The Staff

Christian Gibbons
I grew up in Wakita, Oklahoma, a small town on the great American prairies, noted primarily for being destroyed in the end of the movie "Twister." For the last 27 years, I have lived in a valley in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver with my wife Diane and two sons, Jamie and Sam. From my earliest years unto this day, I have thought a lot about how communities live and die economically. I never intended to be an economic developer, but the subject never left my head. Seventeen years ago, in collaboration with my colleague Jim Woods and the Center For The New West, I began a project which had been brewing in my head for 30 years—Economic Gardening—based on the idea that economies could be grown locally by entrepreneurs. Littleton, Colorado has served as the stage and lab for that work ever since. When I'm not thinking about this arcane subject, I shoot photographs, read voraciously, and take lots of walks with my wife of 35 years. If I had it all to do over again, I'd probably shoot pictures for National Geographic.

Christian Gibbons
Director

Eric Ervin
A native of Littleton, I am the Geographic Information Systems Analyst for the Business/Industry Affairs Department. I hold a BS degree in Natural Resource Management with a minor in Spatial Information Systems from Colorado State University; as well as a degree in Professional Photography from Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs. As the GIS specialist, I assist Littleton businesses with mapping and analysis of demographic, customer, expenditure and lifestyle data. I enjoy hiking, biking, photography.

Eric Ervin
Marketing Analyst

Jo Anne Ricca
Although Tennessee is my home state, I spent the majority of my formative years as an Air Force brat, living in a variety of mainly southern states and in Scotland. I moved to Colorado some 30 years ago after earning a BA in English with a minor in Psychology and certification as a teacher. My work experience includes teaching, participation in the startup of two businesses, retail sales, establishment of a national nonprofit, storefront restaurant management, copyediting, and for the last 15 years, marketing and sales. A compulsive reader, avid gardener, and do-it-yourselfer, my latest recreational pursuit is joining my grandchildren in doing all sorts of things that I never allowed my three sons to do.

I am excited to have the opportunity to incorporate the knowledge and skills from my eclectic background to help support the growth of Littleton’s business community through the innovative programs offered by this department.

Jo Anne Ricca
Economic Development Specialist

Kay Wilmesher
Kay is a program manager for the City of Littleton and program chair of the Greater Littleton Youth Initiative (GLYI). The GLYI was formed in 1999 in response to the tragedy at Columbine to provide effective, preventative and sustainable resources for community youth. Ms. Wilmesher researches, implements and provides support for five Blueprint as well as three community suicide prevention programs. She holds a B.S. from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California.

Kay Wilmesher
Research Analyst

Recca Larson
Originally from Nebraska, my career has taken me to Australia, Wisconsin, Hawaii, California, North Carolina and now Littleton. Originally trained as an educator and librarian at the Universities of Nebraska and Wisconsin, I’ve spent the last twenty years helping businesses get the information they need to prosper and grow. My research skills were honed at Dialog, the original online database aggregator which started in 1968 and Thomson Gale, the leading online business database producer. At the City of Littleton, I work with the BIA team providing local businesses with cutting-edge competitor, industry, and product information.

Photo to come

Recca Larson
Economic Intelligence Specialist