June 15, 2026: DIA's 'tunnel vision' as CEO Phil Washington reflects on growth and future

Summary

Colorado Matters – June 15, 2026: DIA’s “Tunnel Vision” and CEO Phil Washington on the Airport’s Growth and Future

Episode Overview

This episode of Colorado Matters, hosted by Ryan Warner, spotlights major infrastructure changes at Denver International Airport (DIA), with a focus on plans to convert existing baggage tunnels into pedestrian walkways as a solution for train outages between concourses. The episode features an in-depth interview with outgoing DIA CEO Phil Washington, who reflects on the airport’s exponential growth, infrastructure challenges, future directions, leadership, and diversity. The episode also features a commencement speech from Colorado College President Monya Whitaker, a student-produced story about Colorado road trips, and a profile of a Silicon Valley expat who now owns a record store in Del Norte.

---

DIA’s “Tunnel Vision”: Creating Redundancy for Stranded Travelers

Current Challenge: Train Outages at DIA

• [01:07-01:33] The podcast opens with a report on major disruptions at DIA caused by a nearly hour-long power outage, which stopped the trains that shuttle passengers between the main terminal and concourses. Hundreds were stranded and nearly 600 flights delayed.
  • “Hundreds of people waiting for trains that never came. Nearly 600 flights were delayed.” – Paul Fennell, [01:16]
  • “When trains between the terminal and concourses are on the fritz, there’s no backup, no redundancy.” – Ryan Warner, [01:33]

The Solution: Repurposing Baggage Tunnels for Passenger Walkways

• [01:57-02:34] DIA plans to retrofit existing baggage tunnel infrastructure (originally part of the failed baggage handling system) to create underground walkways connecting concourses A to B and B to C. The walkways will not connect the terminal to A, as there is already a bridge that provides redundancy.

  • “The tunnels are going to connect A to B and then B to C, but not in one long continuous walkway… each segment is about a third of a mile.” – DIA Infrastructure Expert, [01:57]
  • “These are a repurposing of existing areas where the original baggage system existed.” – DIA Infrastructure Expert, [02:28]

• [02:34-03:06] The current tunnel environment is industrial, noisy, and unsuitable for passengers, requiring significant upgrades.

  • “It is currently not an area where people would be able to safely or quietly or in a relaxing way, travel from point A to point B. There’s a lot of work to do from an infrastructure point.” – DIA Infrastructure Expert, [02:34]

Why Not Build New Bridges?

• [03:18-04:21] CEO Phil Washington explains the decision not to construct new passenger bridges, citing cost, operational impacts, and disruption to airport activities.
  • “We decided… that bridges were likely, one, too expensive and two, a little bit too impactful for our passengers as well. They would have impacted some of the gates.” – Phil Washington, [04:04]

Managing Growth: The Culture of Constant Construction

• [04:34-05:20] DIA is serving far more passengers than it was designed for (82.4 million last year vs. 50 million in original 1995 design).
  • “Our airport was built for 50 million annual passengers… Last year, we were at 82.4.” – Phil Washington, [04:42]
  • On ongoing construction: “If you show me a large hub airport anywhere in the world that is not doing construction, I would be surprised.” – Phil Washington, [05:12]

Tunnel Ambitions: Passenger Experience and Timeline

• [05:20-07:23] The vision includes potential moving walkways, an “aesthetically beautiful” experience, and even Colorado-themed concessions.
  • “Our hope is that there will be enough room for moving walkways.” – Phil Washington, [05:33]
  • “We want it to be Colorado centric. We want these tunnels to be aesthetically beautiful.” – Phil Washington, [06:37]
  • Bantering: “Oh, I could buy a Cinnabon in the tunnel maybe, or maybe a cup of coffee.” – Ryan Warner and Phil Washington, [06:57-07:02]
  • Timeline: Construction starts next year; tunnels to open by 2029. Estimated cost: $300-700 million. The lack of detailed design accounts for the wide range.

Turning Mistakes into Assets

• [09:01-11:15] Using the old, failed baggage tunnel system as a pedestrian corridor is framed as turning DIA’s “original sin” into an asset.
  • “I often say that the lack of redundancy for the trains… is the original sin… We are atoning for that original sin by going in.” – Phil Washington, [10:03-10:15]

---

National Policy & Aviation: The Impact of Federal Threats

• [11:15-12:54] Discussion of the President’s threat to restrict international travel at “sanctuary city” airports by removing customs and border patrol staff.

  • “The ripple effect is incredible. When something happens here… it impacts Mobile, Alabama, Biloxi… It impacts everyone in the aviation space.” – Phil Washington, [12:21]

• [13:02] Washington reiterates this position to various officials but hopes cooler heads will prevail.

---

Beyond the Terminals: Traffic, Energy, and Security

Pena Boulevard Widening

• [14:12-15:44] Updates on the process to potentially widen the main access road to DIA, pending environmental review (NEPA process), with final alternatives to be announced at year’s end.

Fuel Costs and Global Flight Patterns

• [16:00-16:30] Higher fuel costs and global conflicts are driving up airline operating costs.

