Jayson Sime – Board Chair

Senior Advisor to the State Network, America Votes

Jayson Sime has a long history of working in politics. Before his current role advising American Votes, he was the Director of Organizing at The Wilderness Society. During the 2020 election cycle, Jayson was Senior Strategist for Warren for President in Colorado and Senior Advisor to America Votes in Nevada and Colorado. Previously, he was a State Director for America Votes in Nevada and Colorado. He managed a top-tier congressional race and served in a variety of campaign roles for the Nevada and Iowa Democratic parties. Jayson built the infrastructure for the Nevada caucus in 2008, the first “early window” caucus in the history of the state. During this campaign, Jayson attended his first yoga class and discovered a new way to manage the stress of working in politics. He became a yoga teacher and spent a year teaching yoga around the world. Jayson was featured in the REI-sponsored documentary “How to Run 100 Miles.” He is the founder of Right to Shine LLC where he coaches individuals and teams on self-care and wellness strategies. He is the author of Self-Care Hacks: 50 Tips and Tricks To Maximize Your Performance, Well-Being, and Happiness.

Daniel Ramos- Board Vice Chair

Daniel Ramos is the Executive Director of a Colorado-based nonprofit focused on protecting democracy, improving equity and expanding the civic engagement ecosystem in Colorado. Before taking on this role in 2020, he served as the Executive Director for One Colorado – the state’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families. Ramos is an active member of the Colorado community and has served on the Board of Directors for New Era Colorado, Community Shares and the Equality Federation, and as a Commissioner on the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. He currently serves on the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board and as a Trustee for Colorado Mesa University and the Rose Community Foundation.Ramos is also an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching courses on Public Policy & Advocacy and Community Engagement & Empowerment. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs.

Courtney Cuff

Founder & CEO, Starburst Strategies

Courtney Cuff formerly served as the Executive Director of The Impact Project, a multi-state effort designed to advance progressive economic and democracy policies through strategic investments. She has over 20 years experience working in social change fields, including experience in advocacy, campaigning, coalition building, and philanthropy. Prior to running The Impact Project, she spent several years as the President and CEO of the Gill Foundation. Gill is one of the leading funders of LGBT work nationally, and is committed to securing equal opportunity for all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. At Gill, Cuff led the team in strategic grantmaking designed to advance LGBTQ issues through state and national investments. She helped guide the foundation into new modalities after the movement won marriage, with a focus on advancing nondiscrimination protections through state-based coalitions. Before running the Gill Foundation, she was CEO of the Western Conservation Foundation, which she cofounded in 2005 and grew into an organization with a budget of $8 million. She has also worked as the Director of the Pacific Regional Office of the National Parks Conservation Association and as Legislative Director of Friends of the Earth.A native of Georgia, Courtney is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a degree in sociology, and also completed an MBA executive course in social entrepreneurship at Stanford University. Courtney is also a certified sommelier with a diploma of wine from the International Sommelier Guild. She lives in Boulder with her wife, two sons, their dog and three goats.

Mike Dino

Principal, Squire Patton Boggs, LLP

Mike Dino is a Colorado native and government affairs specialist and has 25 years of experience advising public sector clients on matters pertaining to local, state and federal governments. He assists clients in developing and implementing strategies that help them achieve their policy objectives with public officials. Mr. Dino focuses primarily on relationship development activities, network building and issues management. He works extensively with local government clients, counseling them on funding and partnering opportunities with federal government agencies. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Dino was the CEO of the Denver Convention Host Committee where he headed up a team that raised $55 million, managed 14,000 volunteers, and produced events hosting 50,000 Democratic National Convention guests. He served as a senior aide to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb from 1991 to 1997. He is also a political campaign expert, having been a top executive or advisor in local, state and national campaigns. In 2003, Mr. Dino was the campaign chair for Denver’s mayor, John Hickenlooper. In 2006, he was a campaign advisor to Colorado Governor, Bill Ritter, and participated in the transition team for information technology matters.

