Graduates

Northern Colorado is morphing into an area with regional potential, population and challenges.  Leadership with a regional perspective will be essential for a positive vision of our future. With that in mind, Leadership Northern Colorado launched in 2010 and now has over 300 graduates of the program.

A joint initiative of the Fort Collins, Greeley and Loveland Chambers of Commerce, the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado and the Community Foundation Serving Greeley and Weld County, this six-month interactive development program will focus on regional issues, regionalism and regional leadership skills.  The program is designed to educate and motivate leaders who are committed to shaping the future of our region. 

Class of 2023

The 2023 Leadership Northern Colorado graduates are:

Class of 2022

• Heather Anderson, Greeley Area Chamber/Visit Greeley
• Debra Antista-Bianchi, Alzheimer's Association
• Nick Armstrong, WTF Marketing
• Aaron (AJ) Baer, Canvas Credit Union
• Reyes Barrios Jr., FNBO
• Erik Caffee, Waypoint Real Estate
• Curtis Carlson, Great Western Bank
• Ryan Cassidy, ANB Bank
• Debbie Davis, Independent Financial
• Jessica Dyrdahl, Colorado State University
• Fawn Floyd-Baltzer, Loveland Downtown District
• Karen Frawley, Town of Windsor
• Madisen Golden, United Way of Larimer County
• Kat Hart, Loveland Business Development Center
• Angela Kelton, Gallagher Benefit Services
• Nick Kenny, Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra
• Neal Kingman, Bank of Colorado
• Abby Kirkbride, McWhinney Real Estate Services, Inc.
• Randall Klamser, City of Fort Collins
• Nate Lamkin, Pathways Hospice
• Jill Maasch, Larimer County
• Margarita Marquez, Employment Services of Weld County
• Michele Marquitz, Food Bank for Larimer County
• Heather Miller, Muscular Dystrophy Association 
• Sergio Ortiz, The Neenan Company
• Hailey Peters, Loveland Chamber of Commerce
• Hope Pruett, Loveland Water and Power
• Shane Redman, High Country Beverage
• Brecken Schaefer, NAI Affinity
• Rhonda Solis, Northern Smiles Family Dental
• Kris Stoppenhagen, RLH Engineering
• Jessi Yarnell, Kaiser Permanente

Class of 2020-2021

Karina Amaya, Employment Services of Weld County
Stephanie Ashley, Brinkman & Brinkman Construction
Mandana Ashouripashaki, CSU Ventures
Crystal Bidwell, Ditesco
Claire Bouchard, Larimer County
Beau Bump, Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather, LLP
AnnaRose Cunningham, NFR MPO
Megan Ferguson, Impact Development Fund
Shauna Gray, Chipper's Lanes
BrightHeart Headrick, Parent-Child Interaction Center
Noah Hutchison, Mighty Hand Construction
Anne Marie Jacobson, Front Range Community College
Logan Jones, WorkLife Partnership
Charles Jordan, RLH Engineering, Inc.
Nathan Kinney, Banner Health
Alex Koenigsberg, Arula
Elizabeth Mahoney, Complete Professional Development
Debbie Mayer, Colorado State University
Beth McDaniel, Centennial Lending, LLC
Liz McMillan, Canvas Credit Union
Chris McPhail, Independent Financial
Jenny Maeda, Neighbor to Neighbor
Timothy  Merlino, Pinyon Environmental
Corinne Millington, Rural USDA
Shannon Mosness, UCHealth Northern Colorado Foundation
Sara Potter, FNBO
Ted Ray, Great Western Bank
Donna Reiser, Colorado State University Alumni Association
Carrie Rossman, YMCA of the Rockies
Jana Sanchez, LaunchNo.CO
Allison Seabeck, Warehouse Business Accelerator
Benjamin Snow, City of Greeley
Megan Streetman, Animal Friends Alliance
Kristy Wygmans, Pour Brothers Community Tavern
Jill Zamzow, UCHealth

