Derek Ridgley is a Colorado-based writer and occasional angel investor who elevated to the Peak to Peak region in 2016 after a decade of living in Boulder. Derek and his better half, Marci Ridgley, originally hail from Portland, Oregon.

Prior to his graduation from Cornell University with a history BA, the siren of public policy drew Derek to Washington D.C. for several formative work experiences on Capitol Hill. After graduation, he followed Marci to Seattle in 1987 and embarked on a banking career while she completed a Masters degree in education. In 1997 he joined Silicon Valley Bank, a boutique commercial bank that specializes in serving technology and life sciences companies and the venture capital firms that fund them.

Derek also has years of experience serving as a board member for nonprofit organizations, and has frequently consulted with entrepreneurs and startups to help them refine their business strategies. He is an obsessive consumer of news, scientific literature, and political analysis, which fuels a side hobby drafting opinion pieces and editorial letters while he toils away on several SciFi novels.