Krystal Grint, MSW, LCSW, CPCC, PCC, joined the Colorado Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman in August 2026 as Deputy Ombudsman. She brings more than 20 years of experience in child welfare, organizational leadership, and systems improvement. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to improving outcomes for children, youth, and families across Colorado through collaboration, accountability, and thoughtful systems change.

Krystal’s areas of expertise include child welfare systems leadership, program management, workforce development, professional coaching, budget oversight, and higher education instruction. She is passionate about reflective leadership and the role that self-awareness plays in strengthening organizational culture, improving systems, and creating meaningful change. Her work is grounded in advancing fair, balanced, and effective practices that support child and family well-being. She has contributed to peer-reviewed child welfare research and has presented nationally on workforce development, leadership, and system improvement.

Prior to joining the Ombudsman Office, Krystal served as Project Director and Principal Investigator for the Colorado Child Welfare Training System and as a Senior Instructor with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Kempe Center. In these roles, she provided statewide leadership for child welfare training across Colorado’s 64 counties.

Before her work at the Kempe Center, Krystal spent 14 years in direct child welfare practice, including serving as a Children, Youth, and Family Services Manager overseeing child protection intake teams, two child abuse hotline units, and an adolescent intake team. She also served as a Child Welfare Training Academy Supervisor and worked as a lead caseworker, partnering with families to assess child safety, identify strengths and needs, and support positive outcomes. Additionally, she spent five years as a contracted trainer for the Colorado Child Welfare Training System’s Learning and Development Pool.

Krystal earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and a Master of Social Work from Colorado State University. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in Colorado, a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coaching Federation, and a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). She is also trained in Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC™) through CRR Global. In addition to her Ombudsman responsibilities, Krystal serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Colorado State University Pueblo, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate social work courses. She also maintains Colorado child welfare caseworker and supervisor certifications to stay current on evolving child welfare practices, policies, and developments.

Karen Nielsen serves as the Director of Administrative Services for the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman. Since joining the agency in 2013, she has supported the organization’s growth and operations through her expertise in administration, organizational management and executive support.

As a member of the leadership team, Karen oversees the Administrative Services Department, including budgeting and financial administration, human resources support, procurement and contracts, facilities management, technology coordination, records management, and agency operations. She works closely with staff, state partners, vendors and stakeholders to ensure the agency’s day-to-day operations run smoothly and efficiently.

With a strong commitment to public service, Karen focuses on building effective systems, supporting agency staff, and strengthening operational processes that help advance the CPO’s mission of improving Colorado’s child protection system for children, youth, and families.

Bryan Kelley joined the Office of the Colorado’s Child Protection Ombudsman in September of 2023.

In his position as Public Policy Analyst, Bryan’s work includes conducting research on a wide range of state policy approaches to issues being considered by the CPO, and supports the work of the Mandatory Reporting Task Force and the Timothy Montoya Task Force to Prevent Youth from Running from Out-of-Home Placement.

Prior to joining CPO, he worked for four years at Education Commission of the States, where he tracked state education legislation in all 50-states, wrote policy reports and 50-state comparisons, responded to research requests from policymakers, and presented on education policy topics to a wide range of stakeholders. His work largely focused on policies addressing disparities in access to education and resources, attempts to make education systems more equitable, and issues around the separation of church and state in education policy.

Bryan also previously worked at the National Conference of State Legislatures and AcademyHealth, where his work focused on public health policy research, including women’s, children’s, and maternal health care access; place-based and socio-economic determinants of health, and health care access in schools. Bryan’s work has been cited in many books, journal articles, and news sources. He has been interviewed by journalists and invited to write articles, particularly on the topic of the shifting legal understanding of the relationship between church and state in public education policy.

Bryan graduated from Colorado College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Religion, from the University of Manchester with a Master of Arts in Religion and Political Life, and completed part of a doctoral program at the University of Colorado in Political Science. He is a Commissioner with the City of Aurora’s Human Relations Commission, and lives in Aurora with his wife and their dog Crumpet. 

Alexandra “Ali” Elio joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in December 2025. Before joining the CPO, Ali spent three years with a county department of human services, where she conducted child abuse and neglect assessments. She worked with families, community providers, law enforcement and medical professionals to assess child safety concerns and promote family well-being. Through this work, she gained extensive experience navigating complex cases and collaborating across systems to serve children and families.

Before entering child welfare, Ali worked in several human services roles supporting vulnerable populations. Her experience included care management and service coordination for aging adults, along with shelter operations and crisis response services for individuals experiencing homelessness. These roles deepened her commitment to advocacy, systems navigation, and connecting people with essential resources and support.

Throughout her career, Ali has focused on helping individuals and families navigate complex systems during difficult moments. She values collaboration, curiosity, and relationship-building, and is committed to ensuring that children, youth, and families have a voice. In her role with the CPO, Ali contributes to the agency’s neutral review process by helping Colorado families understand and navigate concerns while identifying opportunities to strengthen child welfare practice and accountability statewide.

Ali earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder and is a Certified Child Welfare Caseworker through Colorado’s Child Welfare Training System.

Kourtney Anne Fitzpatrick joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in May of 2025. Previously, Kourtney Anne worked at a county department of human services as a child welfare intake caseworker. As part of this work, Kourtney Anne focused on broadening her understanding of the challenges Colorado families face during this time, while helping them build supportive connections in their community.

