Quincy has been with Respite Care since April 2016 as a Child Care Specialist, and has been the School Age Program Coordinator since June 2017. She loves that she gets to be a big kid with our wonderful kiddos everyday! She plans fun field trips, play-based activities, activities to encourage fine and gross motor use, encourages imaginative play, games to shake out the sillies, and designs themed bins for sensory experiences and exploration. Quincy loves seeing kiddos meet their goals in fun ways, building bonds with the children and watching them make friendships Quincy has completed coursework in Pre-Nursing. Quincy graduated high school in Tennessee and completed her Senior Thesis on Adolescent Autism, in which she interviewed families of children with autism. Quincy enjoys poetry, photography, pinball, and dance. Quincy is passionate about her work. In fact, she even has a tattoo on the back of her arm of her interpretation of "helping hands," with the autism puzzle piece in the palms of each hand. She initially learned much of the sign language she now uses at Respite Care at a young age when she was cast as the lead character in a school play. Quincy played a Deaf character named Tuc. She learned all of her lines in American Sign Language after school. Outside of Respite Care, you might find Quincy playing on her women's pinball league!

Natalia has been with Respite Care since 2009. She oversees everything relating to Respite Care's Child Care Programs. Natalia loves working with incredible children and their families, and working closely with our Child Care Specialist and Administrative teams. Because Respite Care, Inc. provides such a unique and important service, she also LOVES making connections with folks who can be involved in some way--whether that be a child who will enjoy our programs, a relieved parent, or a new volunteer! Natalia has a master's degree in Business Administration and a bachelor's degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology, with minors in English and Architecture. She is Director qualified, has her Early Childhood Teacher qualification, as well as her Infant Nursery Supervisor qualification. She has earned her Society for Human Resource Management-Certified Professional credential. Natalia enjoys hiking, quilting, reading, and spending time with family and friends. She started working at Respite Care as a Child Care Specialist when she moved to Colorado in 2009 and was blown away that such an incredible community resource existed. She dreams of starting a similar program in her hometown in Louisiana!

Brielle has been with Respite Care since September of 2018. As the Child Care Manager, she is responsible for all things kid related! This includes conducting intakes, managing paperwork, assisting with behavior plans, overseeing medication administration with our nurse, and many other day to day activities. Brielle LOVES our kids and our staff! Brielle has a MA in Counseling Psychology, a BS in Elementary and Special Education, and is board certified in Traditional Naturopathy. She also has her Early Childhood Teacher Qualification in Colorado. Brielle worked as an Autistic Support for over 8 years for grades K-8! When not at Respite Care, Brielle can be found hiking and being outside, as well as exploring new places she has never been before. Another neat thing about Brielle? At the age of 28, she tested for and earned her black belt in Taekwondo!

Michael as worked at Respite Care since the fall of 2016. Michael works with our staff members to ensure that they have all the training and tools needed to care for all the children at Respite. He works closely with parents and staff members to make sure that our schedules are as accurate as possible. He enjoys helping our staff to problem-solve and loves engaging with our children. Every day, he walks around the building twice a day to check in on everyone to make sure that they all have what they need. One of his favorite parts of his job is stopping in each room to visit and play with the children. Michael has spent 20 years working with children 6 - 14 years old at a summer camp in the mountains of Arizona, and for many years trained and oversaw the staff members assigned to care for 200+ kids. He went to school for Public Administration at NAU. He enjoys hiking and camping, and biking with his family. He loves to travel and his current project is working on starting an ant farm with his kids! He was born and raised in Australia and moved to the States at 18. Since then, he has flown to and from Australia and the United States about 15 times!

Jackie has been working at Respite Care since March of 2019. She oversees many aspects of Respite Care's external communications, including marketing, social media, newsletters, and branding. Additionally, she manages the donor database and ensures every donor and their gift is acknowledged. She loves the ability to see first-hand how much the community supports the children and their families here at Respite Care, as well as share photos and stories of the impact their donations have! Jackie graduated in 2018 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas with a degree in Corporate Communications. She worked with kids every summer of college at a camp up in the Rocky Mountains and was also an Au Pair in Spain and taught English to 6 year olds. When not at Respite Care, Jackie loves to ski and hike with her friends and family, as well as eat pizza at every given opportunity.

Abbi has been at Respite Care since August of 2017. She works with the development team on fundraising and community engagement. She organizes our two major fundraisers annually (the Holiday Ball and the Perennial Luncheon) and manages community tours, as well as providing assistance to the development director as needed. Abbi enjoys learning about fundraising, and she loves that she gets to come to work every day with a wonderful team who are all passionate about Respite Care and our mission. Abbi has a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from University of Northern Colorado as well as a Large Child Care Center Director's License. Abbi previously taught in early childhood classrooms for about four years. When not at Respite Care, Abbi loves to travel and spend time with her husband, puppy and two cats.

