Don't stop believinG

Sharmain is a National Speaker, Author, and Trainer who shares his expertise in fatherhood and prison reentry. After serving time, Sharmain overcame the challenges of a felony conviction and pursued a successful life after prison.

Sharmain’s path to success after prison started in his role as a Father Involvement Specialist where he successfully recruited and completed over 100 fathers in one year. Sharmain's success with the WIC Fathers program propelled him into his current role as a speaker and trainer. His turnaround story has inspired many and led to several awards, including the NAACP Positive Impact and the 20 Under 40 award. Sharmain’s work ultimately resulted in a full pardon from Governor Tony Evers in Wisconsin restoring all his rights.

Sharmain has a Bachelor's and master’s in business from Carthage College. As the author of "Working with Dads - 7 Practical Steps to Engaging Fathers in Family Services,” Sharmain is dedicated to providing family service organizations with effective strategies to engage, equip, and empower fathers and families. Sharmain has delivered powerful speeches, trainings, and workshops to family service and restorative justice organizations around the nation. Sharmain, like many others, would have once only been labeled as a felon. However, since finding his identity as a father, husband, and businessman he uses his story to impact and inspire people from all walks of life!

Lana is a Gallup Certified Clifton Strengths Coach, Certified Professional Coach for the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, and a Certified Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner. After being a being a Spanish teacher, Operations Manager and Assistant Principal of culture for various public and private schools Lana knew that her impact would be greater from the outside in. She left the school system but continued to coach cheerleaders at various schools for more than eight years and serves as Director of Programs for Friends First a team mentoring organization empowering and equipping schools and the programs and organizations who serve them is Lana gift and passion. Besides Coaching leaders and Facilitating workshops for community organizations, Lana also Co-Chaired and continues to serve on the History, Culture, Social Contributions, and Civil Government in Education Commission whose sole purpose is to increase inclusion within the State Educational System. She leads a Collective dedicated to the financial advancement of people of color and is a Public Speaker for change. Lana received her B.S. in International Business from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Tara Rolstad, MBA, is a professional speaker, author, and trained advocate with nearly 15 years of experience who helps organizations break open powerful conversations about mental health. She shares her inspiring personal journey as a parent and foster parent of children with severe metal illness, helping thoughts of people understand the experiences of families and individuals who struggle with metal health, and learn ow to support them. Tara uses her unique combination of expertise, authenticity, and humor to help audiences walk away with actionable tips and practical strategies they can implement immediately. She is a consultant and program partner with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Washington Count and NAMI Clackamas County and is also the founder and director of her own mental health conferences that have reached nearly 2000 people. Tara is the author of upcoming book “What to do Right NOW when Your Child is Suicidal” and “OMG That’s me! 3: Bipolar Disorder, Depression, PTSD, Mental Health, and Humor.

Hi my name is Alicia Ware - I joined the State in Oct of 2023 as the ACSES operations analyst for case side! I am still learning a lot but love helping others along the way!  Before coming to the State, I was with child support in Denver County for nearly 7 years! Most of my time in Denver county consisted of working in Establishment, however, the last 2 years, I became the lead for their scanning and imaging team and was also the liaison, which helped me broaden my child support knowledge, beyond just Establishment!  During my free time, I love crafting with my little one! We make shirts, blankets, candle holders, etc.!  My goal for this upcoming year is to collaborate and build more relationships throughout the Counties! 

Amanda has been with the Child Support Services program for 23 years.She started in Mesa County Child Support Services as an enforcement specialist and trainer. She joined the State Division of Child Support Services in October 2022 as a Performance Analyst where she supports counties in program and performance management. Additionally she is the subject matter expert for quality assurance, state level administrative reviews and customer inquiries. Amanda is also the regional representative for both the Southwest and Northwest regions.

Outside of work If she is not at a dance performance, school gym or field, Amanda can be found hanging out with friends and family, camping, or binge-watching some kind of true crime documentary or comedy series.

Andrew Maurin is a Policy Advisor with DCSS with subject matter areas including Case Closure, Administrative Reviews, Finance, and Emancipation.  Andrew brings a decade of experience in child welfare as an attorney and nonprofit director in Florida. His leadership included managing a legal aid program for young adults transitioning from foster care and establishing a five-location clothing program for children in foster care. Andrew's impactful partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation introduced a financial training and savings match program, enabling young adults to acquire over $300,000 in assets for vehicles, housing, and small businesses.  Andrew enjoys cooking and hiking with his wife and dog.

