Carolyn Reed

Chair

A native of Wellington, Carolyn is a small business owner with deep roots in Larimer County. She has been the proprietor of local favorite Silver Mine Subs for more than a decade. Her diverse skills and experience have led her to serve on the boards for the Wyoming and Colorado restaurant associations, the Teamsters Local 17 and most recently, the Poudre School District board. She has also volunteered with Foster Parent organizations, the United States Air Force Family Services and Larimer County Court Appointed Special Advocates. Her interest in serving on the SummitStone Board stems from a strong desire to make a difference in the community, particularly in behavioral health, which has never garnered as much importance and necessity as now.

Paul Panico

Vice Chair

Paul is a retired healthcare executive and executive coach. He began his healthcare career in 1992 when he was recruited from academia to join the executive team at North Colorado Medical Center (NCMC) in Greeley. Since then, he has held many executive-level positions in several organizations, including roles of chief operating officer/executive vice president and chief executive officer. Prior to healthcare, he held appointments at the University of Colorado (Boulder and Denver campuses) and worked in the private sector developing executive selection and assessment centers.

After 22 years as a healthcare executive, Paul transitioned from his leadership roles to become an executive coach and account leader for Huron Healthcare/Studer Group, an international healthcare consulting organization. In this capacity, he worked with and coached executive leaders and physician executives for several major healthcare systems including Kaiser Permanente of Orange County, University of New Mexico Health Sciences, Denver Health and Hospital Authority, MultiCare, Christus Trinity Mother Frances to name a few. 

During his career, Paul served on several not-for-profit governing boards. After his retirement in 2017, he joined the Board for the Friends of the Gardens on Spring Creek as Treasurer.

Paul earned his PhD in I/O Psychology from Colorado State University in 1986, an MBA from the University of Delaware in 1978, and a BA in Biology in 1975. He is a past fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Nate Budd

Secretary

Nate is an experienced fundraising and business development strategist with several multi-million-dollar successes spanning the start-up, natural resources, infrastructure, non-profit and higher education sectors. Nate brings to the board his experiences from over six years as a philanthropic development professional at a major public University and a decade of navigating the legal, financial and regulatory hurdles of water infrastructure permitting and development in the Western US.

Chris Otto

Treasurer

Chris is a partner in the audit service area of Plante Moran and the office managing partner of the Fort Collins Office. He has been involved in public accounting since 1990. He has extensive experience providing auditing, accounting and business advisory services to closely held businesses and public companies in a variety of industries including real estate, high-tech and software, manufacturing, distribution, construction and professional services. Chris also has extensive experience in forensic accounting and fraud prevention and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. Chris volunteers with many non-profit organizations and he is a certified human capital coach.

Tim Brown

Tim is currently working under contracts with area Law Enforcement to provide clinical supervision to Peer Support Teams and counseling services for employees and family members in area criminal justice agencies. He retired in March, 2020 as an Assistant Chief at the Loveland Police Department. Tim previously served on the SummitStone Board of Directors from 2012-2017 and has returned for a second round of service to SummitStone Health Partners and the greater Larimer County community. Tim was in Law Enforcement service for more than 38 years and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Northwestern University’s School for Police Staff and Command, and the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business Public Safety Leadership Program. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Albuquerque and a Master’s Degree in Agency Counseling from the University of Northern Colorado.

Karen Morgan

Karen is a marketing and management consultant with more than 35 years experience in marketing and communications, strategic business planning, sales, product development, and human resources as an executive in both the credit union and health care industries. She has served in leadership roles on numerous non-profit boards throughout Northern Colorado and will be a District Governor for the Rotary service clubs in our region in 2025-26.   She currently serves as a consumer advocate member of the steering committee for the Mental Health Substance Use Alliance of Larimer County.  Karen is passionate about changing the dialogue and educating communities about the importance of a comprehensive, and integrated approach to providing behavioral health treatment. She is a graduate of Colorado State University with a B.A. in Speech and Theatre Arts with concentrations in public relations and broadcasting. Karen has served on the SummitStone board since 2016.

