Ashley Giesing
Site Specialist
Sixth Ave & Elkhart
Ashley Giesing will be starting this school year with Playworks as a Site Specialist. She has been working with kids of all ages for over ten years, and was most recently a preschool teacher. She is a Colorado native and currently lives in Aurora with her husband and two big dogs. They love to be outside doing everything they can to enjoy their beautiful state. She has heard wonderful things about Playworks and is excited to jump in and play!
Arielle Swallow
AmeriCorps Member
TBD
This school year, Arielle is thrilled to assume the role of a Playworks Coach. Her background includes extensive experience working with children in classroom settings; having dedicated the past 8 years to teaching music to students of all ages. Now, she’s eager to return to the rewarding work of working with kids. During her free time, you’ll find Arielle crafting, writing music, and spending quality time with her pets.
Berto Dryden
Site Specialist
Sable & Park Lane
Berto is a Site Specialist for Playworks Colorado. Originally from New York, Berto grew up and attended college in Georgia. While in school, he came to Colorado during the summers to work at a summer camp called Dream Big Day Camp. He officially moved to colorful Colorado in 2019 working in Aurora Public Schools. Outside of work, Berto coaches basketball, enjoys road trips, and loves live music. Berto is excited to be joining the Playworks team and is ready to get to know everyone in the community!
Brandon Lucero
Site Specialist
Laredo & Altura
Brandon is joining Playworks as an on-site coach and is super excited to get back to working with students. He has worked a variety of different programs such as the City of Commerce City’s Youth and Teen Services as a Youth/Teen Specialist and a Program Lead with Discovery Link at DPS. Whether working with younger students or older, he always enjoyed the “keep you on your toes” nature of working with them. He has a variety of interests that keep him busy. He loves to collect and read comic books as well as play video games with friends. To keep active he loves to swim, sometimes too much, as well as play basketball and softball with his friends.
Chloe Herman
Site Specialist
TBD
Chloe Herman just graduated from Midland University. She is very excited to be a part of Playworks. This year she is looking forward to working with children and gaining experience. Her hobbies include sports and being active (bowled in college), playing card games, and arts and crafts.
Davis Leibee
Site Specialist
Yale & Iowa
Davis recently graduated from Texas State University with a Bachelor’s degree in General Studies. He moved to Colorado to pursue his passion of helping kids. He is most excited about teaching the kids sports and making a positive impact!
Donovan Thomalla
AmeriCorps Member
TBD
Donovan is excited for his first year working with Playworks, starting in August of 2023. Donovan has had previous experience working with youth within their communities, as he had worked at a youth crisis center for a couple of years while living in Wyoming. Donovan has always felt a calling to help his community in some way and tries to make a positive contribution to his community through work and direct action. Donovan is excited to work with Playworks and some of the youth in Denver because he feels like it is a great contribution that he can make to his community. When Donovan is not at work you can generally find him trying to find some outreach work he can participate in as well as cuddling on the couch with his two very sweet cats and his wife.
Jack Mervin
Site Specialist
Clyde Miller & Lansing
Jack has been a personal trainer and weightlifting coach for 5 years and coached a youth weightlifting program. He has worked with a youth weightlifting camp over the summer and loves skateboarding, snowboarding, climbing and anything outdoors! He is also a musician in his free time!
Jacob Borer
Site Specialist
Fulton & Vista Peak
Jake graduated from the University of Denver in 2019 with a degree in History. For 3 years, he worked with the Colorado Avalanche in their Amateur Hockey program. Jake has always loved working to promote active lifestyles and he’s excited to work for Playworks! In his free time, he enjoys cheering for all the Colorado sports teams, as well as exploring the great outdoors.
Jadyn Michael
Site Specialist
Village East & Arrowhead
Jadyn is a Site Specialist this school year and is from Denver, Colorado. He played basketball at Colorado State University and Colorado Christian University. He recently worked at the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver for about 2 years. He loves movies, music, art, and obviously basketball!
Jake Seymour
Site Specialist
TBD
Jake has been a lifelong advocate for self-driven growth. His passions and hobbies have taught him much about himself over the years. Now, Jake is thrilled to be making his work about play!