Recent Security Incidents and Airport Response

• [16:30-17:51] On two alarming perimeter breaches:
  • “What we will do and continue to do is be very, very vigilant… There’s always lessons.” – Phil Washington, [16:43-17:18]

Exploring Nuclear Power and Energy Independence

• [17:51-21:03] The airport briefly explored nuclear power (via small modular reactors) as part of energy independence efforts—now considering a full portfolio (solar, geothermal, etc.).
  • “We may not be ready for that now… but who knows in 10 years where that will be?” – Phil Washington, [19:25]
  • “An airport cannot be down. And so I’m concerned about that. And we should be thinking out of the box with regard to energy and how we power this place.” – Phil Washington, [20:09]

---

Leadership, Diversity, and Reflections as Phil Washington Departs

Diversity at DIA and Across the Industry

• [21:03-22:40] Washington highlights strides in workforce diversity:
  • “I often say that nature itself demands diversity… When’s the last time you saw a rainbow all the same color?” – Phil Washington, [21:20]
  • “I want diversity of thought, and people don’t think about diversity of thought… That is a combination of young people, middle aged folks, and old folks.” – Phil Washington, [22:06]
  • “It’s not as lonely as it’s been… It was the same when I was in the military as well. I’m happy to see that.” – Phil Washington, [22:38]

Succession and Staying in Denver

• [23:23-24:47] Mayor will pick the next CEO; Washington will remain in Denver, citing its air travel access.
  • “I drank my own Kool Aid.” – Phil Washington, [24:47]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Original Infrastructure Mistakes:

  • “I often say that the lack of redundancy for the trains is the original sin… We are atoning for that original sin by going in.” – Phil Washington, [10:03]

• On Constant Construction:

  • “If you show me a large hub airport anywhere in the world that is not doing construction, then I would be surprised.” – Phil Washington, [05:12]

• On Diversity:

  • “Nature itself demands diversity… When's the last time you saw a rainbow all the same color?” – Phil Washington, [21:20]

• On Energy Resilience:

  • “An airport cannot be down. And so I’m concerned about that. And we should be thinking out of the box with regard to energy and how we power this place.” – Phil Washington, [20:09]

• On Moving to Denver:

  • “I drank my own Kool Aid.” – Phil Washington, [24:47]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Train Outage and Tunnel Proposal: [01:07-03:06]
• Phil Washington on Bridge vs. Tunnel Decision: [03:18-04:21]
• Growth and Construction at DIA: [04:34-05:20]
• Passenger Experience Vision for Tunnels: [05:20-07:23]
• Project Timeline & Cost: [07:23-08:53]
• Repurposing Infrastructure Mistakes: [09:01-11:15]
• Federal Threats to Airport Operations: [11:15-12:54]
• Pena Boulevard Traffic: [14:12-15:44]
• Security Issues: [16:30-17:51]
• Energy Independence & Nuclear Power: [17:51-21:03]
• Diversity Leadership: [21:03-22:40]
• Succession Plans & Washington’s Future: [23:23-24:47]

---

Commencement Speech Highlight: Monya Whitaker at Colorado College

• [25:42-28:38] President Whitaker urges graduates to see unprecedented times as moments of opportunity and duty.
  • “When everything feels unprecedented, that is not a reason for despair. It is a sign that you exist in one of the rare moments when the course of the world actually changes.” – Monya Whitaker, [25:42]
  • Inspiring historical references to young leaders: “James Madison was 25. Alexander Hamilton was 21. James Monroe was 18.” – Monya Whitaker, [27:05]
  • “Your diploma is not a period. It’s the first word of a very long sentence, of a remarkable chapter.” – Monya Whitaker, [28:38]

---

Student Voices: "On Our Minds" Podcast

• [30:36-35:20] Theo Bonavita, Niwot High School, shares a coming-of-age story about Colorado road trips, growing up, and cherishing small moments.
  • “Those little moments that may not seem so special at the time end up being some of the greatest memories to have.” – Theo Bonavita, [35:17]

---

Paul Fennell: From Silicon Valley to Analog Life in Del Norte

• [36:00-47:23] Paul Fennell recounts leaving the fast-paced tech world for a slower, more community-centered existence, opening the "Trade and Post" record store in Del Norte and building a life rooted in connection and local culture.
  • “I was fortunate that I had liquidity in analog music. That’s what provided me this opportunity.” – Paul Fennell, [36:18]
  • “When you stop looking for something is when you find it… I found this moment of joy that I think was escaping me.” – Paul Fennell, [39:41 & 39:59]
  • “This room has really become an extension of what my living room is… only you hold public hours.” – Paul Fennell, [46:26]

---

Closing Thoughts

This episode offers a window into the evolving landscape of Colorado’s largest airport, the vision and candor of a rare Black leader in aviation, and the stories of Coloradans forging new paths—whether embarking on a career, cherishing state road trips, or finding analog joy far from Silicon Valley. The conversations are candid, hopeful, and often humorous, with guests’ voices underscoring the complexity and possibility of growth, reinvention, and community in Colorado.

Transcript

[Ryan Warner]

From cpr news, this is colorado matters. We go underground into tunnels. Denver International Airport wants to transform into passenger walkways to and from gates.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

It will be a major infrastructure undertaking.

[Ryan Warner]

Then a commencement speech for the ages

[Monya Whitaker]

on the 4th of July, 1776. James Madison was 25. Alexander Hamilton was 21. James Monroe was 18.

[Ryan Warner]

And a record collection leads to a new life.

[Paul Fennell]

That's what provided me this opportunity, was knowing that the collection had value and if I was able to bring myself to part with it, that I could sustain this.

[Ryan Warner]

This is Colorado Matters from CPR News and krcc. I'm Ryan Warner. It's the Achilles heel of Denver's airport.

[Paul Fennell]

Alright, if you're traveling through Denver airport

[Becky Wandell]

this evening, it's May 6th.

[Monya Whitaker]

Come early.

[Paul Fennell]

The trains are down next to a

[Phil Washington]

nightmare At DIA this morning, power was

[Paul Fennell]

out for nearly an hour, causing operations to come to a screeching halt. Hundreds of people waiting for trains that never came. Nearly 600 flights were delayed.

