Mile High Magazine Podcast

Guest:  Paige Piper, MBA Executive Director

Localworks helps and supports the city of Wheat Ridge to create the economic development and community development.  They are part of citizen engagement and community events.  One of the largest projects that Localworks recently completed in its organizations' history is Clear Creek Makerspace.  They have 3D printers, laser engravers, sewing stations, wood shop and metal shop.  People can come in and take classes on how to use the equipment.  You do not need to live in Wheat Ridge to come take classes.  Once a month Localworks host a Live Local event, they go to a business in Wheat Ridge with the goal to bring residents into the business to help with local economics.  Localworks wants people to know, there is always a place for you in the community if you live in Wheat Ridge or somewhere else.    

https://wearelocalworks.org/

Guest:  Laura Crowley Executive Director

Angel Eyes provides free grief counseling to families who have lost an infant or a toddler to unexpected death including still born or miscarriage.  Families are offered 12 sessions with a professional grief counselor.  Angel Eyes also provides group sessions.  Angel Eyes offers sibling counseling for children from 3-18 and they also offer counseling for the family unit together.  Angel Eyes holds four major events throughout the year to help raise money and a way of families to come together to heal.  On March 1^st at Wings Over the Rockies if their first event of the year called Suds for SIDS.  The event includes a silent auction, games prizes, there will be 19 breweries, 4 wineries, tasting with restaurants, plus you get to tour the museum.      

Angeleyes.org

Guest:  Kelli Melissa Reinhardt Founder of Make Mental Health Matter, and Nikki Brooker Founder of YANA

Make Mental Health Matter educates people about mental health and suicide prevention.  They offer the program to people of all ages. YANA (You Are Not Alone) is a non-profit that supports mom with mental health.  They have a program that gives new moms wrap around support for a year for free.   Make Mental Health Matter and YANA have partnered with YANA to put on Rock Your Wellness is a Wellness Expo.   The event February 22, 2025, at The Village Work, Wellness & Event Center from 11am-3pm.  There will be vendors including crafts, silent disco, live music, food trucks, mini-workshops, blood drive, pet adoption, dance movement classes, trauma informed yoga, Fit for Mom classes, family fun and so much more.

www.rockyourwellness.org

makementalhealthmatter.org

yanamom.com

Guest:  Dr. Joseph Silva

 in the state of Colorado, there are 22,000 Justice Engaged Students.  These are students that might homeless, students that might be on truancy, (those that have been charged with different types of varying crimes).  A Justice Engaged Student is someone that between the age of 14 and 18 that has engaged in the justice system in a negative way or in a way that has created a deficit that then impacts their ability to finish high school.  Justice Engaged Students helps to ensure their pathway to high school graduation.  They have a 90% graduation rate of students that we've worked with to graduate.  The Justice Engaged Students will have a hotline starting later this year.  The hotline is for anybody to call and get resources and to understand the legislation and the laws and more so the constitutional rights of a student to be educated in the state of Colorado.  It’s about one student, one student at a time.

justiceengagestudents.org

Guest: Dr. Hans Elzinga, Volunteer, Director of Special Procedures Clinic, Salud Family Health

In January, the American Cancer Society released its 2025 Cancer Facts & Figures report, the report is an update that shows trends with cancer diagnoses and deaths, the report also showed statistics of what is happening in Colorado.  In Colorado, there will be an estimated 29,020 new cases of cancer diagnosed in 2025 and an estimated 8,620 deaths.  Cancer is still more common in men then women but there has been a shift in women 50-64.  Colorectal cancer in men and women under 65 have increased.  Doctors are still not sure why the rates are going up in some cancers.  Early detection or prevention screenings are key.  Know your family history of cancer, it can make a big difference in your overall health.    

https://www.cancer.org/about-us/local/colorado.html   

Guest: Heather Burke, spokesperson for Donor Alliance and Niki Kigerl, Teacher from Eaglecrest High School

Donor Alliance’s Community of Excellence Award is presented each year to individuals or organizations in Colorado and Wyoming who go above and beyond to educate and inspire others about the importance of organ and tissue donation.  This year’s recipient is Niki Kigerl, her son was born with a rare liver disease and will eventually need a transplant, so she knows firsthand the importance of organ and tissue donation.  Donor Alliance’s Transplantation Science Program gives students an interactive look at the science behind organ and tissue donation.  Transplantation Science Program is offered in two languages in schools throughout Colorado and Wyoming.      

