2022 Steering Committee

Conference Co-Chairs

Joe has more than 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He originally started by working with the homeless in Washington DC after graduate school at George Washington University. He likes to say that his “unofficial” title at Calvary Women’s Shelter was “Chief Gopher” because of his diverse responsibilities which included office management, databases, facilities maintenance and opening the shelter. He joined Perry-Mansfield as the Development Director in 2022. He was a member of the 2017 NWRPD Steering committee and has served as the chair of the NWRPD Regional Leadership Committee for the past two years.

Jennifer MacNeil currently serves as the Executive Director of the Yampa River Botanic Park in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Jennifer brings 20+ experience in the non-profit sector serving as an ED for another botanical garden, a Major Gifts Officer for a national non-profit, and a Director of Finance and Operations for another national non-profit. Passionate about plants and how public gardens impact communities, she holds a MS in Environmental Horticulture with an emphasis in Public Gardens Administration and a minor in Non-Profit Administration from the University of Florida. Jennifer serves as a member of the Rotary Club of Steamboat Springs. In her spare time enjoys living the best mountain life with her husband, daughter, and two dogs.

Advisory Committee

Nellie Stagg is the Senior Program Director at Community Resource Center, working with hundreds of rural nonprofit leaders across the state to strengthen their organizations and communities. Nellie has a background in rural programmatic management, nonprofit capacity building, and data informed decision making. A proud AmeriCorps NCCC alumni, Nellie understands the value of national service and the impact it can have on individuals, organizations, and communities. As a former Program Officer with Serve Colorado – the Governor’s Commission on Community Service, Nellie brings the unique perspective of having been a grant maker overseeing a portfolio of rural and developing programs across the state. When not driving across Colorado, she can be found at the library, in a makerspace, or in the garden.

Natalie joined Community Resource Center as the Rural Action Network Program Coordinator after finishing a year of service as the Regional Engagement Associate VISTA with CRC. Natalie is originally from Ohio where she graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Economic, Education, Development, and Sustainability with a focus on international and community development. She is excited to bring her experience with community development and rural communities to the CRC team. When not at work, Natalie can be found cooking, roller blading, or going to concerts.

Program Subcommittee

Lindsay is the Executive Director of Partners in Routt County. She received her bachelor’s in Psychology from Michigan State University in 2007. Lindsay served as an AmeriCorps VISTA from 2008-2009 and then moved to Colorado. Lindsay originally joined the Partners team in 2009 as an AmeriCorps School-Based Mentor. She then worked in the Partners office as an AmeriCorps VISTA before spending four years as the Partners School-Based Mentoring Program Manager. Lindsay earned her Masters in social work from CSU and spent four years as the school social worker for Hayden School District before returning to Partners in the Executive Director role.

Caroline McClenahan is the Grant Administrator for Routt County. A graduate of Boise State University, Caroline’s work history is a patchwork of experience in the private and public sectors. Caroline started working at the age of 15 at the YMCA as a lifeguard, swim instructor and camp counselor and worked all through college,  juggling 3 part-time jobs and babysitting. After college, Caroline spent 3 years engaged in trail maintenance/building roles before starting a 3 year tenure at the University of Wisconsin. Following her role as a Research Administrator and the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Caroline spent 4 years working for a small business in Steamboat Springs, before assuming her current role at Routt County. Caroline met her husband while working together on a Rocky Mountain Youth Corps trail crew and they currently live in Hayden with their daughter, bloodhound and chickens.

Dagny McKinley has lived many places, but found a home in the expansive granite landscape of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. She is as comfortable in the city as she is in the wilderness, but prefers the challenges of big mountains and surviving outdoors. McKinley stays current on environmental issues, women’s issues and is an avid animal rights supporter. She believes all lives are interconnected and each person, landscape and insect has something to offer and teach. Writing has been a part of McKinley’s life since she was a small child. She found healing through writing and nature and continues immerse herself in those passions today. She previously served as the Director of Development and Marketing for Steamboat Creates and is now working her dream job as Director of the Colorado New Play Festival.

Helen is the Routt County Program Manager at The Cycle Effect. She has a deep passion to inspire organizations, people, and our community to continually strive towards their goals.  In her spare time, she spends time with her husband and two young kids exploring new places and adventuring in the woods.

