Our Team
Colorado Young Leaders
Leaders leading the way to help future leaders lead. Say that three times fast.
Jennifer Landers
Executive Director
Youth isn’t a limitation. It’s the beginning of a long life of opportunity and possibility.
Lauren Steavpack
Program Director
CYL gives youth the confidence to lead through service, advocate for issues they care about, and connect with a community of change makers.
Hayley Krawitz
Outreach Manager
Pessimists complain about the wind. Optimists expect it to get better. CYLers adjust the sails.
Flora Block
Program Coordinator
CYL gives voice to youth, who in turn, give voice to their communities: empowering the next generation of leaders, teachers, speakers, and changemakers.
Summit Guides
Everybody has their own path to take. Our Summit Guides have the enthusiasm and spirit to support you at every point on your journey—and show how far you can really go.
Karla Aldaraca
she/her
CYL helps students find their voice in their community. Then gives them the tools to persuade their passions. The students never fail to surprise me with what their passionate hearts achieve. I can proudly say I have learned so much from the voices who will lead the future.
Eden Mendrala
she/her
As an alum, I am so excited to be involved with CYL again. I am passionate about uplifting young leaders and encouraging them to explore their passions while supporting their communities. I love exploring every way in which I can grow as a person and become an impactful member of my community, and I am excited to share that love with a new generation of leaders.
Jess Parker
she/her
I’m excited to take on the new role of Decalibron Summit Guide and help CYLers accomplish their service and leadership goals, while helping them think critically about the world around them.
Jacob Baca
he/him
Fostering a community and place to explore one’s leadership and passions builds resilience and self-awareness in young leaders. This skill is invaluable as we address increasingly complex issues in our communities and find our place in these issues.
Tes Cohen
she/her
Passionate about creating meaningful opportunities that foster curiosity, community, + adventure in order to cultivate interconnectedness, continuous learning, + inner-strength and am thrilled to do just that as a Summit Guide with CYL! Excited to chat with CYLers about any/all things related to travel, mindfulness + yoga, and building community. Ask me about the time I biked 3,125 miles across the US and then volunteered with refugees and immigrants at our border in El Paso, TX before moving to Denver.
Interested in joining the Summit Guide team? Our hiring season is typically late spring to early summer.
Youth Advisory Board
As a vital component of Colorado Young Leaders, these high schoolers assist our staff and board to guide, inspire new Service Adventures, and become ambassadors for positive change in their schools.
Knox L.
Denver East High School
To me, leadership is not being the loudest in the room or having the ability to direct others. Leadership is about inspiring others through example, encouraging peers to reach their full potential, and occasionally mediating discussion and conflict.
Lillian S.
Denver South High School
I believe that the definition of leadership should be fluid, and a good leader should be aware of the needs of the group in order to lead best. For instance, some situations require an active, vocal leader, and some situations require a leader who can take a step back and let others create their own path.
Ella L.
Denver South High School
Leadership is helping others live up to their full potential, and accomplish good things.
Leela P.
Lakewood High School
Being able to lead by example and being able to work with groups of people to make decisions that help represent the people they’re meant to represent.
Alan A.
Northeast Early College
Leadership is a way to help guide people into taking the right steps to be successful. Leadership can also be described as helping people come together in situations where you need teamwork and helping achieve the goal they are trying to reach.
Tuhin S.
Colorado Academy
I believe that a leader is not just someone who directs others, but someone who is a qualified team player. A leader is someone who listens and empathizes with other’s opinions and needs, and also someone who has a right sense of direction. They should have a vision to motivate themselves and their time to work towards fruition.
Ashley H.
Colorado Academy
There are so many different ways to define a leader but to me, a leader should understand the balance between taking charge but also stepping back. A leader should be able to bring people together in a way that makes everyone feel comfortable and welcome, but at times, should recognize when it is beneficial to let others grow as leaders.
Taylor R.
Heritage High School
To me, leadership is the ability to recognize what a group needs in order to be successful. Whether that be for somebody to step up and take control of the situation or just listen, it is the job of a true leader to notice, adapt, and implement the correct action.
Anja P.
Wheat Ridge High School
I define leadership as the ability to hold space and listen to others, and to boost their creativity, inspiration, and motivation so they can go on to achieve great things. It is creating a community of people who can be vulnerable with each other and listen to each other.
Erica A.
Denver East High School
Leadership is sharing your knowledge, experiences, and skills in order to strengthen a group, and push them towards a common goal.
Tristan K.
Denver East High School
To me, leadership is having the courage to take the lead on an important task in order to guide others to success and towards a shared objective. It is also empowering others to share their opinions so that all voices are heard so any decision is not just the decision of one person.
Clara L.
Denver East High School
Leadership is being able to find a balance between taking charge about the things you care about and supporting the things other people around you care about.
Colleen H.
Northfield High School
Leadership is being able to know when to take charge and to always do the right thing, even if it’s difficult.
Board of Directors
Shawn J Ouellet
Board President
AFS Technologies, Inc., Director of Technical Project Management
Empowering youth is a way to have a ripple effect of positive change in this world as they grow, lead, and impact change.
Angela Han
Board Vice President
Retain.ai, Chief Customer Officer
Supporting our next generation of leaders and change agents is one of the most important footprints I can leave in my lifetime.
Nicole Mahobian
Founder
Our young people are not our future leaders, and they are our present leaders. We will only make the changes we want to see in the world with our younger and older generations leading together.
Brandon Zelasko
E-Squared Communications Group (dba: SE2), Principal
I strongly believe in the transformational power of seeing young people’s potential and supporting them to achieve their goals. When we help young people unlock their potential, we change their lives, families, and communities for the better.
Kelly Condra
DaVita Healthcare – Enterprise Risk Manager
Youth minds are capable of so much exploration and impact on society. Empowerment enables them to feel confident and capable of creating this change in the world.
Salina Derichsweiler
Transitional Energy, CEO
The innovative thinking of our youth inspires me, and I believe their leadership will be the key to solving the most significant challenges our communities face.
Obi Ezeadi
Inspirato, Project Manager – Wheatridge City Councilman