Staff & Leadership

Colorado Afterschool Partnership Staff

The Colorado Afterschool Partnership is supported by these amazing staff members:
Kelly Streck - CAP Network Lead

Kelly Streck

Executive Director

Kelly has spent the last 18 years in the non-profit community and much of that time has been working with young people, educators, and OST providers before she knew about the acronyms. Some of Kelly’s favorite work was in creating and teaching programming around personal financial literacy and service learning after-school programs for elementary-age children and older adults, as well as managing an in-school philanthropy program for elementary school children. She also spent the last 7 years getting to know the non-profit community around the state while training volunteer managers on how to better support and engage volunteers to deliver their missions more effectively and efficiently. Throughout this varied and yet connected career path, Kelly discovered that one of her skills is connecting with those who are not traditionally at the table or in the conversation: elementary-age children who are constantly underestimated, older adults 55+ who face that same challenge, siblings of children with cancer and serious illnesses who are sidelined out of sheer survival necessity, and children and parents from a wide variety of marginalized communities. Kelly is excited to learn more about the OST community and bring her passion for creating and connecting to CAP.

Questions? Contact Kelly at kelly@coloradoafterschoolpartnership.org

Taylor Gordon

Communications & Events Manager

Taylor’s passion for out-of-school time stems from witnessing the profound impact it had on her students and their families. Over four rewarding years as a site coordinator, she’s seen firsthand how OST programs contribute to holistic student development. Taylor is passionate about storytelling, networking, and leveraging social media to build more awareness around the benefits of OST. She is looking forward to collaborating with the community to continue paving the way for high-quality, sustainable OST programs across Colorado.

Questions? Contact Taylor at taylor@coloradoafterschoolpartnership.org

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors provides governance and fundraises on a volunteer basis for CAP. Board members are:

Katherine Plog-Martinez — Board Chair

Katherine Plog Martinez currently serves as the Managing Partner for Knowledge to Power Catalysts, a small boutique consulting firm that increases the rate at which leaders transform Knowledge into Power to change the odds that all children and youth will thrive. In this role, she oversees the business operations of the firm and serves as the Executive Producer of Changing the Odds Remix. Katherine’s portfolio of clients includes The Forum for Youth Investment, where she works with the David P. Weikart Center for Youth Program Quality serving as a thought partner for the Wallace Foundation’s Partnership for Social-Emotional Learning Initiative.

Prior to launching her consulting business, Katherine spent eight and a half years at Denver Public Schools (DPS) serving in roles including the Director of Extended Learning and Community Schools and Executive Director of Whole Child Supports. In her time with DPS, she also served as a co-founder of the Denver Afterschool Alliance – Denver’s out-of-school-time intermediary.

Katherine holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Trinity University and a master’s degree in Family Studies & Human Services – Youth Development from Kansas State University.

Sarah Conley —Vice Chair

Sarah Conley has worked with OST programs for 26 years, both private sector and public education. She has always advocated for quality out-of-school time programs for all children keeping their best interests as a priority always to support the whole child. In her current role as Director of Extended Child Services with Cherry Creek School District, she manages 50+ OST programs, working collaboratively with state-wide school-age programs in Colorado to continually refocus the vision and mission for quality programming and resources needed. She creates high-quality staff development opportunities for staff to continue their professional journey in OST programs. She is also fully committed to disrupting inequities and opportunity gaps for students, including race, income, and disability. In her free time, she is a Girl Scout Troop Leader. She has empowered her Girl Scouts to value the importance of community service, leadership, outdoor skills, financial literacy, develop values to guide sound decision making and set the foundation to be successful, confident future women leaders.

Spencer Reedy - Treasurer

Spencer serves as a Private Wealth Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services where he has spent ten years working with families to create the vision they seek for their financial future and then aid in working toward their long-term financial success. Before his time with CAP, he previously served as a board member for Scholars Unlimited. Spencer joined CAP to to volunteer his time and skills to a community organization whose mission is to improve outcomes for children after school.

Dedrick Sims

Dedrick is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer of the Sims-Fayola Foundation. The Sims-Fayola Foundation’s mission is to improve the life outcomes of young men and boys of color and improve the capacity of youth professionals who partner with them.

Dedrick’s career in urban education began in a high school classroom over 20 years ago as a substitute and has since served in roles as a High School Biology and Chemistry Teacher, Secondary Curriculum Administrator, Master Lead Teacher, Technology Coordinator, Alternative School Teacher, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal and Principal of both traditional and charter public schools (Co-Ed and Single Gender), and school Founder.

