We have a stellar group of people that are behind the scenes making this all happen!

Lacey Books, Founder and Executive Director

Board of Directors:

Jim Westerberg*, Chairman

Nichole Scott*, Treasurer 

Megan Conklin, Secretary 

Allison Hollander, at large member

Andrew Moore, at large member

Anh Tran, past participant, at large member 

Bonnie Gross, at large member 

Jamie Stone, at large member

John Shunk*, at large member 

Josh Gold, at large member  

Katie Zaback*, at large member

Matthew Ruhland, at large member

Sara Anderson, at large member 

Stephen Brackett, at large member 

*Founding Board Member

Board of Advisors:

Heidi Ripley, past participant

Josh Alswang, past participant

Kristin Keffeler, Director of Business Development, Board of Advisors

Laura Shunk, Director of Marketing, Board of Advisors

Phuc Nguyen, past participant

Tien Le, past participant

Below are their bios for your reading pleasure:

Jim Westerberg, 4th Grade Teacher at Eagleton Elementary

Mr. Westerberg is a jack-of-all-trades. He is a Denver native who went to Colorado Academy. He graduated from Whittier College 1991, with a Political Science degree. He then coached LaCrosse at various levels before he went into the back office of professional sports, including minor league (Denver Grizzly’s), the NFL (Broncos), and collegiate sports (University of Denver). After that he started a local retail and dog washing business and has since sold it. He has dabbled in the real estate sector and with a real estate license and now is in education.

He lives in Denver with his college sweetheart, Tammy and their four beautiful children, JD, Addison, and twins Zach and Kenzie (born April 27th, 2011) . 

Nichole Scott, Development Officer at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center

Nichole manages part of the development program at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center (JCC) while working with the Mizel Arts & Culture Center (MACC) to identify and apply for grants.  Her background and work at the JCC include managing development databases, tracking gifts, identifying and writing grants, event operations, patron cultivation and stewardship, and most importantly, working with individuals that want to invest in the JCC’s commitment to a diverse local community. 

Graduating with a class of 36 from Tongue River High School in Dayton, Wyoming, Nichole headed east to Bates College in Lewiston, Maine after being recruited for alpine ski racing.  She was active in a variety of sports and student organizations, but still managed to travel through Latin America and study in Cuba. Nichole graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Visual Culture and a minor in Latin American History.  Not ready to leave the east coast, Nichole took a job with the Boston Museum of Science as the Membership Associate. Later she enrolled in Boston University and completed a Master of Science in Arts Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Fundraising.  While completing her Masters, she worked as the Major Gifts Assistant for the Massachusetts Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

Nichole was delighted at the opportunity to move back west after several years on the east coast developing a proficiency in non-profit management and fundraising.  Her longtime passion and commitment to the philanthropy and the non-profit model comes from childhood travels to a variety of museums.  She is dedicated to continuing the unique American tradition and culture of supporting communities at a local and individual level.  

 
Megan Conklin, MSW, Grants and Federal Programs Manager at West Denver Preparatory Charter School

 
Allison Hollander, MSW, Intervention Coordinator with Colorado Youth for a Change

Allison has devoted much of her educational, volunteer, and professional experience to serving youth and supporting nonprofit organizations.  In her current position as Intervention Coordinator with Colorado Youth for a Change (CYC), she provides direct academic support services to 9th graders at Denver's North High School, aiming to ensure they are on track for graduation. She also offers intervention coordination and capacity building services within North High School and provides internal support to CYC's Intervention Program as a whole, which spans over ten schools and four districts.
 
Allison earned her Master's in Social Service Administration from University of Chicago and her Bachelor's in Psychology and Organizational Studies with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the University of Michigan.  Her passions lie in working with youth and in helping nonprofits fulfill their missions most efficiently and effectively. Prior to attending graduate school, Allison brought her enthusiasm for education and social change to Teach For America where she recruited, interviewed, and selected candidates for staff member and corps member positions.  Her experience working with youth spans many settings and diverse populations, including crisis line counseling and conducting resume and interview skill building sessions at youth shelters, HIV and STD testing at a youth health center, tutoring and mentoring at after school programs, and leading youth groups in community service projects.
 
