Meet Jeff Martinez | President of Brothers Redevelopment

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff Martinez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff, how does your business help the community?
Brothers Redevelopment is a housing nonprofit that provides a variety of housing and housing related services to low-income, elderly and disabled residents across Colorado.

Here are some of the ways we serve our neighbors:

Our Home Modification and Repair Program is the largest of its kind in Colorado, and helps low-income, disabled seniors stay in their homes, safely and with greater independence, by providing in-home modifications and repairs like the installation of wheelchair ramps, grab bars, accessible remodels, the installation of new water heaters and furnaces, and so much more.

Our long-standing Paint-A-Thon Program, meanwhile, utilizes caring volunteers to paint the homes of 100 low and fixed-income senior and disabled homeowners each year. Thanks to these caring Coloradans who turn up in neighborhoods across the front range throughout the spring, summer and fall, we are able to paint smiles on the faces of our elders.

That’s not all we do, though. Our Colorado Housing Connects (1-844-926-6632) helpline served thousands of people who were facing eviction or foreclosure last year by connecting them to financial and legal assistance, and other housing resources, in their own communities. We’ve also provided millions of dollars in rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to Coloradans all across the state since the pandemic began.

Finally, there’s our Aging in Place Program. This service helps older adults access crucial resources like rental and utility assistance, Medicaid and other government benefits, groceries, transportation, and other services that far too many seniors forego because they don’t know that many of these services are free and readily available to help them meet their daily needs.

Y’know, the work we do is SO important and thousands of our neighbors across the state rely on the services that we offer, free of charge. We appreciate the support of our neighbors, businesses and communities across the state that help us answer every call for help.

People can support the mission of Brothers Redevelopment by scheduling a donation for Colorado Gives Day on Dec. 6 at https://www.coloradogives.org/organization/brothersredevelopment.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I never expected to be where I am today, but am grateful that this is where my professional and personal path led. I started out, in college, wanting to be a writer or a journalist, and early on pursued every opportunity I could to become one or the other. I always sought roles where I could fulfill that desire to write or be in media – and landed in public relations, working for mostly governmental organizations, both large and small. I enjoyed writing and promoting the work of the organizations that employed me, but didn’t always like the politics involved. I could never shake this feeling that I had a calling, of sorts, to be in a position of service, be it in public service, or even a ministry. While working in an advertising agency, I had a chance to promote and get acquainted with Brothers Redevelopment, its history and mission. I was really enthralled with the work and impact the organization had, particularly in the lives of seniors. I also appreciated the desire of its leadership, particularly my predecessor, to help meet the housing needs of historically underserved communities. When an opportunity finally came to work for Brothers, I was working for a local government that had been developing new housing projects, so I felt versed to bring something to the organization beyond a press release.

When I arrived at Brothers, I always felt the organization had the capacity to do more to address the needs of housing affordability and accessibility, but that we lacked the financial wherewithal and motivation to extend our service provision. When I took the helm five years later, I worked with our Board of Directors to reframe the vision and challenge ourselves to help more of our neighbors in need, in any way that made sense. I’m proud that we’ve exceeded those goals, and grateful and humbled to have been a part of this organization’s tremendous growth.

Brothers Redevelopment just felt like it was a place I was meant to be – but I could only get there by taking the winding career path that I took. Something tells me I also had to gain the other skills I acquired along the way – even the ones that taught me how to adapt to and excel in some of those aforementioned messy and inconsequential political battles. Now I can look back and see how everything has led me to be here in a role to help people who are struggling – but I first had to go through my own struggles in order to be of service.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d cram in a lot of sites and scenes. My family really likes to go to the mountains, Breckenridge in particular, so we’d head to Breck to do some hiking and dining at some point. We live in the Park Hill neighborhood, so when we got back to town, we would have to squeeze in a jaunt to Red Rocks for a hike or a show, maybe a bite at Il Postino in Central Denver, stop for craft brew at Cerebral Brewing off of East Colfax or Cheluna Brewing in the Stanley Marketplace, then head to Ball Arena to catch a Nuggets game.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Many people have inspired me since taking on this role as President at Brothers Redevelopment, but I have to thank Don Schierling, one of the founders of the organization who remained involved throughout its 50-year history and passed away in 2021. He was the conscience of the organization and I’m glad he was alive long enough to see his vision fulfilled.

Website: https://brothersredevelopment.org/