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Tell us a little bit about yourself
I happily reside in Eagle County in the Eby reek Mesa neighborhood. My family moved to Eagle in 2018 from Buena Vista when I was appointed by the Board of Trustees to be the Town Manager of the Town of Eagle. In February 2022, I accepted a position as the Executive Director of the Colorado Broadband Office
in the Governor’s Office of Information Technology where I am responsible for allocating nearly $1 billion in broadband funding to communities to support connectivity, digital equity, public safety, education, health and economic development in rural Colorado. I grew up on the Front Range and have lived in several communities across the state. I have lived in the high country off and on since 2007. I call the Town of Eagle my home and have spent most of my career in rural Colorado.

My parents moved to Colorado in the 1970s when they enlisted in the United States Air Force and were stationed at Fitzsimons and Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. I grew up in a family of public servants. This established my values and desire to serve and build community. My professional experience includes 17 years in local government management in cities and towns across the State of Colorado. As a former Town Manager, I worked closely with first responders, police, fire and emergency managers in addition to the variety of functions it takes to manage a community.

My local government experience includes managing towns in Weld, Chaffee, Saguache and Eagle Counties. I have served in roles in public utilities, economic development and government operations in the City of Longmont, City and County of Denver and the Government of the District of Columbia. I have a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs. In 2020, I won the City Manager of the Year for the State of Colorado by the Colorado City County Managers Association and has been appointed to boards for several civic organizations. 

My specific ECPS professional experience includes the following:

• I worked for the University of Arizona Emergency Hazmat Life Support program that trained EMTs, fire, and law enforcement on how to handle hazmat situations.
• I have provided oversight over three very successful law enforcement agencies who partner closely with paramedic services.
• I oversaw the Buena Vista Fire Department and supported fire and EMT responders in the department on training, calls for service, and multi-jurisdictional cooperation.
• I have supported emergency management offices in Chaffee, Saguache and Eagle Counties. I am trained in emergency support functions and have developed regional and local Emergency Management Plans.
• I have worked directly with Search and Rescue in Buena Vista, Saguache and Eagle and supported several high profile incidents and swift water rescues.
• I have formed successful partnerships in the mental health community in Eagle and Chaffee Counties to support the work of emergency and first responders in my communities.
• I am familiar with emergency services provided by federal jurisdictions through the US Forest Service.
• I have negotiated and executed mutual aid and auto aid agreements between fire, law enforcement and paramedic services.
• I have experience procuring vehicles, equipment, technology and services for fire, police and paramedics.
•  I have experience implementing and maintaining training standards for emergency services.
• I have experience funding and supporting multi-jurisdictional dispatch service models.
• I have experience participating in multi-jurisdictional emergency response efforts involving the long-term activation of an Emergency Operations Center.
• I have experience with workforce development, human resources and workforce housing resources.
• I have experience with good governance having managed many town councils and boards in my career.

Why do you want to join the ECPS Board of Directors?
I want to join the ECPS Board of Directors because I want to support the work of emergency services in my community. I know that my experience having worked with first responders, emergency managers, law enforcement, paramedics, fire, emergency service and healthcare providers will be of value to the Board. I have practical knowledge and experience and know from the inside what this community needs to provide excellent service. 

My platform includes the following priorities:

• Ensuring that ECPS has the resources it needs to provide service
• Enhance coverage and response times through common sense and pragmatic approaches
• Provide policy and legislative advocacy on behalf of ECPS to ensure that process doesn’t prohibit ECPS from doing great work
• Develop and support multi-jurisdictional relationships to support the work that ECPS performs
• Support ECPS community paramedic services and increase mental health offerings into the program
• Support management so that ECPS can recruit, develop and retain the best staff in our region with a focus on workforce housing options
• Women are well represented on staff at ECPS and I want to bring diversity in gender and race to the ECPS Board so that the staff and community have representative leadership

What are some of your prior board leadership experiences?
I have had the opportunity to serve on several boards. Provided below is a comprehensive list of boards that I have served:

• Board Member – University of Colorado, School of Public Affairs Advisory Board
• President – University of Colorado Denver Alumni Association
• Board Member – Downtown Colorado, Inc. 
• Council Member – Colorado Creative Industries
• Trustee – Western States Arts Federation
• Trustee – Colorado Trust Foundation
• Board Member – Colorado State Internet Portal Authority 
• Board Member – State of Colorado Broadband Deployment Board

As a Town Manager, I served on many internal committees of the towns I have worked.

What skills, connections, resources, and expertise do you have to offer to our organization?
I bring a lot to the ECPS Board. I have intimate knowledge of the needs of the emergency responder community having been a Town Manager for 10 years. I have funded, trained and developed policies that have supported the industry for years. I also pride myself on knowing how multi-jurisdictional coordination works and understand the dynamics for long-term success. I have experience as an emergency manager and have many connections across the state. I have worked with law enforcement, fire, federal partners, dispatch services, emergency managers, PIOs, hazmat, paramedics, healthcare and mental health providers in all of my communities. I understand what it takes to run and operate emergency services, provide excellent service and I think my knowledge would be valuable to the organization. 

What are your hobbies and interests? 

I have few hobbies that I enjoy. For fun, I like to camp, run, mountain bike, ski, and engage in river activities in the summer. I also like participating in endurance races. I have participated in a 50K, nine marathons, 20 half marathons, four triathlons including one half Ironman, and did a fun mountain bike/running duathlon. I have also run a few 10k and 5k events and hope to continue until I am too old and or need replacement joints. Most recently, I have picked up dirt biking and enjoy riding in the backcountry with friends. I do enjoy reading and attending art galleries and museums. I like to travel when I have time and hope to do more.