Meet the Team

  • Monique, who more commonly goes by “Mo,” grew up in the heart of downtown Denver. Her father took her to the mountains to fish and camp from a young age. She believes this is where her connection and love for the environment began. Mo graduated from Chadron State College in 2014 with her degree in Ecology focusing on Wildlife Management and completed her Masters of Science in Management and Strategic Leadership from CSU Fort Collins in April of 2022. Mo has served the Partnership in various roles since 2019, including educator and community outreach manager. Mo is passionate removing barriers to access of the outdoor space and about creating opportunities for all people to spend time immersed in nature.

    Email: mfair@sandcreekgreenway.org

  • Elena is a Colorado native whose love for the outdoors began in her childhood while cooking jiffy pop over the campfire on family camping trips. After graduating from the University of Redlands in 2018 with a degree in Environmental Science Elena found herself pulled towards the environmental stewardship and education field as her passion for inspiring a love for nature among others grew. Elena comes to the Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership with 3 years of experience in hands-on interpretive outdoor education. Elena is passionate about providing opportunities for everyone to access nature and is excited for the opportunity to get youth and adults out onto the Greenway and connect them with the natural world outside their front doors. If she is not out on the Greenway looking for wildlife you can usually find her backpacking, trail running, doodling or cooking in her free time.

    Email: esmith@sandcreekgreenway.org

  • Zoe is a native East coaster who discovered her love for the outdoors later in life. A city girl at heart, her love for the outdoors started when she started going on camping trips with her friends in the summer of 2020. Since then, she has gone on multiple cross-country road trips out West and even worked on the Colorado Rockies for 5 months. As of late 2022, she decided to make the move to Denver for the proximity to the beautiful mountains while still having the creature comforts of a big city. She brings two years of hands-on natural science education experience to the team and is excited to start developing the community science program at Sand Creek! When not educating or sharing her love for the natural world with her community, she can be found hiking, camping, or playing ultimate frisbee.

    Email: zbliss@sandcreekgreenway.org

  • Ronika was born and raised in Colorado, specifically in the Montbello Area. Her nature journey started with a local non-profit, Environmental Learning for Kids. There she explored her first backpacking, camping, and hiking trips. That's where she experienced being an outdoor educator and mentor. Her passion for social justice began in an international high school. The barriers and injustices Ronika recognized in the community motivated her to pursue additional education that would support her community. Ronika graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver with a Bachelor's in social work in 2023 and is currently enrolled in MSU’s Master’s in Social Work program. Her favorite outdoor activity is camping and looking at the stars.

  • Judy is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a rich background in community service, having served as a school social worker, Americorps and Peace Corps Volunteer. Dedicated to working with diverse populations, she is deeply passionate about promoting outdoor equity and fostering community connections. With over 20 years of experience, Judy has contributed to various outdoor accessibility programs, serving as a raft guide, snowboard instructor, and friendly participant. In her leisure time, Judy finds joy in whitewater kayaking, camping, and pedaling her children to various community events on her cargo bike.

2024 Board of Directors

Our board of directors is made up of a dedicated group of volunteers who have a variety of backgrounds and skill sets. We thank them for their hard work, which has made the Greenway what it is today. 

Officers

  • Neil Cowan

    President, Xcel Energy, Community Member

  • Rob Price (He/Him)

    Vice President, Associate Director of Development, Denver Botanic Gardens

  • Dr. Danielle Jackman (She/Her)

    Chief DEI Officer, Owner and Founder of Lotus DEI

  • Leila Regan-Porter (She/her)

    Secretary, Community Volunteer

Board Members

  • Efrain Leal Escalera (He/Him, They/Them)

    Community Volunteer

  • Ruben L. Medina (He/Him)

    Project Manager, Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities

  • Kerry O'Connell (He/Him)

    Project Executive, Mortenson

  • Jordan Parmen (He/Him)

    Senior Water Quality Scientist, Metro Water Recovery

  • Megan O'Grady (She/Her)

    Independent Consultant

Board Application

We are recruiting new Board Members and invite you to apply via the form below. We are committed to diversity and seek to fill Board positions with people who have specific skill sets and/or are a part of the communities near the Sand Creek Regional Greenway. Candidates not selected for the Board of Directors may be invited to start on a Sand Creek Committee. If you have any questions about our recruiting or application process, please get in touch with Mo Fair.

City Staff Partners

Traci Ferguson

Commerce City Parks & Recreation

Adam Lind

Denver Parks & Recreation

Kristin Memmott

Aurora Division of Open Space and Natural Resources