Staff
T.A. Taylor-Hunt, Esq., Interim Director
Ms. Taylor-Hunt temporarily resigned her position as the Chair of CCLP’s Board of Directors, to serve as the Interim Executive Director. Ms. Taylor-Hunt has an established private law practice providing service in Estate/Elder Care, Consumer Protection and community education. She was an active supporter of class action litigation and advocacy on behalf of individuals unable to receive public benefits as a result of problems with the development and implementation of the Colorado Benefits Management System (CBMS). Ms. Taylor-Hunt also served as a member of a team of advocates who worked to prevent illegal use of sanctions imposed on families receiving assistance under the “welfare reform” Temporary Aid to Needy Family program. She conducts Legal Wellness® seminars designed to help individuals and businesses understand the impact of the law on their well-being. She currently serves as a consumer representative on the Colorado Collections Agency Board.
Ms. Taylor-Hunt is a proven leader in financial management. She held positions as Comptroller, Budget Officer and Accounting and Finance Officer, during her service as a military officer. She has been personally accountable for more than $360 million. She has extensive supervisory and management experience with direct supervision of more than 200 people and customer service responsibilities for millions of customers. Ms. Taylor-Hunt also has collateral experience in a myriad of areas ranging from logistics and contingency planning to career counseling, executive office administration and management of personal financial responsibility programs. Ms. Taylor-Hunt graduated from the University of Denver, College of Law. She also has a Masters, with Distinction, in Human Resource Development, from Webster, University, and received her B.S., in Psychology, Summa cum Laude, from the University College, University of Maryland.
Ms. Taylor-Hunt has been recognized by various organizations, including the Colorado Supreme Court for her pro bono achievements, the Colorado Lawyers’ Committee for her advocacy efforts on behalf of lower income Coloradans, and a citation in the U.S. Congressional Record for exceptional service.
Email: thunt@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 301
Elisabeth Arenales, Esq., Director, Health Care Program
Ms. Arenales has been the Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy’s Health Care Program since January 2000. She has a successful track record of protecting, preserving and expanding access to healthcare, particularly for lower income Coloradans. She advocates at the legislature and before the Medical Services Board. She was a founder and served for six years as Board Chair of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. She was appointed by Speaker Romanoff to serve as a consumer representative on the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission on Health Care Reform. Prior to working at CCLP, Ms. Arenales was staff attorney for the Colorado Lawyers Committee where she focused on access to education, particularly in rural areas of Colorado. She also spent one year coordinating complex litigation related to the rights of landowners in an around San Luis, Colorado to access land known then as the Taylor Ranch. Ms. Arenales graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1993. She currently serves on the Advisory Committee for the Ombudsman for Medicaid Managed Care, the Advisory Board of Family Voices Colorado, and is a member of The Denver Foundation’s Health Committee. Ms. Arenales has been recognized by various organizations including the University of Colorado (Law School Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement), the Colorado Bar Association (Donald Hoagland Award), and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (Trial Lawyer of the Year). In 2006, Ms. Arenales was recognized as a Community Health Leader by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Email: earenales@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 302
Ed Kahn, Esq., Special Counsel
The former President of CCLP’s Board of Directors, Mr. Kahn left the board in 2004 to join the staff as Special Counsel. Mr. Kahn brings extensive legal experience to CCLP. As a partner at Kelly Garnsey Hubbell and Lass, LLC, He tried numerous business and employment cases. He also has arbitrated more than 100 cases involving franchises, contracts, health care, business acquisitions, securities, rules of the Olympics, insurance contracts, consumer finance and educational testing matters. Mr. Kahn also has extensive experience in pro bono and public interest matters. He represented the public interest in obtaining $155 million for a conversion foundation after lobbying re a statute governing conversion to for profit status of Colorado Blue Cross and other health insurers; was Special Counsel, appointed by Colorado Supreme Court, to investigate possible mismanagement by State Public Defender; was appointed as Special counsel by Boulder County District Court Judge Murray Richtel, to prosecute Boulder Daily Camera and two reporters for improper contacts with jurors in a death penalty criminal case. Mr. Kahn also represented the Colorado State Legislature in an action securing a ruling that legislation concerning confidentiality of grand jury reports took precedence over a Supreme Court rule. Mr. Kahn received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and BA from the University of Colorado. His civic and professional activities include: Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers; Martindale-Hubbell "AV" rating, and listed in "Best Lawyers in America" for more than 20 years; Commercial Arbitration Panel of American Arbitration Association; Practitioner-in-Residence, University of Denver Law School, Spring 2000; Lecturer in Constitutional Law, University of Colorado School of Law (1975); Colorado Supreme Court Grievance Committee (1996-1999), and Hearing Board 1999 to present; Colorado Supreme Court Judicial Advisory Committee (1994 to 2000); Colorado Lawyers Trust Account Foundation (COLTAF) (Director 1990-1995) (President 1990-1992); Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver (Acting Director of Litigation five months in 1994); Denver Bar Association (President 1984-1985); Colorado Bar Association and Denver Bar Association (various activities, including Board membership); Colorado Lawyers Committee (Co-Founder, 1978 and Director from time to time); American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (Board Member 1967-1972) (Chair of the Board for two years), and member of its Legal Panel 2001 to present; Harvard Law School Association of Colorado (President 1989-1990); and board member, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, 2000 to present.
Email: ekahn@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 305
Rita Young, Director of Administration
Rita Young joined the Center in June of 2006. She brings more than 25 years experience in nonprofit office and business management and oversees the daily operations of the Center and the Institute. Prior to joining the Center Ms. Young was the Administrative Assistant and Board Liaison for the Clayton Foundation and Clayton Family Futures in Denver and was instrumental in the Clayton Campus receiving listing with the National Register of Historic Places. Prior to the Clayton Foundation she served as Administrative Assistant for Colorado Legal Services in Denver.
