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Teri Anderson (she/her/hers) manages the Denver Prevention Training Center’s STI Clinical Regional grant. She supervises training courses delivered by the clinical team, as well as provides technical assistance and consultation to health care organizations and clinics in STI service delivery quality improvement. Her 10 years working in the Denver STD Clinic as a clinician and laboratorian and 30+ years of clinical training experience lay the foundation for her role as the coordinator of the regional center. Teri graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology from the University of Colorado and has never lost her passion for working in public and sexual health.
If you can’t locate Teri, it’s either because she forgot her phone, she’s under the ocean water with her husband, on a mountain trying to keep up with her offspring, curled up with a good book, or in the kitchen experimenting with a sprinkle of this and that. Don’t worry – she’ll always call you back.
Teri.Anderson@dhha.org | 303-602-3602 
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Helen Burnside (she/her/hers) is honored to provide programmatic oversight of the Denver Prevention Training Center’s training and technical assistance programs and guidance to its program managers. Helen started her second career with a master’s degree in Community Health after reading Paul Farmer’s Mountains Beyond Mountains in Bolivia and has focused her work on HIV and STI prevention ever since. Helen is committed to advancing racial equity in health systems and believes that we can end the HIV epidemic by creating brave spaces for communities and healthcare providers to plan prevention strategies. She enjoys the people and the dynamic, changing nature of her work. Helen appreciates that she can solve complex problems by talking to her backyard bees, or hiking in the Flatirons, and still dreams of being a backup singer in a female jazz band.
Helen.Burnside@dhha.org | 303-602-3638
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Azul DelGrasso (he/him/his) centers his efforts on providing training and technical assistance to healthcare partners and organizations across the country, with an emphasis on cultural responsiveness, social determinants of health, and HIV testing in clinical settings and retail pharmacies. He is a Ph.D. student at the California Institute of Integral Studies in Philosophy. Azul led the first rapid HIV testing program and training in Mexico and is one of the only two counselors who tested high-risk individuals in all 48 states of the continental US as part of the Magic Johnson HIV Testing Tour in 2010. Azul is a Denver native and has his first master’s degree in Latin American Studies from California State University Los Angeles, and his second master's degree in Ecopsychology from Naropa University. When he is not working towards ending the HIV epidemic, he is probably working on his photography.
Azul.DelGrasso@dhha.org| 303-602-3623
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Zami Tinashe Hyemingway (Zami/he/him) is the Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) Gender Affirming Project Manager, at the Denver Prevention Training Center (PTC). Zami leads a team of Identity Consultants, to provide technical assistance, monthly virtual Community of Practices (CoP’s) and other forms of capacity building work to clinics, health departments and community-based organizations (CBO’s). Zami has over 10 years’ experience in developing and implementing health behavior and health promotion programs. Zami’s favorite pieces of this work, is being able to assist agencies in building their skills to provide heart centered, culturally responsive and person first programs.
When not working at the Denver PTC, you will find Zami going on hiking adventures with his dog Houston, working in his urban garden, taking pictures of flowers and hosting wellness workshops teaching community members how to maximize their health potential.
Zami.Hyemingway@dhha.org
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Tai Edward Few (he/him/his) manages the daily activities of the Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) program at the Denver Prevention Training Center (PTC). Additionally, he oversees the development and implementation of tailored capacity building in-services for clinics implementing HIV testing and prevention programs for persons living with HIV. In addition to Tai’s work at the Denver PTC, he is a member of the Denver Health’s Health Equity Committee and has a passion for social justice and racial equity. Tai’s favorite aspect of his job is assisting agencies in developing culturally responsive and equitable programs. Outside of work, he enjoys watching TV and movies, especially British police procedurals and Agatha Christie murder mysteries. When not watching TV or a good movie, he records and listens to podcasts on politics, current events, TV, movies, and African American history. If Tai weren’t working for the Denver PTC, he would be a history professor.
