Founder of Switchback Institute, and Executive Director of the Switchback Foundation
Beth is Founder of Switchback Institute, and Executive Director of the Switchback Foundation. Her passion is the development and championing of people doing high impact work. She has 28 years’ experience in strategic planning, program development, leadership standards, training and communications. She graduated from Colorado College with a degree in Sociology and a focus in Spanish and Latin American Studies. She has an M.A. in Strategic Communication and Leadership from Seton Hall University. Beth is a proud member of the RIHEL class of ’08 and has served as coach and coach team lead for the RIHEL programs on-and-off over the past 13 years. She is a member of the first cohort of the RIHEL Coaching Academy.
Before launching Switchback, Beth worked 13 years for the State of Colorado in the Departments of Human Services, Public Health and Environment, and Public Safety. Eight of those years she served as a Disaster Behavioral Health and Communication Specialist. She co-led the development of a statewide system for standardized behavioral health response during disasters. She also created a workforce resilience workshop including material that has been delivered in various formats to over 100 agencies and conferences locally, nationally, and internationally. The crux of this work is a systems approach to promoting employee engagement and performance through prioritizing organizational resources, recognition, and support.
During 5 years with the Department of Public Safety, she served in the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, as the Training and Exercise Program Manager. She and her team were responsible for coordinating statewide delivery of Incident Management Training for hospitals, public health, fire and emergency management agencies. The team also created a clearinghouse for local, state and national Emergency Management and Homeland Security training. She moved to the CDPS Executive Directors Office where she created the Department’s Leadership Strategies Institute and served as the Department’s lead trainer.
Switchback Institute exists to provide leadership resources, resilience strategies and personal/professional growth through coaching, presentations, workshops, learning opportunities and retreats. The Foundation exists to partner with other organizations, businesses, and individuals in providing respite and professional development opportunities to non-profit communities engaged in high impact work.
RIHEL FACULTY FOR: