Artwork by Carmen Melton

The Team

Project Worthmore’s staff comes from a diverse array of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. Our team speaks 26 languages and come from a dozen countries!

Frank Anello

Co-Founder and Executive Director

Simret Kahsai

Operations Director
English, Tigrinya, Arabic, Amharic

Livia Anello

Social Media Manager

April Paw

Office Manager
English, Burmese, Karenni

Aly Spiess

Manager of Finance + HR

Marlene Desmond

Volunteer Coordinator

James Laurie

Community Engagement Coordinator
English, Spanish, Japanese, Swahili

Jane Kirema

Community Navigator
English, Swahili, Kimeru

Monica Hernandez-Sanchez

Community Navigator
English, Spanish

Nesar Sakhi

Community Navigator
English, Dari, Pashto, Urdu

Annie Bush

Food Systems Coordinator

Mirza Rodriguez Calzada

Food Share Assistant

English, Spanish

Connie Hwang

English Language Instructor

 

Katie Pham-Moo

English Language Instructor
English, Burmese

Channing McAdams

English Language Instructor
English, Spanish

Hsar Dah

Delivery Driver

English, Karen

Chuck Coffey

Marketplace Manager

Beheshta Amiri

Babysitter
English, Dari

Worthmore Clinic

Carolyn Anello

Co-Founder and Clinical Program Director

Dr. Manisha Makhija

Dental Director, DDS
English, Hindi, Sindhi, Marathi, Punjabi

Dr. Michael Plous

DDS

Dr. Cori Morris

DDS

English, Portuguese

Dr. Mike Millward

DDS

Dr. Troy Markgraf

DDS

Dr. Tamara Tobey

DDS

Dr. Hoa Tran

DMD

English, Vietnamese

Anthony Huynh

Registered Dental Hygienist
English, Vietnamese

 Sandi Bagley 

Registered Dental Hygienist

English, Spanish

Ala Shamam

Extended Duties Dental Assistant
English, Arabic

Narges Mowahedi

Extended Duties Dental Assistant
English, Farsi

Htee Ku

Extended Duties Dental Assistant
English, Karen, Burmese

Sara Herrera

Extended Duties Dental Assistant
English, Spanish and Portuguese

Shayma Ahmed

Dental Assistant
English, Arabic

Ikran Adan

Dental Assistant

English, Somali

Anwarul Haq Payab

Dental Assistant

English, Dari, Pashto

Freshta Sherzad

Sterilization Tech

English, Dari, Farsi

Maryam Kamalpuri 

Dental Front Office Personnel

English, Dari

Selene Nogueda

Dental Front Office Personnel

English, Spanish

 

 

DeLaney Community Farm

Dayna Kozlowski

Farm Manager

English, French, Fulani

Hamadi Mayange

Farmer
English, Arabic, Italian, Somali, Maay Maay, Swahili

Ahmed Yusuf

Farmer
English, Somali, Maay Maay, Italian, Swahili, Arabic

Klaw Reh

Farmer
English, Karenni

Abubakar Rasulo

Assistant Farm Manager

English,  Maay Maay, Somali, Swahili

Soe Reh

Farmer
English, Karenni, Burmese

Board of Directors

Nazrawit (Naz) Medhanie

Board Chair

Naz joined Africa Development Promise (ADP) as the Director of Regional Programs in 2022 and leads programs in Rwanda and Uganda. She serves as a key member of the organization’s leadership team and plays an active role with country level leadership. With more than a dozen years of international development experience, including working in Washington DC, Kenya, and Ghana, Naz has extensive experiences in knowledge management and analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa enterprise development and trade programs, training-of-trainers, and holistic child/sports for development implementation. She also has seven years of human resources and people operations leadership experiences from both the private and non-profit sectors in Denver.

Originally from Eritrea, Naz was raised in Sweden, where she was resettled as a political asylee in the early 1980s. She moved to the U.S. to attend college in the mid-90s.

Scott Schmid

Board Vice Chair

Scott is a seasoned executive with experience in consumer products (Procter & Gamble), strategy consulting (BCG), technology (Rhythms Netconnections and Inflow), and manufacturing (TruStile Doors).  Most recently, Scott was the Chief Executive Officer of TruStile Doors headquartered in Denver.  Scott has a strong affinity for the refugee and immigrant community formed through his experience interacting with TruStile employees who are members of the community. His involvement with Project Worthmore began through his wife Tricia who was a Project Worthmore volunteer for a number of years.  Scott is a graduate of Northwestern University and also holds an MBA from Northwestern.  He and his wife live in Denver and have three children.  Scott is under the delusion that he is an athlete and is an avid skier and cyclist.

