Boulder Crest opens Wyoming campus for veterans and first responders

Boulder Crest Foundation marked the Sept. 18 grand opening of Boulder Crest Wyoming, a 207-acre ranch donated by Navy veteran Albert “Al” Ellis and his family. The campus is meant to expand Posttraumatic Growth programs for veterans, first responders and families across Wyoming and the Mountain West.

Why it matters: - Boulder Crest Wyoming is designed to bring trauma-recovery and growth programs closer to a largely rural region where distance can limit access to support. - The campus expands Boulder Crest Foundation’s reach for veterans, first responders and families across Wyoming and the broader Mountain West. - The property turns a private family ranch into a long-term community asset focused on connection, purpose and growth.

What happened: - Boulder Crest Foundation held the grand opening of Boulder Crest Wyoming on Sept. 18. - The celebration took place in Boulder, Wyoming, and drew community leaders, veterans, first responders, supporters and friends of the foundation. - The event honored Navy veteran Albert “Al” Ellis and his family for donating the 207-acre ranch that made the campus possible. - Ellis gave the land with the goal of keeping a property he and his late wife, Sondra, built and cared for in service to others.

The details: - Boulder Crest Wyoming becomes the foundation’s fourth campus, joining locations in Virginia, Arizona and Texas. - The campus sits against the Wind River Range. - Boulder Crest plans to keep adapting the property over the next year for Posttraumatic Growth programs. - Planned programs include Warrior PATHH for combat veterans and first responders, Family Rest & Reconnection, and Couples PATHH. - The campus will eventually offer Warrior PATHH, Boulder Crest’s peer-delivered, non-pharmacological program for combat veterans and first responders. - Family Rest & Reconnection will give families dedicated time and space to reconnect. - Couples PATHH will bring Posttraumatic Growth principles into relationships. - Boulder Crest has reached more than 200,000 people since 2013 through programs and training focused on trauma and adversity. - Studies of Warrior PATHH participants have shown a 58% reduction in PTSD symptoms, along with significant and sustained gains in well-being. - Kris Searles, a U.S. Army veteran and longtime Tip Top Search and Rescue leader in western Wyoming, is executive director of Boulder Crest Wyoming. - The campus is expected to serve not only veterans and first responders, but also local families and community partners.

Between the lines: - The Ellis gift reflects a broader shift from treating trauma only as something to manage toward helping people grow after it. - Boulder Crest is trying to meet a rural access problem with a permanent place-based campus rather than only traveling programs. - The naming of the future Warrior PATHH Training Center after Captain Charlie Plumb links the Wyoming project to Boulder Crest’s veteran-led identity and long-term network of supporters. - The announcement on National POW/MIA Recognition Day adds symbolic weight to the tribute for Plumb, who spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

What's next: - Boulder Crest will continue preparing the 207-acre property for programming over the coming year. - The foundation says the full opening of the Captain Charlie Plumb Warrior PATHH Training Center is expected in September 2027. - Boulder Crest says the new campus is only the start of what the property will eventually support for generations.

The bottom line: - Boulder Crest Wyoming turns a donated ranch into a regional hub for veterans, first responders and families seeking support, reconnection and post-trauma growth.