Who We Are
The Healthier Communities Coalition of Larimer County, established in 1994, is an alliance of people from nonprofit service agencies, education, health, government, business and the general public.


HCC Council Members

Steve Budner—Recreation Area Manager, City of Fort Collins

Steve has been with the recreation department for nearly 21 years. He oversees operations at the Youth Activity Center and Northside Aztlan Community Center, as well as youth programs, and youth and adult sports. Steve became an HCC Council member in 2006 and serves on the Youth Engagement Committee.

 

Amelia Crawford-Hines—Student, Polaris Expeditionary Learning School
Amelia is a junior at Polaris. She loves traveling and has been to Africa, Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia. Her interests include playing piano, guitar and ballet. After high school, Amelia has hopes of attending an Ivy League school, and then becoming a fashion designer and owning a major fashion magazine in New York City. She joined the HCC Council in 2008.

 

Sarah Erickson- Student, Heritage Christian Academy

Sarah lives in Loveland and attends Heritage Christian Academy. She is a member of Heritage’s student council, City of Loveland’s Youth Advisory Committee and the Larimer County Extension Advisory Committee. Sarah plays Thompson Valley High School’s tennis team. She plans to attend the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

 

Kathy (Kat) Hancock—School Psychologist and Safety Coordinator, Thompson School District

Kat was born and raised in Grand Island, Nebraska, but has lived in Colorado for the past 28 years. She has served as a school psychologist for 22 years and most recently taken on a new position as Thompson School District's Safety Coordinator. She is a nationally certified crisis responder and a certified trainer of the PrePare curriculum (crisis in schools). On July 4, 2009, Kat married her high school sweetheart and bought a farm outside of her hometown. She has on son, a daughter-in-law and one grandson...so far; her fingers are crossed!

Jerri Howe—Executive Director, The Matthews House
In November 2006, Jerri founded The Matthews House which serves youth ages 16-21 through mentoring, counseling, independent living and interpersonal skills classes. She has a degree in psychology from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, plus certification as a life coach, anger management counselor, Ansell Casey Life Skills trainer, DISC Behavioral Styles facilitator and accreditation counselor with the American Association of Christian Counselors. Jerri and her high school sweetheart and husband, Steve, have three children and two grandchildren.

Will Kirk—Student, Loveland High School
Will has lived in Loveland his entire life and attends Loveland High school. He joined the HCC Council in 2007. He is a member of the Loveland Youth Advisory Commission, National Honor Society and Amnesty International. Will plays the bassoon in the LHS Wind Symphony and enjoys cycling. Though he hasn’t decided on a specific career, he plans to attend college and pursue leadership opportunities.

 

Cinda Lopez—Development Director, Adoption Dreams Come True
Cinda became an HCC Council member in 2007. She has been involved with youth and the community for many years, including serving as a Poudre School District Board of Education member, Partners Mentoring Youth of Larimer County Board member and Hospice volunteer. She currently volunteers with Restorative Justice. She is married with three grown children.


Ruth Lytle-Barnaby—Executive Director, Poudre Valley Health System Community and Foundation Development
Ruth has been with PVHS in various positions for 18 years. She has served on the HCC Council since 1996, as well as a variety of HCC’s committees, including the Executive and Communications Committees. Ruth also participates in the PVHS Obesity Prevention Task Force, PVHS Cancer Center Board, Poudre School District Health Advisory Board and the National Charity League. Ruth is married with two children.

 

Darcy McClure—Human Services Administrator, City of Loveland
As Loveland’s human services administrator since 1995, Darcy manages that City’s Community Development Block Grant Program, Human Services Grant Program and its Affordable Housing Program. She also is the staff liaison to the City's Human Services Affordable Housing Commissions. Darcy has worked with numerous local nonprofits (including many youth-serving agencies) in project planning, including housing and facility development and re-development. Darcy represents the City of Loveland on several community-wide boards and committees. She has been on HCC’s Council since 2006 and serves as the secretary/treasurer and on the Research & Development Committee. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and two daughters, and is a dedicated soccer mom.

Dave Mosnik—Community Member, Fort Collins
Dave joined the HCC Council in 2007 and is the 2008-2009 HCC president. Dave has over 30 years of experience with the City of Boulder and the City of Fort Collins working to provide opportunities to youth. He spent over 20 years serving on various Poudre School District committees and served as PSD’s Advisory Board Chairman. Dave also has served on various state-level recreation-related boardsand committees. He is married and has two grown daughters.

 

Kelly Studer—Care Coordination Director, McKee Medical Center
Kelly is a registered nurse and has worked at McKee for 20 years in a variety of positions. She has served on HCC’s Council since 2005 and is a member of HCC’s Youth Engagement Committee. Kelly also helped develop a new Council member orientation process. Sheis married with two daughters.

 

Beverly Thurber—Executive Director, Early Childhood Council

of Larimer County
Beverly has worked for over 20 years in the non-profit sector. Her experience with children and youth includes working in child welfare, refugee services for unaccompanied minors, youth suicide prevention, and, most recently, early childhood. As director of the Early Childhood Council, Bev works closely with a wide variety of organizations that serve young children, including child care providers, higher education, health and mental health agencies. Bev also is a leader in our community’s Pathways Child Care Access Initiative. This initiative is focusing on ensuring access to quality, affordable child care. She is married with two grown sons.

Warrenetta (Nettie) Underwood—Assistant Director of Community Health, Larimer County Department of Health and Environment
Nettie has served as a public health nurse with the county for nearly 29 years. During her tenure, she has focused on maternal and child health, and currently is responsible for the Title X Family Planning Program which serves teens. Nettie and her husband of 31 years, Pat, have two sons, ages 26 and 20 years. Their younger son plays football for Emporia State University in Kansas; Nettie and Pat travel to all of his games each fall.

Melanie Voegeli-Morris—Student Assistance Services Coordinator, Poudre School District
Melanie is a licensed clinical social worker with over 25 years of work experience, including community mental health (child and family, adult and emergency services), private practice, inpatient hospital care and eight years as a leader for Poudre School District’s Mental Health Team. She has raised three children in Fort Collins–two are now college graduates and one is a senior at the University of Colorado.

 

Larry WilleyCommunity Member, Estes Park

Now “retired” and living in Estes, Larry served six churches in his 20 years as a pastor. He also spent seven years as a chaplain and associate professor

of religion at Westmar College in Iowa. Within the Estes Park community, he has spent several years volunteering for Crossroads Ministries, the Interfaith Alliance board of directors and as a leader of the Estes Valley Community Services Coalition.


Lise Youngblade—Professor and Department Head, Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University

Lise has a doctorate in human development and family studies, andalmost 20 years invested in studying issues related to successful youth development and the challenges they face, as well as the supports they need to thrive. She also was the associate director of the Institute for Child Health Policy at the University of Florida for three years, which is a university-based research and outreach center related to children’s health issues.