Submitted Biography
Rachel Friend is an attorney, former Mayor Pro Tem and City Council member for the City of Boulder, and current Lyons resident. She is running to bring legal expertise, fiscal discipline, and genuine community care to the Treasurer's office.
Campaign Phone
3039998852
This is an administrative position, not a legislative or policy office. My priorities are exemplary fiscal compliance, staff satisfaction / retention, and great customer service for members of the public. I will draw on my previous management, fiscal and legal experience, along with the state-provided training for County Treasurers, to hit the ground running on all three fronts.
I have built and overseen budgets from $1 million to over $500 million, as well as been in charge of finance and operations in my nonprofit and legal work capacities. The job of Boulder County Treasurer also includes serving as the County Trustee, and I have some experience through my legal work with foreclosure prevention and process. Much of day to day of this role also includes office management, and I have a good deal experience managing staff ranging from one to over 400 people. Because the work environment for public servants is becoming increasingly hostile and difficult, I believe this to be a top priority for the job - creating an office environment where our staff-experts feel safe and supported and want to continue in their roles.
I have become increasingly immersed in the county level of government, through my nonprofit and democracy-advocacy work. I believe there is a great opportunity to increase the accessibility and transparency of county government, as well as collaboration within county offices and between county and cities. I've been doing a lot of outreach to the various cities and towns within the county through my work on the Big Tent BoCo work to expand county commissioners, and am excited to extend these relationships and networks into a more robust countywide system for information sharing and connectivity.
Submitted Biography
Jenn Kaaoush is a Town of Superior Councilmember, Army veteran, former U.S. diplomat, and community advocate with more than 20 years of experience in finance, housing, disaster recovery, and public service. She serves on the Superior Finance Committee and the Governor appointed Regional Air Quality Council, working on housing stability, sustainability, and regional resilience initiatives. Following the Marshall Fire, Jenn co founded Superior Rising to help survivors navigate insurance, FEMA, SBA, and rebuilding systems. She also helped lead federal wildfire tax relief advocacy protecting survivors from taxation on qualified wildfire relief payments.
Campaign Phone
720-592-6309
Biografía Enviada
Jenn Kaaoush es miembro del Concejo Municipal de Superior, veterana del Ejército, ex diplomática de Estados Unidos y defensora comunitaria con más de 20 años de experiencia en finanzas, vivienda, recuperación de desastres y servicio público. Forma parte del Comité de Finanzas de Superior y del Consejo Regional de Calidad del Aire, trabajando en temas de vivienda, sostenibilidad y resiliencia regional. Después del incendio Marshall, Jenn cofundó Superior Rising para ayudar a las personas afectadas a navegar seguros, FEMA, SBA y el proceso de reconstrucción. También ayudó a impulsar esfuerzos federales para proteger a sobrevivientes de incendios forestales de pagar impuestos sobre fondos de ayuda por desastres.
My top priority in the first 100 days is building a strong operational foundation inside the Treasurer’s Office. The current Treasurer has said it takes about a year to truly learn the role, so I would establish a structured work and learning plan with staff while building strong relationships and understanding where systems succeed and where residents experience challenges.
I want to identify gaps in processes, customer service, foreclosure prevention, and communications, then implement practical improvements that better support residents.
I would also begin launching an outreach and education initiative focused on financial literacy, early foreclosure detection, and partnerships with housing organizations, lenders, and nonprofits to help keep people housed.
With new seniors becoming eligible for the property tax exemption January 1, I would prioritize countywide education events to ensure residents understand available resources.
I have more than 20 years of experience managing complex financial systems across government, real estate, business, and disaster recovery. My background includes residential lending, investment property management, municipal finance, budgeting, and executive level operational management.
As a Town of Superior Councilmember and Finance Committee member, I help oversee a balanced municipal budget of almost $40 million, long term financial planning, infrastructure investments, and tax revenue strategy. Professionally, I have managed multi million dollar operational budgets and financial systems both domestically and overseas while serving as a U.S. diplomat and department head.
Following the Marshall Fire, I became deeply involved in navigating insurance, FEMA, SBA, settlement, and recovery finance systems, helping residents protect and recover their financial stability.
I want to serve now because I believe the Treasurer’s Office will play a critical role in protecting our communities during a period of growing economic instability. These public funds are the backbone of how our schools, emergency services, local governments, and community systems continue functioning during job losses, disasters, and federal funding cuts.
My experience in disaster recovery taught me how important strong financial stewardship is during difficult times. I approach public service through a protector lens. I am a fighter for communities, stability, and making sure systems work for people when they need them most.
I also see the Treasurer’s Office, a paid and staffed role, as a much bigger partner in the community than it has been in the past, and I want to make that the new normal through outreach, education, and stronger community support systems.
