First Job: My first job was feeding, walking, and cleaning up after pets being boarded at a Veterinary Clinic.

How did you end up here? I started my career as a middle school English teacher, but after moving and looking for a new job, I found my way into Employment Services through a family friend connection. I ended up loving it! I have worked as an Employment Specialist for high school students, veterans, and individuals with visual impairments.

What do you love most about your job? I love working with individuals to help them reach their goals, and I especially have a passion for helping people gain employment. Building relationships with individuals, learning what their goals are, and helping them reach those goals in whatever way I can is really rewarding.

Perks outside of work:  When I’m not at work, I’m spending time with my husband and our pets. I love going on walks and hikes with husband and our dog, exploring Fort Collins, and reading good books. 

Funny Quirk: : I can never seem to buy the right size shoe. I always end up having to exchange them for a different size!

First Job: I was a Lifeguard at my local pool.

How did you end up here?  I worked various jobs to get myself through school, and once I graduated I wasn’t sure which path I wanted to take. Deciding a change in scenery would be good, I moved to Fort Collins! This is where I got the chance to explore my passion for baking, picking up a few skills along the way. Though I still love to bake, I found it wasn’t what I wanted my career to be. Then, through serendipity, I ended up in an internship program like the one my team provides. Now I get to support people on their career journey, like LCEWD did for me!

What do you love most about your job? I love getting to explore different careers and pathways with youth that are excited about their future!

Perks outside of work:  You can find me baking vegan- and gluten-friendly cookies, breads, & cakes for my friends and family! And finding joy in the little things, like how excited my dogs are to see me when I get home from work.

Funny Quirk: I always have to be moving or doing something! So I always wear rings to fidget with, or have rocks at my desk to mess with.

First Job: Rental Technician at a Ski/Snowboard shop

How did you end up here? I started working as Athletics Director for the Boys & Girls Club & substitute teaching in the Poudre School District before landing a job helping refugees from Burma & Somalia find employment in Northern Colorado. This lead me to Economic & Workforce Development here in Larimer County where I worked for over two years with adult job seekers facilitating workshops & providing job search consultation before joining the CareerRise Team.

What do you love most about your job? I love having the opportunity to help young adults explore career opportunities and find their place in the world of work. I also believe early work experiences have the opportunity to teach us so much about ourselves and others. I love that I can help connect young adults to these powerful experiences.

Perks outside of work: Outside of work you'll find me enjoying all things outdoors with my family (running, biking, camping, snowboarding, fishing) and occasionally taking on house renovations that I'm highly unqualified to do. 

Funny Quirk: I have an unashamed love for good socks and am a self-proclaimed breakfast burrito connoisseur.

First Job: I was a hostess at Red Robin. Being at the bottom of the food chain, part of my job was getting into the giant robin costume & parading around the restaurant, scaring the young children.

How did you end up here? My first job out of college was working as a Social Worker in London, England serving young people placed in long-term foster care. Following that adventure, I went back to graduate school to focus more on counseling & career development. A stint at the CSU Career Center & an internship at Project Self-Sufficiency led me back to my passion of working with youth here at Larimer County Economic & Workforce Development.

What do you love most about your job? The best part of my day is getting to be there when the light bulb kicks on for a young person when he/she realizes just how much they have to offer, & all they can achieve given the right support. I get to help people discover their calling!

Perks outside of work: Spending time with my kids & the outdoors! Camping, hiking & working in our yard. Inside I’m always reading a good book, coloring with my daughters, or surfing the internet to gain house project ideas.

Funny Quirk: I have this ‘thing’ with odd numbers. The volume # or station in my car or at home have got to be on an odd number. If I’m in someone else’s car, I have to fiddle with the controls until they’re set just right.

First Job: Dishwasher at a Chinese Restaurant. None of the kitchen staff could speak English & they listened to Madonna all the time!

How did you end up here? I put myself through college while working as a human resource assistant at a plastics manufacturing plant. After graduating, I taught high school Spanish for a school year then spent the summer working in a Career Lab at an Ohio Economic & Workforce Development. For an adventure, I moved to Mexico & spent a year teaching English as a Second Language.  After returning to Ohio, I started working for the local county Job & Family Services in the child support department. Due to an itch to move out west, I landed a position with Larimer County Child Support where I came across the opportunity to work in Larimer County’s Economic & Workforce Development. I jumped at the chance to join this amazing team!

What do you love most about your job? Everything! It is exciting to work at a job where you can have a positive effect on someone’s life & your co-workers are passionate about what they do!

Perks outside of work: I love to run, bike, hike & other such exercise torture. I also love to read, listen to live music & spend time with my family.

Funny Quirk: I make up toothbrushing songs for my kiddos while I help them brush their teeth. I have about five or so that I've made up that I rotate through.

First Job: My family owned a Mexican restaurant for 34 years, as soon as I was old enough they had me doing anything and everything whether that was hostessing, serving, cooking, and dishwashing.

How did you end up here?  I am a first generation college graduate. I put myself through school working various jobs at a time. I worked as a server at multiple restaurants, I worked at a hotel, I interned at a police station, and was also a mentor for youth for a women in construction management camp with Colorado State University. This is where my interest in helping youth and guiding them on the right educational and career path transpired; landing me in my current position at Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development, working with the CareerRise team!

What do you love most about your job?  I love being someone that can help make a difference and impact on a youths life. Having the opportunity to see the transformation from where they started to what they are working towards, and where they may be now is very rewarding.

Perks outside of work:  I love to write poetry, read, draw, and spend time with friends and family.

Funny Quirk: I love to listen to music on full blast in the car but whenever I have someone in the car with me, I make sure we each have our designated microphones whether that's a lip gloss, a chapstick, a pair of sunglasses, or even a pen so that we can each sing into our microphones and belt out the lyrics to every song that plays until we get to our destination.

First Job: I was a housekeeper at a hotel in a tourist area.

How did you end up here? After I graduated from college, I accessed services at my local workforce center and they asked me to be an intern as a coordinator/facilitator of a job searching club for customers receiving public assistance benefits.

What do you love most about your job?  Being of service to others has always been a closely held value of mine. My work at LCEWD gives me daily opportunities to challenge myself to think about new ways of delivering services that meet the unique needs of our customers. Existing just outside the comfort zone is where true change happens!

Perks outside of work:  I have 3 boys that span a 22-year age difference; they keep me busy in ways that I never could have imagined. I love running, traveling, and putzing around the house working on the multitude of projects that have gone unfinished.

Funny Quirk: I have an inordinately low tolerance for heavy traffic.

First Job: I cleaned/stained windows at a company that made imitation stained glass…I left each day smelling like mothballs.

How did you end up here? I went to Colorado State University where I majored in Human Development & Family Studies. While I was in school, I did an internship at Turning Point working with at-risk youth. Shortly after college, I started at Larimer County Economic and Workforce Development. I held a couple of different positions within the department before landing on the CareerRise Team!

What do you love most about your job? I love helping youth and young adults discover their strengths and talents and using them to market themselves to employers through resumes, etc. Its’ the best when the young person is able to step back & see how great they really are!

Perks outside of work:  When I'm not at work you'll find me with my 2 kids and husband. I love spending time with friends & family, working out, gardening and watching my kids extracurricular events. 

Funny Quirk: I have to have “equal opportunity” for my body. If something happens to one side of my body, I do it to the other side to even it out. Example…if I touch something cold with one hand, I have to touch it with the other as well. Balance is blissful!