Meet The Staff

Darlene Jensen grew up in Illinois in a rural river valley which she saw develop into a metropolitan suburb of Chicago.  She recognized the need early on for establishing a balance between development and environmental sustainability to grow a strong community.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree from DePauw University in Indiana with studies in environmental science and business.  After interning with the USFS in the White River National Forest in Aspen she knew her future was in Colorado.  Before relocating to Colorado Darlene served for twelve years with county government in management of environmental programs. 

Darlene lives in Cascade, Colorado with her husband Larry, Director of Planning and Historic Preservation for Cripple Creek and her 14 year old boy/girl twins who attend Manitou Springs Middle School.  She is a sport enthusiast and enjoys attending her children’s sporting events.  She spends her “spare” time riding her horses through the mountains and enjoys an occasional round of golf.

Tracy Jackson is a bright and enthusiastic scientist and science teacher.  She grew up playing in and near the woods, creeks and wild lands of Georgia's heartland.  At age six, she announced to her grandparents that she wanted to be a paleontologist when she grew up.  She went on to fulfill that dream, earning her undergraduate degree in geology, from the University of Georgia, where her undergraduate research focused on freshwater ecologies of the present and past.

Tracy fell in love with the Rocky Mountains while working as a backpacking guide at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, a high adventure base for the Boy Scouts of America.  After working fulltime as an outdoor educator in Massachusetts for Nature's Classroom and then in Minnesota for the Audubon Center of the North Woods, Tracy moved to Colorado to earn her masters degree in science education and her teaching license from the Colorado College in Colorado Springs.  She and her husband love living in Manitou and enjoy hiking, dancing, good music and caving with friends.  If you get the chance to meet Tracy, ask her about working at Catamount, she'll give you a grin and tell you this is her dream job.

Her personal philosophy from an old family saying:  "Change lives.”

Ken Brickman
PPSBN Program Manager
719.471.0910 x101

Inspired by the experiential education model of the Audubon Expedition Institute, Ken stepped away from the traveling higher education program to “be the change” he had been waiting for. He arrived at the world’s first Montessori residential community for adolescents to undertake the task of guiding 12-16 year old residents toward personal and social maturity. Ken used the 100 acre farm/forest as a living classroom,  guiding students toward an environmentally sustainable lifestyle within Today’s culture.

He discovered the “land of plenty” (more commonly known as the “Pikes Peak region”) on a roadtrip across the country during the Summer of 2010.  Passionate environmentalists, intelligent business owners, and an obvious opportunity to merge both groups toward the goal of a triple-bottom-line economy solidified Ken’s decision to move to Southern Colorado from his native Ohio.  Since Day One of his arrival he has gotten involved with community organizations. Currently Ken sits on the Board of Directors for Manitou Environmental Citizen Action (MECA) and is the Co-Chair of Education with the US Green Building Council Colorado, Southern Branch.

Whitney Calhoun holds a degree in biology from the University of Notre Dame, and has ten years experience in the field of commercial architecture, with a focus on sustainable commercial buildings and green schools.  A co-founder and current co-chair of the US Green Building Council Colorado, Southern Branch, Whitney is also actively involved in the Green Schools Core Committee for USGBC CO.

At Catamount Institute, Whitney is the Program Manager for the Pikes Peak Sustainable Business Network's Green Certification Program.

Jesse Rochette is a Colorado native who brings a lifetime passion for the mountains and valleys, rivers and trees with him everywhere he goes. He holds a B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies, focusing on fluvial geomorphology and glacial/periglacial geomorphology and a minor in Sustainable Development from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.  While working towards his B.A., Jesse worked as a high altitude snowshed research assistant through CU Boulder at the Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research Niwot Ridge Research Station.  Rochette’s background includes 16 years of professional guiding and environmental education in the arenas of rock climbing, caving, ropes course facilitation, and river guiding.  Jesse is a current Wilderness First Responder and has an extensive background in emergency services and fire science, having been a backcountry emergency medical technician at the summit of Pikes Peak, and both a professional wildland firefighter with the Bureau of Land Management and volunteer firefighter for Ridgway Volunteer Fire Dept.  In addition to his guiding and EMS background, Jesse has significant experience in renewable energy and sustainable design consulting, having worked as a PV solar installer and foreman for Rocky Mountain Solar and Whitney Electric Co. in Colorado Springs. Rochette later implemented a thriving sustainability program for The Colorado Yurt Company in Montrose Colorado and worked as a sustainability management systems consultant to Colorado school districts through the Governors Energy Office.  When he is not teaching tomorrow’s leaders outside, Jesse can be found exploring nature’s secrets with his wife and three wonderful boys.  

