Board of directors

CAREY KAUFFMAN

CHAIR

Founder & CEO, WellSelf 360

Founder of WellSelf 360 with more than 20 years of experience spanning healthcare strategy, rare disease advocacy, and population health across the nonprofit and private sectors. Her work focuses on integrating metabolic health, mental health, and chronic disease care, translating complex clinical, social, and behavioral challenges into actionable, collaborative solutions. Carey has also held executive leadership roles with the PCD Foundation and Wellview Health (acquired by First Stop Health), where she supported clinical and research infrastructure, strengthened advocacy efforts, and contributed to population health strategy. 

Earlier in her career, she helped emerging tech companies scale through growth, positioning, and implementation across diverse markets. Her perspective reflects organizational stewardship alongside lived experience as a mom and long-time power user of health and mental health systems across multiple states. A former collegiate and professional athlete and lifelong patient advocate, Carey brings a disciplined, evidence-informed, and human-centered approach to governance and policy focused on equity, prevention, and meaningful impact for Colorado communities and beyond.

DANIEL RAMOS

Executive Director of the Committee on States

Daniel Ramos is the Executive Director of the Committee on States. He previously served as Executive Director of the Colorado Democracy Alliance, the state’s donor alliance, and One Colorado, the leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families.

Ramos is an active member of the Colorado community and has served on the Board of Directors for New Era Colorado, Community Shares and the Equality Federation, and as a Commissioner on the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. He currently serves on the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board; the boards of Healthier United, Conservation Colorado, Proteus Action League, and New Venture Fund; and as a Trustee for Colorado Mesa University and the Rose Community Foundation.

Ramos is also an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching courses on Public Policy & Advocacy, Community Engagement & Empowerment, and Healthy Organizations. As a first-generation college student, he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs. Daniel lives in Denver with his husband and their dog, Phoebe. 

JAYSON SIME

Executive Director for Colorado Democracy Alliance & Colorado Democracy Network

Jayson Sime has a long history of working in politics. Before his current role advising American Votes, he was the Director of Organizing at The Wilderness Society. During the 2020 election cycle, Jayson was Senior Strategist for Warren for President in Colorado and Senior Advisor to America Votes in Nevada and Colorado. Previously, he was a State Director for America Votes in Nevada and Colorado. He managed a top-tier congressional race and served in a variety of campaign roles for the Nevada and Iowa Democratic parties. Jayson built the infrastructure for the Nevada caucus in 2008, the first “early window” caucus in the history of the state. During this campaign, Jayson attended his first yoga class and discovered a new way to manage the stress of working in politics. He became a yoga teacher and spent a year teaching yoga around the world. Jayson was featured in the REI-sponsored documentary “How to Run 100 Miles.” He is the founder of Right to Shine LLC where he coaches individuals and teams on self-care and wellness strategies. He is the author of Self-Care Hacks: 50 Tips and Tricks To Maximize Your Performance, Well-Being, and Happiness.

JAKE SWANTON

Vice President of State Policy & External Affairs, Fathom

Jake Swanton is Vice President of State Policy & External Affairs at Fathom. He has nearly 20 years of experience across government, non-profit and private sectors. His public sector work includes almost a decade in the United States Senate, chiefly spent in the office of former U.S. Senator Mark Udall. Jake advised the senator on health policy during debate and consideration of the Affordable Care Act and later led the office’s policy team as Legislative Director. Jake’s campaign experience spans presidential, ballot issue, senate and mayoral races. He was staff for both of Barack Obama’s presidential efforts here in his home state of Colorado, including as the campaign’s state policy director for the 2012 re-elect. Since leaving government in 2014, Jake has held multiple senior roles at corporate and nonprofit organizations, including as Director of Government Relations for the Pew Charitable Trusts. Later, as Chief of Staff and Policy Director for rideshare company Lyft, Jake spearheaded national government strategies to bring rideshare into the healthcare market while directing overall legislative strategy for the company across the Mountain West. Prior to joining Fathom, Jake was Vice President of State Affairs at Inseparable and Head of Social Impact at Denver’s Guild Education. Jake earned a BA from the College of William & Mary and holds a Master of Public Policy in health care from The George Washington University.

RACHEL KAYGI

Political Advisor

Rachel Kaygi directs the political operations of a donor invested in Colorado and national politics. Rachel’s responsibilities include campaign development, election research, and the evaluation of political investments. She has 20 years of experience working in politics, including think tanks, the state legislature, and political campaigns. Rachel’s built her expertise in political management, navigating and building complex projects from the ground up. Having moved to Colorado at the age of 3, Rachel considers herself a native, graduating from CU Boulder with a degree in international affairs. She currently lives in Denver with her husband and two children and, in her spare time, enjoys traveling with the family.

