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Person Role: Staff

Rebecca Alderfer, MPP

Rebecca has more than 20 years of experience leading strategic efforts across complex systems, advancing impact and resources through philanthropic, private enterprise, and government partnerships, and advocating for change through policy and community leadership. She came to CPCQC from her own consulting firm, Summit View Strategies, where she worked with clients to expand mental health screening and access to care during pregnancy and postpartum for the ZOMA Foundation, test a mental health care strategy for SonderMind, and steer the 2022-2023 Maternal and Infant Health Initiative of the National Governors Association. Prior to starting her firm, Rebecca built extensive experience across the healthcare and social determinants of health spectrum, including guiding US health related foreign assistance at the White House Office of Management and Budget, stemming global infectious diseases through the U.S. State Department, increasing access to dental care for low income people and assessing housing policy during the Great Recession through the Pew Charitable Trusts, and evaluating the capacity of the primary care workforce in Colorado at the Colorado Health Institute.

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Iowa State University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Sarah Banchefsky, PhD

Sarah is a behavioral scientist with extensive experience in both academic and applied mixed-methods research. She earned her PhD in social psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Miami University of Ohio. Inspired by her mother, who left a beloved law career to become a full-time parent, Sarah’s research has focused on understanding and reshaping the stereotypes, systems, and structures that can hinder people from achieving their dreams.

After transitioning from academia, Sarah worked at CU Boulder’s Office of Data Analytics, where she collected, analyzed, and shared survey data on student well-being and outcomes. She then joined Guild Education, where she focused on the educational journeys of working adults, using surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather nuanced insights. In both roles, she shared findings with stakeholders and provided recommendations on how to improve services for students.

At CPCQC, Sarah is excited to apply her skills to the pressing issue of maternal and infant health outcomes. She looks forward to wrangling data into actionable insights that promote the health and well-being of birthing people and infants.

Sarah volunteers for Moms Demand Action and enjoys dabbling in painting and piano. She loves exploring Colorado’s great outdoors

Katie Breen, MPH

Katie leads strategy to solidify CPCQC’s role as the leader in perinatal health innovation and improvement in Colorado. This includes leading technology and data initiatives to surface novel and actionable insights related to maternal-infant health, and ensuring CPCQC programs complement statewide needs, priorities, health policies, and quality initiatives related to perinatal health. 

Katie’s career has focused on maternal mortality prevention, clinical quality improvement, and reproductive health access. She initially joined CPCQC in 2020 to implement clinical quality improvement initiatives, bringing her valuable experiences working on the Delivery Decisions Initiative and TeamBirth programs at Ariadne Labs, and the evaluation of Texas’ implementation of the AIM obstetric hemorrhage bundle. For five years, she served as the Director of Communications and Technology for March for Moms, a nationally-focused maternal health nonprofit.

Katie serves on the Executive Committee of the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives. She served on the Colorado Maternal Mortality Review Committee in 2022-2023. For six years, she hosted a biweekly podcast focused on intersectional feminism and reproductive health, rights, and justice.

Katie earned her Master of Public Health from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal-Child Health. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she graduated as the valedictorian of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Prior to her career in public health, she led marketing strategy for major brands, advertising agencies, and start-ups.

Katie enjoys spending time with her dog and husband, traveling, reading, learning Spanish, and advocating for the right of all people to determine if, when, and how to build their families.

Elizabeth (Liz) Brooks, PhD

Elizabeth (Liz) Brooks, PhD, is a senior public health and behavioral health leader specializing in quality improvement (QI), program evaluation, and data-informed decision-making. In her role as Deputy Director for Clinical Quality Improvement and Education, Elizabeth ensures alignment and coordination across hospital-based clinical QI initiatives while driving the professional development of healthcare teams through structured, collaborative learning.

With over 20 years of experience across government, academic, and nonprofit sectors, she has built and scaled quality improvement programs, led compliance for multi-million-dollar federal contracts, and translated clinical and operational data into actionable insights and recommendations. Elizabeth is especially motivated by work that strengthens care systems and improves access and outcomes.

Previously, Elizabeth led statewide data, evaluation, and quality initiatives at the Colorado Office of Behavioral Health, where she oversaw performance measurement, learning collaboratives, and policy implementation for behavioral health and crisis services. She served as Assistant Professor and Concentration Director at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Public Health and continues teaching in an adjunct capacity, having educated over 500 graduate students in public health. She has authored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications and policy reports.

Elizabeth moved to Colorado over 20 years ago to enjoy the state’s outdoor wonders. Depending on the season, her weekends are filled with hiking, biking, paddleboarding, or skiing.

Sarah Briley, MPH, CHES®

As the Program Manager of Clinical Quality Improvement at CPCQC, Sarah is responsible for leading the implementation of evidence-based practices to improve the quality of care for pregnant and postpartum individuals and their infants. She has a strong background in maternal health, having previously worked at the Indiana State Department of Health as the Maternal Health Administrator overseeing Title V funded perinatal programs.

