Region 2

Fort Collins, CO

Since 2022, Alicia has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®, LLC.  Alicia is responsible for tracking project management activities, project control, information analysis, and developing quality deliverables for our clients.  Alicia has over 11 years of higher education before PK.  She has project managing experience from doing four years with Night to Shine, a prom for people with special needs sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation.  Alicia received her B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University.  When not working, Alicia enjoys traveling, being with her family, taking in sports games, and the beach when she is not working.

Cheyenne, WY

Since 2019, Alli has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®. Alli is responsible as the project manager for acquisition support services with North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services. She also serves as project manager for CCWIS Procurement Support efforts with the Wyoming Department of Family Services and deputy project manager for IV&V services for several Colorado OIT projects.

Alli has over ten years of experience working in project management, strategic planning, stakeholder coordination and communication, and program and process development. She received her BS in family and consumer sciences, with honors, from the University of Wyoming. Alli enjoys playing volleyball and being outside with her husband and two boys when not working.

Indianapolis, IN 

Since 2019, Allison has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®.  Allison is responsible for project management and independent validation and verification activities for Colorado and Maryland Medicaid, including design, development, implementation oversight, procurement oversight, and CMS Certification experience. Alison was instrumental in the CMS certification of the Pharmacy Benefit Management System (PBMS) for Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Wyoming, and Vermont, with eighteen (18) plus years of experience working with State Medicaid programs, claims explicitly processing, and pharmacy benefits management.   

Alison received her Certificate of Applied Project Management (CAPM) from Villanova University and is certified in foundational training for the Information Technology Infrastructure Library. When not working, Alison enjoys cruising spending time with her two grown children, a 3-year-old granddaughter, and her two Shih Tzus.  

Chatham, IL

Since 2012, Chuck has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®.  Chuck is responsible for program management of multiple projects, risk and issue management, budget, project standards, requirements management, report generation, testing oversight management, defect tracking, and report generation. With 35 years of experience working with programs, independent verification and validation, quality assurance, and information technology.  

Chuck received his Master of Science Project Management from the University of Wisconsin, Platteville. He is also certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) and is a Certified Scrum Master. When not working, Chuck enjoys coin collecting and reading. 

Chicago, IL

Since 2020, Debra has been a project manager at Public Knowledge®.  Debra is responsible for coaching, training support, implementation guide drafting, consultation and technical assistance on adoption, and the planning implementation of the Family First Prevention Service Act, with thirty plus years of experience working in child welfare. (Programs, organizations, areas of expertise, additional skills, etc.).

Debra received her BA in Social Science and a MA in Education from Jackson State University, her JD from Chicago Kent College of Law, and a MA in Social Work Administration from the University of Chicago and is a licensed attorney in the State of Illinois. When not working, Debra enjoys traveling, reading, and spending quality time with her family.

Denver, CO

Since 2018, Erik has been a senior technical analyst at Public Knowledge®.  Erik has been responsible for advising the Colorado E&E modernization project, helping to develop strategic technical backlogs with solutions architecture, cloud optimizations, and DevOps opportunities.

Erik has more than 20 years of experience working in the technology business as a software engineer, systems engineer, agile coach, product manager, and solutions architect. Erik received his M.S. from the University of Colorado and is an AWS Certified Solutions Architect Associate. When not working, Erik enjoys spending time outdoors.

Arlington Heights, IL

Since November 2021, Greg has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®. With over 25 years in social services as an executive, program leader, and consultant, Greg is responsible for capacity-building work in child and family services, most notably in program design and procurement support. Greg received his MSW from the University of Chicago Crown School of Social Work, Policy and Practice and is a board-certified case manager (CCM) and Professional Academy for Health Care Management (PAHM). Greg enjoys bike trail riding, camping, exploring history museums, and hiking in national parks when not working.

Glenview, IL

Since 2015, Joan has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®. Joan is responsible for providing change and implementation support to child welfare jurisdictions across a variety of project areas, including agency assessment, federal and state strategic planning, agency accreditation, continuous quality improvement (CQI) practices, and the effective use of data towards the achievement of sustainable program improvements and outcomes.

Joan has over 30 years of experience working with state and local child welfare agencies and currently serves as an implementation specialist and national authority in CQI for the Capacity Building Center for States. She received her Master of Arts from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. When not working, Joan enjoys cycling, traveling, and enjoying time with family and friends.

Denver, Colorado

Since 2022, Kate has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®, LLC. Kate is responsible for working with projects driven by Colorado’s state Medicaid agency, Healthcare Policy, and Financing (HCPF). Kate received her master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado. When not working, Kate enjoys reading, cooking, skiing, and all things in Colorado outdoors that work off the cooking hobby.

Springfield, MO 

Since 2019, Lara has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®. Lara has 27 years of experience in administration, litigation, training, case management system design, and reviewing and making policy. She has served as the IV-D Director in Missouri and, more recently, as a three-county project in southwest Missouri. She provided judicial services to establish, modify, and enforce child support orders in the local authority or make referrals to other jurisdictions using the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA). Lara is a frequent presenter at annual conferences around the country for several organizations, including the National Child Support Enforcement Association (NCSEA), the Eastern Regional Interstate Child Support Association (ERICSA), the Western Intergovernmental Child Support Engagement Council (WICSEC), the National Tribal Child Support Enforcement Association (NTCSA), and the Missouri Child Support Enforcement Association (MCSEA). She presents various components of the child support program, including IV-D Attorney 101, Social Security benefits, civil contempt, paternity establishment, UIFSA best practices, foster care cases, and ethics for IV-D attorneys and their staff.

