About Us
Staff
Carlton Mason
Chief Executive Officer
Carlton Mason joined CASA January of 2013 and brings 26 years of experience in successful small business development. The businesses have been both retail and service-related ventures serving clients in an economic range from near poverty to the wealthiest 1%. During these years Carlton spent a significant amount of time organizing volunteer groups to address needs in under-served areas of Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico. Carlton has demonstrated an ability to mitigate organizational threats and identify opportunities for growth and sustainability.
Karin Slater
Chief Financial Officer
Karin joined CASA February 2017. She has over 40 years’ experience as an accountant including over 20 years’ experience as operations manager. Karin has a BS in Accounting, and a Master’s in Business Administration. She has experience working with governmental and private grants, budget management, audit oversight, financial statement preparation and analysis and all accounting duties.
Dr. Aixa Powell
Chief Research Officer
Dr. Aixa Powell joined CASA in the fall of 2019. Dr. Powell is a clinical psychologist from Puerto Rico specializing in in higher education. She has been a senior consultant in organizational development for over 25 years.
Dr. Powell holds a BA in Psychology, a Masters in Clinical Psychology, a PhD in Private International Law, and a PhD in Education. Her areas of expertise are child protection services. As CASA’s Chief Research Officer, she believes that both knowledge and work are honorable and can improve self and others. She encourages and supports organizational change efforts, development of high-performance teams, and the pursuit of personal empowerment of both women and men with social commitments.
As an instructor for our parenting programs (in both Spanish and English) Dr. Powell teaches parents the basics of child development, appropriate, non-aggressive discipline, managing and correcting misbehavior, and recognizing strengths and weaknesses, allowing parents to utilize these tools when parenting and to have realistic and appropriate expectations of their children.
Mercedes Wright
Grants & Compliance Officer
Bio coming soon
Kat Korndoerfer
Mental Health Director
Bio coming soon
Alison Huskie
CASA Program Manager
Bio coming soon
Stasia Allyn
Family Time & Visitation Program Manager
Bio coming soon
Stacy Harbaugh
CASA Supervisor (Gunnison)
Stacy Harbaugh joined CASA in 2019. She has 20 years experience as a special education teacher. Stacy has her Colorado teaching license in elementary and special education and a Master's degree in School Counseling. She has experience working with youth in both academic and behavioral support needs. Stacy supervises the CASA volunteers in the Gunnison Valley and works cooperatively with the Montrose CASA office to support families with the various program's offered locally and through the Montrose office.
Name
Position
Bio coming soon
Name
Position
Bio coming soon
Board of Directors
Larry Dupper
President
Larry is a father, grandfather, husband and gentleman rancher who lives in Olathe, CO.
Larry is retired from 42 years of service in healthcare administration. He is a Fellow in the Healthcare
Financial Management Association. He currently serves on four boards, and has held positions such
Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer in numerous non-profit organizations throughout his career.
Don Varey
Vice President
Don and his wife Diana moved to Montrose in 2016 after spending 26 years raising their family on the Front Range of Colorado. Don has a passion for the Western Slope Community, is an active community member and is a dedicated advocate for assisting those who need a little help or have been marginalized. Don is currently the IT Director at Montrose County. He is active in various low income and affordable housing related initiatives in Montrose County and serves as a board member on the Montrose County Housing Authority. Don and Diana have been married 42 years and enjoy the many outdoor activities that living on the Western Slope offer such as jeeping, camping and fly fishing.
Katie Albia
Treasurer
Katie Albia was born and raised in Dillon, CO, but has called the Montrose area home for the last 3 years. Katie works for Alpine Bank as the Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager of the Delta location. Katie enjoys spending time with her husband, Nick and their dog and cat, Chaco and Sicily. Katie likes hiking, skiing, gardening and cooking and has enjoyed getting to know and serve the Delta and Montrose communities over the last three years.
Mary Gnandt
Secretary
Mary has lived on the West Slopes since 2005. After a long career in the field of mental health, she retired in 2017. Her time is spent enjoying time in the mountains, hiking in the summer and skiing and snowshoeing in the winter. Exploring archtypal concepts through her artwork is another passion. Throughout her retirement, Mary has continued to volunteer her time with organizations that promote mental health in her community.
Blaine Hall
Member
Bio coming soon
Jim Haugness
Jim has served as both President and as a member of the Finance Committee, and has been an integral part of CASA’s expanding mission. Since moving to Montrose in 2009 with his wife, Trudy, Jim has been involved in numerous boards and commissions -- always with the goal of improving the safety and the security of the community. Jim really enjoys his time with CASA!
Gail McFarlane-Sosa
Member
Bio coming soon
Sue Schreier
Sue and her husband moved to the Western Slope of Colorado in 2017, coming from the Midwest. Sue is a retired RN, and worked in health care administration for the last 30 years of her career. She has served on non-profit boards for over 25 years and is pleased to now be on the CASA board. Sue enjoys the many activities of Colorado, especially hiking, biking and skiing.
Phoebe Benziger
Bio coming soon
Edgar Quiroz
Bio coming soon