Colorado School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Practice – Community Project Development
Cerise Hunt, MSW- has served as a community outreach coordinator for Colorado School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Practice for over five years. In her role she has successfully developed and facilitated cultural competency, community partnerships and health equity trainings throughout the State. In addition to training she has demonstrated expertise in community mobilization for the promotion of health equity and was instrumental in the formation of the Colorado Black Health Collaborative and the Far Northeast Health Alliance.
Cerise taught a Health Disparities in the U.S. course at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Prior to her employment with the Colorado School of Public Health she was the Health Disparities Specialist at Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Office of Health Disparities, charged with developing and implementing state wide strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities. She has proven ability to successfully outreach and mobilize diverse populations in community health programs. Cerise’s areas of expertise include: racial and ethnic health disparities, social determinants of health, cultural competency, community engagement/partnerships and workforce diversity. She is a graduate of the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (2007).
Hartman prepares people for a variety of communications opportunities including media interviews, crisis communication, public speaking and presentations and interacting with social media. He is a former major market broadcast news reporter and executive and spent several years in corporate public relations and as head of public affairs for the California Department of Health Services. Among his clients are the CDC, FDA, EPA, regional public health leadership institutes and many state and local public health organizations.
Norm has prepared clients for appearances on programs such as 60 Minutes, Today, Good Morning America, Nightline, Dateline and interviews with the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and hundreds of other newspapers and magazines. His workshop includes an overview of current media and an excellent insight into working with reporters and editors. He introduces a formula for developing compelling and quotable messages and provides a unique on-camera opportunity for workshop participants. For more information, see his website, www.tmtww.com.
Jessica is a Senior Community Health Planner within the Health Policy and Planning Division at the Health System in San Mateo County, CA. Jessica is responsible for Get Healthy San Mateo County’s work in advancing health and equity within the built environment with a regional focus, including land use, transportation, and school wellness. Prior to her work in California, Jessica served as the Initiatives Director at the non-profit organization,GP RED, and project consultant for GreenPlay LLC. Jessica’s professional experience includes several years with CDPHE as the Built Environment Coordinator, where she provided statewide content expertise to communities. Jessica received a BA in Sociology from Colorado College, a Master’s Degree in Urban & Regional Planning and Urban Design from the University of Colorado.
Jessica was a city planner for the City of Commerce City, Colorado for over 6 years, and focused on a multitude of land use, transportation, and community development and redevelopment projects, including the award winning Derby Redevelopment project. Prior to CDPHE, Jessica joined the transportation and planning firm Glatting Jackson in 2008, and worked on corridor redevelopment and transit station area planning projects.
Jessica is also the former co-chair for the Built Environment Strategic Collaborative, a Colorado statewide group of advocates and professionals engaged in fostering health through the built environment.
City of Glendale – Director of Rugby/Recreation/Projects
Mark Bullock presently serves as the Director of Rugby for the City of Glendale. Mark is a graduate of Stanford University receiving his bachelors and masters in Human Biology and Education respectively. He received an additional Administrative Credential in Education at the University of Denver. He has been involved in teaching Biology and Chemistry at the secondary level and Community College level along with serving as a secondary school principal.
Mark has been involved in leadership and empowerment coaching since 1986 and has lead the USA U19 Rugby team in a World Cup, posted a National Championship, and lead mountaineering exhibitions in the Alaska and Yukon Ranges. Mark also had a hand in starting the USA National U19 Rugby team and three other programs that achieved national prominence and are still operating at an elevated competitive level. Mark was a secondary school principal when the City of Glendale recruited him to build and organize a comprehensive rugby complex and program, which ultimately resulted in the rebranding of Glendale to Rugby Town, USA.
Mark is a graduate of the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (2012) and has been a coach with the ALTP since that time.
For excitement, Mark is helping his 3-year old daughter and 5-year old son run him ragged. It is so much easier to hide among the pack than being the lead dog. RIHEL nickname – Mr. Dos Equis.
Heidi Brinkman, PhD is President of BCI, a management-consulting firm specializing in individual, team, and organizational effectiveness. She is former Academic Director of Leadership Programs for The Institute of Executive and Professional Development, Daniels College of Business. Heidi was a Clinical Professor/Lecturer in the department of management at Daniels for 10 years. She continues her affiliation as an adjunct professor. Her work centers on research, training, coaching, and development with subject matter expertise in interpersonal and organizational communication, conflict resolution, business writing and presentation, and human resource management.
Heidi received a B.A. in Communication from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Ph.D. in Speech Communication, with an emphasis in organizational communication from the University of Denver. Dr. Brinkman has been serving as a corporate coach, consultant and trainer, as well as teaching courses at the University of Denver in communication and management for 15 years. She has conducted assessments, designed programs, facilitated workshops and change efforts, and given presentations and seminars for major corporations.
