Team
Chris Adams
President
Chris has worked in public policy and facilitation for over 15 years, the last 13 with Engaged Public. His work has focused primarily on health care, but he has also supported policy development in education and natural resources. Prior to founding Engaged Public, Adams was Director and Associate Director of The Center for Ethics and Social Policy in Berkeley, California. He has published more than 40 essays in publications including The Los Angeles Times, New York Newsday, The Christian Science Monitor, The San Francisco Chronicle and many others. He is a past speaker at the distinguished Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado, delivering five presentations on the theme “Values and Ethics in a Fragile World.” Adams is president of the board of Denver Urban Gardens, a network of more than 100 community gardens. He is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Colorado. He is married and has three children.
Brenda Morrison
Partner
Brenda brings extensive experience in public policy development, non-profit management, leadership development, and public engagement strategies. She spent a decade in the non-profit sector with youth-oriented and community development organizations and then served for seven years as the Associate Director of the Bighorn Center for Public Policy. Her responsibilities there included developing the Bighorn Leadership Program and managing special events and public engagement. Brenda was the architect of one of the state’s largest public engagement projects, the Colorado 100, which laid the groundwork for the passage of Referendum C, and is currently working with Colorado’s Future on implementing its statewide civic engagement project.
Dave Downs, MD
Medical Director
Dave has practiced primary care internal medicine in Denver for the last 23 years. He has been actively engaged in the medical and health policy communities of Colorado, serving as Chair of Medicine at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and as President of the Colorado Medical Society. He was a member of the 208 commission, and the formative steering committees for CORHO and CIVHC. He has worked delivering care in Ecuador and Tanzania, loves hiking, climbing, skiing, diving and his wife, Deb Parsons. His passion is the collaborative search for policy solutions to what ails health care.
Kelly Shanahan Marshall
Policy Director/Facilitator
Kelly has seven years experience working on health care issues and community development in Colorado. She also has two years of international work experience – in Mexico as a Fulbright Scholar and with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Bolivia. Kelly has a Masters in Public Affairs from the LBJ School at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a native of Fort Collins and now resides with her husband Adam and dog Sophie in Wheat Ridge. She enjoys romping and playing in the great outdoors, singing and spending time with friends and family.
Cindy Springsteen
Controller
Cindy has over fifteen years experience working with small and medium sized businesses. She has an accounting and management background, including work for non-profits. Her love of travel and children led her to accept a board position with 3 Mariposas Montessori in the Dominican Republic. She has two wonderful boys and enjoys volunteering at their school.
Kristen Petty
Project Specialist
Kristen is a recent graduate of Colorado State University eager to dive into the world of public policy and Colorado politics. During her undergraduate career, she focused much of her attention on civic engagement and service-learning, including involvement in the Public Service Scholars Program, member and partnership coordinator for the Key Service Community, and participant in several national and international social and environmental justice service trips.
Josh Greenberg
Web Simulation Developer
Josh has a passion for utilizing the ever-changing possibilities presented by the Internet to engage people. He developed and managed the technical side of Backseat Budgeter.