Sarah’s significant career highlights include leading the implementation of Eat, Sleep, Console to better care for pregnant and postpartum people and their infants at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, IN, and bringing the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) to Indiana and recruiting 90% of delivering hospitals to implement patient safety bundles.

In addition to her professional achievements, Sarah is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and a member of the Society for Public Health Educators (SOPHE). In her free time, she enjoys adventuring with her dog Ruby June, practicing yoga, and hot air ballooning.

Casey Canright

Casey Canright brings extensive experience managing all stages of pre- and post-award grants across federal, state, local, and philanthropic funding sources to CPCQC. Specializing in grant reporting, objective management, and the timely drawdown of grant expenses, Casey ensures funding processes are efficient and impactful.

Throughout her career, Casey has supported nonprofits by managing a full scope of development work, including bequests, planned giving, community engagement, and donations. She has developed and implemented policies and procedures for managing community contributions and grant management, created a comprehensive development handbook, and produced annual reports to strengthen organizational transparency and engagement.

Casey’s work is driven by a commitment to streamline granting efforts, reflect the needs of the community served, and ensure clear, accessible communication at every stage of the process.

She holds a Master’s degree in Nonfiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and a Bachelor’s degree in Writing from The Evergreen State College. Outside of work, she enjoys writing, reading, cooking, and practicing yoga.

Sydney Comstock, MPH

Sydney works closely with Colorado hospitals that are a part of our clinical quality improvement programming, including SOAR, CO AIM: SUD, and MOMs+, to assist in implementing evidence-based initiatives to enhance the lives of people in this state.

Sydney’s interest in pregnancy, postpartum, and perinatal health began with her research in college on the intersection between culture and birth. After working in the vaccination rollout and AmeriCorps, she earned a Master of Public Health from the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health with a certificate in Maternal and Child Health. 

Working at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia provided Sydney with experience in care coordination, in-hospital research, and supporting individuals in labor through her volunteer work. She supported the Georgia Doula Project, wrote her thesis on doula experiences in rural Georgia, and worked on the Minding the Gap, a maternal health study at Grady Memorial Hospital. Before working at Grady Hospital, she worked at a local homeless shelter where she met a woman who had never received prenatal care because she was afraid the hospital would take away her child. This account inspired Sydney to action to ensure that no one is afraid to seek the care they deserve in order to live a happy, safe, and healthy life.  

Sydney holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University and a Master’s in Public Health from Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
Beyond her passion for patient-centered care, Sydney enjoys cycling, tending to her plants, baking for friends and family, and reading.

Ashlie Gates, BSN, RNC-MNN

With over 13 years of dedicated experience in nursing, Ashlie has built a robust career focused on the perinatal population, whom she has supported through a variety of roles within the hospital, including administration, leadership, and bedside nursing.

As a Postpartum RN, Ashlie has cultivated a passion for education, guiding patients through the complexities of their perinatal experiences. Her empathetic approach and deep understanding of this unique journey empowers her to provide exceptional support and care to new families.

Ashlie is an advocate for continuous improvement in healthcare settings. She has successfully implemented process enhancements across various units, prioritizing patient care, nurse satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Her dedication to fostering a positive environment contributes to the overall well-being of both patients and staff.

Ashlie earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Colorado State University before pursuing her Bachelor’s in Nursing from the Denver College of Nursing, where she graduated magna cum laude.

In her free time, Ashlie co-leads a school based community garden and enjoys spending time with her husband and two kids.

Kylie Hibshman, LCSW, PMH-C

Kylie Hibshman, LCSW, is a clinician specializing in perinatal, infant, and early childhood mental health. As Director of Integrated Behavioral Health at CPCQC, she strengthens and integrates perinatal behavioral health systems across rural Colorado. With nearly a decade of experience supporting families in community-based settings, Kylie has worked alongside survivors of human trafficking, families navigating deportation, birthing people experiencing substance use disorders, and caregiver–infant dyads.

She serves on the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Council of Colorado and leads CPCQC’s perinatal suicide response initiatives. Kylie earned her Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University and her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, with a concentration in Latin American Politics, from The College of William and Mary. She is deeply committed to intersectional, trauma-informed, and equity-driven approaches to care.

Kylie lives with her husband, infant, and Labrador Retriever in a small mountain town in rural Colorado. In her spare time, she enjoys backcountry skiing, trail running, river surfing, mountain gardening, and throwing pottery.

Amber Johnson, DNP, CNM, FACNM, CPHQ

Amber is the Director of Quality Improvement at the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC), where she leads statewide implementation of AIM Patient Safety Bundles to improve maternal and newborn outcomes. In this role, she partners with hospitals, clinicians, and stakeholders across Colorado to advance evidence-based, data-driven quality improvement in perinatal care.

