Who We Are

Learn more about us.

History In the News Employment Contact Us

Gina Maione Earles

Executive Director

Gina joined Blue Sky Bridge in November, 2012. She has extensive experience managing and working with numerous nonprofit and for profit organizations across the country, overseeing program and financial management, fundraising, communications, marketing, events, external relations, operations, IT and organizational dynamics. Most recently, Gina was CEO of Mothers & More, where she repositioned this 25 year old nonprofit to embrace the current environment for women. As Managing Director at Engineers Without Borders-USA, she enhanced the organization’s infrastructure to meet the needs of tremendous expansion and put the organization on a solid path to support developing communities worldwide. Gina received her BA from Northwestern University and MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College. Born in Indiana, she lived on both coasts before settling permanently in Boulder with her husband and two sons. Gina is a founding board member of Studio Arts Boulder, an organization working to build an arts campus focused on learning and environmental research in the arts. She enjoys the beautiful Colorado outdoors and escaping to her home pottery studio.

Amber McDonald, MSW

Program Director

Amber McDonald is a Licensed Social Worker in the State of Colorado. She received her Master’s Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Child Welfare from the University of Denver and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Colorado State University. She has conducted research in the areas of treatment of non-offending caregivers and the use of Animal Assisted Therapy with victims of sexual abuse in partnership with the Butler Institute for Families. Ms. McDonald joined Blue Sky Bridge in May 2010. Previously, she worked for Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services as an Intake Worker on the Sexual Abuse Team. Ms. McDonald has extensive experience in forensic interviewing of children, child welfare, family crisis intervention, and program development. As the Program Director, she oversees the forensic interviewers, client services staff, and the therapists that work with Blue Sky Bridge. She develops and sustains program goals/initiatives, recruits, trains, and supervises the undergraduate and graduate interns, and develops and delivers training programs for multi-disciplinary teams including law enforcement, district attorneys, and social services in Boulder County and across the state. She coordinates training and education for the community in efforts to prevent and identify child abuse. Ms. McDonald is the Chair of the Champion for Children’s Award which is an annual event which honors community members and professionals in Boulder County who exemplify excellence in supporting victimized children and families. Additionally, she provides expert testimony in Boulder County regarding child trauma and forensic interviews. Finally, she serves as an Adjunct Professor for Metropolitan State University’s Department of Social Work and a Clinical Assistant Professor at Smith College, School for Social Work.

Nia Wassink, MNM

Business Development Director

Nia Wassink holds a Bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Michigan and a Masters of Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver. Before joining Blue Sky Bridge in June 2011, she had extensive opportunity to work in fundraising, website development, and donor cultivation. As Assistant Director of the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association, she helped organize and manage statewide middle and high school level speech competitions for the State of Michigan. Most recently, as a financial planner for Johnson & Wales University, Ms. Wassink instituted the campus’ first ever default prevention program, ensuring students graduated with better financial skills. She also volunteers her time at Project Angel Heart in Denver and sits on the Board of the Boulder Youth Body Alliance. As Business Development Director for Blue Sky Bridge, Ms. Wassink is responsible for writing grants, donor relations, fundraising event preparation, revenue planning and budgeting for the organization, business analysis, and oversees the School-Based Prevention Education Program.

Lisa Tani, MSW

Forensic Interviewer/Family Support Advocate

Lisa Tani holds a Master’s degree in Social Work with a concentration in Child Welfare from the University of Denver. Previously she worked with the Denver Department of Housing and Human Services where she was an Intake Intern on the Sexual Abuse Team. She was also a Masters level intern at Blue Sky Bridge in the summer of 2011. Lisa has completed National Forensic Interviewing training at the National Children’s Advocacy Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and has experience providing support and on-call services to victims, witnesses of crimes, and responding to agencies. She plays a key role in our Family Support Services, which are in place to support, advocate for, and assist the family toward recovery through providing crisis intervention, role/job clarification of multidiscipline team members, needs and strength assessment, resources, education and ongoing support services post their meeting at Blue Sky Bridge.

Christine Springer, MA, MFT

Family Support Advocate

Christine Springer Joined Blue Sky Bridge in May of 2011. She has a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as Art Therapy from Notre Dame de Namur University. She has worked as a Victim’s Advocate for the Boulder City Police Department since 2002 and continues to run grief groups for HospiceCare of Boulder and Broomfield Counties. Ms. Springer also has experience working with autistic children and their families as well as working as an Art Therapist with youth struggling with eating disorders. As a Family Support Advocate, she provides crisis intervention, support, education and community referrals to child abuse victims and their non-offending families. Christine is a Registered Psychotherapist in the State of Colorado.

