Gilbert Achay spent over a decade in local and national nonprofits, engaged in youth programs and health advocacy. For nine years he worked at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, serving the company’s philanthropic initiatives on health and racial equity. He is also a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant with the Sankofa Leadership Network. 

Originally from Hawai’i, Gilbert grew up learning about his grandparents’ experiences as union workers in the sugarcane plantation fields. This spurred his interest in organizing and contributing to social causes that address power imbalances. He has a B.S. degree from the University of Minnesota, with concentrations in Child Development, Psychology, and Holistic Health, and is a graduate student in counseling psychology at Saint Mary’s University.  

Mollie A Bailey has a BA in Hospitality, Meeting and Travel Administration from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She is a proud mama to her daughter and son, she has worked for the department for 12 years and one fun fact is her given name is Mallene which is of Norwegian origin.

Sarah Jane started in the Department of Family Medicine in August 2025. Previously, she worked at the UCCS campus as Executive Assistant to the Dean of Engineering and Applied Science, and before that as Administrative Assistant to the Chair of MSE at Northwestern University. Sarah Jane is from the Chicago area and studied Economics at Butler University in Indianapolis.

Liz Bell has a BS in Hotel Administration. She lives in Basalt (near Aspen) and is part of the PEACHnet PBRN. She has a background in special needs advocacy and suicide prevention and a particular interest in the intersectionality of social, physical and mental health factors in fostering wellbeing for everyone.

Andrew Bienstock, a trained practice facilitator/clinical health information technical advisor, brings his deep knowledge of clinical quality measures, strong connections to our key data partners, and experience with data on multiple practice transformation efforts in Colorado.

Kristen Blume is part of the Clinical Affairs Team and "is very happy to be a part of that wonderful group of people!" She graduated from Colorado State University with a BS in Biological Science and minors in mathematics and French. She spent a few years working in pain management as an office manager/practice administrator prior to coming to the university. For fun, she likes reading, skiing, hiking with her dog, and rock climbing. 

Taryn works on a variety of projects in the Department of Family Medicine as a Research Services Senior Professional. Xe is also a part of the Research Services Professional Leadership Team, LGBTQ+ Hub Advisory Committee, and helps to lead the DFM Gender Equity Committee. Outside of the University of Colorado, Taryn is an inclusive yoga instructor and offers trainings in adapting yoga instruction to create Body Positive and LGBTQIA+ inclusive spaces. Xe also has their BA in Art History.

Veronica Russell is a Business Services Professional and has her BA in Quality Systems Management and her MA in Organizational Leadership.

Natalie Buys leads the AMC Research Administration Information Network (RAIN).

Michael began his time with the Department of Family Medicine in December 2022, bringing with him acute care, emergency care, ambulatory care, surgical services, and higher education strategic planning, finance, and operations experience of over 20 years. Michael earned a Master of Science in Health Services Administration from Regis University and has been a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality for over 12 years. My role encompasses budgeting, financial analysis, and resource management, all aimed at supporting our mission, “To heal, teach, discover, and connect. Together.”

Liz Campbell has been the Communications Program Manager for the Department of Family Medicine since October of 2023. She oversees the Communications Specialist, makes web edits, leads strategic communications efforts, sends or guides internal communications, and more! Liz has a BA in English and Communications from Chestnut Hill College, with minors in both Business and Art History. Formerly, she was the Director of Advancement Communications at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, where she worked for 11 years. 

Vanessa Case is a Program Manager at the Farley Health Policy Center and Senior Research and Policy Analysis Professional in the CU Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She received her Master of Science in Clinical Exercise Physiology, is working toward a master’s in health administration (10/2025), and has researched and managed in multiple disciplines. Her interests are in improving health care for groups that have conflicts with health care systems' current level of accessibility.

James Chin is a Senior Finance Director and has his MS in Accounting from NYU Stern School of Business.

Ryan Coel is an IT Senior Professional and has his BS in Information Technology Management from University of Wisconsin–Stout.

Lauri Connelly, MS, is a Research Services Principal Professional who has worked with the Department of Family Medicine for the past seven years. She has a BA in psychology and an MS in occupational therapy. Her clinical interests include health promotion, education, and patient-centered outcomes.

Kristen Curcija is a Research Services Senior Professional and the coordinator for the High Plains Research Network (HPRN) and has been with the Department of Family Medicine since May 2016. Her research experience and interests include diabetes, loneliness, drug and alcohol screening, treatment for opioid use disorder, and improving mental health in rural communities. Kristen has experience in quantitative and qualitative data collection, management, and analysis through survey administration and key informant interviews.  She holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from Benedictine University and a Bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Kansas State University.

Dionisia de la Cerda is Research Scientist and primarily a Data and Evaluation Manager and consultant. Her areas of expertise are data management, equitable evaluation and inquiry, knowledge management, process improvement, and strategic planning. In addition, she is passionate about community work. Finally, she has extensive experience in developing skills for others. She primarily works remote in the San Luis Valley.  

She has worked for the University of Colorado for over 25 years. She began as a community college transfer student working as a tutor in the Math Learning Center at the Colorado Springs campus. She has developed and honed her skills in many settings including student centered work (Retention, Success, K12 STEM Pathways, Education Pathways and Initiatives), Corrections (Colorado Dept of Correction Office of Planning and Analysis), and for the last 10 years at CU Anschutz - the Department of Family Medicine and Office of Access and Engagement. She provides data and evaluation consulting support for the Department of Family Medicine, and the Office of Access and Engagement (e.g. Resident Climate Survey, Redcap Build, HR Dashboards in Tableau, Mapping for Community Initiatives).   

Her community work spans a lifetime of her own lived experience and needs. The two geographic communities she is most familiar with are Aurora and the San Luis Valley.  She is an active member of the Colorado Collaboratory on Equitable Inquiry community of practice with the Colorado Health Foundation, a participant in the HOPE Council for the School of Medicine and is member of the Data Analytics Collaborative in the Data Enablement office.