 

Andrew Moore, AmeriCorps member with Urban Peak Denver

After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 2009 with a BA in Spanish, Andy spent a year in Mexico City teaching English to inner-city youth through the Fulbright program.  Excited to transfer the skills he learned working with Mexican youth to an American context, Andy moved to Colorado in the summer of 2010 to serve a year through AmeriCorps with Urban Peak Denver, an organization dedicated to empowering homeless and at-risk youth.  Through his AmeriCorps group – Community Building Partnership for Youth in Transition – Andy has become well-acquainted with the myriad non-profits that exist in Denver, as well as the challenges that face non-profit organizations in such a competitive economic climate.

Having already experienced the direct service model to youth development, Andy is very excited about the opportunity to work with an organization such as YouthRoots that has such a fresh and innovative approach.  He will be continuing to serve through AmeriCorps this year in a new capacity with Salud Family Health Centers, as well as volunteering his time with other youth-centered organizations such as Big City Mountaineers.  Andy is very excited to be a new member of the YouthRoots team, and is looking forward to all of the learning opportunities that lie ahead!

Anh Tran,  Past YouthRoots Participant

Bio coming soon...


Bonnie Gross, Outreach and Member Services Manager

Bio coming soon...

Jamie Stone, Principle

Jamie is a firm principle at MSW Financial Partners and specializes in insurance as part of a comprehensive financial strategy, executive business strategy or benefit plan.

Prior to becoming firm principal of MSW he was partner of Stone Financial Group – Denver Office.
He also worked at Northwestern Mutual and Wealth Strategies Group, LLC, an affiliate of the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.

He graduated from the University of Denver with a BSBA degree in Business Economics with an emphasis on international financial markets.

 

Josh Gold, Youth Director at Temple SInai

Josh oversees the youth programs at Temple Sinai, a reform synagogue in Denver.  He plans and implements social, educational and social action programs for 250 kindergarten - twelfth grade students. 

A native of Colorado, Josh attended Colorado State University where he graduated with a B.A. in Technical Journalism.  He recently completed his Masters in Nonprofit Management from Regis University.  When not at work and in school, Josh is on the Penny Harvest Advisory Board for the Young Philanthropists Foundation, a Board of Trustee for Hillel of Colorado and serves on various other committees in the community.

Josh currently lives in Aurora with his high school sweetheart, Pamela, and their 16 month old son, Brayden.

John Shunk, Partner at Messner and Reeves

Mr. Shunk leads the Messner & Reeves Labor & Employment Group. An experienced litigator, since 1992 a significant portion of his practice has involved providing employment counseling and advocacy to public and private employers and individuals on a wide range of employment-related matters. 

When working with his clients, Mr. Shunk takes a proactive approach, ensuring that they stay abreast of the myriad of employment laws, regulations, and case law in an effort to minimize risks and avoid litigation. He works closely with employers on a daily basis to find effective solutions to a multitude of employee relations issues. He also partners with employers to craft workplace policies, procedures and practices that facilitate productive employee relations. 
Should a dispute arise, Mr. Shunk aggressively focuses on the critical points of a case to act quickly to craft a solution that will minimize exposure and costs and maximize the likelihood of success. 

Since trying his first case one week after he began practicing law, Mr. Shunk has tried over one hundred cases, most to a jury, in both state and federal forums. In addition to his labor and employment law practice, he handles a wide array of civil and commercial litigation matters, and is frequently retained by insurance companies to represent clients in construction defects and property damage cases. He also assists clients to resolve disputes in arbitrations and mediations.

Katie Zaback, MPA, Policy Analyst with SHEEO

Katie is passionate about providing youth with opportunities to pursue their passion and realize possibility in their life through education. She works toward this goal through both her professional work and volunteer roles. As a policy analyst with the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), a national membership association that represents leaders in state higher education, Katie focuses on helping states better meet their education data needs so that they can effectively serve all students. She is also active in many non-profit organizations in the Denver area.  In addition to serving on the board at Youth Roots, she also serves as a mentor and facilitator with Colorado Youth at Risk. 

