Our People

Lara joined the JCC in July of 2017 as the Chief Executive Officer. She is originally from New York City and has lived in Colorado for the past eleven years. Lara is committed to the mission and vision of the Jewish Community Center and looks forward to all that is to come at the J.

A strong relationship builder with 25 years of fundraising and stewardship experience with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, UCLA Health, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Aspen Academy, Lara’s career has focused on leadership and philanthropy. She is a motivational leader who is well versed in creating and executing strategic plans as well as building and mentoring strong teams. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of Buffalo.

When not working, Lara enjoys spending time with her husband, Frank, and their three children, Jack, age 18, Sophie, age 16, and Izzy, age 10, and their dog, Katie. She also enjoys exercising, reading, cooking, and traveling.

Steve Wilson, Executive Artistic Director at the JCC Mizel Arts & Culture Center, holds an MFA degree from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver and a BFA degree from the University of Southern California.  He has been administrating, directing, teaching and performing in Denver for the last 30 years. For the last 23 years he has worked for the MACC (Executive Artistic Director 13 yrs; Artistic Director, Theatre Dept. 10 yrs) where he founded the Wolf Theatre Academy and Denver Children’s Theatre.  An experienced theatre director, he has won numerous awards including four Henry Awards (Colorado’s Tony Award) for “Best Direction of a Musical” as well as the 2014 True West award for “Theatre Person of the Year”.  In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Theatre Guild (since 1997; former 6 term President), the Scientific and Cultural Collaborative (a collective of all SCFD Tier I and Tier II organizations; current 6th term co-chair) and Citizens for Arts to Zoo (CATZ).  He is married to Denver Center Theatre Company actress Leslie O’Carroll and is a proud dad of their talented daughter Olivia – a student at the Denver School of the Arts.

Ceren is originally from Ankara, Turkey and has lived in the U.S. for almost twenty years, sixteen of which have been in Colorado. With over 16 years of experience in the early education field, both as an educator and in leadership roles, Ceren is passionate about education and committed to building strong relationships between students, faculty, and families. Ceren earned her Master’s in early education and is currently studying for her Doctoral Degree in Higher Education while teaching early education to adult learners with the Colorado Department of Education and Human Services. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her son Oliver (3.5), husband Christopher and two puppies Kaya (10) and Dexter (2). Cooking, traveling, and renovating her home with her family is what makes her relaxed and rejuvenate.

Cyndi is originally from New Jersey, but spent the majority of her life living on the island of Oahu. A recent transplant to Denver, Cyndi has traded the ocean for the mountains. In Hawaii, Cyndi has been in development with a number of nonprofits, most recently as the Major Gifts and Planned Giving Officer at Make-A-Wish Hawaii. She also worked for Family Programs Hawaii, Hospice Hawaii, and taught kindergarten and first grade at a school for gifted and dyslexic students. Cyndi used to be an outrigger paddler but now enjoys biking, hiking, skiing, and working out at the J.

Ian is a seasoned fundraising professional with a wealth of experience in the Metro Denver Community. Prior to joining the J Development Team, Ian worked at Mile High United Way, Playworks, and Almost Home, Inc. in various fundraising capacities. He is an alumnus of American University in Washington, DC and a graduate of the Institute for Leaders in Development at University of Denver. Originally from Connecticut, he currently lives in Denver with his wife and young son. He is an active runner, skier, and former rugby player.

Roxanne Kahn recently moved to Denver from Omaha, Nebraska, where she was working for the Jewish Federation of Omaha. She graduated from Creighton University with Business and Marketing. Roxanne’s entrepreneurial spirit has led her on a journey with many different career choices, in a number of different industries. That belief of those diverse experiences played an important role in building relationships, a commitment to community, and Fundraising. Outside of work, Roxanne spends time with family, plays golf and Mah Jongg, travels, and is learning how to crochet.

