Staff

The staff of the ACLU of Colorado is comprised of dedicated professionals with years of experience ...

 

Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Executive Director

Nathan Woodliff-Stanley became Executive Director of the ACLU of Colorado in October, 2012. Nathan is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister who served for eight years in social justice ministry at Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, CO before joining the ACLU. He is a Board member of the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, and chair of its Public Policy Commission. Before moving to Colorado in 2002, Nathan served for 10 years as the founding Executive Director of the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits in Jackson, MS, a statewide association providing management support for charitable organizations. He has served on more than a dozen nonprofit boards over the past thirty years. Originally from Iowa, Nathan earned a BA from Swarthmore College and Masters degrees from Yale Divinity School and the Yale School of Management. He has lived in the Stapleton area for the past eight years with his wife Ruth, Rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, and their two teenage sons.

 

Stephen Meswarb, Deputy Director

Colorado native Stephen Meswarb returned home to work for the ACLU of Colorado in June 2010, bringing with him nearly 20 years of non-profit fundraising experience, including more than eight years working for the national ACLU. He spent three years managing the ACLU’s $335 million Leading Freedom Forward campaign, the largest campaign on behalf of civil rights and civil liberties in the country’s history. He is now responsible for managing all aspects of operations, finance and administration. Reach him at smeswarb@aclu-co.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arlette Baer, Membership Coordinator

Arlette Baer has managed the membership database and donor recognition for well over three decades. In 2006 she was presented with the Radetsky Award, named for Martha Radetsky, is presented to exceptional volunteers who have demonstrated a lifetime commitment to the ACLU and civil rights and freedoms.  Prior to working with the ACLU, Arlette volunteered her time with the United Farm Workers, including walking the picket lines at their boycotts. That activism not only inspired her dedication to the cause of racial justice, it also got her arrested. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma,  Arlette graduated from Radcliffe College before moving to Chicago where she married her husband, Sylvan, to whom she was married for 60 wonderful years. They raised five sons and one daughter, all of whom share Arlette’s dedication to activism.  
 

 

Pat Blumenthal, Director of Philanthropy

Pat Blumenthal is the Director of Philanthrophy for the ACLU, leading fundraising and donor cultivation strategies. Prior to joining the ACLU, Blumenthal served as Executive Director of Hillel, where she led two successful capital campaigns that raised more than $5 million to complete construction of the Merage & Allon Hillel Center at the University of Denver and the David and Laura Merage Hillel Center at Colorado State University. As Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Colorado, she led the state’s pro-choice public education and political advocacy work to ensure the protection of women’s’ reproductive rights. An active community volunteer, Blumenthal provided organizational development support to The Spirituals Project, an effort to preserve African-American spiritual music, and advocated for Gifted and Talented students at Denver Public Schools. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Evergreen State College. Email her at pblumenthal@aclu-co.org.

 

 

Patricia DeLuna-Zickefoose, Accountant

Patricia is the staff accountant for the ACLU since 2006. She has had her own accounting practice since 1984 and other non-profit clients include the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, The Denver Justice Council, the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, and Wedontwaste, as well as for-profit corporations, partnerships and individuals. A California Bay Area native, she has resided in Colorado since 1983.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Mark Silverstein, Legal Director

Mark Silverstein is a 1989 graduate of the Illinois College of Law. He served for a year as law clerk to Judge James Moran of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and another year as law clerk for Judge Harry Pregerson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  In 1991, he began working as a staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California in Los Angeles.  Since 1996, he has worked as Legal Director of the ACLU of Colorado, where he oversees the ACLU’s litigation in a wide variety of cases raising issues of civil liberties and constitutional rights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caryn Osterman, Operations Manager

Caryn joined the ACLU of Colorado Development team in January of 2007. As Operations Manager since April 2010, she oversees the Legal Intake Department, coordinates the Education, Volunteer, IT and Human Resources programs and manages overall office operations. Caryn received her Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts and an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Colorado, Denver. A New York native, Caryn now lives in Englewood with her husband, David and their two children. She enjoys working on a variety of projects that support the ACLU’s mission and is honored to have the opportunity to work with the many wonderful and committed individuals who volunteer and support the organization. Caryn is a Child Care Health Consultant and the owner of CO2 Designs.
 

 

 

 

 

John Krieger, Director of Communications and Outreach

John Krieger is the Director of Communications and Outreach for the ACLU of Colorado. Previously, he was a staff attorney, lobbyist, and Communications Director for the United States Public Interest Research Group in Washington D.C., where he led successful media and grassroots organizing campaigns on issues ranging from public health and product safety to eliminating waste and fraud in federal contracting. He has secured quotes and placed media in several national and local outlets, including the New York Times, Associated Press, Denver Post, and the Wall Street Journal. He directed a national field campaign to create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which The Hill recognized as one of the top 10 lobbying victories of 2010. He earned his law degree from the University of Richmond and a Master’s of Law specialized in International Protection of Human Rights from American University. He serves on the Alumni Board of Directors for Flagler College, where he earned an undergraduate degree in journalism and public relations, and he was awarded the Young Alumni Achievement Award in 2010. Email him at jkrieger@aclu-co.org.

