Staff
We strive to help young women identify their unique
dreams and discover the inner strength to actualize them
At the helm of AIM House is a leadership team comprised of experienced professionals
who are devoted to the participants we serve. It's no cliché to say that here we
truly care about each participant. Through our combined expertise, education, training
and experience we strive to help young adults identify their unique dreams and discover
the inner strength and insight to actualize them.
Leadership Team
Therapeutic Team
Mentor Team
- Victoria Olson, Program Coordinator
- Deserae Follette, MA, Lead Mentor
- Jamie Smalley, MA, Lead Mentor
- Lara Christian, Mentor
- Kaitlyn Hyser, Mentor
- Kelly Kessen, Mentor
- Jenna Robbert, MA, Mentor
- Rebecca Sculley, MA, Mentor
- Joey Walker, MA, Mentor
Educational Team
Staff Bios
Leadership Team
Daniel
Martin Conroy
Founder
Daniel Conroy is the co-founder of AIM House. Daniel graduated from the University
of Colorado, Boulder with a bachelor of arts in humanities. Before opening AIM House
in 1999 with his wife Mae, Daniel held a number of positions at therapeutic programs.
He started his career in counseling and activity leading in Boulder County’s EXPAND
program for emotionally challenged children. Daniel then took on the role of intake
counselor and eventually alumni Coordinator at Sierra Tucson in Arizona. Later,
Daniel worked as the admissions counselor, admissions director and finally, director
of professional relations at CEDU in Running Springs, California. The knowledge
that Daniel gained while working at treatment facilities and therapeutic boarding
schools was fundamental in building the fantastic program that AIM House is today.
He was an advisor to The University of Colorado’s Center for Students in Recovery
and regular participant and conference moderator for the university’s annual Conference
on World Affairs. He helped create the Cocoon Program for chronically ill children
at Children’s Hospital in Denver. He volunteers his time with Horizons Elementary
School, Boulder County YMCA and several other human services agencies on the Colorado
Front Range.
Daniel enjoys volunteering, spending time with his wife Mae and their four children:
Quinlan, Gracie, Devlin and Ronan while also taking care of his dog, Stella. Daniel
speaks at national conferences, coaches youth basketball, soccer and football. He
is an avid hiker and skier. If you cannot find Daniel doing any of these things,
he is probably catching a Denver Nuggets, Chicago Cubs, or Colorado Buffaloes game.
Daniel is also a huge music fan; he has played guitar since age 14 and still loves
to check out jam bands and Bruce Springsteen any chance he has.
Mae
Martin Conroy
Founder
Mae is the co-founder of AIM House. Mae graduated from the University of Colorado,
Boulder with a bachelor of arts in English and television/film production. Before
opening AIM House with her husband Daniel, Mae worked for several years at CEDU
treatment center in Running Springs as a teacher and counselor. Mae also held several
positions in the field of television production including an internship with the
David Letterman Show in New York City. Mae also enjoyed a wonderful opportunity
as part of the writing and production staff of the Rosie O’Donnell Show. After opening
the AIM House Young Men’s program in 1999, Mae dreamed of someday having the same
program for young women. In 2005, she founded the women’s program now located at
the beautiful Earl House property. Mae’s favorite part of working with participants
is watching them find what they love to do.
When Mae is not busy with AIM House, she is spending time with her husband Daniel,
their four children, Quinlan, Gracie, Devlin and Ronan as well as their dog, Stella.
Mae’s interests are yoga and hiking. At one point, she worked as a hiking guide
for Canyon Ranch Spa.
Kelly
Corn
Executive Director, Men's Program
Kelly is the executive director of the AIM House men’s program. Before coming to
AIM House and working in marketing and admissions in 2004, Kelly held the position
of executive vice president and partner at Sumaato Advertising in Denver. Prior
to his time with Sumaato, he was a free-lance photographer for 14 years.
