Stephen Polk brings over two decades of experience as an educator, administrator, organizer, and cooperative housing developer to the New Directions program. His work is dedicated to strengthening the resilience and collective power of communities advancing social justice, economic democracy, and self-determination.
He got his start in politics during the anti-war protests in 2002 as and undergraduate in the Political Science department at UCDenver. Through this experience he learned the basics of organizing: democratic facilitation, protest planning, and base building to name a few. Once the war started in 2003, however, Stephen experienced first hand the limitations of protest. In response, Stephen co-founded a renter's collective in 2004, applying the same organizing skills he learned in the streets to his daily life in a 13 person, democratically managed organization. Since this first collective, he's co-founded 4 renter's collectives in Denver, and 1 limited equity cooperative, Queen City Cooperative, that he currently lives in today. In 2024, Stephen was inducted into the North American Student's Cooperative Hall of Fame for his work in this field.
After Stephen earned his master's degree from UCDenver Political Science, he was hired as core faculty in Naropa's Environmental Studies program, teaching courses on community based learning and action, permaculture, leadership and the solidarity economy. In 2025, Stephen became Dean of Naropa College before returning back to his alma mater to lead the New Directions Program.
His areas of expertise include community-based economic development through social housing and public policy; university administration and leadership; curriculum design for in-person and online learning environments; organizational decision-making dynamics; facilitation and facilitator training across movement, coalition, and cooperative settings; popular education in labor, academic, and community contexts; and leadership development.