Our Team

Chief Executive Officer

Darden Coors come from a background as a transactional lawyer and the Chief Executive Officer of Salad Collective, LLC, a restaurant company based in Golden, CO operating under the brands MAD Greens and Snappy Salads. She has experience in private practice real estate law and has worked on real estate purchases and leasing. She has held a variety of in-house counsel positions with Coors-family enterprises, including ACX Technologies, Inc., Graphic Packaging Corporation, and CoorsTek, Inc.

Darden is a fifth generation Coors family member. She loves her hometown of Golden and served for eight years on the board of directors for The Golden Civic Foundation, including as President. During her time on the board, Darden worked on various conservation projects in Golden, including the American Mountaineering Center and Clear Creek Commons. She also led efforts to partner with small and local businesses, working closely with the City, and raised money for the grant program providing funding to Golden-based organizations, including police, fire, schools, museums and a wide variety of other local non-profits.

Darden is excited to bring her experience to AC Development, specifically in the work of building vibrancy and community through planned real estate development. She looks forward to building community spaces that are accessible and impactful for local residents year-round.

Chief Financial Officer

Dan has over a decade and a half of real estate finance experience focused on investment strategy, equity structuring, debt capital markets, and corporate finance. As CFO for AC Development, Dan is responsible for all financial and accounting aspects for the company.

Prior to joining AC Development, Dan worked for Confluent Development, a Denver based commercial real estate developer, where he oversaw all functions related to debt, advised company leadership on complex entity and joint venture partnerships, and provided oversight for financial strategy and implementation through the lifecycle of all real estate assets. Prior to Confluent, Dan worked at a boutique real estate capital advisory firm, advising clients on debt and equity capitalizations across a broad range of real estate asset types.

Dan is an active member of NAIOP Colorado and serves as an adjunct instructor at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado teaching financial modeling to MBA students. Prior to embarking on his real estate career, Dan played two seasons of professional baseball in the Detroit Tigers minor league system.

Dan received his BA from Northwestern University and his MBA from the University of Colorado.

Director of Commercial Development

Sarah brings 19 years of experience in design and construction, applying innovative design solutions to complex office, community, hospitality, and multi-family projects. Her work is defined by cutting-edge sustainability, user-centric design, and an emphasis on placemaking and design reflective of its place and time.

As a commercial project manager and architect, Sarah oversees design and construction efforts for AC Development through implementation of thoughtful design strategy, collaboration with local jurisdictions and contractors, and creation of cutting-edge teams.

Sarah is a licensed architect and is LEED AP BD + C accredited. She holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Design from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Colorado at Denver. Sarah has previously held positions as a Senior Project Architect at Gensler, and as an Architect with Jacobs.

Sarah maintains a strong commitment to community involvement, frequently serving as a guest juror at the University of Colorado Denver. She has also been a participant in the American Institute of Architects mentorship program, the Urban Land Institute, and volunteering with Junior Achievement.

Vice President of Development

Melissa joins AC Development with a broad breadth of development experience across office, multi-family, hospitality and adaptive reuse/conversion projects. With 15 years’ experience leading complex, urban infill, mixed-use development projects, Melissa has experience leading entitlements, project capitalization, design and construction, leasing, and long-term strategic operation of assets. At AC Development, Melissa focuses on executing multi-family and hospitality projects.

Prior to joining AC Development, Melissa was Vice President of Development at Nichols Partnership where she managed close to a million square feet of mixed-use office, multi-family, and hotel projects in her decade plus long tenure with the family office. This includes two high-rise (office and hotel) apartment conversion projects; Art Studios and Turntable Studios.

Melissa holds a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado in Denver and dual undergraduate degrees from CU Boulder in Economics and International Affairs. Out of graduate school, Melissa began her development career at the Denver Housing Authority where she focused on mixed-income, master planned tax credit projects.

Melissa has served the broader real estate community as an active ULI Multifamily Product Council member, mayoral appointed Denver Design Advisory Board member (2019-2021), and member of multiple Denver development task force and design review committees. Melissa has maintained an active Colorado real estate brokerage license for the past eighteen years, which keeps her family on their toes with a constant passion for just one more project.

Real Estate Manager

Natilie has nearly 15 years of experience in business operations and investment management from her diverse background in commercial construction, development, and property management.  As Real Estate Manager, Natilie supports the entire development team with consultant management, contracting, compliance, asset management, office management, marketing, and investor communication.

Most recently, Natilie was an Investment Manager for Schnitzer West where she managed multiple class-A properties including, Civica Cherry Creek and the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art.  In pervious roles at Schnitzer West, Natilie supporting their development team with due diligence, acquisitions, and disposition of properties as well as coordinated marketing, branding and leasing efforts of new properties including The Current, River North in RiNo.

Natilie was born and raised in Colorado and attended Colorado State University. 

