The Wealth We Build

The old economy is broken, and a new one isn't going to build itself. If we want an economy that actually works for all, we have to BUILD it.

Welcome to your weekly blueprint for economic liberation. Produced by the Center for Community Wealth (CCW), this podcast spotlights the fearless people, high-stakes projects, and bold ideas reshaping what’s possible for Metro Denver and beyond. We’re dismantling the old system and building a resilient, self-determined future from the ground up.

Each week, we dive into one of four pillars fostering real community wealth: cooperatives, small businesses, anchor institutions, and community real estate. No gatekeepers, no trickle-down myths, just raw, inspiring conversations with the entrepreneurs, worker-owners, and thought leaders who are actively creating economic justice with solidarity, sovereignty and joy.

Stop waiting for the system to change. Tune in and learn how we're building it. Join us!

Contributors

Host

Yessica X. Holguin

Yessica doesn’t just study the new economy, she’s spent her life building it. As the co-founder and strategic engine behind the Center for Community Wealth (CCW), she drives the mission to put economic power back where it belongs: in the hands of the community.

Raised in Denver’s Swansea neighborhood, Yessica has championed immigrant rights and low-income communities across Metro Denver since 2000. Her expertise spans from Denver's streets, where she helped launch the Denver Scholarship Foundation’s inaugural advising program, to the global stage. She served as a Peace Corps Small Business Specialist and Country Director for Project Gettysburg-León in Nicaragua, mastering self-determined development.

Yessica has dedicated her life to breaking cycles of poverty through education and fierce entrepreneurship. Off the clock, she’s running, reading, or plotting the next breakthrough over a great cup of coffee.

Producer

Julie Jackson

A multi-Emmy® award-winning writer, producer, director, and editor, Julie Jackson brings over 20 years of documentary storytelling to the wealth building movement. As a military brat who grew up traveling the world, she developed a global perspective that eventually led her to earn a degree in international affairs and economics. Today, Julie is fiercely passionate about leveraging the power of media to dismantle and close the racial wealth gap. She produces and directs The Wealth We Build and serves as the Communications Director for Center for Community Wealth.

Julie's portfolio spans thousands of productions. Her career includes serving as VP of Culture Content at Rocky Mountain PBS where she created the Emmy-winning Colorado Experience. She is an owner-member of Truce Media Collective, a co-op transforming the global media landscape. Julie also serves as an advisor for TODAQ Micro and the Volunteer Regional Film Commissioner for Chaffee County.

https://www.juliespeerproductions.com/