Steve Wilson, Executive Artistic Director at the JCC Mizel Arts & Culture Center, holds an MFA degree from the National Theatre Conservatory in Denver and a BFA degree from the University of Southern California.  He has been administrating, directing, teaching and performing in Denver for the last 30 years. For the last 23 years he has worked for the MACC (Executive Artistic Director 13 yrs; Artistic Director, Theatre Dept. 10 yrs) where he founded the Wolf Theatre Academy and Denver Children’s Theatre.  An experienced theatre director, he has won numerous awards including four Henry Awards (Colorado’s Tony Award) for “Best Direction of a Musical” as well as the 2014 True West award for “Theatre Person of the Year”.  In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Theatre Guild (since 1997; former 6 term President), the Scientific and Cultural Collaborative (a collective of all SCFD Tier I and Tier II organizations; current 6th term co-chair) and Citizens for Arts to Zoo (CATZ).  He is married to Denver Center Theatre Company actress Leslie O’Carroll and is a proud dad of their talented daughter Olivia – a student at the Denver School of the Arts.

Amy is a recent East Coast transplant, originally from South Florida, who made her way to Denver via New York City. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from NYU’s College of Arts and Science in 2014 with a degree in Dramatic Literature and Cinema. She has since worked and reviewed content for various independent film festivals including Rooftop Films in Brooklyn, the Hamptons International Film Festival, Barnard College’s Athena Film Festival, and SeriesFest here in Denver. She serves on the Denver Board for JWI’s Young Women’s Leadership Network.

Kellie grew up in Colorado Springs and has her BA in Theatre from the University of Northern Colorado.  She has lived in Maine, working at Maine State Music Theatre and Kentucky, working at Lexington Children’s Theatre.  Kellie also has a passion for visual arts and is currently pursuing her Masters in Illustration.  She has worked at the MACC for the last four years.   

Dan is originally from Southern California where he started his career as Stage Manager and Company Manager for Los Angeles Ballet. He moved with his wife to Denver in 2013 and served as Producer and Company Manager for Vintage Theatre (Aurora) for two years before joining the J team. Dan freelance stage manages on occasion in the Denver Metro area in addition to all the programs and festivals produced here at the JCC Mizel Arts & Culture Center.

Emily is a native Denverite with a BA in Theatre and Communications from Adams State University and an MA in Arts Management from the University of Denver. Emily’s passion for theatre and film was evident from a young age and she has worked both onstage and off in the Denver area since she was a teen. Emily is also the co-founder of Your Personal Transformation which produces goal-oriented networking events and book clubs for womxn.

Courtney joins Camp Shai from the JCC in Berkeley, CA where she was the Director of Summer Camp & After School Programs. She is originally from Denver and attended Ranch Camp as both a camper and staff member. She developed a huge passion for camp and the outdoors there and then went on to graduate from Hebrew Union College and the University of Southern California where she achieved a Masters in Jewish Nonprofit management and Social Work.

Molly is originally from Upstate New York where she spent 15 years attending and working at an overnight camp in the Adirondacks.  Since graduating with her B.S. in Elementary Education, Molly has worked with youth in a variety of settings ranging from outdoor backpacking trips to alternative high schools to elementary classrooms in Peru.  Currently, Molly is pursuing her Masters in Mental Health Counseling at CU Denver.  She is excited to return to “Camp Life” and bring her experiences and love for camp to Camp Shai.

Ceren is originally from Ankara, Turkey and has lived in the U.S. for almost twenty years, sixteen of which have been in Colorado. With over 16 years of experience in the early education field, both as an educator and in leadership roles, Ceren is passionate about education and committed to building strong relationships between students, faculty, and families. Ceren earned her Master’s in early education and is currently studying for her Doctoral Degree in Higher Education while teaching early education to adult learners with the Colorado Department of Education and Human Services. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her son Oliver (3.5), husband Christopher and two puppies Kaya (10) and Dexter (2). Cooking, traveling, and renovating her home with her family is what makes her relaxed and rejuvenate.

My names is Sarah Roberts and I am the pedagogista here at the JCC. A pedagogista is someone that works with teachers to reflect on their theory and practice in the classroom.  I bring with me a background in Studio Art, I received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, in Fiber Arts and Communications Media.  After graduating with my BFA I moved to Colorado and have lived in Denver for the last 12 years. After my daughter was born in 2010, I decided to go back to school and learn more about Early Childhood Education. I started with an associate degree and director certification and fell in love with the teaching and connections that I found in the field of ECE. After two years of working with the I Have a Dream Foundation in Boulder, Colorado, I joined the teaching team at Boulder Journey School and began my Master’s program at University of Colorado, Denver. Working at BJS gave me the opportunity to learning about constructivist teaching and Reggio Emilia-inspired curriculum. While working with children is an amazing experience, my heart and passion has been working with the teachers and supporting them in their classroom curriculum. This passion has now lead me to begin the journey towards my Doctorate of Education. I am currently in my 2nd year at the University of Colorado, where I am focusing on the importance of adult learning as it relates to Early Childhood Education.