After graduating with his Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver in 2012, Andrew began his legal career in private practice as a family law attorney. For five years, Andrew represented parties throughout Colorado in proceedings related to divorce, allocation of parental responsibilities, adoptions, and civil protection orders. In this role, Andrew developed a commitment to children’s advocacy, which ultimately led him to pursue a contract position with the Office of the Child’s Representative. From 2017 to 2022, Andrew served as a Guardian ad Litem in the Denver Juvenile Court, representing the best interests of children in dependency and neglect, paternity, and truancy cases. Andrew also served as a municipal prosecutor with the Denver City Attorney’s Office for two years before returning to the Denver Juvenile Court in 2024, this time, in the role of a magistrate.

 As a juvenile court magistrate, Andrew presides over a variety of dockets, including those related to paternity and child support, delinquency, truancy, and Dependency and Neglect. Andrew also oversees the Juvenile Court’s YFYC Diversion and Competency dockets.

Ann Teixeira has been with the State of Colorado for 5 years and is the Lead Performance
Analyst for the Policy and Performance team. Her responsibilities include working with County
Performance Measures, CSDIS, and the current Central Regional Rep. Previously she worked as
an Operations Analyst at the state office.
Her career in Child Support started Florida Department of Revenue in Palm Beach County,
Florida with the where she worked for 12yrs with the enforcement, establishment, and
interstate cases.

Hello wonderful world of Child Support. My name is Anna Perez and I’m a native to Colorado. I’ve worked in child support for ten years. I enjoy dressing up for no apparent reason and crocheting. I’m a lover of animals and tattoos. I have 3 dogs and 2 cats. As for tattoos, I think I have enough, but knowing me, it’s never enough. I’m married to my best friend and we’ve been together for 21 years. I thank my lucky stars for finding someone as cool and calm, he definitely balances me out. I look forward to meeting you all at conference this year.

Cheers mates!

Caroline Scott, E-RYT-200 has been teaching yoga for 12 years she received her Hatha Yoga certification in 2012 at Ojas Yoga Center in Edgewater NJ and currently teaches corporate yoga at Gaiam Headquarters in Superior, CO.  along with private lessons. She has attended workshops for pre/post natal yoga, children's yoga and yoga for PTSD.  Caroline currently resides in Lakewood, CO. with her husband and two daughters. And  believes yoga is for EVERYBODY.

Hello! My name is Chris and I have been with the Boulder County Child Support office for 20 years. I started my career as the office receptionist and have done many of the jobs and functions in child support services before finding my way to the Establishment Team. I am excited to be teaching my first session at conference after presenting at judicial roadshow and also at the Boulder County attorneys’ conference last year. I look forward to explaining, exploring, and learning some APA establishment best practices and tips. See you there!

Chuck Passaglia is an employment lawyer in Colorado. In 2003, he founded Employment Law Solutions, Inc., which specializes in providing advice and counsel in employment matters, conducting impartial and thorough workplace investigations, and training the entire workforce in critical employment law compliance topics, such as the laws of the workplace, ethics, and standards of conduct, managing employees’ absences, compensation and benefits, and harassment prevention. He delivers more than 150 entertaining and popular training courses a year. In addition, his award-winning book, Can I Bring my Pet Monkey to Work? Answers to 45 of the Wildest Workplace Law Questions was published in November 2020. Previously, he served as a judge advocate (military officer and attorney) on active duty, and later in the Reserve force, in the United States Navy and is a veteran of combat support operations in the Middle East and East Africa; he was a litigation attorney with Moye Giles (later Moye White) in Denver; and was in-house employment law counsel for the Employers Council, Inc. Chuck received a degree in Philosophy from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri and his law degree from the University of Denver. At the University of Denver, he served on the Board of Editors of the Denver University Law Review. 

I’m the Resource Specialist for Weld County. I’ve been with Weld County Child Support Services for 17 years but continue to learn new things and will never know it all. I’ve held various positions that include customer service, establishment and interstate.

 I have 2 grandchildren, 3 girls and a dog. I love living in Colorado breathing the fresh air and the scenery. I enjoy the beach, traveling, hiking and spending time with family.

