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Our Team
Meet the dedicated team and board members of Violence Free Colorado! Together, we bring diverse expertise and a shared passion for supporting advocates and survivors.
Our Staff
David Karnes
(He)
David Karnes (He)
Training and Technical Assistance Specialist
David (he/him) is a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist and joins the Violence Free Colorado team after 4+ years working in direct service with survivors of Domestic Violence. David has experience as a child and family advocate, housing navigator, and community educator. David is passionate about improving the safety and wellbeing of survivors through ongoing education and advocacy at both the statewide and grassroots level. Outside of work, David enjoys sports, time with family, and hanging out with his bunny Apricot and two cats Raven and Luna.
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Alma Salamanca
(She/they)
Alma Salamanca (She/they)
Economic Justice Specialist
Alma (she/they) is our Economic Justice Specialist. Born in Miami, Florida, with family roots in Honduras and El Salvador, Alma is dedicated to ending the cycle of violence in family systems and intimate partnerships, drawing from their own complex experiences. Prior to joining Violence Free Colorado, Alma obtained their GED in 2004 and pursued studies in Political Science at Florida International University before relocating to Colorado in 2014. With nine years of experience as a domestic violence advocate, Alma has served in various capacities, including housing advocacy, economic empowerment programming, and legal advocacy and accompaniment. They are committed to leveraging their lived experiences and professional expertise to address the long-term repercussions of surviving abuse, which often include recovery from financial exploitation, barriers to educational and professional advancement, and equitable access to housing, legal, and social services.
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Amber Higgins
(She / Her)
Amber Higgins (She / Her)
Public Policy & Community Impact Specialist
Amber (she/her) is our Public Policy & Community Impact Specialist. Leveraging her West Virginian roots, she embarked on her journey of work and advocacy eight years ago, compellingly drawing from her personal experiences as a survivor to educate and empower others. As the featured speaker and education liaison for the Shield Task Force, she dedicated herself to child abuse prevention, utilizing her powerful narrative to effect positive change. Three years ago, Amber relocated to Colorado, where she delved into direct service with survivors of domestic violence. Her multifaceted experience spans roles as a shelter advocate, violence prevention educator, and crisis line and resource coordinator, reflecting her unwavering commitment to supporting and advocating for those in need.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Amber is a devoted dog mom to a gentle giant named Sulley and a passionate spin instructor. Her love for nature, travel, and recreational sports serves as a counterbalance to her impactful work in empowering survivors and educating the community through prevention efforts.
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Ashley Mendez Ruiz
(She/her/ella)
Ashley Mendez Ruiz (She/her/ella)
Language Justice Specialist
Ashley Méndez Ruiz was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She embarked on a journey that combined a deep-rooted passion for justice and social change, earning a BA in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Arcadia University, followed by an MA in Gender Studies from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. With over five years of experience in the field of domestic violence and human trafficking, Ashley’s career has taken her across diverse roles including Advocate, Case Manager, Program Coordinator, and Program Director in locations spanning Madrid, Philadelphia, Denver, and Longmont. Her commitment to empowering survivors and advocating for systemic change continues to drive her work and is what brought her to Violence Free Colorado.
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Corinne DiVittorio
(she, her)
Corinne DiVittorio (she, her)
Finance, Operations, and Grants Manager
Corinne (she, her) is our Finance, Operations, and Grants Manager. She joined our team in October 2022 after spending three years managing administration, operations, and volunteers at a direct service domestic violence agency. At Violence Free Colorado Corinne helps keep numbers, documents, systems, and grants up to date so that we can in turn support survivors and member organizations across Colorado. Outside of work, Corinne is pursuing a masters in nonprofit management. She is a self-identified nerd, cat mom, nature enthusiast, and crafting dabbler.
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Lindsay Christopher
(she, her)
Lindsay Christopher (she, her)
Housing and Economic Justice Program Manager
Lindsay is our Housing and Economic Justice Program Manager and joined the coalition in 2019. She has been doing domestic violence work since 2011 with an emphasis in housing stability. She’s worked a variety of roles over the years, including housing case management, grant coordinating, and collaborating with community partners to increase housing access for survivors of domestic violence.
Originally from the East Coast, Lindsay moved to Colorado to pursue her degree and never looked back. In her spare time, she enjoys camping with her family and spending time with her daughter.
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Miranda Encina
(they/them, she/her)
Miranda Encina (they/them, she/her)
Culturally Responsive Training Manager
Miranda Encina (they, them, theirs; she, her, hers) is a Two-Spirit/Queer Xicanx, born and raised in Boulder, Colorado with Indigenous roots from Apache and Navajo ancestry. Miranda has been our Culturally Responsive Technical Assistance Specialist since 2021. Miranda graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Colorado Boulder, double majoring in Ethnic Studies and Sociology. Their research focused on intergenerational resistance and complex trauma within Xicana/Indigenous communities.