Jeff Vanhook

Jeffrey Vanhook is a Patrol Lieutenant with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. He has been employed with that agency since 1992. During his career he has held many different positions; Detention Deputy, Patrol Deputy, Narcotics Detective, General Criminal Investigations Detective, Patrol Corporal, Patrol Sergeant, Training Sergeant and Patrol Lieutenant. Jeff has been a Field Training Officer for the agency since 1998 and was the agency Field Training Program (FTP) Coordinator for 12 years. Jeff is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) trainer in the Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC) program and is the program administrator. Jeff is part of Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Curriculum Committee and previously served on Colorado POST academy committee. Jeff is a Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.) member and an Executive Board member of Colorado National Association of Field Training Officer (NAFTO).

Nick Christensen

Nick Christensen is Vice President of Real Estate for the Colorado State University Research Foundation where he leads portfolio management and delivery of services. Previously, Nick co-founded Chrisland Real Estate Companies, an affiliation of commercial brokerage, development and related investment entities, and prior to that was an executive with McWhinney. Nick also served in an appointed role as Executive Officer on the command staff of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. He was subsequently appointed by the Larimer County Commissioners to the Behavioral Health Policy Council and has served in leadership capacities on several non-profit boards.

Heather Buoniconti

Heather is the Chief Development Officer for the Food Bank for Larimer County, a position she’s held since 2005. Prior to joining the Food Bank, Heather served as the Executive/Development Director and National Trainer for the American Cancer Society. She has more than 24 years of nonprofit experience and specializes in financial and budgetary management, fundraising, event planning, community relations, strategic planning, and board development.

Rico Devlin

Rico is a Senior Partner and Broker with LC Real Estate Group. He has built a network of trusted colleagues throughout Northern Colorado collaborating with many brokers, clients, and organizations over the past ten years in commercial sales and leasing brokerage. Rico has served on several non-profit boards including the Loveland Satellite Rotary Club, the Loveland Chamber of Commerce young professionals, and Loveland Planning Commission, and is currently a director with the Northern Colorado Commercial Association of Realtors. He obtained a bachelor’s degree of Business Administration with Honors from Colorado State University. His service experience in the restaurant industry, coupled with his business acumen, has propelled his career at LC Real Estate Group, which fosters a culture of “Mindfully Creating Community.” He hopes to continue this mission while serving on the SummitStone Board of Directors and by sharing his personal experience of recovery.

Steve Tool

Steve Tool is a Colorado native. He grew up in Englewood and graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA degree in Political Science in 1965. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force and served for five years as a B-52 navigator attaining the rank of captain. He flew 160 combat missions in the Viet Nam War and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the eight Air Medals. In 1970 Steve entered the real estate business in Denver. In 1975 he moved to Fort Collins. He was an active Realtor or real estate appraiser for 33 years. Steve has a history of community leadership. In 1983-84 he was selected Volunteer-of-the-Year by the Colorado Chapter of the American Cancer Society and in 1987 he was selected as Realtor-of-the-Year by the Fort Collins Board of Realtors. Steve served in the Colorado General Assembly from 1995 thru 2000. He was a member of the Health, Environment, Welfare and Institutions Committee; Finance Committee; Judiciary Committee; and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Joint Budget Committee. He received numerous legislative awards in the six years he served in the General Assembly. From 2001 to 2005 Steve worked for the Colorado Department of Revenue as its legislative liaison and public information officer and then as the director of the Division of Motor Vehicles. In 2005 Governor Owens appointed Steve to his Cabinet as the executive director of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing managing the state’s Medicaid program, the Child Health Plan Plus and the Indigent Care Program. Steve and his wife Karen have five adult children and ten grandchildren and make their home in Windsor.

Seth Forwood

Seth Forwood has lived in Fort Collins for over 33 years and has worked alongside those experiencing homelessness and addiction for 19 years. He began his vocation as an intern at Harvest Farm where he lived and worked with the men in the program for three months. After completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from CSU he started full-time at Harvest Farm. He worked for ten years in various roles in direct practice and completed his master’s in Social Work at CSU before becoming director. He is now the Vice President of Programs overseeing the Northern Colorado facilities of Fort Collins Rescue Mission and Harvest Farm. In this role he also focuses on community development through building bridges between unlikely sectors of society to discover creative solutions that impact and benefit the entire community. He is currently the Vice Chair of Larimer County Behavioral Health Policy Council and serves on the Fort Collins Police Chief’s Community Advisory Board, CSU’s School of Social Work Community Advisory Board, Northern Colorado Continuum of Care’s Governing Board, and the board of his children’s hybrid school, Paideia Classical Community.

