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Education
Skills Profile
Community Experience and Honors
Publications
Experience:
Ability Counseling LLC, Thornton, CO
May 2025 – Present, Licensed Professional Counseling Candidate
January 2024 – May 2025, Practicum, Internship
ACL Boulder, Boulder, CO
March 2024 – May 2025, Children’s Advocate (Part-time)
August 2021– March 2024, Bilingual Program Manager, MCH Engagement and Community Inclusion Teams
Parent to Parent Miami, Miami, FL
July 2019 – August 2021, Education and Support Specialist
Autism Society of Colorado, Remote
June 2018 – November 2019, Operations Manager and I&R Specialist (Contract-BF LLC)
Bright Futures LLC, Colorado, Remote
September 2014 – Present, Owner, Educational Consulting and Advocate
JFK Partners/UCD Anschutz Campus, Aurora, CO
October 2017 – July 2018, Professional Research Assistant
El Grupo VIDA, Denver, CO
October 2016 – April 2017, Development Director (Part-time Contract)
El Grupo VIDA, Denver, CO
November 2013 – October 2016, Executive Director
The Arc Arapahoe & Douglas Counties, Centennial, CO
March 2011 – November 2013, Community Outreach Coordinator
- MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Adams State University – Graduated May 2025
- LEND Fellowship (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities – JFK Partners/University of Colorado– Graduated June 2017 (areas of Leadership, Key Concepts in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Intervention for Children and Youth with ASD/Neurodevelopmental Disabilities)
- BS in Human Services, Non-profit concentration, Minors in Psychology and Spanish Language- Metropolitan State University of Denver – Graduated December 2014
- AA Liberal arts with Honors – Cum Laude – Community College of Denver – Graduated May 2011
Skills Profile
- Licensed Professional Counseling Candidate
- Fluent in writing, speaking, and translation of the Spanish Language.
- Understanding of speaking and writing in plain language.
- Education consultant and advocate in early childhood and school-age.
- Over 19 years’ experience providing support and advocacy for families with children with disabilities.
- Subject matter expert with experience working with diverse families and knowledge in outreach and serving Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish-speaking communities.
- Knowledge of disability community resources locally and nationally.
Community Experience and Honors
- Member of the State of the States in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Project Advisory Committee
- Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society
- Psi Beta National Honor Society in Psychology
- Former Member of the Latino Age Wave Community Advisory Committee
- Former Member of the Parent-to-Parent Colorado Advisory Board
- Former Board Member of Hayley House
- Former Educational surrogate parent volunteer with the Colorado Department of Education
- Former Vice-Chair, Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council
- Former Board Member, Rocky Mountain Human Services
Publications
- Anderson, L., Kardell, Y., Hall, S., Magana, S., Reynolds, M., Cordova, J. A Research Agenda to Support Families of People With IDD With Intersectional Identities. IDD, Advance online publication, http://aaidd.org/publications/journals/articles-accepted-for-publication
- DiGuiseppi, C., Rosenberg, S. A., Tomcho, M.A., Colborn, K., Hightshoe, K., Gutierrez-Raghunath, S. Cordova, J. M., et al. (Published online November 27, 2020, Issue published May 1, 2021). Family navigation to increase evaluation for autism spectrum disorder in toddlers: Screening and Linkage to Services for Autism pragmatic randomized trial. SAGE Journals, volume 25 (issue 4), pages: 946-957 https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320974175
- Spark Consortium. 2018. SPARK: A US Cohort of 50,000 Families to Accelerate Autism Research. Neuron, volume 97, issue 3, pages: 488-493. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.01.01
Experience:
Ability Counseling LLC, Thornton, CO
May 2025 – Present, Licensed Professional Counseling Candidate
January 2024 – May 2025, Practicum, Internship
- Provide individual counseling to adult clients, including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
- Conduct comprehensive mental health assessments and develop individualized treatment plans.
- Deliver offense-specific therapy services to justice-involved individuals, with and without IDD, focusing on accountability, emotional regulation, and relapse prevention.
- Utilize evidence-based practices such as CBT, DBT, and Skills System interventions tailored to cognitive and developmental levels.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, guardians, and judicial entities to support client progress and compliance with court-ordered or agency-mandated treatment.
- Document clinical services, progress notes, and treatment outcomes in compliance with ethical and legal standards.
- Provide group therapy following the SOMB program.
- Advocate for inclusive, trauma-informed mental health services that respect client autonomy and cultural identity.
ACL Boulder, Boulder, CO
March 2024 – May 2025, Children’s Advocate (Part-time)
- Provide information and resources to families with loved ones who have disabilities.
- Review and advise on IEP, IFSP, and Section 504 plans.
- Assist families with preparing meetings and attend when necessary.
- Advocacy case management for new and ongoing families.