DonorAlliance.org

Guest:  Kristen Tonevero Cardiologist with Intermountain Health  

February is American Heart Month, aiming to raise awareness about heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. The American Heart Association encourages everyone to prioritize heart health through regular exercise and stress management. Heart disease encompasses various cardiovascular issues, with common forms including coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. Women and diabetics often experience atypical heart disease symptoms, making early detection and attention to heart health crucial.  Don't ignore your symptoms, we didn't get here overnight so don't expect to change it overnight.

heart.org

Guest: Marlene Bedoya Communications Director 

Transforming lives through free legal aid, advocacy and education to seek justice for the most vulnerable in our community is the mission of the Justice and Mercy Legal Aid Center. Organized in 2006 JAMLAC is a faith based non-profit initiative that has assisted over 20.000 low income community members.

https://jamlac.org/

Guest: Cassidy Smith Executive Director

Colorado Access has been around for 30 years, they are the largest Medicaid health plan in the state, and they established our foundation, the Colorado Access Foundation in the fall of 2021.  Forming the foundation was a way for the company Colorado Access to ensure that there is dedicated resources and funding available to tackle some of the root causes of health disparities that we see in our state.  The Colorado Access Foundation works with partners and funding partners who are focused on building a more diverse healthcare workforce in our state.  Also improving the key conditions that affect health like access to housing, food and transportation.  Colorado Access Foundation gave a grant to Capital TGTHR, they're an organization in Colorado that's working to end youth homelessness.  The grant allowed them to hire a full-time behavioral health clinician to be on site at a new supportive housing site called Nest 56.

Coaccessfoundation.org

Guest: Richard Lewis RTL Founder and CEO 

The RTL Foundation is established to give and assist BIPOC, Black, Indigenous People of Color, non-profit organizations to provide them the office support and resources help them develop and become successful in the long term. RTL is founded the three principals of the African American timeline history, entrepreneurship, and technology.

https://rtl-foundation.org/

Guest: Maria Trujillo Division of Criminal Justice

January is national human trafficking prevention month, it is a month dedicated to helping raise awareness for everyone.  Human trafficking consists of the denial of a person’s human rights to freedom and basic dignity. It's the exploitation of another person to force fraud or coercion for some type of labor, including within the commercial sex sector, as well as other industries such as traveling sales, crew, agriculture, construction. Hospitality, just to name a few.  The majority of human trafficking is in labor trafficking versus sex trafficking and both of those happen in Colorado.  A lot of people don't know and don't have the language to describe their situation as human trafficking.  The Colorado Human Trafficking Council has a campaign that will help you understand all of this and how to report it.

https://thisishumantrafficking.com/

Guest: Colorado State Attorney General Phil Weiser

With the success of the Colorado State lawsuit to block the merger of food stores King Soopers and Albertsons/Safeway we touch base with Attorney General Phil Weiser regarding this, the lawsuit that ended Wyatts Towing, the of the opiods settlement, the continuing effectiveness of the reporting service for students Safe2Tell and others matters of public significance. 

Guest: Amanda Gordon Owner

Amanda started the first black woman owned car dealership in Colorado, she started her business with just $10,000.  She got her dealer license in 2018.  Amanda is also the first black woman to sit on the Colorado State dealer board. She may be the first but knows she will not be the last and will set the standard and example for women of color that come after her to be comfortable, confident and be successful in being an owner.  Amanda also has a podcast called Mind Your Business, it is about being on your mind about your business.  Amanda has a blueprint that will help, and the first thing is to have a business model.  She also wants people to know consistency is key.  No one is going to bet on you how you will bet on you!

https://www.gojoauto.com/

Guest: Yusef Lateef Founder and Director

The Second Chance Center in Aurora works with newly released offenders to get them a better return into society to prevent them from returning again to jail. Begun as a former inmate assisting others, the center has now prevented over 80% of those they assist from becoming repeat offenders. 

