Authors

Kayla Archer is a learning and organizational development specialist at Colorado Access. She is passionate about people, education, communication, mental health, film, dance, and neuroscience. Kayla is a proud Colorado native who loves to participate in community theater (you know, when you could go to the theater).

Eileen is the senior director of behavioral health for Colorado Access. She has worked in the behavioral health field for more years than she would like to count. She has managed programs in almost every area imaginable. Eileen is a native Texan, who moved to Colorado three years ago looking for new adventures. She loves her two adult children dearly, as well as hiking, reading, beaching, and yoga. She is passionate about Texas Tech University, and is deeply committed to people who have mental wellness struggles.

Jason Beard is the web manager at Colorado Access. A weather, technology, music and outdoor nerd, Jason spends his free time backcountry snowboarding, climbing Colorado’s 13ers, gaming, losing at fantasy football, going to concerts and trying to break the internet. He has a cat named Zelda who he spoils like an only child.

Eric Brettillo is the director of marketing & communications at Colorado Access. When he’s not in the office, he loves spending time with his family and being the dad of two daughters. He enjoys running, camping, hiking, traveling, and cooking. Currently he's trying his best to recreate a number of his NaNa’s traditional Italian meals.

Nadia is a 30 something professional in Denver and is a mom to one, wonderful six year old. In her spare time, you can find her thrifting, painting and parenting.

Brian Cichon is a business intelligence analyst at Colorado Access. He’s also new here, so please set your expectations accordingly. Brian is a native of New Jersey and moved to Colorado 10 years ago after meeting his wife, a Colorado native, in the Peace Corps in Peru. Now he spends a lot of time chasing two small children around and eating their leftover quesadillas for dinner.

Lindsay Cowee is the director of utilization management and pharmacy at Colorado Access. She spends most of her time outside of work with her husband and two little minions, ages 5 and 2. Any leftover time is spent cooking, traveling, or cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals or Mizzou Tigers (yes, even during the rough seasons).

Danielle DeUrso is a senior marketing coordinator at Colorado Access. She grew up an hour north of New York City and moved to Colorado in 2018. In her free time, Danielle enjoys reading as many books as possible, going to concerts and hockey games, and exploring new hiking trails.

Stephanie Glover is the senior policy analyst for Colorado Access. She spent nearly a decade in Washington, DC working on federal health policy. She happily moved to Colorado in early 2019. Stephanie, her husband, and her hound dog, Remy, are thrilled to be living in such a beautiful state. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys cooking, reading, hiking, and taking her dog to the park.

Rene Gonzalez is a senior community engagement liaison at Colorado Access. He enjoys traveling around the world and following international fútbol. Rene enjoys traveling so much, he has visited six of the seven continents, but he is still trying to find his way to Antarctica. He recently completed his Ph.D in organizational development focusing on mentorship for communities of color. Rene enjoys spending time with his family, speaking Spanish as much as possible with his parents, and friends.

Sara Hartsell is a senior learning & development specialist at Colorado Access. A life-long learner, Sara has applied her love for learning in many different ways. A self-proclaimed “nerd,” Sara has had a long-standing association with history and the theatre, which she has combined in her later years into re-enactment. A life-long learner and lover of living history, Sara travels the country with her husband on vacations she calls “period-dress opportunities.”

Kelly Hess is a graphic designer in the marketing department of Colorado Access. A native of Arizona, she and her husband moved to Colorado six years ago and currently reside in Aurora. She enjoys horror movies, camping and is famous for her homemade spicy hot salsa.

Charlotte Hill-Ridge is the QA and release manager at Colorado Access. She is a Colorado native, mother to three amazing adult children and ten of the cutest grandchildren ever born (she might be a little biased). She tends to be a bit of a rebel who likes to rock the boat in a positive way (a trait she learned from her father). Her goal is to always try and make a difference and leave her little corner of the world better than she found it, so to speak. In her free time, she loves to bake for family and friends.

Kisii Hosack is a health programs specialist at Colorado Access. As a somewhat recent transplant to Colorado and a newbie snowboarder, she enjoys the active living that is promoted throughout Denver and Colorado. Her passion for health is what drove her to receive a master’s degree in public health and pursue a profession in the health care field. She is also a lover of adventure; her constant need for excitement has caused her to love to travel within the US and abroad.

Julia Kell has been an applications developer at Colorado Access since 2019. She has been working in various facets of IT for the past 15 years and particularly enjoys working in the health sector. Julie was a native of Ukraine when it was still the USSR. After growing up in Los Angeles, and spending several years in New York City playing the bass trombone in pit orchestras, she switched careers, eventually moving to Colorado five years ago after meeting her husband. She enjoys weight training, hiking, nerdy history documentaries, and is passionate about refugee causes and alleviating economic disparity.

Jess Kelly is one of the service desk analysts at Colorado Access. Aside from her position at Colorado Access, she is also a concert photographer. Before COVID-19, she was covering anywhere from three to five shows a week. Music has been a part of her life from an early age, and to no surprise, her friends and colleagues say the same.

Kirstin is a program manager at Colorado Access, and has a background in public health, journalism, and skeining yarn (but that’s a story for another time). Kirstin has called Colorado home since 2007. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with friends, cooking, seeing live music, traveling, and struggle cuddling her cats.

