Podcasts about colorado office

In this episode of Regulation Matters: a CLEAR conversation, host Line Dempsey speaks with Brian Tobias, Director of the Colorado Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform, and Katie O'Donnell, Director of Communications and Public Engagement for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies. They explore Colorado's sunrise review process through the case study of funeral service professionals and discuss how the state navigated media scrutiny following tragic events in Penrose, Colorado. The conversation highlights best practices for evaluating the need for professional regulation, responding to media coverage, engaging stakeholders to maintain public trust, and educating licensees and the public about regulatory changes. Transcript: http://clearweb.drivehq.com/podcast_transcripts/CLEAR_podcast_episode86_Sunrise_Media_0211255_transcript.pdf

Join us for the latest episode of the Manager Minute podcast, where host Carol Pankow sits down with the incredible Serina Gilbert, Cheryl Carver, and Peter Pike from Colorado's Pathways to Partnership DIF Grant! In this episode, they dive into their groundbreaking Pathways to Partnership project, a collaborative initiative designed to enhance outcomes for children and youth with disabilities. Discover how they're embedding VR counselors in schools, launching the innovative “Map My Transition” app, and partnering with Centers for Independent Living to create a brighter future. Tune in as the team shares valuable insights, learning experiences they've faced, and what's on the horizon for the grant's second year. Don't miss this inspiring conversation about transforming lives through partnership and innovation! Listen Here   Full Transcript:   {Music} Serina: To support the families that are surrounding these young adults with disabilities, as well, to help them gain the skills to be able to help those students move into competitive, integrated employment.   Peter: The centers for Independent Living are required to deliver core services in one core service is supporting young adults transitioning into high school.   Cheryl: We will actually incorporate those components of the six core skill sets and the age ranges, along with all of those local partners into map my transition.   Serina: Gosh, there's so many things we're doing.   Intro Voice: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management, Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, welcome to the manager minute. Joining me in the studio today are the Tri-Force from Colorado, Serina Gilbert, Cheryl Carver, and Peter Pike, Co-project, directors for Colorado Partnerships for Partnership DIF Grant. So how are things going for you, Serina?   Serina: I'm doing fantastic. I like that word Tri-Force. It feels really, really fancy. It's October here and it's like almost 80 degrees, so I'm happy.   Carol:  Ahh, good for you. You know what? In fact, I had to use a little ChatGPT because I said, well, how could I describe a fearsome threesome? And they gave me all these different things. And I went, I'm going to go Tri-Force. I really liked it.   Serina: So don't tell people your AI secrets. You came up with that all on your own. you did it.   Carol: I know, I know, how about you, Cheryl? You are old hat at this. I got to talk to you a couple years ago, which was super fun. So Cheryl's like the podcast queen now. She's on this twice.   Cheryl: I'm with Serina, though. I liked that word too. I thought it was empowering. I think this is awesome. We're going to have to use that again. Things are going well. Always busy though, you know, and the DIF grant has added to that, but in an awesome way in terms of growing, expanding and learning. So we're excited to be here today.   Carol: Awesome. And Peter, welcome to the podcast. I'm so excited you are on. How are you doing?   Peter: Well, I got to tell you, I'm a little nervous. This is my first time joining a podcast, so I'm not sure how it's going to go, but I appreciate the opportunity. And I'm coming off of two big meetings today, one with the Centers for Independent Living, where we get to get caught up on priority topics, and of course, our Disability Innovation team meeting. We meet on a regular basis. So the timing is great.   Carol: Good. Well, you're all bringing the energy. So that's great. So I just want to do a little quick refresher for our listeners so they understand what the earth we're talking about. So I have been doing different series on the Disability Innovation Fund grants. And this particular grant has to do with the Pathways to Partnership grant that was funded by RSA, and it supports projects aimed at fostering deeper collaboration between agencies. Turning these collaborations into true partnerships, and the projects aim to enhance service delivery by piloting cohesive models that better manage resources, while coordinating efforts to improve outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and their support systems, ultimately facilitating smoother transitions. And Colorado is wrapping up the first year of the grants. So let's dive in and see how things are progressing. All right. So let's get into it Serina, I'm going to kick off with you first. Could you just start by telling our listeners a little bit about yourself and how you got involved in VR?   Serina: Sure. So you already know my name is Serina Gilbert, and I'm currently a program manager under our youth services team with the Division of Voc Rehab here in Colorado. I actually got involved with VR because I was a recipient of VR services way back when, when I was in college, and while I was receiving services, I kind of flipped the script around, I was like, well, what do you do? This looks fun. Like, I want to learn this. So I got my master's and a few years later, here I am. So I've always enjoyed working with youth. That's always been my passion and I'm super excited to even be in this role.   Carol: Awesome. So, Peter, what's your journey to get to VR? Tell us a little bit about you.   Peter: Well, that's a great question. My name is Peter Pike and I work for what's called the Colorado Office of Independent Living Services, which is part of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. And I got to tell you, for a couple decades, I actually worked outside of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation as a vendor and as like a community partner on different grants. And a few years back, Colorado established this Office of Independent Living Services, dedicated to working with nonprofits called the Centers for Independent Living. That's how I got involved with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and I'm also a person with a Non-visible disability. And so this fits very nicely in terms of my philosophy and being part of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.   Carol: I love that because you bring a whole other perspective. Having come from that vendor field. So you've got some things going on that can contribute greatly to the agency and this project for sure. And Cheryl, last but not least, you know, it's been two years, but let's tell our listeners again a little bit about you and your journey into VR.   Cheryl: Well, mine is not as direct as Peter's or Serina. Again, my name is Cheryl Carver. I am the second program manager we have here in the state of Colorado under Voc Rehab for our youth services and transition programming. So Serina and I work very closely together. I kind of fell into this by accident, but I have always been in healthcare related fields. I've worked for the independent living centers. I've also worked in assisted living and I worked as a vendor as well with DVR in the mental health sector. After that, I really lucked out and was able to apply for a position. That was 24 years ago and I joined the youth services team 20 years ago, so it's been an indirect path, but once I found my niche, I have loved growing in this position with youth services at the administrative level.   Carol: I love it, you know, no matter which way, if you come in a direct way or lots of people, it's kind of a long and winding road to get into VR. Whatever way you get here, we love the energy you all are bringing, and we think it's great because people are bringing all kinds of different perspectives to the work now. I was super excited about your project when I was reading through RSA's website and looking at the little synopsis, and I'm like, oh, I got to grab the Colorado people first. You're the first in my group on this particular topic, and I understand that your project has multiple components. Can you give our listeners a little overview of the project and what you aim to accomplish? And I think, Serina, you were going to kind of give us the big picture to start out with.   Serina: Yes, it's a very big picture. So I'm sorry. We dreamed really big when we saw this grant posting last spring. We saw a lot of opportunity in our state to maybe help build some capacity and some connectedness throughout the state. So one piece of it is we started out by deciding to build what we're calling interdisciplinary teams. And what that is, is traditionally in Colorado, we don't usually have DVR counselors housed specifically in the school districts. We do have counselors that liaison with the district, but they are not like actually full time there. So we actually just did some hiring, and we'll have a couple of counselors starting in the next few weeks that will be housed directly in the local school districts and embedded with the school transition teams to make sure that services are able to be delivered to the students with disabilities within those districts. Another super exciting part that coincides with that is that there'll be services provided by the Centers for Independent Living, which Peter will talk a little bit more about as well, to make sure that there's a dedicated service provider to be able to help support those teams. And one really big, huge thing that we're really excited about is what's going to be called Map My Transition. And we jokingly call this the You are Here Website. So it's going to be a website and iOS app and an Android app designed for students, their families, educators and service providers and other community agencies within the state of Colorado. And the way that it'll work is we'll start from the student perspective, as the student will create an account on the site, they'll be asked a few questions about where they reside and what their long and short term goals are, and then they'll be presented with customized resources and videos that are specific to what their needs are, and specifically, how to get connected with the agencies that can support them. The super exciting part about that is that that also allows kind of that turnover resistant piece of things, because The educators and the service providers can also see that same list of community providers that are specific to their geographic region. So if somebody leaves a position, the next person can come into that position and get connected on this website and instantly know who their community partners are within their geographic area to connect with.   Carol: I love that app idea though.   Serina: I'm so excited about it.   Carol: Well, you know, when you talk about kids like students, man, they're not. Don't email them. They're not out looking on the internet.   serina: No.   Carol: like their phone is their life. Like they need everything to be direct connect that way. That's how they're going to, you're very smart to go that route.   Serina: Yeah. So we're super excited. Also gosh, there's so many things we're doing also to support the students. We are partnering with our family led organizations to support the families that are surrounding these young adults with disabilities, as well, to help them gain the skills to be able to help those students move into competitive, integrated employment. But then that's not all, I feel like a game show host.   Carol: Do tell more.   Serina: I know, I know. I'll have Cheryl talk a little bit about our interagency transition building as well, because that Map My Transition is also going to support that aspect of what we're doing here in Colorado.   Carol: I think that's cue to you, Cheryl.   Cheryl: I was just going to say, is that my cue? so five years ago, Colorado began an initiative through the National Assistance Center on Transition Coalition, and we began looking around the state to identify where our own gaps and weaknesses were as it pertains to interagency coordination teams. What we discovered were several of the components that Serina has mentioned that we hope to build into Map My Transition. Things like we were having trouble sustaining interagency transition teams, and that was due in large part because of turnover and staff. When interagency transition teams were coming together locally, they placed those responsibilities with an individual instead of their position. And as a result of that, once that person left, there was nobody to continue on with the work. And these interagency transition teams just eventually dissolved. Additionally, they really didn't have any goals that kept them together and gave them a reason for continuing to come together. So we wanted to help the local partners rediscover their interagency transition teams, identify tools that would help bring them together and give them an actual purpose. As a result of that work, what we created was a workbook for all partners that come to the table locally in these interagency transition team efforts, every partner at that table is required to identify within six core skill set areas that we've put together an age range, what services they actually provide. That way, when education is working on developing an IEP, an Individualized Education Program, or other entities sitting around the table like the division of Voc Rehab, developing their individualized plans for employment, we can look and see what areas does this student need to grow in, depending upon their age and their skill gap. With that, then we can pick and choose and strategically work together towards the same goals with that student. So we actually have coordinated student outcomes. We are not duplicating services. The challenge we faced was that the workbook, because we didn't have any backing to help us complete this, is overwhelming and it's difficult to use. And as a result of that, again, this is where Map My Transition comes in. We will actually incorporate those components of the six core skill sets and the age ranges, along with all of those local partners into Map My Transition so it will be easier for all users, whether it is the youth themselves or a family member, or any one of the number of entities that sit around an interagency transition table to be able to go in and see, we know what the students ultimate goals are, and these are the areas we are working on. So let's take a look at and consider what are the choices for the service providers. So I am also extremely excited about Map My Transition, because I think it is going to be fabulous in terms of what we are envisioning to create, as well as to help interagency transition teams accomplish that coordinated student outcome.   Carol: I think that is going to be super replicable across the country, like the work you guys are putting into that, because I know that's one of the things with the DIF grant, they're hoping that some of the things you all create are going to help other states out there. And that particular piece, I think that's fascinating. I think that sounds really cool.   Cheryl: I agree. So with that, we'll take it to the next level, if you will, and continue to enhance, we hope at least. What else would do you want me to kick it back to you, Serina, for apprenticeships or family member training?   Serina: I forgot about our apprenticeship piece because we're just doing so many things. We shot for the moon, right?   Carol: Yes, yes you did. There's like, 20 moving parts on this thing. I'm like, wow.   Serina: Cheryl is correct. One other aspect was to make sure that we're connecting young adults with apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship opportunities. So we are partnering with our apprenticeship representatives here in Colorado within the Department of Labor and Employment, called Apprenticeship Colorado, and they will be helping the counselors and the interagency teams learn about how to connect with employers for apprenticeships and actually be developing apprenticeships in the areas that we're serving. And then they're also going to create training for us to put on Map My Transition for future reference, but also train our staff on it. I did talk a little bit about the family led organizations in the training, but what we didn't talk a lot about was the Centers for Independent Living Partnerships, and I'd love for Peter to be able to cover that a little bit for us.   Carol: Peter, I know you're passionate about those CILs for sure.   Peter: Yeah, I always love the opportunity to talk about the Centers for Independent Living. And maybe a starting point is to just briefly talk about what is the Center for Independent Living, right? These are nonprofit organizations that actually exist in every state of the Union. And so in Colorado, we have nine centers for independent living that are focused on helping people with disabilities of all ages, any disability type, living as independently as they can. And I want to be clear, that doesn't mean they are residential facilities. These non-profits are not residential facilities. They are non-profits that we have contracts with to support people living independently in the community, and they are a key partner. One of the great things about this grant is there was a requirement that Centers for Independent Living be part of this grant. And so with that, it really accentuates some of the strengths that they have. There are two things that come to mind. Number one is the Centers for Independent Living provide peer support services. What that means is that these organizations have over 50% people with disabilities from the board of directors, all the way down to their entry level staff. And that is key because an emphasis of this program is peer support services. So in their work for this grant, that's what they're going to be doing, is working with young adults in high school, transitioning out of high school to Address and navigate some of the adult issues that come up, whether that be employment, post-secondary education and otherwise. So that's an important strength. The second strength that I believe the Centers for Independent Living offer is that this service system you don't age out of just because you turn 18 doesn't mean, oh no, now there's another program I need to join. As I said earlier, Centers for Independent Living serve all ages of all disability types. So that provides a key continuity of services as folks transition out of high school into what's next. So in addition to that, the Centers for Independent Living will have contracts with the centers for Independent Living, serving on the interagency teams and some of the expectations in terms of the services they're going to be providing are things like benefits, planning services, things like financial literacy. They'll be focused on supporting and educating people on accessing what are called ABLE accounts. Able stands for achieving a Better Life Experience, but it's an opportunity for these young adults to actually increase their assets and resources. In addition to that, they will also be serving as vendors for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. And so those are key elements that they'll play in working alongside the interagency transition teams with the school districts, with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. So it is a great opportunity for those organizations to really illustrate their strengths and the difference they make in the lives of people with disabilities.   Carol: I love that you are leveraging the Centers for Independent Living, because I think sometimes people I don't know, they're there, but you sort of forget about them as being a resource for more than maybe folks are thinking about. Oh, somebody needs a ramp to get into their house. Let's call the CILs, you know, type of thing. But they have a lot more going for them. And they're strategically positioned throughout your state and in every state. You know, they're all throughout all the geographic areas. So they're excellent partner to leverage. When you're looking at an endeavor like this I think that's smart.   Peter: You know Carol, it also fills one more gap. Like the Centers for Independent Living are required to deliver core services, and one core service is supporting young adults transitioning into high school. So with this particular project, they're actually working with youth in the schools. That's not necessarily part of their core services. So it really complements the opportunity to start the work earlier and support it ongoing even when they're out of high school.   Carol: Yeah, I really like that, Peter, I think that is so great. So I know you guys are you know, you're at the end of year one and you made it. You made it through year one. What kind of learning experiences. And I love it because I'm not going to say what sort of challenges did you have? What learning experiences have you had so far? Cheryl, I think I'm kicking that to you.   Cheryl: You are. So while this is a multi-pronged approach that we are taking, if you will, with several different outcomes for each one, we have encountered challenges that we have had to overcome or lessons we have had to learn along the entire way, starting from the very beginning with communication. Even between this Tri-Force. And I don't think it's a terrible thing to mention. That was one of the things that the grant reviewers brought up how, as three managers, are you going to do this job together? And we were like, we can manage this, we can handle this. We did. We had to learn how to communicate well together. We had to understand one another's styles and figure out what worked best for each of us in order to come together, agree upon things and respect when somebody didn't, and hear them out, even if that was not the direction we were going to go in. Inclusion has been another one. While we put above everything equity and diversity and inclusion. Just because we are the division of Voc Rehab, it's still easy to overlook or forget to give certain audiences the opportunity to have a say in things, especially something this large. And when you're moving forward and you've got deadlines and timelines, having to take a step back and say, wait a minute, did we check with everyone is really, really hard. So fortunately, again, because there's three of us, we always have that one that raises their hand and says, wait a minute, did we do that? So it's good to have that piece there. When we're working with our planning and advisory team or other partners around the table, we are also learning all about marketing and how to go about getting the marketing. We need to message things correctly and deliver that message out there to the communities about things as simple as trainings that we hope to offer to family members in partnership with our parental consortium here in Colorado. We are maintaining, I think maintaining is a good word, maintaining a huge, massive budget and having to be willing to be flexible within that budget. We are given certain parameters to operate within, and we have to go about getting changes approved periodically. But every time we turn around, there's been another new need or a new requirement or oh, wait a minute, we calculated that wrong. So we've got to go back and recalculate it. It has absolutely been, I think, a learning process for all of us. Another area that we have worked very diligently in is just as a state government, where we have had to learn different processes and procedures. Things have taken longer than we expected, having to write reports in certain manners or fill out certain forms. That in and of itself has been a hurdle that we have had to overcome together in regards to learning things.   Carol: You guys are not unique. I mean, I do ask this question of everybody when I'm talking about the DIF grants, just because the learning opportunities you've had this first year, it is really common because there are so many systems and practices and processes within each state. Everybody's got their own little nuances and things. And when it isn't your everyday job to navigate those and you now are co-directing, you know, this Tri-Force and this lovely DIF grant, and you're getting exposed to all these other processes that you didn't know about. It is quite a learning curve just to get through all of that. And once you get it figured out, then you fundamentally go, okay, you know, year two gets easier. It's like, all right, now we figured out all the pieces of the process and it gets better as you go along. So that is common. Everybody, I don't think I've talked to anybody across the country that hasn't had that as well. So I think you guys stated that really nicely. Now I know you all when I got to visit with you a little earlier, you had mentioned that you had this really important realization about your service model and that maybe it doesn't work like you thought it was going to work. When you are conceptualizing something and then you're going to put it into practice. So I don't know. Peter, can you talk a little bit more about that?   Peter: Yes, thanks. I'd be happy to. So as we've been talking, we talk about establishing three pilot sites or three interagency teams. And so we went through a process with our planning and advisory team, came up with a matrix, and we were able to identify three sites. And so we have this vision in this model about how those sites are going to be implemented and moving forward, including the Centers for Independent Living. And so one of the communities where we are working to establish a pilot site is in northwestern Colorado. And the school district that's involved is based out of a rural community, but it's also a mountainous resort community. And so what that means is the cost of living in that particular area actually is pretty high. And there's been articles on it within the city and across the state talking about challenges, just filling some government positions in that community. And so as we were having conversations with that interagency team, particularly the Center for Independent Living, that serves not just that community, but a five county area, they talked about the challenges. If we're going to have a contract with and bringing on a staff because the wage and the affordability for someone to live in the community that they're serving don't align very well. And so we've had to sort of pause and talk with our local partners about, man, what does this need to look like in order to meet the needs of the students and families in that school district, and at the same time, navigate some of these real issues around the cost of living. And so we're taking some extra steps in working with the Center for Independent Living and the school district to identify maybe where do we need to bring in new partners or other partners, or what are alternative ways to deliver the services that are necessary to meet the needs of the youth and families, right? Just because you're living in a resort area doesn't mean everybody is of the same economic class. And so our aim with this project is to make sure we're serving underrepresented communities. And sometimes socioeconomic status is kind of an important factor in that way. And so we have to take more time and understand how best to meet the needs of that community and how it might look different than the other two communities where we're continuing to move forward with all the parts.   Carol: That's a really excellent observation. I know VR has been facing this ever since the pandemic, kind of across the country, especially as people moved, you know, we had like floods of people moving to Florida, people moved into Idaho and different communities. And I know the directors have said, boy, it's impacted the program in different ways because now you have whole communities where they've had this big population move in and all the prices have gone up. And so it's tough even to get counselors and different staff working in these different regions and even to get vendors in those regions because the cost of living is so expensive. So you've got people there who've been there for many years, but yet new people are coming in and you've just got this kind of mire of crazy economic conditions that make it really difficult to navigate all of that for the consumers that are in those areas. So that is a really good realization you had. Now, I know we're on year two like you're three days into year two. You guys, what are your plans for year two? Miss Serina.   Serina: Sound like I'm in trouble.   Carol: Oh, no.   Serina: No, no. We have a lot like we talked about it a little bit earlier where we're hiring the school based rehabilitation counselors. We're well into that. And making sure that they have the training and support that they need to get started with everything. We're super excited because we're in the early stages of planning their kickoff meetings, where we'll be on site with each of the teams and help them, A, get on the same page and like kind of level set everything like so everyone has all the same information. And then one of the bigger pieces is that they all walk away with a tangible plan for how they're going to initially start collaborating and coordinating services with one another. So we're super excited about that. Another thing that I'm really personally excited about, because I'm kind of a marketing and social media dork in a way, is we're going to be coming up with some branding and a way to refer to this grant that resonates with the people that we're serving with students, families, educators, and, you know, the service providers that are working with us. Saying DIF grant, unfortunately, doesn't mean much to the average person. And there's a lot of DIF grants now. I believe they just funded the fifth or sixth round of them. So.   Carol: Oh yeah, and there's like 28 of those or something.   Serina: Yeah.   Carol: so there's a bunch   Serina: There's a lot. So we're super, super excited to get some branding and social media going and things like that to get people excited about what we're doing. Um, what else are we doing? Team what am I missing? Those are some really big things that we're doing.   Carol: Do you have anything cool that you're doing with the branding? Like can you share if there's something little or is it all top secret right now.   Serina: No, we just, thanks to our grant manager, Lauren Riley, and our program assistant, Amy Smith, they found us a marketing agency, and we're going to be meeting with them in the next couple of weeks so that they can talk through kind of what our needs are and things like that, and then they're going to have some focus groups with stakeholders to get their input and see what resonates. So I'm super excited.   Carol: Very cool. Very cool.   Peter: You know, Serina, thanks, sort of opened up an opportunity to talk about family and youth engagement. And one of the opportunities we have with this project is we actually can pay honorariums to young adults and families to participate, particularly on the planning and advisory team. And so we definitely want to hear the voice of the people we're serving and bring them to the table so that as we bring this to life, we have their input from the beginning.   Carol: Yeah, I love that, that's great, you guys, the energy of the three of you, it is super funny. I can feel it like our listeners can't see it. But coming off the zoom screen. Like it is so fun. I think you three complement each other very nicely. Now, I know for our listeners, you know, sometimes people want to reach out to you. I know you're in your initial stages, but sometimes folks just have questions or they're super interested, like Map My Transition, they're gonna be like, when's that going to be ready? Because we want to borrow it like we want all of that. Do you have an email or something you can share with our folks on a way to contact you?   Cheryl: We'd like to direct those questions to our actual grant manager, who is Lauren Riley, and her email address is l a u r e n dot R i l e y at state dot co dot US.   Carol: Excellent. Now that's helpful because otherwise the stuff goes kind of all over. And I do end up hearing back from the different folks we've had podcasts with. They're like, oh, we had some people reach out. So I'm hoping folks will do that. Are you three going to be at the CSVAR conference?   Cheryl: Not the upcoming one.   Carol: Possibly in the spring?   Cheryl: Maybe.   Carol: Yeah, because then people can track you down there as well.   Peter: I'd like to. Next time you talk to Kristen, say, hey, Kristen. Sending Peter to the CSVAR conference?   Carol: I'll put in a plug for you, Peter. That's awesome. Well, you three have been an absolute delight and I really appreciate your time. And I'm hoping I get to check in with you down the road to see how things are going. And I wish you the very best with this project. Have a great day.   Cheryl: Thank you, Carol.   Serina: Thanks so much, Carol.   Outro Voice: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time, brought to you by the VR TAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