Class of 2019

Brooke Alexander, Esq., Alexander & Ewert, LLC
Gysela Blanco, High Country Beverage
Kit Brown, CBRE
Aaron Buckley, Colorado State University, Parking and Transportation Services
David Crowder, McWhinney Real Estate Services, Inc.
Gabriel Dunbar, Saunders Heath Construction
Diane Ellsworth, Project Self-Sufficiency
Chris Fine, McKee Foundation
Kim Fisher, Vision Catalyst
Chris Garcia, City of Greeley
Devin Glass, Larimer County Solid Waste
Misty Gulley, Larimer County Community Corrections - AIM/Wellness Court
Tonja Hadley, Hadley Harmon Consulting
Lea Hanson, Left Lane Communications, LLC
Tina Harkness, Employers Council, Inc.
Jodee Hinton, Martin/Martin, Inc.
Dr. Matthew Hortt, High Plains Library District
Mandi Huston, Coan, Payton & Payne, LLC
Pete Iengo, City of Fort Collins Utilities
Kim Joiner, Aims Community College
Sarah Martin, North Front Range MPO
Ryan C. McLean, Poudre Fire Authority
Zachary C. Minniear, RLH Engineering, Inc.
CeCe Moreno, Employment Services of Weld County
Mistene Nugent, CBRE
Beth Phillips, The Group, Inc. Real Estate
Carolyn ‘CJ’ Renaud, Greeley-Evans School District 6
Shannon Richardson, Merrill Lynch
Michael Ruttenberg MS, LMFT, Larimer County Criminal Justice Services
Shayle Sabo, Larimer County OEM
Jessica Scheopner, Town of Windsor
Courtney Stewart, Platte River Power Authority
Kelly Strohman, Keller Williams Realty - Northern Colorado (The Strohman Group)
Sarah Swanty, Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic
Carlie Thomas, Columbine Health Systems
Emily Voshall, Eide Bailly, LLP
Becca Walkinshaw, Gallegos Sanitation, Inc.

Class of 2018

Laura Armstrong, Heart J Center at Sylvan Dale
Seth Baucke, Bank of Colorado
Avery Buser, The Group, Inc.
Erika Benti, Colorado State University
Erik Berlin, Bryan Construction
Marisa Donegon, City of Fort Collins
Ryan Dusil, North Front Range MPO
Bianca Fisher, Greeley Downtown Development Authority
Erin Frisch, Academy Mortgage Corporation
James Herman, Radiology Imaging Associates
Beth Higgins, Poudre School District
Rebecca Holder-Otte, Banner Health
Bryce Jacobson, Greeley Tribune
John Kloster-Prew, Audubon Rockies
Jennifer McLain, Alpha Center
Tyler Nichols, Eide Bailly CPAs
Clay Olson, Transamerica Financial Advisors
Emily Peddicord, Saunders Heath Construction
Lee Reiff, Larimer County
Sarah Rice, Kaiser Permanente
Sylvia Robinson, TOLMAR, Inc.
Daniel Roth, Yogasacrificium
Brian Rowe, Town of Windsor
Joyce Saffel, Columbine Health Systems
Jared Shamburger, US Bank
Shelby Sommer, The Brendle Group
Nicholas Spezza, Front Range Community College
Derek Strader, Banner Health
Tara Streeb, Teaching Tree
Stacey Swanson, Larimer County
Grace Taylor, UCHealth
Clint Torczon, State Farm Insurance

Class of 2017

Michael Amberg, Kaiser Permanente
Jake Arnold, Waypointe Real Estate, LLC
Kristen Bernhardt, FirstBank
Michelle Bird, Larimer County
Arthur Cann , McKee Medical Center
Brittany Cole, WorkLife Partnership
Robert Cook, Larimer County Sherriff’s Office
Ashley Dees, Columbine Health Systems
Kristi Elyce, Loveland High Plains Arts Council
Sarah Ener, Aims Community College
Tom Fasano, United Way of Weld County
Mary Gabriel, Aims Community College
John Graves, Terracon Consultants, Inc.
Bryan Guest, Great Western Bank
JoAnn Herkenhoff, PVH and MCR Foundation
Susan Herlihy, The Group, Inc.
Shayna Howell, Aims Community College
Lauren Ives, Heath Construction
Nalo Johnson, City of Fort Collins
Jason Jones, Advantage Bank
Medora Kealy, North Front Range MPO
Connie Mapes, State Farm Insurance
Scott McPherson, Banner Health
Joe Monty, Eide Bailey, LLP
Heather O'Hayre, Larimer County Human Services
Jacob Post, US Bank
Katie Ricketts, City of Fort Collins
Brian Smerud. Wheeler Management Group
Justin Watada, Greeley Stampede
Lauren Weber, Community Foundation Serving Greeley & Weld County
James Yearling, Downtown Fort Collins Business Association