Courtney Palm, MA (formerly Holmes)

Contract Forensic Interviewer

Courtney Palm has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas Tech University and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. She has extensive knowledge about child development, victim issues involving general child abuse and neglect, criminal testimony, and how trauma affects the brain. Ms. Palm joined Blue Sky Bridge in July 2010 from the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center, where she was a therapist with child victims of sexual abuse. As a Forensic Interviewer, Ms. Palm is responsible for conducting forensic interviews of children for whom reports of suspected child abuse have been made, testifying in court and providing training for multi-disciplinary team members who investigate child abuse including law enforcement officers, child protection workers and prosecutors.

Erin Hospodar, MED

Prevention Education Coordinator

Erin Hospodar has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Master’s of Education in School Counseling from Kent State University. Ms. Hospodar previously worked as a social worker investigating child abuse and neglect referrals. Once she focused her attention on working in schools, Ms. Hospodar became a prevention educator for a mental health agency. She conducted presentations in schools on bully prevention as well as many other diverse topics. She also worked as a case manager, meeting with students individually and in groups in order to take the prevention work a step further. As Prevention Education Coordinator, she leads our staff and Education Committee in planning and executing our Prevention Education Program.

Jacqueline Molenaar

Financial Manager

Jacqueline Molenaar holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and a Master’s Degree in Finance both from the University of Colorado. She is an avid volunteer in the community and has worked in different capacities with many local non-profits including Intercambio de Comunidades, Sister Carmen Community Center in Lafayette, Learning Connections International, LLC and the Circles program of Boulder County. Jacqueline currently also serves on the Board of Directors of the Sister Carmen Community Center and leads a neighborhood transformation group called the Friends of Sanchez. Prior to working with non-profit organizations, Jacqueline spent over 15 years as a small business and commercial lender. Jacqueline has experience in fundraising, donor cultivation, grant writing, event planning, and is proficient in Spanish. As the organization’s Finance Manager, Jacqueline is responsible for revenue intake and donor management, and assists with fundraising, budgeting, and grant management.

Katie Thompson

Development Assistant/Office Manager

Katie Thompson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Applications from Michigan State University. She has a strong background in Nonprofit Administration and she got her start working as an intern for organizations like the Sierra Club and Clean Water Action in Lansing, Michigan. She was most recently the Administrative Assistant for a nonprofit in Denver called Community Sailing of Colorado, LTD. There she gained extensive experience in organizing, planning events, and fundraising for their programs. As Development Assistant, Katie assists the development team in fundraising, donor cultivation, and event planning in addition to her duties as Office Manager.

Consultants

Mercedes A. Bransfield

Colorado Certified Court Interpreter

Mercedes Bransfield is a Certified Court Interpreter in the State of Colorado with over 15 years of experience. She has interpreted in a wide variety of settings, including court trials, medical appointments, police interviews, depositions, immigration interviews and domestic violence cases. Mercedes is committed to providing quality interpretation while taking into account the unique context of each session. Before dedicating herself full time to court and medical interpreting, she spent over ten years working as an advocate for survivors of domestic violence as well as with low-income and homeless immigrants. Mercedes has completed the internationally recognized medical interpreter training program, Bridging the Gap, and she holds a B.A. in Sociology from the College of the Holy Cross.

Debra Bridson/Rebecca Ketcham

Public Accountants, On-Line Ledger Services, a GAAP Solutions Company

German Rosero

Systems Administrator, VIRTUALIZAT

Shandele Gumucio

Graphic Designer, Studiovert

Heidi Dormody/Susan Rona

Development Consultants, Sanitas Consulting

Maggie Miller

Strategic Planning Consultant, Maggie Miller Consulting

Brooke Davison, Chair

Former amateur national and world champion triathlete

Catrina Weigel, Vice Chair

Deputy District Attorney, Boulder County District Attorney’s Office

Cindy Mitchell, Secretary

Partner, Shoemaker Ghiselli & Schwartz, LLC

Heidi Foote, Treasurer

Small Business Advisor

Larry Bennett

CEO Cambridge Communications Group, Inc.

CEO listsOnline.com, Inc.

Alli Gerrish

Artist

Former Commercial Television Producer

Annette Kissinger

Consultant and Trainer

Ann Martin

Gynecologist, Milestone Medical Group

Owner, Colorado Women’s Care & Medical Spa

Cheryl McConnell

Owner Full Circle Music Promotion

Catharine M. Merigold

Managing Partner, Vista Ventures

Paige Norton

President, Colorado Business Bank Northwest

Jonathan Schoenberg

Executive Creative Director/Partner, TDA_Boulder

Nancy Stevens

Chairman, First Western Trust Bank

Nancy Stevens

Chair

Chairman, First Western Trust Bank

Karen Daly

Educator, Consultant

Gina Maione Earles

Executive Director, Blue Sky Bridge

Jane Enterline

Educator, Consultant, Community Volunteer

Barbara Fernie

Hospital Chaplain

Jane Harmer

Chief Investigator, Boulder County District Attorney’s Office

Clarissa King

Community Volunteer

Jerri Miller

Community Volunteer

Jo Ruder

Community Volunteer

Shannon Wagner

Community Volunteer

Education

The Education Committee is comprised of dedicated Blue Sky Bridge volunteers who work on education initiatives with the focus of prevention and early detection of child abuse. This program works with schools’ staff, parents and the third grade students. If you would like to be involved with our Prevention Education Program, please fill out our Volunteer Application for the Education Program and email the form to info [at] blueskybridge [dot] org. For more information on our School-Based Prevention Education Program, click here.

