Courtney Mizel, Executive Committee, was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. Her life overflows with educational pursuits, entrepreneurial projects, community leadership, and engagement balanced with family, friends, and trying to make a significant difference in the world.
Mizel attended the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Cum Laude. From there, she enrolled in the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC. In 1998, Mizel produced her first feature film, Tortilla Heaven. She also produced the comedic play Jewtopia, as well as the feature film adaptation.
Mizel has a long career as a consultant to a number of businesses, from startups to established operations, both for profit and nonprofit, advising them in the areas of operations, business development, marketing, and change management. Her consulting work is industry agnostic, and she continues to look for new opportunities to apply her 22 years of knowledge and experience, but is especially passionate about working with social entrepreneurs, helping them to build sustainable organization that serve the needs of a variety of different communities.
Mizel holds a law degree from USC Law School. She is a co-founder of EndWorldTerror.com, an organization aimed at educating the public about terrorism and the founder of the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (The CELL), based in Denver, which is committed to educating and empowering individuals and organizations to combat terrorism.
After being diagnosed with stage 2b breast cancer in 2009, she became a lead advocate and fundraiser for the Cancer League of Colorado, for breast cancer research, as well as providing peer-to-peer support through both Sharsheret and Immerman’s Angels.
In 2019, Mizel was the first woman elected to the Board of Directors of MDC Holdings, a NYSE-listed public homebuilding company. She currently serves on the Board’s legal committee. With a deep interest in youth and teen mental health, Courtney has served on a number of task forces including BBYO’s international Wellness and Inclusion Committee and Camp Ramah of California’s Teen Safety Initiative.
Mizel is a former member of the Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership Cabinet as well as the Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle and is a graduate of the Wexner Jewish Heritage fellowship. She serves on the Board of Directors of Sharewell, where she recently served as the Capital Campaign Co-Chair, playing a significant role in the planning and execution of the new, 20,000 square foot Cayton Children’s Museum at Santa Monica Place. She also serves on the National Board of Sharsheret, and was the co-chair of the California Advisory Counsel. Mizel is involved as a board member of BBYO International (recipient of 2019 Alumnus of the Year), ROSIES Foundation, Camp Ramah of California, and the Mizel Institute. She also served on the board of JQ International and was the recipient of the 2017 Community Leadership Award.