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.
Erin Boss finds her peak joy outside.
She likes hiking, riding her road bike and bird watching. Want to know her latest avian find?
“On Mount Bierstadt this past weekend, I saw a family of white-tailed ptarmigan. That was my first ptarmigan that I’ve ever seen. It was a mother and chicks, and I was just delighted,” Boss said with a smile.
If she’s traveling around the city, she’s doing it by public transit. But if she’s traveling by sea, expect it to be on a sailboat.
So, it’s no surprise that one of the hallmark experiences of the program she supports takes place on the water.
The Daniels College of Business Executive MBA program—and its signature sailing trip—was the next stop on a wide-ranging journey of a career for Boss.
A Career Built Around Support
Originally from northwest Arkansas, she started her career in the nonprofit sector, supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other crimes, first as an advocate and then as a systems coordinator. She would continue that focus, shifting to higher education to help lead sexual violence prevention and student advocacy, while earning a master’s degree in English.
Then came her first big pivot, where she leaned into a passion for boating and combined it with her education experience picked up in higher ed. Boss developed a love for sailing, learning from a friend and working side gigs as a deckhand.
When a job opened at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY, she leapt at it. She would serve as an education program manager for a year, designing and leading tours, managing programming aboard the museum’s boat and working with children to educate them about the Hudson River’s history, community and environment.
When her longtime friend and roommate from Vassar College and former Daniels employee Ruby Opgenorth reached out to her about a job in Denver, Boss was intrigued. She was looking to move and was specifically looking for somewhere with better access to jobs, a major airport and some semblance of public transportation. Denver fit the bill.
Boss took the chance, got the job at Daniels and landed in the Mile High City in 2024.
Creating a Frictionless EMBA Experience
In her role assistant director of the Executive MBA program, Boss oversees the student experience from admission through graduation. She coordinates classes and experiences, like the San Diego sailing trip, handles logistics and helps ensure students can focus on learning.
“My goal is to make sure that the student experience is as frictionless as possible,” she said.
There’s a through-line of education and advocacy in Boss’ career, but it’s her exposure to intense situations and the lessons learned from crisis management that stick out to her.
“Having started my career in high-stakes crisis support work, I find those skills really useful in other spaces, too. It helps me stay grounded and ask: Is this an emergency, or does it just feel like an emergency to someone? That helps me show up in a way that’s calm,” she said.
It’s a critical skill during the fast-paced EMBA sailing excursion that each cohort embarks on early in their program. Boss is the logistics lead, ensuring that students enter an environment where they can focus on learning, strengthening their leadership skills and building relationships.
While her sailing experience would make her a natural fit to lead on the boat, Boss mostly operates in the background. Though she recently served as a coach aboard one of the boats, helping to facilitate conversations about team dynamics and how the students show up under pressure.
During her sailing days, Boss worked aboard the Schooner Apollonia, a boat that did pleasure cruises and sail-freight work on the Hudson River, as well as the solar-powered Solaris and motor vessel Haendel. She’s also a fan of the Sloop Clearwater, another Hudson River regular owned by folk singer Pete Seeger.
Finding Joy on Land and Water
Denver doesn’t have the waterfront that the Hudson had, but Boss loves the city regardless. She enjoys journeying to the mountains with her partner, recently summiting her first 14er. They also enjoy a more relaxed version of birdwatching, with Boss highlighting the white-tailed ptarmigan, tufted titmouse, chickadees, western tanagers and indigo buntings as a few of her favorites.
“Unlike many bird watchers who get really into it—because I would say I’m pretty into it—I am not fastidious about keeping a life list. I do tend to get very competitive, including against myself, but I don’t really want to compete with bird watching,” she said. “I just love the birds, and they bring me so much pure joy. I don’t necessarily want it to become a competition, even against myself.”
And when she’s not outside in nature, Boss leans into her modern literature background as a self-described “good reader.” She adds that she’s not a fast reader, but rather someone who savors a book or two at a time.
“Persuasion” by Jane Austen is a personal favorite, though she often balances her reading with a more light, current book. Right now, that’s “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo.
Boss has spent her career helping people through difficult moments and complicated systems, navigating each with grace and understanding.
It might explain why she values more simple, uncomplicated joys in her free time: a good book, a bus that arrives every 15 minutes and the melodic song of a bird she recognizes.