Class of 2016

Jennifer Anderson, Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
Kate Baker, Brinkman Partners
Ben Barnhart, Larimer Humane Society
Michael Bello, The CPI Group
Kelly Bernish, City of Fort Collins
Cris Carter, Cris Carter Law
Carol Cochran, Horse & Dragon Brewing Company
Lindsey Corcoran, Sovereign Health
Pilar DeJesus, City of Greeley - CPRD
Dexter Degre, The Group, Inc., Real Estate
Honore Depew, City of Fort Collins
Ben Fletcher, Legacy Financial Group
Alex Gordon, North Front Range MPO
Allison Hines, United Way of Larimer County
Chad Howell, City of Greeley
Kristy Klenk, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado
James Kuemmerle, Jefferson Center for Mental Health
Maribeth Lunn, Employer Solutions Group
Erik Margolis, Columbine Health Systems
Kim Martin, FMS Bank
Mary McCaffrey, First National Denver
Timiry McCaskell, Dora Grace Bridal
Audrey McElwain, Project Self-Sufficiency
Jonas McKinley, UCHealth Plan Administrators
Mark Miller, Kaiser Permanente
Angela Penland, First National Bank
Richard Ricchiuti, zebrajellyfish.com LLC
Nick Roe, Flood and Peterson
Jean Runyon, Front Range Community College
Michael Six, Banner Health
Julie Smith, Aims Community College
Christi Smith, United Way of Weld County
Anna Smoot, UCHealth - PVH and MCR Foundation
Michelle Sulek, Elevations Credit Union
Kelly Unger, Town of Windsor
Susan Walker, ACE
Emily Wilson, Innosphere

Class of 2015

Kim Akeley-Charron, Thompson Education Foundation
Stacey Aurzada, City Attorney's Office, City of Greeley
Clay Bartlett, Coan, Payton & Payne, LLC
Beth Bishop, The Group, Inc.
Katie Bowers, PVH and MCR Foundation
Jennifer Bray, Cornerstone Home Lending, Inc.
Gina DiGiallonardo, Columbine Health Systems
Chris Donegon, City of Fort Collins
Cash Freeman, RBC Wealth Management
Laura Hoover, Roots Real Estate
Stacy Johnson, Town of Windsor
Leah Johnson, JD Consulting
Todd Karl, US Bank
Dan Klith, Liberty Mutual Insurance
Amy Kolczak, University of Colorado Health
Christine Lotz, Public Service Credit Union
Gregory Miedema, NOCO HBA
Rand E. Morgan, The Community Foundation Serving Greeley & Weld County
Michael Nagl, Warren Federal Credit Union
Joy Nyenhuis, Junior Achievement
Heidi Phelps, City of Fort Collins
Carol Salter, Banner Health
Leah Schaer, Aims Community College
Kirk Silos, Pelican Lakes Country Club
Kerry Slater, Banner Health
Shawn Sullivan, The Neenan Company
Pamela Sunderman, Kaiser Permanente
Ashley Ann Valenzuela-Ruesgen, Aims Community College
Marcy Yoder, United Way of Larimer County

Class of 2014

Eric Aakko, Weld County Public Health and Environment
Richard Alper, Alper-Davis Mediation Services
Matt Beck, Colorado Business Bank
Mara Brosy-Wiwchar, Congressman Jared Polis
Jordan Butts BBVA, Compass Bank
Chris Crutcher, Wells Fargo Bank
Todd Dangerfield. Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority
Patti Garcia. Town of Windsor
Guner Gardenhire,RBC Wealth Management
Jennifer Gehrman, PointsWest Community Bank
Bob Hinderaker, Great Western Bank
Howard Hissrich, Morgan Stanley
Jeff Kirtley, RLH Engineering, Inc.
Paul Matthews, Banner Health
Eric McCrery, Cobalt Mortgage
Heather McNeill, Columbine Medical Equipment
Greg Metzo, US Bank
Deanne Mulvihill, Berthoud Area Chamber of Commerce
Tamara O'Dell, PR and Marketing Communications
Jenna Oliver, Aims Community College
Jessica Rawley, CSU - College of Business
Sarita Reddy, GCI, Inc.
Rochelle Reynolds, Ehrlich Vehicles, Inc.
Sara Seely, First National Bank
Michael Short, Consultant
Erica Siemers, PVH and MCR Foundation
Melissa St. Clair, Heart of the Rockies Christian Church
Robyn Steele, Loveland Chamber of Commerce
Shashi Unnithan, Front Range Community College
Paul Watkins, Wells Fargo Business Banking
Reza Zadeh, Consultant