Cyndi Dodds

Interim Chief Executive Officer/Chief Clinical Officer

Cyndi has a great passion for behavioral health services. She is the Chief Clinical Officer at SummitStone Health Partners and previously served as the Executive Director for the Namaqua Center in Loveland. Her work has included more than two decades with behavioral health organizations in Northern Colorado. She began her career as a direct service provider at Island Grove Regional Treatment Center in Greeley and then at Larimer County Mental Health Center. She moved into senior leader roles at the Namaqua Center and SummitStone. Cyndi is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Colorado. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Alliant University in San Diego and a Master of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University. Cyndi serves on the Larimer County Interagency Oversight Group, Colorado Behavior Healthcare Council Health Care Operations Committee and Colorado State University School of Social Work Advisory Board. She has served on the CBHC Conference Committee, CBHC Clinical Outcomes Subcommittee, the Colorado Association of Children and Family Agencies Public Policy Committee, CAFCA Board of Directors, and the Larimer County Federation for Families Board of Directors.

Tegan Camden

Chief Operations Officer

Tegan Camden is a licensed professional counselor who has served in the field of community behavioral health for more than fifteen years. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Psychology from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and holds a Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in community counseling from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Tegan joined SummitStone in 2018. She has extensive experience in leading nonprofit clinical programs and has served in executive leadership for more than ten years. She has provided leadership to numerous organizations, teams and committees aimed at improving mental health service delivery methods for children and families. Tegan actively contributes to the well-being of her community in numerous ways, including serving as a member of the Loveland Human Services Commission as well as holding a board seat for the United Way of Larimer County. Tegan was also a recipient of the 40 Under Forty award for Northern Colorado in 2021 and works to steward the development of new and emerging leaders in our county.

John Dowling

Chief Financial Officer

John Dowling’s analytical approach started as a child, taking apart toys and putting them back together again. John maintains this intellectual curiosity and for over 20 years has developed a process to transform knowledge into creative solutions, improving compliance and financial issues for organizations in any industry. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 2005, John has worked with privately held companies and public corporations of all sizes and in all stages of development. John’s technical background gives him an edge in external and internal auditing, financial analysis, accounting and financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, project management, and process improvement. John is highly regarded for his ability to review and analyze complex scenarios and communicate findings in clear and easy-to-understand terminology. He has served domestic and international organizations in diverse industries, including: Construction, Gaming, Not-for-profit, Consumer Products, Health Care, Oil and Gas, Education, Hospitality, Real Estate, Federal Awards, Insurance, Retail, Financial Services, Manufacturing, and State and Local Government. A native of upstate New York, John grew up exploring the Adirondacks, snowboarding down the slopes as often as he mountain-biked single-track. After moving to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains, John added camping and fly fishing to his repertoire. John and his wife met at an airport, fitting since they and their children love to travel around the country, meeting people, and experiencing foods, national parks and water activities. Passionate about helping and mentoring others, John believes that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing right.

Dr. Lesley Brooks

Longview Executive Director/Medical Director, SummitStone Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Lesley Brooks serves as the Executive Director/Medical Director for services at Longview and the Chief Medical Officer for SummitStone. Dr. Brooks, a board-certified family physician, has practiced full-scope family medicine including prenatal care, chronic pain, and substance use disorder/addiction in northern Colorado for more than a decade. Since her transition to SummitStone Health Partners in 2020, she specializes in substance use and mental health. As the Chief Medical Officer at SummitStone, Dr. Brooks leads the design, development and implementation of Larimer County’s Behavioral Health Services facility, which opened in December 2023.