Carey Kauffman

Founder & CEO, WellSelf 360

Carey Kauffman has founded and delivered highly effective market position and strategic growth opportunities for early stage companies in the healthcare, non-profit, supply chain, retail and manufacturing sectors. She founded WellSelf 360 to empower healthier lifestyles, high performing teams and better outcomes in chronic disease care. Carey collaborates with individuals, companies and healthcare and wellness providers to create healthier, more vibrant lives, energize cultures of well-being and improve quality of life measures. Additionally, Carey previously served as vice president and board member building the clinical and research network and registry for the PCD Foundation on a mission to expand research, accelerate diagnosis, improve health and, ultimately, a cure for primary ciliary dyskinesia. She also served as an EVP and executive committee member at Wellview Health, where she continues to be a strategic advisor. Earlier in her career, she co-founded Soleado Marketing to provide emerging business-to-business technology companies like LogFire (now Oracle), AirWatch by VMWare, Aldata (now Symphony EYC), Invistics, MARC Global (now Red Prairie), PackIQ, IdentityStream (now DigitalPersona) and others access to revenue-driven go-to-market strategies, company/product messaging, sales positioning, and demand generation solutions. She got the entrepreneurial bug as the second employee focused on growing markets outside the US for Manhattan Associates. With more than 20 years of experience as an insanely curious solution finder, business and lifestyle coach and consultant, Carey has many roles in life including mother of four, collegiate and professional basketball player, corporate leadership in the private and non-profit sectors, entrepreneur, rare disease and patient advocate, certified professional health and wellness coach and population health executive.

John Marshall

President, Colorado Mesa University (CMU)

John Marshall is the 11th president of Colorado Mesa University (CMU), a mid-sized comprehensive public university in Grand Junction, Colorado. He also serves as an instructor in CMU’s early start programs and as a lecturer of political science. Prior to his current role, Mr. Marshall served as the vice president for student services where he was responsible for enrollment management and student affairs, which included leading the Admissions Office, University Center, Residence Life, Financial Aid, Student Life, International Student Programs, student health clinic services, student mental health services, diversity and advocacy, and campus safety/police.Before his role managing student services, Mr. Marshall served as the institution’s director of development and was responsible for all private fundraising and gift management at the university. Prior to joining CMU, Mr. Marshall worked in public policy, including serving as an assistant director of a state agency, and as a senior policy advisor to the Governor of Colorado. Mr. Marshall holds a BA from Colorado Mesa University, an MPA from the University of Colorado Denver, and is currently a PhD candidate in Public Policy and Administration (ABD). Mr. Marshall was selected as a 2012 Marshall Memorial Fellowship recipient (a European immersion program offered by the German Marshall Fund of the U.S.) and has been active in his community, serving on the board of directors for the Business Incubator Center, the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, Court Appointed Special Advocates of Mesa County and multiple community-based prevention efforts regarding suicide and sexual assault. He is the father of four and resides in Grand Junction with his wife, Linde.

Brigitte McClellan, PsyD, PMH-C

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Children’s Hospital Colorado

Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry

Brigitte McClellan, PsyD is a licensed psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado providing care in primary care settings. She is passionate about improving access to culturally informed evidenced based behavioral healthcare. She believes in a focus on continued learning in order to bring new and innovative support and services to the patients that she works with within the community through their medical homes. Dr. McClellan earned her doctorate from Wright State University’s School of Professional Psychology. Her internship training year was completed at Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital where she engaged in focused pediatric primary care training. She completed postdoctoral training at Children’s Hospital Colorado with a continued emphasis on pediatric primary care. Dr. McClellan has completed additional training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also has a certificate in perinatal mental health. She is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and has lived in Colorado for nearly 10 years. Dr. McClellan is married and has one child.