Elise Topless has been a leader in the Child Support program for 13 years. During her time in child support, at the local and state level, she established orders for families, led an accounting team, served as the State of Colorado Policy and Performance Unit Manager, and currently serves as the Deputy Division Director for Denver County Child Support. Elise is committed to ensuring families have economic stability to improve their quality of life – a commitment supported through the work of Child Support Services. Elise values helping those in need and leading other to do the same.
In addition to her passion for child support, Elise strongly advocates for children and public school educators. Her focus has been equal access to quality education for underserved youth and mental health and wellness. Elise has served on a school board for five years and currently serves as the School Board President. Elise inspired the creation of a music program, implemented standing teacher mental health and wellness days, and consistently advocated and successfully achieved an increase in teacher wages.

Elizabeth has been part of the Child Support Program since 2014. The first seven years of her career were spent as an establishment technician in Weld County. In April 2022, she joined the State ACSES team and has recently moved over to the Policy Unit.
In her current role she is the lead in developing, implementing, and maintaining Division
Establishment, Paternity, and Modification policies, procedures, and regulations. She serves as a regional representative supporting county child support services programs with policy compliance and performance improvement, as well as administering the APA Certification Programs.
Prior to her career in child support, Elizabeth worked as a Legal Secretary for 6 years in Larimer County and she holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Taylor University in Indiana.
To unwind, Elizabeth loves spending time in the great outdoors, camping, hiking, and paddle boarding.
 

Heather McWhorter is the Financial ACSES Program Manager at the state office.  Heather began working at the state office in 2019 as an Operations Analyst. Her work at the state focuses on providing system training, working on problem logs and user acceptance testing. She started her Child Support career in Weld County in 2005 as a legal technician in enforcement.

Janine Archuletta is one of the Program Managers for the Family Support Registry (FSR). Her team is responsible for the support services provided by the FSR, these services include FSR Employer Services, State Directory of New Hire, Notice Production, CSS website customer service, and working with the courts to create NIVD accounts. She started in the program in 1995 at the county. She focused on ACSES Financial and Establishment. In 2010 she came to the state office to the FSR Team. Initially she was a jack of all trades in the FSR. In her focus changed to managing the support services provided by the FSR. Recently she has begun to explore the world of intergovernmental case processing. Janine enjoys spending time with her family and taking care of her 2 “doggie” daughters Nelly and Asuka. She is an avid music fan and is excited for the summer concert season. She is also a kid at heart and still builds Lego in her spare time.

Hi, I am Jeanette Fresquez.
I began my career in Child Support at Eagle County where I was the Intake, Establishment & Financial Tech Specialist for about 10 years. I then went to Adams county as the Financial Lead for 2 years and then became the Intake lead and Case Liaison for 5 years.  As of July, 2023 I started with the State as one of the ACSES Case Operations Analysts.  I am looking forward to working and assisting with the counties to build relationships to better CSS. 
When I am not at work I love to travel and go up to the mountains and spend time with my family. 
 

Jeff Whitson is the Special Projects Team Supervisor with Arapahoe County Child Support,
which focuses on specialized enforcement (i.e. Parents to Work program, DOC, probation, and
parole cases) and customer service. The Parents to Work Program is a partnership between
Arapahoe County Child Support Services and Arapahoe/Douglas Works! that is designed to
help non-custodial parents meet their monthly support obligations, and non-custodial and
custodial parents meet their day-to-day needs by providing employment, training, GED prep,
and supportive services. Jeff has two master’s degrees in legal administration and education,
has worked in family and criminal law for almost 20 years, and loves spending time with his
husband, 8-year-old son, and Havanese puppy.

I began my Child Support career in 2008 in a large county in Northern Colorado. I was
hired as a clerical/legal assistant, then decided I wanted to try Enforcement. I quickly learned
that Enforcement wasn’t for me, so when an opening in Bookkeeping suddenly became
available, I jumped at the opportunity! I came to the State Office in April 2022 as a Financial
Operations Analyst.
I am married and have 2 grown sons. Both of my boys played competitive soccer, I miss
the days of being on the sidelines cheering them on. Now we love to end our summer days at a
camp site, after enjoying a long day of water sports and boating.

