COMET™

Communities face challenges in accessing mental health resources, often focusing on immediate crisis needs and suicide risk. Many individuals experience moderate depression or anxiety, which impacts their well-being. COMET (Changing Our Mental and Emotional Trajectory) addresses this gap by helping people in "vulnerable spaces" shift towards wellness before a crisis occurs.

Developed by the High Plains Research Network (HPRN) and HPRN Community Advisory Counsil in rural eastern Colorado, COMET was designed with input from mental health professionals and researchers. Supported by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, this partnership uncovered mental health needs in these communities. COMET empowers locals to support each other's mental health using a simple seven-question guide. This guide promotes conversations about well-being and is designed to be easy to teach.

COMET encourages supportive interactions among peers, aligning with rural values of neighbor helping neighbor. COMET strives to lessen our fear of engaging in potentially sensitive conversations and reduce the stigma of talking about mental, emotional and behavioral health. For more information, watch the video below on how COMET originated.

COMET Core Faculty

Kristen Curcija, MPH

COMET Program Manager

Kristen Curcija, MPH, is a Research Services Senior Professional at the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine. Her work focuses on practice-based and public health research, particularly in rural regions. She supports the High Plains Research Network and its Community Advisory Council. Her research experience and interests include diabetes, mental health, and treatment for opioid use disorder. She holds a Masters degree in Public Health from Benedictine University.

Linda Zittleman, MSPH

COMET Evaluation Lead

Linda is the Co-Director for the High Plains Research Network (HPRN). With HPRN, she oversees all aspects of research and program activities and fosters and coordinates the HPRN Community Advisory Council. She is experienced in community-based participatory research and practice-based research. Linda greatly enjoys working with people on the eastern plains and informing urban folks of the knowledge gained and new ideas from rural settings.

Maret Felzien, MA

COMET Faculty and Curriculum Director

Maret has been collaborating and advocating as a community partner in primary care research for over 20 years. With a focus on rural health including work to improve mental health knowledge and access, she strives to bring her lived experiences, practicality and desires for quality care to the work. COMET grew out of this work. She is a native to rural northeastern Colorado, retired from higher education, and co-operates the family dry land farm.

Sadie Fritzler, MA

COMET Faculty

Sadie is a native of Northeast Colorado with 10 years of experience in Career and Technical Education and Higher Education Student Services. She is the Secretary and Board Member for the Centennial Area Health Education Center, representing northern Colorado. Married to a third-generation farmer, she has a passion for supporting all things rural in northeast Colorado. As a practice facilitator for High Plains Research Network, Sadie engages in practice-based research projects. She is fond of establishing connections to better the health of those in her community.

Jack Westfall, MD, MPH

COMET Faculty

Jack Westfall grew up in rural eastern Colorado and completed his MD and Masters in Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, After joining the faculty at the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine, Dr Westfall started the High Plains Research Network, a geographic community and practice-based research network in rural and frontier Colorado. After retiring from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, he served as the Director of the Robert Graham Center for policy research in primary care and family medicine in Washington, DC. Returning to Colorado in 2023, he continues to work closely with communities and practices to implement high-quality primary care. As Vice President for Medical Affairs at the DARTNet Institute, Dr Westfall manages a team of experts in primary care practice-based research and implementation. Based on community and practice interest, diabetes, weight management, and preventive health are major topics for his work. Jack practices family medicine part-time in his hometown of Yuma, Colorado.

Clinton Wilson, MACP

COMET Faculty

Clinton Wilson is the Behavioral Health Program Specialist for Colorado State Extension. He and the Colorado AgrAbility Project team support the physical and behavioral health and well-being of farmers, ranchers, and agriculture workers in Colorado and beyond. He holds master’s degrees in both Counseling Psychology and Theology. Clinton lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with his wife and three children, where they raise hair sheep and dairy goats. He loves being outdoors with his family, fly fishing, taking walks through nature, and spending time out in the field with their animals.

Chad Reznicek, MA, LPC

COMET Faculty

Chad Reznicek is a Behavioral Health Specialist with the Colorado AgrAbility Project, committed to expanding and improving behavioral health support and resources in rural communities. Before joining the AgrAbility Team, Chad spent 20 years as a licensed therapist, providing behavioral health services in diverse settings with special focus areas in suicide prevention, trauma, mood disorders, and substance abuse. Both of Chad’s parents were raised on farms, and he grew up in a small farming community in central Nebraska with a deep respect for agriculture as the heart of our rural communities.

Jennifer Pollmiller, MA

COMET Faculty

Jennifer Pollmiller is the Director of Community Outreach for Valley-Wide Health Systems, Inc. In that role, she oversees the Farmworker outreach program as well as the media for The Coffee Break Project. She has been a rodeo athlete her entire life, and now resides in Manzanola, Colorado, where she raises quarter horses and collects donkeys. As a mental health advocate, she is passionate about community engagement, finding creative ways to connect people, and overall improving the lives of rural Coloradans.

COMET Creators and the Community Advisory Council

COMET™ was developed by the High Plains Research Network (HPRN) Community Advisory Council (CAC), rural mental health professionals, and health researchers at the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine – all who live and/or focus their work in rural eastern Colorado – out of dire concern for the mental and emotional well-being of their communities and lack of available, accessible treatment resources. With support from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the partnership conducted a rigorous study on community members’ experiences seeking and obtaining care and support for a range of behavioral health needs. Using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach, the HPRN explored what was working for eastern Colorado community members around accessing mental health care, and translated the AI data into messages and materials that were locally relevant, effective, and sustainable in those rural communities. This research identified key concepts and applied findings to develop the seven-component conversation guide.