Board of Directors
Special Education Teacher, Retired
Mary Lynn Jones, a 5th generation Fort Collins native, retired from Poudre School District after 29 years as a special education teacher, as well as 7 years as President of the Poudre Education Association. She was active in Junior League of Fort Collins for many years and now supports the League as a Sustainer. Mary Lynn continues leadership involvement with both the Poudre Retired School Employees Association and the Colorado School & Public Employees Retirement Association. Her on-going involvement with Family Housing Network overnight program brought her to Homeward Alliance. She is motivated to expand her knowledge about homelessness and housing insecurity as she advocates for those in need in our community.
Retired RN, MSN
Paula Stearns is a retired nursing professional with experience in direct patient care and management. She is a past Executive Director of the Colorado Nurses Association. In this role Paula was responsible for the development and oversight of continuing education, major meeting and legislative planning, volunteer and committee support, and fiscal oversight. She spent 15 years providing direct patient care in Denver area hospitals, eventually moving into health services research. Paula was previously on the Board of Directors of the Action Center in Jefferson County in Lakewood. She currently participates in the Partnership For Age-Friendly Communities in Larimer County and is a Homeward Alliance volunteer.
Anne Fisher is a retired occupational therapist and Distinguished Professor Emerita at Colorado State University. She has been a volunteer with Homeward Alliance since 2014 and served on the Homeward Alliance Board of Directors 2014-2020. She currently supports Spanish-speaking immigrants with navigating medical, legal and other services. She serves as the Vice Chair of the board.
Assistant City Manager, City of Fort Collins
Rupa has been an Assistant City Manager with the City of Fort Collins since June 2022. She has a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida. Rupa’s love for public service started early in her career working for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (FL). There she saw the power that an advocate could have for our most vulnerable populations, in particular homeless veterans.
Fiscal Recovery Manager, City of Fort Collins
Jo Cech serves as the Fiscal Recovery Manager for the City of Fort Collins, managing the federal COVID-related funding the city ha received. Jo grew up in the Midwest but has lived in Colorado for the last 20+ years. Her professional background is in finance, with an MBA from UCLA. She spent over 30 years in corporate finance and project management positions before shifting to city government in 2017.
Assistant Director of Involvement, Colorado State University
Ali Raza (he/him) is the Assistant Director of Involvement as well as a Ph.D. student in the Higher Education Leadership program at Colorado State University. He is a passion-driven educator, positive change agent, and advocate of social justice issues in and outside of our community. Ali is involved on the Leadership Fort Collins Steering Committee through the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce and also serves as a board member with Be Kind FoCo and Diverse Fort Collins. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Government from The University of Texas at Austin and Master of Science in Higher Education from Florida State University. Ali enjoys the outdoors, spending time with friends, learning new things, and travel hacking around the globe.
Executive Vice President, Bobo’s Bars
Rob served on the Board of Directors for Education and Life Training Center in Fort Collins prior to its merge with the Matthews House. Rob has volunteered with the Street Outreach and One Village One Family programs and secured food and financial donations with Bobo’s.
Scientific Programmer, Colorado State University
Darrin Sharp works at Colorado State University, where he is a Scientific Programmer managing data processing for the Ultraviolet Light Monitoring and Research Program. Previously, he’s had a long career as a natural resources focused software engineer working for a variety of public and private entities. Darrin has a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Illinois, and an M.S. in Ecology from Colorado State University.
Darrin has lived in Fort Collins since 1986. In those almost 40 years, he has seen many changes in the community, among them an increase in vulnerable populations struggling with housing insecurity. As a result of the changes he's witnessed, and due to a desire to be "part of the solution," he's volunteered with Homeward Alliance/Homeless Gear in several capacities over the past decade. These activities have included Street Outreach, the Family Resource Fair, Bicycle Repair, and as a photographer at a number of events.
He is motivated to learn more about homelessness and housing insecurity, and hopes he can bring to bear his skills and expertise to contribute to innovative and effective approaches to addressing these issues. He recognizes that these are complex, multi-faceted issues with no easy answers, but firmly believes in the mantra “Progress, Not Perfection.”
Adult Services Librarian, Poudre Libraries
Meg Schiel is the Adult Services Librarian at the Old Town Library, and has worked with the Library District for almost 10 years. She is a Colorado native, a CSU graduate, and has worked with several local non-profits and served on the Board of Directors for the Food CoOp before landing at the library. She is passionate about connecting people with resources and services and sees the direct impact that access to these vital services provides to vulnerable populations. Meg has two teenagers and many pets, likes to trail run, paint, and (you guessed it!) read books during her free time.
Realtor, Hello NoCo Living
Marina Lewallen, a Loveland resident, is thrilled to join Homeward Alliance as the newest member, bringing her heartfelt passion for community advocacy and a wealth of experience in real estate to the team. As the past President of the Northern Colorado Women’s Council of Realtors and the current State President-Elect for the Women’s Council of Realtors, Marina has long been dedicated to championing housing solutions and creating lasting opportunities for individuals and families. With her strong leadership skills and deep community ties, she is excited to support Homeward Alliance's mission to uplift and empower those experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
Cyber Security Consultant
Mary Ralene Keane is an author and world traveler. Mary left her 27-year corporate career in software engineering in 2022 to walk a 500-mile pilgrimage in Spain. She recently finished writing a book about her experience.
In her volunteer career, Mary has raised guide dogs for the blind, groomed dogs for the ASPCA, served on the board for two triathlon organizations, and taught triathlon, spinning, and yoga classes at the YMCA.
Currently she is the marketing consultant for a cyber security non-profit and is writing a second book. She lives in Loveland with her husband.