I have been in the Child Support Program since 2001.  I spent my first seven years in the

program as an enforcement technician in Jefferson County.  In 2008, I joined the

State Enforcement Unit (SEU) at the State Office. As the SEU manager, I support my team in

answering questions from the county caseworkers, Obilgee’s, Obligor’s, Obligor’s attorneys,

and partner agencies about the remedies and how they work.  I also work with our OIT partners

to ensure the remedies are running smoothly.  Additionally, I work on projects to implement

new tools for the automated enforcement toolbox.  Outside of work, I enjoy time with my

family and going on adventures across our beautiful state. I am also a quilter, and you will often

see my work in the background in virtual meetings.

JoAnna is the IV-D Administrator for Otero County and has worked in the CSS program for 19 years in Otero, Prowers, and Baca counties. In addition to being the IV-D Administrator for Otero, JoAnna is also the Program Manager supervising several other program areas including: Adult Financial, Colorado Works, SNAP, Medicaid, Workforce Development, EBT, Benefit Recovery and Investigations. JoAnna actively participates in numerous work groups for both child support and benefit eligibility.  In addition to her child support experience, JoAnna was also a Residential Program Manager for 6 years for a Community Center Board and an assistant manager for 10 years for a federal credit union. JoAnna has served on the CFSC for 12 years and is the 2024 CFSC Past-President and current board member.  

Saves Demonstration Training Specialist for the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) and work the Program Innovation Unit (PIU). Joe hails from Denver, Colorado, though his formative years were spent in Connecticut. His academic journey led him to UConn, where he pursued a Human Development and Family Services degree. As an Army Veteran with 8 years of dedicated service he fulfilled roles as both Civil Affairs and Public Affairs Specialist. His professional endeavors have taken him across the globe for nearly two decades, primarily with MENA countries.

Kate Dekker is a Child Support Services Supervisor within Arapahoe County DHS where she co-supervises the Enforcement team. She is on the WICSEC Year-Round Education Committee and the Arapahoe County Action Network as well as several other committees across the state. Prior to her time in child support, Kate worked as a paralegal and continues to love all things legal. In her free time, she enjoys going to Nuggets games, spending time with her animals, and traveling back home to Chicago.

I have worked as the Quality Assurance Compliance Auditor since May 2022. Before that, I was the Program Assistant in the Public Assistance Quality Assurance Unit. Before working at CDHS, I worked at Jefferson County Child Support Services for 8 years. 

I am the mom of three boys: Daniel, who is 23, Tomas, who is 21, and Eli, who is 7. My passion is gardening, especially growing flowers and the outdoors. 

Fun fact: I was born and grew up in the Czech Republic. My kids are first-generation college students and my oldest son attends (and is graduating in May 2025 from) Yale as a geologist, and my younger son graduating in May 2025 from Red Rocks Community College as a Radiology Technologist. My youngest is an avid soccer player.

Lara Delka, Esq., is an Assistant City Attorney assigned to the Child Support Services Unit of the Human Services Legal Section in the Denver City Attorney's Office. Prior to joining the City Attorney's Office, Lara practiced with the law firm of Lohman & Lohman, P.C. in Colorado Springs, Colorado with an emphasis on allocation of parental responsibility and dissolution cases. Lara then associated with the firm of Stoorman & Friednash, L.L.P., also with an emphasis in family law. Prior to her practice, Lara attended Simpson College in Iowa and received a Bachelors in both English and Criminal Justice. Lara attended the Washburn University School of Law in Kansas. Lara is a current member of the Colorado Child Support Commission.

Larry has more than 39 years’ experience with child support programs at both the state and county level in Colorado starting as a legal technician and progressing to County Child Support Manager to Director of the Division of Child Support Services at the Colorado Department of Human Services. He has served on the Board of Directors of the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA), co-chaired the NCSEA Research Committee, and served on the National Judicial Child Support Task Force. He began his tenure as Director in January 2015. His focus is to provide improved support technology and training to the county child support professionals and implement strategies and initiatives to move the Colorado program from purely enforcement to a 2-Generational model by providing enhanced child support services, emphasizing employment, child well-being, and connecting both parents to the resources they need.  Larry is proud to be a part of the 700 plus child support professionals in Colorado who dedicate themselves every day to deliver high quality, effective and efficient services to the families served.

Lisa is the SAVES Demonstration Grant Administrator for the Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) and works in the Program Innovation (PIU). This grant, Safe Access for Victims Economic Security, aims to enhance Child Support Services for survivors of domestic violence (DV) by becoming more trauma-responsive and family-centered. She has over 15 years of experience in Child Support Services at the county and state levels. Lisa also volunteered as a DV advocate with Alternative Horizons for several years in Durango, Colorado, before returning to Denver. She graduated from Metropolitan State University with a degree in cultural anthropology.

