Administrative Staff

  • Dr. Tim Byers, Director of Center for Public Health Practice
    (303) 724-1283
    (720) 256-4054
    Dr. Byers earned his MD degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine and his MPH at the University of Michigan. He is Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the Colorado School of Public Health. He was formerly Chief of the Chronic Disease Prevention Branch of the Nutrition Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Dr. Byers is an expert in cancer prevention research. He has worked in various settings in clinical medicine, public health, and academic medicine. He has a particular interest in epidemiologic studies of the role of early detection, diet, and nutrition in the prevention of cancer, and in the application of disease prevention in community settings. His current research includes epidemiologic and clinical studies of nutrients as protective factors in prostate, colon, breast, and lung cancer, studies of cancer treatment decision-making by patients and physicians, studies of cancer genetics, and studies to promote the early detection of cancers of the breast and colorectum.
  • Laurie Schneider, Colorado Public Health Training Center Coordinator
    (303) 724-5892
    (303) 621-5568
    Ms. Schneider earned her Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan/Ann Arbor and her Bachelors from the University of Colorado/Boulder. Ms. Schneider is the Coordinator of the Colorado Public Health Training Center within the Center for Public Health Practice. She has extensive experience in workforce/professional development and public health at the local, state, and national levels. Prior to joining the Center for Public Health Practice, Ms. Schneider worked at the Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education where she directed Colorado’s K-12 Tobacco Prevention Initiative, the Alaska Tobacco Prevention and School Health Training and Technical Assistance Project, and the Utah Tobacco Control Training and Technical Assistance Project. Ms. Schneider’s public health experience also includes work with Strategic Health Consultants, the AMC Cancer Research Center, the Detroit Health Department, and the U.S. Peace Corps.

Program Staff

  • Cerise Hunt, Community Project Development Coordinator
    (303) 724-5459
    (303) 526-8973
    Ms. Hunt earned her Master in Social Work from the University of Denver. She is currently a community outreach coordinator for Colorado School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Practice. She is also an instructor at Metropolitan State College of Denver’s Health Professions Program in which she teaches Health Disparities in the U.S. Ms. Hunt serves as an Executive Committee Founding Member of the Academy for Health Equity. Ms. Hunt’s areas of interest include: racial and ethnic health disparities, cultural competency, community partnerships and workforce diversity.
  • J. Elaine Borton, Community Project Development Coordinator
    (303) 526-8152
    Ms. Borton earned two degrees from Indiana University: a Bachelors of Science (Business, Marketing and Advertising) and a Masters of Public Health (Community Health Education). Ms. Borton has had extensive experience in community health promotion, chronic disease prevention, program planning and evaluation, policy development and implementation at local, state, national and international levels. She has held multiple leadership positions with state and national professional associations. During the course of her twenty-five year public health career, she has worked for Colorado’s state health department, National Conference of State Legislatures, U.S. Peace Corps, U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission and most recently, City/County of Denver where she managed Park Hill Thriving Communities, a LiveWell Colorado community. Ms. Borton is one of three Community Project Development Coordinators for the Center, promoting public health practice in partnership with community agencies, faculty, staff and students.
  • Jan Gascoigne, Practicum Coordinator
    (303) 724-4456
    (303) 210-0737
    Dr. Gascoigne earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Health Education from Kent State University. In addition, she is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Dr. Gascoigne currently is an instructor in community and behavioral health and serves as the MPH Practicum Coordinator for the Colorado School of Public Health. In this role, she serves as a liaison between community organizations and students, with a goal of providing public health practice experiences for MPH students. Prior to joining the School, Dr. Gascoigne served as the Director for Health Promotion at The BACCHUS Network, an international non-profit dedicated to young adult health and safety issues. She was responsible for directing numerous Federal, State and Local grants all focused on building healthy campus environments.
  • Janna West Kowalski, Educational Outreach Coordinator
    (970) 491-4329
    (303) 562-4784
    Ms. West Kowalski received a Master of Science from Oregon State University’s Department of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science in Exercise and Sport Science from Colorado State University. Ms. West Kowalski has over fifteen years of experience as a health educator in a variety of settings. She spent many of those years working in local public health coordinating policy and system change interventions in chronic disease and tobacco prevention and control. She is currently an Outreach Education Coordinator for the Center and is housed on the Colorado State University campus. Ms. West Kowalski is responsible for providing professional education opportunities for Colorado’s public health workforce.
  • Mariana Ledezma-Amorosi, Community Project Development Coordinator
    (303) 724-5635
    (720) 275-0471
    Ms. Ledezma-Amorosi is a native of Guadalajara, Mexico. After moving to Colorado in 1999; she started her career in community development committed to serving the underserved and under-represented through a grassroots community development process. She worked for City of Aurora doing outreach to the Hispanic community to teach recently arrived immigrants about codes and regulations; she served as a liaison between the Hispanic community and the Aurora Police Department and spearheaded some of the neighborhood revitalization efforts in the Original Aurora area. Ms. Ledezma-Amorosi also spent 4 years working for Adams County Community Development where she managed 2 large grants that funded programs in human services, affordable housing, community and economic development and neighborhood revitalization activities. She has provided oversight to over 21 non-profit organizations and 5 municipalities. Ms. Ledezma-Amorosi also worked directly with residents to increase their capacity in the areas of advocacy, constituency and community building and leadership development. Prior to joining CPHP, Mariana worked at the Stapleton Foundation as the Director of Neighborhood Connections, where she worked with Community Based Organizations to provide capacity building and technical assistance.
  • Olivia Jolly, Coordinator of Practice-Based Learning
    (303) 724-5634
    (303) 562-5670
    Ms. Jolly earned her Master in Public Health degree from Indiana University – Bloomington. Prior to her work at the Colorado School of Public Health, she spent 8.5 years with The BACCHUS Network, a small Denver-based non-profit focusing on collegiate peer education and advocacy. While at BACCHUS Ms. Jolly was the director of a collegiate tobacco control program for the state of Montana and was a national trainer on a variety of health and safety topics. In the spring of 2009, Olivia joined CSPH to help serve the needs of community public health practitioners through continuing education and workforce development training. Currently she is a liaison for students, faculty and community in coordinating practice-based learning opportunities.
  • Sally Casey, Workforce Development Specialist
    (303) 724-5458
    Sally has a Master of Public Health Degree from the University of Northern Colorado and over 20 years of experience in the field of public health. She is a Workforce Development Specialist at the Colorado School of Public Health and an Affiliate Faculty member at Metropolitan State College of Denver. For over 10 years Sally managed Get R!EAL, Colorado’s Youth Movement Against the Tobacco industry, and her career has focused on prevention with an emphasis on health education, advocacy and policy. Sally has worked in public health at the local, state and federal levels, and has held positions in the non-profit and international sectors as well.