Tai.Few@dhha.org | 303-602-3649
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Allison Finkenbinder (she/her/hers) assists in the development and provision of technical assistance and training to help healthcare organizations improve their sexual health services. She also coordinates continuing nursing education for the Denver Prevention Training Center and provides clinical services in the Denver Sexual Health Clinic. As a women’s health nurse practitioner, providing patient-centered care, comprehensive reproductive health care, and working to decrease stigma around HIV and STDs are important to her.
When not in the office or clinic, Allison enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, skiing, and spending time with her family.
Allison.Finkenbinder@dhha.org | 303-602-3621
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John Fitch (he/him/his) splits time between managing the Denver PTC’s grants (and grant opportunities) and planning the National Sexual Health Conference. During his twenty-seven (plus) years in the HIV and STD fields, he has had an interest in integrating technology into programs in creative ways. Aside from developing and managing a half dozen sexual health-related websites. John also helped to facilitate the development of the STD Clinical Consultation Network (STDCCN) and the STD Clinical Toolbox mobile application. He’s done some other innovative things, but they’re a bit boring to read about.
Outside of work, John is currently a sports chauffeur, driving his kids to and from basketball and soccer practice.
John.Fitch@dhha.org | 303-602-3616
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Lisa Frederick (she/her/hers) provides trainings for the PTC’s Disease Investigation Training Center and contributes to the PTC’s HIV prevention Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) services. Lisa states the best part of the job is working with such a creative, dedicated, and loving team. Lisa’s life changed in 1998 when she lost her brother to an AIDS-related illness. She has devoted 20 years to HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, and sexual health. Her expertise extends to strategic planning and capacity building in organizational sustainability. Her passion and commitment are enhancing Black women’s health focusing on reproductive health, intersectionality, and resilience. Lisa channeled that passion by creating and leading a 3-part virtual roundtable discussion focusing on Black women’s health across the lifespan with over 2,500 participants.
She's not all work and no play and believes everyone must have laughter in their life. Lisa loves shopping, traveling, and spending time with her family including her little doggie Pia.
Lisa.Frederick@dhha.org
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Ed Gardner (he/him/his) is the Director of, and a physician in, the Infectious Disease Clinic and Center for Positive Health at the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. He also oversees HIV and infectious diseases-related clinical research. Ed is committed to the mission of improving health equity and care for the diverse and underserved patients at Denver Health. Through his time providing medical and HIV care in jails, Ed has developed a particular interest in the care of incarcerated individuals as well as their care after transition back into the community. The accomplishment Ed is most proud of is his original work on the HIV Treatment and Prevention Cascade, which has come to be known as the HIV Care and Prevention Continuum, which demonstrates the attention needed to help individuals move towards viral suppression. The best part of Ed’s day- is working with patients and clients to improve their care and health outcomes. Ed firmly believes that everyone should have access to free or affordable wrap-around healthcare and services.
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Misty Gutierrez (she/her/hers) provides administrative support to the Denver Prevention Training Center’s Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) program and the Disease Intervention Training Center (DITC). Misty assists with preparing and developing products, providing logistics support for training events, and managing program registration data. She is the jack of all trades around the office and enjoys every minute supporting and collaborating with her colleagues. Her previous position was in the Denver Sexual Health Clinic, where she found herself intrigued by all things STD/HIV related. She is passionate about making a difference in the community.
If you get an auto-reply from Misty, she is probably enjoying the outdoors with her partner and dog Chewie, being a plant mom, learning a new recipe, or spending time with family and friends.
Misty.Gutierrez@dhha.org | 303-602-0412
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Hermione Hurley (she/her/hers) provides outpatient clinical care for people living with HIV and substance use disorders. She hopes to increase low threshold care for treatable conditions and to improve transitions for those who are justice-involved. Since emigrating from New Zealand in 2009, Hermione has enjoyed integrating into American culture and health care. She enjoys helping people gain control of their health decisions to move towards their future goals. Hermione loves skiing, hiking, and knitting. Her life was changed by travel to far-flung parts of the globe, including Antarctica and the Arctic. She believes strongly in improving access to healthcare and feels grateful to be working in her dream job.
