Emily Kleeman
Executive Director
A lover of mountains, hiking, skiing, and anything water related, Emily moved to Colorado in 2001 when she attended Colorado State University for a Bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies. During her time there, Emily grew her passion and love of human service and in 2005 started a journey working with vulnerable populations. Following graduation, Emily relocated to Baltimore, Maryland to be closer to family and worked within the disability and homeless sectors of social services. In 2007, to further her education, Emily enrolled in University of Maryland's School of Social work with a dual concentration in Clinical Social Work and Management of Community Organizations, receiving her MSW in 2011 followed by her LCSW 2014. Following graduation Emily worked for 5 years outside Washington D.C., as a leader in non-profit homeless sector services specifically for women transitioning from shelters to stable housing. Following the Feddie Gray Baltimore Uprisings in 2014, Emily saw a great need for criminal justice reform nationwide and in 2015 was offered the opportunity to return to Colorado to begin a new journey in reform practices. During a training through another employer, Emily ran into TRI's Founder, Deborah Simmons, and a connection was made that would change the trajectory of not only Emily's life, but TRI. Founded in 2016, TRI was still a small grassroots organization when they asked Emily to become the Director and help grow TRI into the agency it is today. Since 2018, Emily has worked diligently to expand our funding to support unique and inclusive programs and services that meet the needs of TRI Members. Emily's accomplishments in the last 6 years have allowed TRI to become a leading program in reentry statewide, growing attention from local Media, Newspapers and even Women's Health Magazine. The notoriety has amounted in more visibility on what works for reentry and is paving the way for more organizations to follow our model of care. Emily's main goal is to ensure that Deborah's legacy and vision of criminal justice reform efforts continues until the warehousing of humans in no longer the leading model in justice reform. "it is an honor to serve TRI, our Founder and Board of Directors. I am deeply passionate about dismantling the criminal justice system and replacing it with gender responsive trauma informed practices that heal our community instead of punishing them."
Welcome Back Center Team
Dominique Vodicka
Program Manager & Peer
Dominique is a Boulder Native. Her background includes Accounting, Lead Server, Master Dog Trainer, and Cosmetologist. The not so pretty parts of her background also include addiction and time in prison. Dominique first became a part of TRI in 2016 when she was accepted to be a participant in the first TRIumph class, offered at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The last stint in prison caused Dominique to really take a look at herself and make some changes. She took every class possible to better herself; including Therapeutic Community, CDOC k-9 companion program where she trained service dogs, Cosmetology, and TRIumph pre-release program. Dominique has her Peer Support Specialist Certification and runs the Welcome Back Center in the TRI HQ. Through lived experience she is able to relate to members of TRI and be supportive in all aspects. Dominique is celebrating 10 years of sobriety!
James Moore
Peer Mentor
Originally from California, James has lived in Colorado since 2015, when he was just passing through and got arrested. While in jail he obtained his GED and received multiple other certificates. When he got released to the halfway house in 2020, he found his way to TRI. He met members and staff that welcomed him with open arms. TRI helped James with resources to reintegrate successfully into society. After he finished his parole he was invited to join the team as a Peer Support and has been giving back to his community ever since. James has said his passion comes from his past and bad decisions. Hurt people, hurt people but healed people, heal others.
Wellness Center Team
Anita Lewis
Therapeutic Care Manager
Anita Lewis is a therapist at The Reentry Initiative. Anita is a believer of second chances and helping her community heal by providing a safe and authentic therapeutic environment. Anita recognizes the impact that trauma has had on the lives of TRI’s Members and it is her calling to honor her Members by working collaboratively with them to discover their sobriety, resilience, and sense of self. Anita has a passion for working with folks who struggle with mental health and substance use challenges. For this reason, Anita holds her Social Work License and is Licensed Addiction Counselor Candidate. Anita has worked with justice-involved individuals with co-occurring disorders for 7 years, and will continue to be an advocate for normalizing therapy and making it accessible for all who want it. Anita is a program manager that oversees funding for housing as well as providing tangible support for folks on probation. In addition, Anita also provides individual and group therapy to TRI’s Members. Outside of the office, Anita enjoys hiking and exploring Colorado, listening to podcasts, walking her dog and spending time with her kiddo. And of course, cheering for the Denver Nuggets!
