Staff + Board

Aaron grew up in West Virginia where he became deeply involved in grassroots organizing. Inspired by his grandfather, who was a public school teacher of more than 30 years, he ran for the Board of Education in his home county at the age of 21. Despite losing, he began working for the Working Families Party in West Virginia to help get others elected. Aaron believes strongly in the importance of organizing in small cities and rural communities and is excited to help amplify the voting power of young people throughout Colorado’s Western Slope.

When not working, Aaron enjoys being outdoors, watching Ted Lasso or The Mandalorian, and telling anyone who will listen that he owns a share of the publicly-owned Green Bay Packers.

Alejandra is a strong supporter and believer in young people’s ability to change the future. She was raised in Thornton by amazing parents from Mexico, whose experiences inspire her to advocate for the rights of people of color.

Alejandra is studying political science and legal studies at Colorado State University (go Rams!) with plans to graduate in 2026. While a part of the General Elections Committee of Associated Students of Colorado State University, she is able to help students learn about and join organizations on campus. Additionally, she has had the opportunity to help students learn how and where to vote. Alejandra hopes to further her advocacy work beyond campus grounds and help people of underrepresented communities.

As a devout believer in astrology, Arianna attributes all of her success to being born at 4:23 PM in Ventura County on a beautiful January day. In truth, her success is a combination of her passion to give back to her community and a deep commitment to make her Mama proud. While attending Metropolitan State University, she joined the 2018 Colorado Latino Leadership Advocacy and Research Organization (CLLARO) fellowship and researched the impacts of health and education policies on Latinx lives in Colorado. After graduating magna cum laude as a first generation student with a degree in Chicano Studies, she joined New Era Colorado in 2019.

When she first joined the team, Arianna supported the leadership development of abortion advocates into activists in the reproductive freedom movement through The Brazen Project. She then became policy manager, where she held leaders accountable to the Youth Agenda and drove New Era’s issue campaigns with the policy team.

As our new organizing director, Arianna brings years of institutional knowledge to the table and is excited to continue supporting organizers on the ground while building out New Era’s new regional program. Outside of work, she spends her time reluctantly going on walks with her girlfriend and giving her cat the silent treatment.

Born and raised in mid-city Los Angeles, Camila came to Colorado in 2013 to attend the University of Denver. Many jobs—including a preschool teacher and food writer—later, she became New Era Colorado’s communications director in 2022. With experience in conservation, fiscal reform, health equity, and local political spaces, Camila brings a multidimensional perspective to progressive communications and advocacy.

Influenced by her Mexican-American family’s commitment to creating change and connecting through food, you can often find her making a mess in the kitchen and at the pottery wheel, reading, ranting, or dreaming of days at the beach or starry nights in the Sonoran desert.

Christina got her start in progressive politics in Michigan, where she grew up. After she graduated from the University of Michigan with her bachelor’s degree in sociology and women and gender studies, Christina began canvassing with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan. As a canvasser, Christina realized that she loved all the data and details that go into building campaigns, and that sparked an interest that influenced her entire career.

Ten years, a move to Colorado, and a few advocacy jobs later, Christina is still passionate about making sure that people, especially young people and people of color, take their powers and use them to create the world they want to see through relationship building and organizing. In her free time, you can catch Christina hanging out with her sweet baby, two kitties, and partner; enjoying outdoor patios with her friends; or, browsing her cookbooks for new recipes to test out!

Jorge Hernandez is a first-generation student studying political science at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. Jorge is committed to advancing equity and advocating for justice. He prioritizes serving and empowering young students of color, especially Spanish-speaking communities, through community organizing and transformative justice. Those values and experiences remain with him today and they continue to fuel his passion for creating change.

In his free time, Jorge enjoys skiing during the winter season and watching the sunset at the Mile High Stadium as he roots for the three-time Super Bowl champions, the Denver Broncos, during the fall.

As a strong supporter of the power of people and communities, Kate is driven to invest herself in the work necessary for social change. Graduating from CU Boulder in 2021, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and women & gender studies, she is very thankful for the opportunities she’s had and the relationships she built along the way. With previous experience in student groups and nonprofits, Kate found her passion for advocacy and organizing with people and community members. She gives credit to those environments she got to be a part of as a large motivator for her passions today. Recently, Kate took on the role of Senior Organizing Manager in 2024 after serving as Boulder Regional Organizer since Jan. 2023.

Kim is the daughter of two strong Panamanian immigrants who came to the United States in 1999. Raised in southern Colorado, she has always fought for the issues affecting those with historically marginalized identities, accrediting her parents and culture as the biggest reasons for her strong advocacy.

She received her bachelors’ degrees in political science and international studies in the spring of 2023 (yay!) at Colorado State University; during her time at CSU, she fought to have Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) heard and represented throughout the Fort Collins community. In 2022, Kim became the speaker pro tempore at Colorado State through the Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU). There, she secured funding to create a heavily-needed immigrant services coordinator position to address the needs of immigrant students with a diverse range of identities. She looks forward to making the voices of young folks in northern Colorado stronger than ever before!

Kiyana is a dynamic policy professional originally from Kentucky but has lived in Colorado for five years. She recently started at New Era Colorado as the Policy Manager! She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Denver and a BA in Political Science from the University of Kentucky. She is passionate about overcoming inequality and racial discrimination through reformative justice. With her knowledge of the Colorado political landscape, Kiyana is dedicated to driving positive change and impact through her work in policy management.

