Our Team
Recovery Movement
All of us have been part of the recovery movement for over 150 years combined.
AWF confronts barriers to recovery by providing free access to all vulnerable individuals for solutions to improve physical and mental health, and support and educate all people seeking recovery from substance and mild to moderate mental health disorders.
Keith Cox – Board of Directors, Chairman | Certified Recovery Coach
Keith is the owner of Longmont Insurance Brokers. He was born and raised in Boulder County. He has strong ties to the Longmont community and through his service wants to give back to the people of Longmont. He has experienced the impact of addiction in his own family, and thus brings pertinent personal experience to fulfill our mission. He has proven himself to be a businessman of good character, fully aware of his fiduciary responsibilities and honest reputation in the Longmont community.
Larry Rand – Board of Directors, Secretary | Certified Recovery Coach
Larry has been involved on the board level with four different nonprofits in Longmont, three of which specifically addressed addiction and alcoholism, including The Addiction Treatment Center. He is also the parent of a child with this affliction. Larry had been in active in ongoing recovery from alcohol and drug addiction for 15 years when his 17-year-old son, Levi, was killed in a single car accident on the Longmont-Boulder Diagonal in 2004. The accident was related to alcohol and drug use and abuse. It was only in the aftermath of this tragic event, that Larry realized that those of us closest to the problem are hopelessly ineffective at finding solutions for the family on their own. Since the accident, Larry has been intent on creating a memorial to his son’s memory by helping others find recovery. He brings these experiences and knowledge to ‘A Way Forward’. Finally, Larry is a combat veteran of the Vietnam War. Larry has been involved in the recovery movement and veterans’ outreach for the past 32 years. He was a founding member of Veterans Helping Veterans NOW.
Edward “Sonny” Smith – Board of Directors, Diversity Officer
As an African-American, Sonny brings his unique perspective as having grown up during the Civil Rights Era. Sonny was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Japan, North Carolina, Colorado, and New York. Sonny is a Vietnam era Air Force veteran. He left the Air Force 1973 and became one of the very first stewards for United Airlines. In 1980, he moved to Boulder to study at the University of Colorado. Sonny then worked until 1987 managing a hedge fund. In 1989, he moved to Australia where he worked for the Commonwealth Bank. During this time, Sonny decided to pursue his passion in Art and Art history. While working at the Bank, he enrolled at the University of New South Whales to study painting and art history. In 1993, he returned to Boulder and in 1995, Sonny opened an art studio in Boulder, while lecturing and teaching studio painting at CU. In 2010 he moved to Lyons where he facilitates a children’s art program, as well as other programs. Since 2015, he has served on the Board of the Lyons Arts and Humanities Commission.
Claudia Archuleta – Board of Directors, Diversity Officer
Kim Jandro – Board of Directors, Treasurer
Debbie Platts – Executive Director, MBA | Certified Recovery Coach
Debbie was born and raised in Boulder. Most of her career was in Banking and Financial Consulting. She speaks fluent German and Russian. She worked for the Deutsche Bank in Chemnitz Germany, shortly after the reunification of East and West Germany, as a credit analyst and later managed the credit department of a subsidiary of the Deutsche Bank in Warsaw, Poland. She worked on two different USAID projects; one in Ukraine and one in Kazakhstan advising the governments of those countries on privatization methods of large enterprises and establishing financial markets. In Moscow, she worked for the World Bank managing a $94M line of credit to the Russian Federation. Eventually, she moved back to Colorado to be near her family and care for her elderly parents. Most recently, she worked for the SVVSD School District at a Longmont middle school as a paraeducator. Here, she was able to witness firsthand many families who suffered the impact of substance use disorders in their own families or close circle of friends. This experience helped fuel her passion to give back to our community and be of service. Debbie is a single mother of a teenage son. She has been active with her son’s Boy Scout troop, holding various leadership positions throughout his journey which began when he was 6 years old. She is also a breast cancer survivor.