Hermione.Hurley@dhha.org | 303-602-4899
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Destiny Kelley (she/her/hers) provides organization, coordination, and communication dissemination between the National Network of STD Clinical Prevention Training Centers (NNPTC) and the CDC. She also represents Denver Health (the Denver Prevention Training Center’s parent organization) in numerous community organizations and events to promote health equity and the importance of STD screening and treatment. Her favorite part of the job is traveling and meeting all the people she works with around the country.
If not working, you can find Destiny gardening, sewing, hosting, or hiking the Rocky Mountains with her rescue pup, Koda.
Destiny.Kelley@dhha.org | 303-602-3620
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Katie Langland (she/her/hers) conducts HIV/STI training, develops new curricula, and provides capacity building assistance services. She has been in HIV prevention for over 15 years as a bilingual master trainer, and hworked with the Southern African Prevention Initiative to bring comprehensive and evidence-based training to over 500 participants in sub-Saharan Africa. Katie is very passionate about immigrant health and rights and has worked in this arena domestically and internationally. Katie is the first person in her family to obtain a master’s degree and worked full-time while doing so. She tries to visit a new country each year and enjoys traveling, meeting new people, and trying yummy foods. She believes little, kind acts make a big difference. Serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and Panama changed her life and has been her proudest accomplishment to date!
Katie.Langland@dhha.org | 303-602-4471
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Yomi Obafemi (she/her/hers) provides medical guidance for the Denver Sexual Health Clinic, in addition to delivering STI/HIV prevention, management, and care to individuals. She enjoys finding new ways to make electronic health records more provider friendly, traveling to new places, and getting lost in unfamiliar neighborhoods. A behavioral economic term called the sunk-cost fallacy changed her life; it refers to when people continue a behavior or task because they’ve invested many resources into it rather than because the activity is productive or profitable. It’s changed her approach to work and life by helping her clarify which activities in life/work to continue versus those that do not require additional effort. Yomi strongly believes that all human beings deserve access to affordable housing, healthcare, and reliable sources of food/water.
If Yomi could be anything in the world, she would choose to join the Marvel Universe as a member of Wakanda’s elite female Special Forces Team, the Dora Milaje – great outfits, no bad hair days and general fierceness - what else needs to be said?
Oluyomi.Obafemi@dhha.org
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Mariska Osborne-Wells provides guidance and training support within the Denver Prevention Training Center. She comes to the program with 15 years of lived experience in HIV/STI prevention that started as a Disease Intervention Specialist, Trainer, and Surveillance Coordinator. She brings a passion for equitable health access, culturally appropriate client engagement especially for women and youth of color. Some of her favorite things are exploring while traveling, delectable food, photography, dancing and concerts in the car on a road trip or just an impromptu joy ride. She also loves fast cars, roaring engines, and adrenaline boosters. She strongly believes in truth telling, sometimes the truth hurts, it should be received with grace and knowing the messenger means no harm. If she could be anything in the world, she envisions herself as a Criminologist (CSI), because there is something to be solved and critical thinking is one of her skills.
Mariska.Osborne-Wells@dhha.org | 303-602-4470
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Danielle Osowski (she/her/hers) focuses on providing training and technical assistance to healthcare partners and organizations across the country, with an emphasis on cultural responsiveness, social determinants of health, and motivational interviewing for providers. Danielle finished a yearlong fellowship focused on Quality Improvement (QI) in healthcare with the National QI Center and is the Denver PTC’s resident QI wiz. Danielle’s favorite aspect of her job is working with her PTC family, getting to meet so many of our amazing partners, and experiencing local cuisine while traveling for both the STD regional training and the Capacity Building Assistance teams.