This is episode 5 of 6 in a Deep Dive Series on the Housing Innovation Alliance! If you hear any background noise, that's because this episode was recorded LIVE at the HIA Conference 2024 at the University of Denver!  “This is ultimately going to be a multifaceted solution, I don't believe that any one technology is going to dig us out of our hole that we're in, as far as our housing shortage goes.” In this conversation, Devon Tilly chats with Jack Tiebout of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)! Jack Tiebout is a Senior Program Manager at the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade (OEDIT). He manages the Innovative Housing Incentive Program (IHIP), which supports innovative housing manufacturers through performance-based grants and loans. Before coming to OEDIT, Jack was advancing best practices in land use at the Colorado chapter of the Urban Land Institute. Jack graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Master's in Community & Regional Planning and from Tulane University with a dual degree in Psychology and English. Jack is an Ironman finisher, casual birder, and zealous backyard barbecuer. He lives in Denver with his wife, son, and two dogs. Follow OEDIT on X! Follow OEDIT on Instagram! Keep up with the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Youtube! Subscribe to the Art of Construction (AOC) podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Today, Hunter spoke once again with Radley Balko, a long-time investigative journalist, to discus his most recent reporting on public defense in Florida and Georgia. As has been discussed on the show previously, both states are struggling to meet the promises of Gideon. For Florida, the state has continued to move in a “tough on crime” direction and seems fine with leaving public defense ill equipped to handle the cases. In Georgia, the lack of independence leaves the system unable to properly advocate for its needs and the needs of their clients.   Guests: Radley Balko, Investigative Journalist   Resources: Read Radley's Coverage Here https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-states-of-indigent-defense-part-6eb     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter spoke with the Chief Federal Public Defender for the District of Kansas to discuss independence, or the lack thereof, for federal public defenders. Unlike many state systems, the federal system is at the mercy of the federal judiciary. As a result of this judicial oversight, the federal public defenders can be hesitant to be as vocal and aggressive in their public advocacy. Over the past year, the hiring freeze for federal public defense demonstrated the pressing need to remove the federal public defenders out from the control of the bench.     Guests: Melody Brannon, Chief Federal Public Defender, District of Kansas Resources:     Annual Federal Defenders Reports https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/defender-services-annual-report-2022 https://www.uscourts.gov/statistics-reports/defender-services-annual-report-2023 NACDL Coverage on Lack of Independence https://www.nacdl.org/Article/August2015-InsideNACDLAFundamentalFlawint 2017 REPORT OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/2017_report_of_the_ad_hoc_committee_to_review_the_criminal_justice_act-revised_2811.9.17.29_0.pdf NACDL Testimony to Judicial Conference https://www.nacdl.org/getattachment/84b11595-12a0-43d9-89ed-6af4fd732d84/gerry-morris-testimony.pdf Hiring Freeze https://rollcall.com/2023/10/13/federal-public-defenders-warn-proposed-funding-would-cause-layoffs-court-delays/ Eval of Interim Recommendations from the Cardone Report https://cjastudy.fd.org/sites/default/files/Evaluation-of-the-Interim-Recommendations-from-the-Cardone-Report_9.7.23_NoID.pdf     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter spoke once again w/Bob Kolstad and for the first time Veronica Surges. Both are public defenders in the state of Minnesota, and they joined the show to discuss how the organized a strike authorization and how that threat of a strike helped them secure the largest pay raises in the history of Minnesota Public Defense.   Guests: Bob Kolstad, Public Defender, Hennepin County, Minnesota Veronica Surges, Public Defender, 6th District, Minnesota   Resources:   Contact Bob bob@robertkolstad.com Read About the Strike Threat and It's Results https://minnesotareformer.com/2023/07/11/minnesota-public-defenders-to-get-as-much-as-66000-raises-under-tentative-agreement/#:~:text=The%20salary%20of%20a%20first,state%20Board%20of%20Public%20Defense.       Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter kicks off a week about Public Defense in Minnesota by speaking with the Chief Public Defender of the State, Bill Ward. Throughout this episode, Bill and Hunter discuss workloads, workload refusal, the recent budgetary victories he's helped secure, and what is needed to ensure Public Defenders in Minnesota are not drowning in cases.   Guests: Bill Ward, Chief Public Defender, Minnesota     Resources: Minnesota Public Defender Website https://www.pubdef.state.mn.us/ Minnesota Public Defender Twitter https://x.com/mnbdpubdefense Bill Ward Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-ward-a0aa4024/?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pubdef.state.mn.us%2F       Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by long time Capital Defender, Sharon Turlington. Today, the two discuss cases that bookended Sharon's career in Missouri. Both cases involved an in the weeds evidentiary rule that prohibits testimony that points to the guilt of a person who is not on trial. In one of her earliest cases, this rule kept the jury from hearing that a third party ADMITTED TO COMMITING THE CRIME IN QUESITON. In her last case, it kept the jury from hearing that FIVE people pointed to another person who had far more evidence pointing his direction. Together with the episodes from the past two days, this episode highlights the many ways the deck is stacked against criminal defendants.   Guests: Sharon Turlington, Long Time Capital Public Defender, Missouri Resources: The Cases State v Malik Nettles ED74494 (1999) https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/mo-court-of-appeals/1163320.html State v Kylr Yust WD84633 (2023) https://law.justia.com/cases/missouri/court-of-appeals/2023/wd84633.html   Contact Sharon sharonturlington@icloud.com     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by Jason Gain, a West Virginia Post Conviction defense attorney. On this episode, the two continue the miniseries covering the dangers of convictions secured through uncorroborated evidence. This time, we discuss the recent victory that Jason secured for his client, Lamont Dees. After more than five years of incarceration, Mr. Dees was freed because his conviction was secured thanks to the help of one cop's perjury, his attorneys ineffective assistance of counsel, and the willingness of prosecutors to pursue cases based on uncorroborated witness statements. As is so often the case, compare how easy it is to put an innocent person away and how difficult it is to free an innocent person.     Guests: Jason Gain, Post Conviction Defense Attorney, West Virginia     Resources: Read About Mr. Dees story https://www.loshmountainlegal.com/post/dees-freed-habeas-win-in-west-virginia Contact Jason https://www.loshmountainlegal.com/contact     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by Eric Tindal, a criminal defense attorney in Iowa. Today's discussion focuses on the question, how much evidence does it take to convict someone. Specifically, Hunter and Eric discussed how a single uncorroborated testimony can be sufficient to secure a conviction. This episode kicks off a miniseries comparing what evidence is perfectly fine for prosecutors to rely on and what evidence is barred from even being heard when the defense wants to use it.     Guests: Eric Tindal, Criminal Defense Attorney, Iowa     Resources: Email Eric eric@keeganlegal.com   Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by Lenora Easter, a candidate for the Public Defender position in Orange and Osceola Counties. As a former Bronx Defender and member of Partners for Justice, Lenora understands the importance of a holistic defense practice. In her adopted home of Orange and Osceola Counties, Lenora sees an absence of that holistic practice and a loud voice in the community as a short coming of the current Public Defender practice. By becoming the elected Public Defender for the circuit, Lenora hopes to inject Public Defense with a fresh slate of ideas, programs, and energy needed to revitalize Public Defense.     Guests: Lenora Easter, Candidate for Public Defender of the 9th Judicial District, Orange and Osceola County, FL   Resources: Lenora Easter Website https://www.lenoraeaster.com/ Lenora Easter Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lenoraeasterforpublicdefender/ Register to Vote Florida https://registertovoteflorida.gov/home   Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by two amazing guests from the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Vic Walczak and Veronica Miller join the show to discuss the newest ACLU lawsuit being brought against Pennsylvania for its failure to adequately fund public defense. As we heard last week on the show, things in Pennsylvania Public Defense are failing because of Pennsylvania utterly failing to meet its obligations as a state to fund Public Defense, but why sue now? After all, under Governor Shapiro, the state has allocated its first money towards Public Defense ever. As you will here today, this lawsuit has been a long time coming, and hopefully, with it will come the types of overhaul necessary to ensure the promise of Gideon is fulfilled in Pennsylvania.     Guests: Vic Walczak, Legal Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania Veronica Miller, Senior Policy Counsel for Criminal Legal Reform, ACLU of Pennsylvania     Resources: ACLU of PA Twitter: https://x.com/aclupa Website: https://www.aclupa.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aclupa YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/aclupa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aclupa/ Complaint: https://www.aclupa.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/warren_v_commonwealth_petition_for_review_-_final.pdf Read more about the case: https://www.aclupa.org/en/defenders UPenn Study: https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/16737-significant-public-defender-shortage 2011 Report: http://jsg.legis.state.pa.us/resources/documents/ftp/publications/2011-265-indigent%20defense.pdf Law Suit Against Luzerne County https://www.aclupa.org/en/cases/kuren-v-luzerne-county-formerly-flora-v-luzerne-county     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by journalist Andrew Pantazi to tell the story of Florida's worst Chief Public Defender, Matt Shirk. For more than a decade, Andrew and his colleagues have been covering the story of Shirk who served two terms as Jacksonville's elected public defender. During his time as the chief, Shirk oversaw a systemic practice of sexual harassment, drove out some his best attorneys and replaced them with his incompetent or unqualified friends, and attempted to get his juvenile client tried as an adult. Mercifully, Shirk was recently disbarred, but how did he come to this position, how did he stay there, why did it take so long for accountability to come, and ultimately, what does this say about public defense in Florida? All that and more in today's episode!   Guests: Andrew Pantazi, Editor, The Tributary, Jacksonville, Florida     Resources: Tributary Website https://jaxtrib.org/ Follow Andrew on Twitter https://x.com/apantazi?lang=en Coverage of Matt Shirk https://jaxtrib.org/2024/03/14/former-jacksonville-public-defender-matt-shirk-disbarred/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2017/01/01/public-defender-matt-shirk-had-lowest-paid-attorneys-paid-friends-generously/15737626007/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2016/08/24/matt-shirks-top-assistant-has-been-ineffective-four-times-raising/15722013007/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2019/08/01/former-jacksonville-public-defender-matt-shirk-gave-away-guns-money-after-failed-reelection/4546395007/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/22/public-defender-matt-shirk-has-moved-scandals-and-hopes-voters-have-too/15721761007/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/politics/elections/local/2018/12/21/more-than-five-years-after-his-scandals-matt-shirk-still-hasnt-faced-any-discipline/6576816007/ https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/politics/2013/08/25/stub-295/15818394007/   Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by three Public Defenders from the state of Pennsylvania to get a feel for how Public Defense is fairing outside of the Philadelphia. Autumn Johnson, Sara Jacobsen, and Samuel Encarnacion join the show to discuss what's happening in Mercer County, Lancaster County, and around the state. Recently, Pennsylvania dedicated its first ever state level funding for Public Defense, but is it too little too late? With a new ACLU lawsuit having just dropped, it will be interesting how the state responds to the crisis of Public Defense in Pennsylvania?     Guests: Sara Jacobsen, Executive Director, Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania Samuel Encarnacion, First Assistant Public Defender, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Autumn Johnson, Chief Public Defender, Mercer County, Pennsylvania     Resources: UPenn Public Defender Study https://www.law.upenn.edu/live/news/16737-significant-public-defender-shortage PDAP https://www.papublicdefenders.com/ Email Sara  sara.jacobson@temple.edu Email Autumn aljohnson@mercercountypa.gov Email Sam encarnas@lancastercountypa.gov     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by three members of the Bronx Defenders Union, Tyler Johnson, Katerine Azcona, and Marlene Marte. This episode comes on the heels of the Bronx Defenders Union authorizing a strike starting July 1. Over the past several months, the union and leadership have been unable to come to terms on a contract, and now, we could see the first strike in NY Public Defense since 1993. What is driving it? Why has the union reached this point? All that and more on today's episode!   Guests: Tyler Johnson, Legal Advocate, Civil Action Practice, Bronx Defenders Marlene Marte, Immigration Legal Advocate, Bronx Defenders Katherine Azcona, Staff Attorney, Family Defense, Bronx Defenders   Resources: BxD Union Twitter https://x.com/BxDUnion?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor BxD Union Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bxdunion/?hl=en  If you'd like to support the Bronx Defender's Union while they strike, you can donate here    https://givebutter.com/communitystrikefund    Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by Brooke Burns and Angela Chang, two Ohio Public Defenders working tirelessly to stop the return of the “Super Predator” myth. Over the past 40 years, the language has changed, but the outcome has remained the same: our communities have responded to real and perceived rises in crime by policing and incarcerating certain groups of young people. That practice is alive and well in Ohio, but with the work of people like Brooke and Angela, communities have a shot at creating accountability systems for kids that do not rely on the criminal legal system.     Guests: Angela Chang, Director of Youth Defense Division, Hamilton County, Ohio Brooke Burns, Managing Counsel, Youth Defense, Ohio Public Defender Resources: Ohio Office of the Public Defender https://opd.ohio.gov/ Hamilton County Public Defender https://www.hamiltoncountypd.org/ https://www.instagram.com/hamcopubdef/?locale=kk-KZ Coverage of the Killing of Tavion Koonce-Williams https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-police-release-body-camera-video-officer-shooting-15-year-old-boy-rcna147023     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter sat down for a powerful conversation with Scarlett Lewis. Scarlett's son Jesse Lewis was one of the children murdered in the Sandy Hook school shooting. In the wake of this tragedy, Scarlett grappled with the grief, sadness, and anger that any person would face. Yet, Scarlett wanted to choose a different path than anger. So Scarlett founded the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement with the goal of teaching children social-emotional learning strategies to try and address violence at its roots.   Guests: Scarlett Lewis, Founder, Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement     Resources: Choose Love Movement Socials https://chooselovemovement.org/ https://x.com/ChooseLoveM https://www.facebook.com/JLChooseLove https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-jesse-lewis-choose-love-foundation/ https://www.instagram.com/chooselovemovement/ https://www.youtube.com/user/chooselovefoundation Contact Scarlett https://x.com/scarlettmlewis?lang=en A GOP Texas school board member campaigned against schools indoctrinating kids. Then she read the curriculum. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *Any Comments made by Myself are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined by Chesa Boudin, the former District Attorney of San Francisco, to discuss his transition from public defender to prosecutor and the challenges he faced in trying to make systemic change. He shares examples of cases where he felt limited in his ability to create meaningful impact as a public defender, leading him to pursue a career in prosecution. Boudin also discusses the difficulties of implementing progressive policies within a prosecutor's office, including the resistance from the old guard and the limitations imposed by labor rules. They highlight how police departments and unions can undermine democracy at the local level and the challenges faced by progressive prosecutors. The discussion also touches on the difficulty of messaging and getting voters on board with criminal justice reform.   Guests: Chesa Boudin, Executive Director, Criminal Law and Justice Center, Berkley Law   Resources: Chesa's Faculty Page https://www.law.berkeley.edu/our-faculty/faculty-profiles/chesa-boudin/ Follow Chesa on Twitter https://x.com/chesaboudin?lang=en Eric Salwell on Prosecutors https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/this-is-not-normal-swalwell-calls-out-soft-on-violent-crime-prosecutors-in-tweet/ Reports on Crime in California https://www.cjcj.org/reports-publications?page=4       Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter sat down with Eric Whitcher, Director of the Pennington County Public Defender Office. Until recently, South Dakota and Pennsylvania shared the inglorious distinction of being the last two states in the country to provide 0 dollars towards public defense at the state level. Finally after years of advocacy, it appears South Dakota is about to change that. Eric joins the show to discuss the statewide commission that is primed to start a massive overhaul of the Public Defense delivery in the state.     Guests: Eric Whitcher, Director, Pennington County Public Defense, South Dakota Resources: Pennington County Public Defender Website https://www.pennco.org/pdo Eric's Linked in https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-whitcher-07b9aa295?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F HB 1057 https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/24943 Task Force Report https://ujs.sd.gov/uploads/committees/Indigent/ILSTaskForceFinalReportRecommendations.pdf       Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter sat down with once again with Travis Finck, the Executive Director of the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents. This time, we discuss the precarious place that Public Defense is in the state. With major staffing shortfalls, the full time Public Defenders have massive vacancy rates, and with low contract pay, there are only so many private counsels willing to take on attorneys. What can be done to avert a crisis?  Hopefully it starts with the legislatures recent realization that there just might be a crisis if they continue to do nothing.   Guests: Travis Finck, Executive Director, North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents Resources: Link to Legislative Meeting with Video, Presentation and Report (video starts at 2:28) https://ndlegis.gov/events/2024/03/07/judiciary-committee News Coverage of the Issues https://northdakotamonitor.com/2024/03/14/public-defenders-underpaid-overworked-north-dakota-report-says/ https://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-regional/crime-courts/public-defenders-underpaid-overworked-north-dakota-report-says/article_76910028-f819-11ee-a575-8f6da532994a.html ND CLCI Website https://www.indigents.nd.gov/     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter sat down with Grant Miller a Utah Public Defender running for Utah House District 24. Throughout the course of the show, Hunter and numerous guests have discussed the importance of getting the public defender experience into legislatures around the country. Part of the reason our laws are so skewed towards police and prosecutors is because police and prosecutors drastically outnumber the public defenders in the legislature. Grant aims to change that with a campaign that revolves around injecting the humanity that public defenders use in their daily fights for their clients.   Guests: Grant Miller, Public Defender and Candidate for Utah House District 24, Salt Lake City Resources: Grants Contacts and Websites https://www.grantmillerforhouse24.com/ https://www.instagram.com/grantistheguy/ https://x.com/grantistheguy_ https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-miller-955700b0/ Secure a Ballot in Utah https://vote.utah.gov/learn-about-voting-by-mail-and-absentee-voting/ Election Day Vote Centers Salt Lake City https://slco.org/clerk/elections/voting-in-person/election-day-vote-centers/   Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *As a reminder, any statements made on the show do not reflect the views or policies of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Summary In this episode, Mike Willis and Debbie Blyth discuss a cyber attack on the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the crisis management response to it. The attack occurred in February 2018 and affected CDOT's systems, including HR, payroll, contractor payment, variable message signs, toll collection, and more. The attack was initiated through a misconfigured virtual server in public cloud infrastructure, which allowed the attackers to gain access to the CDOT domain. The response involved the collaboration between CDOT, the Colorado Office of Emergency Management, and the Colorado National Guard. The National Guard was mobilized through a state emergency declaration by Governor Hickenlooper. The conversation highlights the importance of collaboration and trust in crisis management. The establishment of a unified command and the use of incident management teams were key in coordinating the response. Nutrition and hydration were prioritized to ensure the well-being and performance of the response team. The joint information center played a crucial role in managing public and internal messaging. Emergency purchasing and tracking were supported by the Office of Emergency Management. Lessons from this incident can be applied to the corporate sector, emphasizing the need for cybersecurity and crisis management teams to work together. Takeaways The cyber attack on CDOT was initiated through a misconfigured virtual server in public cloud infrastructure. The attack affected various systems and operations within CDOT, causing significant disruption. The response involved collaboration between CDOT, the Colorado Office of Emergency Management, and the Colorado National Guard. The National Guard was mobilized through a state emergency declaration by Governor Hickenlooper. Collaboration and trust are foundational in crisis management. Establishing a unified command and using incident management teams help coordinate the response. Prioritizing nutrition and hydration improves the performance of the response team. A joint information center is crucial for managing public and internal messaging. Emergency purchasing and tracking are important for cost assessment and accountability. Lessons from this incident can be applied to the corporate sector, emphasizing the need for collaboration between cybersecurity and crisis management teams. Contact Information Debbi Blyth https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-blyth/ Mike Willis https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigadier-general-ret-michael-willis-a8b49a37/