Richard Booth – Graphic Designer | Administrative Assistant | Certified Recovery Coach
Richard grew up in California in a poor household. Never getting along well in school, Richard eventually flunked out of the public school system and joined an alternative learning program where he earned all his high school credits in 2.5 years. Born an artist and a musician, Richard spent all of his young years creating and eventually started teaching himself graphic design.
Having always felt a little different from the crowd, struggling with self-esteem, a neglectful home life, bullying, obesity and poverty, Richard found himself retreating into the numbness of drugs and alcohol at the age of fourteen. Richard battled his various addictions for 25 years and on his path to recovery has spoken to many different groups about his story, including various Alcoholics Anonymous clubs and Barrios Unidos Santa Cruz.
Richard has a passion for helping and applies this to his daily responsibilities at A Way Forward, always striving to do better and give back what was so freely given to him on his journey to recovery.
Alejandro Rodriguez – Bilingual Outreach Specialist
Alejandro is originally from Mexico City. He has resided in Longmont since 2016. He is a first-generation graduate and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the university of North Texas. Alejandro is passionate about working with monolingual Spanish speakers, underserved communities of color, and LGBTQ+ communities. Through his work he aims to address stigma and normalized conversations about mental health. During his free time, he likes to play Mario Kart, go hiking and spend time with friends.
Mike Adams – Volunteer / Facilitator
Mike is one of five siblings who grew up in Longmont. An avid athlete from a young age, Mike was involved in baseball, basketball, football and golf in high school. After graduating from Niwot High School, he attended the University of Northern Colorado, graduating with his bachelor’s in Elementary Education. Mike worked for ten years as an elementary teacher and high school baseball coach in the Adams 50 district. During summer breaks, he taught Outdoor Education and passed the love of the outdoors to children in Waterton Canyon. He completed his asters in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education from Regis Imiversity in December 2018. Mike’s struggles with alcohol have led him to A Way Forward, where he continues to work on his own sobriety daily and is excited to volunteer with A Way Forward.
Jamie Davis – Volunteer
Jamie is a Longmont native, a Navy Veteran and a longtime member of the Longmont recovery community. He and his wife are the proud parents of a beautiful daughter and two grandchildren. Jamie feels at home volunteering across the street from the house he grew up in as one of 7 children. Jamie especially cherishes the memory of living with his mother. His mother was a big part of his life. She adored her children and grandchildren. Jamie has the lived experience of growing up as a Hispanic during a difficult time in Longmont. Jamie also brings his personal lived experience with mental health disorders to smash the stigma around these conditions and connect with people seeking peer support. Finally, Jamie has experienced PTSD since being the victim of a serious car accident 10 years ago. Jamie has overcome many challenges in his life and now shares his experience, strength and hope with others seeking recovery at A Way Forward.
Steve Esenwein – Volunteer, Certified Recovery Coach
Steve has lived in the Longmont area since 1978. He entered treatment for addiction to alcohol in 1983 and has been sober since then. Most recently, Steve worked as a Peer Support Specialist for Mental Health Partners. Steve received extensive training from Mental Health Partners. One program he particularly liked was “Advocates for Recovery. Aligned with the guidelines of peer support workers, Advocates for Recovery encourages people to build their own recovery paths, which follows their own spiritual beliefs and goes at their own pace. Steve has been active in sponsorship and service positions in the Longmont Recovery Community since 1983. For many years Steve has been involved with many recovery groups besides AA, such as LifeRing, Dharma Recovery and Red Road. This has given him in depth experience in a wide variety of approaches to recovery. Steve’s life philosophy is to be helpful to people looking for help: “It helps me to be helpful. I believe recovery is a two-way street between peers and peer support.” Steve is very well read in a variety of philosophies and spiritual teachings as well as recovery approaches.