Kourtney Anne has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and is currently certified as a child welfare caseworker. She enjoys supporting educational services whenever possible, such as volunteering with early literacy programs at the public library.

Sierra Garcia joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in September 2025. Before joining the CPO, she spent four years working at a county department of child welfare, where she developed a strong commitment to helping children, youth and families better understand and access the child welfare system.

Sierra is committed to promoting equitable access to Colorado’s child welfare system for rural communities, increasing education around domestic violence and substance use concerns connected to child welfare, and supporting policy advocacy that helps serve children, youth and families within the Colorado child welfare system.

Sierra recently earned her Master of Social Work from Metropolitan State University of Denver, with a focus on macro social work practice. From 2025 to 2026, she also served as co-chair of the advocacy committee for the United Nations Association of Boulder County, where she applied the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals to local community advocacy. Together, these experiences deepened her understanding of social advocacy, leadership, and sustainability within social work.

Stephanie Holsinger joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in December 2025. In this role, she reviews concerns related to Colorado’s child welfare and youth services systems, working with children, families, caregivers, county departments and community partners to ensure concerns are thoroughly assessed and addressed through independent case reviews.

Prior to joining the CPO, Stephanie dedicated more than 16 years to public service with a county human services department. During her tenure, she held a variety of positions, including ongoing child protection caseworker, long-term care Medicaid case manager, adult protective services caseworker and protective services program manager. These diverse roles provided her with extensive experience supporting vulnerable populations, navigating complex service systems and promoting collaboration among families, service providers and multidisciplinary professionals.

Stephanie holds a bachelor of arts in Social Science with concentrations in Psychology and Sociology. She is also certified as a Child Welfare Caseworker Supervisor through Colorado’s Child Welfare Training System and remains committed to ongoing professional development and learning in the human services field.

Claire Hooker joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in October of 2019. Previously, Claire worked at a county department of child welfare for over 10 years. During that time, Claire was an ongoing child protection caseworker, a Family Team Meeting facilitator and program administrator.

In ongoing child protection, Claire specialized in cases where families were involved with the Family Integrated Drug Court. She worked with families struggling with substance abuse, mental health, and domestic violence concerns.

As a Family Team Meeting facilitator, Claire worked with families involved at all levels of the child protection system, including children and youth involved with delinquency court. During this time, Claire worked closely with a range of professionals, including attorneys, therapists, and educational professionals to address issues of child abuse and neglect with the family at the center of the process.

Claire has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and holds a master’s degree in Forensic Psychology. Claire is currently certified as a child welfare caseworker supervisor through Colorado’s Child Welfare Training System.

Fabiola Maes joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in June 2026. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to empowering individuals, strengthening families and improving systems that serve vulnerable populations.

Prior to joining the CPO, Fabiola worked as a child protection permanency caseworker for four years with a county department of human services. Working directly with children, families and community stakeholders provided her with valuable insight into the challenges facing Colorado’s child protection system and deepened her commitment to child and family advocacy.

Earlier in her career, Fabiola served as a social services director at a skilled nursing facility, where she coordinated patient care and discharge planning, connected individuals with community resources and support services, and collaborated with healthcare teams and families to ensure continuity of care.

Fabiola earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Services, with a minor in Psychology, from the University of Northern Colorado. She is certified as a Child Welfare Caseworker through Colorado’s Child Welfare Training System and maintains an active Certified Nursing Assistant certification.

Shaela Newby joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman as a Client Services Analyst in June of 2026. Previously, Shaela worked at a county department of child welfare for eight years. During that time Shaela was a caseworker associate, a permanency caseworker, and a certification caseworker.  

As a caseworker associate Shaela was given the opportunity to support ongoing caseworkers with transportation needs, sending referrals for families, helping families find resources and everything in between. She was also able to gain a wealth of knowledge before diving into permanency work.  

As a permanency worker, Shaela worked with children ranging from newborn to 18 years old and walked alongside families from all walks of life with their own unique struggles. She collaborated with the families assigned to her, as well as with many other professionals and family support networks to try and help the families she worked with achieve the best possible outcome within their child welfare case.  

Shaela rounded out her time at a county department as a certification caseworker. She worked with foster families and certified kinship families and helped these families maintain their licenses while providing support and resources to make sure the children in their homes had a safe and stable home away from home. Shaela looks forward to serving Colorado’s children and families in a new way and advocating for systemic changes within child protection. 

Shaela earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a specialty in Criminal Justice from Colorado State University Global. Shaela is currently certified as a child welfare caseworker supervisor through Colorado’s Child Welfare Training System. 

Alberta Wheeler joined the Office of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman in November 2024 as an Administrative Assistant. Alberta has vast administrative knowledge and has worn many hats in her 20-year career, including office manager, administrative officer and operations manager. Alberta has transformed a number of office environments, involving Non-profits: Providence Network, McREL International, National Jewish Health, and For-profits both large and small: VA National Surgery Office, and Terrix Financial. Over the years, several companies hired Alberta as a contractor for her Administrative Management expertise to implement new structures and design innovative office procedures: Cigna Healthcare, United Healthcare Insurance, Lewan and Associates, and several Doctor Offices. Alberta takes pride in keeping abreast of the newest trends in office technology, while staying relevant in the administrative world.