When I am not thinking about and working with adults and children, I am spending time with my family. I have one daughter, Ellymae. I also have three cats and a dog. On the weekend, you can usually find us at a swimming pool or the dog park. As a family we are always looking for fairies, building them new homes, or leaving gifts for them.

I am originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and as much as I love the ocean, Colorado and its beautiful mountains are home to me! I have been in the field of Early Childhood Education for nearly 25 years, teaching in both private and public schools and as a Licensing Specialist for the State of Massachusetts. Over the last eight years as a Licensing Specialist for Early Childhood Programs, I specialized in creating and facilitating various Professional Development Trainings’ for the Child Care workforce. I thoroughly enjoy using my skills to train educators who greatly influence our future generation on a daily basis. Besides being an educator, I am also a mother and on my days off, I enjoy taking long walks with my daughter and her Bernese Mountain dog, hiking, biking, swimming, and gardening.

I grew up in Broomfield, Colorado. In 2014, I graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor’s in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in Elementary Education. I taught kindergarten and first grade in Brighton, Colorado. I then moved to Florida to teach fourth grade at a Title I elementary school. My goal is to complete my Master’s degree in the education field. Currently, I am excited to spend time with my growing family.

Shana Jacobs is a Denver native who grew up in the Winston Downs neighborhood. She was a proud JCC Ranch Camper for 10 years! After graduating from Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy she received a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in New York as well as a degree in Hospitality and Restaurant management from UNLV. Upon returning to Denver after graduation, she met her husband at the JCC, and they now have two beautiful boys ages 5 and 2 ½. In her free time, Shana loves watching all Denver sports teams (especially the Broncos) and playing with her kids in the Denver sunshine.

Born in Tucson, Arizona. Rachel traveled to Colorado to attend the University of Denver, and despite trying out other places has always made her way back to Denver. She brings years of nonprofit management experience, including development, outreach, and program development, to the role of Family Engagement Manager and is excited to utilize her passion of developing creative and unique programming for people to the Denver JCC.  When not working she is spending her time with her husband, Ethan and two little boys, Ronen and Felix.  They enjoy live music, visiting breweries, and traveling to new places.

After graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara Jodi Asarch lived in Washington DC and worked at the Smithsonian Institution for three years. She then received an MS degree from the University of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and moved back to Denver and worked at the Colorado Governor’s Office of Energy Conservation. After managing the Professional Services Department for eCollege.com for four years, Jodi went on to write grants for health and Jewish organizations until 2012. Jodi has been a spin instructor at JCC Denver since 2004 and is currently the Delegation Head for the JCC Maccabi Games. She also coaches varsity soccer at the Denver Jewish Day School. In her free time, she enjoys playing and coaching soccer, skiing, hiking, biking, boxing, and most of all spending time with her three kids.

Certification & Degrees

• B.S. in Geology from Colorado State University
• American Council on Exercise Personal Trainer
• American Council Exercise Orthopedic Exercise Specialist
• Life Style Management Certified Nutrition Consultant
• Certified TRX Group Instructor
• Certified Mad Dog Spinning Instructor

Training Specialties

• Women fighting osteoporosis
• Weight loss
• Stress reduction
• Improvement of athletic performance

Judy has had the opportunity to work in the fitness industry for almost 30 years, the last 14 at the JCC Fitness & Wellness Center as a Group Fitness Instructor, Office Manager, Accounting Specialist and now in Membership. Her favorite part of her job is her ability to engage with the members and help them integrate into our community and reach their fitness goals. Outside of work Judy enjoy spending time with her husband, kids, and grandkids. She also enjoys running (especially marathons), and her yearly trip to the beach.

Marshall Carpenter, a 22 year Elite USPTA professional, brings a well rounded tennis background to the JCC Tennis community demonstrating a career long passion for youth and adult tennis development, a life-long passion for tennis competition and a dedication to tennis administration. As a coach for both Team Colorado and varsity girl’s tennis at D’Evelyn High School, Marshall was named Jefferson County’s “Coach on the Year” in 2016. As Director of Tennis at Bow Mar Tennis, Marshall boosted both junior and adult tennis programming through a variety of leagues, lessons, tournaments, drills, and mixers, always assessing to meet the dynamic needs of every tennis player. Marshall and wife Lindsey also keep busy raising two beautiful toddlers.