Karl Nieschburg

Compliance Officer, Prowers Medical Center

Karl Nieschburg is the Compliance Officer of Prowers Medical Center, a Special Health Services District in Lamar, Colorado, where he was born and raised. Karl oversees the compliance and ethics program for the district’s Critical Access Hospital, Rural Health Clinic, and home health agency. Karl’s everyday work deals with the effects of healthcare law and policy on organizations and patient care.Karl has more than 16 years of experience in the fields of healthcare and education.  Prior to becoming a compliance officer, he worked as a health coach and patient navigator, where he spent hundreds of hours listening to patients explain what barriers stood between them and their health goals. Karl was part of a successful collaboration in Prowers County to improve health outcomes using a community and patient-centered approach and funding provided by the Colorado Health Foundation, LiveWell Colorado, and Great Outdoors Colorado. Karl has over a decade of experience in governance, and has been a director for several civic and community organizations, including a substance abuse treatment organization. Karl currently serves as a director of the Alta Vista Charter School, a 2019 recipient of the John Irwin Award for Excellence. Karl is certified in healthcare compliance (CHC) and healthcare privacy compliance (CHPC) from the Health Care Compliance Association, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society.

Jake Swanton

Vice President of State Policy & External Affairs, Fathom

Jake Swanton is Vice President of State Policy & External Affairs at Fathom. He has nearly 20 years of experience across government, non-profit and private sectors. His public sector work includes almost a decade in the United States Senate, chiefly spent in the office of former U.S. Senator Mark Udall. Jake advised the senator on health policy during debate and consideration of the Affordable Care Act and later led the office’s policy team as Legislative Director. Jake’s campaign experience spans presidential, ballot issue, senate and mayoral races. He was staff for both of Barack Obama’s presidential efforts here in his home state of Colorado, including as the campaign’s state policy director for the 2012 re-elect. Since leaving government in 2014, Jake has held multiple senior roles at corporate and nonprofit organizations, including as Director of Government Relations for the Pew Charitable Trusts. Later, as Chief of Staff and Policy Director for rideshare company Lyft, Jake spearheaded national government strategies to bring rideshare into the healthcare market while directing overall legislative strategy for the company across the Mountain West. Prior to joining Fathom, Jake was Vice President of State Affairs at Inseparable and Head of Social Impact at Denver’s Guild Education. Jake earned a BA from the College of William & Mary and holds a Master of Public Policy in health care from The George Washington University.

Mike Dino, Board Chair

Principal, Squire Patton Boggs, LLP

Mike Dino is a Colorado native and government affairs specialist and has 25 years of experience advising public sector clients on matters pertaining to local, state and federal governments. He assists clients in developing and implementing strategies that help them achieve their policy objectives with public officials. Mr. Dino focuses primarily on relationship development activities, network building and issues management. He works extensively with local government clients, counseling them on funding and partnering opportunities with federal government agencies. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Dino was the CEO of the Denver Convention Host Committee where he headed up a team that raised $55 million, managed 14,000 volunteers, and produced events hosting 50,000 Democratic National Convention guests. He served as a senior aide to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb from 1991 to 1997. He is also a political campaign expert, having been a top executive or advisor in local, state and national campaigns. In 2003, Mr. Dino was the campaign chair for Denver’s mayor, John Hickenlooper. In 2006, he was a campaign advisor to Colorado Governor, Bill Ritter, and participated in the transition team for information technology matters.

Rachel Kaygi

Political Advisor

Rachel Kaygi directs the political operations of a donor invested in Colorado and national politics. Rachel’s responsibilities include campaign development, election research, and the evaluation of political investments. She has 20 years of experience working in politics, including think tanks, the state legislature, and political campaigns. Rachel’s built her expertise in political management, navigating and building complex projects from the ground up. Having moved to Colorado at the age of 3, Rachel considers herself a native, graduating from CU Boulder with a degree in international affairs. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two children and, in her spare time, enjoys traveling with the family.

