Board Of Directors
Kevin Armitage
President
Business Sector
Aaron Strietzel
Vice President
Communities That Care
Aaron Strietzel moved with his wife and two teenage boys to Eagle Valley in July 2023 to be the pastor of the United Methodist Church of Eagle Valley, located in Eagle, CO. His family is originally from Durango CO, and loves living life in the Colorado Rockies. Aaron is excited to serve the Eagle Valley and find ways to continue to impact the health of our youth and young adults in our community!
Makenzie Mitzelfelt
Secretary
Youth Sector
Makenzie Mitzelfelt is an eight grade student at Eagle Valley Middle School. She plays three different clarinets while managing her business-Makenzie’s Boutique de Bijoux. She loves to read fantasy books and write her own stories. She hopes to bring a good insight to the community as a youth.
Kevin is the Director of Residential Construction Lending for NBH Bank, a Bank Holding company that operates retail banks in five states in including in Colorado as Community Banks of Colorado. Kevin has spent his entire banking career in Eagle County beginning in 1999. Kevin obtained his Bachelor of Science in Business Economics from Miami University in Ohio and graduated from The Graduate
Alex Bratschie
Health Sector
Alexandra Bratschie is a local Certified Nurse Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of experience who loves to call the mountains of Colorado her home. She received her Master of Science from Georgetown University, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Johns Hopkins and her undergraduate degree in Integrative Physiology and Women’s Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. Read more
Joel Barndt
Treasurer
Business Sector
Joel Barndt is a Senior Vice President with FirstBank in Eagle County. He moved to Vail in 2014 after graduating from Rocky Mountain College in Billings, MT with a B.S. in Business Management and minors in Economics and Organizational Leadership. In 2023, he completed the Graduate School of Banking program on the campus of the University of Wisconsin. He has previously volunteered as a board member for the Red Ribbon Project and the Vail Religious Foundation, and has served as a basketball coach and Treasurer for the Vail Valley Eagles Basketball Club.
Caspian Covarrubias-Walker
Youth Sector
Caspian join the board in 2024. He was born in Atlanta and moved to our beautiful community when he was 3 years old. He comes from a multicultural family and loves to spend time practicing Spanish with his cousins in Chile. Read more
Rocio Garcia-Aguirre
Communities That Care
Originally from Chihuahua Mexico, Rocio Garcia-Aguirre has been involved with Communities That Care as a community board member. Rocio serves as the Early Childhood Family Services Team Coordinator at Eagle County School District, and a graduate of the Family Leadership Training Institute. Rocio holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. Rocio is also a passionate and involved parent.
Valentina Garcia-Gerdes
Education Sector
Valentina Garcia-Gerdes is filled with passion for children, nature, cultural diversity and community. Her family immigrated to the United States from Venezuela in 1980 and she spent her younger years in Bloomington, Indiana and Eden Prairie, Minnesota before moving to Colorado in 1996 to attend Western Colorado University in Gunnison.
Dr. Brielle Kelley-Gilman
Education and Health Sector
Dr. Brielle Kelley-Gilman is a proud native Coloradan, licensed psychologist, and enthusiastic believer in the power of community, connection, and a good side quest. Her path has taken her from cross-cultural service work in Ecuador to classrooms, counseling offices, and schools across Colorado before landing in Eagle County for what she and her husband thought would be a one-year adventure. Three years later, they are still happily here and grateful to call the valley home. Read More
Mia Matteo
Youth Sector
Mia Matteo is a student at Vail Christian High School. She was nominated by her teachers to be on the Mountain Youth Board during her Freshman year. She plays rugby at Eagle Valley High School, skis, rock climbs, and does aerial acrobatics on silks. Mia also works at Eagle Climbing and Fitness as well as Beyond Golf. She has lived in Eagle her whole life and loves to be outside and in the mountains. Mia plays piano and acoustic guitar and loves to read in her free time. She hopes to strengthen the community of Eagle County and is excited to serve its people to the best of her ability.
Sandra Herrera
Communities That Care
Sandra Herrera originally got involved with Mountain Youth as a parent of two Valley’s Voice middle school students. Having grown up in Eagle County and experienced all of the assets and challenges of the community as a child and parent, Sandra is eager to get involved and help boost the impact of Mountain Youth’s programs.
Dustin Oakley
Law Enforcement Sector
Dustin Oakley has been in Law Enforcement for 3 years in Colorado and 1 Year in North Idaho. He was a security officer in a middle school in Colorado Springs for 3 years. He enjoys all things outdoors; camping, hiking. He also played sports all throughout high school. While Deputy Oakley has been with Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, he has found his niche in traffic safety. Read More
Mauricio Ortega
Financial Sector
Mauricio Ortega is an Assistant Vice President with FirstBank in Eagle County. He moved to Eagle County in 2013 from Mexico. Graduated from Colorado Mountain College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Mauricio enjoys working with youth and has volunteered for over 4 years as a Youth Group Coordinator at St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Edwards. Mauricio has also volunteered at Eagle Chamber of Commerce helping as a coach in their Computer Literacy Program.
Tom Pohl
Community Sector
Tom fell in love with the Vail Valley while visiting on family vacations as a kid and moved here after college. Tom is a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder – Leeds School of Business as well as the University of Denver – Sturm College of Law. His passion for helping the local community led him to open his law practice with his father in 2007 with a focus on estate planning, tax, real estate, and business. Read more
Scott Schlosser
Communities That Care
Scott Schlosser has been involved as a community board member with Communities That Care since 2016 and served as an original key leader, helping to make a difference in the community through systemic health and safety initiatives. When not volunteering locally or abroad for environmental and animal-related causes, you can find Scott managing the Eagle Bluffs Homeowners Association and working real estate deals in Eagle County.
Elizabeth “Beth” Reilly
Communities That Care
Elizabeth “Beth” Reilly served as Mountain Youth’s original Executive Director upon their founding in 2001 through 2005. Beth has stayed involved in various roles including as a board member from 2007-2012, as a Communities That Care community board member and Key Leader, a contractor, and as a parent of Mountain Youth alumni and board members. Beth resides in Edwards and serves as Eagle County School District’s Early Childhood Health, Quality, Compliance and Assessment Manager of the Early Childhood Department.
Dominik Scriver
Law Enforcement Sector
Dominik Scriver has called Eagle Valley home since moving here at the age of five. A proud product of the local school system, he attended Eagle Valley Elementary School, Eagle Valley Middle School, and Eagle Valley High School. After graduating from the Colorado Mountain College Police Academy in 2016, Dominik began his career in law enforcement and has proudly served with the Eagle Police Department since 2017. Read More
Lula Sandoval
Finance Sector
Lula moved to the Vail Valley from Mexico 23 years ago and she lives in Eagle with her husband and two kids. Lula found her desire to work with the youth in our community while being a coordinator for the youth group at St.Clare of Assisi Parish and is still an active volunteer. She is an Operations Officer for the Vail Valley Region at Alpine Bank. This has given her the opportunity to work as a hiring manager with the valley’s CareerWise Apprenticeship program for over 5 years Read more
Craig Westering
Law Enforcement Sector
Craig Westering has been in law enforcement since 2005. Like many Vail Valley transplants, he came for “just a year” and has been here for 23 years and counting. Craig earned his bachelor’s in education and youth ministry in Chicago. A friend encouraged Craig to pursue a law enforcement career at that time, with the promise of merging his passion for helping people and his innate ability to see the best in everyone, even at their worst.