DENVER – July 12, 2012 – First Western Trust (“First Western”) is pleased to announce the addition of Alexis Boian as director of philanthropic services for the firm. Boian, founder of the Denver-based Young Philanthropists Foundation, will manage and evolve First Western’s community programs, create new relationships with nonprofits and help guide clients’ philanthropic strategies.
“Alexis applies a passion to community investment endeavors, and there’s no lack of evidence in the initiatives she has founded and overseen in Denver,” said Melissa Montgomery Fitzsimmons, director of wealth planning for First Western. “Her impact at First Western is certain to be immediate, helping our clients incorporate philanthropy into their business goals, and internally enhancing our firm’s momentum of giving back.”
Boian also runs a small nonprofit organization she founded in 2003, the Young Philanthropists Foundation.Her accomplishments in this role include growing the organizational budget from entirely in-kind to six figures and implementing Penny Harvest, the largest youth philanthropy program in the country. Students in the Colorado Penny Harvest have collected and granted more than $200,000 since its inception in 2007. Boian is also a partner at the local public relations firm, dovetail solutions, which focuses on for-profit companies’ strategic community investment. A career highlight that garnered global attention was her September 11 Quilt Project. Featured on national news outlets such as Time magazine and The New York Times, the Quilt Project was a giant American flag crafted by small, individually designed squares of cloth whose origins were worldwide. National corporations, including Home Depot, Kinko’s and Sprint, contributed more than a quarter-million dollars, and Boian created all marketing collateral.
Boian’s civic involvement includes participation in the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation and Downtown Denver Leadership Program. Elsewhere she’s a Grab the Torch board member and a member of the advisory council with the Denver Public Schools Service Learning District. Boian has been recognized with honors such as the Downtown Denver Partnership’s Downtown Volunteer of the Year and the Denver Business Journal’s Partners in Philanthropy award. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder.
About First Western Trust
First Western Trust strives to be the best private bank for the Western wealth management client by providing comprehensive, tailored solutions in the areas of wealth planning, private banking, investment management, and trusts and estates. First Western also offers expertise in retirement services, mortgages, insurance, and business banking. First Western’s services are integrated through ConnectView, a proprietary approach that focuses on a client’s entire financial picture. Built specifically for clients based in the West, the firm has offices in Arizona, California, Colorado and Wyoming.
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