AIM House was introduced to Kelly by his long time friend and colleague, Daniel
Conroy. Seeing the importance of the AIM House mission, Kelly made arrangements
for his agency to provide the first AIM House internship in 2000. Four years later,
Kelly left Sumaato to work full-time in marketing for AIM House. His role has expanded
over the years to include not only time spent talking with prospective participants
about coming to AIM House but also to include a variety of different program operations.
Among other things, Kelly provides oversight for all of the men’s program infrastructure,
manages all information technology for the program and plays a key role in developing
tools for providing ever better resources to and communications with AIM House families.
With all that Kelly does, he still manages to keep his sense of humor and occasionally
finds time to squeeze in a round of golf with the guys. Kelly enjoys spending quality
time with his wife Carolyn, his daughters Elsa and Helena. He also loves driving
his '74 Porsche 914 on the track.
Julia
Knearl
Administrative Director
Julia is the administrative director and general counsel for AIM House. She has
been with AIM House since the very beginning. Over the last 10 years, her role has
moved from that of outside advisor to internal manager. Julia enjoys working with
the staff to create the best possible environment for participants to connect with
their passions and move forward in their lives.
Julia's undergraduate degree is from Carleton College. After receiving her bachelor
of the arts in history, Julia worked in marketing for 3 years the first 2 of which
were with a for profit healthcare company and the last of which was with a non-profit.
Julia attended law school at the University of Colorado and completed her law degree
in 1995. Since then, Julia has worked in the field of advising entrepreneurs on
entity formation, strategic planning and business management. In the last 16 years,
she has worked with more than 200 individuals and companies. The focus of her practice
has always been to create success grounded not only in good business and legal practice
but also in the notion that by working cooperatively with clients, members of your
business community and even competitors, it is possible to create positive outcomes
for all concerned.
When not working with AIM House staff, participants and families, Julia can most
likely be found either spending time relaxing with her two wonderful daughters or
performing as a singer songwriter at any one of a number of local festivals or venues.
Jude
Rudolph, MA
Admissions Director
Jude is the admission director and marketing representative. With 20 years of experience
in the therapeutic field, Jude’s extensive background brings a well-rounded flavor
to both marketing and admissions department of AIM House. Jude holds a bachelor
of arts in business management from the University of Northern Colorado and a master
of arts in counseling psychology from Pepperdine University with an emphasis in
marriage, child and family therapy. While attending graduate school, Jude began
her career at College Hospital in the intake department. In 1994, she was introduced
to wilderness and experiential therapy at Aspen Achievement Academy as the admission
supervisor. Jude was recruited by ASCENT wilderness program and CEDU Family of Services
in admissions and marketing, where she worked for 7 years. Subsequently, Jude has
worked in professional relations at Three Springs, Provo Canyon School and Universal
Health Services. She has volunteered and done fundraising for Make a Wish Foundation,
LIVESTRONG Foundation and Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation. Jude loves working
at AIM House because of the transformation that occurs with not only the young adults
but families too.
In her spare time, Jude teaches indoor cycling at Colorado Athletic Club. She also
enjoys traveling, hiking, cycling and skiing. Born and raised in Denver, she lives
close to her wonderful big family.
Therapeutic Team
Elizabeth
Olson, L.C.S.W., PsyD, C.G.P.
Women's Program Clinical Director
Dr. Olson is the clinical director of the women’s program and has been a part of
AIM House since it’s inception. She received her bachelor of arts in dance therapy
from Naropa University. Dr. Olson became much more interested in working with at
risk adolescents following Naropa. She earned a master in social work degree from
the University of Washington at Seattle and completed a postmaster’s internship
in clinical social work from the University of California at Berkeley. She received
a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at the Colorado School of Professional
Psychology.
Dr. Olson has been in private practice in Boulder, Colorado for over ten years.
She specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, self-harm, depression and
anxiety disorders. She works with individuals, couples and families. In addition,
she facilitates several local therapy groups, including a Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Skills group. Dr. Olson facilitates a training group and seminar on group psychotherapy
at the University of Colorado at Boulder for doctoral and master level students.
She is an adjunct faculty at the Naropa University. She has written on the subject
of mothering and mindfulness, group psychotherapy and eating disorders. Her publications
include Mothering in the Moment and Large Group Process.