If Danielle won the lottery, you would find her either running a small outdoor music venue or traveling the world with her partner and two kiddos.
Danielle.Osowski@dhha.org | 303-602-3637
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Sarah Rowan (she/her/hers) has a mission to improve the quality of life for people living with HIV and HCV, and to end HIV and HCV transmission. To that end, she divides her time between clinical care, research, teaching, and public health programming. She attended medical school at the University of Oklahoma, spent her residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and completed an infectious diseases fellowship at the University of Colorado. When not seeing patients or working to make the world healthier, Sarah likes to play board games, paint and draw, go for morning runs with friends, travel with family, or overcommit to volunteer projects at her kids’ school.
Sarah.Rowan@dhha.org
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Elizabeth Rumbel (she/her/hers) found her way to the public health field after many years of doing public health work without knowing it. She joins the Denver PTC with extensive experience working to address structural determinants of health through community-based organizations. Elizabeth merges her workforce development expertise with her passion for systems level change by providing training and project management support to the Disease Intervention Training Center, Capacity Building Assistance team, STD Regional Training, and Denver Health’s Center for Addictive Medicine. The common thread of her professional experiences is working to ensure that all people have a just opportunity to live the longest and healthiest life possible. Elizabeth is a proponent for wellbeing and her favorite practices to unwind and recharge are “lifting heavy things,” spending time outdoors with family, and planning trips to see every U.S. National Park.
Elizabeth.Rumbel@dhha.org | 303-602-3550
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Nexi Sanchez-Villalobos (she/her/hers) provides administrative support to the Denver Prevention Training Center programs. After obtaining her degree in Healthcare Management from Metropolitan State University, Nexi achieved her goal of working for Denver Health when she was hired at the Denver Health Women’s Care Clinic. Recognizing the need for disease prevention was important, she later joined Public Health and the Denver Prevention Training Center.
Nexi enjoys being outdoors with her family. When she is not outdoors, you will most likely find her at HomeGoods. She also loves interior decorating and enjoys making her house feel like a home.
Nexi.SanchezVillalobos@dhha.org | 303-602-3181
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Terry W. Stewart (he/him/his) has been providing training, consultation, and management services in the STD/HIV prevention field for over 32 years, with experience spanning across academic, community-based non-profit and public health settings. Terry’s expertise includes program management, staff and leadership development, curriculum design, and training and facilitation, as well as the design, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral interventions. He joined the Denver PTC in 1998, coordinating behavioral intervention training, and later leading the PTC. He now provides consulting services (TWStewart Consulting, LLC). During Terry’s time with the PTC, he oversaw the regional, national, and international work of a dynamically talented team responding to the evolving needs of health professionals working in STD/HIV.
Truly believing everything happens for a reason, Terry transformed the grief and loss from the early years of the HIV epidemic into inspiration and passion, moving from business management to public health management. While Terry has no regrets, he might have been an architect in a different lifetime.
Terry.Stewart@dhha.org | 303-602-3642
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Kimberly Taylor (she/her/hers) provides administrative support to all members of the Denver Prevention Training Center (PTC). Kim helps with the planning and delivery of PTC training events, implementing and tracking PTC Initiatives, and finds the ever-changing nature of her work one of the most enjoyable things about working at the PTC. After graduating from Metropolitan State University with her degree in Social Work, she was determined to find a career that satisfied her desire to help others, and she thinks working at the PTC does just that.
Kim is an avid reader, listens to too many true crime podcasts, and, in her free time, can’t stop looking at dog adoption sites.
Kimberly.Taylor@dhha.org | 303-602-3648
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Stewart Thomas (he/him/his) supports implementation of the PTC’s Disease Investigation Training Center providing COVID-19 training and regional disease investigation training. Stewart also co-leads the PTC’s Communities of Practice (CoP) for our region’s Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS). Stewart enjoys working with diverse and disparate cultures to invite, engage, and enable communities to thrive in all aspects of well-being.
