IDDEAS Advisory Council

The next meeting of the IDDEAS Advisory Council is 1-3 p.m. Mountain Time on October 29, 2024.

Meetings are open to the public and take place virtually on Zoom. To register, please click on the link below:

Register: IDDEAS Advisory Council Meeting

Note: due to disruptions and technical issues, no recording for this meeting is available.

Brian Be’s philosophy is written right into his name: “Simple, ‘Be’ yourself, quirks and all.” Brian identifies as an Autistic artist, advocate, and public presenter / facilitator. He is a caregiver and has a family member with I/DD. He is the first Self-Advocacy Coordinator for JFK Partners at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He is also a Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disability (LEND) alumni, with a focus on interdisciplinary healthcare leadership training.

Brian works to strengthen community wellness through outreach and engagement. He uses edutainment, showcasing people with and without disability. As a Poetry for Personal Power (P3) Artist/Advocate and Project Manager, Brian uses art to show that “distress can be temporary, and that adversity can be transformative.” He is also a proud co-developer of the P3 Wellness & Resiliency Story Circle model, as one of many community wellness tools to boost shared risk and protective factors.

“Much of my life’s work fosters empowerment and interdependence including with marginalized & diverse populations,” he says.

Lindsay Westmiller holds a master's in social work and has diverse experience in human services, mental health, and non-profit work. Not only does she have a background in crisis intervention, case management, advocacy, and resource coordination, but in her spare time Lindsay volunteers as a ski instructor with the National Sports Center for the Disabled. She hopes to spend her time with the advisory council  collaborating in the process of creating new supports, identifying needs and possible solutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Beth Bevilacqua is a certified nursing assistant and provides care for her young son with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Beth considers herself a research and resource fanatic, and she is passionate about connecting people with what they need. She understands firsthand how difficult it can be to navigate systems of service to get supports in place for a loved one. In fall 2019, Beth attended a Denver Human Services advisory council housing forum and it motivated her to find other ways she could engage to improve services in the Denver community. 

Kaley Day (she, her, hers) is an advocate for adults with AdvocacyDenver and has hosted trainings and webinars addressing I/DD and sexuality in recent years. Kaley has an older brother with disabilities and has grown up in the advocacy community. She graduated from the University of Denver where she majored in strategic communication with an emphasis in nonprofit organizations. Kaley is motivated to encourage projects that not only address essential needs, but also innovative or less-explored areas of service and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Michelle Dumay (she, her) is an employee at AMI Wellness, a home health care service in Denver. Michelle’s work and life experience has opened her eyes to what people in marginalized communities need. It has also helped develop a passion for “raising the voices of marginalized folks in places in which I am,” she said.

As someone who has lived in Denver for just about one year, Michelle sees her participation on the IDDEAS advisory council as an opportunity to give back to her new community. “I am most excited about being a part of the cacophony of divergent Denver voices,” she said. She enjoys traveling, and hopes to visit “the Grand Canyon of the Pacific” (in Hawai’i) in Summer 2023.

In addition to serving as a voting member on the IDDEAS Advisory Council, Michelle was elected by her fellow IAC members to serve on the Rocky Mountain Human Services Community Advisory Council for their mill levy funds for 2022.

Stefanie Gross (she, her) joins the IDDEAS advisory council as an experienced educator. She is an advocate and the founder of Move Through Yoga, a nonprofit organization that works to close the gaps in health and wellness education for students with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. She has worked as an innovator in several spaces, including as a curriculum designer and as a health and wellness programmer. As a college and career counselor, Stefanie has worked closely with students who have diverse academic backgrounds in the public-school setting.

Whether it’s in an academic setting or as a yoga teacher, Stefanie is committed to making learning spaces more inclusive for people with I/DD. Stefanie started Move Through Yoga (a 501C3) as a solution to what she saw as “huge gaps in physical education programming available to students from different athletic backgrounds.”

In joining the IDDEAS advisory council, Stefanie is excited to help build a healthier community, while ensuring all people with I/DD – as well as those who care for them – has a platform to share what they want and need. “I believe that everyone deserves to have equal access to health and wellbeing programming,” she said. “I want to ensure that the voices of the community, especially in schools, including administrators, parents, students, and teachers, are heard and shared with the Board.”

Chris has always considered himself a teacher and a poet. Though he does not speak, he uses a variety of keyboards to type his thoughts. It is his greatest desire to use his words and unique voice to create positive change and make an impact on our world.

Chris graduated from PS1 Charter School in Denver in June 2005. His senior project involved silk-screening his “sayings” on t-shirts, and with the success the sale of these shirts brought, he became the first self-employed person with a disability to be funded by the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Chris continues to sell his shirts at a variety of conferences and local arts festivals, and on his website.

Chris was a member of Watch our Words (WOW), and with a number or colleagues, is involved in developing best practices and training people in supported typing throughout metro Denver.

In addition, Chris has made presentations to a number of groups including State Wide Assistive Technology, Augmentative & Alternative Communication (SWAAAC), Peak Inclusion Conference, and Sewall Child Development Center.

Kizzly Blue (she, her, hers) brings more than 10 years of experience working with a diverse population, including in the juvenile courts system. Kizzly is a non-voting Rocky Mountain Human Services delegate, bringing a wealth of experience navigating the I/DD determination and enrollment process. Previously, Kizzly worked as a crisis specialist. She provided trauma-informed care and consultations for those in crisis, as for children and adults with complex needs.

Kizzly cares deeply about equity, and is committed to increasing and improving access to community-based services. “I look forward to sharing my knowledge of the intake process and other insights to help inform services and initiatives that can make a difference in the lives of those we serve.”

Kizzly is a Denver native, but Denver hasn’t always been home. At one point, she lived in Anchorage, Alaska. “I love to travel and explore new places and cuisines while experiencing different cultures."