Dr. Brinkman has authored several journal articles, book chapters and conference papers on diversity and the influence of culture, gender and age on communication. She has co-authored a book chapter on conflict resolution. Her doctoral dissertation, nominated for the Mary McKinney Ware Excellence Award, addresses diversity in the work place. The extensive project included the development of the Diversity Survey, an assessment tool for measuring the effectiveness of an organization’s diversity management.
City and County of Denver, Environmental Health – Built Environment Administrator
Gretchen Armijo is a professional urban planner and public health practitioner working to improve public health through community design. She is currently the Built Environment Administrator for the City of Denver Department of Environmental Health, working with neighborhoods to implement evidence-based strategies to promote health and reduce chronic disease. Before that, she served in the same role at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Gretchen practiced urban planning at the City of Aurora, Colorado and Douglas County, Colorado, where she led multi-disciplinary project teams for developments including transit-oriented development with light rail. She also led the comprehensive planning process for a Recreation and Tourism Master Plan. Gretchen has been a member of the Healthy Places Research Group at the University of Washington – Seattle, sharing best practices in healthy community design.
She taught “Health in the Built Environment” at the University of Colorado-College of Architecture and Planning, and serves as a guest lecturer as well.
Gretchen has a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Wilson College, and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Colorado. She is a Certified Urban Planner (AICP), a LEED accredited professional, and a member of the Society of Practitioners of Health Impact Assessment (SOPHIA). She is a graduate of the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (2014).
Carl Larson is Professor Emeritus of Human Communication Studies and past Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Denver. He earned his B.A. degree (1961) in Speech and Drama at Idaho State University and both his M.A. degree (1962) and Ph.D. (1965) in Communication at the University of Kansas.
Larson’s main research activities have focused on groups and teams, and on negotiation and collaborative processes. His ten books have dealt with communication, negotiation, teamwork, collaboration, and leadership.
He has consulted for many entities in both the private and public sector on leadership, teamwork and collaboration. These organizations include including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Congress. He has received awards for research, community service and teaching, including the Driscoll Master Educator Award, given by the students of the University of Denver to the outstanding professor of the year.
Dr. Kathy Irene Kennedy served as the Executive Director of RIHEL since its inception in 1998 until 2021. Her work focused on workforce development either through the professional development opportunities offered through RIHEL or through formal education at the Colorado School of Public Health. She retired as Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado’s Colorado School of Public Health where she created two masters degree programs and two certificate programs and where she taught (among other courses)0 the Doctoral Leadership Seminar, Leadership in Public Health Practice for master’s degree students and Leadership Dialogues for postgraduate fellows in the School of Medicine.
By training, Dr. Kennedy is a public health scientist who has conducted many studies in reproductive health, especially in the areas of lactation, fertility and contraception. She has directed several multi-center international studies, and has written on women’s health, on human immunodeficiency virus (AIDS) and on postpartum issues. Dr. Kennedy has worked in 20 countries and has served as an advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) Human Reproduction Program in Geneva, Switzerland, directing data analysis and report writing for a variety of projects, including large international prospective studies. She provides peer review of scientific papers to public health and health care journals, and reviews research proposals for foundations and institutions.
Leanne Jeffers, MPH, PCC is the Director of Coaching Services and the Leadership for Healthy Community Design (LHCD) Program at the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL). For over 30 years, Leanne has worked in the health and public health sectors, with an emphasis on professional development, coaching, healthy community design, community health, and health promotion. Leanne earned her Master of Public Health from the University of California Los Angeles, her Professional Certified Coach designation from the International Coaching Federation and is a graduate of both the National Public Health Leadership Institute and the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program.
As the Director of RIHEL’s Coaching Services, Leanne manages the coaching programs within RIHEL’s comprehensive leadership programs, oversees RIHEL’s personal coaching services, and directs the Coaching Academy, an accredited coach training program. Since 2000, she has been coaching individuals and groups and training others to be peer and professional coaches.
Additionally, Leanne is a core faculty member for RIHEL’s comprehensive leadership programs and a lead RIHEL trainer, delivering a variety of workshops for organizations and professional associations around the U.S. She is a a certified facilitator of The Leadership Challenge Workshop, and a certified administrator for both the EQ-i 2.0 emotional intelligence assessment and the Influence Style Indicator. Leanne also offers mental fitness training and coaching through the Positive Intelligence (PQ) framework.
Since starting with RIHEL in 2003, Leanne has also managed the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (ALTP), coordinated Emergency Preparedness training for public and environmental health professionals, and provided training, facilitation and coaching to build professional and community capacity in the area of healthy community design. Leanne served on the Denver Regional Council of Governments Metro Vision Planning Advisory Committee for two years (2012-2014), was on the Governing Board of Directors for WalkDenver for five years (2015 – 2019; Chair 2017-2019) and is serving her second year as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee with the Colorado Chapter of the International Coaching Federation.