MIKE DINO

CHAIR

Advisor and Political Analyst

Mike is a Colorado native and government affairs specialist with 35 years of experience advising on matters pertaining to local, state and federal governments. He was a principal with the global law firm, Squire Patton Boggs, for 28 years, using his public policy expertise to advocate for clients on funding, projects and issues. Mike spent two years as the CEO of the 2008 Denver Convention Host Committee that raised $55 million, managed 14,000 volunteers, and produced events hosting 50,000 Democratic National Convention guests. He served as a senior aide to Denver Mayor Wellington Webb from 1991 to 1997. He is also a political campaign expert, having been a top executive or advisor in local, state and national campaigns. In 2003, Mike was the campaign chair for Denver’s mayor, John Hickenlooper. Mike is a regular political analyst with CBS Colorado and iHeartRadio station, KOA.

ORLANDO PADILLA JR.

Executive Director of Denver Shelters & Clinical Services, Catholic Charities

Orlando Padilla, Jr. is the Executive Director of Denver Shelters at Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Denver, where he oversees and directs the operations and programming of Samaritan House Downtown, Samaritan House Women’s Emergency Shelter and Marisol Homes. Samaritan House Downtown is an extended stay bridge to housing sheltering program that provides across the life span community supports and addresses social determinants of health, which include shelter and programs for women, veterans and children and families experiencing homelessness and furthest from opportunity. Services provided are case management, therapeutic/clinical services across the lifespan, independent living, vocational and prevention groups. Samaritan House Women Emergency Services provide operations and programming to women experiencing homelessness within three different programs that include two 24/7 sheltering operations that provide case management, therapeutic/clinical services, vocational and prevention groups.  Marisol Homes provides a bridge to housing for single mothers and their children, while also providing clinical case management, therapeutic/clinical services, parenting and psychoeducation groups. Formerly, he was Associate Director of Child and Family Access Services at the Mental Health Center of Denver, where he oversaw the Integrated Care, Child and Family Access and Deaf and Hard of Hearing programs. Orlando is a Colorado Native and grew up in Trinidad Colorado. He has over 20 years of experience working with underserved and marginalized populations across the lifespan in a variety of clinical settings that include inpatient hospitals, residential facilities, as well as outpatient and community mental health. He graduated from Colorado State University in 2000 with his B.A. in Psychology and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2007 with a Master’s in Clinical Counseling. Orlando also holds the professional license of a Licensed Professional Counselor.

CRYSTAL POTTER RIVERA

Crystal Potter Rivera’s professional career spans 16 years working in nonprofit fundraising, communications and program development. This includes six years at a senior level within organizations, managing complex nonprofit development programs, and six years as a nonprofit management consultant specializing in fundraising. Crystal has generated significant funds from foundations, corporations and individual donors for a range of nonprofits diverse in size and scope, including Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families, Jared Polis Foundation’s Academy of Urban Learning, Mile High United Way and Summer Scholars. In 2012, Crystal became the Manager of Foundation Relations for the Denver Health Foundation, where she is responsible for managing local and national grants totaling $4-6M annually. As a volunteer, Crystal has served as a mentor for the Circle of Latina Leadership, on the communications committee for Colorado Black Women for Political Action, on the board of the Denver Foundation’s Colorado Nonprofit Loan Fund, and as a cook and community gardener with the St Barnabas Church Sharing Table initiative. She is currently on the board of Denver’s Center for African-American Health. She is a Denver native and holds a BA in sociology from Columbia University in New York.

DANIEL RAMOS

Daniel Ramos is the Executive Director of a Colorado-based nonprofit focused on protecting democracy, improving equity and expanding the civic engagement ecosystem in Colorado. Before taking on this role in 2020, he served as the Executive Director for One Colorado – the state’s leading advocacy organization for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families. Ramos is an active member of the Colorado community and has served on the Board of Directors for New Era Colorado, Community Shares and the Equality Federation, and as a Commissioner on the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission. He currently serves on the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board and as a Trustee for Colorado Mesa University and the Rose Community Foundation.Ramos is also an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, teaching courses on Public Policy & Advocacy and Community Engagement & Empowerment. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and his Master of Public Administration from the University of Colorado School of Public Affairs.

KODY KINSLEY

Kody Kinsley served as North Carolina’s 18th Secretary of Health and Human Services under Governor Roy Cooper, unanimously confirmed by the North Carolina Senate. Throughout his tenure, he focused on making health care more affordable and accessible for all North Carolinians, including those in underserved, overlooked rural areas. Kinsley played a pivotal role in expanding Medicaid through bipartisan collaboration with the General Assembly, resulting in over 600,000 North Carolinians gaining coverage in the first year—twice the expected pace. He secured one of the largest behavioral health investments in state history—$835 million— and major policy reforms to expand access to mental health and substance use services. He implemented North Carolina’s groundbreaking Health Opportunities Pilots — the nation’s first large-scale experiment proving that paying for non-medical health needs, like food and housing improves health and lowers cost. In partnership with all of the state’s hospitals, Kinsley provided $6.5 billion in medical debt relief for 2.5 million North Carolinians. His career includes roles at the White House, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he was appointed by President Barack Obama and continued under President Donald Trump as Assistant Secretary for Management. Secretary Kinsley currently serves as a Senior Policy Advisor at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Advisor with the Milken Institute, and a fellow of the Aspen Institute.