Jess brauer is Building Community & Challenging the Cowboy Code

I am a nonprofit leader, strategic communicator, and lifelong writer dedicated to fostering equitable rural development and nurturing Wyoming’s creative economy. My work is anchored in the belief that art and storytelling are vital to community well-being.

As Executive Director of the Laramie Plains Civic Center—one of Wyoming’s largest and most historic arts facilities—I lead organizational growth by expanding cultural programming, strengthening donor engagement, and building a sustainable grants pipeline. I focus on positioning the Civic Center as a vital hub for arts and partnership, using a heart-centered, equity-driven, and collaborative style.

I also serve as Board Chair for the Laramie Main Street Alliance, where I advocate for downtown revitalization and creative placemaking. This work included co-authoring the application that earned Downtown Laramie the national Great American Main Street Award in 2022.

Awards

Good Lamaritain Nominee, 2024

Downtown Laramie Caretaker of the Year, 2022

Wyoming Women of Influence, 2022 & 2023

Great American Main Street Award, 2022

Laramie’s 20 Under 40, 2018

Let's Connect

Reclaiming her Western Narrative

I am a lifelong writer with equally deep bonds and rifts with the state that raised me. After a three-year hiatus to focus on my leadership role, I was called to create extra space for my art-making again.

My current body of work—including creative non-fiction, lyric essays, and poetry—is focused on reclaiming the Western narrative as a Cowboy-Code critical woman of Wyoming. I examine the norms and history of the Equality State, fighting for a home that embraces all its people.

I channel my creative spirit into my Substack, Notes App → Essays, as an outlet for personal reflections on community-making and the nonprofit sector in the Cowboy State.