Leadership

Darrin Bodner

Executive Deputy Director

Darrin Bodner is CDPHE’s Executive Deputy Director. He joined CDPHE in January, 2024. He comes to CDPHE with a track record of helping complicated organizations, both large and small, maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations through investments in technology and human infrastructure while protecting fiscal integrity.

His previous role was Executive Deputy Secretary for Administration and Management at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, where he drove innovation and modernization and helped oversee the department’s operational response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also worked in the private and non-profit sectors.

Scott Bookman, MPA, EMT-P

Senior Director for Public Health Readiness and Response

Scott Bookman serves as the Senior Director of Public Health Readiness and Response. He oversees the Division of Disease Control and Public Health Response; the Office of STI, HIV, and Viral Hepatitis; and ensures that the department is prepared to respond to all public health emergencies. Scott has more than two decades of experience working in public health, healthcare, and emergency response. He began his career in Emergency Medical Services in Washington, DC, then Kansas City, and ultimately Denver, where he served as Chief Paramedic and Administrative Director of Emergency Medicine for Denver Health Medical Center. After leaving Denver Health, he served as CEO of a health center near Telluride. In June 2019, Director Bookman became the Lab Director at CDPHE. Ten months later, he became the incident commander of the state’s response to COVID-19 and served in that role until the conclusion of the federal public health emergency.

Jessica Bralish

Senior Director of External Affairs and Communications

​Jessica Bralish is an expert in strategic communications and was named communications director for the Department in 2019. Prior to her current role, she served as the communications director for a member of congress. Jessica’s history with the State of Colorado is extensive, having been the spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Higher Education and Communications Director at the State Senate, after serving as the Deputy Communications Director and Public Relations Director at the statehouse. Her communications background is complemented by her time as a TV news producer in Southern Colorado.

Ned Calonge, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Officer

Ned Calonge is Chief Medical Officer for CDPHE and the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the Colorado School of Public Health.  Before his current appointments, he served the President and CEO of The Colorado Trust, a private grant making foundation dedicated to achieving health equity for all Coloradans. Prior to that, he also served as the Chief Medical Officer for CDPHE. He began his career as faculty in family medicine at the University of Colorado, where is continues as an associate professor. He has an MD from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and an MPH in epidemiology from the University of Washington School of Public and Community Medicine. Nationally, Dr. Calonge chairs the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders of Newborns and Children for the Health Resources & Services Administration and the Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. He is a past chair of the Community Services Task Force for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and past chair of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force at the Agency for Health Research and Quality. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2011.

Lindsay Ellis

Director of Legislative Affairs

Lindsay Ellis was named Legislative Liaison in 2021. In that role, she is the primary representative for the department with members of the General Assembly and their staff. Prior to that, she supported the department’s legislative team as a policy advisor and spent seven years as an enforcement specialist in the Water Quality Control Division. Lindsay earned her law degree from Tulane University Law School and spent several years working on the front lines of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation before returning to her native Colorado and joining CDPHE.

Erick Scheminske

Chief Operating Officer

Erick Scheminske joined CDPHE in 2019, and has served as the Department’s Chief Operating Officer since 2021. He has spent more than 20 years specializing in budget, finance, and executive leadership within Colorado State Government, including six years as Colorado’s Deputy State Budget Director. Deputy Scheminske has also served as the Budget Director and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Public Safety.

Carrie Cortiglio, M.Sc.

Director, Prevention Services Division

Carrie Cortiglio joined CDPHE as the Prevention Services Division Director in 2019. Director Cortiglio has over 20 years of experience working in public health and health care policy. She had a long tenure at the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) as both the Deputy Director of the Policy, Communications and Administration Office and the Legislative Liaison. Director Cortiglio has been a policy analyst and lobbyist for the Health District of Northern Larimer County and has worked for the Massachusetts legislature and for Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. Director Cortiglio holds a Master of Science from the Harvard School of Public Health and a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College.

Jessica Forsyth

Director of the Office of STI/HIV/Viral Hepatitis, MSW

Director Forsyth’s experience includes more than 25 years of management and leadership within public health systems, including supervising teams and staff. Prior to coming to CDPHE, Director Forsyth worked for years in similar programs for Denver Health, Children's Hospital Colorado, and in St. Louis, Missouri where she started a  comprehensive program for youth and young adults living with HIV.  Director Forsyth is committed to authentic community engagement and ending health inequities.