Today, Hunter sat down with Duci Goncalves and Lael Chester to discuss how Massachusetts has started to reimagine how the criminal legal system treats emerging adults. As most of us remember, we didn't always make the best choices as children, and that questionable decision making didn't just improve the moment we turned 18. Yet in the criminal legal system, 18 is treated as a magic number where suddenly we assume you are a fully developed adult. With new brain science, we understand that 18 is not some magic number, and those between the ages of 18-25 still have a developing brain. To adhere to our understanding of modern brain science, Massachusetts is setting out on a new path to how the legal system handles emerging adult offenders.   Guests: Duci Goncalves, Deputy Chief Counsel, Youth Advocacy Division, Committee For Public Counsel Services, Massachusetts Lael Chester, Director, Emerging Adult Justice Project, Columbia University Justice Lab   Resources: Lael's Faculty Page https://justicelab.columbia.edu/people/lael-chester Massachusetts Changes LWOP for Emerging Adults https://www.bostonpoliticalreview.org/post/mass-supreme-court-raises-life-without-parole-sentencing-from-18-to-21#:~:text=January%2015%2C%202024%2C%20marked%20a,sent%20waves%20throughout%20the%20nation. Commonwealth v Robinson https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ma-supreme-judicial-court/115703587.html Commonwealth v Mattis https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/ma-supreme-judicial-court/115703895.html Emerging Adult Innovation with CPCS a) Website page on the national EAJ Developmental Framework project: https://www.eajustice.org/ea-developmental-framework b) Announcement of the launch of the project: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c6458c07788975dfd586d90/t/642b478230438b045ee02455/1680557954756/Columbia+Justice+Lab+Announcement+of+EAJ+Innovation+Sites+3.31.23.pdf c) JJIE article: https://jjie.org/2023/05/11/1442839/ Emerging Adult Information https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2021/07/22/reimagine-juvenile-justice-emerging-adults-gen-z/ideas/essay/ Raise the Age Campaign  https://www.raisetheagema.org/   Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN  *Any Comments made by Myself are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Today, Hunter is joined once again by University of Michigan Professor of Law Eve Primus. So far, Eve and Hunter have discussed Public Defender Systems, Structures, and how Law Schools can do better at getting students interested in Public Defense. However, today's conversation is focused on her upcoming law review article about how courts around the country have eroded the famous Miranda warnings and what we can do about it.        Guests: Eve Primus, Professor of Law, University of Michigan     Resources:   The State[s] of Confession Law in a Post-Miranda World:  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4742148   The Future of Confession Law: Toward Rules for the Voluntariness Test:  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2540302     Contact Hunter Parnell:                                             Publicdefenseless@gmail.com  Instagram @PublicDefenselessPodcast Twitter                                                                 @PDefenselessPod www.publicdefenseless.com  Subscribe to the Patron www.patreon.com/PublicDefenselessPodcast  Donate on PayPal https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5KW7WMJWEXTAJ Donate on Stripe https://donate.stripe.com/7sI01tb2v3dwaM8cMN    *Any Comments made by Myself are mine and mine alone and do not reflect the views of the Colorado Office of the State Public Defender*

Eve Lieberman is the Executive Director of The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) creates a positive business climate that encourages dynamic economic development and sustainable job growth. We advance the state's economy through financial and technical programs under the leadership of the Governor and Executive Director. Their mission is to empower all to thrive in Colorado's economy. On this episode of A Seat at the Table, Eve discusses her own personal journey which started in Washington, DC where she worked for then Representative Jared Polis and then compelled her to relocate to Colorado to work under the now Governor. She talks about what draws her to work in government and politics, the work of OEDIT, her successes, how she views the future and much more.  Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. Rate, review and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. For more of our events, podcasts, and news, please visit the Colorado Business Roundtable website. Eve Lieberman was appointed by the Governor to serve as the Executive Director of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade on January 2nd, 2023. Prior to that, she had served as the Chief Policy Advisor and Legislative Counsel for Governor Jared Polis for all four years of his first term. She managed the legislative policy and federal affairs teams and oversaw many successful Governor priorities, including the passage of Free Full Day Kindergarten, the implementation of universal preschool, historic investments in transportation, and economic recovery programs. 

“The one thing that I always say about modular is that it's a blessing and a curse…for a successful modular project you have to work through so many things before the project can begin…The blessing is that you know what it's going to cost if you effectively work through all those things...You have a lot more work to do, but if it's done the right way you can hit that budget.” Join Devon this week as we talk about modular home building in Colorado with Nathan Peterson of Vederra! Nathan Peterson is the CEO and Founder of Vederra Modular. Vederra Modular is a new 140,000 sqft modular housing factory in Aurora Colorado dedicated to supporting the affordable housing organizations in Colorado. Vederra recently received a funding award from the State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade.  Nathan has been a fixture in the modular home industry in Colorado since 2005. Over that time, he has built one of the states largest modular dealerships and development companies utilizing modular technology. Since 2005, Colorado Modular Homes has completed over $250 Million dollars in modular housing projects all over Colorado. In addition to this retail business, Mr. Peterson currently has over 140,000 ft2 of affordable housing projects in various stages of development.  Nathan is well versed in all aspects of real estate development and modular construction techniques, holding Class A, B, and C general contracting licenses. Nathan holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and has an MBA in Finance and Accounting. He has been appointed to the Division of Housing's rule making committee for modular industry oversight for the past 10 years. and was appointed by Governor Polis to the Board of Directors at Colorado Housing and Finance Authority where he served as Vice Chair, additionally he served as Chairman of Credit Unit of the Rockies for over 7 years . He has a passion for creative housing solutions and helping those underserved and disadvantaged communities in Colorado.

For America's states and municipalities, 2024 is likely to bring long-awaited relief from inflation and higher interest rates while presenting challenges—and not just because it's a presidential election year. States, cities, and counties will have to contend with the imminent end of $350 billion in federal pandemic budget aid even as the revenue boom of recent years cools and the need for increased spending to ameliorate the risks of a changing climate put pressure on infrastructure spending. Listen in as our panel of experts discuss strategies that state and local governments are adopting to meet these challenges. Our panel of experts includes Clarence Anthony, CEO and executive director, National League of Cities; Mayor Kim Norton of Rochester, Minnesota; Mark Ferrandino, director, Colorado Office of State Planning and Budgeting; Eric Kim, senior director, Fitch Ratings; and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Notable Quotes: “There is a lot on the plates of local leaders, but city leaders are also resilient and optimistic, and they're determined to build their communities back better than ever before, in tandem with their state and federal partners.” - Clarence Anthony “Obviously, there are lots of risks… there are things that can go off the rails, but I will say that for the first time in a long time, the risks are more symmetric.” - Mark Zandi “We're a town of about 124,000 people and we're home in Minnesota to the state's largest employer, which is the Mayo Clinic, and we are pleased to say that our local economy has rebounded fairly well from the pandemic.” - Mayor Kim Norton “We definitely see some headwinds in terms of revenue for the next year, but long term, we see continued growth. We also see the demand on those revenues and the demand on the state government to just continue to grow.” - Mark Ferrandino “In December, our economics team published its quarterly global economic outlook. And as we were just talking about, 2023 was a surprisingly good year. So good, in fact, that Fitch took off its recession forecast for 2024 in our last update, [and] we were one of those many in the consensus that we're expecting a recession, but we've pulled back on that.” - Eric Kim Be sure to subscribe to Special Briefing to stay up to date on the world of public finance. Learn more about the Volcker Alliance at: volckeralliance.org Learn more about Penn IUR at: penniur.upenn.edu Connect with us @VolckerAlliance and @PennIUR on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Special Briefing is published by the Volcker Alliance, as part of its Public Finance initiatives, and Penn IUR. The views expressed on this podcast are those of the panelists and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Volcker Alliance or Penn IUR.

Guest: Leora Joseph Director The Colorado Office of Behavioral Health oversees over 1,000 cases of child physical abuse and neglect. It also administers the states two mental health hospitals. One principal focus of the office is in the area of mental health and the criminal justice system and youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health challenges. This program goes inside the system and how it is making things better.

Guest: Leora Joseph Director The Colorado Office of Behavioral Health oversees over 1,000 cases of child physical abuse and neglect. It also administers the states two mental health hospitals. One principal focus of the office is in the area of mental health and the criminal justice system and youth in the juvenile justice system with mental health challenges. This program goes inside the system and how it is making things better.

I speak with Leora Joseph, mother of three, wife and career prosecutor who oversees the Colorado Office of Civil and Forensic Mental Health.  Leora has been the Chief of Staff in the Colorado Attorney General's office, managing attorney and law enforcement teams, special victim's, and human trafficking units and she has worked with over 1,000 victims of sexual abuse, and sex trafficking.  Her experiences helped her identify gaps within the legal and criminal justice systems where limited access to mental healthcare and stigma often trap those needing care within a loop of prosecution and incarceration.  Leora is subsequently running for office as Denver's District Attorney with a vision of balancing treatment for chronic mental illness with victim's advocacy, restorative justice and public awareness to help improve a complex legal system. We discuss the challenges facing healthcare and law enforcement amidst the current mental health crisis and the imperative of maintaining compassion, perspective and gratitude to continue the work of service. Please Leora's journey and support her Denver District Attorney by sending donations to her candidacy at https://www.leorafordistrictattorney.com/ Thanks for listening to and supporting our podcast!  Please follow the podcast in Instagram: @thegritwithdrbenpeery Please reach out to with any feedback to: @drben0636 on Instagram. Check out these resources from previous podcast guests for assistance with tracking your mental health, and reaching out for therapeutic assistance: 1. Jonathan Wilson and INVI MindHealth have developed an App using smart watch technology to track your daily mental health wellness: https://www.invimh.com/ 2. From Raul Rivas and his Trauma Behind the Badge podcast episode he shared the inline resource therapy resource: https://www.lighthousehw.org/ Available on the App Store or on Google Play.  Lighthouse Health & Wellness is an in-hand, on-demand, 100% confidential health and wellness platform available at no cost to our nation's public safety agencies. Lighthouse was designed to provide your employees and their families anonymous access to your agency's existing health and wellness programs, along with a growing library of the latest educational health and wellness information and tools that have been tailored to the unique needs of those working in public safety.      

Patty Salazar is the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA). DORA is the state's umbrella regulatory agency, charged with managing licensing and registration for multiple professions and businesses, implementing balanced regulation for Colorado industries, and protecting consumers. As DORA's Executive Director, she leads a Department of roughly 600 employees with a $120 million budget, and provides support to DORA's 10 distinct divisions, as well as the Colorado Office of Policy, Research and Regulatory Reform (COPRRR), the Broadband Deployment Board, and the communications, legislative and operational services located within the Executive Director's Office.  On this episode of A Seat at the Table with Debbie Brown, Patty shares additional insights into the agency, her own personal journey, why the agency is important to all Coloradans, and more. She sits at a unique intersection of business, regulation, and consumer protection that is sometimes overlooked by the public. Her insights are tremendous, and the conversation varied and engaging. Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. Rate, review and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. For more of our events, podcasts, and news, please visit the Colorado Business Roundtable website.

What happens when a neuroscientist, turned Employee #1 at one of the country's first cannabis brands, takes on a government role?  Find out on this episode of Proud to Work in Cannabis with host Karson Humiston, Vangst's Founder & CEO, featuring special guest Tristan Watkins, Program Manager at Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. In this episode, Watkins walks listeners through how he made the leap from neuroscience to being the first employee at LucidMoon, a cannabis brand established in 2015, and then selling that business and working in the Denver Cannabis Business Office. With inside perspective into every step of building a cannabis business, this is a must-listen episode.  Produce By PodConxKarson Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karson-humiston-64572b97/Tristan Watkins  https://oedit.colorado.gov/tristan-watkinsVangst - https://vangst.com/Recorded on Squadcast