[Phil Washington]

Main part of the terminal where the train is and B, this is the back of the line to get down to the trains.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, train delays leading to long wait times at dia. Overnight photos of all those stranded travelers just poured into our news tip email from viewers. Look at those pictures. When trains between the terminal and concourses are on the fritz, there's no backup, no redundancy. Well, the airport announced a solution. Underground walkways using existing tunnels.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

The tunnels are going to connect A to B and then B to C, but not in one long continuous walkway. And each segment is about a third of a mile.

[Ryan Warner]

DIA spokeswoman Courtney Law gave us a subterranean tour as baggage tractors trundled past. So it will not connect the terminal to A.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

It will not.

[Ryan Warner]

Because there's that bridge that's already creating some redundancy.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

Correct.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay. Are you digging any new tunnels for this or. It's all the vestigial baggage stuff.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

These are a repurposing of existing areas where the original baggage system existed.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

It will be a major infrastructure undertaking. It is currently not an area where people would be able to safely or quietly or in a relaxing way, travel from point A to point B. There's a lot of work to do from an infrastructure point.

[Ryan Warner]

I think that baggage cart maybe just made the point.

[DIA Infrastructure Expert]

I probably didn't need to say any of that.

[Ryan Warner]

Let's leave all the clamor and head to the office tower at Denver International Airport, where I met CEO Phil Washington, who, by the way, recently announced he'll retire before summer's end.

[Dan Boyce]

Hi, Phil.

[Phil Washington]

Great to have you here.

[Ryan Warner]

Some time ago, you showed me designs for rather impressive brief bridges that connect concourses. Why didn't you go that route?

[Phil Washington]

Well, one of the reasons we didn't go that route, after extensive working groups in the operational aspect of the airport, also the construction aspect of the airport and concessions, you have to take all these things into account, all of those things into account. The impact operationally that it would have on the airport to build bridges, even though we could have done some modular construction, so construction off site and then bring it on. Think Legos kind of thing.

[Ryan Warner]

Lego bridges.

[Phil Washington]

We decided after looking at all those things that bridges were likely, one, too expensive and two, a little bit too impactful for our passengers as well. They would have impacted some of the gates.

[Ryan Warner]

Inherent in that. Is there a little bit of an understanding that people think this airport is always under construction, or do you think about that in terms of planning future disturbances?

[Phil Washington]

We do think about that. And you've heard me say this before. Our airport was built for 50 million annual passengers 31 years ago. Last year, we were at 82.4.

[Ryan Warner]

So your message is often, get used to it.

[Phil Washington]

Well, it's not get used to it because we want to make sure that there is, even though we're doing construction, that there is the least amount of impact as we can. But this is indicative of the demand for air travel all over the world. And so if you show me an airport, I'm talking large hub airports. If you show me a large hub airport anywhere in the world that is not doing construction, then I would be surprised.

[Ryan Warner]

Be as vivid as you can about these tunnels. And now I realize there's a lot more to determine. Design phase, et cetera. Do you imagine a walkway, a moving walkway, or is it just hoofing it?

[Phil Washington]

Our hope is that there will be enough room for moving walkways.

[Ryan Warner]

It's a pretty narrow corridor down there.

[Phil Washington]

Yes, it's very narrow. But we are working with the designers, the eventual designers of this, to determine whether we can go up a level from what you probably saw, where there is a wider tunnel, if you will, so up a level that could go all the way from A to C. If we do it that way, we likely will be able to put moving sidewalks in there.

[Ryan Warner]

Now, I think of some of the great underground airport tunnels of the world, Chicago, for instance. I think people are very familiar with hearing Rhapsody in Blue as they are carted from one concourse to the next. In my hometown of Los Angeles, the mosaic tiles on the walls of the walkways, do you want this to be signature?

[Phil Washington]

Yes, we want it to be signature. We want it to be Colorado centric. We want these tunnels to be aesthetically beautiful. We want, in various places as best we can, to have some concessions in those areas.

[Ryan Warner]

Oh, I could buy a Cinnabon in

[Phil Washington]

the tunnel maybe, or maybe a cup of coffee.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay, let's not give the contract a Cinnabon right now.

[Phil Washington]

Right, right, right. No, we want these tunnels to be very, very attractive. You mentioned Chicago. That's my hometown. You mentioned Los Angeles. I spent a lot of years there running LA County Transportation Authority. So we want our tunnels to look better than those.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay. It's a competition now. Construction slated to start next year. Tunnels open by 2029 at the latest. You say the cost? Anywhere between 300 and 700 million bucks. That's a wide range.

[Paul Fennell]

Yes.

[Ryan Warner]

300 to 700 million. Why that range? And why not throw an area rug and call it a day?

[Phil Washington]

Well, let me start with the area rug. I don't like area rugs.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay.

[Phil Washington]

We want this again to be sort of beautiful. Not sort of beautiful, but beautiful. The flooring we haven't decided on yet, but it's hard to roll luggage across area rugs.

[Ryan Warner]

You also have to, just so that folks have a really clear understanding of the setup there, you have to wall it off very much. From the cacophony of baggage carts going back and forth. You're sealing this off to some extent.

[Phil Washington]

Yeah. I mean, we'll do all the things that enhance the customer experience. You know, our expectation. And your first question was, why the big range? 300, 700. Typically on these big construction projects like this, you want to get at least 30% design, if not more. The more design that you get in a project, the more you narrow down the cost. And so with no design at all just now we went with this wide range.

[Ryan Warner]

I see.

[Phil Washington]

This range will shrink or the estimate will shrink as we progress in design.

