Michael Gifford

Biography: Michael Gifford has been the President & CEO of the AGC of Colorado since 2008. As the chief staff member of the organization, Michael leads a non-profit trade association with 640 members, and a $3.2 million operating budget, and a new Construction Education Foundation. AGC focuses on being the voice of the industry, effective economic development work, legislative and political influence, member services (including group health and work comp insurance programs); education programs (including safety and environmental; workforce development, Future Leaders Forum, and CITC apprentice training center) and networking and collaboration opportunities for members. Workforce Development is the main issue for AGC. Michael serves on the Executive Committees of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and the Colorado Real Estate Alliance. He also serves on the Board of Adams County Economic Development and the Aurora Economic Development Council. He is Past-Chair of C3, a state-wide lobbying organization, and Past-Chair of the AGC America Executive Leadership Council. He also serves on the Executive Committee and/or Board of a dozen lobbying and issue committee coalitions. Before coming to the AGC, Michael served as Executive Director of the Idaho AGC from 1999 to 2007. He was elected as Chairman of the Eagle, Idaho Sewer District from 1998 to 2007. He served as Vice President of the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Downtown Boise Association and from 1993-1999. Prior to that Michael worked for the City of Huntington Beach, CA Redevelopment Agency and Economic Development Department. Michael has also been an instructor at the University of Phoenix for the MBA program (strategic planning) and Political Science (state & local government) courses. Michael received his BS in Business Administration & Finance from the University of Southern California and his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Boise State University. He is also a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management, a 6-year continuing education course for non-profit executives operated by the US Chamber of Commerce.