Mark L. Stewart – President
Mark, his wife Catherine and son Mason have been enjoying the Yampa Valley for 12 years. They enjoy rafting, camping, and being outdoors in this wonderful area.. He works as the Environmental Analyst for Xcel Energy’s – Hayden Station, monitoring environmental compliance and conducting project management. He was drawn to serve on the REPS board because he has a family history of suicide with depression and wants to protect life and support those impacted by suicide. He looks forward to being a part of the organization by promoting its mission, sharing its values, and successfully completing its goals.
Tom Gangel – Vice President
Tom Gangel, MA. Is in his Twentieth year as a Director/Manager for Mind Springs Health the community mental health center covering the ten counties in the northwest corner of Colorado. He has been in the mental health field for 35 years and has worked in private practice, as a professional speaker, in a CA state hospital, as director of the forensic psychiatric unit of a mega jail in Houston, and four different community mental health centers and has been a professor at two universities and an adjunct instructor at a community college.
Tom has been on the Board of the Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide (REPS) since the organizations becoming a 501 C3 organization. Prior to that REPS was housed inside Mind Springs Health in the program that Tom supervised. Tom has been dedicated to preventing suicide in the Yampa Valley for his entire career with REPS and Mind Springs Health.
Leslie Christensen-Board Member
Mathew Christensen Ph.D., has worked as a public health epidemiologist for 15 years. His work in suicide prevention includes serving as the Principal Investigator of Delaware’s Violent Death Reporting System managed by the National Violent Death Reporting System and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The purpose of the work was to prevent and reduce suicide, as well as other violent deaths. Mathew read and recorded detailed circumstantial data about hundreds of suicide deaths documented in medical examiner autopsy reports, police reports, toxicology reports, and death certificates. The data were compiled together and presented regularly to suicide prevention stakeholders in Delaware to inform policy decisions and prevention practices in the state.
In Steamboat Springs, Mathew has written and submitted a suicide prevention grant to request funding from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The funding will be used to study the unique collaborative partnership to prevent suicide that exists in Routt County between Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide (REPS) and the UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center (YVMC).
Mathew completed his graduate school training and received his Ph.D. in 2002. He enjoys regular physical exercise, sports competitions, world history, and advancing his meditation practice.
Jo Anne Grace, Ph.D.- Support Group Facilitator
Dr. Jo Anne Grace is a health educator, a practical theologian and a spiritual healthcare specialist. Her 30-year experience as a stress management practitioner, a heath motivational coach, a neuro-health trainer, a grief counselor and a spiritual director informs her teaching, writing and research into Pneumasomatic Care. Pneumasomatic Care explores the intimate connection between the spirit and body … the brain and mind. She combines physiology and theology to offer an integrated approach to living life to its fullest. Dr. Grace directs the NeuroHealth Center and serves as Spiritual Health Care and Bereavement Care Coordinator (Chaplain) for Northwest Colorado Health
Kristara Mielke, Treasurer
Kristara and her husband Matt, moved to the Yampa Valley six years ago. They are avid outdoor people who enjoy hiking, camping, rafting, rock climbing and exploring the West. She is a CPA working for Ingalls, Ingalls & Co P.C., specializing in income tax and small business accounting. She was drawn to the REPS board because of a family history of depression and mental health challenges. Growing up in the Roaring Fork Valley, she has seen the challenges mountain town living has on mental health. She hopes to have a meaningful impact on those who are struggling and assist in provide resources to the community. As the board treasurer she hopes to use her professional skills to promote the REPS mission
Brandy Keller – Board Member
Brandy Lee Keller was raised Montana and recently moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado with her family for her husband’s work as an anesthesiologist. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Montana and a J.D. from Drake University Law School. Over the years, Brandy has worked in HR for The Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and FedEx Trade Networks Customs & Brokerage, in addition to mediating for the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the Denver Courts. In 2014, the death of her mother by suicide deeply affected Brandy and her family. The experience empowered Brandy to learn and be inspired by new wellness practices. Currently, Brandy teaches yoga at two residential addiction treatment programs in the Valley. She is devoted to the mission of REPS to preserve, protect and promote life and believes the vision of the organization is a timeless, invaluable contribution the community.