[Ryan Warner]

It's fascinating to me that a debacle that preceded you, which was the original baggage handling system, is actually going to be the very passageway that might serve as redundancy for the train. In other words, you're taking what was a mistake and kind of empowering it. Do you think that's a fair framing of it?

[Phil Washington]

That is a fair framing of it, I believe. And I don't like to go back and talk about the mistakes of my infrastructure forefathers. However, we took a look at the non use of the baggage, the old baggage equipment, and thought, you know what, let's repurpose this. And that's what we all should do as infrastructure professionals, we should take a look at what we can do with what we have. And so I often say that the lack of redundancy for the trains, for the trains is the original sin. S I n of din.

[Ryan Warner]

The den sin.

[Phil Washington]

The den sin. The original sin. It's like eating the apple. I guess I was going to ask

[Ryan Warner]

you because, you know, the system has lacked redundancy since DIA opened in 95.

[Phil Washington]

That's correct. And we want to fix that. So we are atoning for that original sin by going in. And this is casting no blame on anybody from the past. You know, sometimes these things get left on the cutting room floor. But in the project life cycle, and I'm thinking 31 years, right. Infrastructure professionals look to improve the project along the infrastructure life cycle span. And that is what we're doing. And so we're good with that. This is something that we have been thinking about at least since I arrived here. We put out a request for information three years ago, asking the private sector for ideas.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah, spaghetti on the wall kind of stuff.

[Phil Washington]

Exactly. And so this is what we have. And I think it's a great idea. And the airlines, we partnered with the airlines to come up with this idea. And here we are. We're going to do it.

[Ryan Warner]

I want to move on to some other news. The president has threatened to punish Democratic cities by hobbling their airports, namely international travel to and from. What have you heard about this and how, if at all, are you preparing?

[Phil Washington]

I've heard the same thing that you have probably heard, and that is the newspaper accounts of withholding customs, border patrol from quote, unquote, sanctuary cities. I would say this. I've worked in pretty much all modes of transportation, highway, transit, and now aviation. Aviation is the most connected nationally. In other words, inextricable to. Yes. I mean, what happens here impacts the East Coast. What happens here impacts airports and aviation on the West Coast.

[Ryan Warner]

I think what I hear you saying is if you're going to try to punish a place because it's blue or because of its immigration policies, the ripple effect of that will be so profound that you wind up punishing way more.

[Phil Washington]

That is exactly what I'm saying. The ripple effect is incredible. When something happens here, when we have a Runway down, when we have an outage here, it impacts Mobile. Yes. Alabama, Biloxi. That's right. It impacts everyone in the aviation space. So it is not, in my opinion, a good idea for the entire country to try to single off or single out airports that are in, quote, unquote sanctuary cities.

[Ryan Warner]

Have you said as much to the Department of Transportation? Do you hope that this just sort of sleeps in the corner a little bit or what?

[Phil Washington]

I've said as much to anybody that has asked me.

[Ryan Warner]

The CEO of Denver's airport, Phil Washington, joins us. He's been sharing his tunnel vision. Tunnel vision. Get it?

[Becky Wandell]

Okay.

[Ryan Warner]

After a break, congestion on Pena Boulevard and reflections as he retires. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. He took on an airport still bouncing back from the pandemic and the construction and growth spurts that followed. Let's get back to my conversation with CEO Phil Washington. You retire this summer, will you announce a widening of Pena Boulevard?

[Phil Washington]

Before you go, the preferred alternative comes the end of this year, so I will be the one.

[Ryan Warner]

Will you unpack that? Whenever you say preferred alternatives, my eyes glaze over.

[Phil Washington]

Yes. Oh, sorry about that.

[Ryan Warner]

It's okay. It's not your fault, it's mine.

[Phil Washington]

Yeah. The preferred alternative comes at the end of what is called the National Environmental Policy act process or the NEPA process. The environmental process.

[Ryan Warner]

What is the impact of the various solutions to helping that corridor?

[Phil Washington]

That's right. The impact of the various alternatives that are being studied now. It's very, very important and actually against the law to predetermine the outcome of this process.

[Ryan Warner]

Remind me the alternative. So widening, Pena widening.

[Phil Washington]

What are the other ones? There are some transit demand management opportunities. There's actually 20 of those that we are going to implement regardless of what we do.

[Ryan Warner]

The timing on this, one more time. Just remind me when we'll know more.

[Phil Washington]

The end of the year. We have said that we are going to announce what the improvement will be for Pena. The end of the year. And I won't be here the end of the year. But. And I don't want to do it earlier because that would not be the right thing to do.

[Ryan Warner]

But maybe you'll have the TV on that day.

[Phil Washington]

We'll call you first.

[Ryan Warner]

Well, you won't. You won't be here.

[Phil Washington]

Well, I'll make sure they do it.

[Ryan Warner]

Okay. Very good. What impact are fuel costs having on travel? I mean, as you describe the popularity right now of air travel, it doesn't make me think that it is existential, but what's your view on this?

[Phil Washington]

Well, when you think about the current challenges as they relate to aviation, the higher cost of fuel is one of them. We've already seen airlines increase their fares and we have seen their operating costs. Airline operating costs go up because of one, fuel, two, having to fly around conflict areas in the world. Today. And, you know, flying around a whole country takes up a lot of fuel.

[Ryan Warner]

A man managed to breach DIA's perimeter and was killed by a passing jet. And soon after, a man crashed his truck through a security gate. Do you think that your airport has a security issue? Is this a pattern now?