At AIM House, Dr. Olson facilitates staff meetings, leads the young women’s dialectal
behavioral therapy (DBT) skills group, supervises the clinical staff, and helps
with daily decisions and structure for the Women’s Program. Dr. Olson’s favorite
part of working at AIM House is helping participants and families make the changes
that they want to make, and she also enjoys supervising and conducting therapy as
well. Dr. Olson loves coming up with creative ways to help families and participants
move through the obstacles that interfere with the progress and communication that
they want to have with each other and in their lives.
Away from work, Dr. Olson enjoys painting, yoga and being a mother.
Angelo
Ciliberti, MA, LPC
Lead Therapist
Angelo is a lead therapist. He is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and moved
to Boulder to earn his bachelor of arts in Japanese language and culture with a
minor in psychology from the University of Colorado. He has since completed his
master of arts in contemplative counseling psychology from Naropa University. Prior
to working at AIM House, Angelo worked with a community based mental health center
where he provided individual, group and family counseling with a diverse population.
He also lived in Japan where he worked with a multi-cultural outreach and facilitated
groups with international students.
Angelo originally started as a mentor at AIM House in 2006. He was quickly promoted
as the senior lead mentor at the men’s program and then transitioned to the women’s
Program as a lead therapist. He specializes in three main areas: process group psychotherapy,
psychodynamic psychotherapy and attachment oriented psychotherapy. His goal at AIM
House is to help the participants connect with their passions and discover how positive
life can be.
Besides enjoying life as a therapist, Angelo loves spending time outdoors in the
summer on his bike, playing tennis or hiking up one of Boulder’s beautiful canyons.
He enjoys attending summer concerts at Red Rocks with his wife and relaxing at different
hot springs throughout Colorado and New Mexico. In the winter his favorite past
time is snowboarding and snowshoeing. Angelo lives his wife, Erin and baby girl,
Annaliese.
Anne
Wilzbacher, MA
Lead Therapist
Anne is a lead therapist. She received her bachelor of arts in communications and
public relations from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During her college
years, she did a semester at Griffith University in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Anne completed her master of arts in contemplative psychotherapy at Naropa University.
Anne brings years of experience working in wilderness therapy programs as a counselor/supervisor
and field guide.
She worked in Florida at Eckerd Youth Alternatives, SUWS of the Carolinas in North
Carolina and San Juan Youth Works in Southern Colorado. She has also worked at Windhorse
Community Services in Boulder and Noeticus Counseling Center in Denver. Currently,
she is a group facilitator for an outdoor adventure program, Outer Edge Performance.
Anne has volunteered as a support group facilitator for WINGS Foundation. She has
worked as a teaching assistant at the University of Denver of Psychology students
in the Group Dynamics and Interventions class and in the graduate psychology program
at Naropa University.
One of Anne’s favorite parts of working at AIM House is being in a position to support
women during a pivotal transitional space in their life. She enjoys working as a
team to support the emergence of clarity, passion, direction and a life worth living.
Anne’s passions are hiking, running, backpacking, kayaking, camping, skiing, meditation,
yoga, reading and music.
Mentor Team
Victoria
Olson, BA
Program Coordinator
Victoria is the program coordinator. She received a bachelor of arts in social science
from Edison State College. She is currently finishing up her master of arts in counseling
at Adams State College. She’s anticipating graduation in May of 2012. Victoria started
her career in the mental health industry when she began her first job at a residential
treatment center in Texas for children ages 5-17, eventually becoming the program
director. After moving to Colorado, Victoria changed careers and gained valuable
experience while running her own retail store in downtown Boulder.
When Victoria picked up life coaching, she rediscovered her passion for working
with young adults and in 2006 decided to take a job at AIM House Women’s program
as an on-call mentor and was quickly promoted. She is a valuable asset in our community
in that she is able to spark enthusiasm and develop deep connections with the participants
while also maintaining strong boundaries.
Victoria enjoys spending time with her family, hiking, running and going
to the movies.
