Born on July 5, Megan has spent her life making sure to never miss another party. Her brightest fireworks include endless curiosity, the ability to have fun doing absolutely anything, and an apothecary cabinet of knowledge she’s tucked away in her brain. At home, her wife Alyssa says Megan is the family’s MVP of patience, being brave, faking it until we make it, and task completion.

Megan knows at least a little about a lot and has a dynamic skill-set that ranges from baking pies to “almost right” home improvement to organizational change management. She leads the incredible team at Building Bridges, which gives her the chance to inspire, mentor, connect, plan, and – most importantly – be held accountable to continue growing as a social justice leader.  It’s hard work and so very worth it.

Jenny stumbled upon Building Bridges during one serendipitous Google search of any and all things related to her passion, “building bridges.”

Born and raised in the great city of Elgin, Illinois, Jenny is a true Chicago-area girl at heart. She has a deep love for the city of Chicago because this is where she met her first love, education. Although she is not a public school teacher like her original college plan, she still cares deeply about impacting the education system from the outside. This is why she has spent the past five years in Denver growing as a youth developer in spaces like Young Life, the Salvation Army and DSST Cole High school.

After some time working with youth, Jenny has grown especially passionate about developing strong leadership pipelines so that youth leaders have a place to flourish as adult leaders. For this reason, Jenny is committed to working with both youth and adults in the work that Building Bridges does of equity and inclusivity work.

As a true Colorado Native, Raegan first began her journey with Building Bridges during the 2015-2016 Summer Program Team. Raegan enjoys working with young people, and values youth engagement and empowerment. She fell in love with facilitation and the approach Building Bridges takes to leadership development, and she remained involved. Raegan is actively pursuing her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She believes that social learning is the key to the success of the world.

She is family oriented and enjoys spending her free time with her parents and two younger brothers. Raegan loves board and card games, listening to podcasts, and she looks forward to her monthly dose of Cats the Musical! In another life, Raegan hopes to become a YouTuber who specializes in pre-cruise packing and planning!

Following her work in DPS as a K-8 Mild/Moderate Special Education Paraprofessional, Raegan is dedicated to working with young leaders across the Denver Metro Area. Although education is and will always be important, Raegan’s heart is in the work that Building Bridges does of empathy, communication, and transformational leadership development.

Abe is a Colorado native. He is currently enrolled full-time as a graduate student at the University of Denver’s social work program and is excited to serve as an MSW intern at Building Bridges. Between studying and working part-time, Abe enjoys hanging out with his family, friends and two pets (dog & cat). He also enjoys following Colorado sports teams, reading Russian novels and watching scary movies.

A few years ago, Abe made the career leap from business to human service in search of a life more purposeful. Abe has worked as a counselor in both adult and adolescent settings. At Building Bridges, Abe facilitates workshops on communication skills, oppression, leadership, and equity.

Kim was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and has always been excited to learn from experiences and the different perspectives that others hold. Kim found Building Bridges through the Master’s in Social Work program at Metropolitan State University and was curious to learn more about their organization and the population that they serve. Kim is passionate about women’s empowerment and social justice.

When she is not studying or working, Kim enjoys spending time with her partner Jess and their two children on the many adventures they take together. She also enjoys travelling and getting lost in a good book.

At Building Bridges, she is learning to be a better facilitator by helping with workshops in transformational leadership, communication skills that are reflected in conversations on social injustices and how these show up in the day-to-day lives of ourselves and others.

While pursuing her Bachelor’s in Philosophy, Psychology, and Social Sciences back home in Wyoming, Brianna started her career working with youth survivors of trauma at an incredible relationship-based treatment center near her University. Brianna loved this work so much that she moved to Denver to further pursue opportunities to build and connect with youth.

To gain a more well-rounded understanding of young people’s lived experiences, Brianna has since worked in residential & day treatment, psychiatric hospitals, juvenile detention centers, and foster homes. She is now a graduate student earning her MSW at DU and is happy to be part of the Building Bridges team.

An endlessly curious introvert herself, Brianna has found meaning in working to discover how humans interact, engage, and understand themselves and each other, and how this influences our quality of life.

In her free time, Brianna enjoys reading nonfiction or being outside in the sun hiking, camping, kayaking, or lying next to lakes or oceans. On any other day she loves meaningful conversations, coffee, and going home to the world’s sweetest kitty.