John McKay

Chief Culture Officer

John’s career has focused on promoting equitable outcomes for marginalized communities. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Bethel College, Kansas, and his master’s in Clinical Social Work from the University of Kansas. He also holds a Principal Licensure in Educational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. His work in education brought him to recognize the increasing need for advocacy in health equity for diverse identities and cultures, and how viewing our varied communities’ needs through a behavioral healthcare lens can improve outcomes for everyone. John’s extensive experience in team building, systems analysis, and data-driven decision making will help our organization to further our vision of being a place where a diverse mix of talented professionals can accomplish their best work to fulfill our mission of providing unsurpassed behavioral healthcare to our community.

Cali Thole

Director of Forensic Services

Cali Thole is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist as well as a Licensed Addictions Counselor with nearly 20 years of experience in behavioral health. As Director of Forensic Services, Cali oversees all of SummitStone’s jail-based services, working closely with Larimer County Community Corrections and the police departments in Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park. Cali’s experience focuses on developing and implementing progressive programs using best practices to reduce recidivism and provide alternatives to jail for those in the criminal justice system who also have a mental illness. Cali earned her Master’s in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University and her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Clarke College.

Andrea Strayer

Director of Outpatient Services

Andrea Strayer, LCSW, LAC, is the Director of Outpatient Services for SummitStone Health Partners. Andrea holds her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. She began her work with SummitStone in 2013, starting as an Access Clinician Team Lead and progressively moving into leadership roles. Andrea has a strong track record of leading teams to accomplish clinical and organizational goals with an eye for innovation and collaborative solutions to provide excellence in client care and experience with a culturally affirming lens.

Cassie Damato

Director of Acute Services

Cassie Damato joined SummitStone Health Partners in 2010, specializing in trauma-informed practices including Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy TF-CBT, Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Trauma Informed Art Therapy, and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). She advanced into a leadership role at SummitStone with Crisis Services programming, supervising walk-in and mobile services. Cassie has played an integral leadership role in establishing interdependent, co-owned programs with community partners such as UCHealth, Foothills Gateway and multiple police and EMS services through several Co-Responder programs in the Acute Services Division of SHP. She is a member of the Larimer County Zero Suicide workgroup and serves on the steering committee for the Imagine Zero Coalition. She is a member of the Crisis Counseling and Resilience Enhancement (CARE) team for community disaster response. Cassie also serves on the state Mental Health Advisory Board for Service Standards and Regulations appointed by Governor Jared Polis. Cassie is adept at developing and growing partnerships that further advance SummitStone’s mission to create a seamless behavioral health service system in Larimer County.

Kyle Trinkner

Director of Information Technology

Kyle joined SummitStone’s Information Technology team in 2020 as a System Administrator with previous technical experience in the manufacturing and consulting industries. Kyle has a strong background in system administration, network management and helpdesk support in addition to an extensive range of software and information technology platforms. He studied Computer Information Systems at Colorado State University for both his bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Kyle brings a focus on bridging technical solutions with business needs while ensuring friendly customer service.

Jerry Howell

Director of Facilities

Jerry Howell has extensive experience serving as a leader in safety services including the direction of policy, budget and organizational goals. He comes to us from the Poudre Fire Authority where he was most recently a Division Chief/Fire Marshal. Throughout his career, Jerry has been dedicated to creating, fostering and facilitating community partnerships to best serve the public need. He holds his master’s degree from Oklahoma State University and his bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University. In addition to his years of public service, Jerry has published numerous articles on safety and fire prevention mitigation, as well as serving on editorial committees to develop and produce training materials for other public safety professionals.

Bethany Engblom

Associate Medical Director

Bethany Engblom, D.O., serves as Associate Medical Director of bed-based care for SummitStone Health Partners. She is a board-certified family medicine physician who has practiced broad spectrum care since 2009. She comes to SummitStone after working as the Medical Director for Sunrise Community Health Center where she developed a passion for understanding the neurobiology of addiction and helping clients treat and manage this disease. Bethany has an extensive history of volunteer work throughout her career. She will primarily serve clients at the Longview Acute Care facility, which is set to open in 2023.