Meg Lafave

Chief Human Resources Officer, Unified Women’s Healthcare

Meg Lafave formerly served as the Senior Vice President of People and Government Affairs at Envision Healthcare. Prior to that role, Meg served as Vice President of Government Affairs at Envision where she spearheaded the organization’s public policy strategy and advocacy at the federal and state levels. Before joining Envision at the beginning of 2020, Meg worked at DaVita, serving as Director of Patient Support and Insurance and then as Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive Officer. Previously, Meg was Director of Human Capital at DSST Public Schools, a network of high-performing, values-centered STEM charter schools in the Denver metro area. During DDST’s rapid growth, Meg led the development of its human capital practices, including recruitment and hiring processes and talent pipeline and development practices. Meg also spent three years in the classroom with Teach for America as a high school math and science teacher in Denver and Chicago. Meg earned her bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and her Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder Leeds School of Business. Meg is an active member of the Denver community, and also serves on the board of AdvanceEDU.

Orlando Padilla Jr., MA, LPC

Executive Director of Denver Shelters & Clinical Services, Catholic Charities

Orlando Padilla, Jr. is the Executive Director of Denver Shelters at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Denver, where he oversees and directs the operations and programming of Samaritan House Downtown, Samaritan House Women’s Emergency Shelter and Marisol Homes. Samaritan House Downtown is an extended stay bridge to housing sheltering program that provides across the life span community supports and addresses social determinants of health, which include shelter and programs for women, veterans and children and families experiencing homelessness and furthest from opportunity. Services provided are case management, therapeutic/clinical services across the lifespan, independent living, vocational and prevention groups. Samaritan House Women Emergency Services provide operations and programming to women experiencing homelessness within three different programs that include two 24/7 sheltering operations that provide case management, therapeutic/clinical services, vocational and prevention groups.  Marisol Homes provides a bridge to housing for single mothers and their children, while also providing clinical case management, therapeutic/clinical services, parenting and psychoeducation groups. Formerly, he was Associate Director of Child and Family Access Services at the Mental Health Center of Denver, where he oversaw the Integrated Care, Child and Family Access and Deaf and Hard of Hearing programs. Orlando is a Colorado Native and grew up in Trinidad Colorado. He has over 20 years of experience working with underserved and marginalized populations across the lifespan in a variety of clinical settings that include inpatient hospitals, residential facilities, as well as outpatient and community mental health. He graduated from Colorado State University in 2000 with his B.A. in Psychology and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2007 with a Master’s in Clinical Counseling. Orlando also holds the professional license of a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Daniel Ramos

Daniel Ramos is the Executive Director of a Colorado-based nonprofit focused on protecting democracy, improving equity and expanding the civic engagement ecosystem in Colorado. Before taking on this role in 2020, he served as the Executive Director for One Colorado – the state’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families. Ramos is an active member of the Colorado community and has served on the Board of Directors for New Era Colorado, Community Shares and the Equality Federation, and as a Commissioner on the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. He currently serves on the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board and as a Trustee for Colorado Mesa University and the Rose Community Foundation.Ramos is also an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching courses on Public Policy & Advocacy and Community Engagement & Empowerment. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs.

Crystal Potter Rivera

Crystal Potter Rivera’s professional career spans 16 years working in nonprofit fundraising, communications and program development. This includes six years at a senior level within organizations, managing complex nonprofit development programs, and six years as a nonprofit management consultant specializing in fundraising. Crystal has generated significant funds from foundations, corporations and individual donors for a range of nonprofits diverse in size and scope, including Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families, Jared Polis Foundation’s Academy of Urban Learning, Mile High United Way and Summer Scholars. In 2012, Crystal became the Manager of Foundation Relations for the Denver Health Foundation, where she is responsible for managing local and national grants totaling $4-6M annually. As a volunteer, Crystal has served as a mentor for the Circle of Latina Leadership, on the communications committee for Colorado Black Women for Political Action, on the board of the Denver Foundation’s Colorado Nonprofit Loan Fund, and as a cook and community gardener with the St Barnabas Church Sharing Table initiative. She is currently on the board of Denver’s Center for African-American Health. She is a Denver native and holds a BA in sociology from Columbia University in New York.