[Phil Washington]

Well, listen, I will say this. We do the very, very best we can to keep people out. We've got 36 miles of perimeter fence. We have thermal imaging. We've got alarms. We've got all kinds of different things. What we will do and continue to do is be very, very vigilant to stop folks from getting in, if you

[Ryan Warner]

will, any weaknesses that this pointed to. And you don't necessarily have to go through those because that in and of itself risks security. But are there lessons you've taken from this?

[Phil Washington]

Well, there's always lessons. I hesitate to go through those because we have an investigation that is going on right now. And so until that investigation is complete, I don't want to speculate on what that could be.

[Ryan Warner]

Do you know when that'll be done?

[Phil Washington]

Well, ntsb, the National Transportation Safety Board is doing theirs. I'm not quite sure of their timeline. And the Transportation Security Agency TSA is doing one as well. So our hope is that those are one done very thoroughly and are expedited as well.

[Ryan Warner]

Let's go nuclear. Last year you introduced and then quickly pulled back a plan to study nuclear power at dia. There was backlash to the idea. And this goes hand in hand, by the way, with what might be an energy source for data centers that are placed in the airport zone of influence as a possible development as the airport and its environs need more energy. Is nuclear entirely off the table?

[Phil Washington]

No, it is not. We put out or issued a request for information. And what we said was to the private sector, share with us what we should be thinking about to eventually make this airport energy independent. And that could be 20 years from now, 30 years from now, 40 years from now. And we did not limit the private sector on ideas that they could come back to us with. And so we have been very, very clear with the proposals and the ideas that we have gotten back. And they have been all over the board. They have been geothermal, there have been solar ideas, there have been battery storage ideas. And yes, there have been small modular reactor ideas. And so while we may be, and I've been accused of being ahead of my time on a lot of different things, I do not apologize for thinking innovatively. We may not be ready for that now. And we know that Small modular reactors are very expensive, but who knows in 10 years where that will be?

[Ryan Warner]

So you don't have any clearer answer yet as to what the form of energy will be. You're still looking at the potential portfolio of options.

[Phil Washington]

We are looking at that entire portfolio of options. And keep in mind that we may do one type of energy in the next five years and then transition to another and so on until we energy independent. What we do know is that we cannot afford the outages that we have had. We and this is no knock on the grid provider, but I can't afford to be down. Any airport cannot afford to be down. We've had far too many outages, not just at this airport, but when you think about what happened last year at Heathrow where their airport went down, when you think about what happened in Madrid last year, when you think about 11 years, well, in 2017 when Atlanta Hartsfield was down 11 hours, an airport cannot be down. And so I'm concerned about that. And we should be thinking out of the box with regard to energy and how we power this place. And so I will not apologize for thinking to being a forward thinker, especially in this energy space.

[Ryan Warner]

You are a black leader of a major world airport that is rarer than a direct from Poughkeepsie to Paris. You've championed a program here to develop a more diverse workforce. How far has the needle moved and has it moved in the right direction?

[Phil Washington]

I think it has moved in the right direction. People talk about a diverse workforce. I mean, by God, we're in an international airport. Everybody comes through here. We need to be thinking about people from all over the world as an international airport. I often say that nature itself demands diversity. I mean, when is the last time you saw a rainbow all the same color? I mean, this is silly. You know, it's foolishness, it's buffoonery. Is that a word?

[Ryan Warner]

Yes. Okay, it is now.

[Paul Fennell]

Good.

[Ryan Warner]

And what is the state of the workforce? Let's say before and after?

[Phil Washington]

I think we have gotten a lot better.

[Ryan Warner]

Your time?

[Phil Washington]

Yeah, we have gotten a lot better in terms of gender diversity. We have gotten a lot better in terms of ethnic diversity and it has made this organization stronger. I want diversity of thought and people don't think about diversity of thought. And when I think about diversity of thought, that is a combination of young people, middle aged folks and old folks.

[Ryan Warner]

When you go to conferences and you meet the Phil Washingtons of other airports and other communities nationally, internationally, do you see more people who look like you?

[Phil Washington]

I do. I do.

[Ryan Warner]

It's not as lonely a place as it's been.

[Phil Washington]

It's not as lonely as it's been. I mean, I have been, as I mentioned, in every mode of transportation. And when I got into transportation, you know what, almost 30 years ago, when I retired from the military, it was not as diverse as it is now. So I see that. And it was the same way when I was in the military as well. And so I'm happy to see that.

[Ryan Warner]

Are you sad you were never the head of the faa? Biden had floated your name.

[Phil Washington]

Yes, I am not sad. I am one that believes what is for me will be for me, and that was not for me.

[Ryan Warner]

You are an appointee. The mayor will decide who the next head of the airport is. Will you be whispering in his ear potential names? Do you want some involvement in the choice?

[Phil Washington]

No, no, that is.

[Ryan Warner]

This is a job people have a long time, isn't it? Like you. How long have you had it?

[Phil Washington]

Five years.

[Ryan Warner]

Five years. Your predecessor, Kim Day, had it for,

[Phil Washington]

I think she was here for 12 years.

[Ryan Warner]

Yeah. These are big investments in people.

[Phil Washington]

They are. But this is his choice, and he deserves to make his choice. The mayor knows what we're doing here. He knows the magnitude of the program and the operations and all of that. So he is well equipped to make that choice.

[Ryan Warner]

Are you staying in Denver?

[Phil Washington]

I will live in Denver. I think in terms of travel to both coasts or any place in North America. Denver is in the middle of the national airspace to travel either way. So I wouldn't say that about any other place, even though my hometown is Chicago.

[Ryan Warner]

Did you just turn your retirement into an ad for your airport?

[Phil Washington]

I think you did if I were.

[Ryan Warner]

In other words, you're staying.

[Phil Washington]

Yes.