Miranda’s passion is to center the lived experiences of those with intersecting identities through connections and knowledge sharing on individual, collective, and systemic levels. Miranda’s lived and professional experiences include trauma-informed, survivor-defined advocacy, volunteer and intern management, facilitation of Indigenous healing circles, and child protective services. Miranda has also been a Shelter Program Director, Chair of a Queer Trans People of Color leadership cohort, and a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Miranda collaborates with community- and system-based organizations on all levels to identify, create, and implement shifts that validate, humanize, and minimize (re)traumatization within our communities.
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Andrea Valeska Fernandez Duran
(she/her/ella)
Andrea Valeska Fernandez Duran (she/her/ella)
Community Impact and Communications Manager
Andrea Valeska joined the Coalition at the end of 2023. She was born and raised in Chile and migrated to the USA at 23 years old. As a catalyst of change she has focused her career working with individuals and organizations to embrace healing, bio-individuality, and conscious leadership. As a survivor, and coming from a lineage of survivors, has inspired her personal and professional life to be of service and lead from a Trauma informed perspective. Andrea Valeska is an active advocate towards justice, self-empowerment, and the co-creation of sustainable systems in right relationships.
She holds a degree in Engineering Business Administration, a BA in Business Management, and a Masters in Administrative Science with certifications in Nonprofit development and in Global Leadership. Andrea is also certified as an Integrative Health Coach and Healing circles facilitator.
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Soledad Diaz
(she/her)
Soledad Diaz (she/her)
Public Policy Director
Soledad Diaz, Public Policy and Community Impact Director at Violence Free Colorado. Born in Chile, Soledad studied Law at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and Professional Photography. She has dedicated her professional life to serving underprivileged communities and has focused her career on social justice and anti-violence work. In the US, she has extensive experience working with survivors of DV and Sexual Assault.
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ReJeania Tolliver
(she, her)
ReJeania Tolliver (she, her)
Training and Program Director
ReJeania (she, her) is our Training and Program Director. Prior to joining Violence Free Colorado, she was the Associate Director of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. ReJeania has worked in the anti-violence field for over ten years and seeks to ensure that all victims and survivors are treated with dignity and respect through her life’s work. As a domestic violence and sexual assault advocate, trainer, coalition leader, and expert in rural programming, she is a powerful addition to our team.
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Roshan Kalantar
(she/her)
Roshan Kalantar (she/her)
Executive Director
Roshan (she, her) joined Violence Free Colorado as our Associate Director at the end of 2020, and became our Executive Director early 2023. She’s been working in the field of advocacy and gender-based violence for over 15 years. Born in Iran, Roshan grew up in Colorado and Arizona. She has lived and worked in Washington D.C., Boston, and New Orleans leading advocacy and education programs. After returning to Denver, Roshan served as Shelter Program Director at Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence and as a counselor in community and medical settings. She has also taught in education and counseling programs at Metropolitan State University, University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology. All of this work has been grounded in her training in feminist, Womanist, Post-Colonial, Queer, and Critical Race theories.
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Our Board of Directors
Adam Evans
(he/him)
Adam Evans (he/him)
Board Co-Chair, Denver
Adam Evans joined our Board in 2020; his commitment to serving and supporting those who do the difficult work of violence prevention and advocacy drives his involvement. He’s excited to see Violence Free Colorado grow into a go-to resource for members and an engine for innovating in the field. Adam lives in Denver with his family and is currently a part-time consultant and proud full-time girl-dad. He previously served for over 15 years at Violence Free Colorado member organization Project PAVE, most recently as Executive Director.
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Nicole Castillo
(she/her)
Nicole Castillo (she/her)
Board Co-Chair, Denver
Nicole Castillo is our board co-chair. She joined the Board of Directors in 2021. Nicole has spent the last 18 years of her career working in the field of gender-based violence. She’s worked in urban, rural, and suburban environments in Central New York, Massachusetts, and Colorado. She’s worked in hospital-based and community settings, holding the roles of volunteer, advocate, policy director, program director, and board member.
Nicole holds a BA from CU Boulder and an MDiv from Harvard University. She also holds certificates in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Tufts University, as well as in Gender, Leadership, and Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts. Nicole is a committed volunteer and has served on a number of nonprofit boards including Jane Doe Inc., the Massachusetts Coalition to End Domestic Violence. She currently works as a foundation fundraising consultant for Page Consulting, LLC where she fundraises for a variety of nonprofits including domestic violence organizations.
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Jody Curl
(she/her)
Jody Curl (she/her)
Board Secretary, Project SafeGuard, Littleton
Jody Curl (she/her) is our Board Secretary. She joined the Board of Directors in June 2023. Jody was hired as the Executive Director at Project Safeguard in January 2024. Project Safeguard provides safety planning, legal advocacy, direct court support, and attorney services to persons impacted by gender-based violence in Denver, Adams, and Arapahoe Counties. Jody began her career in domestic violence services in 2010 as the Shelter Program Manager at the Crisis Center and was then Director of Programs from 2014-2023. Jody is honored to be part of the Board of Directors and enjoys partnering with Violence Free Colorado staff and member organizations to advance the mission of the coalition, but also to learn from programs on how the coalition can continue to be seen as a valuable resource for all members. In her free time, Jody enjoys spending time with her family and exploring all that Colorado has to offer.