Email: ryoung@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 307
Sharon Stevenson, Health Policy Analyst
Sharon Stevenson is a Health Policy Analyst at CCLP. She brings a unique background to the agency, combining skills in education and training, evaluation and research, coalition building, and policy and advocacy. Prior to CCLP, Sharon managed the Public Health Alliance of Colorado (Alliance), a coalition of ten public health organizations joining together to develop their capacity while leveraging funding and policy decisions with the intention of strengthening the public health system in Colorado. Having moved to Colorado from New Mexico, Sharon previously worked in the New Mexico Human Services Department, within Medicaid, to develop health policy for Governor Richardson’s administration. The primary focus of that legislative platform was decreasing the uninsured population by increasing coverage options through both public and private methods.
Email: sstevenson@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 308
Adela Flores-Brennan, Health Care Attorney
Adela Flores-Brennan recently re-joined the Colorado Center on Law and Policy as the federal budget advocate working on major issues before Congress this year such as SCHIP and Food Stamp reauthorization. Adela is a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law (JD ’05), and the University of Denver Graduate School of International Studies (MA ’99, BA ’98). Her previous work experience has included policy analyst and program coordinator for the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, clerkships for the Hon. H. Jeffery Bayless and the Hon. John Madden, a policy position with the National Conference of State Legislators, and various other legal and policy positions related to environment and higher education.
Email: afbrennan@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 313
Tracey Stewart, Economic Self-Sufficiency Program Coordinator
Tracey Stewart is the Economic Self-Sufficiency Program Coordinator. She monitors the updates for the Colorado Self-Sufficiency Standard tables and the Colorado Self-Sufficiency Calculator. More importantly, Tracey promotes the use of the Self-Sufficiency Standard as a new tool for measuring the economic health of Colorado’s families. Tracey’s utilizes her 20-year background in outreach and marketing as she travels around Colorado informing and education individuals, non-profits, state and local governments, businesses and educational institutions about the value of the Self-Sufficiency Standard as well as the Calculator. Before joining COFPI, Tracey worked with Colorado Coalition for the Homeless where she was the project manager for the Colorado Homeless Management Information System used throughout rural Colorado. Prior to her non-profit career, Tracey was a network consultant and software application specialist. Her gift for gab was sharpened with a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters from the School of Education at the University of Denver. She also advocates as a volunteer board member for the Delores Project, a participant of the Bus 15 Coalition, and a member of the Denver Human Services Network.
Email: tstewart@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 314 Kathy A. White, Program Director, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Kathy White worked as a paralegal and assistant manager of regulatory compliance for an international insurance company prior to working for CCLP. In that position she coordinated compliance reporting for five companies offering health products in 50 states, tracked and analyzed health care related legislation at the national and state level, and conducted legal research to assist internal departments in development of compliant policies and procedures based on research findings. She also created position and functioned as research coordinator for department of six attorneys and six paralegals. Prior to that, Ms. White worked as a commercial real estate paralegal and volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Email: kwhite@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 303
Carol Hedges, Senior Fiscal Analyst, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Carol Hedges is a recognized expert on the effects of Colorado’s TABOR amendment. Her current research explores spending and taxation in Colorado in light of fairness, efficiency and adequacy. Her most recent report is entitled, Aiming for the Middle, Benchmarks for Colorado’s Future. Carol is the primary author of the Bell Policy Center publication, Ten Years of TABOR: A Study of Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a comprehensive study of Colorado’s fiscal and budget situation in light of the TABOR constitutional amendment. Carol has experience in the philanthropic sector and in political service with Governor Roy Romer of Colorado,the National Governors’ Association and with Governor John Carlin of Kansas. Carol has a BS in Public Administration from Emporia State University and a JD from the University of Kansas. Carol is currently a Board member for the Front Range Economic Strategies Center in Denver. She is a member of the Colorado Nonprofit Association’s Leadership Advisory Committee and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for Governor Ritter’s Blue Ribbon Transportation Panel.
Email: chedges@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 309
Ali Mickelson , Tax Policy Analyst, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Ali Mickelson comes to the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute after working primarily in corporate tax consulting. She has a J.D. from University of Denver College of Law and an LL.M. in Taxation from University of Denver Graduate Tax Program. Ali has been involved in a variety of initiatives to assist low-income taxpayers, including leadership in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and participation in the administration and development of a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic in Denver. Ali came to COFPI because she has a passion for service and desire to help Colorado taxpayers through sound fiscal and tax policy.
Email: amickelson@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 304
Mark Neuman-Lee, Policy Fellow, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Working as a policy fellow is Mark's first position after graduating from Colorado College in 2009. At Colorado College, he majored in International Political Economy and was active in student leadership, serving as the Student Body President during his senior year. Prior to arriving at COFPI, Mark worked on several campaigns and interned with Lt. Governor Barbara O’Brien.
Email: mneumanlee@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 310
Alec Harris, Fiscal Policy Analyst, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Before joining COFPI, Alec studied economics at the University of Michigan, where he worked in the environmental and natural resource economics realm. In his research at the University he examined the county-level fiscal impact and labor market effects of Spotted Owl protection under the Northwest Forest Plan. Today Alec works to study the Colorado economic and fiscal outlook and to produce meaningful analysis and policy solutions for Colorado.
Email: aharris@cclponline.org
Phone: 303-573-5669 ext. 316
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