Left Hand Laurel – Leonard Sitongia

Leonard Sitongia is an essential worker, or more fittingly, an essential volunteer for the Niwot community. Even before Leonard and his wife Christine moved to their Niwot home in 2014, while waiting for their North Boulder house to sell, he stepped up to be an area representative for the Niwot Community Association (NCA). For the past three years, he's also been the organization's secretary. Hearing about his history, it's clear that connecting through community engagement is Sitongia's modus operandi.

David Limbach, President of the NCA said, "Leonard does an exceptional job as secretary for the NCA, capturing and recording all the details from our meeting and activities and participating in every event. On top of this, he is constantly suggesting ways the NCA and all of us as individuals can help the community."

"I like being a part of something, I like community," Sitongia said. "I'm not really super social, but I feel better about being a part of a community of people who get to know each other and see each other around town. Volunteering comes about for me when I see a need.

In 2016, he also took on the webmaster and technical responsibilities for the Niwot Historical Society (NHS). You're likely to see him setting up the audio visual equipment for the Society's Now and Then lecture series.

Like so many other formerly in-person events, due to COVID-19, the venue for NHS's lecture series is going online. Sitongia is leading the project – arranging for the videotaping of speakers sans audience and making sure the presentation is set to go digitally on NHS's website.

Kathy Koehler, NHS President said, "Leonard is a good neighbor to all of Niwot by serving the community as a dedicated volunteer. Like a vital silent partner, he knows what needs to be done and it is accomplished well and in a timely manner."

"When our website went down at the end of last year," Koehler said, "Leonard had a backup copy, so all entries and historical records were not lost. Then he worked tirelessly for several months to efficiently coordinate, set up, and establish a new site. Leonard is a valuable contributing member of the Niwot Historical Society and I am so thankful he is on the NHS Board of Directors. "

Last year Sitongia signed up for another technological volunteer gig. He's an ambassador with Boulder County Mobility. "We teach people who are low income and/or mobility impaired to use mobile phone applications to make using alternative transportation easier to access," Sitongia said. For the time being, COVID-19 has also moved those classes from in-person to online.

A native of Ventura, Calif., Sitongia earned his master's degree in astronomy at CU Boulder. Following graduate school, he worked at an observatory in New Mexico for four years. A job offer from the National Center for Atmospheric Research brought him back to Colorado.

"I spent 25 years doing mostly science-support computer work. I was a scientific programmer, systems programmer, systems administrator, software engineer, data manager and associate scientist, at different times," the now retired Sitongia said. "I moved around into different jobs to keep interested. Mostly I worked in the High Altitude Observatory, which is the solar physics and upper atmospheric research component of NCAR."

In addition to his penchant for technology, Sitongia is a nature lover. He volunteered for 10 years with the City of Boulder as a naturalist leading student and public nature walks. He's also been a volunteer with the Boulder Astronomy Club and more recently, he volunteered at Sandstone Ranch guiding tours of the historic home, as well as setting up a geology program to educate visitors about the cliffs and outdoor surroundings at the Ranch.

"I've always been aware of community and tend to get involved," Sitongia said. "When I was living in New Mexico, I enjoyed being a part of the small community living on site at the observatory, about 100 people. At times I was the "mayor," a humorous label for the president of their organization for the community, the fire chief, and I trained to be an EMT and search and rescue coordinator for the region."

Besides volunteering, Sitongia has a lengthy list of activities keeping him busy in retirement. He spends time reading, mostly non-fiction such as biographies and science oriented books, as well as science fiction books. He's a cyclist, hiker, and a bird watcher. At home, he and his wife play music for their own entertainment with him on the guitar or bass and Christine singing. Both of them are ukulele players.

Amongst all of those interests, he remains dedicated to getting things done for the community - so much so that this summer, while on road trips, he's been known to pull the RV over to attend online meetings.

"It amazes me how much time Leonard is able to contribute to multiple Niwot organizations and leave enough time for himself and his wife Christine to enjoy local and distant travel," Limbach said. "We all truly appreciate everything Leonard does for Niwot."

Do you know someone who volunteers within the community and should be honored with a Left Hand Laurel? Please send your suggestions to [email protected].