Song playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod's Talking Politics, every Monday.Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up. Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels. No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.Alright! Let's get into it: NEVADA CURRENT:Get insurance while the gettin' is goodOpen enrollment for health insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act in Nevada, and nationwide for that matter, ends on Jan 15. It's anticipated to be the largest enrollment in the state's history.Across the U.S. nearly three in four people enrolled through the marketplace receive health care coverage that's subsidized — the highest rate since the ACA was implemented.A Biden administration spokesperson said “Nevada Health Link had a record-setting enrollment last year and with the expanded help of the Inflation Reduction Act, and we look forward to even more Nevadans finding quality, affordable health care for 2023,”  In 2022, enrollment hit record highs nationally and in Nevada, when 101,411 people signed up for coverage during open enrollment in the state, aided by subsidy enhancements in the American Rescue Plan Act. Those savings amount to an average of $4,494 for a middle-class family of four in Nevada.“The more enrolled we see, the healthier Nevada is,” said Katie Charleson, the communications officer at Silver State Health Insurance Exchange.But while more people are getting access to health care than ever before, systemic barriers are still making it harder for some populations to get coverage. Americans who have a high school education or less, are Hispanic, live in rural areas, or lack internet access at home are disproportionately underrepresented in the subsidized marketplace plans despite being eligible, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.For individuals who get enrolled in January, your coverage will begin February 1st, go to healthcare.gov to get insured. SOURCE NM:Congress green-lights NM plan to further tap the land grant fund for public educationA few lines in the 4,000-page budget bill recently signed by President Biden will mean hundreds of millions more in funding for New Mexico's public school students each year. Last year, voters in N.M. overwhelmingly approved pulling an additional 1.25% from the state's multi-billion dollar Land Grant Permanent Fund, for education, each year. But because the fund was initially set up by Congress back when New Mexico first became a state, the shift in funds required Congress to sign off.In the next fiscal year in New Mexico, over $200 million will be disbursed out of a pool of money that's fed by revenue from oil, gas and mineral extraction on state-owned lands. Over half of the funds are destined for the state's early childhood education system, as it hires more staff and works to reach all corners of the state, providing free or low-cost child care and pre-kindergarten schooling.  U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said “When we improve our education and child care system, we also make our state a better place to raise a family, to start or expand a business, to find a good-paying job, and to hire the best and brightest employees,”The rest of the fresh funding will go to K-12 public education, beefing up instruction for students who are at-risk, making the school year longer and paying teachers better.Advocates say infusing public education with much-needed resources will go a long way toward putting New Mexico into compliance with a court order to provide equitable education to all of the state's students, including those who are Indigenous, come from families with low incomes, have disabilities, or who are learning English.  according to the judge's ruling in the Yazzie-Martinez case, Those students have historically not received the quality of education they have a right to under the New Mexico ConstitutionThe effort to further tap the oil and gas funds for public schools in New Mexico has spanned years. With President Biden's approval, it will finally cross the finish line.COLORADO NEWSLINE:Trump attorney Jenna Ellis of Colorado under investigation for alleged misconduct.Jenna Ellis, the Colorado attorney who represented former President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn the 2020 election, is under investigation by the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.Ellis has been the target of formal complaints regarding what critics characterized as her professional misconduct connected to Trump's effort to reverse the results of a free and fair election. In May a complaint from the States United Democracy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, asked Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel Jessica Yates to investigate Ellis for multiple alleged violations of professional rules and impose possible “substantial professional discipline.”In the final report of the U.S. House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, Ellis is described as the deputy to Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani, The complaint says “Ellis made numerous public misrepresentations alleging fraud in the election — even as federal and state election officials repeatedly found that no fraud had occurred that could have altered the outcome and even as Mr. Trump and his allies brought and lost over 60 lawsuits claiming election fraud or illegality.”Among the many alleged instances of misconduct the complaint cites, it notes that Ellis urged lawmakers in various swing states to intervene on Trump's behalf and even certify false electors for Trump, and it says she drafted dishonest memos purporting to give legal rationale for then-Vice President Mike Pence to block the congressional electoral count on Jan. 6, 2021. In a deposition Ellis gave to the Jan. 6 committee in March, a transcript of which the committee released this week, she indicates that Colorado is the only state where she has bar membership. During the deposition a questioner referred to a $22,500 invoice Ellis submitted to Trump for work she performed in December 2020 and January 2021. Ellis invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to answer whether she received payment.CHALKBEAT COLORADO:How to fund Colorado schools in ways that reflect student needs. How to open college opportunities to more students. How to narrow pandemic learning gaps, especially in math.When Colorado lawmakers convene Jan. 9, they'll have pressing education issues to address, competing needs to balance, and a tricky budget to navigate.Expect bills that seek to address youth mental health, school safety, and teacher shortages. Lawmakers could find bipartisan agreement on efforts to improve math instruction and better connect higher education and job opportunities. But debates over rewriting the school finance formula and overhauling the school accountability system could divide Democrats.For a fifth session, Democrats will control both chambers and the governor's office. They grew their majorities in November's election. The Colorado General Assembly will be full of new members, many from the progressive wing of the party, potentially introducing new political dynamics.At the same time, lawmakers with a long history of engagement on education issues have moved into leadership positions. Members of a special committee on school finance, for example, now lead the House Democrats, the Senate Republicans, and the powerful Joint Budget Committee. The House Education Committee has at least four former teachers, a former school board member, and members with experience in mental health and higher education administration.Colorado economists expect the state to have more money in its 2023-24 budget, but inflation will play an outsize role controlling spending. And the risk of a recession could diminish revenue. Questions of short-term uncertainty and long-term sustainability will affect K-12 and higher education.Here are seven issues we'll be watching in the 2023 legislative session:Is this the year? The interim committee on school finance has been trying for five years to rewrite a decades-old school finance formula that nearly everyone agrees is unfair.The current formula sometimes sends more money to well-off districts than to ones serving more students in poverty, and no school district wants to get less than they get now. Bret Miles, head of the Colorado Association of School Executives, said his members would object to a formula rewrite that “takes from one school district to give it to another.”State Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said one of her priorities will be developing a “hold-harmless” provision for the new formula. Fewer students and higher local property tax revenues take some pressure off state education funding obligations. Lawmakers could use that cushion, she said, then phase in a new formula to ensure no district gets less than it does now.Brenda Dickhoner, president and CEO of the conservative education advocacy group Ready Colorado, expects Republicans to push their own priorities for school finance, which means more focus on money following students and less concern for the impact on district budgets.Dickhoner said she hopes all sides are “at the table thinking about how we can more equitably fund our students and really get to a student-focused formula.”State and national test data show that students' math skills took a bigger hit from pandemic learning disruptions than did reading. Right now, Colorado doesn't have the tools to address it.House Education Chair Barbara McLachlan said she's working with Gov. Jared Polis' office on legislation that would better train teachers on best practices in math instruction and make training available to parents so they can better support their children.In his November budget letter, Polis called on lawmakers to ensure that every school district adopts high-quality instructional materials and training and gets all students back on track in math.How to improve math skills also remains a priority for conservatives. Dickhoner said her organization is looking to higher-performing states for ideas.The push comes after years of intense focus on improving reading scores. Expect the debate over the math bills to mirror ones about reading instruction, including how much the state should be involved in setting curriculum.Last year Colorado flirted with fully funding its K-12 system after years of holding back money for other budget priorities. But a last-minute deal to reduce property tax increases would have reduced state revenues, and Democrat lawmakers held back.Getting more funding for schools is always a top priority for the Colorado Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, but wiping out the withholding known as the budget stabilization factor and fully funding Colorado schools are unlikely to happen this year.Colorado will have less money overall after voters approved two ballot measures — one lowering the income tax rate and the other setting aside money for affordable housing. That shouldn't cut into budgetary spending, but will reduce the buffer the state has in case of an emergency.Zenzinger said it's important to increase K-12 spending and that lawmakers hope to do better than the $9.1 billion proposed by Polis in his budget recommendation.But budget writers also have their eye on long-term sustainability and any future recession.The picture is different for higher education, which has to fight for scraps. Polis wants to increase university budgets and financial aid by 6.8%. Schools are expected to make a case for more funding, especially to keep tuition low and because inflation exceeds that.Metropolitan State University of Denver President Janine Davidson said the school will seek more investment from lawmakers. Programs to help students from low-income backgrounds or who are the first to go to college in their family are costly, she said. And the state funds schools with a lower share than it did 30 years ago.Lawmakers also may address how to ensure students can get to and stay in college.Elaine Berman, Colorado Trustees Network chair, said college board members want more support for students who need skills or credentials for in-demand jobs. School trustees want more funds to build partnerships with businesses and communities to better connect college degrees to jobs, she said.Lawmakers also may explore how to make it easier for students to get college and workforce skills earlier, including extending opportunities in college and vocational schools.The Colorado Community College System also wants more college options for incarcerated people. The federal government will begin to allow those students access to federal grants, and the system wants the state to prepare for the changes. It's also a priority for Representative-elect Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista, who led Adams State University's prison education program.“I think it's time that we really boost up education for this population,” Martinez said.Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Higher Education has a small agenda starting with removing military draft questions from college enrollment applications, which colleges report stops some students from enrolling.Advocacy groups plan to ask lawmakers to make filling out the FAFSA a requirement to graduate. That's the federal application for financial aid, and each year Colorado students who don't finish the form leave behind almost $30 million in federal grants. Plus students who fill out the FAFSA are more likely to go to college, according to research.“We want to make sure that we get it right,” said Kyra DeGruy Kennedy, Rocky Mountain region director for the advocacy group Young Invincibles. “And so if that means we have to wait another year, we'll totally wait another year, but we are hopeful that this is a year that we'll be able to make some progress on it.”The top priority of CASE, the school executives group, is convening a task force to consider changes to the school accountability system. They will press this even though a recent audit found that the system is largely “reasonable and appropriate” and that most schools receiving state intervention improve.Miles said the system still hurts school districts that receive low ratings called turnaround and priority improvement, even if the intentions are good.“It's terrific that they make a difference,” he said of the state teams that work with schools with low test scores. “It doesn't change the fact that it's harder to hire in a turnaround school than a performance school” — the schools that meet state academic goals.Jen Walmer, state director of Democrats for Education Reform, said she expects any reform to be contentious, with debate about the makeup of the task force and the scope of its work — as well as whether Colorado needs a change at all.ARIZONA MIRROR:Katie Hobbs officially became Arizona's governor on Monday, ushering in a new set of priorities and vision for the state and setting the stage for contentious battles with the GOP-controlled legislature.She was administered the oath of office by Roopali Desai, a friend and former attorney who became a federal judge in 2022. Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel administered the oaths of office for Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Democratic Attorney General Kris MayesThe ascension of Hobbs to governor and the victories of Fontes and Mayes marks the first time since 1975 that Democrats have controlled the top three statewide posts. With it comes a new approach to governing that was immediately on display.Just hours after taking the oath of office, Hobbs issued an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination in state agencies and requiring them to adopt anti-discrimination policies. By contrast, when Ducey assumed office in 2015, his first action was an executive order aimed at making it more difficult for state agencies to create regulations.Hobbs campaigned on protecting abortion rights, funding public schools and making permanent programs like a child tax credit that would disproportionately benefit low- and middle-income families. “Today marks a new era in Arizona, where my Administration will work to build an Arizona for everyone,” Hobbs said in a written statement after being sworn in. “It's time for bold action and I feel ready as ever to get the job done. Let's get to work.”A public inauguration ceremony will be held at the state Capitol on Jan. 5.CONCERT PICK OF THE WEEK:Colter Wall, playing the Mission Ballroom in Denver, two nights, Thursday and Friday January 19th and 20th. Colter Wall and his music are from the prairies of southern Saskatchewan, where he lives and raises cattle. He sings traditionals known to most, historic reverie, and poignant originals, sure to be raising both goosebumps and beers throughout the evening.His tour kicks off a month-long tour with 3 dates in Ft Worth and New Braunfels Texas next week, then  Denver, Tulsa, OKC, St Louis, Memphis, Fayetteville AR, back to Dallas and finishing in Houston on Friday February 18. Colterwall.comWelp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today's show comes from the Nevada Current, Colorado Newsline, Source NM, Chalkbeat Colorado, Arizona Mirror and Denver's Westword.Thank you for listening! See you next time.

Song playsIntro by hostWelcome to High Country - politics in the American West. My name is Sean Diller; regular listeners might know me from Heartland Pod's Talking Politics, every Monday.Support this show and all the work in the Heartland POD universe by going to heartlandpod.com and clicking the link for Patreon, or go to Patreon.com/HeartlandPod to sign up. Membership starts at $1/month, with even more extra shows and special access at the higher levels. No matter the level you choose, your membership helps us create these independent shows as we work together to change the conversation.Alright! Let's get into it: NEVADA CURRENT:Get insurance while the gettin' is goodOpen enrollment for health insurance plans offered under the Affordable Care Act in Nevada, and nationwide for that matter, ends on Jan 15. It's anticipated to be the largest enrollment in the state's history.Across the U.S. nearly three in four people enrolled through the marketplace receive health care coverage that's subsidized — the highest rate since the ACA was implemented.A Biden administration spokesperson said “Nevada Health Link had a record-setting enrollment last year and with the expanded help of the Inflation Reduction Act, and we look forward to even more Nevadans finding quality, affordable health care for 2023,”  In 2022, enrollment hit record highs nationally and in Nevada, when 101,411 people signed up for coverage during open enrollment in the state, aided by subsidy enhancements in the American Rescue Plan Act. Those savings amount to an average of $4,494 for a middle-class family of four in Nevada.“The more enrolled we see, the healthier Nevada is,” said Katie Charleson, the communications officer at Silver State Health Insurance Exchange.But while more people are getting access to health care than ever before, systemic barriers are still making it harder for some populations to get coverage. Americans who have a high school education or less, are Hispanic, live in rural areas, or lack internet access at home are disproportionately underrepresented in the subsidized marketplace plans despite being eligible, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.For individuals who get enrolled in January, your coverage will begin February 1st, go to healthcare.gov to get insured. SOURCE NM:Congress green-lights NM plan to further tap the land grant fund for public educationA few lines in the 4,000-page budget bill recently signed by President Biden will mean hundreds of millions more in funding for New Mexico's public school students each year. Last year, voters in N.M. overwhelmingly approved pulling an additional 1.25% from the state's multi-billion dollar Land Grant Permanent Fund, for education, each year. But because the fund was initially set up by Congress back when New Mexico first became a state, the shift in funds required Congress to sign off.In the next fiscal year in New Mexico, over $200 million will be disbursed out of a pool of money that's fed by revenue from oil, gas and mineral extraction on state-owned lands. Over half of the funds are destined for the state's early childhood education system, as it hires more staff and works to reach all corners of the state, providing free or low-cost child care and pre-kindergarten schooling.  U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich said “When we improve our education and child care system, we also make our state a better place to raise a family, to start or expand a business, to find a good-paying job, and to hire the best and brightest employees,”The rest of the fresh funding will go to K-12 public education, beefing up instruction for students who are at-risk, making the school year longer and paying teachers better.Advocates say infusing public education with much-needed resources will go a long way toward putting New Mexico into compliance with a court order to provide equitable education to all of the state's students, including those who are Indigenous, come from families with low incomes, have disabilities, or who are learning English.  according to the judge's ruling in the Yazzie-Martinez case, Those students have historically not received the quality of education they have a right to under the New Mexico ConstitutionThe effort to further tap the oil and gas funds for public schools in New Mexico has spanned years. With President Biden's approval, it will finally cross the finish line.COLORADO NEWSLINE:Trump attorney Jenna Ellis of Colorado under investigation for alleged misconduct.Jenna Ellis, the Colorado attorney who represented former President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn the 2020 election, is under investigation by the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.Ellis has been the target of formal complaints regarding what critics characterized as her professional misconduct connected to Trump's effort to reverse the results of a free and fair election. In May a complaint from the States United Democracy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, asked Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel Jessica Yates to investigate Ellis for multiple alleged violations of professional rules and impose possible “substantial professional discipline.”In the final report of the U.S. House panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, Ellis is described as the deputy to Trump campaign lawyer Rudy Giuliani, The complaint says “Ellis made numerous public misrepresentations alleging fraud in the election — even as federal and state election officials repeatedly found that no fraud had occurred that could have altered the outcome and even as Mr. Trump and his allies brought and lost over 60 lawsuits claiming election fraud or illegality.”Among the many alleged instances of misconduct the complaint cites, it notes that Ellis urged lawmakers in various swing states to intervene on Trump's behalf and even certify false electors for Trump, and it says she drafted dishonest memos purporting to give legal rationale for then-Vice President Mike Pence to block the congressional electoral count on Jan. 6, 2021. In a deposition Ellis gave to the Jan. 6 committee in March, a transcript of which the committee released this week, she indicates that Colorado is the only state where she has bar membership. During the deposition a questioner referred to a $22,500 invoice Ellis submitted to Trump for work she performed in December 2020 and January 2021. Ellis invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to answer whether she received payment.CHALKBEAT COLORADO:How to fund Colorado schools in ways that reflect student needs. How to open college opportunities to more students. How to narrow pandemic learning gaps, especially in math.When Colorado lawmakers convene Jan. 9, they'll have pressing education issues to address, competing needs to balance, and a tricky budget to navigate.Expect bills that seek to address youth mental health, school safety, and teacher shortages. Lawmakers could find bipartisan agreement on efforts to improve math instruction and better connect higher education and job opportunities. But debates over rewriting the school finance formula and overhauling the school accountability system could divide Democrats.For a fifth session, Democrats will control both chambers and the governor's office. They grew their majorities in November's election. The Colorado General Assembly will be full of new members, many from the progressive wing of the party, potentially introducing new political dynamics.At the same time, lawmakers with a long history of engagement on education issues have moved into leadership positions. Members of a special committee on school finance, for example, now lead the House Democrats, the Senate Republicans, and the powerful Joint Budget Committee. The House Education Committee has at least four former teachers, a former school board member, and members with experience in mental health and higher education administration.Colorado economists expect the state to have more money in its 2023-24 budget, but inflation will play an outsize role controlling spending. And the risk of a recession could diminish revenue. Questions of short-term uncertainty and long-term sustainability will affect K-12 and higher education.Here are seven issues we'll be watching in the 2023 legislative session:Is this the year? The interim committee on school finance has been trying for five years to rewrite a decades-old school finance formula that nearly everyone agrees is unfair.The current formula sometimes sends more money to well-off districts than to ones serving more students in poverty, and no school district wants to get less than they get now. Bret Miles, head of the Colorado Association of School Executives, said his members would object to a formula rewrite that “takes from one school district to give it to another.”State Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, chair of the Joint Budget Committee, said one of her priorities will be developing a “hold-harmless” provision for the new formula. Fewer students and higher local property tax revenues take some pressure off state education funding obligations. Lawmakers could use that cushion, she said, then phase in a new formula to ensure no district gets less than it does now.Brenda Dickhoner, president and CEO of the conservative education advocacy group Ready Colorado, expects Republicans to push their own priorities for school finance, which means more focus on money following students and less concern for the impact on district budgets.Dickhoner said she hopes all sides are “at the table thinking about how we can more equitably fund our students and really get to a student-focused formula.”State and national test data show that students' math skills took a bigger hit from pandemic learning disruptions than did reading. Right now, Colorado doesn't have the tools to address it.House Education Chair Barbara McLachlan said she's working with Gov. Jared Polis' office on legislation that would better train teachers on best practices in math instruction and make training available to parents so they can better support their children.In his November budget letter, Polis called on lawmakers to ensure that every school district adopts high-quality instructional materials and training and gets all students back on track in math.How to improve math skills also remains a priority for conservatives. Dickhoner said her organization is looking to higher-performing states for ideas.The push comes after years of intense focus on improving reading scores. Expect the debate over the math bills to mirror ones about reading instruction, including how much the state should be involved in setting curriculum.Last year Colorado flirted with fully funding its K-12 system after years of holding back money for other budget priorities. But a last-minute deal to reduce property tax increases would have reduced state revenues, and Democrat lawmakers held back.Getting more funding for schools is always a top priority for the Colorado Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, but wiping out the withholding known as the budget stabilization factor and fully funding Colorado schools are unlikely to happen this year.Colorado will have less money overall after voters approved two ballot measures — one lowering the income tax rate and the other setting aside money for affordable housing. That shouldn't cut into budgetary spending, but will reduce the buffer the state has in case of an emergency.Zenzinger said it's important to increase K-12 spending and that lawmakers hope to do better than the $9.1 billion proposed by Polis in his budget recommendation.But budget writers also have their eye on long-term sustainability and any future recession.The picture is different for higher education, which has to fight for scraps. Polis wants to increase university budgets and financial aid by 6.8%. Schools are expected to make a case for more funding, especially to keep tuition low and because inflation exceeds that.Metropolitan State University of Denver President Janine Davidson said the school will seek more investment from lawmakers. Programs to help students from low-income backgrounds or who are the first to go to college in their family are costly, she said. And the state funds schools with a lower share than it did 30 years ago.Lawmakers also may address how to ensure students can get to and stay in college.Elaine Berman, Colorado Trustees Network chair, said college board members want more support for students who need skills or credentials for in-demand jobs. School trustees want more funds to build partnerships with businesses and communities to better connect college degrees to jobs, she said.Lawmakers also may explore how to make it easier for students to get college and workforce skills earlier, including extending opportunities in college and vocational schools.The Colorado Community College System also wants more college options for incarcerated people. The federal government will begin to allow those students access to federal grants, and the system wants the state to prepare for the changes. It's also a priority for Representative-elect Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista, who led Adams State University's prison education program.“I think it's time that we really boost up education for this population,” Martinez said.Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Higher Education has a small agenda starting with removing military draft questions from college enrollment applications, which colleges report stops some students from enrolling.Advocacy groups plan to ask lawmakers to make filling out the FAFSA a requirement to graduate. That's the federal application for financial aid, and each year Colorado students who don't finish the form leave behind almost $30 million in federal grants. Plus students who fill out the FAFSA are more likely to go to college, according to research.“We want to make sure that we get it right,” said Kyra DeGruy Kennedy, Rocky Mountain region director for the advocacy group Young Invincibles. “And so if that means we have to wait another year, we'll totally wait another year, but we are hopeful that this is a year that we'll be able to make some progress on it.”The top priority of CASE, the school executives group, is convening a task force to consider changes to the school accountability system. They will press this even though a recent audit found that the system is largely “reasonable and appropriate” and that most schools receiving state intervention improve.Miles said the system still hurts school districts that receive low ratings called turnaround and priority improvement, even if the intentions are good.“It's terrific that they make a difference,” he said of the state teams that work with schools with low test scores. “It doesn't change the fact that it's harder to hire in a turnaround school than a performance school” — the schools that meet state academic goals.Jen Walmer, state director of Democrats for Education Reform, said she expects any reform to be contentious, with debate about the makeup of the task force and the scope of its work — as well as whether Colorado needs a change at all.ARIZONA MIRROR:Katie Hobbs officially became Arizona's governor on Monday, ushering in a new set of priorities and vision for the state and setting the stage for contentious battles with the GOP-controlled legislature.She was administered the oath of office by Roopali Desai, a friend and former attorney who became a federal judge in 2022. Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel administered the oaths of office for Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Democratic Attorney General Kris MayesThe ascension of Hobbs to governor and the victories of Fontes and Mayes marks the first time since 1975 that Democrats have controlled the top three statewide posts. With it comes a new approach to governing that was immediately on display.Just hours after taking the oath of office, Hobbs issued an executive order prohibiting employment discrimination in state agencies and requiring them to adopt anti-discrimination policies. By contrast, when Ducey assumed office in 2015, his first action was an executive order aimed at making it more difficult for state agencies to create regulations.Hobbs campaigned on protecting abortion rights, funding public schools and making permanent programs like a child tax credit that would disproportionately benefit low- and middle-income families. “Today marks a new era in Arizona, where my Administration will work to build an Arizona for everyone,” Hobbs said in a written statement after being sworn in. “It's time for bold action and I feel ready as ever to get the job done. Let's get to work.”A public inauguration ceremony will be held at the state Capitol on Jan. 5.CONCERT PICK OF THE WEEK:Colter Wall, playing the Mission Ballroom in Denver, two nights, Thursday and Friday January 19th and 20th. Colter Wall and his music are from the prairies of southern Saskatchewan, where he lives and raises cattle. He sings traditionals known to most, historic reverie, and poignant originals, sure to be raising both goosebumps and beers throughout the evening.His tour kicks off a month-long tour with 3 dates in Ft Worth and New Braunfels Texas next week, then  Denver, Tulsa, OKC, St Louis, Memphis, Fayetteville AR, back to Dallas and finishing in Houston on Friday February 18. Colterwall.comWelp, that's it for me! From Denver I'm Sean Diller. Original reporting for the stories in today's show comes from the Nevada Current, Colorado Newsline, Source NM, Chalkbeat Colorado, Arizona Mirror and Denver's Westword.Thank you for listening! See you next time.