Deserae
Follette, MA
Lead Mentor
Deserae is a lead mentor. She holds a master of arts in transpersonal counseling
psychology from Naropa University and a dual bachelor of arts degree in the disciplines
of psychology and religion from Syracuse University. During her undergraduate years,
she spent a semester abroad at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia
studying psychology. Deserae’s years of experience include working as a wilderness
guide at Open Sky Wilderness Therapy program, serving as an on scene victim advocate
with the Boulder County Sheriff’s office and working with college students and staff
as a counseling intern with the Boulder College of Massage Therapy’s counseling
department. She has teaching experience spanning elementary to college years as
well as research assistantships. Just prior to joining AIM House as a Lead Mentor,
she was working with the Boulder County District Attorney’s office as a Victim/Witness
Specialist. Deserae especially likes working at AIM House because of the fresh perspectives
and energy the women can bring to one another’s lives including her own.
Deserae’s personal interests include camping, snowboarding, travel, meditation and
jazz music.
Jamie
Smalley, MA
Lead Mentor
Jamie is a lead mentor. Originally from New York, she received her bachelor of arts
in communications from The University of Colorado. After graduating, she spent 2
years working in a day treatment program for developmentally disabled kids (ages
5-21). It was through her work with these very gifted children that she became certain
that she desired to receive more education in the counseling field. She now holds
a masters of arts in counseling from Naropa University. Jamie spent a year working
at the Boulder Community Hospital through a grant as a medication adherence coordinator
in the infectious disease office.
Jamie started at AIM House in 2009 as an on-call staff and then eventually was hired
into a full time mentor. When the opportunity for a new lead mentor opened up, AIM
House was happy to invite Jamie to take the position. Jamie feels privileged to
witness amazing transformations in the women throughout their stay. As a lead mentor,
she is enjoying getting to know my individual participants and their families in
a new way. Jamie brings a lot of energy, humor and compassion to her work and continues
to grow and thrive in her role at AIM House.
Jamie is also a busy wife and mom of two young boys. She also enjoys running, yoga
and rock climbing.
Educational Team
Samantha
Randall, B.Arch, MFA
Creative Director
As the creative director for AIM House, Sam works side-by-side with the young men
and women at the FactoryMADE to help them get connected with their creativity and
passions. She received her bachelor of architecture from University of Kansas School
of Architecture and Urban Design. She holds a master of fine arts from Cranbrook
Academy of Art. She transitioned to the therapeutic field after teaching for many
years in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas, where she led her
own design and fabrication studio for over 15 years.
Sam has worked full-time with AIM House since 2008, and brings additional strengths
in the arts and education. Through her leadership, AIM House was able to expand
the Vocational Program to provide intensive one-on-one coaching and a full-range
of resources to help participants with building resumes, job search strategies and
interviewing skills. Sam loves helping young people find their way in life, and
enjoys the deep teaching that takes place through relationships and experiences.
Beyond AIM House, you can almost always find her somewhere outside somewhere hiking
the trails, practicing yoga, camping with her dogs, or climbing one of Colorado’s
14,000 ft peaks at 3 am in the morning.
Matthew
Sullivan, BS
Academic Coordinator & Vocational Coordinator
Matthew began at AIM House in June 2011. He is the Academic Coordinator at the Earl
House as well as the Vocational Coordinator for both programs. Matthew is originally
from Sausalito, California and came out to Boulder to attend University of Colorado
where earned his bachelor of science in political science. He worked at an after-school
tutoring center called Dreamcatcher Direct Instruction Center, where he worked with
learners of all ages and abilities on math. He also taught at both Denver Justice
and Boulder Justice High Schools, which are schools for at-risk students in Boulder
and Adams County. Matthew especially enjoys helping the participants earn diplomas
from high school and acceptance letters from colleges. He brings a creative and
fun energy to academic and vocational lab, always finding unique methods to help
the participants find jobs, internships or the chance to learn in a way that works
for each individual.
Matthew is an avid reader and loves spending a great deal of free time in the local
libraries. He also enjoys watching sports and playing some competitive ping-pong
with his roommates.