Stacy comes to the JCC after having served the Steamboat Springs tennis community for twenty five years as Vice President and Operations Manager of the award winning Tennis Center at Steamboat.  The Tennis Center at Steamboat was honored as the Colorado, Intermountain, and National USTA Facility of the Year in 2011, twice honored by the Colorado Tennis Association as the “Organization of the Year.”  Stacy is the current USTA National Indoor Champion in both Women’s 40 and over and Women’s 50 and Over Doubles.  She and husband, Jim, won Silver Balls (2^nd place) in the recent USTA National Grass Court Husband-Wife Doubles held in Palm Springs.  The Swiggart’s have also been honored as the Colorado Tennis Association’s Family of the Year.  Stacy played on the four time Big 8 Champion Oklahoma State University tennis team, has been ranked #1 in Women’s Open in Nebraska and Texas.  She served the Steamboat center as director of operations, leagues, and merchandising for twenty five years.  Stacy and Jim have two children, Kylee, a Colorado State Doubles Tennis Champion, who works in Denver for E & J Gallo Company.  Their son just completed his collegiate tennis career playing for Pac 12 University of Utah.

Noah Gallagher is what we call a “life long camper” beginning his camp career as a camper at Camp Young Judaea Midwest, where he met his wife Lauren, and later became director of this camp for almost a decade.

Noah began his career in Jewish camping as Assistant Director of Camp Tel Yehudah (Barryville, NY) where he served in that role for 3 years, and has spent the last 8 summers as Director of Camp Young Judaea Midwest. Under Noah’s direction, CYJ Midwest earned a reputation for its innovative programming and outreach to underserved populations. Noah has shared his expertise in building relationships with parents in popular sessions at regional conferences of the American Camp Association as well as the most recent National ACA Conference, and will hold a session on this topic at the upcoming Leaders Assembly of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Noah is joined by his wife, Lauren, who he met at CYJ Midwest when they were campers, their adorable twins Daphne and Leo, and their beautiful new baby Tess.

Ryan joins Ranch Camp from Putnam County New York, and has grown up almost exclusively at camp. He attended Hillside Summer Camp from 1996-2002, and worked for their parent organization, Green Chimneys, for the next 13 years.

 Ryan started his work full-time in 2009 at Green Chimneys Clearpool Campus, in their outdoor education department. Teaching environmental education to at-risk and underprivileged youth from NYC, as well as running their new, second summer camp, Ryan honed his skills as a facilitator passionate for creating unforgettable experiences for children from all walks of life.

He served as the Ropes Course Manager, Lifeguard trainer, Program Manager and as an environmental educator throughout his employment.

Ryan’s appreciation for summer camp comes from two themes: challenge by choice, and caring deeply about what you do and how it helps others grow. Getting to watch campers step outside of their normal range of comfort, whether it be through physical, emotional or social experiences is always a reminder of ‘this is why I do what I do.’ Secondly, putting care into creating an environment which fosters this type of experience is also a huge draw to camp for him. In the words of Seuss, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot […],” is the theme of his passion to create lasting and memorable experiences, and to encourage others to never rest on their laurels and do the same.

Now, having worked for years outside of the counselor-camper relationship, he has found the joy of experiencing it vicariously through the staff working with him to be just as, if not even more rewarding.

Carly Coons first joined the Ranch Camp family in 2001 as a camper and quickly found her home away from home. She spent nine summers as a camper and staff member at camp, the best summers of her life.

I am a Denver native and a proud Ranch Camp alum. My experience at Ranch Camp was life changing for me. It helped me to make incredible friends, shaped my Jewish identity, and inspired my career path. Needless to say, I have a great love for and special connection to camp.

Before joining the year round Ranch Camp team, I completed my Master of Social Work degree at Washington University in St. Louis. While in graduate school, I worked part time with the NFTY-Missouri Valley region, staffed the Israel Study Tour through JewishColorado, and led the URJ’s Pacific Northwest Mitzvah Corps program in Seattle. Prior to graduate school, I was the Director of Youth Engagement at Temple Sinai. Through all of these positions, I have had the opportunity to meet and work with many of our youth in the greater Denver area. I am excited to connect to new and old campers, staff, and alumni.