Pat Meyers is Chief Economic Recovery Officer and Executive Director for Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). OEDIT creates a positive business climate that encourages dynamic economic development and sustainable job growth.  In December 2017, Pat was appointed the Chief of Staff to Colorado's Governor John Hickenlooper and served in the role until the Governor's term ended in 2019. Pat is a senior advisor to now Senator Hickenlooper and was a board member of his Senate campaign. In March 2020 Pat was appointed the Constrained Medical Supply Team Leader for the State of Colorado's Covid Innovation Response Team, where he led the team obtaining PPE and other medical supplies for the State. In 2021, Pat was awarded the Colorado Governor's Citizenship Award for his work on the Covid Response Team. Pat's practice has included securities and franchise compliance, finance transactions, tax, mergers and acquisitions, employment matters, litigation, license and distribution, and general corporate law. He has written numerous articles and has taught various continuing legal education courses. Pat discusses all of this plus Colorado Forward, where you can learn more about the work of Governor Jared Polis and the General Assembly to save Coloradans money, support economic recovery and resilience, and build a Colorado for all, and Opportunity Now Colorado, an $85 million grant program catalyzing transformative change for Colorado's workforce. Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown. Rate, review and subscribe on your favorite podcatcher. For more of our events, podcasts, and news, please visit the Colorado Business Roundtable website.

Colorado Cash Buyers™ has been a major real estate investing and house-buying firm in the Colorado housing market since 2020. They are now operating in Denver, CO. For years, they've provided homeowners in their region with care and understanding, even setting up a website where citizens can help clean up throughout Colorado. The firm's main area of expertise is real estate negotiations and investing, as well as hosting these volunteer-driven gatherings. Their forte is finding unique ways to get families off the market and into a new home without using traditional methods such as listing their properties with an agent. Problems like foreclosure, inherited property, vacant properties, tax liens, and anything that might be preventing the sale of a home on the open market - They will still give you a cash offer!Colorado Cash Buyers™ https://www.coloradocashbuyers.com/ Colorado Cash Buyers™ Buys Houses all over Colorado, whether central, south, north, or west. They have received many 5-star reviews for their business, with customers giving positive feedback. Colorado Cash Buyers™, a Denver-based real estate company, has opened a new office in Denver and expanded its services in order to better help Colorado homeowners. The goal of a house flipper is to maximize earnings, and in many cases, this entails minimizing costs. While offering their consumers hassle-free assistance throughout the process, they promise that the meeting will adhere to their principles of honesty and integrity in all interactions. Colorado Cash Buyers™ specializes in working with Colorado homeowners to improve their home selling experience. The team has over 10 years of real estate expertise and experience, ensuring that the process is simple and pleasurable for all parties. Professional home purchasers in Colorado are not just focused on money. They also care about the homeowner's requirements and desires. This is why we collaborate with clients to create a mutually beneficial situation. Selling a house fast in Colorado can be stressful and take a lot of time. Thankfully, Denver-based company Colorado Cash Buyers™ has come up with a simple solution for these problems. They provide alternatives to the traditional selling approach, such as no repair expenses, commissions, or stress. Most homeowners can sell their property even if they still have a mortgage or with little equity. They specialize in creative terms and solutions that allow homeowners to cash out their mortgage debt and obtain the rest of the equity simply by moving out and transferring over the deed. Anyone would love to sell their Balsamo Homes without any agent fees! https://www.google.com/maps?cid=16906135530664951410 If you're a homeowner who has had to deal with late mortgage payments and an unresponsive tenant for months, they might be able to help. Colorado Cash Buyers™ is opening a new physical office in Denver, Colorado to buy houses for cash. They're expanding their services to help more homeowners in Colorado with underwater bank loans that most realtors are unable to assist or

Common Work & Financial Questions featuring Melanie Honsbruch, CPWIC, Curriculum Developer and Trainer at the Colorado Office of Employment First (OEF)– What the “Employment First” philosophy is (1:55);– Where “Employment First” is implemented in the United States (6:30);– How can someone get involved in Employment First advocacy (9:45)– Learn about job equity and “Competitive Integrated Employment” (16:03)– CO DB 101 – Colorado Disability Benefits 101 (23:00)Acronyms used in this episode: SSI = Supplemental Security Income; SSDI = Social Security Disability Insurance

In episode 166 of America Adapts, Doug Parsons hosts adaptation experts from Colorado. We learn how extreme storm events have been a major driver in adaptation planning in the state. Discover the most pressing climate impacts facing Colorado. We hear from the state climatologist about Colorado's unique climate and what challenges it brings to adaptation planners. We also hear about on the ground examples of resilience planning from city and local governments.  Colorado is learning quickly how to upscale their post-disaster recovery efforts.  The epic 2013 floods were a catalyst for many of the resilience actions we see today in Colorado. Learn how that happened and how responding to these events has spurred adaptation innovation at the state level. Colorado has created a useful template on how other states can begin to comprehensively adapt to climate change. Colorado Experts in this episode: Anne Miller - Colorado Resiliency Office Director in the Colorado Office of Local Affairs Russ Schumacher - Colorado State Climatologist Maya Machamer – Co-founder and Director of the Boulder Watershed Collective Jim Webster - Wildfire Partners Program Coordinator for Boulder County Lori Hodges - Director Office of Emergency Management for Larimer County, Colorado Jessica Olson - Executive Director of the Left Hand Watershed Center Topics covered: Colorado Resiliency office can help with technical assistance and help with workshops if local communities request it. What was the Resilience Collaborative and what role did it play in establishing the Colorado Resiliency Office? What is the Wildlife Partners Program and how it empowers homeowners to make their homes more resilient to wildfires. Colorado is learning quickly how to upscale their post-disaster recovery efforts. How extreme events can be a catalyst for innovative adaptation planning. How Colorado institutionalized resilience into a statewide office. Learn how Boulder is being proactive with adaptation planning and how they get their local citizens involved. What is a “Wildfire ready watershed”? Learn from the state climatologist about Colorado's unique climate and how they help local governments with critical climate data. We learn what ‘restoring the landscape to a future condition' means. This episode was generously sponsored by the Genesee Mountain Foundation. Donate to America Adapts Listen to America Adapts on your favorite app here! Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/americaadapts/ @usaadapts https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-parsons-america-adapts/ @LHandWatershed https://www.facebook.com/LeftHandWatershedCenter https://www.facebook.com/boulderwatershedcollective @LarimerCounty https://www.facebook.com/LarimerCounty/ Donate to America Adapts Follow on Apple Podcasts Follow on Android Doug Parsons and Speaking Opportunities: If you are interested in having Doug speak at corporate and conference events, sharing his unique, expert perspective on adaptation in an entertaining and informative way, more information can be found here! Now on Spotify! List of Previous Guests on America Adapts Follow/listen to podcast on Apple Podcasts. Donate to America Adapts, we are now a tax deductible charitable organization! Links in episode: https://cdola.colorado.gov/colorado-resiliency-office https://watershed.center/ https://www.boulderwatershedcollective.com/ https://wildfirepartners.org/mitigation-specialists/ https://www.larimer.gov/emergency https://climate.colostate.edu/ccc_info.html https://geneseefoundation.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Strategies to Address Climate Change Risk in Low- and Moderate-income Communities - Volume 14, Issue 1 https://www.frbsf.org/community-development/publications/community-development-investment-review/2019/october/strategies-to-address-climate-change-low-moderate-income-communities/ Podcasts in the Classroom – Discussion guides now available for the latest episode of America Adapts. These guides can be used by educators at all levels. Check them out here! The 10 Best Sustainability Podcasts for Environmental Business Leadershttps://us.anteagroup.com/news-events/blog/10-best-sustainability-podcasts-environmental-business-leaders The best climate change podcasts on The Climate Advisor http://theclimateadvisor.com/the-best-climate-change-podcasts/ 7 podcasts to learn more about climate change and how to fight it https://kinder.world/articles/you/7-podcasts-to-learn-more-about-climate-change-and-how-to-fight-it-19813 Directions on how to listen to America Adapts on Amazon Alexa https://youtu.be/949R8CRpUYU America Adapts also has its own app for your listening pleasure!  Just visit the App store on Apple or Google Play on Android and search “America Adapts.” Join the climate change adaptation movement by supporting America Adapts!  Please consider supporting this podcast by donating through America Adapts fiscal sponsor, the Social Good Fund. All donations are now tax deductible! For more information on this podcast, visit the website at http://www.americaadapts.org and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts.   Podcast Music produce by Richard Haitz Productions Write a review on Apple Podcasts ! America Adapts on Facebook!   Join the America Adapts Facebook Community Group. Check us out, we're also on YouTube! Executive Producer Dr. Jesse Keenan Subscribe to America Adapts on Apple Podcasts Doug can be contacted at americaadapts @ g mail . com