Cheryl Sims moved to Colorado Springs from Minnesota in 1973 after graduating from Riverside Community College with a degree in Business Management.  For more than 30 years, Cheryl has worked in the field of accounting for various local businesses.  Her most recent position was with Drexel Heritage where she performed the duties of Office Manager for 10 years.  Enjoying involvement in the community, she has also served on numerous volunteer committees including the March of Dimes and Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure.

Cheryl joined Catamount Institute as the Finance & Operations Manager bringing a heightened level of expertise working with rapidly growing businesses. At Catamount Institute she created an efficient financial management process, monitors reports and maintains membership and renewal systems for Catamount’s Pikes Peak Sustainable Business Network.

Cheryl is a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother and when she's not crunching numbers at Catamount or winning the lottery, you will find her chasing after her two adorable grandsons, Mason and Cooper.

Leslie Wirpsa brings a background in transnational environmental advocacy, non-profit leadership, fund development, journalism and teaching. Leslie worked for 14 years as an award-winning journalist and editor in Latin America and the United States and has a near native fluency in speaking, reading, and writing in Spanish.

While pursuing her doctoral studies in International Relations at the University of Southern California, Leslie served as the co-director of U’wa Defense Project (UDP), a non-profit transnational organization supporting the U’wa indigenous people of Colombia in the defense of ancestral territorial rights, leadership and grassroots capacity building, and community development.  She assumed that role after the organization’s founder and her friend, Terence Freitas, was kidnapped and assassinated by Colombian guerrillas in 1999. Leslie also ran a high school outreach program at USC, the Teaching International Relations Program (TIRP), which works with inner city teachers and high school and college students to globalize classroom curricula and service learning.

She moved to Colorado Springs in 2007 to join her husband, Tom Mowle, and her two step-daughters, after working as an Assistant Professor at De Paul University’s (Chicago) International Studies Program and serving as an S.V. Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellow in Natural Resource Economics as the University of California, Berkeley. In Colorado Springs, Leslie has worked in development at Pikes Peak Community Action Agency and in management at the Southern Colorado AIDS Project.

Leslie’s community involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors and the Programs Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Southern Colorado, as Board President of the Colombian Foreign Press Association, as a volunteer at the Therapeutic Riding Center, and as an instructor of women’s dignity and self-defense workshops in the barrios of Bogotá, Managua and Los Angeles.

Chris Aaby is a long time resident of Colorado Springs and is an active supporter of environmental sustainability. Chris was born in Norway and spent his summers there hiking and exploring with his brothers while growing up.

Chris comes to Catamount Institute via BuyWell Fair Trade
Coffee, where he served as the Director of Marketing and the Sales Manager. Working with a commodity like coffee and closely with farmers who grow the crops inspired his activism for fair trade in addition to cementing his view on environmental sustainability. In 2010, Chris traveled to Peru to meet with coffee and cocoa farmers and had the opportunity to witness first-hand the positive difference fair trade certification makes in the lives of the farmers, their families and their land.

Chris is thrilled to be joining Catamount Institute as the Marketing and Communications Director and looks forward to inspiring our community to be environmental stewards.  In his free time, he enjoys baking cupcakes, hiking, and perfecting his photography skills.

Christina Rochette grew up in Colorado Springs with a love of nature and the region's beauty, which she attributes to her abuela.  She holds a degree in Anthropology with a minor in Geography and Environmental Studies from UCCS, as well as an array of certifications and trainings regarding her other passions, childbirth and parenting.  She has 9 years of experience in website consulting and internet marketing and has worked with large and small databases in her work as a research assistant for Summit Economics, a local firm in Colorado Springs. She works from home with her three small children, who enjoy playing in the urban garden with the chickens and going camping with Mom and Dad.  She even fits more website management and activism into all of that.

Christina loves working with Catamount Institute, allowing her to blend her passion for the environment with her experience in internet and database management and giving her the flexibility to be with her family while doing additional important work for the community.  

Christina's favorite ways to get outside are rafting, caving, and hiking, where you can find her chasing hummingbirds, eagles, bats and children with her husband, Jesse.