Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment – Built Environment Specialist –
Cate Townley is a Built Environment Specialist for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Her primary role at CDPHE is to work with community organizations and local governments on policy and environmental change efforts to promote active living, reduce ultraviolet radiation (UV) exposure, and prevent chronic disease. Cate is a member of Colorado’s Built Environment Strategic Collaborative as well as the Colorado Parks and Public Health Collaborative, bringing together diverse stakeholders from communities across the state working to improve the health of Coloradans through the built environment. As part of her role at CDPHE, Cate is a member of the Colorado Safe Routes to School Advisory Board, the Governor’s 16 Trails in 2016 Inter-Agency council, the Governor’s Outdoor Recreation Working Group, and a member of the Colorado Urban Land Institute Building Healthy Places Committee. Prior to CDPHE, Cate worked for the University of Colorado Denver where her primary role was to help communities design, redevelop and program schoolyards to promote healthy eating and active living. Cate has a Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning and Masters of Urban Design from the University of Colorado Denver and serves on the City of Englewood, Colorado Planning and Zoning Commission.
Rachel Cleaves Dahlke has twelve years’ experience in community development community engagement, and organizational leadership in the US, Africa, and Latin America. As the Executive Director of Westwood Unidos from 2012 – 2017, Dahlke founded and helped lead a resident-centered movement striving for health equity in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Westwood Unidos’ approach focused on listening for what to do. Westwood Unidos facilitated resident-led action that resulted in new parks, new bus service, a youth-led bicycle library, transformation of blighted areas and abandoned buildings into community gathering spaces, a neighborhood plan, and a new community center.
Dahlke is experienced at creating participatory budgets, fundraising, securing community support, and communicating through media and stakeholder relations. She is an engaging speaker in English and Spanish, with years of experience training and coaching through experiential workshops for diverse audience. She is currently a consultant, speaker, trainer, and coach with clients including the Denver Housing Authority, The Denver Foundation, and YMCA of the Pikes Peak Region. Dahlke is a Fellow of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.
Molly Hanson has over seventeen years of experience developing, promoting and evaluating population health initiatives to reduce health disparities. Molly was a Community Health Specialist at Boulder County Public Health, promoting tobacco-free workplace policies, youth empowerment approaches to reduce tobacco use, and clinical guideline integration in healthcare settings. She served as a Peer Mentor for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), supporting rural and urban communities as they implemented coalition-driven approaches to address tobacco-free workplace policies. Molly was also a program manager in the network of Federally Qualified Community Health Centers in the state of Colorado.
For several years, Molly served as the LiveWell Wheat Ridge Coordinator and Health Promotion Supervisor at Jefferson County Public Health, promoting policies and built environment changes to reduce food insecurity and create vibrant safe places for people to be active. She also served on the Denver Regional Council of Government (DRCOG) Sustainable Community Initiatives Gold Corridor Working Group, the Colorado Food Policy Network, the Colorado Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Network, and was actively involved in the LiveWell Colorado HEAL Cities and Towns initiative.
Molly is passionate about Health in All Policies (HiAP), health equity, and coalition-driven approaches, and now serves as a public health consultant for Safe and Healthy Communities, Center For Research Strategies and Health Team Works. She is a graduate of the Colorado Transit Alliance, the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program, and the University of South Florida School of Public Health Social Marketing Field School. When Molly is not working, she is hiking, camping, backpacking or canoeing with her new dog, Tucker.
Jennifer Morelandis the Chronic Disease Manager at Denver Public Health. She oversees projects and staff on smoke-free living, access to healthy food and beverages, safe physical environments, and blood pressure control. She currently leads Denver Health’s adoption of healthy food and beverage, breastfeeding, and promotion standards to improve the hospital’s environment for patient and employee health.
Additionally, Jennifer facilitates the Denver Metro Partnership for Healthy Beverage Consumption, a collaboration of six Denver metro health departments. She has led efforts to secure sustainable funding for Denver Safe Routes to School staff positions, an employee health and productivity position at Denver Health, and the adoption of Denver’s Complete Streets Policy. She also served in Peace Corps Nepal training health workers and supporting economic development projects.