On this episode of Manager Minute, we are delighted to discuss Colorado's Employment First initiative. On the panel, we have: Patricia Henke, Colorado Office of Employment First (COEF) Director Meghan Greene, CIE Manager, CO VR Katie Taliercio, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF); Colorado's State Medicaid Agency Katie Oliver, Colorado Department of Education Cheryl Carver, Colorado VR They are involved with a very innovative and successful collaboration in Colorado pertaining to their Employment First initiative.  We believe it's an outstanding model illustrating how multiple agencies can effectively partner in an Employment First initiative to serve their consumers better. We have the pleasure today to understand how this is working in Colorado, so you may be able to move in a similar direction.   Here are some useful links discussed in the podcast: Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Colorado Colorado Office of Employment First Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Finance Colorado Sequence of Services for Students and Youth with Disabilities   Listen Here   You can find out more about VRTAC-QM on the web at: https://www.vrtac-qm.org/   Please stay up to date by following VRTAC-QM on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @VRTAC_QM   About VRTAC-QM Partnering with State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (SVRAs) to enhance service delivery and maximize outcomes through quality program and resource management. The purpose of the VRTAC-QM is to provide training and technical assistance that will enable State VR agency personnel to manage available resources, improve effective service delivery, and increase the number and quality of employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The VRTAC-QM provides TA and training in VR program and performance quality management, fiscal and resource quality management of the VR program, and general quality management of organizations. You can request technical assistance from the VRTAC-QM by contacting your TA Liaison directly, contacting any member of the Center you wish, or by filling out the information on our main website and clicking on submit. While on the main website, join our mailing list to receive updates on training and new activities occurring within the Center.     Full Transcript   Leveraging Employment First initiatives to improve consumer services across agencies in Colorado.   {Music} Speaker1: Manager Minute brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Here is your host, Carol Pankow.   Carol: Well, we're delighted to have a whole crew from Colorado with us this morning in the studio. We have Patricia Henke Colorado Office of Employment First. Meghan Greene with Colorado VR. Cheryl Carver also with Colorado VR. Katie Taliercio, CEO with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. And Katie Oliver, Colorado Department of Education. So welcome to you all. I appreciate you being in the studio today. These fine ladies are involved with a very innovative and successful collaboration in Colorado pertaining to their Employment First initiative. We believe it's an outstanding model, illustrating how multiple agencies can effectively partner with their Employment First initiative to better serve their customers. We have the pleasure today to understand how this is working in Colorado. So you may be able to move in a similar direction. So let's get a little background on Employment First. Employment First is really a framework for systems change that is centered on the premise that all citizens, including individuals with significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in integrated employment and community life. This national effort, formerly originated from the Office of Disability Employment Policy, when on August 8th 2018, they hosted 15 federal offices, including representatives from the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs and Justice, the National Council on Disability, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Social Security Administration to learn about and discuss the newly launched Employment for State Leadership Mentoring Program. Today, many states, such as Colorado, have adopted Employment First initiatives through formal state legislation and dedicated state funding appropriations in an effort to establish this framework so this objective can be met. So let's dig in. Meghan, I'm going to have you start us off with a little background about why the importance of partnering is so critical and a little more about your state Employment First legislation and the state's competitive integrated employment focus.   Meghan: Thanks, Carol. Yeah. So as you can see from all the different Colorado partners here, we love partnering together and it yields really great results for our state. Kind of, along with the background that you just gave in Colorado, priority is really that competitive integrated employment for all working age persons with disabilities. All people are capable of full participation, employment and community life. With the WIO definition of CIA as a shared goal and a shared vision of the supportive employment process across all of the Colorado State systems, with an emphasis on the use of those evidence based practices like customized employment or individual placement and support or benefits counseling to support that competitive integrated employment for the people that we serve in Colorado. This is really shown in the work that we all do that has been completed utilizing a state level systems framework and by aligning employment related policies, service delivery practices and service funding structures between our state agencies. Some of the examples of this alignment and collaboration is in. 2016 Senate Bill 16-77 was passed, which effectively prioritized Employment First in Colorado and required state agencies to convene and develop the Employment First Advisory Partnership between the Department of Education, Department of Human Services, Department of Labor Employment, which is where DVR sets and our state Medicaid agency, health care policy and financing in 2017. This Employment First Advisory Partnership was fully established and in 2018 the Employment First Advisory Partnership developed and publish some strategic recommendations for all of our state agencies and partners to work on and support Employment First in our state. And this also supported our Senate Bill 18 one four five, which was a passing into law which effectively created requirements for training and supported employment providers standards. So really a great outcome and support across our agencies for the people we serve. Of all of us coming together to move those services and support for employment for so long. And in 2019, Colorado State Legislature approved a budget appropriation which effectively developed our Colorado Office of Employment First, and you'll hear later from Patricia Henke and more about that. She is the director of our Colorado Office of Employment First, and it utilized our State Council Cash Funds and DVR match to support these efforts. Federal funds are prioritized for training and our certification of support and employment service providers, and any remaining funds are utilized to provide vocational rehabilitation services to eligible individuals with the most significant disabilities. So all of these partnerships coming together to really support Employment First across Colorado and leveraging different funding sources and different initiatives together, we've had several different examples of what this yielded and one of them was. For employment, first, full time employees within the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation that focused on evidence based practices for supporting people with most significant disabilities with their employment and career goals, this legislation and these efforts supported two positions within our Medicaid agency to start a pilot for performance based services, and we'll hear more about that from Katie Taliercio hear later. We also again have established the Colorado Office of Employment First to support employment efforts in our state, so lots of wonderful things happening from all this partnership and work together.   This also establishes and supports the focus of competitive and integrated employment and shows really the passion and collaboration and partnership among all of us around the value of Employment First within our state and all the initiatives that we're working together on to support Employment First. One of the things that has been a real big focus for the division of Vocational Rehabilitation is that we've set a long term dream goal of increasing the prosperity gap for individuals with disabilities by 10 percent and 10 years, and this is a huge goal for us. And in order to really achieve this, it's imperative that we support all Coloradoans with achieving those goals. We really want to make sure we're supporting Employment First efforts and really engaging with all of our partners on these goals to make this happen. That Employment First advisory partnership that I mentioned earlier that was created through legislation, it continues to meet in perpetuity, actively working on these recommendations that they set forth a couple of years ago to support competitive integrated outcomes in our state for employment and always looking at new recommendations for Colorado and Colorado agencies to support the continued work. So that's kind of a big bird's eye view overview of kind of some of the work and legislation and collaboration that happens in Colorado to really support our shared priority of employment. First for all, Colorado.   Carol: Meghan, this is really exciting to hear. I had come from an Employment First state and we did not. We didn't have that same level of support. I think legislatively for all the things that you guys have been able to create here in Colorado, I think that's super exciting in the partnerships that you've been able to develop and to sustain and carry on. I think that's very cool. So, Patricia, we're going to swing to you. Can you tell us more about the Colorado Employment First initiative and what successes have you had to date and what's the partnership like with VR?   Patricia: Absolutely, Carol. And thank you so much for having Colorado on the podcast today, and thanks, Meghan, for that description of how Employment First initiatives have really evolved in our state. It is pretty amazing and impressive to hear it all over again of all of the amazing work that's been happening for so many years to move these initiatives forward. So as Meghan mentioned, the Colorado Office of Employment First was envisioned by the Employment First Advisory Partnership, and we are just a little over two years old now, so we're still pretty young in our operations and existent really proud about what has been accomplished thus far. And so our team actually is employed by the University Center of Excellence Developmental Disabilities, which is Colorado's, UCEDD and is housed at JFK Partners at Colorado University. I think that's a differentiation I wanted to make because a lot of folks in our state and nationally think that we're state employees and in fact, maybe employed by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. So I wanted to differentiate that it's a contractual relationship with VR and Colorado University and that we're all housed and employees of CU. It was really important, although we are housed at the UCEDD it was really important for the disability community and the Employment First Advisory Partnership that our work have across disability representation, and this was very eminent when the legislation was coming together in 2016. And so I want to communicate that that we are very much across disability organization and that we work on behalf of all individuals with various disabilities. And so our vision for the Colorado Office of Employment First is essentially to create a culture of inclusive, meaningful and competitive employment for all people. We are charged with changing perspectives on what it means to work, and we are working every day towards demystifying processes for families, for individuals with disabilities who are interested in employment. We are promoting barrier reducing policies and practices. We highlight and create awareness about options for support towards competitive integrated employment. We're continuously researching innovative strategies and technologies and ultimately helping employment providers and job seekers know about strategies that are going to lead to those competitive integrated employment outcomes. So we do this by really three bucket areas, which is our mission statement. And this is leading Colorado toward. Unemployment reaching all people with disabilities through one collaboration, which we're talking about today and why that is so important to systems innovation, we're continuously looking at kind of our existing systems and asking questions about what's working well and what can we work towards changing if needed and three training excellence and technical assistance. As Meghan mentioned, Senate Bill eighteen one forty five was key legislation that really move the needle on expectations around training and provider qualifications in our state to provide competitive integrated employment services. I'm going to transition to talking about some general successes of the Office of Employment. First, it was hard to choose whether there has been a lot of accomplishments over time and these accomplishments that have occurred in collaboration with everyone here on this call and other partners in our state. I want to mention that Colorado Office of Employment First does not do any of our work in silos that we model effective partnering and continue that movement forward to affect change and progress in our state. So I wanted to mention how the Colorado Office of Employment First has worked towards creating an employment for community in this state. When we got started in 2019, I was hired in November 2019. We had six months in our first year and although there was a pandemic that occurred three months into our start date, we were able to reach 3,000 people in 6 months through training, technical assistance webinars, other opportunities to start the conversation about employment. First, create that awareness and essentially try to move the needle and change mindsets in our state. In Year two, which was a full year, we doubled that number and reach 6,000 individuals and we continue to reach more and more people to engage in the conversation around Employment First and really create that employment for community and movement. So we're really proud of that. We do this in partnership with HCPF and the individuals here on the call today, as well as the advocacy community and families and job seekers and service provider organizations. Another area I wanted to mention, which I think really does illustrate the collaboration and partnership and what can occur when individuals come together towards a common goal and a shared vision. And this is really an emerging area for Colorado that we're really excited about, and we think it's really important. And what I'm speaking to is benefits counseling and disability benefits. One, as we know, many individuals are fearful of going to work, or it's not so much going to work, but are fearful around what's going to occur to their benefits or health care. And this can create a barrier to competitive integrated employment. And the Colorado Office of Employment First was charged specifically with bringing disability benefits one hundred one to Colorado. This was a key part of the budget appropriation that the disability community strongly advocated for. And so this was an 18 month long project, and it's just one example of how partners have come together towards the shared vision and commitment. Colorado has been unique from other states that have implemented disability benefits one on one and that we've had an in-house subject matter. Expert Melanie Hornibrook, who I have to mention on the Colorado Office of Employment First Team and through the Employment First Budget Appropriation, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation also had allocated staff person to work on behalf of benefits counseling, which provided the foundation to bring over 20 additional subject matter experts together to develop the content for Colorado's Disability Benefits 101. The core partnership with the Colorado Office of Employment First and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation has also supported creating awareness about benefits counseling and DV 101. To want to elevate this conversation even further or this movement around benefits counseling kind of under the umbrella of employment? First, as we acknowledge and recognize that we needed to increase capacity with having certified benefits counselors in our state. So we are partnering with DVR to provide the opportunity for nearly 50 individuals statewide that represent urban and rural communities to become certified and benefits counseling. We are partnering with Cornell to create two Colorado cohorts to support this effort, and the individuals that are interested in becoming certified benefits counselors is vast. We have educators, service providers, family members, independent contractors and many of them are already providers of DVR and health care policy and financing. The Colorado Office of Employment for us is also looking at. How to braid these services across education, DVR and Medicaid and other state organizations so that we can continue this practice of grading services, partnering and making it seamless for the customer, the job seeker, and we really see this as a key intervention and necessary service to continue to move the needle about knowing that employment is possible and that work can interact with your benefits and you can actually earn more money in doing so. And there are so many other ways I could talk about collaboration and partnership and that our other partners on the call are going to speak to. So with that, I'm going to just say thank you and we appreciate this opportunity, and I will now transition it back to you, Carol.   Carol: Well, thanks, Patricia. You really packed a lot into that into those few minutes. I loved that you brought up benefits counseling. We actually are going to feature that in our podcast next month with another state and some pretty interesting initiatives. So I was excited to hear what you folks are doing in that area as well. I also was struck when you talked about demystifying processes. We've been talking a lot about that without using those words. Exactly, but I liked how you said that and very excited about what you're doing. So now we're going to transition over to Meghan and Katie T to discuss the DVF partnership with the MOU and the roundtables and your sequencing of support and employment initiatives.   Meghan: Thanks, Carol. I'll kick us off and then Katie is going to jump in here in a minute. But DVR and our Colorado Medicaid agency, I would say a really long standing at this point partnership where we are actively working together for innovative ways to support Employment First and the people we serve, employment goals in Colorado and some of the things that have really helped. Aside from just us being good partners to each other with this is formal interagency agreements. So our interagency agreement is a really great example of helping to foster that partnership and in it has some great information about mutually developing processes to capitalize on our partnership and to support the people we serve. We've designated supported employment leads that really interact and ensure that we're actively meeting and developing processes together ongoing. Our interagency agreement really also outlines that we develop and update our statewide best practices together in partnership and maximize seamless service delivery to individuals with services. We provide training and guidance jointly. You had mentioned Carol, our roundtables, so in our interagency agreement, it states that we will every year go out and provide some roundtables to our providers, our community center boards, our DVR local offices to support the active practices and best practices of supported employment in reaching competitive integrated employment. We just completed some roundtables this last year with our local DVR offices and are jointly talking and having frank conversations about best practices and how to really partner together. Katie Taliercio, who will talk here in a second and DVRs Darby Brumley. We're really integral in making those happen and having really great conversations and training together and doing that in partnership really models that partnership that needs to happen at the local level. I also really talks about how we can support people who have been within subminimum wage and how to help them reach those employment goals and get to competitive integrated employment and provide information and resources about career pathways and is really committed to doing that and agree to work collaboratively with all of our partners across the board, as well as share pertinent training opportunities and really making sure that it's outlining those partnerships that really make the sequencing of services that we're known for in Colorado, that Katie is going to talk about here in a second, as well as our partnership opportunities happen so that AIA is a really good foundational document and then our just general partnership and the importance that we both as agencies place on our partnership and actively meet and support that it has been really integral to furthering competitive integrated employment in Colorado and modeling the partnerships that happen across the state. I will kick it over to Katie to really talk about those specific logistics and partnership outcomes that have happened.   Katie Taliercio: Thanks for having me be a part of this podcast. And of course, as you hear people talk, you think of a million more things you want to maybe touch on. So I will try to be brief and try not to duplicate what's already been talked about. One of the more exciting pieces that's just come to my mind as I hear people talk. And another outcome for this partnership and collaboration, I think across the board is that in 2021, Colorado passed Senate Bill two one 0three nine, then is the elimination of minimum wage in Colorado. Is very exciting for us. But while people are transitioning out of minimum wage, we also get to introduce some new services through the Medicaid waiver. And I think the reason that this passed is because of the collaboration and partnership with all the state partners. And I think it's coming from a federal level to. State level and then to all the people that are doing the work and all the people that are looking for jobs, it's kind of all coming together. But the neat thing about the new legislation is we were able to tackle some of the barriers that can happen within the Medicaid waivers for people to get competitive, integrated employment. And so we're increasing the amount of job development and job coaching people can receive, and we are introducing benefits counseling services into our waiver, which is very exciting. And another thing that we're pretty excited about is the Medicaid buy in, which is going to allow people who are in their developmental disabilities waiver and intellectual and developmental disabilities waiver utilize buy in. So people who are currently having to say no to raises or work more hours or things like that is all due to change coming up really quickly here in Colorado. And that I do feel like as a partnership, we've all come together to figure out what can Medicaid do to partner best with other services around Colorado that are available? Another aspect that's coming to mind a lot, and Patricia talked about this a little bit, but the braiding of services and the sequencing of services has really become a neat tool. And the more we talk about it, I think we've learned that the language we use is really important. Certain things that all the acronyms that Medicaid have is are different than the acronyms that vocational rehabilitation has. So how do we talk about that better? And I think maybe Katie might talk about that too. I think that's been one big lesson that we've been learning is how do we communicate with Medicaid case managers and counselors and others providing services? But also, how do we make sure that people looking for jobs are aware of what's available to them? And the better we do, the more people can be advocates for themselves and say, Hey, I want to do this, and here's what I know is available to me. I think we've been learning a lot about that. And then I just want to mention, too, that any thing that's happened, I think across with the milieu and setting up the roundtables together and doing a lot of collaborative work with all of the state partners and advocacy agencies and job seekers themselves has been that we've learned how to do this virtually, and I think that's really helped inform the work going forward and what Medicaid needs to do. And sometimes I joke around with some of my team internally that I've worked more with state partners and I have with my internal team. And I just think that really speaks to the level of how we're all putting these puzzles together. And when we come up against the barrier, we can pull together a bunch of people that say, OK, can I do this? Can Medicaid do that? How can we make it work together? And ideally so that we're providing enough services that it's seamless for the person receiving the services? So I hope that I tackled most of the things that we're excited about and some of the outcomes in Medicaid. And pass it back to you, Carol.   Carol: Thanks, Katie. It really strikes me as I'm listening to you all talk about what you've done. I mean, this has really been a journey, and it feels like that foundation that was built back in 2016, and you guys keep kind of brick by brick building more upon that foundation. So it's just taking you into such a great direction in such a broader, whiter, deeper collaboration. I think that is super cool. I did have one kind of follow up question. I was just wondering, I'm going to kick it to you, Meghan, just to ask, how did the pandemic affect the work you were doing? Because we know kind of put lots of states in a tailspin. I just wondered if you guys were able to pivot quickly using technology and stuff. I was thinking about the roundtables you were holding and all of that. Do you have any thoughts about how the pandemic impacted your work the last couple of years?   Meghan: Yeah, absolutely. That's a great question, Carol. So I would say it absolutely affected people's attitudes towards work and their comfort level towards work. It affected how we approached our work as state agencies and had some, I would say, pros and cons to how we pivoted, right? So like Katie mentioned, we kind of had to pivot virtually in that virtual world, and our roundtables in previous years were people driving around the state and meeting in person, which is always wonderful to me to take time. And you might not be able to reach as many people in person. Whereas one of the benefits of pivoting virtually, especially with that specific initiative or meeting with local CVS and DVR offices together, is we were able to really see increased attendance and rural areas really able to be a part of those conversations more than they had been previously. And I think that extended beyond just those roundtable events, but really also the services that we're able to provide. One of the examples that I use is benefits counseling and benefits planning across our state. People have been able to pivot to provide that service virtually as well, and maybe we can reach more people in rural areas now that that service can be provided in a virtual way. So that's just one very specific example that DVR and service providers were able to pivot. And so really leaning into that virtual world has been a challenge and that we're learning how to do that well and effectively, right? It's a new mode of completing services, but also has some positives in that we really are able to reach people that maybe we weren't able to reach before, but it also really highlights the need and importance of assistive technology and technology. In general and how we make the people we serve and job seekers comfortable with technology and learning that so they can truly access services in a more virtual world and support them with their job goals. So that's been a real focus and highlight for how do we make sure that people are comfortable with that and then it can open doors, right? So if we're really, truly supporting competitive integrated employment, it really opens some opportunities for people who may not have thought about some of the work goals or competitive integrated employment they could do before that. Now they could in a more virtual world and may have more virtual options for employment as well. So it's been very interesting road that I think has opened lots of different opportunities and mindsets and brainstorming for new innovative ways to do services in that virtual world.   Carol: It's a little bit of a silver lining out of all of that kind of craziness of the last couple of years. I love that you said that really kind of that comfortability of the individuals and using technology in that focus and really opening new doors. So I think that is wonderful. So now we're going to pivot a little bit and talk to Sheryl and Katie O about the education partnership with DVR. And I understand that you have an MOU and you do some joint training and there's something called the sequencing services tool and you have a whole sequencing of services development process. So do tell me more.   Cheryl: Thank you, Carol, and you're absolutely right things that we are so excited about, and it is so nice to see them actually coming to fruition now. Since we've been working on the sequencing of services for the past three years now, I think it is to actually have an outcome and Katie O is going to speak to that a little bit greater in detail. I want to talk more about how DVR and our Colorado Department of Education partner as a whole, similar to the interagency agreement that Meghan and Katie spoke about between DDR and health care policy and finance. Colorado has an interagency agreement, but also a cooperative services agreement between CTE and DVR, both of which have been in place and grown and expanded and shifted over the last 30 years. Our interagency agreement at the state level allows DVR and CDC to model our expectations at the local level when collaborating to provide services to transitioning youth, which is something we have upheld as being key to being successful in those partnerships. The interagency agreement itself helps to ensure that CTE and DVR are collaborating for all activities related to transitioning youth to provide technical assistance, support training, even program review to our local education agencies and our district DVR partners, as well as some of our external partners when we can pull them into those activities. The technical assistance, support and training, as well as the program review, also apply to any and all of our school to work initiatives such as Colorado School to Work Alliance program that supports district transition goals through the provision of pre-employment transition services and VOC Rehab Services. Our project search sites, which is a transition program for high school students with more significant needs, as well as our pipeline project, which is promoting career technical education to students with disabilities so that they can begin to see that as a viable career pathway. And currently we have an enhanced services pilot going on with our school districts, which focuses on using the discovery process to develop customized work based learning experiences and will buy next school year offer benefits counseling, which Patricia mentioned earlier. Our interagency agreement has been the precipice for pilots new initiatives, the development of tools and cross system trainings not only between DVR and CDE, but also other partners across the state. Our federally mandated agreement, which here in Colorado is the Cooperative Services Agreement, gets a little bit more into details, right? It talks about our roles and responsibilities of each of our systems. It gets into discussing the financial responsibilities of each agency. It includes a dispute resolution process, talks about how education and VR should be collaborating in the provision of services, how we will work together on the transfer or sale of assistive technology from education to VOC rehab when it's appropriate, and it covers the policies of each system that affect transition, our cooperative services agreement is the model that we have used in the past to develop a template for local working agreements. Those local working agreement templates are currently being recreated, and that is all thanks to the push of sequencing of services. But it will specifically define the transition responsibilities between education and VR partnerships in order to minimize duplication, ensure access to services for youth and support ongoing and effective working relationships. Again, all of this aligns so perfectly with our Sequencing of Services project and our drive to create useful tools for more efficient grading of services with the appropriate providers at the right time for students to improve outcomes, raising those expectations in employment for those students. And the key piece to this, of course, it requires increasing agency coordination and collaboration with an understanding of one another systems. So since I've mentioned it frequently and everybody else has alluded to it, PTO is going to kick us off talking about the process of how we got to sequencing of services and do an overview of that tool.   Katie Oliver: thank you, Sheryl. Just really exciting to be here to talk about the work that's been doing, and I know that Colorado has always been proud of their relationship in, particularly with VOC Rehab, but we've also had a very strong relationship with other state agencies, hence a lot of our presence here today. So we've really embraced our relationships. We cross-train, we kind of talk to each other systems. We've learned so many things over the years due to our partnership and those interagency agreements, whether they're actually formalized on paper or that we've just been together for so long trying to figure out our common missions and visions and having those conversations and building those relationships with other state agencies. It's just been a real pleasure and it's been a lot of fun over the years. We have obviously identified lots of gaps as most states do as well. We want to make sure that we're increasing our outcomes for students with disabilities, ultimately getting them employed and self-sufficient and involved in their communities. And so we know that that has been such a forefront for our partnership over the years. And we've talked about this. We've had different models. We've had different partners at the table for years before and we really had kind of a transition continuum. And so we were still missing the boat somewhere. So we sat down had some conversations back in 2019, and particularly it started a little bit more with the folk rehab and the Department of Education. And we said, OK, for some reason, no matter how much our best laid plans and transition planning, we're still not getting the outcomes we want for our students with disabilities. We're still missing them. So how do we make these connections? We're trying to have that smooth transition process handing the baton to the next system, whether that's other adult services, whether it's post-secondary education or employment. We're still dropping the baton somewhere. We're all speaking different languages. We're not coordinating, we're not braiding and blending funds. Let's start talking about this and let's really beef this up so that we can have more of a presence and more consistency across our systems so that our family and ultimately the youth are knowing what's happening next and really emphasizing and enhancing that coordination and that planning for those students. So back in 2019, prior to the pandemic, we came together and started talking about how we would like to proceed with some sequencing of services. So we created a Colorado transition team or partners for students with disabilities. We have representatives, obviously here today from VOC Rehab from Colorado Office of Employment. First, we had the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing Department of Higher ED, our Office of Behavioral Health. We had career tech ED and community college representatives. We had council representatives from the council, the Developmental Disability Council of Colorado. We've had parents from our peak parent center. We've also had some transition coordinators as well be involved with this work. So we pulled together and started kind of brainstorming about how can we create a shared vision? How can we create consistent language and ultimately help our families and students navigate the world outside of K-12? And so we created a shared state vision, which I think is something really important to share. You know, for years, we've been saying all means all. And so in Colorado, we've adopted that at our department and other departments. But you know, we are still missing very key people and that we're missing those students that we're really not capturing every student. So we changed our shared state vision to represent a little bit more of. Individual presents, so we say each and every student, regardless of their disability, has a right to transition to the adult life that includes, of course, partners at this table. Education, employment, independent living. We want full community participation and the right to make decisions in and about their own lives. So we also know when we recognized why we were creating this work that we needed to start partnering at younger ages, not just in high school. We want to start trading down to the middle school level. We know that there are students that drop or lose engagement around eighth to ninth grade transition. And so we want to keep those engagement efforts happening and keeping those students eye on the prize of that ultimate goal of employment someday and being successful. We know that we needed to create high expectations and create that self-determination for those students. Cheryl mentioned increasing that agency coordination collaboration. Absolutely. We have so many different members and state members at the team, and then we have one hundred and seventy eight school districts out there in Colorado with other partners and their local community. And so how do we infiltrate some of the state level work into the local so that we can create that coordination and having those really rich discussions and focusing on that individual students so that student level planning and of course, creating consistent messaging. So with the assistance of Jennifer Stewart and the Colorado Office of Employment, first, we were able to create kind of a framework and pull these two partners together, as well as partners from our national technical assistance that are on transition, Ruth Allison and Jackie Hiatt. They have been very instrumental in helping us facilitate this process and kind of put it to paper and make sure that all of our voices are heard and that we're moving forward. Hearing what other states are doing, too has been really a cool experience, but we created a framework and so we created six course student outcomes that we all, as state level department partners agreed upon and how that looks. So we have. Building self-determination and leadership skills was a certain outcome that we thought was really important to achieve postsecondary success, build skills, to safely navigate community and access the services, understand post-secondary options, develop competence and computer and digital literacy, having that expectation of competitive employment and understanding disability and health management. And we have a beautiful logo that kind of pulls it all together on our website, which is open to anybody to check it out. It is WWW.CDE.state.CO.US/SequencingOfServices, or you can Google and you can put Colorado sequencing of services and it should get you where you need to. I know that's quite lengthy, but again, that's WWW.CDE.state.CO.US/SequencingOfServices. You will be able to see that framework. The core outcomes from that framework. We actually created ages that these activities should be happening. We talked about who is responsible, having those conversations that we agreed upon at the state level. So what is DBRS role? What is the school's role? What is ticpods health care policy and financing role or the local community center board? And having those conversations and breaking them down into examples of those skills that we would like to see or be attained by the students? What are the parents responsibilities? And having that coordinated conversation that really could help drive that IEP planning process. So that's been really good. So I even lean to my other partners if there's anything else that they would like to add from a partner perspective about this tool before I kind of talk about our next steps and what we've been doing with our pilot. Anybody else have anything else to jump in at?   Cheryl: Not yet, Katie. You're doing great.   Katie Oliver: Perfect. All right. I just wanted to be inclusive because it's their work too. So from there, currently we have the state template. We have a local template. We have currently for pilots here in Colorado that are pilot the piloting this work intensively with our partners, Mesa School District on the western side of Colorado, we have our Denver, our largest school districts. We have Weld County, which is a more rural community up north. And then we have another rural community down on the south side of Colorado Pueblo. And so we've been really focusing on building those internal and external champions at the local level. So we have some people who have identified these goals and particularly most of these pilots started with education personnel wanting to create more interagency collaboration. And so we took these champions who are very excited, have personal goals about it for their district and for their families and their students, and we started discussing roles and responsibility. What are the roles in the community? What other community providers are in your community that we want to bring to the table and have conversation so that we're creating this template, this kind of map or tool that can help these discussions with community members. So despite turnover, you know, oftentimes there's been so much turnover, whether it's in special education or other state agencies is there has been so much turnover, but information does get lost or it's inconsistent. And so that was another focus of our area was we let's get this in writing in our community and put our templates in so that if Joe Smith wins the Powerball next week that we're going to have the same information and the person that's replacing them will have this the same information and understand the partnership so that we can make sure that's consistent, which has been a big hiccup with several different local players as we're a local control state. And so we've we started that. So right now we have the four pilots. That's where the intense work is being done. However, we as a state team want to continue the vision of creating interagency teams around the state of Colorado and other communities that it may not be as intense that we're doing right now. However, we want to continue to build those conversations, making sure the right people are at the table. We do have some sites already, some areas in our communities that already have established interagency teams. So how can we make sure that they have the right tools to make sure that their partners stay at the table, also not just show up to the table, but stay at the table? So that was really the intention is that our families are getting the information or they're able to share that information or be present to share that information for families and students getting ready to go on to whatever system or how do we overlap and so that there is no baton dropping in the future? So that has been a lot of exciting work, and we're currently working on an individual template for a student to work through or maybe an individualized education program at an IEP meeting. They could talk about it and really drive the planning process so that elements of the academics or the school is infiltrated into those conversations so that the course of study is being aligned. The goals are being aligned with what their goals are. And it's been really a lot of great work. We have one pilot ready to do a student level one, and I think once that student level show is filled out that template, then I think everybody is going to really start to see how that connection and planning from all the partners of the table were responsible for the success of that student. So that's what we're really excited about here in Colorado is that all that work that's been done?   Carol: Well, thanks Katie and Meghan. All right, Katie and Cheryl, I should say sorry. And Meghan and Patricia, everybody and the other Katie. But I can tell I get that great sense from you. Each talking, everyone's super excited. You bring a lot of energy to this topic, and I appreciate you sharing that website. I was writing down notes if you all would see my page, I have just dozens of notes about things that you've spoken about and I know others are going to be interested in. I know our listeners are probably going to want to reach out at some point to different folks that are on our panel today to talk about this. But I am going to turn it to Meghan to give us the last words and really to kind of tie a bow on it for our listeners out there. What advice would you give your VR colleagues and how to make this really work in their state because you all didn't just do this overnight? It's very evident the long journey you've been on. But for those folks that are just starting out, what advice would you like to give them? And Meghan, that's to you.   Meghan: Thanks, Carol. My advice, as you can see, is really leaning into the value of the partnerships and the value of the ideas and wonderful work that happen across your state and really trying to build those partnerships and relationships with advocates in your state, state agency partners, the people you serve and really try to bring everyone together and having everyone at the table and those partnerships and relationships be a part of the solution and working towards the solution. As you mentioned, Carol brings a level of energy, a level of excitement and having everyone be a part of that solution to support people with their employment goals really kind of kicks things off and gets those next steps. And what that could look like for your state could be very different or individualized, depending upon those conversations, those rich conversations that happen when everyone's at the table. So really just setting the table and making sure that people are there and then talking about how to keep people there and building that and spending the time on those relationships and partnerships and publicly doing that together really can lead to those coordinated legislative updates, coordinated initiatives between state agencies and coordinated services at a local level for the people that we serve. And just I'm leaning into that. The importance of those partnerships really leads the way.   Carol: So, Meghan, if somebody wants to reach out, what would you suggest? What's the best way for someone to contact or is there a website they should go to or what do you think?   Meghan: We have several different websites and I think they all kind of link together, which again shows that public partnership between all of us. But I think anyone on this call would be happy to receive a reaching out and support. But our information I know Sheryl and I as information is listed on our Colorado DVR website and we can always give you our email contact information, Carol. For people to have that, I know CD's website has lots of. Great information, and Katie mentioned the sequencing of service tool, and I know they have a sequencing of service email, you can email for any specific information related to that. And the Colorado Office of Employment First, as Patricia talked about, has a wonderful website and has lots of great rich information in the email that you can do there. And so we'd be happy to share all those websites and email information as well for you to have along with the podcast.   Carol: Thank you. I really appreciate that you all have been so generous in sharing aspects of this model with us in the past, which we've also greatly appreciated. And I really hope today's conversation helps the VR community think more proactively about how the various employment and first initiatives can be leveraged to achieve to improve partnerships, improve outcomes for our common consumers across our agencies. So thank you all for joining this very important discussion to help us empower one manager at a time, one minute at a time. And I wish you just continued success and all you do. Thanks a lot.   {Music} Speaker1: Conversations powered by VR, one manager at a time, one minute at a time. Brought to you by the VRTAC for Quality Management. Catch all of our podcast episodes by subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks for listening!

