Who We Are

Christine Murphy, Executive Director

Christine Murphy's experience uniquely positions her to build on the agency's record of defending the interests of the poor, the working poor and other vulnerable populations. She joined CCLP in June 2010 after serving as a senior policy analyst in Gov. Bill Ritter's Office of Policy and Initiatives. Formerly the executive director of the Colorado Lawyers Committee, she is an attorney with extensive experience in civil rights, poverty and appellate law. Ms. Murphy has also been an active volunteer with nonprofit agencies that promote public education and affordable housing.

cmurphy@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 301

Rita Young, Director of Adminstration

Rita Young joined the center in June 2006. She brings more than 25 years experience in nonprofit office and business management and oversees the daily operations of the center. Before 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. Before the Clayton Foundation she was administrative assistant for Colorado Legal Services in Denver.

ryoung@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 307

Elisabeth Arenales, Director, Health Care Program

Ms. Arenales has been director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy’s Health Care Program since January 2000. She is recognized as a health policy expert and has a particular focus on public health insurance programs, including Medicaid, Ms. Arenales has a strong track record of protecting, preserving and expanding access to healthcare, particularly for lower-income Coloradans. She was a founder and served for six years as board chair of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and served 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 and around San Luis, Colo., to access land known then as the Taylor Ranch. Ms. Arenales graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1993. Ms. Arenales has been recognized by 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.

Ed Kahn, 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. 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 for a statute governing conversion to for-profit status of Colorado Blue Cross and other health insurers; was special counsel, appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court, to investigate possible mismanagement by the State Public Defender; and was appointed as special counsel by Boulder County District Court Judge Murray Richtel to prosecute the Boulder Daily Camera and two reporters for improper contacts with jurors in a death penalty criminal case. Mr. Kahn also represented the Colorado General Assembly 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; 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; cecturer in constitutional law, University of Colorado School of Law (1975); Colorado Supreme Court Grievance Committee (1996-99), and Hearing Board 1999 to present; Colorado Supreme Court Judicial Advisory Committee (1994-2000); Colorado Lawyers Trust Account Foundation (COLTAF) (Director 1990-95) (president 1990-92); Legal Aid Society of Metropolitan Denver (acting director of litigation five months in 1994); Denver Bar Association (president 1984-85); 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 1967-72, chair of the board for two years), and member of its Legal Panel 2001 to present; Harvard Law School Association of Colorado (president 1989-90); and board member, Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, 2000 to present.

ekahn@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 305

Adela Flores-Brennan, Health Care Attorney

Adela Flores-Brennan has worked for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy and the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute for more than six years on issues including tax and budget policy, economic self-sufficiency, federal budget advocacy and program reauthorizations, health reform, and litigation concerning the Colorado Benefits Management System. Ms. Flores-Brennan is a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law (JD 2005), and the University of Denver (master’s degree 1999, bachelor’s degree 1998). Her previous experience includes policy and advocacy work related to the environment and higher education, as well as clerkships in Denver District Court.

afbrennan@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 313

George Lyford, health care attorney

George Lyford joined CCLP in January 2012 as an attorney for the Health Care Program. He previously worked as a staff attorney for the Health Care Access Program at Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest and as an attorney for Mary Kay Hansen Law & Mediation. Lyford earned a law degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

glyford@cclponline.org
303-573-5669, ext. 310

Danny Rheiner, Rice Fellow, Health Care Program

Danny Rheiner joins the Health Care Program of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy after graduating from Colorado College with a bachelor’s degree in American Political Economy. Danny first became interested in health policy when interning for Congressman Jared Polis while health reform legislation was being debated in the House of Representatives. He continued to explore that interest by interning for the Health Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures, where he researched health disparities within the United States. For his senior thesis at Colorado College, Danny focused on rising American health care costs and potential cost containment strategies. He is excited to continue developing his knowledge of health policy as he begins a yearlong fellowship with CCLP.

