About us /

Our Board of Directors

Beatriz Bonnet

Chair
Highlands Ranch

Present and past community affiliations: Water for People; American Translators Association; Colorado Coalition for the Homeless; American Red Cross Mile High Chapter; National Association of Women Business Owners (Denver Chapter)

Ana Fernandez Frank

D. Dontae Latson, MSSA, LCSW

Vice Chair
CEO, Family Tree
Denver

Dontae Latson is a servant executive leader with over 25 years of experience and nearly 20 years as an executive leader in the human services arena. Dontae believes in serving all people, but his true passion is working in and working for underserved people and communities, particularly people of color and other marginalized groups. Dontae is a community connector, convener, executor, and collaborator. Dontae currently serves as the CEO of Wheat Ridge based non-profit, Family Tree. Family Tree is committed to addressing the interconnected issues of child abuse, domestic violence and homelessness.

Barbara Yondorf

Treasurer 
Yondorf & Associates
Denver

Present and past community affiliations: Boomers Leading Change in Health Care, Center for African American Health, Mental Health Center of Denver, Denver Health & Hospital ER Patient Ambassador, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, HHS, Colorado Blue Ribbon Comission for Health Care Reform, Denver Health & Hospital Authority Board, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Rose Community Foundation, Engaged Public, Colorado Division of Insurance, National Conference of State Legislatures, Colorado Department of Health

Beverly Buck

Beverly Buck, JD, MPA

Secretary & Immediate Past Chair
Public Policy Consultant, private practice
Denver

Beverly R. Buck’s 3+ decade career has spanned from public lawyer to policy researcher, strategic planner to community leader, focusing on systems impacting children, families, and communities. A trustee of the Aloha Foundation, Beverly serves the missions of early childhood education and development, environmental stewardship, and systems integration in Colorado, New York, and Hawai’i. She is an active member of the Advocacy and Policy Committee at the Rose Community Foundation, serves on the Advisory Board of the Children, Youth & Families Funders Roundtable, and teaches law and policy as an adjunct lecturer at the Graduate School of Public Affairs, CU Denver.

Beverly received her JD and MPA from Syracuse University, and a BA in Russian and Spanish Literature from Beloit College. She is married to Denver native David M. Sherman and has two children–Alexander Harrison and Genevieve Rose Sherman.  Beverly is the doting Baba of Maya, Max, and Béla Sova Sherman.

Lynn Borup

Lynn R. Borup

Member
Tri-County Health Network 
Denver

Lynn joined the CCLP Board in June 2022. She brings 30+ years of extensive healthcare experience in executive leadership roles in both the nonprofit and for-profit arenas. Working across multiple states and in diverse communities, she has focused on serving vulnerable populations. As the executive director of Tri-County Health Network for the past 12 years, Lynn developed programs and initiatives to advance health equity and promote racial justice, inclusivity, and cultural understanding throughout rural southwest Colorado. She has spearheaded expansion strategies and successfully led development teams for a number of health plans including Anthem, Colorado Choice Health Plans, and Inland Empire Health Plan. She holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Colorado State University. Lynn enjoys skiing, playing hockey, and experiencing Colorado’s beautiful outdoors with her husband and their three sons.

 

Carol Brite

Carole Brite, CPA

Budget Committee Chair
Chief Financial Officer, LENA Foundation
Denver

Carole joined the Board of CCLP in June 2022.  She is currently the CFO of LENA Foundation whose mission is to transform children’s futures through early talk technology and data driven programs. Carole has over 25 years of leadership experience first as an audit partner for RSM and then with several mission driven nonprofit organizations, including as the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois and the COO of Financial Health Network and the CAO of the YMCA of Metropolitan Denver. Carole earned a BS in Accounting from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

 

Ana Fernandez Frank

Ana Fernandez Frank

Member
Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFAA)
Boulder

Ana joined the Board of CCLP in June 2023. She is the Public Policy and Community Outreach Coordinator at EFAA-Emergency Family Assistance Association- in Boulder, CO working to raise awareness on the broader, systemic issues affecting economically challenged families and individuals in our community, elevating their voices so we may work collaboratively to create local solutions. In this role she collaborated with CCLP and quickly realized her alignment with CCLP’s mission and the impactful work they do. Ana is passionate about social and economic justice and she greatly enjoys the beautiful Colorado outdoors.

Ana earned a BS in Economics from Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina), a MA in Development Management and Public Policy from Georgetown University (Washington, DC) and a Certificate in Non Profit Leadership & Management from Austin Community College (Austin, TX).

 

Miriam Goetzke

Miriam Goetzke

Member
CoBank 
Denver

Miriam is a Colorado native. She attended Spelman College and graduated from the University of Denver. Her desire for social justice and activism started early in life. It was cultivated by listening to stories of her mother, father and brothers fighting for change, be it getting the first African American on the Colorado Symphony, protesting for better labor rights. She began participating in peaceful protest as a child marching for Martin Luther King Jr. to have a holiday. Miriam found her own voice in activism while living in Germany. While there, she volunteered with Amnesty International helping refugees seeking asylum in Germany to navigate the system. She also spent time at Inci e.V. helping Turkish women newly arrived in Germany to negotiate German society. Upon returning to Colorado, Miriam has volunteered with organizations such as CASA and the Red Cross.

 

Nicholas Heimann

Nicholas Heimann

Member
Fort Collins

Nicholas earned his Master of Public Health degree from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2015 and maintains interests in environmental health, health impacts of our built environments, and the sense of belonging and social capital developed through the arts and culture. Since then, he has engaged in work related to equitable community engagement and community building, mentors public health and other students and young professionals, and aims to contribute further to reducing disparities in our Colorado communities. Nicholas is passionate about the people who make up our communities and co-creating ways to support their priorities.