Mara B. Vernon CPCC | PCC | CDTLF | TICC is a certified leadership coach, facilitator, and consultant who has spent more than 25 years in leadership and development roles in corporate and higher education industries. Her roles ranged from director of training, to director of operations, to director of career & alumni services, to leadership coach.  She is passionate about empowering others to consciously live the lives they desire.
Mara is the President and Possibility Illuminator of Ripp Leadership LLC, which embodies her life purpose, to radiantly illuminate passionate possibilities so that clients live empowered, creating ripples in the world.
 

Nick Garcia is a Financial OA with the Colorado Division of Child Support Services with roughly eight years of child support experience spread across Texas and Colorado.  He began his child support career with the Texas Attorney General's Office, where he spent three years.  After nearly a five year stint in Denver County as an intergovernmental tech and a county liaison, he now serves as a financial OA with CDCSS.

Hi, I am Paula Christy. I have been with child support since 2003, specializing in enforcement and training in Mesa County until November of 2021. At that time, I came to the State Enforcement Unit and was the SME for the license suspension remedies and Department of Corrections until 07/2023 when I became a Case OA. In my current role, I assist counties on “how to” in ACSES. In my free time you will find me in the garden or tending to my houseplants!!!

Phil James is an attorney practicing in Denver.

Renee Lipinski has been an FSR Program Specialist at the FSR for 2 years. She provides support and customer service for many FSR Support Services program areas. She works closely with the courts to set up NIVD FSR accounts and provides FSR judicial training to court clerks, sherlocks, and judicial officers. She manages the customer service for the parent and employer CSS website accounts. Renee also works closely with the State Directory of New Hires vendor Maximus to ensure smooth operations of the program. Renee came to the state in 2014 and started with FSR Employer Services. Prior to working at the state, she worked for the FSR’s payment processing vendor SMI for 5 years. Renee has a daughter in college. She is an animal lover serving as a volunteer to provide care for pets in her community.

Sabrina is a veteran of managing partnerships and stakeholder contracts for the Division of Child Support Services. She has been in Child Support Services for 21 years at both the State and County level in Colorado.

She leads her team of highly motivated professionals in overseeing various special projects including grant writing for the 1115 grant funds that are awarded to Colorado Title IV-D programs.

Her versatile background also includes Child Support case management, strategic planning, policy development, performance improvement and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Sabrina is committed to continually improving the Child Support Services program by evaluating and implementing new innovations and providing the best customer service to the clients we serve.

Shawny is the child support Manager for Prowers County and IVD Administrator for Kiowa County.   Shawny has been with Prowers County for 33 ½ years and Kiowa County for 4 years.  She received her paralegal certificate from the University of Southern Colorado in 2001.   She supervises 5 technicians and do all trainings as well as the bookkeeping. 

Shawny was with the CFSC Board for approximately 15 years, took a break for a couple of years and then returned 3 years ago.  

Shelbie Started her career in Child Support Services in 2008 and held the IV-D Admin position since 2012.  She completed paralegal courses at both Washburn University and Colorado Mountain College and has been a member with the Colorado Family Support Council as a board member for over a decade.

Tanya started her career in child support with Arapahoe County in 1998, when Titanic was the movie to see and head-to-toe denim was what to wear.  She spent 18 ½ years on the Interstate team, becoming a high collections performer and the team’s subject matter expert.  In 2016, Tanya made a switch and moved to the county’s Accounting team as a payment specialist.  Using her years of Interstate, ledger, and legal knowledge, she quickly became the subject matter expert in accounting and took over the role of the financial liaison in 2021.

 Prior to her life in child support, Tanya was a legal assistant and paralegal for private law firms for 6 years.  When not working, she spends her time listening to an endless number of audiobooks, browsing Amazon, watching countless reels sent to her from friends, and cleaning up after her kids and hubby.

I have been employed at Larimer County for five years, during which I have served as a lead and manager for the past three years. My experience encompasses all aspects of child support.

I am the Senior Child Support Specialist for Douglas County. I have been in Child Support for a little over 8 years and I have served for Douglas County my entire child support career. I am a Colorado native born and raised. When I am not being a homebody and binge-watching Netflix, I love to be out traveling and shopping at Costco or TjMaxx.