Suze Kanack was born in Walden Colorado and she moved back home about 10 years ago. She received her first degree from University of Northern Colorado and has worked at Wyoming Public Television, Wyoming State Division of Disability, and was on the National Board of Traffic advisors committee. Suze loves her home and is currently working with Elders to help them stay in the community.

In his role as Program Officer, Sean is a member of the Colorado Health Foundation’s (CHF) Affordable Housing, Food Access and Security, and Metro-Denver/Northwest Colorado regional community investment teams. Sean works diligently to build authentic, trusting partnerships with community leaders and service providers across the Denver-metro and NW Colorado region so that Coloradans facing unfair barriers have voice, agency and power to improve their lives. In his role, Sean has been influential in deepening existing strategies to center racial justice and moving power to community members and grassroots groups who are most deeply affected by the inequities they seek to redress. This has been demonstrated through innovative grantmaking across the housing justice and food justice ecosystems with goals of manifesting health equity. Sean’s early career spanned across roles including on-site resident manager for a permanent supportive housing program, eviction-prevention family advocacy case management and other roles in communications and community engagement. After serving on a place-based community engagement team in Lake Worth, Florida through Palm Health Foundation, he knew his dream was to someday work for a statewide health foundation addressing deeply-rooted, systemic/structural inequities.

Kate Nowak has 20 years of nonprofit management experience and has recently been with Routt County United Way for the past 9 years. As co-chair of the last RPD, I can say RPD is worth every ounce of resources poured into making a great event.

Stephanie Einfeld has served the agency for eight years commencing as Business Manager, then transitioning to Director of Performance Improvement and finally transitioning to CEO in 2018. Ms. Einfeld received a Bachelor of Science degree in Statistical Mathematics from Colorado State University in 2004, after which she began work in the healthcare field. In 2010, she received a professional certification in Lean Healthcare Management from the University of Michigan and, in 2011, a Master of Business Administration degree from Regis University. During her career, she has held multiple management roles, both in financial analysis and process improvement, including work at a global fortune 500 company.

Jen Fanning has over twenty years of experience working with disadvantaged populations in community health, program development and healthcare delivery implementation. Jen received significant training and experience in her role as a Community Health and AIDS Prevention agent in West Africa during her Peace Corps service. Additional experience and training includes health and racial equity, social determinants of health, inclusion, case management, marketing, environmental health, and teaching developmentally delayed children. Jen also volunteered for the National Sports Center for the Disabled for seven years and the American Cancer Society for three years. Jen received a Bachelor in Arts from Hamilton College, with a concentration in Psychology, and a Master’s of Science from University of Denver in Healthcare Management, with a concentration in Strategic Leadership in Healthcare Organizations. She was a 2009 fellow of the Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership Advanced Leadership Training Program. She was also a 2011 fellow in the Community Resource Center’s Nonprofit Leadership and Management Training Program and a 2013 fellow of El Pomar’s Emerging Leaders Development Program. Jen is also a trained Second Circle facilitator to build trusting relationships and work toward real, meaningful change. Jen also was co-chair of the Northwest Colorado Rural Philanthropy Days (NWCO RPD) planning committee in 2012-2013 and co-chair of the marketing committee in 2016-2017. In 2019, Jen was appointed to Governor Polis’s Behavioral Health Task Force to evaluate and set the roadmap to improve the current behavioral health system in the state. Jen was hired by the Network in July 2007 as the Community Health Program Coordinator and assumed the Executive Director’s role in 2008.

With her education in cultural anthropology, regional planning, and historic preservation, Jen has invested 20-years into building equitable, inclusive, and sustainable communities. She loves innovative projects and working collaboratively with partners and community members. Jen manages RCUW’s Women United and many of the other programs offered to the county. She loves playing in the outdoors, traveling, volunteering, and spending time with family.

Holly moved to Steamboat after graduating from the University of Colorado and has been living in town for 20 years. Her background is in credit/accounting in both corporate and small business; in addition to her work at YVCF, Holly and her husband operate a small metalworking business in town. In her free time, Holly enjoys skiing, hiking and cheering on her two daughters during their many sports activities. She feels lucky to call Steamboat home and be a part of an organization that gives back to the community.