Members of the Education Committee

Annette Kissinger, Chair and Board representative
Katherine Brennan
Amy Britton
Betsy Bush
Susan Eidem
Donna Ellman
Jane Enterline
Claudia Gilbert
Sara Horn
Irene Jergensen
Sara King
Annlee Landman
Amy Larson
Tanja Leonard
Julia Paine
Patty Sharp
Trish Wood
Gina Earles, Blue Sky Bridge Executive Director
Nia Wassink, Blue Sky Bridge Business Development Director
Erin Hospodar, Blue Sky Bridge Prevention Education Coordinator
Christine Springer, Blue Sky Bridge Family Support Advocate

Brand

The Blue Sky Bridge Brand Committee was created in 2010 and is responsible for overseeing brand strategy and communication materials for the
agency.

Our Branding Committee and Partners

Alli Gerrish
Chairman of Branding Committee, Board member
Larry Bennett
Board member
Gina Earles
Executive Director
Egg Strategy: Christopher Wilshire
Strategic planning/branding direction
TDA Advertising: Jonathan Schoenberg
Print, TV and Mobile app design
studiovert: Shandele Gumucio
Graphic Design, logo/identity
Ddesign Studios: Don Harris
Web design and Development

Boulder Professionals Committee

The Boulder Professionals put together our annual BSB By the Glass and BSB By the Pint events in March and October.

Members of the Boulder Professionals Committee

Brooke Davison, Chair and Board Member
Larry Bennett, Board Member
Gina Earles, Executive Director
Joshua Fiester
Alli Gerrish, Board Member
Janet Hawkes
Lori Lundrigan
Trevor Mickelson
Jane O’Herron
Dave Rich
Mary Susan Stults
Lesly Wagner
Alice Warren-Gregory
Catrina Weigel, Board Member

Information Technology

The Blue Sky Technology Committee strives to meet the needs of Blue Sky Bridge by keeping the staff apprised of recent technology developments and to educate the staff in the use of new technologies in order to increase operational efficiency, reduce overall costs and facilitate better internal and external communication with partners, clients and the community.

~Larry Bennett, Chair

Finance

Members of the Finance Committee

Heidi Foote, Chair and Board Treasurer
Gina Earles, Executive Director
Brooke Davison, Board Chair
Catharine Merigold, Board Member

Attention Homes - Boulder, CO
Boulder Institute for Psychotherapy and Research (BIPR) - Boulder, CO
Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services – Boulder, CO
Boulder County District Attorney’s Office – Boulder, CO
Boulder County Sheriff’s Department – Boulder, CO
Boulder County IMPACT – Boulder, CO
Boulder Police Department – Boulder, CO
Boulder Valley School District – Boulder, CO
Broomfield Housing and Human Services – Broomfield, CO
Broomfield Police Department – Broomfield, CO
Burlington Police Department – Burlington, CO
Centennial Peaks Hospital – Louisville, CO
Child Protection Review Teams of Boulder County – Boulder, CO
Colorado Children’s Alliance – Denver, CO
Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) – Denver, CO
Colorado University Police Department – Boulder, CO
Community First Foundation – Arvada, CO
Community Foundation Serving Boulder County – Boulder, CO
Erie Police Department – Erie, CO
The Family Learning Center – Boulder, CO
Foothills United Way – Boulder, CO
Imagine! – Lafayette, CO
The Kempe Center – Aurora, CO
Kit Carson Sheriff’s Office – Kit Carson, CO
The Klein Frank Foundation – Boulder, CO
Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking – Denver, CO
Lafayette Police Department – Lafayette, CO
LEVI (Longmont Ending Violence Initiative) – Longmont, CO
Longmont Community Foundation – Longmont, CO
Longmont Police Department – Longmont, CO
Louisville Police Department – Louisville, CO
Medical Center of the Rockies – Loveland, CO
MESA (Moving to End Sexual Assault) – Boulder, CO
Mental Health Partners – Boulder, CO
National Children’s Alliance – Washington, D.C.
Nederland Police Department – Nederland, CO
Parenting Safe Children – Louisville, CO
Parlando School for the Arts – Boulder, CO
Ralston House – Arvada, CO
Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence - Boulder, CO
Safeshelter of St. Vrain Valley- Longmont, CO
SARC (Sexual Assault Resource Center) – Boulder, CO
SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) – Boulder, CO
St. Vrain Family Center – Longmont, CO
YMCA of Boulder – Boulder, CO
YWCA of Boulder – Boulder, CO