Molly Markert has been challenged and inspired by careers spanning the alphabet, from “mr,” “Arc” and “dd” to “MH,” AuCMHC and “HRSA,” “MCPN” and “TCHD,” “TAP” and “CCMU;” as well as two stints as an elected official at both the state and local levels. She is proudest of her two young adults who keep her challenged and inspired with hope for the future. However, nothing has captured her heart as completely as Cloud, her wise old Saluki who delights in telling her what to do to keep him happy, as pictured in the photo.

Steve Mazzini is a business advisor for Colorado Access in the corporate strategy department. He graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in business finance and minor in economics. He has followed this passion for business by devoting more than 13 years of reading and further study of business, finance and economics. Steve is an avid tennis player, investor and enjoys finding a little fun in any situation.

Dr. Kim Nordstrom is the medical director of health strategy and behavioral health at Colorado Access. Originally from Connecticut, she has lived all over the US as part of a military family. Dr. Nordstrom chose to study medicine and law in order to affect change in the area of health policy and legislation. During her training, she found a special affinity for psychiatry, especially crisis and emergency psychiatry. She has written many articles and three books on the subject. Even though she enjoys policy, administration and writing, she also works clinically as an emergency department psychiatrist. She tends to be busy but maintains balance with her home life. More than anything, she enjoys just hanging out with her family.

Jen Recla is an adventurer and life-long learner. She started working as the director of learning and development at Colorado Access in June 2019. In her role, she focuses on providing a holistic approach to learning for all employees. When not chasing after tiny humans, she spends time with her hubby, reads way too much, spends as much time on her feet and outdoors as possible, and loves a good horror movie.

Lauren Resnick is the senior marketing coordinator at Colorado Access. She is a fourth generation Colorado native and loves everything Colorado has to offer. Lauren enjoys racing in triathlons, searching for the best french fries in the state, and spending time with her husband and new baby.

Travis Roth is the manager of credentialing and provider data at Colorado Access. She could write a book about the stories of having a traditionally boys name. She has enjoyed watching many band and orchestra concerts involving her two young adult sons who have grown up involved in music, playing the trombone, trumpet, piano, guitar and drums. Her favorite things besides her boys are spending time with family, her kitty, and listening to U2.

George Roupas is the senior manager of telehealth programs at Colorado Access. He loves reading, playing ultimate Frisbee, spending time with his 11-year-old daughter, and good humor in all its forms. He once sued an airline after it lost his luggage. Sadly, he lost his case.

Cassidy Smith is senior program director for Colorado Access overseeing its Health First Colorado programs. She has more than 20 years of health care and public health experience within nonprofit organizations, government agencies and academic institutions. Originally from Arkansas, Cassidy moved to Denver via Chicago in 2006. She enjoys spending time at home and hiking and camping with her husband, daughter and two dogs.

Katie Suleta is a professional nerd with a lot of training in epidemiology. She’s been with Colorado Access since 2015 and is currently the manager of the evaluation and research department. She has a background in HIV research and surveillance and came to Colorado Access from academia. She loves to travel and climb mountains in her spare time. Her passions include basketball, epidemiology of infectious diseases, research methodology, statistics, and traveling.

Anne Taylor works in the provider contracting department. She is the very proud mom of two adult sons. She is a Colorado native, but spent her formative years in Ohio. Her other loves are her rescue Corgi mix, Scout, painting, the outdoors, volunteering and participating in the overall wellbeing of our community. As a Reiki Master, she is passionate about helping others find their own ability to heal and a path to meditation.

Dustin spends his days at Colorado Access breaking software (so you don’t have to) fueled by coffee. When he leaves work, he is usually running, hiking, biking, climbing or yelling at the other cars in traffic. Maybe that’s the coffee... He spends most of his time with his family, which includes a wife, two kids and a mixed herd of pets.

Nancy Viera is the external relations coordinator for the community engagement team at Colorado Access. She coordinates and participates in external stakeholder groups. She has a ten-year-old son, and together they travel the world, go on hikes, and have lively debates.

Heidi Warner is the marketing communications manager at Colorado Access. She enjoys words and culture, which led her to earn her Master of Arts degree in International & Intercultural Communication from the University of Denver. Heidi is an avid runner and brings a unique perspective having served as a small business development volunteer in the Peace Corps in Peru.

Rachel Williams is a licensed clinical social worker and a behavioral health care manager at Colorado Access. She also has her own private practice. To keep grounded, she loves to read books that challenge her to think and grow; enjoy the mountains as much as possible; create through painting, drawing, and crafting; and spend time with her wonderful friends and family. Her favorite motto to live by is “nothing is worth preventing you from being the person you truly want to be.”

Dr. Bill Wright couldn’t decide what area of medicine he liked best, but being a generalist resonated with his values. After leaving Oklahoma and completing his residency in Colorado, his first job was with Denver Health in the Globeville area of town. He then went to work for Kaiser Permanente and after about 10 years of practice, began to notice that many of the issues affecting his patients' health had little to do with the “exam room” and much more to do with their work, race, economics, and families. He then pursued a Masters in Public Health degree and became even more convinced that these issues of “social determinants” (even though he didn’t know that was what they were called) had more impact on people’s health than any prescription he could write. Coming from a supportive family and having an incredible life partner with which we share three kids and six grandkids (to date…) he understands the importance of “health.” It is about being free from the stress and worry of medical issues so that all are able to pursue their dreams. We all deserve this basic human right.

Mitchell Zephier is a facilities coordinator at Colorado Access. He is an enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in his home state of South Dakota. Mitchell enjoys live music (especially at Red Rocks), hiking and spending time with his wife, four boys and their Rhodesian Ridgeback dog, Zion.