Dedrick’s commitment to education extends outside the classroom as well. As a published author of three books and numerous professional articles, Dedrick uses his experience to build the capacity of others to serve students with informed excellence. As the Sims-Fayola Foundation CEO, Dedrick provides professional training to educators around the country in areas of single-gender learning, working with young men and boys of color, and school and program design through an equity lens. Through the Sims-Fayola Foundation, Dedrick’s work has impacted over 10,000 young men and boys of color and provided workshops and coaching to over 5,000 professionals who work with young men and boys of color. Dedrick has also been the lead designer and founding member of three charter schools in Arkansas, Colorado, and Louisiana.

Dedrick’s community involvement having served as an appointed member of Colorado’s Workforce Development Commission, the Governor’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Council, a Youth Commissioner for the city of Aurora and Denver, past member of the Denver African American Philanthropists, President of the Board for Hill Harper’s Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, past Board President of the Young Philanthropists Foundation, a past Senior Education Advisor to Mississippi State Representative, a past board member for the Bridge Project, a past board member for the Don Burns Center for Homelessness and Poverty at the University of Denver, current advisory member for Mentor Colorado, current board vice-president of the Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education in New Orleans, LA, and past board member of Wyatt Elementary school in Denver, CO. Dedrick was selected by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the national 100 Modern BE Men of 2018 , Sisters Enterprise “Random Acts of Kindness” 2020 honoree, and one of the African Americans Who Make A Difference for 2021. Dedrick has served his country as an officer in the United States Army and is a Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity member, Inc.

Lori Hammer

Lori Hammer is the Executive Director for the Partners for HOPE Center, an after-school program in the rural community of Lamar, Colorado. Lori started the center in 2005 with a 21st Century Grant in conjunction with the Lamar School District.  When the Center started, in 2005, attendance was around 30 students a day, now the program averages around 150 a day.  The HOPE Center serves grades 3rd-12th, with tutoring and homework help, leadership and enrichment opportunities, at-risk behavior interventions, and other after-school activities.  The Center just strives to help youth in the Lamar area “to be the best they can be in whatever they do!”

Heather Intres

As Chief Impact Officer for Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, Heather is responsible for the design, implementation, and management of our impact strategy including curriculum assessment and selection, program design, research and evaluation, and data analytics.

Heather brings both depth of experience and passion to this role. A proud native of Las Cruces, New Mexico, the common thread throughout Heather’s career has been serving youth and families. Her early career included roles in the pediatric physical therapy field as well as the visual and performing arts. Upon moving to Colorado, Heather served as the Education Program Manager for the Children’s Museum of Denver. During this time, Heather created the “How We Play” initiative that was the foundation for inclusion of youth with special needs throughout the city’s cultural institutions.

She transitioned to Denver Public Schools in 2013 to manage community partnerships for the district and support the work of the Denver Afterschool Alliance and the Denver Quality Afterschool Connection. She then became the Executive Director of Extended Learning and Community Schools and helped lead the district through the pandemic, standing up the first remote learning centers in DPS.

Heather is thrilled to be a part of the CAP team and to continue her focus on ensuring that “afterschool is not an afterthought” in the story of a child’s education.

Ashlee Adams

Ashlee Adams has over 25 years of experience working in non-profit and education settings, focusing on youth development and family strengthening practices. Throughout her career Ashlee has had the fortunate opportunity to work for many youth development organizations in the Denver Metro area and has built lasting relationships. These organizations include: YMCA of Metro Denver; Colorado State University Denver 4-H; Denver Public Schools Discovery Link. While in these roles Ashlee served on the leadership board of the Colorado Afterschool Network (CAN) and the Denver Quality Afterschool Connection (DQUAC) and became a Weikart trainer for youth program quality.

While in her time as a youth development professional Ashlee saw the difference that after school programming had on youth. Providing creative outlets they did not have during the regular school day, an opportunity to explore new passions and ideas a packed school day did not allow. Many students, showing up to school just so they could come to afterschool; because that is what the data shows. Students involved in afterschool have better youth outcomes than students that do not. Ashlee also loves data.

For the last five years, Ashlee has taken her skills as grant writer from previous roles and is now the Director of Grant Management for Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Journalism from Colorado State University and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Denver.

Kim Schulz

As the Associate Director of Strategy and Sustainability in the Office of Children’s Affairs for the City and County of Denver, Kim is responsible for advocating for what’s best in the Out-of -School Time field. Working closely with youth serving Community Based Organizations to find sustainable dollars to ensure equity among all elementary schools in DPS.