Effley Brooks is President of Tiger Bee Consulting, LLC a company that he established in order to expand his opportunities in working toward positive social change. Effley specializes in leadership development workshops and seminars. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Business Administration. He is also certified in two models of Emotional Intelligence: Mayer- Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the BarOn EQ-i. He is also certified in the Intercultural Development Inventory instrument (IDI) – a developmental model of intercultural sensitivity.
Effley Brooks honed his public speaking and motivational talents through his work in the non-profit industry. During his tenure as program director for the Shaka Franklin Foundation for Youth, a youth suicide prevention organization, Effley became one of the most sought after speakers on teen suicide prevention in Colorado. In addition, Mr. Brooks has been the keynote speaker at graduations, as well as national and international conferences. He has also appeared as a guest on local television talk shows and the local news.
Effley has acted as Master of Ceremony at PeaceJam conferences throughout the United States and in South Africa. Mr. Brooks has also conducted workshops on communication, suicide prevention, and story telling at the PeaceJam conferences. He has had the honor of sharing the stage with inspiring individuals such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jose Ramos-Horta, Dr. Oscar Arias, Jody Williams, Willie O’Ree, Betty Williams, and Rigoberta Menchu Tum.
Through his work with the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning, the Anti-Defamation League, NHL/USA Hockey Diversity Task Force, Tiger Bee Consulting, LLC, and other local and national organizations, he has facilitated workshops on intercultural sensitivity and development for corporations, government agencies, universities, and schools.
Effley’s achievements have been recognized by honors and awards from Denver Mayor Wellington Webb for “fighting hate and discrimination and endeavoring to make Denver a Safe City;” Human Rights Award 2000 from the Cherry Creek Diversity Conference for promoting the ideals of peace and understanding to the youth of Colorado; from the Colorado School Counselor Association for “Outstanding Service,” and from the Contemporary Learning Academy for his volunteer work and commitment to children.
Effley uses humor, personal experiences, story-telling, and poetry in his messages to inspire others.
C3 Research Partners
Retired Associate Professor, University of Colorado
Judith (Judy) Baxter, retired at the end of 2022 from the University of Colorado- Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine and Colorado School of Public Health, after 40 years, where she was an Associate Professor focused on teaching and research.
As part of the RIHEL team since its inception, Judy continues to learn from participants, alumni and colleagues. Her most recent foci in RIHEL programs has been on leading the collaboration thread and supporting the emotional intelligence and coaching threads in ALTP, as well as co-leading workshops in Team Intelligence, Leading Team’s Virtually and The Emotionally Effective Leader. Her growth edge is to look critically at how our leadership workshops can be infused with thoughtful application of a Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) mindset.
In her Life Part 2, Judy continues to be part of the RIHEL team, as well as her established coaching practice focused on supporting individuals and organizations to find their highest goals and build/sustain high performance teams. Her coaching philosophy embraces practices that support the development of mindful awareness, positive intelligence and emotional/social intelligence. She is active in the Denver community by serving on several boards and working as a volunteer therapy team with her dog Piper. Judy hopes to further her cooking, writing and fly-fishing skills that will combine with new travel adventures, all with family and friends.
Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator – Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation
US Environmental Protection Agency Region 8
Term ends: 12-31-20
Sandy Stavnes has 20 years of experience with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Region 8. She has worked in regulatory and enforcement programs throughout her EPA career, managing staff performing surface and ground water regulatory and enforcement activities for the past eight years.
She currently serves as Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator for the Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation, an office of approximately 150 employees performing emergency response, superfund remediation, NEPA and water regulatory activities. Prior to management Sandy spent 10 years with the EPA as team leader and technical staff working on petroleum remediation of underground storage tank releases with specific focus on Indian country issues.
Prior to her EPA experience, Sandy worked in the private sector as an exploration geophysicist with the oil industry for nearly a decade in Alaska, California and North Dakota. Sandy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology from the University of Illinois and two Master’s Degrees: University of Kansas in Geophysics and University of Colorado in Environmental Science and Engineering.
Sandy was a 2008 graduate of the Advanced Leadership Training program with the Regional Institute of Health and Environmental Leadership (RIHEL). She currently chairs the EPA RIHEL network comprised of former and current EPA RIHEL fellows.
On a personal note Sandy enjoys the desert and mountains. She is an avid hiker, cross country skier and pet owners currently with 2 horses, 2 cats, 1 dog and 2 goats.
Larry Volmert is a retired attorney. He has served on the RIHEL Board for many years and is an alumnus of the first RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program class in 1999. He practiced Environmental Law with the firm of Holland & Hart in Denver for more than twenty-five years before retiring, representing clients in the energy, oil and gas, mining and other industries regarding air quality, climate change, water quality, and other environmental matters. His lawyer peers named Larry a Colorado Super Lawyer for many years, specializing in Environmental Law.