Additionally, Kiyana lived in Geneva, Switzerland at the beginning of 2023 for a traineeship. There she was able to monitor United Nations meetings like the 52nd Human Rights Council and publish reports on human rights violations. Her advocacy runs deep and she is happy to continue her work advocating for the Youth Agenda.

Originally from a tiny town in southeastern Michigan, Kylie relocated to Denver to work with New Era as a Development Manager. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022, where she studied public policy with a concentration in social justice and inequities in policy. Her education and the influence of relationships built along the way catalyzed her into pursuing a career that centers young voices and progressive policy issues.

Outside of work, Kylie loves any and all things outdoors, cooking yummy vegan food, and visiting every single coffee shop in any city she visits. She also spends as much time as possible trying to show and tell pictures of her beloved cat, Frankie.

Mari is a sophomore at Fort Lewis College studying political science and minoring in pre-law. Mari has moved around a lot due to growing up in a military family, which allowed her to interact with a multitude of personalities. Being born into a Hispanic family, she grew up watching her parents and older siblings struggle with discrimination. This was a turning point for Mari where she decided that being an active advocate against racial discrimination and injustice was a priority. This drive led her to New Era Colorado with the hope of making change one place at a time.

When she is not working toward a better world, she is out running with her cross-country and track teammates. She enjoys cooking for others and any furry animal friends.

Molly likes to imagine a country in which every single election has 100% voter turnout and voting is as accessible as filling out a Google Form (and ballot language as understandable as “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”). Born and raised in DeKalb, Illinois, Molly worked in the cornfields for her first job before working at a local news station while attending the University of Missouri. After nearly five years in broadcast news, Molly pitched an investigative story about the lack of reproductive healthcare access in Missouri and what would happen if Roe v. Wade was overturned. When her story was deemed irrelevant, Molly took the eventual Supreme Court’s ruling as a signal that it was time to turn back to her activist roots.

Once she spent time as a legislative aide in the Colorado Senate, she got her next signal seeing New Era hustle at the legislature. She is excited and proud to drive digital communications for an organization that prioritizes equitable, anti-racist policies that will reshape America’s failing democracy.

Mykaela is a proud Burqueña born and raised in New Mexico. While earning her bachelor’s degree at Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School, she reported on the complexities of immigration policy and shared the stories of deeply affected people. After moving to Denver in 2016 and searching for community and purpose, she volunteered with the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). When Roe v . Wade was overturned, Mykaela, now the deputy director of COLOR, led her team through one of the most challenging times in our movement.

Now at New Era Colorado, Mykaela helps resource young people’s political power to create a more free and equitable Colorado for all. She is a rookie gardener who loves tending to her dogs, Kevin LeBron and Barry White, and reading celebrity memoirs.

Naomi came to Colorado after having spent most of her childhood moving around as a “military brat.” In Colorado, she has found communities in Colorado Springs, Longmont, and Denver, where she attends school. She is pursuing a B.A. in socio-legal studies and gender & women’s studies at the University of Denver and plans to attend law school after graduation.

Throughout the many places she has lived, she continues to advocate for historically marginalized communities, accrediting her family’s cultural and immigrant background to her passion for social justice work. Naomi has found a specific interest in reproductive justice and plans to build a public service career dedicated to fighting for reproductive justice in communities of color.

Outside of her academic and professional life, Naomi enjoys spending quality time with her sisters and loves to experiment in the kitchen with her dad, attempting any recipe she comes across. Believing food is at the center of any community, she uses cooking as a doorway to connection and togetherness in any setting.

For as long as she can remember, Nicole has been driven to create a more just and fair world (she’s a quintessential Cancer). After spending over a decade in the education field, she found that many of the problems she was seeking to solve in education were symptoms of larger socioeconomic issues that could best be solved through democracy. Nicole decided to bring her expertise in youth empowerment and deep commitment to social justice to New Era in 2019 as our executive director.

Nicole earned her bachelor’s degree in public policy and Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Go Tar Heels! Duke fans beware) and also received her Master’s in public policy and Master’s in education leadership at Stanford University in 2017.

Nicole likes to geek out over social psychology, political philosophy, and systems-change research. She strongly identifies as a Gryffindor, has a dog named Tonks, and owns a staple Hermione costume for whenever the moment is right. She is happiest when she is making Lebanese food (ask for her family hummus recipe) and adventuring outdoors with her husband and son.

Tash believes that truly anti-racist policies are grounded in people’s needs. Her work as the political director is deeply rooted in coalition building, collaboration, and listening. A lot of the time that means getting out of the office and talking to people! Additionally, she is responsible for overseeing our issue campaigns and accountability work—including New Era’s legislative session program, issue campaigns, and c4 electoral targeting.

Backed by a degree in history from CU-Boulder and a master’s in public policy from the University of Denver, Tash came to New Era from Denver Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca’s office. In her previous roles, she’s worked on environmental justice, criminal justice, fiscal, and regulatory policies. 

Tash is re-learning what it means to have spare time after finishing graduate school and is most excited to catch up on living. 

Originally from Pueblo, Vashti is a proud first-generation college student pursuing a degree in political science at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Dedicated to advancing social equity by prioritizing historically impacted communities like immigrants and individuals with disabilities, Vashtii draws upon her personal experiences to shape how she advocates for justice. Vashti’s passion for creating meaningful change guides her every endeavor, whether it’s speaking on panels about adolescent mental health and education or helping non-native English speakers become citizens.

When not engaged in her mission for positive change or embracing the vibrant culture of her community, Vashti finds joy in Mexican Folklorico dancing with her college dance group and embarking on thrift store adventures with friends.