Lisa Mougin

Board Treasurer

Lisa became passionate about helping refugee families while living abroad in Spain with her family, which led her to creating the Furnish a Future project while there. She built her career in the Investment Management Industry, where she was an executive at both ALPS and TIFIN across a span of 25 years. She, her husband and two children are passionate world travelers and outdoor enthusiasts, who can often be found cycling or skiing in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.

Tamara Smith

Board Member

Tamara graduated from the University of Virginia with a BA in international relations. After owning a business in the health and fitness industry for 16 years, she pivoted to pursue a Masters in Social Work, and now serves adolescents who have experienced trauma or mental health crises. Tamara is a long-time volunteer with Project Worthmore. Her passions include promoting health and wellness within the refugee community and other underserved populations.  Tamara resides in Denver with her family. In her free time, Tamara enjoys long distance running, biking and traveling.

Erik Roach

Board Member

Erik is a longtime Colorado resident and has been a supporter of Project Worthmore for many years. As an engineering Director in the energy industry he has experience with team leadership, economic evaluation, operational analysis and general problem solving. Erik has a Bachelor’s of Geology from Colorado University, Boulder and a Masters in Petroleum Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. He lives in Denver with his wife and two daughters and is passionate about the history, community and culture of the city.

Mia Ariela Allen

Board Secretary

Mia Ariela Allen is focused on improving programmatic structures and creating equitable learning opportunities for English Language Learners. Mia is a consultant, coach, teacher, and provides professional learning in-service opportunities throughout the United States, Canada and Central America. Mia is currently working in both the traditional and digital publishing industries reviewing and creating student-centric English Language Development literacy-based resources.

Greg Corbin

Board Member
Greg is a small business attorney and owner at Signal Law. Greg graduated from Kansas State University with a BA in Philosophy and Political Science and earned his JD from Boston University School of law. In his free time, Greg runs, bikes, hikes, and camps with his wife Meryl and their energy-filled pup Luna.

Tyler Carner

Board Member
Tyler is an Executive Vice President at CBRE and focuses on industrial real estate for his day job.  As a 21 year old Tyler had a powerful experience to help a large amount of Tibetan Refugees on their journey to the safety of the UNHCR that has forever shaped his compassion and desire to aid the refugee community.  Tyler graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder and lives in Denver with his wife and two young children.

Satish S. Chander

Board Member

Satish joined K&G Petroleum, LLC as the CFO in 2017, with extensive retail c-store experience from an operational, industry banking and treasury management perspective. He has over 20 years in corporate finance background, focused on Growth Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Raise and post synergetic Process/ Systems integration and efficiency, and over 15 years of experience working for fortune 500 institutional lenders including Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Bank of the West/ BNP Paribas.

Sandrine Vohra

Board Member

Sandrine is a multilingual and multicultural marketing professional and a fervent advocate of diversity representation. Born to an Indian immigrant family in France, Sandrine graduated with a degree in International Management and earned her MBA. She is fluent in 4 languages; French, German, Hindi, and English and is currently learning Spanish and Sanskrit.  After working for global organizations around the world, she followed her passion and started MIKADO International, a marketing agency to raise awareness about multicultural markets and ethnic consumers. Sandrine is the current CEO at MIKADO, which has been recognized internationally for its efforts and work. When Sandrine is not busy working, she spends her time being a mother to two beautiful girls, tasting different wines, traveling, and reading.

Gem Swartz

Board Member

Gem is co-founder and CEO of Catalyst Marketing Agency, a full-service marketing firm based in Denver, Colorado. As a marketing strategist with 20 years of experience, she is passionate about driving performance, uncovering the most effective ways to go to market, and delivering business outcomes. She was born in the Philippines and immigrated to Chicago at the age of 7, both bewildered and excited by her new home. Gem lives in Morrison with her husband and two kids. She’s a graduate of UC Berkeley and enjoys playing golf, riding her Peloton, and watching sitcoms to unwind.

Erin Drabicki

Board Member

Erin is a Client Success Manager at Benevity, the global leader in employee engagement and community investment software, where she gets to support the world’s biggest brands in giving back to people and communities in need. Her passion for supporting refugee and migrant communities has been demonstrated through her experiences volunteering with this population in Paris and at the US-Mexico border, and she is thrilled to be able to deepen her impact with Project Worthmore. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Erin now resides in Denver and in her free time she likes to travel internationally, be active outdoors, and read.

Louis Levine

Louis is an accomplished product leader who’s successfully built several early-stage health technology startups and currently serves as VP of Product at Orderly Health. Louis has applied his talents to various non-profits, where he’s led a global relief organization at his alma mater, Northwestern University, created an outcomes management program for a Boys and Girls Club chapter, and acted as a strategy consultant for the Taproot Foundation. Louis joined Project Worthmore as an English and citizenship prep volunteer, and is excited to find new ways to expand Project Worthmore’s reach. Louis can also be found practicing yoga, developing new recipes, and seeking adventures both in Denver and abroad.