Class of 2013

Molly Armbrister, Northern Colorado Business Report
Mary Atchison, NCEA
Tana Atwood, Bohemian Foundation
Bruce Beardsley, Aims Community College
Kendra Bigsby, Colorado State University
Sarah Boyd, City of Greeley
Michal Connors, Windsor Chamber of Commerce
Helen Davis, Colorado Nonprofit Development Center
Beth Edens, RE/MAX Advanced, Inc.
Maggie Flanagan, Rocky Mountain Innosphere
Betsy Gammon, Emergency Physicians of the Rockies
Leslie Gann-Exner, Banner Health/NCMC
Erica Herman, Wells Fargo Bank
Daman Holland, Ripley Design, Inc.
John Hutson, Aims Community College
Allison King, Pfizer
Steven Lukowski, City of Fort Collins
Tracy Mead,  Project Self Sufficiency
Constance O'Brien,  Consultant
Abby Powell, The Ranch Events Complex
Michelle Provaznik, Gardens on Spring Creek
Christy Ricks
Jeremy Rose, Rose Law, PC
Conrad Schaefer. GOAL Academy
Derek Spinuzzi, RLH Engineering, Inc.
Gretchen Stanford, City of Loveland Water and Power
Patricia Tessari, Allnutt Funeral Service
Matt Thompson, The Group Real Estate
Kimberly Vecchio, UCHealth
Bruce Walthers, Front Range Community College

Class of 2012

Keely Aggers, Colorado State University
Stacey Baumgarn, Colorado State Univeristy
David Bruni, US Bank Community Banking
Kyle Christensen, Colorado State University
Sharon Courtney, Foothills Gateway
Royce Danford, Kennedy & Coe, LLC
Alie Daniel, Exodus Moving & Storage
Dan Dennie, Banner Health - North Colorado Medical Center
Sean Dougherty, RE/MAX Alliance
John Drigot
Issac Essay, 1st National Wealth Management
Travis Guerette, RLH Engineering
Bryce Hach, Homeward 2020
Steve Hayes, 1st Choice Realtors
Gerry Horak, City of Fort Collins/CSS-Dynamac
Johnny Hyde,  Burns Marketing
Julie Johnson Haffner, McKee Medical Center Foundation
Alexis Kanda-Olmstead, Colorado State University
Brett Kemp, Flood and Peterson
Nathan Klein, Loveland Commercial, LLC
Laura McFadden, Security Service Federal Credit Union
Peter Meyer, Brinkman Construction
Teresa Mueller, Mueller & Associates, CPA, LLC
Jared Reimer, Ascent Real Estate
Scot Sanders
Nicole Yost, Fyn Public Relations
Marie Zimenoff, A Strategic Advantage

Class of 2011

Kate Aiello, Front Range Hospice
Dean Barber, McWhinney
Ron Bateman, Milliken Fire Protection District
Kristi Benningsdorf, First Western Trust Bank
Pat Book, University of Northern Colorado
K-Lynn Cameron, Legacy Land Trust
Don Dana, Berthoud Area Chamber of Commerce
Catherine Doering, First National Wealth Management
Cynthia Eichler, Visit Fort Collins
Aaron Eide, Flood & Peterson
Phil Farley, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado
Bob Flynn, Green Ride CO
Aaron Fodge, Colorado State University
Annette Geiselman, Community Foundation
Brandon Grebe
Dan Hull, Lamp Rynearson and Associates
Chris Hutchinson, Trebuchet Group
Becky Jensen
Michael Kelly, Aims Community College
Dave "DK" Kemp, City of Boulder
Joe Luethmers
Kaycee Lytle, Bank of Colorado
Amanda Miller, The Place Setting Company, LLC
Nancy Patton, Public Service Credit Union
Nicole Reeves, FirstBank
Preety Sathe 
Teresa Sedlak, SummitStone Health Partners
Jenna Seigel, Otis, Coan & Peters, LLC
Jeff Taylor, Universal Lending Corporation
Dan Tweeton, Verde Project Development
Bruce Wallace

Class of 2010

Kermit Allard, EKS&H
Ken Amundson, BizWest
Damon Balcerak, Alliance Construction Solutions, LLC
Bill Becker
Eric Berglund 
Neil Best, KUNC-FM
Jim Butzek
Ray Caraway, Community Foundation of Northern Colorado
Jan Daugaard, Kennedy & Coe, LLC
Justin Davis, Wells Fargo Advisors
Connie Dohn, Dohn Construction, Inc.
Jamie Grim, Congressman Jared Polis
Gene Haffner, North Colorado Medical Center/Banner Health
Bruce Hendee
Bill Joyner, Alliance Construction Solutions
Barbara Koelzer, IRES
Frank Kohl, Lamp, Rynearson & Associates, Inc.
Weston Kurz, FirstBank
Jessica MacMillan, Great Western Bank
Yvonne Myers, Columbine Health Systems
Dawn Paepke,Kaiser Permanente
Michael Payne, Otis, Coan & Peters, LLC
Sara Quale, McKee Medical Center
Scott Rulon, Rickards Long & Rulon, LLP
Jim Sampson, HUB
Gordan Thibedeau, United Way of Larimer County
Ralph Waldo
David Zwisler, Ogeltree Deakins