Lizzy has been working at Respite Care since summer of 2020. She began as a Child Care Specialist before transitioning into her new role on the Administrative team as the Program Support! Lizzy assists with many child care and administrative tasks on the Program side, and plays a huge role in supporting everyone on our Program team with anything they might need. Her favorite thing about Respite Care is the sense of community she has with the staff & kiddos there! Lizzy graduated from University of Northern Colorado in 2017 with a degree in Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality. She was an intern for the Special Olympics and then worked for Sample Supports in Denver. Outside of Respite Lizzy love to go camping, hiking, fly fishing, ice fishing, and going skiing with her husband. She also love to check out new breweries with her husband and 2 dogs, Stella and Duke!

LeAnn has been at Respite Care for 24 years. As the Executive Director, LeAnn oversees programs and development, which means play time with kids and great relationships with donors! She loves seeing the money raised then spent to help families thrive! LeAnn loves having fun with kids, learning something new every day from parents, and interacting with the amazing people who support Respite Care. One of her favorite things is watching new Respite Care staff members become deeply ingrained in the lives of our families and choosing their career paths based on their inspirational experience at Respite Care. She also thoroughly enjoys meeting Respite Care's many supporters and finding out why they choose to support Respite Care. LeAnn has a bachelor's degree in Social Science from Colorado State University and post graduate studies in nonprofit management. She enjoys spending time with her family. As a 3rd generation native of Fort Collins, she is surrounded by family and the history of living in one place for so long. She and her husband enjoy vacationing at the beach, especially Florida. She also loves any activity in the beautiful Colorado outdoors. Before joining the Respite Care family in 1997, LeAnn and her husband, David, owned women's shoe stores in Fort Collins and Boulder. Entrepreneurship helped prepare her to oversee the business aspects of Respite Care. Buying shoes continues to be one of her downfalls!

Amanda has been involved with Respite Care for several years. First, she volunteered at RC for two years, then as a child care specialist for two years. Amanda joined the administrative team as our Volunteer Manager in 2018. She manages and schedules the wonderful volunteers that help us out in the house and on field trips. Amanda LOVES interacting with the best kiddos in the world everyday and she loves seeing the bond that volunteers develop with the kids. Amanda has a bachelor's degree in Music with a concentration in Music Therapy and is a Board Certified Music Therapist. Amanda also has a small photography business outside of work and enjoys photographing families and couples. She does everything (hiking, camping, exploring, and photography) with her husband and three dogs; Kaya, River, and Bear. One of her favorite things to do is play music for the kiddos at Respite Care!

Lauren has worked at Respite Care since August of 2015. She plans fun and skill-building activities everyday for our teens who attend after school and in the summer. She also helps staff members understand this age group and their unique needs and personalities! Lauren loves making the kids laugh and helping them come up with their own ideas, goals, or dreams. These help Lauren plan the activities to do next. Lauren has her master's degree in Occupational Therapy from Colorado State University, as well as additional training in behavior management and animal assisted activities. Outside of Respite Care, Lauren likes sewing, running, climbing, writing, and dog walking. In addition to Teen Program Coordinator, she also holds the honorary titles of, "Field Trip Queen" and "Archduke of Obstacle Courses."

Maddy has worked at Respite Care since May 2015. She oversees the Pebble program by planning activities and working with families to create individualized goals. She gets to play, get lots of hugs and cuddles, and be a child herself! She loves seeing the kiddos meet their goals and building relationships with them and their families. Maddy has her Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and her Master's Degree in Early Childhood Special Education, both from University of Northern Colorado. She has an Early Childhood Teacher certification and Elementary Education Teacher license. Outside of Respite Care, Maddy has taught Kindergarten, Third Grade, and Fourth Grade. Her favorite things to do outside of work are attending country music concerts, going fishing with her husband, and trying out new breweries with her sister!

Marissa has been working at Respite Care since March of 2019. She volunteered at Respite Care for a couple months, before deciding she wanted to become a Childcare Specialist! She is now very excited to be transitioning into her new role on the Administrative team as the Office Manager. Marissa's favorite part about working at Respite Care is being able to come to work everyday and see the kiddos work towards their goals, explore their creativity and form new connections! Marissa graduated from Colorado State University in May of 2020, with her Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a minor in Spanish. Outside of Respite Care, Marissa loves to go hiking/exploring with her new puppy, Olive! She also loves to read, paint, and snowboard whenever she can!

Lauren has worked at Respite Care since March of 2011. As Development Director, she oversees fund development, community outreach, and marketing. Lauren enjoys meeting and working with donors and community partners. Of the many things she loves about her job, the close relationships with kiddos, volunteers, donors, and Respite families tops the list! Lauren has a master's degree in Public Administration and a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies. She started working at Respite Care as a Child Care Specialist while an undergraduate at Colorado State University. When not at Respite Care, you can find Lauren backpacking and enjoying the outdoors, reading, exploring our local restaurants, and spending time with her friends and family. Fun fact: Lauren is a fourth-generation Coloradan!