Amber is a Certified Nurse Midwife committed to the midwifery model of care and to delivering compassionate, equitable reproductive health services. She currently provides clinical midwifery care at an urban safety-net hospital, serving diverse populations and centering family- and community-informed care.

She earned a Master of Science in Nursing from Frontier Nursing University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duke University. Her doctoral work focused on integrating mental health into perinatal care through universal screening and co-located services. Amber previously served as a global clinical education fellow with Massachusetts General Hospital, where she contributed to the launch of Northern Uganda’s first graduate-level midwifery program.

Amber serves on Colorado’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee and the Colorado Maternal Health Task Force, contributing clinical and quality improvement expertise to statewide maternal health policy and prevention efforts. She also serves on the board of her local public health department, where she champions community-driven strategies to address social determinants of health and advance health equity.

Tyler Jones

Tyler serves as the Senior Manager of Communications and Community Engagement for the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC), where she spearheads strategic communications, public relations, and community engagement initiatives across the state. In this capacity, she is responsible for leading both internal and external communication strategies, including the development of impactful newsletters, comprehensive social media strategies, and the crucial enhancement of the organization’s online presence through optimized web content.

Tyler brings a robust background in public health communication and community leadership. Her professional experience is distinguished by her proficiency in designing and implementing strategic communications and crisis management plans to ensure clear, consistent messaging across diverse platforms. Prior to her current role, Tyler held impactful positions at the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment, where she leveraged her expertise as a Social Media Manager and Communications and Technology Specialist. She was instrumental in developing communication strategies that promoted public health initiatives and, notably, championed a language access plan for equitable healthcare, a testament to her dedication to health literacy.

Tyler earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Northern Colorado. During her collegiate career, she demonstrated strong leadership and teamwork as an NCAA cheerleader and cultivated her organizational skills as the Publicity Coordinator for the United Black Government.

Beyond her professional achievements, Tyler is deeply committed to service and intellectual pursuits. Her personal interests include traveling, spending time outdoors, writing, and community service. She is also a dedicated wife and mom of two, a role that further informs her empathetic and multifaceted approach to community engagement and communication.

Kari Ricard, MBA

Kari Ricard is a dedicated leader in Population Health Management and Health Equity, with a specialized focus on improving health outcomes for marginalized communities. A passionate advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), Kari leads initiatives that foster inclusive healthcare practices. She champions the need for culturally competent care, works to reduce stigma, and promotes policies sensitive to the diverse identities within the communities that make up Colorado.

Her commitment to equity extends to her role as a founding board member of San Luis Valley Pride, where she promotes visibility, support, and equality for marginalized populations.

Kari holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration and a Bachelor’s in Science, along with certifications in Lean Six Sigma and Project Management from Colorado State University.

Outside of work, Kari is a travel enthusiast, constantly exploring new destinations to broaden her perspective. She is also a passionate Dungeon Master, crafting immersive tabletop role-playing adventures for others to enjoy.

Lauren Smith

As the Integrated Care Program Manager for CPCQC, Lauren is responsible for leading the implementation of the IMPACT BH program and supporting the integration of community voice within the organization’s maternal and infant initiatives. 

Lauren’s work in reproductive healthcare began when she was a grassroots organizer – engaging with community members across Colorado to increase access to comprehensive, culturally congruent care, including family planning services. Her passion for perinatal health grew as she partnered with birthworkers and the communities they serve to develop and implement community-led, evidence-based solutions that advance safe, affirming, and joyful birthing experiences for all. Her approach to this work is intersectional and expansive, with a deep commitment to centering the expertise of people most impacted by maternal health disparities. 

Lauren grew up in Colorado and holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Metropolitan State University of Denver. When not at work, you can find her running along the Platte River, singing with her local choir, and exploring national parks with her partner.

Sonia Subudhi Warwick, MD, MPH

Sonia Subudhi Warwick helps guide CPCQC’s infant-focused work. As the Infant Initiative Manager and Quality Improvement Lead, she leads NEST (Newborn Evidence-based Sleep Teaching), a statewide hospital-based program launching in 2026 that aims to make safe sleep education and support a routine part of newborn care while recognizing the diverse environments and experiences of Colorado families.

Drawing on her background in clinical care and public health, Sonia works to strengthen the systems that shape newborn care. She’s guided by her belief that every child deserves the chance for a healthy life from the very start. Before joining CPCQC, Sonia most recently led a perinatal nutrition initiative with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health focused on improving maternal mental health and birth outcomes by expanding access to healthy foods through community partnerships. She has also cared for infants and children as a pediatrician in both emergency and primary care settings and contributed to research examining how culture and technology can influence infant care decisions in the postpartum period.

Sonia earned her undergraduate degree in Community Health from Brown University and her medical degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School. She completed her pediatric residency at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland through the UCSF PLUS program focused on health equity and community engagement, followed by a Master of Public Health from UC Berkeley.

Outside of work, Sonia enjoys cooking, yoga, and pottery.