Shay joined the PEAK staff team in October 2020. She was looking to find work in an organization with a heart and passion for making an impact. After just a short time aboard, she gained an understanding of the need within the community for the work PEAK does. Shay feels everyone deserves fair opportunities to reach their full potential and feel they are valued, contributing members of society. She loves dogs, especially her German Shorthaired Pointer, Jaxon.

Michele Williers joins PEAK Parent Center as Executive Director with a 28-year-career in management and administration of community development and youth-serving agencies, including 22 years within the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) network – a leader in youth development, child safety and protection.

Tony Darren serves the PEAK staff as a Technical Assistance Specialist for the Region D Parent Technical Assistance Project (Region D PTAC) providing technical assistance to Parent Centers in the western United States. Tony states that PEAK has helped him broaden his scope and introduced him to different ways of thinking. Tony does this work to see all children succeed in life. He is passionate about music and fluently speaks Italian. When asked what he is grateful for, he responded, “Everything!”

Nora Thompson works as the Co-Director for the Region D Technical Assistance Project which provides technical assistance to parent centers in the western United States. Nora formally joined the PEAK staff in 2019, but has been collaborating with PEAK since 2008. As a result of her work with PEAK, she has been able to widen her lens and grow her network.

In 2019 Sherrell attended a screening of the film King Gimp that PEAK co-hosted. She later joined the PEAK staff team as Assistant Director of the RSA Shift Transition Project as well as a  Youth Trainer/Mentor. She strongly believes that everyone deserves an opportunity to be the best version of themselves and to be treated with dignity and respect. She notes that PEAK promotes advocacy, inclusion, and hope for those that have long felt excluded and downtrodden.

Amber joined PEAK Parent Center’s staff team in 2019 as Conference Coordinator. She wanted a career where she could make a difference and utilize her background and skills in event planning. Amber looks forward to learning all about PEAK’s work. In her spare time she loves to hike and each year she attempts to climb a fourteener. She is grateful for her sense of adventure!

Myrna Martin joins the PEAK staff as a Spanish Outreach Facilitator.  She first became involved with PEAK in 2017 by receiving support from a Parent Advisor after moving to Colorado and then attending the Annual Conference on Inclusive Education. For Myrna, family comes first. She likes to encourage and expose her son, who has autism, to new things and looks forward to him being in a general education class as he transitions from preschool to elementary school.

Sami Peterson is a Transition Connector on PEAK’s RSA SHIFT transition project. Sami became involved with PEAK in 1995 through the early childhood intervention initiatives in Larimer County. Sami found the PEAK community to be a natural fit, and Sami says that PEAK in turn helped her find her way in becoming a polite, yet persistent advocate for her family. Sami says that her son’s disability helped prepare her for her husband’s disability, knowing the possibility of living a full life with a disability.

Leann Springer first becoming involved with PEAK in 2008 when she became aware that there was a whole lot of information on disability that she did not have, but PEAK had the information to help her on her learning journey.  As a result of working at PEAK, Leann has become a persistent, sometimes fierce, advocate as well as a great cheerleader! In regard to matters of disability and inclusion in our world, Leann notes that a neuropsychologist once told her that our society needs people who think differently in order for there to be progress in this world.

Ann first learned about PEAK when she attended the 2011 Conference on Inclusive Education, an event that she has attended several times since then. Ann initially decided to attend the conference because she wanted to learn more about inclusion. When her son, who had developmental delays, transitioned from the early intervention program to preschool, there were limited opportunities for inclusion. As he moved forward in the public education system, Ann wanted to become more informed and not just accept what she was being told about educational placement and resources.