Bullying Recovery Resource Center
BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024
Dru Ahlborg – Executive Director
Dru is the Co-Founder and the Executive Director of BRRC, mother or two and more importantly, parent of a child who was severely bullied. She has been tasked with building BRRC into a thriving charity that defends bullied children and helps rebuilds lives throughout Colorado. Dru is passionate about educating families and schools about the harmful effects of bullying, advocating with families of bullying targets and holding schools responsible to STOP bullying. Her professional background includes education, human resources, training and development, and management. She obtained a marketing degree from the University of Colorado. She is a member of the International Bullying Prevention Association and is certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Ms. Ahlborg successfully completed the Non-Profit Leadership Development program through the Community Resource Center in Denver. In her free time Dru can be found hiking, cheering on the Colorado Avalanche and spending time with family and friends.
Tom Ahlborg – Treasurer and Director
Tom is a co-founder and serves as BRRC’s Chairman of the Board and Director of Advocacy. He is responsible for working closely with the Board of Directors by administering good board governance and he also works closely with the Executive Director as she/he directs the organization’s overall impact and long-term vision. In addition to this role, Tom is also Managing Director of Ahlborg Acquisitions, a Denver-based family venture capital firm that specializes in investing. Mr. Ahlborg also supports and mentors entrepreneurs to build successful companies. As Tom is also a parent of a severely bullied child, he is hugely passionate about improving and creating safer schools for students. His focus is on advocacy, educating parents, teachers, and administrators on bullying, and obtaining restorative justice for bullied children.
William Ahlborg – Advisor to the Board
Bill’s background lies in investment management, finance, and philanthropy. He currently is a Director at Ahlborg Acquisitions and manages several investment portfolios. Being a fourth-generation Denver native, Bill is a strong supporter of several Denver-based charities.
Amanda Bicker, LPC – Director
Amanda is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) specializing in children, adolescent, and family therapy. She graduated with two bachelor’s degrees from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She has been in the mental health field for 15 years working to effect meaningful change in the lives of youth and families and is passionate about supporting youth across Colorado systems, including Child Welfare and the Colorado Department of Human Services, Juvenile Justice, community mental health systems, various school districts and hospital systems.
She is especially passionate about suicide prevention, treatment, and advocacy. Presently, she works as a business development rep for Alis Behavioral Health, a leading Intensive Outpatient (IOP) and Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) agency for adolescents aiming to mitigate the risk of inpatient hospitalization or as a step-down, aftercare provider following hospitalization.
Amanda is first and always a mother to two beautifully wild little boys, five bonus children, and several fur babies. As a Colorado Native, she enjoys being active and all the outdoor activities the great outdoors of Colorado has to offer. Her after-work hours and the weekends are happily consumed with being Team Mom and supporting her kiddos in their various activities. Having experienced bullying firsthand, and now supporting one of her sons in his resiliency amidst modern-day bullying, she is a fierce advocate for bullying prevention, parent advocacy, systemic changes, and mental health support for our youth.
Kylie Cannon – Director and Parent Representative
Kylie has worked in the Marketing and Advertising field for over 10 years. As a parent of a bullied child, Kylie brings experience to our advocacy program. She is motivated and driven to bring awareness to bullying and advocate for families in need. Kylie has established roots in her community through other volunteer positions, including her son’s sports teams, which she manages. Over the years, she has organized and facilitated a number of fundraising events and is excited to use these skills to benefit BRRC. Kylie comes from a large family of nine and enjoys spending time with her siblings, nieces and nephews. She is also a huge Taylor Swift fan and is not ashamed to admit it.
Barbara Coloroso – Director and Bullying Expert Advisor
Barbara is an international bestselling author and for the past 48 years has been revered as an internationally recognized speaker and consultant on parenting, teaching, school discipline, positive school climate, bullying, grieving, non-violent conflict resolution, and restorative justice. Her uniquely effective parenting and teaching strategies were developed through her years of training in sociology, special education, and philosophy, as well as field-tested through her experiences as a classroom teacher, laboratory school instructor, university instructor, seminar leader, volunteer in Rwanda, and a mother of three grown children and three school-aged grandchildren.
Curtis Kowalski – Director and Parent Representative
Curtis works in the Information Technology sector where he has spent over 25 years working as a consultant and a manager that specializes in big data and analytics. A few years ago, Curtis bonded with some parents and teachers who had seen children being mistreated. He made the decision to get involved and became a community activist for children. Since then, he has met with numerous parents, the media, and local officials to advocate for effective change to protect children and provide a safe school environment. Curtis is married to a Colorado native, has two children, and believes that teaching our children how to be the best human beings possible is a top priority.
Lisa Mehlbrech, M.A.,BCASE – Secretary and Director
Lisa is a special education, non-attorney advocate and founder of Kids 1st Advocacy. Prior to opening her business, she spent 18 years in the courtroom as a trial paralegal. While trying to navigate the educational system to help her own two neurodiverse children, one of whom was severely bullied, she struggled to find an advocate to assist and decided to use her litigious background and take on the system herself. She has spent the last 10 years in and out of school districts advocating for families across the nation and has learned first-hand the challenges parents face in order to obtain the support and services their struggling children need to get a free appropriate public education. As a Master IEP Coach, she is passionate about educating parents about their rights at the IEP table and
believes all students with visible and invisible disabilities deserve a safe and proper learning environment that adapts to their needs, free from bullying, discrimination, and indifference. Lisa has undergraduate degrees in psychology and speech communication and a master’s degree in communication management. She is a proud member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and the local chapter of the Junior League.
Todd Riley – Director
Todd was born and raised in Ohio and attended Ohio University on a football scholarship. After college, he moved to Houston, TX where he began his teaching career as a special education teacher. In 1997, Todd relocated to Colorado to continue teaching, coaching, and working as a middle school administrator. After 26 years in education, he moved over to commercial insurance. As an insurance advisor, he uses his teaching background to explain policies to his clients to make sure they know what they have, why they have it, and to identify any gaps in their coverages.
Todd resides with his fiancé, her daughter, and their two dogs and now calls Lochbuie home. He enjoys traveling, camping, listening to all types of music, sports, and just being outdoors.
Miles Shelffo – Board Chairperson
Miles has worked in the Financial Services industry for over 29 years. Miles is Currently Senior Vice President Commercial Banker for CoreFirst Bank & Trust. Miles is a Colorado Native who went to Columbine High School where he saw first-hand the effects of an unchecked culture of bullying. Miles is also the parent of a bullied child and is focused on helping bullied individuals and creating safer schools for all. Miles has very strong roots in the community and is part of numerous organizations. He loves spending time outdoors with his 3 children, wife and 1 furry child, skiing, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, etc.
Lane Steiner – Director
Lane is an entrepreneur to the bone. He stared at a young age when his Grandfather’s business sense became his passion. He was too young to be a part of his Grandfather’s business dealings but the instinct was instilled in him. Lane ran a successful hail damage repair company for more than 15 years named Just Dents, Inc. He had the desire to get off the road and open his own brick and mortar location in Denver. In 2017 Denver Dents, LLC was born. The business has seen steady growth and a second location of Denver Dents LLC will be opening in August 2024. He resides in Hilltop with his wife, two children and two dogs. Lane spends his free time coaching his kid’s sporting teams, fishing, walking the dogs with his wife, golfing, networking and enjoying the Colorado mountains. As a father, he has first-hand experience of witnessing his child being bullied. Lane is excited to be part of the BRRC team and bring growth to the organization.