Ann Hause, J.D.

Director, Office of Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Ann Hause has served as the Director of the Office of Legal and Regulatory Compliance since 2004. Office functions include setting and implementing department standards for privacy, records management, state Board of Health administration, audits, nondiscrimination requirements, and procurement and contracting. Ann also provides consultation on topics such as conflicts of interest, ethics concerns, Amendment 41, identification of legal issues, coordination of legal services with the Department of Law, and reviewing program legal authority for compliance. Prior to her employment with the Department, Ann worked for the Colorado Department of Law for 6 years as an Assistant Attorney General and then a First Assistant Attorney General, where she represented both CDPHE and the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.

Jeff Lawrence

Director, Environmental Health and Sustainability Division

Jeff Lawrence is the Director of the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability and has been at the Department for over 30 years. The Division is responsible for a vast number of program and services that directly support the department’s mission and vision of protecting the places where we live, learn, work, and play to ensure a healthy and sustainable Colorado where current and future generations thrive. Recently, Director Lawrence has been heavily involved in the development and implementation of the statutory and regulatory frameworks for Colorado’s industrial hemp programs. Director Lawrence and has degrees in Microbiology and Environmental Health from Colorado State University.

Elaine McManis, RN

Director, Health Facilities/Emergency Medical Services Division

Director McManis joined CDPHE in 2000 and has held numerous leadership positions throughout her time working with the Division of Health Facilities and Emergency Medical Services (HFEMSD). Prior to joining the Department, Director McManis served in various roles with a local municipal court processing legal proceedings for misdemeanor crimes and petty offenses and ended her 15 year career there as the Chief Court Clerk to pursue a nursing degree. As a nurse, Director McManis provided direct hospice nursing care in residential, hospital and community-based settings and served in various nurse managerial roles. Director McManis has extensive experience in state and federal healthcare regulation, rulemaking, and working with healthcare industry providers and stakeholders.

Michael Ogletree

Director, Air Pollution Control Division

Michael Ogletree joined the Department in 2021 and serves as the Director for the Air Pollution Control Division. Director Ogletree has extensive experience in the air quality field, previously serving as an air quality program manager for nearly seven years with the City and County of Denver where he led the design, development, and implementation of Denver’s “Love My Air” program. Prior to joining the Department, Director Ogletree also served on the state’s Air Quality Control Commission and the Air Quality Enterprise Board. He has also been a chemist and laboratory manager in the private sector.

Nicole Rowan, P.E., M.E.

Director, Water Quality Control Division

Nicole Rowan is the Director of the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) where she oversees the implementation of the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Colorado’s Water Quality Control Act. Director Rowan has over 25 years of experience as an environmental engineer working for the State of Colorado and in private industry. She has worked at CDPHE for more than nine years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Biological Systems Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado at Denver, and is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado.

Chris Wells, Ph.D, M.S.

Director, Center for Health & Environmental Data Division

Dr. Wells is the Division Director of CHED and has been with the Department for over 20 years. He provides leadership and management, strategic analysis and planning, and the coordination and oversight of information systems that support programs at CDPHE.  Dr. Wells earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Science, with an emphasis in Health Information Technology from the University of Colorado, and his Master of Science in Environmental Health, Epidemiology, from Colorado State University.

Tracie M. White, P.E.

Director, Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division

Tracie White is the Director of the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division (HMWMD). Director White has worked at CDPHE for more than 14 years and has over 20 years of experience working in the field of environmental remediation and protection. She has dedicated much of her career to the State of Colorado, previously managing HMWMD’s Remediation Program and Federal Facilities Remediation and Restoration Unit. Director White has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Colorado.

Arlen Zamula, MPH

Director, Office of Health Equity

Arlen Zamula is the Director of CDPHE’s Office of Health Equity, which works alongside the state’s Health Equity Commission to promote health equity across Colorado through community partnership and engagement, grant opportunities, and Tribal relations. She has over 18 years of public health experience, focusing on health equity, capacity building, and community engagement. Over her career, she has worked in many different sectors, including education, corporate, nonprofit, and government. 

Before joining the Office of Health Equity, she served as Director of Health Equity Capacity Building in the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, working with schools and communities on social determinants of health, including food insecurity, the built environment, research, evaluation, and operations and administration. Arlen graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Hunter College with a Master's degree in Public Health—nutrition.