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Image is a banner with a purple curved design and features the text "Annual Council Meeting Recap 2025" in the center. The Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council logo is on the right side.

The Council hosted our annual meeting at the end of August and we are pleased to share some announcements for our upcoming year. Council members are Governor-appointed and represent a variety of personal and professional perspectives from across the state, yet come together with 24 different voices to act as one. Making space for our member stories and experiences helps us grow and brings vitality to our work. A heartfelt thank you to our Council members for their thoughtful contributions and meaningful leadership. 

Council Leadership Elections

Per our bylaws, Council Chair and Vice Chair positions must be filled with an individual with an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) or a family member of a person with IDD.  Our various agency representatives are not eligible for these roles.

Congratulations to Briana Anthony (Colorado Springs), who was elected as Council Chair. Briana has been on the council for one year, previously serving as the Vice Chair for the past year. She is the mother of four children, two of whom have intellectual disabilities, and is a member of the Member Experience Advisory Council (MEAC) with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and the Family Voices Council for the Colorado Department of Human Services. 

Joining Briana is Jose Torres-Vega (Denver), who was elected as Vice Chair after a year of service on the Council. Jose is an active and respected non-attorney disability advocate in our community with extensive experience through Colorado Cross Disability Coalition, ADAPT and El Grupo Vida. He is also the Chair of the Rocky Mountain Human Services Board of Directors and the Colorado People’s Alliance.

Jennifer Pieroni (Craig) was elected as a new at-large member of the executive committee as a parent of a person with IDD in rural Colorado. Hanni Raley (Westminster) was reelected as an at-large member of the executive committee as a representative of an agency serving people with IDD (Arc of Aurora).

Committee Chairs

The Council ratified Committee Chair elections and is pleased to announce the following Committee Chairs. Committee Chairs also serve on the executive committee, per Council bylaws (one vote per committee):

    • Planning and Grants (P&G) Committee – Dina Johnson and Michele Williers

    • Legislative and Public Policy (LPP) Committee – Jenny and Lo Thamer and Jose Torres-Vega

    • Membership Committee – Amy Harris and Bobbi Christensen

Budget – Federal Fiscal Year 2025 (FFY25), October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026

The Council’s anticipated budget for FFY26 is $1,178,534. In the FFY26 budget passed by the Council, members budgeted $400,000 of project specific funding to be awarded through grants and contracts to help accomplish our state plan goals and objectives.  Community agencies can watch the Council website and social media for grant announcements. The Council does not take unsolicited requests but we do accept meetings to discuss ideas related to systems change, advocacy and capacity building efforts of our community. 

In addition, we are thrilled that our FFY26 budget passed by the Council includes compensation for full Council meeting attendance for community representatives with lived experience who serve on the Council. We believe that lived experience is crucial to our success and this investment helps ensure that people with disabilities and their families are financially compensated for the time they give to full Council meetings. People who participate in the Council as part of a paid position are not eligible for community compensation as they are already being compensated by their job to attend.

Federal Funding

Although federal funding is still projected to be stable for Developmental Disabilities Councils and our partner agencies due to the incredible work of national advocates and state leaders, we are deeply concerned by cuts happening at the federal and state levels. These budget cuts directly harm people with disabilities by eliminating benefits or creating additional administrative barriers to accessing vital health, employment, education and human services programs that support people with disabilities and their families.  We stand with our community in working to protect and preserve the progress Colorado has made in disability policy and being thoughtful about how we balance the state budget without creating irreparable damage for our communities and friends.

2025-26 Council Members

Our 2025-2026 Council membership is listed in full below.

Amanda Lofgren 

P&G Committee
Professional Representative
CO Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
Littleton, CO

 

Amy Harris 

Membership Committee Co-Chair
Professional Representative
CO Department of Human Services
Denver, CO

 

Andrew Erhart
P&G Committee
Professional Representative
CO Department of Public Health and Environment
Denver, CO

 

Bobbi Christensen 

Membership Committee Co-Chair
Community Representative – Person with IDD
Lafayette, CO

 

Briana Anthony – Council Chair

Executive Committee
Community Representative – Family Member
Colorado Springs, CO

 

Carson Covey

LPP Committee
Community Representative – Person with IDD
Littleton, CO

 

Dina Johnson

P&G Committee Co-Chair
Professional Representative
JFK Partners (University Center on Excellence for Developmental Disabilities)
Broomfield, CO

 

Gentrice Petrie

Membership Committee
Professional Representative
Disability Law Colorado (State Protection & Advocacy Agency)
Livermore, CO

 

Hanni Raley

Executive Committee
Professional Representative
Arc of Aurora
Westminster, CO

 

Jennifer Pieroni
Executive Committee
Community Representative – Family Member
Craig, CO

 

Jenny and Lo Thamer

LPP Co-Chair 
Community Representative – Family Member
Erie, CO

 

José Torres-Vega, Council Vice Chair

LPP Co-Chair
Community Representative – Person with IDD
Denver, CO

 

Julian Wang

LPP Committee
Community Representative – Person with IDD
Fort Collins, CO

 

Katie Oliver 

Membership Committee
Professional Representative
CO Department of Education
Thornton, CO

 

Kaylee Elbaum

P&G Committee
Community Representative – Family Member
Highlands Ranch, CO

 

Lillian Chazin

Membership Committee
Community Representative – Person with IDD
Denver, CO

 

Megan Bowser

Membership Committee
Professional Representative
Family Voices Colorado
Littleton, CO

 

Michele Williers

P&G Committee Co-Chair
Community Representative – Family Member
Colorado Springs, CO

 

Moriah Rodriguez

P&G Committee
Denver, CO
Community Representative – Family Member

 

Nicholas Gagner 

LPP Committee
Community Representative – Family Member
Denver, CO

 

Robin Ennis

Membership Committee 
Community Representative – Person with IDD
Denver, CO

 

Shane Longton

Community Representative – Family Member
Frederick, CO

 

Vicki Krieger

LPP Committee 
Community Representative – Family Member
Castle Rock, CO

 

Open Positions:

 

Appointment Pending 

Professional Representative
CO Department of Labor and Employment