[Ryan Warner]

In part because you've had your own Kool Aid here about Denver.

[Phil Washington]

I drank my own Kool Aid. But I felt this way when I retired from the US Army 26 years ago. I felt like this was the place because of the reasons that I laid out.

[Ryan Warner]

The travel bug will continue with you into retirement. I hear the wanderlust. Phil Washington, thank you for being with us.

[Phil Washington]

Thank you, Ryan. I appreciate you being here and I appreciate you being fair in every interview that you've done.

[Ryan Warner]

At least with me, Phil Washington leads Denver International Airport, AKA dia, AKA Den. He's about to retire. This is Colorado Matters from CPR News. A good commencement speech resonates beyond a graduating class. Such is the case with these remarks from Colorado College's president, Monya Whitaker.

[Monya Whitaker]

I know you're tired. We are all tired of unprecedented times. But when everything feels unprecedented, that is not a reason for despair. It is a sign that you exist in one of the rare moments when the course of the world actually changes. They are few, and the people inside them rarely know in real time that they are the ones who will change it. 250 years is a testament, and it is also a reckoning. Have we kept the promise of our nation? And more urgently, who will keep it going forward? You have to answer those questions whether you want to or not. Such is the gravity of this hour, but also the gift.

[Ryan Warner]

Whitaker relied some on Latin in urging her students to be vocal.

[Monya Whitaker]

I keep returning to a phrase I first encountered as an undergraduate, vox climantis in deserto, a voice crying out in the wilderness. This phrase resonates with me not because of its religious roots, but because it speaks to agency, to fortitude, to purpose, even in the face of something overwhelming. The wilderness is vast, but it is not a place of defeat. It is where we are compelled to prepare for the unexpected. It is where clarity is found, doubts are conquered, and where the unnecessary falls away. The wilderness is also where the most important change begins. Not in the centers of power, but at the edges. Our nation's history bears this out. The voices that change this country, country did not come from conventional places in conventional ways. The American experiment was itself an act of audacious speech. A declaration, a constitution, a bill of rights anchored by freedom of expression. And when you think of those touchstones and those institutions that our nation reveres, it can be tempting to treat them as achievements beyond reach. The lore of our founding fathers may leave the impression that they forged a nation from the wisdom of decades. But on the 4th of July 1776, James Madison was 25. Alexander Hamilton was 21. James Monroe was 18. Crossing the centuries, we see the same John Lewis was 19 when he led the Nashville lunch counter sit ins. David Hogg was 17 when he co founded March for Our Lives.

[Ryan Warner]

This is a pattern, Whitaker said. More than a birthday, July 4th should be a rededication to democratic norms, civil rights and humanity.

[Monya Whitaker]

Every generation must re ratify in its own words and actions the promise of whom we can become. Across your years at cc, we've given you the space to question, to fail, to build, to become your best selves. That was our promise to you. Now you make your promise to us and to the world and step into the fullness of who you are. Claim your space. Your diploma is not a period. It's the first word of a very long sentence, of a remarkable chapter. I have faith in you. This is your time to find your wilderness, to raise your voice. Because our democracy is listening. Congratulations, Colorado College Class of 2026.

[Ryan Warner]

Colorado College President monya Whitaker speaking May 17, part of our series Dipping into commencement speeches from around the state, budding journalists share their stories through the Teen Life podcast On Our Minds. It comes from PBS News Student Reporting Labs. The sixth season just wrapped. Producer Becky Wandell the goal of On

[Becky Wandell]

Our Minds is to provide a real world, hands on production opportunity for students that are interested in journalism, storytelling, audio storytelling, radio podcasts. We chose over a dozen students from around the country that pitched us really interesting stories about their hometowns and what makes them special. So I mentored them along with some of our other producers throughout the winter and the springtime. Helped them grow as producers gave them this really awesome experience of being published. We also are proud to pay our students so it's giving them oftentimes their first real professional experience in the journalism world.

[Ryan Warner]

This season's theme Audio Road Trips. It features a story by Theo Bonavita, a junior at Niwot High School. Theo says taking part in On Our Minds was empowering.

[Theo Bonavita]

I think everyone has stories they need to share and sometimes it's hard to get them all out. I think especially today we get trapped in our comfort zones and kind of just putting yourself out there and taking as many opportunities as you possibly can. Even if you're not super into podcasts or you don't exactly know how to edit, just take the opportunity and just go for it. Like there's no, there's no harm in going for it. It's always great to put yourself out there.

[Ryan Warner]

That is Theo Bonavita, who attends Niwad High School. We share Theo's road trip with you now.

[Theo Bonavita]

