BLUEPRINT TEAM
Meet our small but mighty team! The following staff members, listed in alphabetical order by first name, make up the program office for the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger. (Why do pronouns matter? Learn more.)
Brace Gibson, J.D. (she/her)
Policy Director
Brace provides strategic oversight for the Blueprint’s state and federal policy priorities, administrative advocacy, and community justice framework. She has a passion for advancing bold, community-driven policies and promoting food justice and equity through inclusive and collaborative systems change.
Brace is committed to applying deep relational practices that honor narrative autonomy and lived expertise, build solidarity, and aim to increase the personal and political power of historically disenfranchised groups. She brings years of experience working at the intersection of policy reform and community partnership, with a foundation in transformative justice. Brace previously served as Director of Policy and Community Engagement around maternal-child health issues. She earned a Juris Doctor degree from Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law, with a focus on public interest law and policy.
Brace is uplifted during playful moments with her daughters. She also finds reward in taking trips to the mountains and reading new books.
Staff liaison for:
Bryanna Patinka (she/her)
Development Director
Bryanna oversees the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger’s development strategy and implementation. She’s passionate about creating an equitable food system and honored to be a part of the team, joining in August 2024.
Bryanna brings years of experience promoting funding and organizational capacity-building for institutions of higher education, Tribes, and nonprofits. Her career has been marked by a diverse range of projects – from creating opportunities for underrepresented minority students to participate in a dinosaur excavation to developing food security programs for Alaskan Indigenous communities.
A commitment to social justice has been the consistent driving force behind all of Bryanna’s work. She studied Political Science, with a concentration in Political Theory and a minor in Economics, at American University in Washington, D.C.
Outside of work, Bryanna tries to spend as much time outside as humanly possible, with her weekends spent backcountry skiing, rock climbing, and hiking. She also enjoys curling up with a good novel and playing board games.
Staff liaison for:
Colorado Food Justice Funders’ Collaborative / Funders’ Committee
Grants, individual giving, and corporate partnerships for the Blueprint
Charlie Kestler (they/elle)
Community Justice Manager
Charlie officially joined the team in June 2024 after serving as a policy advocate focused on healthcare and food access through legislative and administrative advocacy.
Their true passion lies in community engagement and community-driven efforts to affect systems change at local and state levels. Their experience in Panama as an environmental health specialist with the Peace Corps sparked their passion for community engagement. After returning from Panama, Charlie began working directly with unhoused individuals and developed a strong sense of trauma-informed practices. They’re also working toward a Master’s in Public Administration (which is nearly finished!) at the University of Colorado in Denver.
Charlie is a queer, trans person who loves performing improv, curling up with a sci-fi/fantasy novel, hiking and camping with their dog, and watching reality TV shows.
Staff liaison for:
Dayana Leyva (she/ella)
Policy Manager
Dayana joined the team in May 2024 with expertise in grant management, policy analysis, and stakeholder engagement. She is passionate about food policy after having personal lived experience with food insecurity.
Dayana hopes to bridge the gap between community and policymakers by removing systemic barriers to advocacy and political engagement in the food policy space. She holds a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Colorado with an emphasis in Health Systems, Management, and Policy, as well as maintains her credential as a Certified Health Education Specialist.
In her free time, Dayana can be found on a hike or paddle boarding with her husband and dog, riding her Peloton with her best friends, and engaging in DIY projects around her home.
Staff liaison for:
Dolores Ramirez (she/ella)
Executive Director of Community
Dolores co-leads the Blueprint, guiding statewide community-centered strategies and partnerships. She oversees the Communications and Policy & Community Justice teams, ensuring alignment with the Blueprint’s mission, values, and commitments to equity, inclusion, and community-driven change. Since stepping into the Co-Executive Director role in October 2023, she has prioritized building deeper relationships with communities to co-create solutions that combat hunger and advance food justice in Colorado.
Prior to joining the Blueprint, Dolores was Chief Program & Impact Officer at Growing Home, a nonprofit in North Metro Denver, where she led organization-wide strategy and program delivery, supporting families and grassroots change.
Outside of work, Dolores is a passionate musician. She performs with an all-female band and in traditional Mariachi ensembles, using music to celebrate Mexican heritage and foster cross-cultural connection.
Staff liaison for:
Community collaborations
Projects: Community Leadership and SNAP/WIC Retailers
Grace Benasutti (they/she)
Community Justice Coordinator
Grace joined the Blueprint team in October 2024 to support The Colorado Trust’s Community Resilience Initiative grantees focused on increasing food access and building resilient food systems. They ensure that grantees receive the necessary support to successfully implement their programs, fostering community resilience and enhancing food justice across Colorado.
Having spent a decade working various roles within community and social service organizations, Grace recently received their Master’s in Social Work and is especially excited to be working in the food justice world. She continuously tries to center her passions for community care and systemic change in the way they approach their work, both professionally and personally.
Grace loves hanging out with her dog, finding oodles of time for family and friends, chasing rivers and lakes, watching goofy TV shows, exploring new hobbies, and trying to be a good student by staying on top of their physical therapy exercises.
Staff liaison for:
The Colorado Trust’s Community Resilience Initiative grantee cohorts — Accessing Healthy Foods and Building Food Systems
Greta Žukauskaitė (she/her)
Grants & Reimbursement Manager
Greta administers the Community Food Grants program and supports the Blueprint’s overall development strategy. She officially joined the team in January 2025.