drheiner@cclponline.org
303-573-5669, ext. 319

Tracey Stewart, Family Economic Security Program manager

Tracey Stewart monitors policies and programs that improve access to resources that give every Coloradan the opportunity to work toward economic stability and security. She educates state leaders and communities on the importance of helping Coloradans on the road to economic self-sufficiency through the use of critical tools and resources. She also provides research to inform Colorado businesses, governments and communities on the progress Colorado is making in its poverty reduction efforts. Before joining the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Tracey worked with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, where she was the project manager for the Colorado Homeless Management Information System. Before her career in the nonprofit world, Tracey was a network consultant and software application specialist. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree from the School of Education at the University of Denver. She is also a volunteer board member for the Delores Project, a participant of the Bus 15 Coalition and a member of the Denver Human Services Network.

tstewart@cclponline.org
303-573-5669, ext. 314

Shaivy Wilson, program assistant

Shaivy Wilson joined CCLP in January 2012 as a program assistant for the Family Economic Security Program. She is a seven-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, including four years active duty and three years as a reservist. She is studying criminal justice reform at St. Leo University and working toward a bachelor's degree. Wilson is eager to contribute to CCLP's work to help people move from poverty to economic self-sufficiency.

303-573-5669, ext. 321
swilson@cclponline.org

Carol Hedges, director, 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. Ms. Hedges has experience in the philanthropic sector and in political service with former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer, the National Governors’ Association and with Gov. John Carlin of Kansas. Ms. Hedges holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs from Emporia State University and a law degree from the University of Kansas. She is a board member for the FRESC Good Jobs Strong Communities in Denver. She is a member of the Colorado Nonprofit Association’s Leadership Advisory Committee and served on the Technical Advisory Committee for Gov. Bill Ritter’s Blue Ribbon Transportation Panel. She represents COFPI on the Colorado Reform Roundtable as a convener and as a co-chair of the Fiscal Reform Subcommittee. Carol is a founding member of the Steering Committee of the Colorado Civic Engagement Roundtable.

chedges@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 309

Kathy A. White, deputy project director, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute

Kathy White worked as a paralegal and assistant manager of regulatory compliance for an international insurance company before working for CCLP. In that position, she coordinated compliance reporting for five companies offering health products in 50 states, tracked and analyzed health care legislation at the national and state levels, and conducted legal research to help in development policies and procedures. She also created a position and was research coordinator for a department of six attorneys and six paralegals. Before that, Ms. White worked as a commercial real estate paralegal and volunteer for the American Civil Liberties Union.

kwhite@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 303

Ben Felson, Rice Fellow, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute

Ben Felson joins the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute as a fellow fresh after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from Colorado College. His most recent research as an undergraduate focused on military policies as they relate to fiscal and social policy on local, state and national levels. He plans to play a versatile role in supporting agency projects.

bfelson@cclponline.org
303-573-5669, ext. 316

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 law degree from the University of Denver College of Law and a post-graduate law degree in taxation from the University of Denver Graduate Tax Program. Ms. Mickelson has been involved in a variety of initiatives to assist low-income taxpayers, including leadership in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and participation in the administration and development of a Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic in Denver.

amickelson@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 304

Terry Scanlon, Fiscal Policy Analyst, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute

Terry Scanlon is the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute’s lead budget analyst. Before joining COFPI in January 2010, he worked in a variety of roles including serving as a legislative aide at the Colorado Capitol and managing a state legislative campaign. The bulk of his professional experience was spent in newsrooms in Virginia and Colorado highlighting how public policies affect people’s lives. Mr. Scanlon holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver.

tscanlon@cclponline.org
303-573-5669 ext. 311

Felicia Griffin, development director

Felicia Griffin has been involved in fund development for social justice issues for the past 10 years. She served as the deputy director for New Mexico Voices for Children, the president of the New Mexico Association of Fundraising Professionals and was the president and CEO of her own nonprofit consulting firm, the Griffin Group. Felicia has extensive knowledge and experience in fund development and stewardship. Her goal at CCLP is to find investors/donors that share our vision of justice and economic security for all Coloradans.

fgriffin@cclponline.org
303-573-5669, ext. 315

Perry Swanson, communications director

Perry Swanson joined CCLP in February 2010. He is responsible for alerting a statewide audience to the center's agenda of justice and economic security for all Coloradans. He handles media relations and coordinates all the agency's communications. Before joining CCLP, Perry was a reporter for The Gazette newspaper of Colorado Springs.

pswanson@cclponline.org
303-573-5669, ext. 306