Now I live just outside of Denver in a little neighborhood in Broomfield, Colorado, which is not so much of a special place on its own. But looking at the greater scheme of things, Colorado is an amazing state. I'm lucky to have lived here my whole childhood and if my best friend had not moved away, I may have forgotten that. As a kid I've done many road trips to the mountains with my family. We knew family with a house in Winter park and my parents live loved to take me and my cousins to what we just called the cabin. We would drive up as a family, plop our bags at the cabin and go get food immediately. Most of the time we always ended up at this little pizza joint called Hernando's and I have amazing memories from there. Putting honey on our Pizza crusts, decorating dollar bills to hang on their big wall of dollar bills. Just being with the family. After a long, long drive, we head back to the cabin, hopping in the hot tub, staying until our fingers and toes looked like we were 90 years old. We would go to bed in these wooden bunk beds, happy as we could possibly be. The next day would look something like walking around the beautiful town, going snow tubing, if there was enough snow, of course. Or maybe just exploring the woods. I remember one time we found a teepee made of logs. And there was even a really awesome park nearby with a big plastic bear we used to climb. As a kid hanging out with my cousins. This was awesome. But as time went on, we grew up. I stopped hanging out with my cousins all the time just simply because life got busy. Middle school came, high school came, and suddenly those winter park cabin trips were sort of just a little memory. But one day of summer, that all changed. I had a best friend named Jack I met freshman year. We had bonded immediately over our love of music. He had called me one day and told me he was moving to Steamboat Springs, another mountain town, kind of like owner park. But it was a three hour drive away. This was devastating. We were both really excited to be in high school together. But nonetheless, he left. November of sophomore year rolls around and I get my license. And this was a game changer. It was so awesome just to drive myself wherever I wanted to. But one of my first thoughts was I have to drive to Steamboat to see Jack. Obviously, my mom was not going to let me just drive four hours through the mountains during the first month I got my license. So after months and months of begging and pleading, she ended up finally agreeing during the summer. And that summer, I finally drove myself up to Steamboat. Now, what they don't tell you about road trips is that it's an entirely different experience. Experience when you drive yourself a long drive for a passenger may just seem like a time to snack and watch a movie, but for the driver, a whole new world opens. I had taken that road to Winter park many times before, but never as a driver. When I drove up the mountain to see Jack, I had to drive through Winter park to get Steamboat. An already gorgeous drive became even more beautiful. I drove through Winter park, tasting the pizza from Hernando's, smelling the chlorine from the hot tub, the scent of fresh pine from trees around. I heard my parents yelling at us to be careful as I run off with my cousins into the woods, eager just to see what could be in there. I feel the cold of the ground on my butt as I slide down an inner tube in the freezing temperatures. I look around and driving through an apartment park, I remember a part of me that had been lost to ti, lost to age. I'd finally noticed how much of my life I let slip away from me. Those little moments that may not seem so special at the time end up being some of the greatest memories to have. I may leave Colorado one day, but I'll always remember those long drives.

[Ryan Warner]

Theo Bonavita produced that story for On Our Minds, a Teen Life podcast from PBS News Student Reporting Labs. Link to Thea's and others stories in our podcast later today at ColoradoMatters.org this is CPR News. A nest egg doesn't always look like a bank balance.

[Paul Fennell]

I wish I could say that Silicon Valley I got a golden egg and was independently wealthy for all my years. I've learned this from musicians that oftentimes you use your guitar collection or your record collection to subsidize your dreams.

[Ryan Warner]

Paul Fennell traded Silicon Valley for the San Luis Valley. The former startup worker just celebrated the third anniversary of his record store in the tiny town of Del Norte. Its original inventory was Fennell's vast personal collection.

[Paul Fennell]

I was fortunate that I had liquidity in analog music. That's what provided me this opportunity, was knowing that the collection had value and if I was able to bring myself to part with it, that I could sustain this well.

[Ryan Warner]

CPR Southern Colorado reporter Dan Boyce stopped by the store called Trade and Post,

[Paul Fennell]

testing the demand, kind of seeing the art of the possible. For sure. I think like any venture you have an original intent of what it is is that you try to do and you sit and observe.

[Dan Boyce]

Calling Trade and Post a record shop today paints an incomplete picture, but that is how it started for Paul Fennell In 2023, sticking price tags on his stacks and stacks of vinyl shelves and crates of funk and jazz, bluegrass and country, modern indie groups and rock legends. If you would have talked to him five years earlier, say in the late 2000 and tens, Fennell would not have guessed he'd be hawking his own record collection from a century old stone building on some backroads Colorado town's Main street in the late 2000 teens, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native was deep in the startup game in and around San Francisco, moving from company to company, working on the people side in customer relations.

[Paul Fennell]

I kind of filled that middle position of I was technical enough to understand what the engineers were talking about and personable enough to talk to our customers. Living in the Bay area and working in the tech world. A fast paced world really prepared me with the skills I needed to be an entrepreneur, but really didn't provide me the lifestyle that I was looking for. As I grew into that career, I came to Colorado to open up an office and continue in that world of working in enterprise software and living out here kind of taught me that my time was up in that world and that I wanted something new.

[Dan Boyce]

This was around the time of COVID

[Paul Fennell]

I, you know, I find my life. I've always trusted my intuition. I felt like my time was up in the bay area around 2019. I came to Colorado at the start of 2020 with the intent of working in that career and working out of an office here on the Front range. And In March of 2020, the world changed. I had found myself out here because I wanted to be close, closer to the mountains. I wanted to be further away from that urban experience where I created my career. And I was told that I could be a remote employee. That happened to a lot of people. At that point, I realized that the Front range wasn't where I was supposed to be, that I had the opportunity to ask myself, well, where would you want to be? And it took me a number of trips to northern New Mexico, heading south from from the Front Range to discover this area and realize the opportunity to build a life out here.

[Dan Boyce]

What was it about the San Luis Valley?

[Paul Fennell]

Yeah, Dan, life is funny. I find oftentimes when you stop looking for something is when you find it. I wasn't looking to put roots down here. I was looking to do some camping and lay my head down on a camping mat and camp for a weekend. In coming here, I, for the first time in a while, felt that I was able to find space for myself. I was able to connect with the natural beauty that's all around us. I remember my first night spent in the San Luis Valley. I was camping at 9,000ft. The only person that I saw on my trip was on horseback back. I slept in a field surrounded by cows that were grazing in the high alpine ranges up here. And I recall that next morning when I broke camp and I was heading back to the Front Range. I recall a moment where I saw myself in the rearview mirror and I was smiling. And I found this moment of joy that I think was escaping me. That's what I was looking for at that moment. I knew what was in my rear view was worth looking closer at. And it was a few days later that I found myself under contract for a home here.

