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Nelly Navarro
Nelly Navarro
Executive Director
Nelly begins her duties as Executive Director in April 2019. She has lived in Steamboat Springs for 16 years. Initially, she managed a local restaurant and then began working with the Yampa Valley’s immigrant community through her years of work with NW Colorado Health(VNA) and UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center.
"Being an immigrant myself, I understand the challenges and hardships that people face when starting a new life in a foreign country. Personally accomplishing the process to obtain U.S. citizenship has given me invaluable experience in immigrants’ rights and the processes/statutes associated with gaining citizenship. I am able to share my experiences with those who are tackling the same obstacles and this has established a strong connection and bond of trust between myself and the immigrant community."
Nelly attended Ricardo Palma University, a highly esteemed institution of learning in her home country of Peru, studying multiple languages as well as how to teach and translate those languages. She is fluent in English and Spanish and proficient in French.
"I truly am passionate about working with immigrants in our community and I actively strive to help them reach higher standards of living. I am dedicated to advocating for their rights as active members of our community and country."
Renzo R. Walton
Immigration Services Specialist
Renzo attended the British Academy of English in Lima, Peru from 1995 to 2002. During that period of time, he also studied the Italian language and completed a twelve-month Microsoft Office workshop at Cibertec Institute in Lima, Peru. Then he attended the Peruvian University of Sciences, studying health sciences in medicine and oral surgery from 2002 until 2008. During his studies, he worked for five summers at employment agencies within the area.
Renzo had been managing a local Steamboat business for several years when he started working for Integrated Community as a trained interpreter in October 2015. He became our Resource and Referral Coordinator in January 2016.
He has continued to improve his knowledge in his field of expertise by attending a medical terminology class at Colorado Mountain College, obtaining his National Medical Interpretation certification CHI CORE in 2019, and currently also provides services as a medical interpreter at UC Health YVMC.
Renzo is the only US Dept of Justice accredited representative in our region, working as a specially qualified non-attorney professional representing low-income immigrants, and he is a citizenship trainer.
He is one of the founding members of the Latinx Alliance in Northwest Colorado and currently serves as Secretary and Treasurer in the Alliance's board of directors.
He is a board member of local youth literacy non-profit Book Trails, planning committee member of Holiday Exchange Market (HEM) Routt County United Way, Patient Advisory Council (PAC)for Yampa Valley Medical Associates, former planning committee member of Dia de Los Muertos in The Boat CIIC, Active member of Routt County Navigation Network, Steamboat's Spanish Conversation Local Group's host and organizer.
Jerry Hernandez
Education Coordinator
A dedicated professional devoting his career to furthering education in the U.S. and abroad, Jerry Hernandez has been creating and implementing educational content for organizations and individuals for more than 25 years. Now, by bringing his knowledge and skill to Steamboat, he continues to fulfill his passion for giving back and contributing to cultural exchange between the diverse communities of North West Colorado.
Jerry has seen first-hand the impact quality education has on individuals, families and communities at large—a positive outcome he is honored to be part of again and again. As Education Coordinator, he runs several programs, including adult English classes and children’s tutoring.
Originally from Brooklyn, NY, Jerry lived in Central America for 15 years after graduating from Bible College. While there, he and his wife worked as part of an international mission
providing education services to children and adults. His resume also includes work in tech industry sales and marketing—experience he draws on when developing and promoting literacy projects today.
Jerry and his wife are very involved in their church’s congregation and outreach programs. When he’s not working with CIIC, he dedicates many hours per month to other important causes, including teen depression awareness, improving family life, and more.
When he’s not working, Jerry enjoys hiking with his wife and their dog.
Irene Avitia
ECE Specialist
Born in the USA and raised in Mexico, Irene returned to Steamboat during middle school and graduated from Steamboat High School. She attended Colorado Northwestern Community College and obtained her Early Childhood Education Director Qualifications. Irene attended the Parents as Teachers training and plans on using this training and education to help her Latino community and families with young children. Irene has been in the Early Childhood field for 7 years.
Irene started interpreting for Integrated Community in 2014. She and her husband have two young daughters and are passionate about raising them to be bilingual and proud of their heritage. Irene and her family enjoy giving back to the community through volunteering and helping others.
Irene currently serves Co-Chair of First Impressions, Chair of Latinx Alliance, and is a member of the It's About Kids Network which is the Colorado Children's Campaigns statewide network.
