About the East County Housing Opportunity Coalition (ECHO)

One in six residents of Boulder County, or 54,000 households, spend 50% or more of their income on housing.
The national recommendation is no more than 33%.

The lack of quality affordable housing in Boulder County consistently ranks as its biggest problem in various surveys.

Affordable housing echoes and intersects with many other challenges in our local communities: poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, racism and discrimination, transportation, health, and air quality, to name a few. We recognize that these echoes are at play whenever housing is unstable or not accessible for all.

On January 13, 2020, fifty residents of East Boulder County came together to organize the East County Housing Opportunity (ECHO) Coalition. As the population explodes in Louisville, Superior, Lafayette, Erie, and Longmont, so have homelessness and housing insecurity. Yet when housing is discussed and resolutions are explored by policy-makers, the voices of the people most affected are rarely heard.

ECHO was formed to support the increased availability and accessibility of affordable housing. We and our friends initiate discussions, monitor activities, inform residents, and advocate for affordable housing solutions from the grassroots perspective.

Many local services in Boulder County help people find housing. ECHO focuses on affordable housing policy and ensuring policymakers are accountable to regular people. ECHO operates independently from government, politics, or business interests to amplify your voice and foster the development of equitable, affordable housing in East Boulder County.

Our “Big Why”

Doing something about affordable housing is often difficult and involves planning, land use, and sometimes responding to neighborhood opposition. Our founding question:

How can residents who want to increase the supply of affordable housing work together to support more housing for all people in our communities?

Additional questions:

• What are the best practices in affordable housing development?

• What are the benefits of affordable housing?

• What is the process for approving and funding affordable housing in our communities?

• What tools can our communities use to create more affordable housing?

• What is already planned?

• How can YOU help?

ECHO was formed to answer these questions, educate and organize advocates for affordable housing, and raise our collective voices for better affordable housing policy!

Check out these highlights of what ECHO has accomplished!

Our Founder and Executive Director

Annmarie Jensen convened the first meeting of ECHO and serves as the Executive Director. She has 30 years of public affairs experience, focusing on non-profit organizations and businesses. Annmarie has also served in a professional lobbying role on a wide variety of issues, such as affordable housing, human services, local and state government funding, and environmental and criminal justice.

The ECHO Board of Directors

Board Members

Katie Borden, President

Kat Goldberg, Vice President

Daria Guerra Leverne, Treasurer

Alyson Miller-Greenfield, Secretary

Jonathan Singer

Beth Eldridge

Contact Executive Director Annmarie Jensen if you are interested in exploring service on our board.

Job Opportunities

ECHO has no positions currently open.

If you would like to volunteer to assist in our outreach to the community and our advocacy for affordable housing, please email us at echobouldercounty@gmail.com.