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, he practiced law for twenty years in California and Alaska before coming to Colorado.
Larry has been active with various pro bono and community service projects in Colorado, including serving on the Board of the Colorado Lawyers Committee and its Medicaid and disability task forces; chairing the Manual High School Collaborative Decision Making Committee; serving on the Board of a non-profit company that provides jobs to person with disabilities; and doing pro bono work in immigration matters.
Larry enjoys visiting kids and grandkids in Alaska and Washington D.C., traveling when possible, spending time in the beautiful outdoors of Colorado, and reading an eclectic assortment of books.
Cerise Hunt, MSW- has served as a community outreach coordinator for Colorado School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Practice for over five years. In her role she has successfully developed and facilitated cultural competency, community partnerships and health equity trainings throughout the State. In addition to training she has demonstrated expertise in community mobilization for the promotion of health equity and was instrumental in the formation of the Colorado Black Health Collaborative and the Far Northeast Health Alliance.
Hartman prepares people for a variety of communications opportunities including media interviews, crisis communication, public speaking and presentations and interacting with social media. He is a former major market broadcast news reporter and executive and spent several years in corporate public relations and as head of public affairs for the California Department of Health Services. Among his clients are the CDC, FDA, EPA, regional public health leadership institutes and many state and local public health organizations.
Jessica is a Senior Community Health Planner within the Health Policy and Planning Division at the Health System in San Mateo County, CA. Jessica is responsible for Get Healthy San Mateo County’s work in advancing health and equity within the built environment with a regional focus, including land use, transportation, and school wellness. Prior to her work in California, Jessica served as the Initiatives Director at the non-profit organization,GP RED, and project consultant for GreenPlay LLC. Jessica’s professional experience includes several years with CDPHE as the Built Environment Coordinator, where she provided statewide content expertise to communities. Jessica received a BA in Sociology from Colorado College, a Master’s Degree in Urban & Regional Planning and Urban Design from the University of Colorado.
Mark Bullock presently serves as the Director of Rugby for the City of Glendale. Mark is a graduate of Stanford University receiving his bachelors and masters in Human Biology and Education respectively. He received an additional Administrative Credential in Education at the University of Denver. He has been involved in teaching Biology and Chemistry at the secondary level and Community College level along with serving as a secondary school principal.
Heidi Brinkman, PhD is President of BCI, a management-consulting firm specializing in individual, team, and organizational effectiveness. She is former Academic Director of Leadership Programs for The Institute of Executive and Professional Development, Daniels College of Business. Heidi was a Clinical Professor/Lecturer in the department of management at Daniels for 10 years. She continues her affiliation as an adjunct professor. Her work centers on research, training, coaching, and development with subject matter expertise in interpersonal and organizational communication, conflict resolution, business writing and presentation, and human resource management.
Gretchen Armijo is a professional urban planner and public health practitioner working to improve public health through community design. She is currently the Built Environment Administrator for the City of Denver Department of Environmental Health, working with neighborhoods to implement evidence-based strategies to promote health and reduce chronic disease. Before that, she served in the same role at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Carl Larson is Professor Emeritus of Human Communication Studies and past Dean of Social Sciences at the University of Denver. He earned his B.A. degree (1961) in Speech and Drama at Idaho State University and both his M.A. degree (1962) and Ph.D. (1965) in Communication at the University of Kansas.
Dr. Kathy Irene Kennedy served as the Executive Director of RIHEL since its inception in 1998 until 2021. Her work focused on workforce development either through the professional development opportunities offered through RIHEL or through formal education at the Colorado School of Public Health. She retired as Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado’s Colorado School of Public Health where she created two masters degree programs and two certificate programs and where she taught (among other courses)0 the Doctoral Leadership Seminar, Leadership in Public Health Practice for master’s degree students and Leadership Dialogues for postgraduate fellows in the School of Medicine.
Leanne Jeffers, MPH, PCC is the Director of 
Effley Brooks is President of Tiger Bee Consulting, LLC a company that he established in order to expand his opportunities in working toward positive social change. Effley specializes in leadership development workshops and seminars. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Business Administration. He is also certified in two models of Emotional Intelligence: Mayer- Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the BarOn EQ-i. He is also certified in the Intercultural Development Inventory instrument (IDI) – a developmental model of intercultural sensitivity.
Judith (Judy) Baxter, retired at the end of 2022 from the University of Colorado- Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine and Colorado School of Public Health, after 40 years, where she was an Associate Professor focused on teaching and research.
Deputy Assistant Regional Administrator – Office of Ecosystems Protection and Remediation
Retired Attorney