BLUEPRINT TEAM (PROGRAM OFFICE)

Meet the team! The following staff members make up the program office for the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger. (Why do pronouns matter? Learn more.)

Dolores Ramirez (she/ella)
Executive Director of Vision

Dolores is charged with supporting the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger as the organization continues its journey of becoming more community-centered. As the Executive Director of Vision, she will continue cultivating partnerships with communities across the state to understand and co-create solutions in alignment with the Blueprint’s efforts.

Prior to joining the Blueprint, Dolores served as the Chief Program and Impact Officer for Growing Home, a local nonprofit organization serving families in North Metro Denver. In that role, Dolores developed and implemented the organization’s programmatic strategy and provided leadership and oversight to all programs. During her free time, Dolores enjoys performing with an all-female band, as well as traditional Mariachi, to promote classic Mexican songs while eliminating cultural, racial, linguistic, and political borders through musical performance.

Joël McClurg (he/him)
Executive Director of Integration

Joël oversees all current Blueprint projects and initiatives as well as co-leads the process for organizational transformation in concert with community. 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. He also managed Workgroup 4 and various project teams.

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.

Justice Onwordi (she/her)
Impact Director

Justices' 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 Anschutz Medical Campus, with an emphasis in Maternal and Child Health and Global Health. When she’s not talking about social justice and public health issues, she’s most likely at a concert, skiing pow-pow, or lost in the mountains.

Greta Allen (she/her)
Policy Director

Greta enthusiastically comes to the Blueprint after six years in local public health. Greta completed her dietetic internship in 2017 and subsequently spent four years working for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Her work for WIC included partnership building, establishing successful co-locations of services across the Denver metro area, and supervising the Westminster WIC clinic. In 2021, Greta transitioned to the role of Regional Health Connector where she built and strengthened relationships between public health, community-based organizations, and primary care providers in Adams County.

Greta is a registered dietitian nutritionist and holds a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration. For fun, Greta enjoys being physically active with friends, trying out allergy-friendly recipes, and spending time with her husband and pup.

Michelle Ray (she/her)
Visibility Director

Michelle elevates the work of the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, including its network of partners and community voice, through accessible and equity-centered communications initiatives, brand management, and Workgroup 1 facilitation. She taps into the power of collaboration, data, and words to help build public and political will for co-created solutions to end hunger across Colorado communities.

Michelle holds a BA in Integrated Strategic Communication and brings more than 16 years of experience in the nonprofit and public service sector fields as a strategic communicator, issue advocate, connector, and collaborative changemaker. Before joining the Blueprint, she led communications for Pikes Peak Library District and Hunger Free Colorado. In her free time, Michelle enjoys hiking, paddling, reading, traveling, volunteering, and spending time with her family and pets.

Leticia Macias (she/ella)
Executive Assistant

Leticia provides administrative support for all of the Blueprint, including organizing logistics and meetings for more than a dozen different teams. Prior to joining the Blueprint, she worked in Denver Public Schools for 24 years as a school secretary and also as a parent liaison for nearly 15 years. In addition, Leticia serves on the board of directors for Horizons.

Leticia is a native Spanish speaker who has lived in Colorado for over 40 years. She is 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.

Vaishnavi Hariprasad
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Consultant

Vaishnavi supports the Blueprint team in implementing strategies to ensure that communities disproportionately impacted by hunger are partners in decision-making. She also helps the Blueprint team operationalize diversity, equity, and inclusion across all its work.

Prior to joining the Blueprint, Vaishnavi worked in the Office of Health Equity at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, where she provided coaching and technical assistance around embedding equity and community power into decision-making. She enjoys exploring the outdoors with her son and husband, dancing (Indian classical), and reading a gripping mystery or thriller.