SOARING EAGLES
Center for Autism
Summer 2022 Teen Mentorship Program
The Teen Mentorship program was instituted in 2006 to help the siblings of our client’s understand and work with their sibling with autism. Through the years several of the Teens have gone on to work in the field or been successful in other endeavors.
This year’s teens were asked two questions: What prompted them to join the Teen Mentorship program and What did they learn?
Noah: Came for the learning experience. And learned that each client may have the same diagnosis but they’re totally different in the ways they act and talk.
Corbin: His churched informed him. He learned a lot about prompts, redirecting behaviors and how to help each client.
Guinevere: “I was here last year and enjoyed it. I learned how to do a job and get paid for it, as well as hanging with the staff and enjoyed it.”
Mya: I have been wanting to work here since I was 7 years old because my older sisters have worked at SECA before, and I love working with children. “I learned more responsibilities and how to have self-control with client’s and behaviors.”
Aubrey: “I missed everyone and wanted to come back to see the staff.” I learned how clients with autism can communicate in different ways.’
Angel: “I heard about SECA from my friend Mya and wanted to learn about the program.” I know for those people who don’t have autism, need to learn that autistic clients are loving and are just like us
Left to Right are Noah, Corbin, Guinevere, Mya, Aubrey, and Angel.
CLIENT PROFILE
by Tiffany Moore
Raiden is our 16-year-old gentle giant who loves his family, animals and listening to Twenty- One Pilots, his favorite band. He is a Marvel fanatic and has been since he was five, assigning his four brothers, mom, and dad to a super-hero status. Raiden
claims Hulk, but says he is the smart hulk not the angry one. He also enjoys going to the zoo, spending time on our boat and time with family. Last October, we came close to losing Raiden to COVID, spending over a month at Children’s Hospital in Denver and 10 days on a ventilator. COVID tried hard, but he fought back for months regaining his strength and finally today he has regained his cognition.
Raiden was diagnosed with Autism and Epilepsy at an early age, he thankfully has been seizure- free now for over a year for the first time in his life.
Raiden still has some anxiety issues and doesn’t fully understand spatial awareness, he is a stubborn red head boy that is still working on how to communicate his needs effectively. Thanks to Soaring Eagles we will continue to watch his behaviors improve. Raiden has made many friends, and the staff at Soring Eagles are truly special people and there is not one day that he has not enjoyed being there!
JEFF ALLEN STARS IN COMEDY NIGHT 2022
Jeff Allen
Jeff Allen is in his fifth decade as a working comedian. You may have seen him on America’s Got Talent, Dry Bar Comedy, HBO, Comedy Central, Showtime and numerous other television networks. He has performed for our troops on aircraft carriers and ships in the Indian Ocean.Jeff can be seen on the fastest growing comedy internet sensation
Dry Bar Comedy, where Jeff as surpassed 300 million views on Facebook, YouTube, and other channels. He has also
On his new tour filled with new material, Jeff Allen 2.0, Jeff’s sidesplitting comedy drives home the humor in everyday family life, the ups and down of marriage, the challenge of raising children, the bliss of the empty nest (followed by the unexpected returns to said nest) and the joys of being a grandparent.
produced and starred in his own sitcom pilot for Castlerock Television and in the critically acclaimed films, “Apostles of Comedy.”
DR. KAREN KORNOR
Riding The Storm
It has been a tumultuous past couple of years for all of us as we have faced a pandemic, civil unrest, and economic uncertainties. Through all of this I would like to commend all of you that have hung in there, riding this storm, through this night, with the faith to believe that morning is on the horizon. Soaring Eagles staff and board has been determined to continue its good fight for our families, who are riding the storm with us. Autism didn’t go away in this storm, therefore, we had to find creative ways of continuing our work with
our clients. We continue to work to be a beacon of hope for persons with autism and developmental disabilities in these times through education, preparation, intervention, and advocacy. To all our supporters, I commend for your continued steadfastness, and pray that you will be encouraged, as we come through this storm. Again, this year, you came shining through for Soaring Eagles Center for Autism and all of the other people you support and provide jobs for in our community.
Thank-you!
Together we will see the sunshine again.
Blessings to you all!
Karen W. Colvin-Whitaker Executive Director
EMPOLYEE SPOTLIGHT: Bethany Koen
Soaring Eagles has been my job since I graduated from high school.
As a teen, I was a babysitter and worked odd jobs for different people. As a teen my aunt (a former SECA employee)
I have been employed at SECA for seven years; four of them as a member of the behavioral line staff. I am a Registered Behavior technician certified in the state of Colorado. Reaching this goal was the result of: always wanting to work in a helping profession, the Teen Mentorship program, and becoming fascinate by applied behavior analysis and the work of helping these amazing individuals reach independence.
I am currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in psychology and have the intention of obtaining a Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis.
When I’m not working at SECA, I enjoy the outdoors, whether it’s a pickup game of volleyball or basketball or hiking in the mountains. I also enjoy time spent with my family and friends playing board games or seeing a movie.
told my brother and I about the teen summer program, so we decided to try it out because I’ve always loved working with kids. Little did I know that I would fall in love with the position. In 2015, I began working at Soaring Eagles as a member of the Teen Mentorship program and continued the program for the next couple summers until I graduated. After my 18th birthday, I applied and got hired on full-time at SECA and have been here ever since.
Bethany Koen
Our Leadership Team
ADMINISTRATION
Karen W. Colvin M.S.,M.D.-Exec. Dir. Lead Therapist
Mona Ortega-Medina, B.A., M.S., Asst. Director
Betty Nufer – Development Director
Lynzee Griggs B.C.B.A., M.S., Cert. Beh. Aut-Senior Therapist
Velvet Entz, B.A., M.Ed., Behavioral Consultant Assistant
Janet Baer, B.S., Administrative Asst., Editor
Monique Maes - Receptionist
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Terry Zupan
Karen W. Colvin, M.D.
Betty Nufer
Mona Ortega-Medina, B.A., M.S.
Martha Drake, M.S., CCC-SLP
Andrea Aragon
Reggie Garcia – Vice President
Elizabeth Riffle
Vanessa VanEgmond
J.R. Chavez,
Shelly Harwood-Even, President
Vanessa VanEgmond
ADVISORY BOARD
John Hardy, M.D.
Michael Jordan