On Fridays this summer, the Daniels Newsroom is telling the stories of the behind-the-scenes staff who empower students, faculty and the College at large. Read past stories on our blog.
The Hub’s many stakeholders represent the program manager’s eclectic, people-focused past
Angela Ireton
Angela Ireton, admittedly, loves a good tangent.
Like the story of how, as a guide on Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise, she would pick up her passengers’ accents and adopt them 8-10 minutes later on her next tour.
Or her description of how she scattered native seeds in her garden to create a popular backyard hangout for bees and hummingbirds.
And there was the time, while studying abroad in Australia, that she awoke at 4 a.m. so she could accompany a Chilean classmate to a fruit and vegetable market, acquiring the supplies that would comprise support boxes for hungry students.
No matter how far from the plot she wanders, Ireton—a program manager in The Hub at the Daniels College of Business—always seems to find her way back to a central theme: community.
“I think I’ve always been this cheerleader,” Ireton said. “I always love to root for something and get someone on board. I don’t shy away from a leadership position.”
It’s easy to see in her day-to-day work in Daniels’ dedicated space for innovation and entrepreneurship.
The caretaker in her makes sure there are snacks and de-stressing activities for the students who pass through.
The entertainer plans charismatic events, like the successful Kickstarter kickoff for alumna MK Barlow’s Flauntabra startup.
The connector leverages her eclectic professional experience to mentor members of the DU Sales Team.
“I love helping other people,” Ireton said. “When I came in, I definitely wanted to take ownership of what The Hub is, who it’s for, how people feel when they’re here.”
Finding her focus
Ireton traces her community-focused outlook to her childhood in Hesperia, California, a town in the Mojave Desert that had a population of around 62,000 people when she was growing up.
She “found her people” as a highly involved high school theater kid who hosted talent shows, ran pep rallies and was involved in student government. Her high-energy, can-do spirit only grew at Cal State Fullerton, though she quickly changed her major from theater to public relations.
After graduating, she took advantage of a fellowship opportunity in Washington, D.C. In another dimension, Ireton mused, there’s a version of herself that stays in the nation’s capital, running a nonprofit or seeking office.
Moving back to California made more sense, however, and she settled in the small, forested city of Big Bear Lake. At a baby shower for her cousin, she made a connection that turned into a position at the local chamber of commerce.
“It laid this appreciation for small communities,” Ireton said, “how tight a community can be and how these different things can work together.”
That small-town dynamic pushed Ireton behind a microphone at KBHR, a public radio station for which she filed more than 400 stories while also hosting drivetime programming. “Talking to herself in a white room all day” eventually led to a self-diagnosis of cabin fever, so the outdoor-loving Ireton took a job at KEEN footwear.
Over the course of nearly 12 years, she worked as a field service rep, marketing manager, territory manager, and director of events and education. Her favorite role, however, was her stint as a field services manager.
“That really ties into my DU journey,” Ireton said. “I managed 12-14 people all across the country, and almost all of them were recent college grads—young people who were starting out where this was a launchpad for them. Whenever I was able to get somebody matched with an opportunity and see it progress into a role, that was the thing that made my heart sing.”
When she’s not in the office, Angela Ireton enjoys getting her hands dirty in her home garden.
Building the launchpad
Ireton decided to start her own event management and gardening businesses in 2024, but never forgot the feeling of helping young professionals grow. A run-in with Chris Castilian, director of the Daniels Leadership in the Outdoor Recreation Industry program, led to a mentoring relationship, and then an opportunity to work in The Hub.
The job, Ireton says, feels uniquely suited to her, an entrepreneur who has experience with family businesses, a background in the outdoor industry, relationships with franchisees and sales credentials. Her door is always open to students interested in hearing more about her professional background.
She taps into the same nurturing spirit outside of the office too. Ireton is a certified Colorado gardener who enjoys getting her hands in the dirt and growing her own food.
“You see the progress happening before your eyes,” she said. “There’s this slow beauty to it. Things don’t have to be rushed and fake and sterile. I love being in the garden and watching little things come to life.”
It’s not so different from her vantage point in The Hub, where she can see students root, sprout and blossom.
“So many students are looking for connection,” she said. “I really want The Hub to become this cozy living room of Daniels, where people are coming together to spend time with each other—and it doesn’t just have to be academic.”
It always comes back to community.