Colorado's Doug Wilson has worked in the public defense system for over 40 years, so to say he holds a boatload of knowledge is an understatement!   Colorado has one of the best models of public defense and Doug is one of the people responsible for that success.    In this episode, Doug explains how he worked with the Colorado legislature to create a system built on independence and increase their budget by over 40 million dollars.    You'll also hear about Colorado's weaknesses—poor determination standards, court fees, and a lack of community outreach.    However, Wilson continues to advocate for an improved public defense system in Colorado.    In a world where not everybody gets access to representation and public defenders are overworked and underpaid, Doug Wilson is tenaciously working to change that.    Key Topics and Takeaways:   Why Colorado's public defense system so well and how Doug laid that foundation [4:05] Public defense is a part of public safety [12:35] Defining recidivism [13:58] Doug and I dive deep into The Colorado Project, a recent workload analysis [28:16] Doug breaks down Colorado's determination standards [32:09] Colorado's struggle to provide adequate mental health services [50:30] The negative impacts of horizontal representation [1:04:06]   Guests:   Doug Wilson, Chief Public Defender of Aurora Municipal Defender Office and former Chief Public Defender of The Colorado Office of the State Public Defender    Resources:   NLADA Aurora Public Defender Assessment ACLU Report on Colorado Municipal Courts Office of the State Public Defender of Colorado Aurora Office of the Public Defender Do You Qualify for a Public Defender in Colorado? Colorado Workload Study   Memorable Quotes:   “Indigent clients must be given the same constitutionally effect and officiant counsel as folks who can afford to pay for their attorney. That's huge. You don't see that level of independence or those mandates in very many systems around the country.” (6:38, Doug)   “We're part of the public safety discussion as well, because for every person that we can keep out of the system or keep from coming back into the system, by our intervention or our representation, or our alternative sentencing plan… that protects the public.” (12:45. Doug)   “50% of the bill of rights is there to protect the individual against the government.” (22:00, Doug)   “So for my listeners, indigent does not mean just the homeless person on the side of the road with two pennies to rub together. It is the family next door struggling with medical debt, it is the family across the street who just got into a fender bender, it is the guy at work who just got laid off to no fault of his own. It is every ordinary people who will face the brunt of the legal system without an attorney.” (38:07, Hunter)   “There are only five dedicated, municipal structured public defender offices in the country. Think about that.” (49:59, Doug)   “When a person's livelihood is dependent upon them not realizing they're doing something bad, they will very rarely realize they're doing something bad.” (46:34, Hunter)

Cal talks with Teresa Nguyen about the very human experience of living with a disability, advocating for oneself in a world that is not often aware of your needs, and what every human can do to become more aware of the needs of other humans. ********** Teresa also appeared on this episode of "Terrible, Thanks for Asking": https://www.ttfa.org/episode/2021/03/16/data-points ********** And here is an article about navigating a relationship with a disability: https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/551/relationship-tips ********** About Our Guest: Teresa Nguyen is from Denver, Colorado. She identifies as a Vietnamese-American woman with a disability and her pronouns are "she, her, hers". Teresa received her Master of Public Health from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and her work is focused around health care policies and systems improvement, for vulnerable populations. She has experience in both Federal and State level health program and policy development, and is currently a curriculum developer at the Colorado Office of Employment First, training on the intersection of work and health for people with disabilities. In her free time, Teresa enjoys cooking and traveling with her dog, Mylo!

Minsoo Song is from Korea and has been an employee of the Office of Immigrant and International Affairs since 2015. She is also a member of the Aurora Immigrant and Refugee Commission. She is talking about how the mass influx of immigrants into Aurora has made it necessary to provide services for language acquisition. Aurora, Colorado has approximately 160 different languages that are spoken, and those people need help integrating into our communities here in Aurora and all over Colorado. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/immigrationconsciousness/message

Kota Babcock explains how Colorado State University responded to the unauthorized campus Undie Run, and Ivy Winfrey updates listeners on the excessive use of force lawsuit against the City of Loveland Police Department. After that, Jonathan Gillham gives updates on CSU's athletics, and then Babcock speaks to Christine Costello from the Colorado Office of Economic Development &  and International Trade about the American Rescue Plan's support for artistic industries in Colorado. Then, Jacob Selbe tells listeners about a boat accident involving migrants, and Anton Schindler explains the history of ballpark food. Babcock gives some updates on the microchip shortage and on Facebook's oversight board's decision on whether or not former President Donald Trump is allowed on the platform. To conclude the show, Winfrey speaks about how artificial intelligence made to tell pastries apart may be used to identify cancer.

“You can’t make a decision without being brave enough to acknowledge that you might fail. You may not always succeed, but you will be a better person for it.” —Betsy Markey Have you ever been faced with needing to make a big decision where the responsibility for consequences rests mostly on your shoulders? Did the thought […]

Having a handful of professional role models to look up to is important for anyone climbing the corporate ladder. But, we all know that work isn’t everything. When it comes to measuring the level of fulfillment in our lives, personal relationships are an important source of comfort and strength. We need role-models who represent our relationship goals, in conjunction with our professional aspirations.My guests today are power couple Tony and Lisa Neal-Graves, two people who have mastered the art of building successful careers and nurturing their strong partnership. They have served as industry leaders from high-tech to state government. Tony is Chief Information Officer and Executive Director of the Colorado Office of Information Technology, where he leads over 1,000 technology professionals. Lisa is a bonafide cultural innovation trailblazer. As CEO of Trustify Community Incorporated, she’s responsible for driving the creation of AI-augmented applications to address racial equity issues. Tony and Lisa were instrumental in my success at Intel, and they continue to be mentors and close friends. I’m excited to have them here sharing their unique and impressive experiences of navigating professional success while simultaneously nurturing their partnership. In this episode, Tony and Lisa share their sage advice on keeping a relationship strong when you’ve got two successful, continent-hopping executives in the mix. We’ll also talk about staying career flexible, embracing new opportunities, and the importance of making room for relationships within the context of busy work lives. What You Will Learn:How pioneering “firsts” help pave the way for many (4:30)The importance of building a solid foundation (15:10)What you can learn from your employment patterns (22:04)Staying flexible through phases of discovery (24:36)Sage advice from an intercontinental career (34:05)Deciding to be a force for change in your community (38:02)Lessons on work/life balance and effective leadership (49:15)Connect with Tony Neal-Graves:LinkedInConnect with Lisa Neal-Graves:LinkedInLet’s connect!LinkedInTwitterInstagram See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Good Morning, Colorado, and welcome to the Daily Sun-Up. It’s Monday December 14th, and we’re feeling lucky to start the day with you. Join us daily for an in-depth look at one of our top stories. Today, we’re discussing how state officials are looking to extend leases for alternate care sites. While at the same time, Hospitals are activating “surge plans” to increase their capacity. Before we begin, let’s go back in time with some Colorado history adapted from historian Derek R Everett’s book “Colorado Day by Day”: Today, we take you back to December 14th, 1948 when Commissioners from both Colorado and Kansas signed the Arkansas River Compact. Prior, the line between Colorado and Kansas had inspired generations of tension and court battles.  And now, our feature story.  Colorado’s three remaining hospital overflow sites were originally set to close in January. But now, state officials are working to extend leases and line up staff. They’re still worried about the worst-case scenario they planned for nine months ago. Two of the original five alternate care sites were dismantled back in October. And in the remaining three - the Colorado Convention Center and two other sites - The hospital beds have been empty for months.  Still, the Colorado Office of Emergency Management is working on a contract extension. It’s a sign that even as the first doses of the coronavirus vaccine are on their way to Colorado, public health officials remain concerned that the crisis could get worse through the holiday season and the rest of winter. Colorado Sun reporter Jennifer Brown is joining us today to talk more about the situation. Jennifer, can you start by giving us some more background on these overflow hospitals? When were they built? So, now that those two sites have closed can you talk more about the plans for the remaining three? And how much is this costing the state? Thanks, Jennifer.  The state’s unified command center now gets hospital capacity reports daily — sometimes more — so officials can make a fast decision if they need to launch operations at one of these alternate care sites. It would take about 14 days to get one ready to accept patients. And across the state have been closer to reaching capacity. Closer in the last few weeks than any time so far in the pandemic.  A few reached near 90% of capacity in late November and early December. One — Park View Medical Center in Pueblo — was so full that it reached out for help. The distress call resulted in 20 patients leaving Park View for other hospitals with vacant beds.  A hospital collaborative was also activated last month. This allows hospitals to transfer patients to medical centers not only within the same hospital system but to other systems, too. This network is part of the state’s effort to avoid opening the alternate care sites. And thank you all for listening. Finally, here are a few stories you should know about today: This was an extra bad week for Coloradans who lost their jobs at the start of the pandemic. We just ended week 39 — the maximum number of weeks one is eligible for unemployment pay currently.  The U.S. gave the final go-ahead Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine, doses could arrive in Colorado in days. The Legislative Audit Committee, which is led by Republicans, will hold a hearing Tuesday to investigate alleged election discrepancies in Colorado. There’s no proof there were any. Colorado’s review of the Catholic Church sex abuse named priests, but not those who covered up their crimes. Victims say the whole story hasn’t been told.For more information on all of these stories, visit our website, www.coloradosun.com. Now, a quick message from our editor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colorado Gov. Polis on meat processing, food, and Friday night lights. Betsy Markey, executive director, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, also speaks to my first question.

In this episode, Isaac interviews Teresa Nguyen of the Colorado Office of Employment First about health care and housing. A full transcription of the episode is located here. For more info or to get involved visit www.thekelsey.org

Derek Cross chats with Maureen West an Industry vet and a leading woman in hemp.Maureen West is the General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Functional Remedies, LLC a hemp oil product manufacturing company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Prior to joining Functional Remedies, LLC, Maureen served as the first Industrial Hemp Program Manager in the United States at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Prior to entering the industrial hemp industry, Ms. West provided legal counsel as an assistant attorney general for the Colorado Office of the Attorney General where she represented over a dozen regulatory boards including the Dental Board, Nursing Board, Physical Therapy Board, Acupuncture and Direct-Entry Midwife Programs. Ms. West is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver where she teaches Health Care Public Policy and the Legislative Process and Legal Issues in Global Health Care Management. Ms. West is also a registered dental hygienist. She received her juris doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and holds a bachelor degree in dental hygiene from the University of Colorado Dental School.#Hemp #TheHempChat #MaureenWest #FunctionalRemedies #HempFarming #CBD #HempCBD #ColoradoHemp

Lee Wheeler-Berliner (pictured), is Managing Director of the Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) where he manages the execution of strategies to develop and sustain an industry-led talent development network in Colorado. Glenn Plagens is Director of Business Support & Rural Prosperity for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and is responsible for strategic planning, direction, management, implementation and evaluation of four major programs within OEDIT: Employee Ownership, Minority Business Office, Rural Economic Development, and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Together, they discuss in more detail what their respective offices do, the fallout from COVID-19, and what resources are available for those affected.  Hosted by Colorado Business Roundtable President Debbie Brown.   

Joshua Sharf discusses DRCOG's potential taxing authority. Republicans seek the resignation of Denver City councilwoman Candi CdeBaca after her shared tweet that the coronavirus should be spread at MAGA rallies. Jason McBride looks at the crazy market we are in. It is a great time to refinance or buy a home as interest rates are at record lows. The bill of the day, HB20-1191, creates the Outdoor Recreation Industry Office within the Colorado Office of Economic Development. Matthew Durkin, Candidate for Jefferson County DA continues analyzing bills that affect the safety of our communities. The post DRCOG: Taxation Without Representation appeared first on The Kim Monson Show.