Jennifer has a Masters of Public Health with a focus on International Health from Tulane University. Jennifer received the “Excellence in Public Health Education” Award from the Colorado Society for Public Health Education in 2007 and Denver’s” Bike Hero” Award in 2011. She is a graduate of the RIHEL Advanced Leadership Training Program (2008).
Will Kerns a native of Wisconsin, has lived in Colorado since the age of 12, he has a Transportation Planning background and over 13 years of planning and community involvement experience. Some recent projects that Will has worked on or is working on include: CDOT Safe Routes to School underfunded communities coordination with non-profit Action for Healthy Kids, CDOT Statewide Transit Plan public outreach, and the Downtown Evergreen Trails Master Plan.
Will led the creation Jefferson County Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan and is now the Chair of the River North Art District Neighborhood Design Team (RiND). Some of Will’s hobbies include bicycling, camping and snowboarding. Will is also an accomplished bonsai artist and has donated some of his trees to the new Bonsai Pavilion at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
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).
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.
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).
Cate Townley is a Built Environment Specialist for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Her primary role at CDPHE is to work with community organizations and local governments on policy and environmental change efforts to promote active living, reduce ultraviolet radiation (UV) exposure, and prevent chronic disease. Cate is a member of Colorado’s Built Environment Strategic Collaborative as well as the Colorado Parks and Public Health Collaborative, bringing together diverse stakeholders from communities across the state working to improve the health of Coloradans through the built environment. As part of her role at CDPHE, Cate is a member of the Colorado Safe Routes to School Advisory Board, the Governor’s 16 Trails in 2016 Inter-Agency council, the Governor’s Outdoor Recreation Working Group, and a member of the Colorado Urban Land Institute Building Healthy Places Committee. Prior to CDPHE, Cate worked for the University of Colorado Denver where her primary role was to help communities design, redevelop and program schoolyards to promote healthy eating and active living. Cate has a Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning and Masters of Urban Design from the University of Colorado Denver and serves on the City of Englewood, Colorado Planning and Zoning Commission.
Rachel Cleaves Dahlke has twelve years’ experience in community development community engagement, and organizational leadership in the US, Africa, and Latin America. As the Executive Director of Westwood Unidos from 2012 – 2017, Dahlke founded and helped lead a resident-centered movement striving for health equity in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Westwood Unidos’ approach focused on listening for what to do. Westwood Unidos facilitated resident-led action that resulted in new parks, new bus service, a youth-led bicycle library, transformation of blighted areas and abandoned buildings into community gathering spaces, a neighborhood plan, and a new community center.
Molly Hanson has over seventeen years of experience developing, promoting and evaluating population health initiatives to reduce health disparities. Molly was a Community Health Specialist at Boulder County Public Health, promoting tobacco-free workplace policies, youth empowerment approaches to reduce tobacco use, and clinical guideline integration in healthcare settings. She served as a Peer Mentor for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), supporting rural and urban communities as they implemented coalition-driven approaches to address tobacco-free workplace policies. Molly was also a program manager in the network of Federally Qualified Community Health Centers in the state of Colorado.
Jennifer Morelandis the Chronic Disease Manager at Denver Public Health. She oversees projects and staff on smoke-free living, access to healthy food and beverages, safe physical environments, and blood pressure control. She currently leads Denver Health’s adoption of healthy food and beverage, breastfeeding, and promotion standards to improve the hospital’s environment for patient and employee health.
Will Kerns a native of Wisconsin, has lived in Colorado since the age of 12, he has a Transportation Planning background and over 13 years of planning and community involvement experience. Some recent projects that Will has worked on or is working on include: CDOT Safe Routes to School underfunded communities coordination with non-profit Action for Healthy Kids, CDOT Statewide Transit Plan public outreach, and the Downtown Evergreen Trails Master Plan.
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.
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.
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.