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Jenny Abbott
(she/her)
Jenny Abbott (she/her)
Board Treasurer, Advocates of Lake County, Leadville
Jenny is our Board Treasurer. She joined the coalition Board of Directors in 2023 and works with the Finance, Operations, and Grants Manager to oversee Violence Free Colorado’s finances. Jenny has also served as the Executive Director of the Advocates of Lake County in Leadville (a coalition member organization) since 2015, and has been engaged in anti-violence work since 2003. In her free time, Jenny enjoys playing in the Rocky Mountains with family and friends, reading, and watching the antics of her two young sons, Liam and Lars.
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Laura Pearson
(she/her)
Laura Pearson (she/her)
L Elizabeth Events, Denver
Laura (she, her) is a small business owner in Colorado. In 2020, shortly before the pandemic, she began her journey as a board member and currently sits on both the Development and Public Policy teams at Violence Free Colorado. Her interest in doing more in the DV prevention realm started the day she discovered a longtime friend was murdered by her husband. There wasn’t anything she could have done to change the outcome for her friend, but she wanted to be a part of changing the future and seeing the eradication of domestic violence in our homes. She brings a background in non-profit business/management, event planning, fundraising, and roller-skating shenanigans.
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Nhu-Minh Le
(she/her)
Nhu-Minh Le (she/her)
Colorado Health Foundation, Denver
Nhu-Minh Le has over a decade of professional experience in advocacy and gender-based violence. Her passion for equity drives her dedication to end all forms of exploitation while providing a platform to support and uplift voices of the under-represented, and to center marginalized communities with culturally and linguistically appropriate services and programs. Her focus is in intersectionality, human rights, and social justice. Ms. Le holds a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with a concentration in gender-based violence and bachelor’s degrees in International Studies and Criminal Justice with a minor in Sociology, all from the University of Colorado–Denver. She is fluent in Vietnamese.
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Olivia Garcia (Hoppe) Ph.D.
(she/her)
Olivia Garcia (Hoppe) Ph.D. (she/her)
Esperanza United
Olivia García (Hoppe), Ph.D. has worked as a freelance consultant for Colorado nonprofits like Voces Unidas de las Montañas providing support in strategy, research, policy advocacy and coalition building. Some of her successes in Colorado include facilitating a community conversation with Senator Hickenlooper and presenting at the UnidosUS annual conference in Las Vegas, NV to discuss working with a divided Congress. Prior to moving to Colorado, Director of Public Policy at Esperanza United, which is a Latina organization that grew from a small domestic violence program to a national organization focused on the prevention, intervention, and advocacy for gender-based violence survivors. Some of her recent accomplishments include managing a small team of professionals in monitoring federal and state legislation related to domestic violence, human trafficking, and crime victimization. Some of the shared victories include the passage of the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Dr. García also served as an American Political Science Association (APSA) 2021-2022 Congressional Fellow with Senator Cortez Masto’s office from Nevada. In this capacity, two of Dr. Garcia’s initiatives were introduced as legislation. She received the honor of a William A. Steiger Fund for Legislative Studies from the APSA. Dr. García has a background in advocacy, training and research related to gender-based violence that spans 10 years and an addition five years in higher education administration. She completed her doctorate in Political Science from UCLA with an emphasis on Race and Ethnicity Politics, Gender Studies and Political Theory. Her research focuses on the Violence Against Women Act and the ways in which the theory of intersectionality is absent from policy, although it is a necessary consideration when on-the-ground advocates are helping survivors of intimate partner violence. Dr. García is an affiliate lecturer for the University of Texas at El Paso’s Criminal Justice and Chicano Studies Departments. She has taught American Government and Public Policy courses at various university across the United States. Dr. García also contributes to a pipeline mentoring program for students interested in public policy.
Dr. Nicole Fergunson
(she/her)
Dr. Nicole Fergunson (she/her)
Mariposa Center for Safety
Dr. S. Nicole Ferguson is the currently Executive Director of Mariposa Center for Safety, formerly the YWCA of Pueblo. Mariposa assists Pueblo County and surrounding areas with resources and support for victims of domestic violence, family violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking. Prior to her arrival at Mariposa, Dr. Ferguson served as the Director of Compliance/Title IX Coordinator/ADA Coordinator at Colorado State University Pueblo. Dr. Ferguson holds a PhD in Leadership and Policy from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, a master’s degree in Education Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and a bachelors in Psychology. Dr. Ferguson’s career has been largely based around behavioral intervention and the develop of policy around behavioral intervention and support. Throughout her career, Dr. Ferguson has had the opportunity to work in the fields of mental health, law enforcement, the judicial system, and higher education. Dr. Ferguson serves on a number of Boards and Commissions within Pueblo County including the mayor’s Energy Commission, City Streetscapes Committee, the City/County Commission on Housing and Homelessness, among others. Dr. Ferguson lives in Pueblo with her two dogs, Belle and Ariel, who love to adventure into the mountains, rivers, and lakes in Colorado. You can often find her and her dogs on a paddleboard at Lake Pueblo.