Gina McReynolds discovered the Ranch Camp in 2004 and has enjoyed roles in the corral, as summer admin staff and has held seasonal and year-round assistant director positions since 2009.

I like to say that finding Ranch Camp almost by accident on a winter day in 2003, at a summer camp fair at Colorado State University, has more profoundly affected my life then anything else in the world. Ranch Camp has influenced my personal life through friendships and connections.  My professional life has been changed as Ranch Camp showed me the incredible importance of summer camp on youth.  I believe that few things in life have the power to shape the journey of youth, define their character, foster their independent selves, and bring pure, unapologetic joy then summer camp.

At Ranch Camp, I have had the amazing opportunity to watch my campers grow up into creative, passionate adults, many of whom return for years as Ranch Camp staff members. I am grateful everyday for the opportunity to spend my summers out of doors, sharing my favorite place with campers, staff, families and alumni each summer!

Steve has over 10 years of experience working in educational environments. He started his career working as a high school history teacher in Northern Arizona. It was here that he began his career in private school admissions, helping families find the “best fit” program for their child. Steve has been the Associate Director of Admissions at a boarding high school in northern California and the Director of Enrollment at a private elementary school in Denver. Steve enjoys doing everything outside including hiking, camping, and going to see live music.

Jen joined the JCC team in 2017 as the Controller. Jen is a Colorado native and graduated from Colorado State University with a BA in Accounting and is a licensed CPA. Prior to joining the JCC, Jen spent over a decade in public accounting performing not-for-profit financial statement audits. in Outside of work, Jen enjoys spending time with family, including playing golf with her husband and watching her son play soccer.

Miriam Brizendine has worked at the JCC since 2005 in a variety of positions. Since 2015 her work has focused on the IT and database side of things. Her favorite part of the job is the ability to support the variety of amazing departments and programs offered at the JCC. When she is not at work, you can usually find her enjoying the great outdoors of Colorado.

Allison grew up in Colorado and holds a BA in Economics and a BS in Mathematics from the University of Colorado Denver. Prior to accepting the position of Business Registrar, she spent the summers of 2018 and 2019 working as the Office Manager for Camp Shai. She is excited to join the Business Office team full time. In her new role, she looks forward to supporting the many awesome programs offered by the JCC. In her spare time, Allison enjoys photography, gardening, watching sports, and spending time with her Labradors Spencer and Charlotte and cats Oliver, Lance, Daisy, and Simon.

Mark is originally from Bangkok, Thailand. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a MBA and Master of Accounting. After a trip to Colorado, he fell in love with mountains and decided to move to Denver. He started his career working at oil and gas companies before he moved to Florida working in the cruise ship industry. Then, he moved back to Denver since “the mountains are calling and he must go.” Mark enjoys traveling and exploring beautiful natures, charming architectures, and tasty food. He is also a huge fan of Disney World!

Monica grew up in Nevada, and at the age of seven decided she would move to Colorado. Ten years later the move happened, and she has found her passion in art, cooking, and exploring nature. She found another passion at Metropolitan State University, and graduated with a B.A. in Accounting. On her time off she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, cooking with family, and finding the joys in life.

Adam joined the J back in 2015, in charge of heading up the Marketing Department. Prior to the J, Adam owned his own digital marketing agency working with small business around the country. Adam spent the first decade of his career working for advertising agencies around the Denver/Boulder area, working on clients such as Audi, Oakley and Revo sunglasses. We are excited to have Adam help take the J into this next chapter!

Lexie is a native of Colorado and graduated from the University of Denver in 2015 with two degrees in Theatre and Criminology and minors in Biology and Chemistry. When not at work, Lexie is a working playwright and screenwriter. 

Hoff has been at the J for over 10 years, and loves every minute of it! Having an obvious knack for graphic design, Hoff designs all of our building’s signage, brochures, ads, and more. An avid Dallas Cowboys fan, Jeff can usually be found with his lovely wife, two beautiful children, and three cats named Sprinkles, Humphrey, and Murf. Go Yankees!

Shani is a recent transplant from Los Angeles with a background in Photography and Marketing. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a Communication degree, which she puts to good use connecting with incredible Jewish organizations and the people who support them. When she isn’t working behind the computer, she’s traveling and hiking, doodling in her sketchbook or laughing away at a comedy show. With a deep pride in her Jewish roots, Shani is excited to play a role in Denver’s Jewish community!