Katya Slivinskaya
Holistic Care Manager & Wellness Coach
Katya Slivinskaya is a Program Manager and Therapist at The Reentry Initiative. Katya was born in Eastern Europe and grew up in struggling neighborhoods in New York City before spending 3 years at a progressive international boarding school in Europe as a teen. At 18, she attended Naropa University, where she discovered a deep passion for psychology. After graduating, she spent 12 years in private practice as a health coach and yoga teacher, bringing together holistic health, spirituality, and addiction recovery. Katya brings her breadth of experience across socio-economic sectors and cultures to her role at TRI - which is to continually expand and fortify TRI's holistic therapy program, bringing non-Medicaid covered therapies to a population that would not otherwise have access to it. This includes equine coaching, expressive arts therapies, dance, music therapy, gardening and nature therapy, somatic grief counseling, acu-detox and more. Katya considers her greatest professional accomplishments to be the successes of her clients in living long-term recovery, as well as her advocacy work for natural medicine and a holistic approach to therapy. Outside of work, her greatest accomplishments are raising her teenage daughter, and living in harmony with her beloved community. She strives for an increasingly zero-waste lifestyle harmonious with the land, loves dancing tango, and is dedicated to co-creating peace on earth.
Allison Holling
Wellness Center Therapist
Allison Holling is a therapist at The Reentry Initiative. She was born and raised in Northern Colorado and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Northern Colorado in 2016. She graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Master of Social Work degree in 2020 and has a background in preventive services and medical social work. Allison started working at The Reentry Initiative in December 2023, and she is passionate about creating positive change in the lives of individuals as well as in the larger community systems that affect how people live day to day. Allison uses a holistic approach to understanding and addressing the challenges members face by considering not only the individual’s unique strengths and needs but also their conditions and environmental factors. Outside of work, Allison enjoys cooking, reading, and watching the Premier League.
Alex Rose
Wellness Center Intern Therapist
Alex Rose is an intern counselor at the Reentry Initiative. Alex moved to Colorado in 2021 to begin his Master's Degree in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling at Naropa University (2024 Candidate). Before moving to Colorado, Alex lived on the Big Island of Hawaii where he taught Ancient World History to high school freshmen. Alex received his Bachelor's Degree in Religious Studies from Claremont McKenna University in 2020. At TRI, Alex works individually with members practicing mindfulness-based therapy modalities, breathwork, gestalt, and Internal Family Systems therapy. Alex also co-facilitates TRI's weekly Men's Wellness Recovery Action Plan group and TRI's Cognitive Behavioral Therapy group. Alex occasionally offers alternative wellness experiences for members such as traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, meditation classes, and breathwork classes. Outside of the office Alex enjoys fly fishing, playing the hang drum, and taking his English Bulldog for very slow walks.
Office and Back End Management
Maureen Buckner
Office Manager
Maureen first started with TRI as a volunteer managing the TRI shop in summer of 2020. She is now also the Office Manager, greeting members and doing whatever needs doing. Maureen retired after more than 40 years in the retail industry. She keeps busy playing with her dog, reading, spending time with her family and discovering new and old hobbies.
Christie Maurais
Accounting and Bookkeeping
Christie was first introduced to The Reentry Initiative several years ago when she participated as a volunteer to help furnish and “design” TRI’s client apartment in Longmont. She was fascinated and encouraged to learn about TRI’s programs and see them in action. Christie has a long-time commitment to women’s empowerment and ensuring their safety. The Reentry Initiative does both, so she was thrilled when she learned of the opportunity to join their team as the Accounting Manager. She has a few decades of experience in finance, most notably with non-profits. Christie graduated from Fairview High School and attended Colorado State University and then returned to Boulder 12 years ago. She is proud to be working with an organization that positively impacts our community.
Kristen Fledderjohn
Development Manager
Kristen Fledderjohn is the Development Manager at The Reentry Initiative. While her path to this role was circuitous, she gained varied and valuable experience along the way, including: running a group home for folks with developmental disabilities; organizing a small town cow parade; hiring teens for public art projects; and planning and running retreats in the high Rocky Mountains. Now at The Reentry Initiative, Kristen enjoys the opportunity to connect shared humanity. Outside of working hours, Kristen likes to adventure with her partner and four year old son. She can usually be found with a plastic film camera in hand.