Maureen West is the General Counsel and Compliance Officer for Boulder, Colorado-based Functional Remedies (https://functionalremedies.com), makers of full-spectrum hemp-based, seed-to-bottle products that use 100% sustainable farming. Previously, Maureen served as the first Industrial Hemp Program Manager in the United States at the Colorado Department of Agriculture. Having worked in government regulations for 16+ years, Maureen understands the challenges of being on the inside of regulatory agencies like the USDA and FDA. She can speak to this as well as the other side, based on her current experience with a hemp brand.   Prior to entering the industrial hemp industry, Maureen provided legal counsel as an assistant attorney general for the Colorado Office of the Attorney General where she represented over a dozen regulatory boards including the Dental Board, Nursing Board, Physical Therapy Board, Acupuncture and Direct-Entry Midwife Programs.  Maureen is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver where she teaches Health Care Public Policy and the Legislative Process and Legal Issues in Global Health Care Management. She is also a registered dental hygienist and received her juris doctorate from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and holds a bachelor degree in dental hygiene from the University of Colorado Dental School.   In this episode, Maureen will discuss the enforcement of the USDA rules. This will provide food for thought for both the regulators (USDA/DEA) and the farmers (registrants) prior to any of the rules being finalized.

Today on Extraordinary Women Radio, I'm excited to bring you the very extraordinary Velveta GoLightly Howell , a Colorado Women's Hall of Fame 2020 Inductee and Life-Long Champion for Social Justice and Advocacy. In this episode: Listen in on how Velveta’s path was set out to fight against racial discrimination at an early age of 6 years old Velveta’s encounter with a police officer that sparked her own  to crusade for equality Appreciate how Velveta saw individual differences but also saw the equality in people What continues to drive Velveta to fight for equality and social justice The achievement that Velveta is proud of the most Some leadership tips to help you excel as a leader What we can do as individuals to help the country and make a difference Velveta’s message to the world Velveta Howell has made many contributions as a life-long champion for social justice and advocacy. She is known as an exceptional role model for other African American women and girls. She was the eighth African American female graduate of the University of Colorado Law School and the first woman of color appointed as Colorado’s Deputy District Attorney. From her humble beginnings, she has worked tirelessly at the local, state, regional, and federal levels to advance the causes closest to her, succeeding in the fiercely competitive and often brutal world of criminal justice. Through creative, solid, and sustainable policies, practices, and procedures, Howell designed roadmaps to enhance others’ lives, especially society’s most vulnerable. Her ability to visualize and eliminate impediments to social justice, equipped her to tear down barriers and increase access to social, civil, and criminal justice, quality and equal healthcare, clean water, affordable housing, food, and other critical services for people of all backgrounds.. Howell attributes her success to integrity, compassionfor all people, and an unrelenting commitment to justice. This determination has resulted in a succession of women, especially women of color, following her into this still male-dominated arena. Today, many African American prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys in Colorado are inspired and/or personally mentored by her. Howell has worked to improve access to quality healthcare to all Colorado citizens, particularly under-served populations. She is one of twelve appointees to the Robert Wood Johnson-funded Colorado Healthcare Reform Executive Steering Committee and Turning Point Initiative . She is also the driver behind the committee’s focus on racial and ethnic healthcare disparities. This focus has resulted in the establishment and legislative enactment of the Colorado Office of Health Disparities , only the nation’s second. “I had a purpose and God has plans that I would live out and that I would be strengthened and supported no matter the barriers.” - Velveta GoLightly Howell Connect with Velveta Howell on LinkedIn. Let’s meet Velveta GoLightly Howell! Velveta GoLightly Howell Show Notes *** The Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame mission is to inspire by celebrating and sharing the enduring contributions of Colorado’s distinctive women. To achieve this, the Hall educates the people of Colorado about the stories of the women who shaped our state and the nation’s history with courage, leadership, intelligence, compassion, and creativity. Their talents, skills, struggles, and contributions form a legacy that the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame is dedicated to protecting. I invite you to join us at the March 18, 2020 Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame 2020 Inductee Gala by purchasing your ticket here. Watch for five additional interviews in the coming months of the 2020 Inductee Hall of Famers: Katherine Archuleta – LISTEN TO HER INTERVIEW Archuleta was appointed as the first Latina to lead the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in in 2013 by President Barack Obama, overseeing a budget of roughly $250 million and ...

Episode 19: This is a conversation between Tom Adams, director of the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation, Nathan Fey, director of the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry, and Cassidy Rasnick, deputy secretary of commerce and trade for rural economic development at the Virginia Office of the Governor.

ICYMI: We're reposting Rob DuRay's interview from March in anticipation of this week's celebration. If you're in the Phoenix area, we hope you can come to celebrate the Colorado expansion and our newest team members at our party this Thursday, May 23rd (bit.ly/javelinaparty2019). You'll have chance to meet Rob himself and learn more about everything that's happening with Javelina.

This week we're featuring Rob DuRay! In case you haven't heard the big news, we're expanding to Colorado and Rob is our new Vice President of the Colorado Office. On this episode, he'll be sharing a bit about himself and how he came to Javelina. If you're in the Denver area, come join us for our launch event on March 27. Visit: bit.ly/JavelinaDenverParty

Mariel Rodriguez-McGill is an Emmy Award-Winning creative producer, director and editor focused on documentary filmmaking with a passion for telling inspirational and compelling stories. At Rocky Mountain PBS in Denver, Colorado, Mariel helped develop the web-series Great Ingredients, and the historical documentary series Colorado Experience, which launched its fifth season in 2017. Currently, Mariel serves as the Deputy Film Commissioner for the Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media. Mariel received a BA from Boston College and holds a Masters Degree from University of Denver in Media, Film & Journalism Studies. Learn more at http://coloradofilm.org/ or on Facebook @sidestoriescolorado and @coloradofilmcommission and on Twitter @ColoradoFilm. To find out more about Laura and her work please visit her website at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find Laura on twitter @thatlaurapowers, on Facebook @thatlaurapowers, and on instagram at laurapowers44.

Mariel Rodriguez-McGill is an Emmy Award-Winning creative producer, director and editor focused on documentary filmmaking with a passion for telling inspirational and compelling stories. At Rocky Mountain PBS in Denver, Colorado, Mariel helped develop the web-series Great Ingredients, and the historical documentary series Colorado Experience, which launched its fifth season in 2017. Currently, Mariel serves as the Deputy Film Commissioner for the Colorado Office of Film, Television & Media. Mariel received a BA from Boston College and holds a Masters Degree from University of Denver in Media, Film & Journalism Studies. Learn more at http://coloradofilm.org/ or on Facebook @sidestoriescolorado and @coloradofilmcommission and on Twitter @ColoradoFilm. To find out more about Laura and her work please visit her website at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find Laura on twitter @thatlaurapowers, on Facebook @thatlaurapowers, and on instagram at laurapowers44.

Lena Heilmann lost her sister Danielle to suicide in 2012. In response to this traumatic loss and as a way to honor her sister, Lena transitioned from her role as a college professor to working in suicide prevention. Now, as the Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator with the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention, Lena merges her lived experience with coordinating a SAMHSA Youth Suicide Prevention Grant. In this podcast, Lena talks about how her grief and loss survivor identity inform her work and her personal mission. Adam and Lena's conversation also addresses the role of upstream prevention efforts, an overview of suicide prevention work in Colorado, the importance of authentic interpersonal relationships, and how to prioritize self-care when working in the suicide prevention field.

Melissa Risteff is the CEO & Co-Founder of Couragion, a social enterprise generously supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), AT&T Aspire, and the Colorado Office of Economic Development. Their mission is to inspire underrepresented students to pursue STEM pathways and fuel educator confidence to succeed in the classroom. Melissa shares the mission of Couragion, the moment she decided to strike out on her own, and the positive impacts they are having on students across Colorado. Links to things we talk about: Melissa Risteff on LinkedIn Couragion Couragion Awarded National Science Foundation Grant IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, PLEASE: Subscribe to our list Connect with us on Twitter Email us and tell us what you think! Colorado TechCast brings you interviews with entrepreneurs, thought leaders and technology pioneers from around the state. We provide a behind the scenes look at who’s doing what, why, and how you can get involved. Join us each episode to hear the exciting stories of technology happenings in our state. I want this show to be relevant to you, so please send me your thoughts and suggestions. My email address is Trapper@ColoradoTechCast.com. You can also hit me up on Twitter @CoTechCast. I read and respond to all messages so drop me a line and tell me what you think. I am always on the lookout for future guests, so if you know anyone with an interesting story to tell, or you yourself would like to come on and talk about what you’re building, then send me an email. Thanks for tuning in, and join us next time when we bring you the story of another digital pioneer from Colorado!

Today’s Extraordinary Women Radio guest Monica Coughlin from the Colorado Technology Association, loves how technology enables connection - makes the world a better place and allows us to connect to so many more people in the world. She is the Chief Operating Officer for Colorado Technology Association, the state's premier non-profit tech organization advancing the Colorado technology industry. Prior to joining CTA, Monica was the Chief Strategy Officer for Colorado Office of Information Technology (OIT).  In her role with the State of Colorado, Monica's responsibilities included development and execution of OIT’s overall organizational strategy ensuring alignment with the Governor’s Office and agencies’ goals. She also focused on attracting, growing and retaining IT jobs and businesses in Colorado and supporting the Secretary of Technology in promoting Colorado as the ideal location for technology based companies and workers. In addition, her efforts also focused on defining the overall broadband strategy for the State of Colorado and promoting coordination and collaboration activities across the state. Monica has over fifteen years experience in the IT industry with proven strategy development, business operations and program/project management expertise.  This included Chief of Staff for Oracle’s Global IT Service Operations, the organization responsible for all data centers and computing operations worldwide.  In this role, Monica was responsible for driving strategic goal alignment, organizational readiness, employee enablement and communications throughout the organization of 600+ employees.  She also worked several years at Sun Microsystems, Inc. holding a variety of business, people and project management roles within IT Operations and Services. Monica is a recipient of the Denver Business Journal's 2013 Forty Under 40 awards and the StateScoop 50 Awards Golden Gov: State Executive of the Year and was also a finalist in the Colorado Technology Association’s APEX Woman in Tech of the Year award. Monica is a member of the Women’s Leadership Foundation Board of Directors and is the Chair of the Regis University College of Computer & Information Sciences Executive Advisory Board. You can follow Monica on Twitter or LinkedIn and learn more about the Colorado Technology Association on their web site or on Facebook or Twitter. "Be a connector and pay attention to where and how you can help others."~Monica Coughlin Let’s meet Monica Coughlin of the Colorado Technology Association.

Listen as Luis tells us about his background which set the path for this career in the Outdoors and government. He also talks about all the fantastic things the Colorado office of Outdoor Recreation is doing.   Facebook Twitter   Instagram The Outdoor Biz Podcast   Please give us a rating and review HERE   Show Notes First Exposure to the Outdoors You know I tell people all the time that I was lucky enough to grow up in the outdoor industry and it's really true. My American grandfather, dad's from Ecuador mom's from the United States, my American grandfather owned a sporting goods store. A small specialty fly fishing bird hunting shop that was literally right down the road from my grade school. You know those pictures that you see from the olden days, I would walk a quarter mile down the road my grandfather's shop every day on ice before school and my parents he liked to pick me up after they got off of work. What I really learned at a very young age other than just specialty family-owned retail was that these places in these spaces were really convening spots for folks to talk about things that they loved the most. My grandfather had the normal core customers but those core customers loved spending time in the shop to talk about fishing, hunting, hiking, and boating. He was one of the original Orvis dealerships so if you know anything about fly-fishing that was a fairly significant brand back in those days. So to hang out with some of his old cronies at a really early age and realized that all these folks love talking about policy and access and conservation and stewardship, that was my start. Things we talked about Outward Bound Warriors to Summits Trekking for kids Colorado Outdoor Office of Recreation: Economic Development, Conservation and Stewardship, Education and Workforce Training, Public Health and Wellness Outdoor Research- Dan Nordstrom Camber Outdoor Job Board Advice, tips I think it's on all of us as leaders within the industry to make sure people know what's out there. Number one a lot of people younger folks that I talk to think a lot of these jobs it's kind of a wizard behind the curtain. I'd love to be a ski or snowboard shaper but I don't know, do I just call a ski company and ask them? I mean I think that's been the journey up to this point you used to have to hack your way in. I think what the responsibilities of officers like mine and I talk to a lot of my counterparts is that we need to educate everybody about how deep and wide our ecosystem is. So if you have a searchable database that has every outdoor company and nonprofit listed, which we have in Colorado and it's constantly being built bigger and bigger. A young student can go in to be like okay I got a list of fifteen different ski companies. Much like folks wanting to start out their career, they know what their landscape looks like in the backyard. With a little bit of knowledge and then access to some senior level folks, you know you got to get out there. Invite CEOs,  not to a closed-door session where you know the general population can't attend but open door sessions where anybody that wants to comment is interested can do a little networking, professionally exchange emails and ideas. We are really working hard to create that ecosystem here so people feel like A they understand that it's an inclusive environment and economy and B they can start to define what a career path could or should look like. Other Outdoor Activities Luis does it all Favorite Books Undaunted Courage by Steven Ambrose Everest, West Ridge by Tom Hornbein Best Gear Purchase under $100 nokero solar lights We believe people should be able to thrive after dusk. We exist to bring light to the energy poor so rural communities are safe, happy, healthy and productive. By inventing, engineering, and producing the world's most efficient solar lights, we affordably lift 1.2 billion people out of the dark. We are Nokero (no kerosene) and are on a global mission to eliminate kerosene lamps. Connect with Luis you can follow Luis and the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation on Twitter @CoRecIndustry  

SHOW NOTES Prior to joining the Economic Council Jessica Erickson was the Senior Industry Development Manager for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade focusing on retention, expansion, and recruitment of businesses specializing in Advanced Manufacturing, Infrastructure Engineering, Electronics, Financial Services, and Technology & Information. Prior to joining OEDIT, Jessica served as the Manager of Business Retention & Expansion and Interim Director of Economic Development for the City of Thornton Office of Economic Development. There she focused on the retention and expansion of the city’s existing primary employer base and spearheaded redevelopment efforts in a 600-acre Urban Renewal Area. Prior to the City of Thornton, Jessica worked in the City & County of Broomfield as the President & CEO of the Broomfield Economic Development Corporation. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Council of Colorado since 2008 and currently serves on the Board of Colorado Lending Source.  Jessica received a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. She is also a graduate of the Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute and is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD)

Ep.2015:31 (reformatted encore episode 13 PLUS a new news feature with Reporter Kimberly Leonard, US News & World Report on her Aug. 12 article WOULD MENTAL HEALTH LAWS THREATEN PRIVACY & PATIENTS' RIGHTS) Host James Curtis discusses Men & Mental Health featuring Denver, Colorado's mantherapy.org. GUESTS: Joe Conrad, CEO & Founder of the ad agency CACTUS (creators of mantherapy.org); Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, CEO & Founder of the CARSON J. SPENCER Foundation; Jarrod Hindman, Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention.

Luis Benitez stepped into his new role as Director for the Office of Outdoor Recreation Industry on July 1, 2015. This is a brand-new office and position that's part of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT). Hickenlooper truly did install one of us into this pivotal new role. Benitez has a lengthy resume that includes multiple successful summits of the world's highest peaks. He's a die-hard outdoorsman who loves to be at altitude, on the water, or on the trail and who is equally comfortable going light and fast as he is hunting fowl. He also has served as a town councilor in the small mountain town of Eagle, Colo., worked for many years for Colorado's Outward Bound and served as a consultant bridging key attributes of being successful in the wilderness as part of a team into Fortune 200 and 500 companies seeking help with team alignment and best practices. Benitez is a rare breed indeed. Listen in to learn the Governor's focus to grow our opportunities within the outdoor recreation market. This podcast has national relevance and I hope to hear your feedback! Follow Intrepid Entrepreneur podcast by joining our community on Twitter + Instagram (@GoLivingUber) and on Facebook. Visit the LivingUber website to join my weekly newsletter, which gives you access to members-only podcasts and content built just for motivated, adventurous entrepreneurs! Don't forget to rate, review and subscribe to the Intrepid Entrepreneur Podcast, and share it with a peer who you know will be inspired!

Ep.2015:13.3 Jarrod Hindman & Sally Spencer-Thomas, Extended Interview. Host James Curtis discusses Men & Mental Health featuring Denver, Colorado's mantherapy.org. GUESTS: Paul Puri, MD, Psychiatrist & UCLA School of Medicine; Joe Conrad, CEO & Founder of the ad agency CACTUS (creators of mantherapy.org); Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, CEO & Founder of the CARSON J. SPENCER Foundation; Jarrod Hindman, Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention.

Ep.2015:13.2 Joe Conrad, CACTUS CEO, Extended Interview. Host James Curtis discusses Men & Mental Health featuring Denver, Colorado's mantherapy.org. GUESTS: Paul Puri, MD, Psychiatrist & UCLA School of Medicine; Joe Conrad, CEO & Founder of the ad agency CACTUS (creators of mantherapy.org); Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, CEO & Founder of the CARSON J. SPENCER Foundation; Jarrod Hindman, Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention.

Ep.2015:13.1 Paul Puri, MD, Extended Interview. Host James Curtis discusses Men & Mental Health featuring Denver, Colorado's mantherapy.org. GUESTS: Paul Puri, MD, Psychiatrist & UCLA School of Medicine; Joe Conrad, CEO & Founder of the ad agency CACTUS (creators of mantherapy.org); Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, CEO & Founder of the CARSON J. SPENCER Foundation; Jarrod Hindman, Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention.

Ep.2015:13 Host james Curtis discusses Men & Mental Health featuring Denver, Colorado's mantherapy.org. GUESTS: Paul Puri, MD, Psychiatrist & UCLA School of Medicine; Joe Conrad, CEO & Founder of the ad agency CACTUS (creators of mantherapy.org); Sally Spencer-Thomas, PsyD, CEO & Founder of the CARSON J. SPENCER Foundation; Jarrod Hindman, Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention.

Suicide is a delicate health issue. When it comes to men who think about it, attempt it or actually commit suicide, addressing the issue has especially unique challenges.    The latest statistics report more women than men attempt suicide, but more men actually succeed at killing themselves, and at a growing rate.  In honor of National Suicide Prevention Week, we  examine the issue of male suicide.    We hear about a mental health and suicide prevention campaign that tackles the somber issue of suicide with a smile. Jarrod Hindman is Director of the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention. His group partnered with others in developing the Man Therapy Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Campaign. We sat down with a Jeanette Mason, who helplessly watched as her boyfriend jump to his death. Last we talked with Fordham University Professor Daniel Coleman. His research examines gender stereotypes and the link between masculinity and mental health.    

How does your community get out from under the thumb of large incumbents responsible only to Wall Street and win better broadband? By becoming independent of these anti-market forces and building a true community network. Frank Ohrtman, former manager in the Colorado Office of Information Technology, explains how his regional co-op unites the efforts of 40 of the state's 64 counties. They are achieving independence by planning, funding, building and operating local broadband networks.  Gigabit Nation host Craig Settles' recent report on alternative funding strategies for broadband strongly advocates for broadband co-ops. Ohrtman lays out a seven-point game plan for making this strategy work and creating a financially sustainable network. Tell your colleagues, community stakeholders and everyone else who wants better broadband to listen, learn and do.