She also attends different community meetings to give a voice to our immigrant population.
She joined our team in June 2017 working closely with our Latinx families by providing Bright By 3, Madres Enseñando, Raising a Reader, Listo para Kinder, and Learning Box. Irene believes that each parent should get the support they need in their native language to become the first and most important teacher in their child's life.
Maria Paula
Interpretation/Translation Coordinator
Maria Paula joined the team at Integrated Community (CIIC) in August 2019.
Born in Colombia, Maria Paula has been traveling back and forth from Bogota to Steamboat Since 2004. Attending the majority of her teen
years at Steamboat Springs High School. She attended the University of America, Bogota, Colombia studying Petroleum Engineering before
finally making the decision to permanently make Steamboat her home in April 2016.
Maria Paula continued adding professional development to her resume by training in the field of professional interpretation. She worked for UC Health Yampa Valley Medical Center as a pre-
admissions and scheduling specialist. In this capacity, Maria Paula’s medical interpretation skills have been a critical link for Spanish speakers to be able to understand and be in control of their own care.
As Maria Paula shared with Executive Director, Nelly Navarro, “My skills, passion, and experience make me a perfect fit for the position as a coordinator at CIIC. As a teen immigrant, I learned the challenges we all face in starting a new life in a new country. That is my main motivation to want to give back to our community and add value to
people’s lives. I want to help bridge the gap between languages and help break cultural barriers that people still face every day.”
Maria Paula serves in the board of Advocates of Routt County where she also volunteers at the Crisis Line and is a member of the local
Latino Group Latinx Alliance.
Reid Petersen
Resource and Referral Coordinator
Reid grew up in the greater Seattle area and moved to Bellingham, Washington in 2010 to attend Western Washington University where he graduated with a Bachelors's Degree in Spanish with a secondary focus in Business Administration.
His affinity for the Spanish language and Latin culture started at an early age which resulted in his taking private language courses and ultimately Spanish from elementary through his graduating high school. In 2009 he participated in his first exchange program through the Emerald City Rotary Club and was paired with a family in Spain who- 11 years later- he not only remains in close contact with but considers his own. He has since returned to live with the same family in Spain for over a year's time in their home in Madrid including for his final semester of college while attending Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and Middlebury’s downtown Sede Prim campus. He also participated in a J-1 Internship Program with a sporting event advertising agency where responsibilities included the translation of promotional documents, interpreting with clients in the United States, and web content.
In addition to specializing in the Spanish language and Hispanic cultures in college, Reid has also spent an extensive amount of time traveling through Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Spain.
Following his graduation from college in 2015, Reid worked with a Washington based US department of state J-1 Visa Sponsor as the Manager of the U.S.-Mexico Internship and Trainee Program. Here he worked closely with third-party agents in Mexico to seek out viable program participants which included handling all screening, vetting, as well as the entirety of the application process and ultimately, placement at US-based host companies. Behind the scenes he created and translated all marketing materials, online content, dealt in program web design and drafting of all informative documentation. During this time Reid was an active participant in the Bellingham Rotary Club, Whatcom Young Professionals, and frequented weekly meetings with the local Toastmasters.
In 2017 Reid moved to Steamboat with the intention to stay for a summer with his family at which point he found a job, established himself, and now is very excited to continue growing roots here with CIIC.
Cailin Ryan-McKeever
Program Support Specialist
Cailin supports the various programs at Integrated Community including resource and referral, billing, accounts receivable, and payments to independently contracted interpreters.
Cailin has a background in multicultural and bilingual education. From Madison, Wisconsin, Cailin’s adventure as a Spanish language learner began in middle school through the public school system. Before graduating high school in 2005, Cailin studied abroad in Chile for six months. She truly accredits that time in her life to her continued commitment to multiculturalism and multilingual advocacy.
In 2009, she graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s in Spanish Studies and a bachelor’s in Dance. She later returned to school for her elementary teaching license and bilingual education certification. Prior to moving to Steamboat Springs in December of 2019, Cailin taught in elementary schools in Nevada and Wisconsin. In addition to working at Integrated Community, she is the part-time biliteracy teacher at Soda Creek elementary. Cailin is currently pursuing her master’s in Educational Leadership and hopes to someday lead a dual language immersion program in Routt county.