Jaylynn Johnson
Site Specialist
Sagebrush & Montview
Jaylynn Johnson is a Site Specialist for the 2022/2023 school year. She coaches Varsity Volleyball for Vista Peak Preparatory, has worked with children at the YMCA as an assistant director, and has experience with children in childcare services. Her favorite hobbies include cooking, reading, and watching football or true crime. Jaylynn is an upbeat, optimistic individual ready for anything that comes her way.
Kenny Kriegel
Site Specialist
TBD
Kenny is a Playworks Coach. He recently graduated from UNI with a degree in Public Health: Wellness and Fitness. He has a passion for mental and physical health. He is excited to see the growth of the kids he works with and positively influence their development.
Kylie Gregg
Program Specialist
Colfax & Soar
Kylie earned her bachelor’s degree in strategic communication from Wichita State University in 2020. Go shox! Throughout her collegiate experience, she had the opportunity to work/volunteer for several nonprofit organizations, including The Pando Initiative, Envision, Inc., Girl Scouts, and Downtown Wichita. These opportunities sparked her passion for student-focused nonprofit work. Kylie recently moved to Colorado from Kansas to work as a Site Coordinator for Playworks Colorado. Prior to joining the team at Playworks, she traveled around the country as a Collegiate Development Consultant for her sorority – Delta Gamma. In her free time, Kylie loves to travel, spend time with friends and family, and attend live music shows.
Leo Pravin
Site Specialist
Dartmouth & Jewell
Leo is excited to start his journey at Playworks because he is passionate about bringing a positive outreach to the youth!
Nate Hesser
Site Specialist
Quest & Mosley
Nate Hesser is a native of Colorado. He has a little family of 3 with his wife Sarah and 1 year old baby boy Spencer. Nate loves to coach, teach, and grow the minds of the students he works with. He is so happy to be a part of the Playworks team and to show the Playworks way to schools and students in Colorado.
Sarah Sommers
Site Specialist
Vassar & Dalton
Sarah started with Playworks Colorado as a Site Specialist in November 2021. She is originally from Illinois where she was born and raised. Sarah received her Bachelor’s in Social Psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and is currently working towards her Masters in Public Administration at the University of Colorado Denver. In her free time, Sarah enjoys being active, spending time outdoors, connecting with family and friends, and playing with her cat, Leroy.
Sydney Naughton
Site Specialist
TBD
Sydney is a Playworks Coach for the upcoming school year. Previously, she had the opportunity to be an environmental educator at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary for students from elementary to high school! In her free time, she enjoys paddle boarding and hiking with her dog.
Tessa Waite
Site Specialist
Murphy Creek & Side Creek
Tessa joined Playworks in November of 2021, shortly after she relocated to Denver from Minneapolis where she was born, raised, and got her BA. In addition to coaching at Playworks, Tessa is a musician and can be found gigging around the Denver metro area, singing and accompanying herself on her guitar. When she’s not playing games or making music, she likes running, hiking, bouldering, cross-country skiing, and sitting around watching tv.
Tyler Lenox
Site Coordinator
Independence, High Plains, College View & Bishop
Tyler graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelors in Physical Education in 2015. He then started coaching local high school and elementary teams while substitute teaching. After moving to Colorado in 2017, Tyler soon found Playworks and began the first of his two years as a Program Coordinator in the fall of 2018. He is now starting his fifth year with Playworks in the role of Site Coordinator. Tyler’s favorite part of working with Playworks is the optimistic and playful culture that permeates through to every level of the company, and especially to the students!
Wyatt Forkner
AmeriCorps Member
TBD
Wyatt is an AmeriCorps Coach serving his first year and loves to talk about books (Brandon Sanderson) and music (Pinegrove, Phoebe Bridgers). This is also his first year living in Colorado and hails from Texas with a dream of tiny home communities.
Yoselyne Adame
AmeriCorps Member
TBD
Yoselyne is excited for new experiences, new people, new environment and new ways of learning. She is also excited for the many opportunities and ideas that will come along the way when working with Playworks.