We are a group of friends with a dream that began small ... that we all have a next step ... that we can live better lives ... that we can contribute to the good of others. We have resumes and bios, but that’s not what makes Step Up. We are ordinary folks with an extraordinary hope. So here’s a quick introduction to us:
Brian loves to see people soar! He believes people often have more potential than they know and is passionate to help them see that potential.
In the current economic and social climate, Brian focuses on helping people walk through transition without losing their soul in the process! What this means practically is to assist people manage finances well and to live through (and even thrive) career transition.
Brian is also launching a new project in 2011 called "The Isaac-Ishmael Initiative" which promotes peace (shalom) between Jews and Muslims.
Brian and his family have lived in the Denver area for more than 5 years and served on the pastoral staff of a local church for three years. As part of his role with the Isaac-Ishmael Initiative he serves with Christian Associates International.
Lizzy is passionate about connecting people with transformational experiences. Whether this happens by living in community, running a marathon (or a 5K!), taking a trip, or in a counseling office, she believes our souls thrive when we are growing. Risking the next step can mean starting something, ending something, or a subtle, internal something.
Lizzy has spent much of her life helping people and groups of people as they face life's challenges and transitions. And this includes herself! Having grown up in a military family, turned ministry family, personal transition is her forte, (including all that Third Cultrue Kid stuff). Professsionally, she has worked as a public health educator, teacher. manager, and counselor, both in the US and internationally.
Lizzy currently works as a therapist and trainer with Step Up and in private practice in the Denver area. She is married to Dan, loves to read and work on home projects, and attempts to do sprint triathalons for fun and exercise. In her spare time she works with Project I See You: a grassroots, micro-enterprise, artisian craft business with women in La Victoria, Dominican Republic.
She has a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from James Madison University, a Masters of Arts in Community Counseling from Denver Seminary, and is Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. She specializes in women’s issues, realtionship counseling, tweens/adolescents counseling, mood disorders, and chronic illness and pain.
Susy moved with her family to Denver in 2005 after living in Europe for 17 years. She gained a wealth of life experience through her missionary work and cross-cultural living in Geneva, Budapest, and Amsterdam. She has worked with people of various cultural backgrounds in youth ministry, coaching, teaching, pastoral care, and mentoring missionaries.
Susy’s desire is to see people actively participate in the counseling process to become empowered with insight and skills that help them face life’s challenges. Her hope is for people to experience greater fulfillment in their personal identity and interpersonal relationships. Her areas of focus are: life transitions, grief and loss, anxiety and depression, divorce recovery, boundaries, relationships, and spiritual issues.
She earned a Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology from the University of California at Los Angeles and a Masters Degree in Community Counseling from Denver Seminary. Susy currently works at a residential treatment facility for adults living with disabling mental illnesses. She has done chaplaincy work in a nursing home and has a special interest in supporting those with a loved one suffering from dementia. She also serves as a volunteer with The Denver Hospice.
In her spare time she enjoys gardening and making pottery on her potters wheel. She views her hobbies as analogies to the counseling process. They involve patience, gentleness, messiness, and encouraging potential for change and growth. She also enjoys her role as wife and mother. She has been married for 21 years and has two teenage children.