Guest: Jennifer Orrigo Charles Executive Director

Colorado Preservation Inc.’s works to ensure historic places across Colorado are protected and will be preserved for future generations. The also provide advocacy, education and outreach to communities across Colorado.  They help to write grants, help get funding, even help write tax credit applications.  Coming up January 29th - February 1st is the Saving Places Conference at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs.  This year the theme is Intangible Heritage.  They will be exploring how customs, traditions, and knowledge passed down through generations are intertwined with the built environment.  During the conference, they will be announcing the places they will be working to preserve this year. 

savingplacesconference.org   

Guest: Paul Andrews President and CEO

The National Western Stock Show starts on January 11^th and will be here for two weeks.  It all kicks off with the big parade on January 9^th in downtown Denver with the Grand Marshal being Kathy Sabine.  The National Western Stock Show is a non-profit that started in 1906.   The show is sixteen days with rodeos, PBR, livestock shows, horse shows, shopping and so much more.  Over 50 states and a lot of countries from around the world will be represented this year. 

https://nationalwestern.com/

Guest: Jill Shenkel Henwood Executive Director

Linda and Jimmy Yip lost their only son, Nathan in a car accident.  The Yips turned that tragedy into a foundation to honor Nathan’s legacy.  Originally they supported projects in rural China, in the last nine years they started to focus on rural schools in Colorado.  Teachers in rural areas apply for grants, in 2024 they had over $400,000 worth of requests from about 208 teachers.  On February 1^st for the Chinese New Year celebration, the Nathan Yip Foundation will have a celebration to celebrate the year of the snake.  It is a family style dinner, there is a silent auction, lion dancers, and a traditional salad toss.  The Year of the snake is associated with wisdom, elegance, charm and transformation.

nathanyetfoundation.org

Dr. Lena Heilmann, Director, Office of Suicide Prevention

Summary: For decades the prevailing thought was suicide was highest during the Holiday period however recent studies show that is not the case. In Colorado, the 8^th leading cause of death is suicide, with the state in 2020 losing 101 children ages 10-19 to suicide. This program provides insights and prevention information to those at risk during the holiday’s to reconsider such thoughts.

https://cdphe.colorado.gov/suicide-prevention

Guest: Heather Burke Spokesperson and Inka Nisinbaum, a double lung and liver transplant recipient

This holiday season, Donor Alliance is encouraging Coloradans and Wyomingites to check one very important task off their to-do lists: giving the gift of life by registering to be an organ, eye, and tissue donor.  Right now, there are nearly 1,300 people in our community waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. On a national scale, that number jumps to more than 100,000 people.  Tens of thousands of people also need tissue donations. Tissue transplants can also save and heal lives, including those suffering from trauma, disease, or even blindness.  Registering to become a donor is really easy, you can either check the box when you renew your ID, or just visit their website and you can sign up there.  One person can save up to eight lives through organ donation and help heal up to 75 lives through tissue donation.

 https://www.donoralliance.org/

Guest: Eric Lionheart Founder

First There Foundation organization devoted to supporting all Combat Controllers during life’s most challenging moments.  First There Foundation does not just help the Combat Controllers but they also help their families.  Combat Controllers is a team in the military that many people do not know about their job.  It can be a struggle to trust people when looking for help when they are telling you, they have never heard of you.  First There Foundation helps Combat Controllers get resources the help they were they feel safe. 

https://www.1stthere.org/ 

Guest: Pos Ryant, Executive Director

Apprentice of Peace Youth Organization (AOPYO) works with youth of all backgrounds, but particularly those from marginalized communities in Denver, Aurora, Brighton, and Jefferson counties.  They work with elementary through high school as well as young adult by mentoring the youth in wellness and career pathways programs.  The Laws of Life is their stem-based approach to our programming.  Laws stands for leadership, Arts, and Wellness and skill trades.  When kids have a mentor, they're less likely to skip school and they're more likely to volunteer in the community.  AOPYO teaches the kids Tai Chi, which helps with focus, relaxation and calmness.  AOPYO also provide counseling, therapeutic services and home crisis management.     

https://www.aopyo.org/

Guest: Dr. Lena Heilmann, Director, Office of Suicide Prevention

For decades the prevailing thought was suicide was highest during the Holiday period however recent studies show that is not the case. In Colorado, the 8^th leading cause of death is suicide, with the state in 2020 losing 101 children ages 10-19 to suicide. This program provides insights and prevention information to those at risk during the holiday’s to reconsider such thoughts.

https://cdphe.colorado.gov/suicide-prevention