Kim’s previous role was the Senior VP of Youth Development for the YMCA of Metropolitan Denver for the past 22 years. Throughout her career, she advanced the organizations impact on youth and families across the metro area resulting in the Denver Y becoming one of the largest youth organizations in the state of Colorado – serving 24,000 youth each year. Addressed the achievement gap in vulnerable communities across the metro area by securing funding and establishing the YMCA Power Scholars program, resulting in more than 1200 kids improving literacy and math skills each summer.

Kim is thrilled to be part of the CAP board, and is looking forward to making a positive impact for all youth statewide.

Jodi Walker

Born and raised in Morgan County, Jodi has never been afraid to take on controversial issues and frequently use unorthodox approaches to bridge the cultural, economic, and generational challenges of the Eastern plains. Jodi’s understanding of the complex interplay of major political, financial and distribution systems – and the impact at the local level – has led to national recognition for both her and her organization.

She has brought together immigrants from Mexico and South America, refugees from Africa, and local children whose families have lived on the Eastern Plains for generations to build a network of youth who use peer support and other means to increase their job potential and to promote the value of diversity in rural Colorado.

This work has allowed her to develop sustainable programs that serve not only local children but to inspire others. Her work extends beyond her county to encompass regional, state and national missions to improve the lives of children. She also serves on the board of the statewide Community Resource Center, Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, Colorado Afterschool Partnership, and she has served as a member of the state Americorps advisory group. One of her favorite projects is working with a national cohort of 9 agencies tasked to bring innovations to solving rural childhood hunger.

Jodi overcame a traumatic brain injury to pursue her soul work on behalf of children and families. She and her husband run a 300 acre family farm in Wiggins, and a towing and auto repair business. Together, they have six children, one granddaughter and a 120lb, Great Pyrenees, puppy. When she is not working, she loves exploring the Colorado outdoors preferably on a paddleboard, reading and sewing.

Nikki Roe Cropp

Nikki Roe Cropp has over 20 years of experience in the social sector, including roles in administration and leadership. She currently serves as the Senior Director of Program Effectiveness at Camp Fire National Headquarters. Nikki leads and manages the program team to increase program capacity and improve program quality at the affiliate level. Her areas of concentration include youth protection/abuse prevention, staff development, program assessment, curriculum implementation, and program framework application. Nikki represents Camp Fire on the National Alliance of Youth Serving Organizations for Child Protection. Nikki is passionate about creating conditions where ALL youth can reach their full potential through safe, positive, equitable youth development experiences. Nikki holds a BA in Psychology from Kansas State University and a master’s certificate in Non-profit Management from the University of Texas, Arlington.  She is an alumna of the American Express Leadership Academy, a global community of high potential social purpose leaders, and a Certified Nonprofit Professional.

 

Nikki lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with her spouse of over 20 years; she is raising two feisty teenagers and two ill-mannered dogs.  In her free time, Nikki loves to hike, read, nap, and practice yoga.

Action Teams

Action Teams work to help CAP reach their goals. Current teams include:

Governance

The Governance Action Team is the executive team of the Project Board. This team implements governance structure, manages monthly Board Meeting agendas, nominates and onboard officers to the Project Board, and recruits and onboard new Project Board and Action Team members.

Partnerships and Resource Development

This action team actively pursues a broader community of stakeholders to align initiatives, increase impact, seek funding and strengthen coordinated afterschool efforts. CAP uses these resources to expand our reach to all corners of Colorado and broaden our community of stakeholders.

Quality

The Quality Action Team is tasked with identifying partners and stakeholders to begin a conversation around developing Afterschool/Youth Development Quality Standards and identifying Quality Improvement Systems. The goal is to build a Statewide Quality System that ensures quality, access, capacity, and accountability in Afterschool Programs that serve K-12 grades.

Advocacy

Members of this team examines national, state and local policies supporting high-quality afterschool and out-of-school-time systems. The goal is to provide education and expertise on how such policies may affect youth, families and youth service professionals while advocating for the advancement and support of equitable access of afterschool programs for all Colorado youth.

Communications and IT

This action team reviews communications related to promotion and capacity-building for CAP through social media, newsletters, and the CAP website. This team adapts marketing materials for special events like Lights on Afterschool and National Summer Learning Day.

Professional Development and Events

The goal of this action team is to create a statewide coordinated professional development system aligned with the Quality Standards and learning community. The team is tasked with conducting a statewide needs assessment, reaching out throughout networks to identify existing PD opportunities, and aligning resources and training support to promote, enhance and develop the growing afterschool youth service professional.