Lara is active in NCSEA, where she serves as the co-chair of the Emerging Issues and Leading Practices subcommittee of the Policy and Government Relations Committee and on the NCSEA Connects committees for Intergovernmental and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She also is a past president and an Honorary Life Member of ERICSA, where she remains active on several committees, including the Intergovernmental Improvement and the Policy and Legislation committees. She is also an Honorary Life Member of MCSEA. Lara received her Bachelor of Arts from Central Methodist College, now Central Methodist University, and her Juris Doctorate from Missouri-Kansas City. When not working, Lara enjoys camping, live music, and spending time with family and friends.

Chicago, IL  

Since 2021, Lijun has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®.  Lijun has 18 years of experience conducting policy research to improve the well-being of vulnerable children and their families in the US and other countries. He has worked with various survey and administrative data sources from the child welfare systems of several states to generate research evidence. His research findings have helped inform policy and practice in improving the performance of child welfare agencies and providers in delivering quality services to children and families. Lijun received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Chicago. When not working, Lijun enjoys gardening and hiking.    

Cedarburg, WI 

Since 2021, Lindsay has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®, LLC. Lindsay is a subject matter expert for child welfare projects and is currently a member of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare Transformation Project. She has over 11 years of child welfare experience working with state and local agencies, foster care programs, strategic planning, data analysis, and direct practice experience with children and families experiencing the child welfare system. Lindsay received her master’s in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is certified as a social worker. She enjoys being active, spending time outside with her pup, and traveling when not working.

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Since 2021, Lukas has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®.  Lukas is responsible for project controller and business analyst duties with two years of experience working with statewide grant-funded business opportunities and budget management and strategic planning activities.  Lukas received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of Charleston and his master’s degree in public policy from Denver.  Lukas enjoys hiking in the mountains and taking his dogs on weekend adventures when not working.

Denver, CO 

Since June 2021, Luke has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®, LLC. Luke is responsible for project controller and business analyst duties with two years of experience in non-profit management and family support. When not working, Luke enjoys reading, playing soccer, and skiing. 

Cheyenne, Wyoming 

Since 2022, Nate has been a proposal writer at Public Knowledge®, LLC. Nate is responsible for researching and writing to develop proposal responses. Nate received his master’s degree from Prescott College. When not working, Nate enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, supporting the arts, volunteering in the community, and searching for the most random objects while antiquing. 

Cheyenne, WY

Nicole is passionate about communication. She thrives when meeting with others and is most satisfied when she can bring together a group of people from diverse backgrounds and get everyone on the same page, which has served her exceptionally well in project management. The most satisfying part of her job is the “ah-ha!” moment when a solution brings both sides together; an issue’s technical/engineering side can be at odds with an agency’s business needs.

Nicole’s background includes public and private sector work, including work for Wyoming. She has managed large-scale, federally regulated infrastructure design projects and IT contracts in her role with the state. She uses this experience to help clients solve business problems with efficient, forward-looking solutions that meet policy regulations. Nicole holds an MBA from Western Governors University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Cheyenne, WY

Since April of 2021, RJ has been a proposal coordinator at Public Knowledge®, LLC. RJ is responsible for assisting the proposal team, reviewing RFP notifications, and updating the procurement site database. With 13 years of experience working in state government workforce programs and nonprofit management. When not working, RJ enjoys exploring antique stores and breweries.

Denver, CO

Since 2018, Ron has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®. Ron has over 25 years of experience working with state agencies, public assistance programs, and Medicaid systems. He is the certified subject matter expert (SME) and leads analyst for IV&V services for the Minnesota MMIS Modernization and Certification Project; he is the project manager on multiple Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing procurement projects. 

Ron is a project management professional (PMP), has an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and has an extensive background in project management and large-scale system development, integration, and deployment. Outside of work, he enjoys Rocky Mountain–related outdoor activities, depending on the season, such as hiking, biking, snowboarding, and fishing.

Cheyenne, WY 

Since 2019, Sara has been a management consultant at Public Knowledge®.  Sara has been responsible for tracking project management activities, developing quality deliverables, and managing stakeholder engagement with five years of private sector experience in event management and marketing.

Sara received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado and is certified by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) in ToP Facilitation and Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA).  Sara enjoys dancing, spending time with family and friends, and traveling when not working.

Cheyenne, WY

Since 2020, Stephanie has been the senior marketing specialist at Public Knowledge®.  Stephanie is responsible for the firm’s marketing approach, communication channels management, and branding quality, with 11 years of experience working with marketing across various business sectors. Stephanie received her Master of Business Administration with a focus on marketing management from Colorado State University. She is certified in the Institute of Organization Management and is now part of the faculty. Stephanie is also certified in Talent Pipeline Management by the US Chamber of Commerce. When not working, Stephanie enjoys traveling, remodeling homes, and anything creative.