association with the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business.
“It is Arron’s balance of entrepreneurial business acumen, skilled community organizing and authentic leadership that has guided Naturally Boulder to what it is today,” noted Sylvia R. Tawse, of The Fresh Ideas Group, in Denver, and a Naturally Boulder co-founder and current adviser. “He has contributed to the successes of hundreds of entrepreneurs and their companies.”
In 2017, Naturally Boulder broadened its focus, rolling out an affiliate organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. This expansion led to Naturally Network, which formally launched last year and now serves seven Naturally affiliates across the country, leveraging and building upon Naturally Boulder’s accomplishments.
“Naturally Boulder has been an ideal organization to deepen my approach to environmental leadership, encouraging authenticity and mindfulness in business,” said Mansika. “At Naturally Boulder, we understand that regenerative businesses measure success not only by financial gain, but also by long-term business practices that improve human health, communities and the planet. This mission-driven industry is, at its roots, a positive disruptor of the status quo, continually seeking innovative ways to use business as a tool for social change. I wish continued success to Naturally Boulder and our new Naturally Network.”
Mansika, who plans to return to his entrepreneurial roots, will aid the organization in a limited capacity to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
When asked by Progressive Grocer about a successor, a Naturally Boulder spokeswoman said that the organization was currently seeking one.