Brian Ferrans

Deputy Executive Director

Brian Ferrans (he/him) has an undergraduate degree in Sociology/Criminal Justice and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Healthcare. He has spent the past twelve years working on improving our systems of care for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders across our local behavioral health, criminal justice, and most recently our fire/EMS systems. Brian comes to us from Poudre Fire Authority, where he served as their Community Risk Reduction & Outreach Manager. Brian also served as the Health District’s Director of Community Impact until 2021, working on key behavioral health projects across Larimer County (e.g., Solutions to Behavioral Health Service Gaps in Larimer County report, MAT in Jail, CO-SLAW, Changing Minds, Rethinking Addiction, etc.). He served as the facilitator and lead of the Mental Health Substance Use (MHSU) Alliance of Larimer County and is a current Co-Lead for the Northern Colorado Collaborative for Addiction and Recovery Support (NOCO-CAReS) committee. During the pandemic, Brian helped to develop and run the COVID-19 Isolation/Quarantine site for people experiencing homelessness in Larimer County as part of the Health District’s COVID response. He currently serves as a member on the Larimer County Behavioral Health Policy Advisory Council (BHPAC) and as a board member of Outreach Ft. Collins. Brian also served six years in the Colorado Army National Guard.

Jenn Anderson

Director of Talent Management

Jenn has extensive experience in Human Resources, specifically in the healthcare field. Most recently, she served in Human Resources leadership roles for in large healthcare systems along the Front Range, and she previously provided consultative services to systems across the country, while working for an organization specializing in employee and physician engagement and retention. Jenn earned her Master’s degree in Career Counseling from Colorado State University and her BA in Psychology from the University of Vermont. Jenn’s areas of strength include talent mapping and development, employee relations, strategic workforce planning and succession planning.

Jaime Engel

Director of Total Rewards

Jaime has years of experience in Human Resources and comes to SummitStone after a long career with Poudre School District. Jaime earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University. She holds a Senior Certified Professional credential (SHRM-SCP), as well as the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification (SPHR). She has extensive experience in compensation, recruitment, hiring and retention, employee relations and employment law compliance.

Kathy Sisneros

Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Kathy’s background is in higher education, with the majority of her career spent supporting and leading diversity, equity, inclusion and justice efforts at the unit, department and institutional level. She has a strong understanding of structural ecosystems and the ability to identify important questions, engage key stakeholders, and identify potential solutions. Kathy has experience creating and delivering a wide range of DEIJ content and experience with multicultural organizational development/change, collaboration, and creating a supportive and safe environment for valuable learning to occur. She had dedicated her career to helping organizations become more inclusive and dedicated to working with and advocating for historically minoritized groups.

Laurie Johnson

Director of Administrative Operations & Revenue Cycle Management

Laurie has broad expertise in healthcare leadership applying innovative practices and a team-focused approach toward meeting organizational goals. She holds two bachelor’s degrees from Cornell College, one in business and economics, and one in psychology. Prior to joining SummitStone, Laurie served as the Director of Revenue Cycle Services for Estes Park Health where she helped to establish a Medicaid Certified Application Assistance Site (CAAS). She is dedicated to open and transparent communications with clients to ensure the highest standards of care. Laurie is pleased to again apply her expertise in the behavioral healthcare field where she began her healthcare career at Centennial Peaks in Louisville.

Kristi Shattuck

Director of Nursing

Kristi comes to SummitStone with more than 15 years of nursing and leadership experience in a variety of nursing specialty areas. Her work experience includes serving as a director at Longmont United Hospital and the Medical Center of Aurora, in addition to developing clinical education and onboarding programs for nurses.

 Throughout her career she has focused on the professional development of nurses and fostering cultures that support growth and the advancement of the practice of nursing. Kristi is passionate about growing leaders and is a true advocate for nursing, as proven through interprofessional collaboration, project and change management, and staff development.

Kristi earned her bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Phoenix and her master’s degree in nursing leadership and management from Western Governors University. She is a Board-Certified Nurse Executive through the American Nurses Credentialling Center. 

Sarah Bystrom

Director of Compliance

Sarah has a diverse background with over a decade of experience in the nonprofit healthcare space and spent her last few years in the software industry where she learned how to better leverage new and emerging technologies. She started her career as a direct care staff and worked through the various facets of operations which led to a passion for compliance. Sarah pulls on her operations experience to ensure compliance is approachable, effective and encompassing of the various stakeholders’ needs.