Born in the USA and raised in Mexico, Irene returned to Steamboat during middle school and graduated from Steamboat Springs High School in 2009. Moving to a different country at the age of 12, she had to adapt to a new culture, systems and learn a new language. She and her family experienced first hand the barriers that the immigrant community faces when accessing medical, education, housing and every day resources. Irene became a mom at a very young age, she was fortunate to have a very strong support system that guided her through the new role of being a mother. This empowered Irene to pursue her dream in Early Childhood Education to support families during the most important journey of their lives, especially after moving to a new country.

Kristen Olson is the Executive Director of Moffat County United Way. Previously, she was the Community Impact Coordinator for the organization where she was responsible for fundraising, grantor-grantee relationships, and various class facilitation, while providing long-term coaching to adults and advising students at-risk of not graduating. Prior to joining United Way, Kristen brought a background in education. Kristen is a board member for the Colorado Community Action Association, a committee member of Moffat County Communities that Care, and is serving on the City of Craig’s Brownfields Steering Committee. She previously served as the Vice-President on the board of Connections 4 Kids and was on the board of directors for Moffat County Tourism Association. Kristen is a certified Bridges Out of Poverty Trainer and Getting Ahead Facilitator; she is trained in Mental Health First Aid and Motivational Interviewing. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

Hospitality  Subcommittee

Rachel Wattles lives in Hayden, Colorado with her husband Ryan and four children, who are the 5th generation on the family ranch. Rachel works as the Arts & Events Director at the Hayden Center. Rachel is passionate about the arts, outdoors, and traveling.

Susan is a Colorado native who grew up in Fort Collins before attending college at the University of California, San Diego and then moving to Steamboat for “one ski season” 32 years ago. After a season of ski bumming she settled into a long career with the Steamboat Parks & Recreation Department overseeing recreation programs and events. She then joined the Yampa Valley Community Foundation where she worked with donors to find their passion and support the many nonprofits in our valley. She then acted as the Community Mobilizer for the Communities That Care statewide prevention effort focused on youth. Susan is currently part of the team at Steamboat Recreational Adaptive Sports (STARS) as the Development Director working to cultivate relationships with donors, oversee fundraising events and work to support the mission of STARS.

Michele Meyer has worked at Community Agriculture Alliance since 2010 and as the Executive Director since 2018. She has over 25 years of professional fundraising and marketing experience and has previously working for United Way and Hospice of Larimer County. Michele is a part time ski instructor, personal trainer and teach yoga and fitness classes.

Nelly has lived in Steamboat Springs for 17 years, originally from Peru. Initially, she managed a couple of local restaurants and then began working with the Yampa Valley’s immigrant community. Through her years of work with Northwest Colorado Health (former VNA) as a professional medical interpreter and care coordinator and also by working for our local hospital UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center where she also worked as a medical professional interpreter and advocate for the immigrant community she quickly learned what the needs in our community are. Being an immigrant herself, she understands the challenges and hardships that people face when starting a new life in a foreign country. Personally accomplishing the process to obtain U.S. citizenship has given her invaluable experience in immigrants’ rights and the processes and statutes associated with gaining citizenship. She is able to share her experiences with those who are tackling the same obstacles she did. This has established a strong connection and bond of trust between her and the immigrant community. Nelly attended Ricardo Palma University, a highly esteemed institution of learning in her home country, obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpretation where she learned multiple languages as well as how to teach and translate those languages. She is fluent in English and Spanish and proficient in French and has some basic Italian knowledge. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree she worked as an intern at the USA embassy in her home country where she was able to use and improve her language skills. Nelly also got her ESL (English as a Second Language for teachers) certification in Peru and worked as an English and French teacher in a couple of public and private schools. She is truly passionate about working with immigrants in our community and she actively strives to help them reach higher standards of living. She is dedicated to advocating for their rights as active members of our community and country.

Laraine joined Routt County Riders as Executive Director in 2019 with a substantial background of experience managing programs, events and outreach for nonprofits within the outdoor industry. Prior to setting roots in Northwest Colorado, she completed her MA in International Development with a Certificate in Global Health Affairs at the University of Denver as a Peace Corps Fellow, and spent several years working and living in sub-Saharan Africa. She is an avid backcountry skier and mountain biker who finds healing through connection with nature and strives to advocate for more equitable access to the outdoors. She has lived in the Yampa Valley for over 10 years and loves it dearly.