Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain (JA) is proud to name Steve Goldman as the 2024 JA Advocate of the Year. The former CEO of Colorado Group Realty in Steamboat Springs and Denver-based Workforce Insight, Steve has been involved in JA’s Routt County volunteering and outreach efforts for almost a decade and is a member of the JA Routt County Advisory Board.
Steve is an entrepreneur at heart. In 2006, he co-founded Workforce Insight, a software and consulting firm, growing it to over 200 employees before selling it to a large private equity firm in 2014. A group of investors, including Steve, repurchased the company four years later, more than doubled it in size, and then sold it again to Accenture. In 2016, he became the CEO of Colorado Group Realty, a 90-agent real estate firm based in Steamboat. The company grew to approximately $950 million in annual sales volume and was sold to The Group Real Estate in 2022. Since then, he’s been investing, consulting with entrepreneurs, helping youth, and growing his involvement with JA.
“When I started with JA nine years ago after moving to Steamboat, there were only two people involved with the organization up in Routt County,” said Steve. “I got involved through my friend Paul Brinkman, a longtime JA advocate, and started teaching JA programming in my daughter’s classes. I was instantly hooked.”
In 2015, JA was only in a few classes here and there throughout Steamboat. Now, programming is taught in nearly every K-8 school, with approximately 1,500 students receiving the skills and mindset they need to live successful, choice-filled lives.
“We’ve had such great reception by teachers and students in the area,” said Steve. “The programs are great, both the students and the teachers love them. I’ve now taught JA in my daughter’s class every grade through 8th grade.”
Because of his entrepreneurial background, Steve knows how important it is to introduce these lessons to students starting at a young age because it’s unknown if they will hear it anywhere else.
“There is not a whole lot of access to real-world business information for the next generation like JA provides. Bringing real-life volunteers into the classroom to share their stories is very helpful. The kids resonate with what they are learning that way. You see them get a spark every time you walk into the classroom.”
Being in a small town with a sense of community has benefited both Steve and JA in Routt County, as it gives him even more of an opportunity to connect with people he has reached in the classroom, as well as those looking to learn more about JA.
“There is a ton of community involvement, and I think that’s the best part,” said Steve. “I will be walking down the street and a kid will come to me and say, ‘Hey look it’s the Oogie’s guy!’ (JA Start it Up). When that happens, it makes my day. It is such a rewarding and fulfilling experience.”