Stewart adores hiking in beautiful Colorado with rich coffee in hand and his four-legged dog, Henry. If Stewart can offer one piece of advice, that would be to balance responsibility with passion and bring your whole self to the table!
Stewart.Thomas@dhha.org
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Jose Emmanuel Vega (He/Him, They/Them) supports the implementation of the Denver Prevention Training Centers Disease Investigation Training by providing DI and regional disease investigation training within region 3 of the National Network of Disease Intervention Training Centers. Growing up in Oklahoma, Jose experienced the struggles of living in rural areas where access to health care, PrEP, and HIV/STI education was limited, and language barriers presented issues in his community. He is passionate about inclusion, diversity, eliminating homophobia and transphobia, education surrounding social stigmas, and building sustainable community relations. Jose motivates and inspires others to become involved and improve their communities by amplifying their voices and connecting individuals to learning and leadership opportunities.
He loves working out, long walks and sit-downs along the beach, and is a big movie fan; You can find him at the movies every weekend.
Jose.Vega-Velasco@dhha.org
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Bev Wasserman (she/her/hers) provides capacity building assistance and training for both clinical and non-clinical organizations offering HIV prevention services. Beverly has over three decades of experience as a practicing registered nurse, with 17 years of caring for patients living with HIV. Beverly is currently a student at the University of Colorado-College of Nursing, with a focus on Health Systems Leadership. Bev is a believer that we must always listen and learn from the communities we serve, and that we must care for care-givers while we provide the highest quality care and services to our communities.
When not in the office, Bev enjoys time with her family, friends (non-human too), yoga, travel, and spending time in nature.
Beverly.Wasserman@dhha.org | 303-602-3677
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Julia Weise (she/her/hers) manages several Linkage to Care projects, including HIV treatment, PrEP initiation, HIV jail transitions, and cardiovascular patient navigation. With over 25 years of experience at Denver Health and the Denver Prevention Training Center, she loves her diverse and somewhat fragmented role of program manager, clinical supervisor, trainer, and consultant because every day is different and meaningful. A Social Worker by background, Julia’s favorite aspect of her work is relationship building and collaboration with colleagues and (local and national) partners.
When she’s not increasing the capacity of clinical settings to provide outstanding individualized health care services to all or advancing equitable health care delivery, Julia is happiest when the sun is shining, and there is something fun and active to do in the beautiful outdoors of Colorado (summer preferred!)
Julia.Weise@dhha.org | 303-602-8742
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Karen Wendel (she/her/hers) is the Director of HIV/STD Prevention and Control Division at the Public Health Institute at Denver Health. In this capacity, she works with the Denver Health STD Clinic and Denver Prevention Training Center to promote STD education and care in our region and improve access to HIV testing and HIV prevention services locally and nationally. Karen has been involved in HIV and STD clinical care and research while on faculty at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Oklahoma Health Science Center, and University of Colorado Health Science Center. She has participated in CDC STD Treatment Guidelines meetings and has conducted research into the causes of vaginitis and urethritis. Karen received her medical degree at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and completed an internal medicine training and infectious disease fellowship at John Hopkins Hospital.
If Karen weren’t leading the team in new directions, she would be a lounge singer because she enjoys singing... whether it’s considered good or not is another story.
Karen.Wendel@dhha.org
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Myra Young (she/her/hers) is a nurse practitioner providing consultation, training, and technical assistance to help regional sexual health clinics improve their STI/HIV-related services. Myra has a master’s degree in Human Sexuality and Health Education from New York University, and Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She has over 20 years of clinical experience in sexual and reproductive health, with a focus on HIV, STIs, and the management of HPV-related diseases. She is passionate about facilitating conversations around sexual health with providers, thought leaders and patients (and anyone else who will listen), and eliminating stigma related to HIV and STIs.
When she’s not working, you can probably find Myra out listening to live music, most likely a Grateful Dead cover band.
Myra.Young@dhha.org
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