Food sovereignty and reverence for our natural environment are the common threads that weave together Greta’s work experience over the past decade. She has worked in the Massachusetts food system space, advocating for equitable food access and aiding the distribution of healthy, locally grown produce to residents. While working in youth leadership development, Greta centered environmental and social justice learning as a core focus for her cohort of young leaders. As a board member of the Mize Family Foundation, Greta was honored to build relationships with organizations in the U.S. and in sub-Saharan Africa to support their climate justice goals.
Greta holds a Master’s in Geography from King’s College in London and a Bachelor’s in Public Communication, with a focus on environmental sustainability, from American University in Washington, D.C.
Seeking out creativity and adventure through various forms of self-expression and physical movement brings Greta joy.
Staff liaison for:
Compensation for community members
Joël McClurg (he/him)
Executive Director of Systems
Joël leads organizational operations and systems-centric collaborations for the Blueprint. He also oversees the teams for funding and philanthropy, along with data and evaluation, to ensure that work is impactful and transformative.
Previously, he served as the Blueprint’s policy and communication manager. In this role, Joël advanced the Blueprint network’s legislative agenda by coordinating with lobbyists and stakeholders to support policy priorities. Prior to joining the Blueprint, Joël was the SNAP Compliance Officer at the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Policy Director for Hunger Free Colorado.
He holds an MS in Food Security from Colorado State University. For fun Joël likes to hike, snowboard, and spend time with his wife and two young daughters.
Staff liaison for:
Justice Onwordi (she/her)
Impact Director
Justice’s passion in public health is to serve underrepresented communities as an advocate and ally. She aims to utilize the social determinants of health to bridge the gaps that have been created through systemic barriers. Every day there is more to learn and do, and Justice wants to ensure all people have access to the foods they deserve when they want them.
Justice earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical Campus, with an emphasis in Maternal and Child Health and Global Health. She joined the Blueprint team in Fall 2022.
When she’s not talking about social justice and public health issues, Justice is most likely at a concert, skiing pow-pow, or lost in the mountains.
Staff liaison for:
Data and evaluation strategy and efforts for the Blueprint, including social network map, data dashboard, and story maps
Time to Eat efforts
Kassandra ‘Kasey’ Neiss (they/she)
Data & Evaluation Analyst
Kasey joined the Blueprint team in October 2024, bringing her expertise in community-based evaluation and passion for equitable food systems, agriculture, and data governance.
They hold an MA in cultural anthropology from the University of Denver and a BA from Hampshire College in U.S. ethnic studies and oral history. In addition to owning their own research consulting company, Kasey has taught anthropology at the Community College of Aurora and worked with many food sovereignty nonprofits in Colorado. Before coming to the Blueprint, they served as FrontLine Farming's and Project Protect Food System Workers' Director of Data Activism, where they led data storytelling projects that centered farmworkers, women, and people of color in Colorado's food system.
Kasey is always hungry for science fiction novels and strategy board games. And, if she pedals fast enough, perhaps she'll achieve her goal of biking to the moon (239,000 miles).
Staff liaison for:
Data and evaluation needs for the Colorado Trust’s Community Resilience Initiative grantee cohorts — Accessing Healthy Foods and Building Food Systems
Leticia Macias (she/ella)
Language Justice Coordinator & Executive Assistant
Leticia ensures language justice and accessibility for all network members, along with compensation for community members. She also provides administrative support for all of the Blueprint, including organizing logistics and meetings.
Prior to joining the team, Leticia worked in Denver Public Schools for 24 years as a school secretary and also as a parent liaison for nearly 15 years. She currently serves on the board of directors for Horizons.
Leticia is a native Spanish speaker who has lived in Colorado for over 40 years. She’s a grandmother and has two amazing children. Her love of her family and her community — and her strong ability to build relationships — are just a few of the reasons she is so passionate about the work.
Staff liaison for:
Language justice, along with other accessibility/accomodation requests
Michelle Ray (she/her)
Communications Director
Michelle elevates the Blueprint’s mission and its network of partners through accessible and inclusive communications initiatives, brand management, and meeting facilitation.
She brings nearly two decades of experience from the nonprofit and public service sector fields as a strategic communicator, project manager, connector, and collaborative changemaker. Michelle holds a BA in Integrated Strategic Communications, with a minor in Marketing, from the University of Kentucky.
Previously, she led communications for Pikes Peak Library District and Hunger Free Colorado. She joined the Blueprint team in Spring 2023.
When she’s not working, you might find Michelle hiking or paddling in the high country, devouring a new book, volunteering in her community, or simply spending time with her family and pets.
Staff liaison for:
Project: Community Events
Communications strategy and media relations for the Blueprint
Nina Cicero-Soles (she/ella)
Communications Coordinator
Nina joined the Blueprint team in April 2025 after spending a year teaching in Marseille, France.
Nina is driven by her goal of connecting people, institutions, and communities to the resources they need, as well as giving community members a platform to share and exchange stories. In addition to digital communications and marketing experience, she has co-led a community-centered social media fundraising campaign and developed a bilingual international letter exchange program to build meaningful connections.
Her dedication to community-building extends beyond her professional work and into volunteer efforts around Fort Collins, including with the FoCo Cafe and Fort Collins Bike Co-op, where she helps make food and transportation accessible to everyone.
Nina is tri-lingual and holds a degree in Political Science and Journalism & Communications, with a minor in Gender and Women's Studies, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As the proud daughter of a biracial Cuban immigrant, Nina grew up understanding the importance of information exchange across cultural, financial, political, and social barriers – and will continue to promote these exchanges through her role at the Blueprint.
In her free time, Nina engages in community-building and activism, skateboarding, crafting, listening to live music, and playing with her kitty, Honey.
Staff liaison for:
Bilingual digital communications for the Blueprint, including social media, email newsletters, website updates, and the Blueprint’s network job board