Katie brings seven years of professional experience with organizations that hope to improve education and public service to Youth Roots. Prior to her role at SHEEO, Katie was a nonprofit consultant and program evaluator for JVA Consulting, where she helped non-profit and government organizations understand and communicate what they already do well and identify how they can improve. She also brings a passion for philanthropy and an understanding for the need to instill philanthropic values in citizens at a youth age. Some of Katie's earliest memories include attending fundraisers with her parents in Cheyenne Wyoming or helping her parents volunteer for community organizations. These values have had a large impact in who she is and what she does today. 

Katie has her master’s in public affairs with a concentration in policy analysis from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University at Bloomington. Katie also holds a B.A. in economics and political science from Hastings College as well as a Masters Certificate in database design from Regis University.

Sara D. Anderson, Program Coordinator, the Incredible Years Program at Invest in Kids

As a young nonprofit professional of color, Sara is no stranger to overcoming adversity. Growing up in a single-parent household in Montbello (a community within metro Denver) Sara witnessed hardships at a very young age. Recognizing that she was not alone in the trials and tribulations of low-income communities and the pursuit of overcoming the detrimental statistics—Sara decided to use her situation as fuel for her drive, passion, and determination.

At a very early age Sara recognized that she wanted to serve as inspiration to the younger generation and instill them with hope and courage to create a brighter path for themselves. This is where her passion for youth and families come in to play.

During most of her career she has been an active volunteer and advocate for vulnerable youth and families. Sara received her BA in Communication Studies with a minor in Women’s Studies at Colorado State University. Immediately after her graduation Sara was chosen as one of twelve (out of over 150 applicants) - as a summer intern with The Denver Foundation’s Nonprofit Internship Program. Sara then was immediately hired as an Administrative Assistant with Invest in Kids; a local nonprofit in Denver that implements two state-wide research based proven programs. Sara was recently promoted to the Program Coordinator position for one of those programs.

Prior to joining YouthRoots Board of Directors, Sara assisted Lacey in many of the outreach and marketing efforts. Sara hopes to bring a fresh perspective and energy to the organization. She also hopes to increase the knowledge about YouthRoots and expansion throughout the community.

Stephen Malloy Brackett, Chairman of Flobots.org, Flobots Band Member

Board and band member Stephen Brackett aka Brer Rabbit has long believed that the arts are a vital component of any movement. His work has reflected that belief, from his emceeing duties with the Flobots to poetry, dance,and mediation workshops with youth from: Jerusalem, south side Chicago, Belfast, Capetown, and all over the Denver Metro area. Born and raised in Denver he is proud to call it home, and a base of operations.

Laura Shunk, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for YouthRoots

After graduating cum laude from Claremont McKenna College in 2007, Laura tried her hand at a lot of different professions, dabbling in corporate training, financial analysis, and fine wine sales before she latched on to her true passion:  stories.  Hence, Laura does a lot of freelance marketing and PR because she likes to help companies and people put a cohesive story to their vision.  Incidentally, she also does a lot of freelance writing, particularly about restaurants.

Laura is a Denver native and a Cherry Creek High School graduate.  She got involved with YouthRoots because she thinks it’s important to pass on the idea of thinking outside of the box to pull a Henry David Thoreau, going confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Kristin Keffeler MSM, CEO and President of Kinetic Enterprise

Kristin’s background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology, a Master’s degree in Management with an emphasis in Public Health, as well as fifteen years of experience developing results-oriented worksite health and productivity programs for several national corporations. She is also a trained and certified professional coach specializing in behavior change and high-performance.

Kristin has been a presenter for the Kinder Institute of Life Planning, the Financial Planning Association, The Legacy Companies of Boston, and the Sudden Money Institute on the impact of health on the advisor-client relationship and habits of the high-performance advisor. She is also a trainer on the topic of facilitating sustainable behavior change for the American College of Sports Medicine and has presented both locally and nationally on the topics of motivational interviewing and lifestyle coaching, the role of health on corporate culture, and how to measure and leverage health as an organizational asset. Additionally, she is the “Healthy and Wealthy” columnist for Entrepreneur.com, the health coach for LadyAdvisor.com, and she has published articles/interviews in the Journal of Financial Planning, The Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Entrepreneur Magazine, theDenver Business Journal, and Business Altitude magazine.

Keffeler completed both her graduate and undergraduate work at the University of Denver. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology/Chemistry; and received her Masters Degree in Management, with an emphasis in Public Health, from DU’s Daniels College of Business.