 

 

Denise Maes, Public Policy Director

Former White House Office of Administration General Counsel Denise Maes returned in November 2011 to Denver, her adopted home, to work for the ACLU of Colorado. Pronounced one of the Top Seven Women Lawyers by LAW WEEK Colorado in 2009, Denise left the firm of Berenbaum Weinshienk & Eason, where she was partner, to serve as General Counsel for the White House Office of Administration in the Executive Office of President Barack Obama. Later, she directed Budget and Finance operations for the Office of Vice President Joe Biden. A co-founder and former Director of the Colorado Latina Initiative, Denise served as Chair of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Chair of Mi Casa Resource Center for Women, Director of the Downtown Denver Partnership, and as Director of the Colorado Women’s Bar and Hispanic Bar associations. Celebrated in the legal, business, social justice and Latina/o communities, she was lauded in 2010 as “Barrister of the Year” by The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado (The Center). Email her at dmaes@aclu-co.org.
 
 

                      

Sara J. Rich, Staff Attorney

In October 2011, Sara Rich was hired as staff attorney at the ACLU of Colorado, for the first time in our history bringing our cadre of legal eagles to three. Sara was an Associate Attorney at KILLMER, LANE & NEWMAN, LLP, where she represented clients in civil rights cases involving constitutional law, federal civil rights statues and Colorado State law. A graduate of Indiana University at Indianapolis where she received her Juris Doctorate, Rich is well-known for her defense of detainees at Guantanomo Bay, Cuba. That work earned her the Southern Center for Human Rights Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award. She was also a co-recipient of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association Access to Justice Award. A former President of the Colorado Plantiff Employment Lawyers Association and a former Vice-Chair of the Civil Rights Committee of the Colorado Bar Association, Rich also was once restaurant general manager at a Keystone, Colorado ski resort.

 

 

 

Rebecca T. Wallace, Staff Attorney

Rebecca T. Wallace was hired as staff attorney at the ACLU of Colorado in August 2010. Rebecca had previously served on the organization’s Board of Directors and was a member of the Legal Panel. Prior to accepting her position at the ACLU, Rebecca was an attorney at the civil rights law firm of KILLMER, LANE & NEWMAN, LLP, where she devoted her practice to vindicating the rights of the underdog. Rebecca’s work at the firm was twice recognized by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, most recently as co-recipient of the Case of the Year Award for Hall v. Zavaras, holding a prison guard and the Colorado Department of Corrections responsible for the sexual assault of a female prisoner. In September 2010, LAW WEEK recognized Rebecca as one of Colorado’s Up and Coming Lawyers. Rebecca T. Wallace was hired as staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado in August 2010.  Rebecca had previously served on the organization’s Board of Directors and was a member of the Legal Panel.   Prior to accepting her position at the ACLU, Rebecca was an attorney at the civil rights law firm of KILLMER, LANE & NEWMAN, LLP, where she devoted her practice to vindicating the rights of the underdog.  Her practice was divided between plaintiff’s side civil rights, employment law, and criminal defense.  Rebecca’s work at the firm was twice recognized by the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, most recently as co-recipient of the Case of the Year Award for Hall v. Zavaras, holding a prison guard and the Colorado Department of Corrections responsible for the sexual assault of a female prisoner.  Rebecca also took on major responsibility in the firm’s case on behalf of Timothy Masters, an innocent man who received settlements totaling $10 million from police and prosecutors responsible for his wrongful conviction and ten years of wrongful incarceration.  Rebecca served as a judicial clerk for the Chief Judge in the Federal District Court of Colorado.  Rebecca graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan Law, where she was awarded the Rockwell T. Gust Award for excellence in trial advocacy.  She received her undergraduate degree with honors from Brown University in 1999.  Currently, Rebecca devotes significant portions of her professional life and personal time to community service.  She served as Secretary of the Colorado Plaintiffs Employment Lawyers Association, teaches occasionally at the University of Denver School of Law, and provides mentorship to law students pursuing a career in civil rights.  In September 2010, LAW WEEK recognized Rebecca as one of Colorado’s Up and Coming Lawyers.  Before she became an attorney, Rebecca was a white water rafting guide for six years, and she still enjoys hitting the river with her husband Jon, her son Leo, and her dog Henry. 
 
 
 
 

Rachel Pryor-Lease, Development Associate

Rachel Pryor-Lease is the Development Associate for the ACLU. She is responsible for supporting all fundraising efforts and organizing the annual Whitehead dinner. Prior to joining the Colorado office, she has worked for the ACLU of Washington, the LGBT Community Center of New York, and Nativity House, a daytime, drop-in homeless shelter in Tacoma, WA. She also had a second career as a NYC pastry chef. Rachel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She grew up in Colorado but has lived on both the West and East coasts and is thrilled to be back home. She married her wife, Leah, in 2010 in Massachusetts, and they currently live in Denver with their dog, Bubba. Email her at rpryor-lease@aclu-co.org.

 

 

 

 

 

Kiela Parks, Advocacy Associate

Kiela Parks joined the ACLU in July 2012. As our Advocacy Associate, she works with the Public Policy Director and coalition partners to develop legislative strategy to advance civil liberties in the state legislature and through ballot initiatives. She is also our social media and website coordinator. Originally from California, Kiela recently received her MA in International Human Rights from the University of Denver. Her professional experience includes working at a nonprofit organization to administer community service sentences, protecting the rights of disabled employees at a California law firm, and the development/execution of communications and development strategies for the Josef Korbel School of International Studies.

 

 

 

Jessica Howard, Legal Assistant

Jessica Howard is the Legal Assistant for the ACLU of Colorado. Prior to working with the ACLU, Jessica worked as the Legislative Intern for Colorado State Senator Gail Schwartz in 2003. She also worked as the Legal Intern for Colorado Legal Services in 2009. Jessica received her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado and is currently pursuing her Certificate in Paralegal Studies. A Colorado native, Jessica is excited to work for the ACLU of Colorado because of their “continued dedication to protect the civil liberties of all citizens in Colorado.”