Chaffee County Community Foundation

Meet Our CCCF Team

about Betsy:

Betsy Dittenber is a resident of Howard, Colorado with a Master of Arts in Public Service and Nonprofit Management and more than 15 years as a nonprofit leader. She earned a BA in Sociology from Colorado College and an MA in Public Service and Nonprofit Management from Marquette University. Betsy holds a Certificate in the “Impact of Equity” from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and has extensive experience in fundraising, direct service to youth, executive leadership, and volunteer management.

Betsy has worked with many national and local nonprofit organizations including the National Hemophilia Foundation, Immunize Nevada, The Animal Foundation, United Way, Boys and Girls Clubs, Teach for America, Family Promise, The Alliance, the Chaffee Childcare Initiative, Roller Derby Leagues, Rotary, and more. She is committed to giving back to the community where she lives, and has a history of deep community involvement, from serving as an AmeriCorps Volunteer with City Year in Boston and through her board service with many organizations. She hopes to draw on her experience working with youth in Guadalajara, Mexico and engaging the Latinx and indigenous community in Nevada to make CCCF’s work inclusive and approachable to all members of our local community.

In her spare time, Betsy enjoys spending time outdoors with her family; hiking, backpacking, and rafting. She is an enthusiastic, but mediocre, gardener and enjoys messy art projects with her daughter.

about Rachele:

Rachele Vierthaler, a Chaffee County resident since 2018, brings over 15 years of experience in the non-profit and government sectors. She holds a Masters in Social Work with a specialization in non-profit management. Rachele has experience in program development, implementation, and evaluation as well as all aspects of grants from writing, reviewing, and oversight. She brings her enthusiasm about process and procedures to her current role and is excited to be part of CCCF’s journey as a previous board member, and now staff member. When not working, she enjoys exploring the outdoors and gardening with her family.

about anna:

Anna Hendricks has over 14 years of nonprofit experience serving in a variety of roles. She holds a B.A. from Metro State University of Denver in Cultural Anthropology. Shortly after graduating, she joined the Student Conservation Association as an AmeriCorps member collecting fire effects monitoring data. This experience sparked a passion for outdoor conservation and stewardship. She has since worked in project leader roles, volunteer engagement, youth development, program management, and most recently as the Los Valles Director with the Southwest Conservation Corps in which she managed all aspects of a busy field office including grant and budget oversight. While her passion for outdoor stewardship and youth development has steered her career, she is excited to support a wide variety of nonprofits that provide critical resources and enhance the quality of life in Chaffee County. She is a 4th generation Coloradan and has lived in Salida since 2016. When given the opportunity, she can be found spending time with her family, biking, dancing, traveling, and generally meandering about this amazing landscape. 

Meet Our Board of Directors

rick hamilton - BOARD Chair

Rick brings an extensive history of business and nonprofit management to the CCCF Board. He has held leadership roles in Nonprofit Management, Real Estate Enterprises, Manufacturing and Marketing. An avid volunteer, Rick supports many organizations including Project Angel Heart, Salida Community Center, Farm To Table, Habitat for Humanity and is involved with his neighborhood HOA. Rick is serving as the Co-Vice Chair.

Wendy Hall - Secretary

Wendy has served both corporate and nonprofit Boards for more than 30 years, providing critical administrative support, including project management and corporate record keeping.  Since moving to Chaffee County, she has been actively involved in a number of civic and nonprofit organizations, working in the trenches and leading other volunteers.  Her compassion for animals has led to a variety of farm animals that she hosts on her property after they were in need of care and shelter.

Connie Callahan - Treasurer

Connie Callahan has a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Eller College of Management. With over 16 years in the mining industry, she is currently the Chief Metallurgist at Climax Mine. Growing up in 4-H, Connie has a passion for community and youth development and a love for animals. She enjoys the great outdoors, horseback riding, hiking, and is learning to paddle board. Connie resides in Buena Vista.

John Vandewalle - VICE CHAIR

John Vandewalle MD MBA BSc(Hons) has held numerous executive positions and is currently a serial entrepreneur. He has several companies including Lumen Touch, iNTouch Consulting, and The Intouch Group.