 

T.A. Taylor-Hunt, Esq.

Member
Law Offices of T. A. Taylor-Hunt, LLC
Denver

Present and past community affiliations: State Chair for the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Colorado Collections Agency Board; Board of Directors, Colorado Common Cause; Contributing Law Firm, Colorado Lawyer’s Committee; Metro Volunteer Lawyers; Community Legal Wellness® Education seminars; Professional Development and Goal Setting seminars; former board chair and interim executive director, Colorado Center on Law and Policy; former strategic planner, comptroller, budget and accounting officer, in the U.S. Air Force.

Jose L. Vasquez, Esq.

Member
Colorado Legal Services
Denver

Present and past community affiliations: The Foreclosure Project, Colorado Supreme Court Rules Committee; former chair of the Council of Advisers on Consumer Credit for the State of Colorado; former delegate with the Highlands Ranch Community Association

HEALTH:
HEALTH FIRST COLORADO (MEDICAID)

To maintain health and well-being, people of all ages need access to quality health care that improves outcomes and reduces costs for the community. Health First Colorado, the state's Medicaid program, is public health insurance for low-income Coloradans who qualify. The program is funded jointly by a federal-state partnership and is administered by the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing.

Benefits of the program include behavioral health, dental services, emergency care, family planning services, hospitalization, laboratory services, maternity care, newborn care, outpatient care, prescription drugs, preventive and wellness services, primary care and rehabilitative services.

In tandem with the Affordable Care Act, Colorado expanded Medicaid eligibility in 2013 - providing hundreds of thousands of adults with incomes less than 133% FPL with health insurance for the first time increasing the health and economic well-being of these Coloradans. Most of the money for newly eligible Medicaid clients has been covered by the federal government, which will gradually decrease its contribution to 90% by 2020.

Other populations eligible for Medicaid include children, who qualify with income up to 142% FPL, pregnant women with household income under 195% FPL, and adults with dependent children with household income under 68% FPL.

Some analyses indicate that Colorado's investment in Medicaid will pay off in the long run by reducing spending on programs for the uninsured.

FOOD SECURITY:
SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

Hunger, though often invisible, affects everyone. It impacts people's physical, mental and emotional health and can be a culprit of obesity, depression, acute and chronic illnesses and other preventable medical conditions. Hunger also hinders education and productivity, not only stunting a child's overall well-being and academic achievement, but consuming an adult's ability to be a focused, industrious member of society. Even those who have never worried about having enough food experience the ripple effects of hunger, which seeps into our communities and erodes our state's economy.

Community resources like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, exist to ensure that families and individuals can purchase groceries, with the average benefit being about $1.40 per meal, per person.

Funding for SNAP comes from the USDA, but the administrative costs are split between local, state, and federal governments. Yet, the lack of investment in a strong, effective SNAP program impedes Colorado's progress in becoming the healthiest state in the nation and providing a better, brighter future for all. Indeed, Colorado ranks 44th in the nation for access to SNAP and lost out on more than $261 million in grocery sales due to a large access gap in SNAP enrollment.

See the Food Assistance (SNAP) Benefit Calculator to get an estimate of your eligibility for food benefits.

FOOD SECURITY:
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN (WIC)

Every child deserves the nutritional resources needed to get a healthy start on life both inside and outside the mother's womb. In particular, good nutrition and health care is critical for establishing a strong foundation that could affect a child's future physical and mental health, academic achievement and economic productivity. Likewise, the inability to access good nutrition and health care endangers the very integrity of that foundation.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition information for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

Research has shown that WIC has played an important role in improving birth outcomes and containing health care costs, resulting in longer pregnancies, fewer infant deaths, a greater likelihood of receiving prenatal care, improved infant-feeding practices, and immunization rates

Financial Security:
Colorado Works

In building a foundation for self-sufficiency, some Colorado families need some extra tools to ensure they can weather challenging financial circumstances and obtain basic resources to help them and their communities reach their potential.

Colorado Works is Colorado's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and provides public assistance to families in need. The Colorado Works program is designed to assist participants in becoming self-sufficient by strengthening the economic and social stability of families. The program provides monthly cash assistance and support services to eligible Colorado families.

The program is primarily funded by a federal block grant to the state. Counties also contribute about 20% of the cost.

EARLY LEARNING:
COLORADO CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CCCAP)

Child care is a must for working families. Along with ensuring that parents can work or obtain job skills training to improve their families' economic security, studies show that quality child care improves children's academic performance, career development and health outcomes.

Yet despite these proven benefits, low-income families often struggle with the cost of child care. Colorado ranks among the top 10 most expensive states in the country for center-based child care. For families with an infant, full-time enrollment at a child care center cost an average of $15,140 a year-or about three-quarters of the total income of a family of three living at the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).

The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) provides child care assistance to parents who are working, searching for employment or participating in training, and parents who are enrolled in the Colorado Works Program and need child care services to support their efforts toward self-sufficiency. Most of the money for CCCAP comes from the federal Child Care and Development Fund. Each county can set their own income eligibility limit as long as it is at or above 165% of the federal poverty level and does not exceed 85% of area median income.

Unfortunately, while the need is growing, only an estimated one-quarter of all eligible children in the state are served by CCCAP. Low reimbursement rates have also resulted in fewer providers willing to accept CCCAP subsidies.