Meet the staff

Our Staff

Carmen Hubbs has been the Executive Director of Rise Above Violence since 1998. After receiving her degree in Psychology and Family Studies, she worked with at-risk youth. Time and time again, these troubled teens were victims of abuse. Violence was a theme in their lives. This ignited Carmen's passion for ending family and interpersonal violence. Carmen's other passions - family and FUN!

Ashley Wilson, MPH, our outreach and evaluation coordinator. The only one in our staff who loves numbers, works to manage all the statistical and grant data needed so we can get the money to do all our great work. You'll also see her coordinating our many fundraising events throughout the year. Ashley grew up in Pagosa and is excited to be back raising her two girls here. She graduated in 2016 with her masters in Public Health from the University of California Berkley.

Advocacy Staff

Claudia Lopez is our Director of Advocacy. She manages our advocacy services and works directly with clients. Claudia is a native to Colorado, born and raised in the metropolitan area. After completing her Criminal Justice and Criminology degree she focused on work with youth. She brings lots of experience with working with at-risk youth in residential settings as well as work in pretrial and probation for many years. Her passion is to help others in many forms, whether being a mentor for youth, a support system for offenders to get them on the right road or working with survivors to help them feel whole again. In her off time she loves to do things outdoors and enjoying her family.

Claudia is fluent in Spanish and is able to provide services to Spanish Speaking Clients

Nancy Fryer serves Rise as a Court Advocate, and when not in court, Nancy actively works on state legislation to improve our court systems and laws in favor of victims rights and needs. Nancy enjoys the small town atmosphere in Pagosa and has lived here for over two decades. Nancy supports victims through the difficult and confusing court processes. Oh, and she LOVES cats!

Laura Davis is our Legal Program Advocate. A former teacher, Laura
has spent Summers in Pagosa Springs for 18 years, and made the move to full time Pagosan in 2020. She started as a volunteer advocate with Rise, and then moved into a staff position when the opportunity arose. The transition from volunteer to advocate gives her the ability to help clients move beyond their
crisis and continue their journey to healing and living a fulfilling life. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling, hiking, biking, and spending time in the beautiful San Juan Mountains.

Kristen Bair is our Housing Advocate. Raised an Army Brat that moved all over the country, she found her forever home in Pagosa Springs, 4 years ago. A former Memory Care and Life Enrichment Director; she brings her love of people to Rise, where she started out as a volunteer until she was recruited onto the team. Now she works hard to help Survivors obtain or maintain Housing; and more importantly: Independence and Empowerment! In her free time Kristen likes to spend time with her family and enjoy outdoor activities in beautiful SW Colorado.

Jennifer Sutherland is our Volunteer Coordinator. Jennifer was born and raised in CO. Her strong will and dedication to helping others brought her to RISE initially as a volunteer and now as an advocate and to coordinate our volunteers. She has a passion for the outdoors and enjoys it with her two children. Hunting, fishing, hiking and camping has taught her and her family patience, discipline, ethics, appreciation, confidence, perseverance and hard work.

Youth Program Advocates

John Finefrock is our Youth Advocate Supervisor. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education from Prescott College in 2011 and has been an elementary, middle school and high school teacher in both traditional and Expeditionary Learning settings. In 2018 he and his dog Pablo completed the entirety of the 486-mile Colorado Trail.

Marissa Talamante is a Youth Advocate. She was born and raised 30 miles south of Pagosa. She has coached middle school girls in Volleyball and has a passion for youth since they are the future of everything. Rise helps fuel her passion for helping people. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, fishing, hunting, gardening, and kayaking.