John began his career as a high school teacher and biochemical research scientist and then worked as a physician in the hospitals in Johannesburg. He became Medical Director of Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals then was Director of Marketing for Europe, Middle East and Africa.  He was an executive at Marion Merrell Dow and held various positions including VP of International Business and VP of Global Business Planning.

christy doon - Nonprofit CAPACITY BUILDING chair

Christy is currently the Assistant City Administrator for the City of Salida. Previous roles with Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) included serving as the South Central Colorado Regional Manager and working on Rural Economic and Community Development. She is also on the faculties of the University of Colorado and Adams State University. Christy is chairing CCCFs Nonprofit Capacity Committee.

Moe Leneweaver

Moe has held development roles here in the state with High Mountain Institute and Conservation Colorado, and was previously a grassroots community organizer with IMPACT Charlottesville in Virginia. She also served on the Board of the Sierra Service Project in Sacramento for four years where she was Chair of the Resource Development Committee. Moe serves on CCCF's Development & Marketing Committee. 

Crissy Supples

Crissy has worked for the United Nations Development Programme in a variety of project and program management roles since 2014. Her focus is on facilitating networks and global collaborations to accelerate action and policy solutions to help halt the biodiversity crisis. Crissy has also worked as a Rural Philanthropy Program Manager and an Applied Conservation Scientist. Crissy serves on CCCFs Nonprofit Capacity Committee.

MICHAEL ROBINSON

Michael Robinson is a global executive leader in critical infrastructure innovation, engineering & operations, and risk management in telecom and banking. He was a pioneer in deploying land and transoceanic fiber optic systems, including many of the submarine fiber optic systems that span the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans as well as the China Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, connecting over 128 countries. Mr. Robinson was also a pioneer in the U.S. wireless network infrastructure as a founding team member of Sprint PCS serving as their Vice
President/GM of Operations, and COO of their subsidiary in
Mexico before he decided to launch his own company.

CAITLYNN FORTNER

Caitlynn is currently a planning technician with the Chaffee County planning office. She has a background in technical services, sales and administration working with UserTesting and UserZoom. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and is a McDermott Scholar from the University of Texas at Dallas. Living in Buena Vista, CO since 2021, Caitlynn is inspired by the depth of care, community and artistic talent in the region. Her favorite things about the community include the arts community, choirs, bands, festivals, musicals and the robust local agricultural economy.

ANDREA EARLY COEN

For over 25 years, Andrea’s professional background has been in the experiential education nonprofit sector, working with schools, nonprofits, outdoor and agriculture education centers, farms and wilderness programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, California, and Colorado.

Since joining Guidestone’s team in 2008, she has worn many hats, and is thrilled to have stepped into the role of Executive Director. She is passionate about agriculture education, traditional homesteading arts, growing healthy local foods, a thriving local food system and forwarding Guidestone’s mission to grow a vibrant agricultural future.  Andrea is also a musician, a mom, and an active member of her local community.

She is excited to serve in a community leadership role by joining CCCF's board, allowing her to leverage her extensive experience in the nonprofit sector and representing the agricultural community. 

Guy V. pAdgett

Guy V. Padgett has served on and worked for numerous non-profit boards, from economic development, to arts organizations, to public transit and more. Over the course of his career, he has specialized in the organizational health of nonprofits, focusing on those administrative and operational aspects that allow the smooth functioning so vital to accomplishing a nonprofit's mission and goals. Padgett is equally interested in public service, having served on the Casper, Wyoming city council and eventually serving as Casper's mayor, making him the youngest individual to do so, as well as Wyoming's first openly gay elected official. Padgett moved to Colorado in 2009 where he completed a Master's degree in international relations form the University of Denver. Most recently, he was a contender for a city council seat in Denver's District 7. He currently serves as the Director of Operations for WyoFile, a non-profit news site, and was recently appointed to the Chaffee County Community Foundation board. He currently resides in Salida, Colorado, with his husband and their very spoiled cat.

Past Board Members

Lisa Martin (Founder)
Cindy Williams (Founder)
Sydney Schnurr (Founder)
Dr. Edward Cooper (Founder)
Merrell Bergin (Founder)
Dustin Nichols
Jordan Brown
Art Hutchinson
Gary Buchanan
Kayce Penrod
Gordon Schieman
Casey Martin
Aaron Oglesby
Katie Davis
Paul Alexander
Bonnie Davis
Megan Leesley