[Dan Boyce]

Just a few days.

[Paul Fennell]

Yes, I think it was five days later. I camped out at the Penitente campground. I had found a small homestead cabin that needed some work. And I knew that since I was working remotely, remotely, I had time on my hands. The cabin needed some work, and I had time to work on it.

[Dan Boyce]

Did you see yourself as settling in the mountain west? Is that some kind of romantic vision you had growing up?

[Paul Fennell]

I've never. I've never been one to look beyond what's immediately in front of me. I think that's afforded me the opportunity to change and explore new options. When I get got to the mountains, it felt like home. I never would have thought, growing up in Pittsburgh that this is where I would be, but I feel so grateful to have found a home.

[Dan Boyce]

Paul finds his rustic homestead cabin. It needs some work. And now you own a record shop. Let's talk about that transition when you decided to walk away from software and. And try your hand at a venture like this.

[Paul Fennell]

Yeah. Someone told me when I moved to the mountains, they said, you move to the mountains to get away from people, but you meet the nicest folks. And that's really held true for me in the vacuum that was left from leaving a big city and subway commutes and a large growing team, a much smaller worldview afford me the understanding of wanting a community and wanting to participate in those that are around me, which is a hard thing to do in the city. I think we all have our walls up when you're surrounded by people. In the absence of that, I discovered how much that meant to me. Putting time in on my cabin, working with my hands. I was used to working with digital products. I wasn't used to plumbing and electrical and the things that you run into. And peeling the layers of an old cabin away. I did a little bit of consulting during that time. I was working remotely. I remember getting on those phone calls as a consultant and realizing that I was. As I was developing a new language and living here and working with my hands, I was kind of losing the old language of what it means to. To work in a corporate enterprise environment. And that change really solidified a feeling that I was having at the time, which was, there's something real that's happening here that you need to lean into.

[Dan Boyce]

And about that time, some new friends told him they were looking for a manager for a farmer's market. They were planning work one day a week, setting up tents, making connections, booking musicians.

[Paul Fennell]

I was meeting these wonderful people that were entrepreneurs in their own right, making food, making crafts Making handmade products here in the valley. At the same time I was wrapping up my project at the cabin. I had moved my life out from California in a shipping container and pretty much camping indoors for the first two years. Years at this cabin didn't have running water in the winter, so I would hike out to my spring and bring water in and I'd have to keep the fire going to make sure that the pipes didn't freeze in the wintertime. When that project was finished, I realized it's time to move my life back in. So I started bringing my furniture. I started bringing in the things that I felt that I would need. You know, coffee maker and record player. And then I look at my records and I realized a one room cabin really isn't going to a fourth space of a record collection of a few thousand. I knew I had to do something with it.

[Dan Boyce]

And not only because he was out of space. Fennell sunk a good bit of his savings into that cabin. So he needed to figure out something to do for money. Something that aligned with this new community oriented mindset. But also, yeah, he really was running out of space and signed a lease to open Trade and Post on Main Street. You also had a child on the way, right?

[Paul Fennell]

That's correct. I met my partner within a few months of moving here and we welcomed our first daughter the month that I signed that lease. So life changed quite quickly from where I was.

[Dan Boyce]

So you certainly, to make space for another human being, the records. Records had to go.

[Ryan Warner]

Yes.

[Dan Boyce]

In these last three years, Trade and post has been evolving constantly. Records are still a focal point, but there are also shelves of carefully selected tinned fish.

[Paul Fennell]

It's high in protein. You can just throw it in your glove box and it's available to you whenever you need it.

[Dan Boyce]

There are sort of hipster shaving supplies on that wall over here. A rack of spicy crayfish, lay's potato chips normally found in China. A chess table sits near leather couches and a wood burning stove. More than anything, the place feels like a comfortable lounge.

[Paul Fennell]

This room has really become an extension of what my living room is. When I have folks that have known me through the years come and visit me here in Rio Grande county, they walk in and they say, oh, I get it. This is just like your living room, only you hold public hours.

[Dan Boyce]

And so if you're wondering how a record and tinned fish store stays open for three years in tiny Del Norte, it's definitely not through record sales. It's those vibes, man. Paul Fennell is curious and affable with customers. In his flannel shirt and old trucker cap, a giant gray beard covers his otherwise youthful face. He is a big part of the charm and Trade and Post is a tap room. Now it's a pool hall. Most importantly, it's a live music venue.

[Paul Fennell]

A majority of our business is coming from the events that we put on

[Monya Whitaker]

is a work song and there is a lot of work to do on a pirate vessel.

[Dan Boyce]

To celebrate Trade in Post's third anniversary recently, Fennell held Avasti Mateys.

[Paul Fennell]

Argh.

[Dan Boyce]

Pirate Prom. Locals came in dressed as pirates or for prom, or sort of both. They sang sea shanties next to a wall of new records signed by the bands that have played here. It's that community building. Paul Fennell decided to lean into the San Luis Valley of his here and now, so far from the Silicon Valley of his past, a decidedly more analog life in Del Norte. Dan Boyce, CPR News it's so good

[Theo Bonavita]

listening to old records and thinking about you.

[Phil Washington]

Yes, it is.

[Ryan Warner]

And that is Colorado matters for now. I'm Ryan Warner. Thanks for spending time with us at CPR News and krcc.

[Theo Bonavita]

I knew I was flirting with a hurting and now I'm certain

[Monya Whitaker]

that you

[Paul Fennell]

did the right thing Leaky even me

[Theo Bonavita]

but at least when you left, you left so many, many.