Joan Foster-Volunteer, Certified Recovery Coach
Joan was born in Evanston Illinois and grew up the youngest in a family of 4. She attended the University of Dayton and graduated with a degree in Communications Management. After fulfilling career in Medical Device sales she began her dream of being a mom to two daughters. After a variety of corporate moves around the country, Joan, her husband and daughters settled in Longmont. Joan has always had a love of children and volunteered and mentored many years in the SVVSD and Kids Hope, to be involved with her children and the community. Joan has witnessed how devastating addiction can be in a family and friends and is committed to sharing her experience with the Boulder community.
Kay Huskins – Volunteer, Certified Recovery Coach
Kay has been a passionate member of the Longmont Recovery Community for over two decades. Kay is a professional stylist and has owned and managed several salons in the St. Vrain Valley. As a single mother, she has raised two beautiful daughters and also enjoys three granddaughters. She has been a devoted mother accompanying her eldest daughter, a nurse, on her brave, arduous battle with breast cancer. Kay is able to turn her lived experiences of adversity into compassion for others. Graciously she shares her experience, strength, and hope with all who come to A Way Forward.
Cameron Stevens – Volunteer, ICF Certified Life Coach and Certified Recovery Coach
Cameron Stevens is a Colorado native, born and raised in Longmont. She is a recent graduate of Metropolitan State University of Denver with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development & Family Studies with a minor in Psychology. In addition, she is also a ICF certified life coach and recovery coach. Her true passion is rooted in helping others build a strong and sustainable internal support system. Developing tools that create self-worth, resilience, intention, purpose, and emotional regulation is the foundation for setting and achieving desired goals.
Aletta Martinez – Bilingual Specialist
Aletta Martinez grew up in Longmont in a traditional Hispanic household. Having grown up on “the wrong side of the tracks.” Aletta experienced much racism in her early days. Aletta is the mother of 3 children, one of whom has struggled with substance use. Aletta has the lived experience of a mother trying to help her son get healthy. She has also experienced homelessness. Most recently, Aletta worked for the St. Vrain Valley School District and for the City of Longmont. Prior to that, she worked for 19 years as a Court Clerk for the 20th Judicial District.
Michael Rodgers – Volunteer, LSW, CAS
Michael is one of the co-founders of A Way Forward. He is currently employed as a crisis assessment specialist at Longmont United Hospital working with individuals and families dealing with mental health and substance use concerns. Michael’s previous positions include crisis clinician at Mental Health Partners Boulder, CO, peer mentor at the Veterans Treatment Court in Brighton CO, and case manager for Salvation Army Denver Street outreach and homeless shelter. Additionally, Michael has personal experience in the mental health and substance use fields. Finally, Michael has been involved in Veterans outreach programs since 2010 and is a U.S. Army Afghanistan combat veteran.
Ted Murphy – Volunteer
This is Ted, a Colorado native and a Veteran. Ted helped work on the construction of the addition to the original house in 2007. He took quite a liking to the yellow house on the corner and has lovingly cared for the garden for over a decade. Another passion of Ted’s are the two aquariums at A Way Forward. If you would like to know about the proper temperature and pH of the water for various breeds of fish, Ted is your guy. He is always ready to help around the house and give people who walk in a warm, helpful greeting. In his spare time, you will find Ted pursuing his passion working on advanced math problems and following along with Khan Academy (yes, he does it for fun).
Mark Wade – Volunteer, Certified Recovery Coach
Mark was born and raised in Framingham Massachusetts and graduated from Marian Catholic in 1980. Mark served as an Armored Reconnaissance Specialist in the U.S. Army from 1982-88, achieving the rank of Sergeant. Honorably Discharged after serving in Germany, Canada, Kentucky and New York, Mark entered the Veteran’s Educational Development Program at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and earned his B.A. in 1996. Mark worked as an Industrial Radiologist but has spent most of his career as a Technical Sales Representative in the Redi-Mix Concrete Industry, living in Florida and Colorado. He proudly participates in the community recovery movement.
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