Controller

Leslie is a seasoned accounting and finance leader with nearly 30 years of experience supporting commercial real estate development and construction projects nationwide. At AC Development, she oversees financial operations and reporting for a diverse portfolio of developments, bringing deep expertise in development accounting, construction financing, treasury management, forecasting, investor reporting, and project closeouts.

Throughout her career, Leslie has worked across a broad range of asset classes, including multifamily, mixed-use, retail, office, medical office, and senior living developments. Known for her collaborative approach and attention to detail, she partners closely with development, construction, finance, legal, and capital partner teams to help drive successful project outcomes from inception through completion.

Before joining AC Development, Leslie held senior accounting leadership roles with Confluent Development and NexCore Group.

Leslie earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado and is a Colorado native.

Operations Coordinator

Emily supports day-to-day business operations, team coordination, office administration, consultant and vendor contract management, marketing initiatives, and development project logistics for Clayworks, the transformative mixed-use redevelopment of the historic CoorsTek campus in downtown Golden.

Prior to joining AC Development, Emily spent more than 4 years in commercial real estate investment management and property operations. She previously served as Associate Investment Manager at Schnitzer West, overseeing the operations of more than 237,000 square feet of Class A office space, a $5M+ operating budget, and tenant improvement projects. She was promoted twice during her tenure in recognition of her leadership and operational excellence.

A South Florida native, Emily earned her bachelor's degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Board Director

Michael Coors is the Chief Executive Officer of CoorsTek, Inc., a 110 year-old global industrial ceramics company privately owned by the Coors family. CoorsTek develops proprietary technical ceramic material formulations for a wide variety of essential industries by creating new materials and technologies.

Michael currently serves on the Board of the One Institute, a Phoenix based non-profit focused on connecting young entrepreneurs and business people to each other and their calling. He is a manager of 10K Investments, a Coors family group primarily focused on early-stage investments.

Prior to joining CoorsTek, Michael earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO. He joined CoorsTek in 2008 holding various technology, operations, and management roles and was promoted to CEO of CoorsTek, Inc. in February 2016.

Michael’s previous real estate experience has been in both sales and development. He is thrilled to be on the Board of Directors for AC Development and to work closely with the team to bring to life the vision of revitalizing and redeveloping industrial spaces into mixed-use real estate projects that deliver value to local communities.

Michael has a passion for seeing thriving communities and building businesses that support and interact with people from all walks of life. He brings a vision for the ecosystems these projects will create and the culture of innovation they will bring to the community.

Board Director

Darden Coors is a transactional lawyer and the Chief Executive Officer of Salad Collective, LLC, a restaurant company based in Golden, CO operating under the brands MAD Greens and Snappy Salads. She has experience in private practice real estate law and has worked on real estate purchases and leasing. She has held a variety of in-house counsel positions with Coors-family enterprises, including ACX Technologies, Inc., Graphic Packaging Corporation, and CoorsTek, Inc.

Darden is a fifth generation Coors family member. She loves her hometown of Golden and served for eight years on the board of directors for The Golden Civic Foundation, including as President. During her time on the board, Darden worked on various conservation projects in Golden, including the American Mountaineering Center and Clear Creek Commons. She also led efforts to partner with small and local businesses, working closely with the City, and raised money for the grant program providing funding to Golden-based organizations, including police, fire, schools, museums and a wide variety of other local non-profits.

Darden is excited to bring her experience to the Board of Directors for AC Development, specifically in the work of building vibrancy and community through planned real estate development. She looks forward to building community spaces that are accessible and impactful for local residents year-round.

Board Director

Mr. Coors was elected Chairman and Head of Business Relations of Molson Coors Beverage Company in May 2025.  Prior to this new position, he was the Executive Chairman of Coors Spirits Company - this business unit focused on Molson Coors’ expansion into spirits and includes Five Trail Blended American Whiskey, Barmen 1873 Bourbon, and Blue Run Spirits which Molson Coors acquired in 2023. 

Additionally, he serves on the Board of Trustees for the Adolph Coors Company LLC and has served on the board of Molson Coors since May 2020. He also serves on the Board of The Yuengling Company (a joint venture between MCBC and Yuengling) since 2020.  Prior to his current role, he served as Vice President of Next Generation Beverages for MCBC from December 2019 - August 2023.  Mr. Coors also held various management positions at Molson Coors including General Manager of Australasia and Senior Director of Global Craft and Retail and led a craft brewery in Colorado called AC Golden Brewing Company.

Mr. Coors serves on several community and civic boards including the Coors Western Art Committee for the National Western Stock Show, Visit Denver and the Mario St. George Boiardi Foundation.  Mr. Coors holds a Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Engineering Management from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from Cornell University College of Engineering.

 Mr. Coors looks forward to bringing his experience in business and beverages, which has brought him to many districts around the world, where he has seen firsthand the importance of creating a place where a community can come together to live, work, relax and celebrate together.