About Us
Curtis Hearst, Executive Director
Curtis joined Partners in 2013 as a case manager. In 2015 he accepted the role of Executive Director. Along with his administrative duties, Curtis assists with monthly activities and leads the Partners' Teen Advisory Board. Curtis has mentored three youth in the program including his current mentee Chris. Outside of the office Curtis is passionate about the outdoors. He spends his free time fly fishing, hunting, camping, rafting and biking. Curtis also loves spending time with his wife Leah, and his sons Bode and Garrett.
curtis@partners-west.org - 249-1116
Lissette Riviere, Donor Relations & Recruitment Manager
Lissette is an all-around team player for Partners and handles our annual major events. "What I like best about my job is knowing I have a hand in making a positive change in the lives of our youth. It is rewarding to provide them with opportunities they might not otherwise get to experience and seeing their smiling faces when they succeed." Lissette is also a mentor; her partnership with her mentees is going on 10 years. Outside of work she loves spending time with her grandchildren, golfing, reading, and hanging out with friends. When she isn't busy raising funds and awareness for the program, she tries to make time for her stained glass art. lissette@partners-west.org - 249-1116
Fernanda Parra, Community-based Program Manager
- Fernanda has spent most of her life on the Western Slope of Colorado. She attended Colorado Mesa University where she graduated with a Bachelors degree in Psychology. Her goal has always been to be a person who people can trust for support. Fernanda is fluent in Spanish and English and likes to learn the basics of different languages . She could probably hold a conversation with you if you spoke French or Portuguese (but slowly). Some of Fernanda's favorite things are yoga, martial arts, and Marvel movies. fernanda@partners-west.org 970-249-1116
David Padilla, School-based Mentor
David grew up right here in western Colorado - Olathe to be exact. David has a pro-active way of doing things and several years ago opened his own auto shop - Wicked Mobile, in Olathe. But his passion for community brought him out from under the hood to help bring in mentoring services and activities for area youth. He also serves as a coach for soccer and flag football. He enjoys time with his 5 kids and beautiful wife, getting them all outside and keeping an eye on sporting events.
david@partners-west.org 874-4661
Jan Pauly, Art Partners Case Manager
Jan Pauly believes in treating others as she’d like to be treated and helping others is her way of living that belief. Being a case manager for Partners is not only helping kids grow up to be great adults, but it’s helping adults realize the benefits of having a positive effect on kids. It’s a win-win situation for everyone! She loves to create and explore, to learn and to teach. She went to college late, taking all kinds of art classes and graduated shortly after turning 40. She uses what she learned every day and loves exploring the different creative forms and mediums of art. She and her husband recently moved to Colorado to live, explore and play in the mountains. jan@partners-west.org - 874-4661
Laura Schneider, School-based Mentor Lead
Laura is a proud Air Force Veteran and Colorado native. She's been a Partner's mentor since 2019 and in August 2024, took the position of Montrose Program Manager for the School-Based Mentoring Program. She loves to craft and spend time with her fur babies when she's not studying for her BSW. laura@partners-west.org - 303-304-4605
Leda Stinson Ebert, Ouray Case Manager
Leda was born and raised on the Western Slope but traveled for school earning degrees in Environmental Studies and Adventure Education. For the past 10 years she has worked on a small scale farm in the North Fork Valley. Leda is excited about building community and making new connections. In her free time she enjoys trail running, climbing and snowboarding. For now, Leda can be reached at 970-249-1116 or leda@partners-west.org
Haley Heide, Montrose Case Manager
Haley is a Western Slope native who recently took the Community Case Manager position in September. Haley graduated from Western Colorado University in 2020 with a bachelors in Sociology. Haley is an avid outdoors woman who spends her time fly fishing, snowboarding, horseback riding, snowmobiling and hunting. Haley has a passion for working with children and horses, she dreams to one day have a horse therapy facility. haley@partners-west.org, 970-249-1116
Lorali Aby, Delta County Case Manager
Lorali Aby grew up off-grid in Northern New Mexico. She moved to the Western Slope of Colorado in 2016. As a kid, she was part of a circus group, specializing in aerials (trapeze and aerial silks, mostly) and taught classes as she got older. Most of her time in Colorado has been spent working with kids in various capacities, and cooking in a wonderful kitchen in her homebase of Paonia. Her biggest achievements are making Steve from Blue's Clues laugh once, and meeting Judy Blume. Outside of work, she likes to read, travel, spend time with her partner and dogs, and DIY home projects.
Donna Valencich, Office Manager
Donna was raised on a cattle ranch in New Mexico. Grocery shopping and other essentials from town were planned in advance and happened once a month due to the distance required to travel. Donna learned many life skills at a young age and is excited to teach those skills to the youth in our communities. Accounting has been her life career and she loves working with numbers. Helping others makes her feel happy. Donna is a mentor and enjoys sharing her time with her mentees. When Donna is not in the office or mentoring, she is riding and showing her reining horse. Two loves of life for Donna is young people and animals.
Betsy Shepherd, Retired!
Betsy has been dedicated to Partners since 1996 and retired in April 2020. She has worked in all positions, except accounting and spent 24 years serving kids in Delta County. She has mentored 11 young woman in the program. Betsy truly cares and appreciates everyone who is involved with the program. While she is now retired, we know she has many connections and relationships - so if you need to reach Betsy her email remains the same and she is still very involved with Mentoring.
Betsyshe@partners-west.org