August 2021– March 2024, Bilingual Program Manager, MCH Engagement and Community Inclusion Teams
- Provide technical assistance (TA) to interdisciplinary training and research LEND programs across the United States.
- Manage projects, initiatives, and meetings that align with the objectives of the funder’s training programs, including but not limited to scheduling, facilitating virtual meetings, taking notes, developing iterative drafts of meeting agendas, and confirming and preparing speakers and presenters.
- Actively promote continuous improvement for individual programs and fulfill broader workforce development goals outlined in the Autism CARES Act.
- Support the Spanish Language Workgroup, LEND Family and Self-Advocate discipline workgroups, Territories, and the Indigenous workgroups that serve as platforms for addressing emerging training and public health issues.
Parent to Parent Miami, Miami, FL
July 2019 – August 2021, Education and Support Specialist
- Provide information and resources to families with loved ones who have disabilities.
- Review and advise on IEP, IFSP, and Section 504 plans.
- Assist families with preparing meetings and attend when necessary.
- Advocacy case management for new and ongoing families.
Autism Society of Colorado, Remote
June 2018 – November 2019, Operations Manager and I&R Specialist (Contract-BF LLC)
- Hired to reduce costs, assist with financial cleanup, and get the organization's financials back in the black.
- Assist the President with board governance.
- Manage all daily operations.
- Ensure financial excellence, manage financials with the accountant, and cultivate donors.
- Program supervision and training of interns.
- Provided workshops and training to the community and to the Denver Police Academy on Autism 101.
Bright Futures LLC, Colorado, Remote
September 2014 – Present, Owner, Educational Consulting and Advocate
- Special education advocate and Trainer.
- Guardianship Assistance and Trainer.
- SSI Assistance and Trainer.
- Non-profit consulting and staff training in both English and Spanish.
- Cultural consultant and Trainer in outreach and serving the Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish-speaking community.
- Private advocacy on a sliding fee scale for English and Spanish-speaking families with a child with any disability.
JFK Partners/UCD Anschutz Campus, Aurora, CO
October 2017 – July 2018, Professional Research Assistant
- Research assistant on the SPARK for Autism project, working on outreach, enrollment, and collecting DNA of people with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
- Explain and answer questions about the registry and help obtain saliva samples from multiple family members of study participants.
- Follow up with participants and families via telephone.
- Meet set enrollment goals and arrange recruitment events in the community.
- Use social media to create awareness about the registry.
- Help participants navigate the online enrollment process.
- Manage research database.
El Grupo VIDA, Denver, CO
October 2016 – April 2017, Development Director (Part-time Contract)
- Help with annual fundraising goals and objectives in conjunction with the Executive Director, Treasurer, and board, which includes timelines, procedures, and tasks to be accomplished to meet the organization’s future goals.
- Draft and execute all grant applications on behalf of the organization.
- Lead the special projects or grants, i.e., Mentor program.
- Participate in the EGV Development and Fundraising Committee with the Executive Director.
- Maintain the grants calendar, research, applications, and progress reporting in collaboration with the Executive Director.
- Help ensure the proper management of the fundraising database, including maintaining confidentiality, accuracy, and timely entry of donor records, in collaboration with the Executive Director.
- Assist the Executive Director in creating and implementing a culture of fundraising throughout the organization. Assist families with the execution of guardianship paperwork.
- Manage the interns involved with the Development Director's scope of work.
- Translation of all EGV documents for the organization and grant work.
El Grupo VIDA, Denver, CO
November 2013 – October 2016, Executive Director
- Work with the board, volunteers, families, and other community members to create a strategic plan.
- Recommends procedures and policies to the Board of Directors and the Board/Program Committees.
- Develop, implement, and execute the annual work plan.
- Develop and record all necessary documentation to demonstrate the results of activities concerning desired outcomes, including surveys, evaluations, and outcomes.
- Develops and coordinates donation revenue streams and cultivates new funding sources for the organization, including monetary, grant, and in-kind donations.
- Communicate and work with the board, volunteers, families, donors, and other community partners.
- Develop and maintain relationships within the community with other non-profit organizations and for-profit entities that support the mission.
- Responsible for overall leadership of the volunteers in the development, implementation, and coordination of short- and long-range plans, policies, and other activities.
- Develop relationships and recruit volunteers through effective management methods, including but not limited to delegating, assigning, evaluating, training, and mentoring processes.
- Develop and implement public relations opportunities.
- Translation of all EGV documents for the organization and grant work.
The Arc Arapahoe & Douglas Counties, Centennial, CO
March 2011 – November 2013, Community Outreach Coordinator
- Created and maintained The Arc’s social media: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
- Maintain and update The Arc’s website events and calendar in CMS Builder.
- Plan and implement the new case management and database software for the agency.
- Create reports for federal grant requirements, as well as monthly and yearly reporting.