Representative Daneya Esgar

2020 Alliance Legislator of the Year

Representative Daneya Esgar is the Majority Leader for the Colorado House of Representatives. She is in her fourth term serving Pueblo County as the Representative for House District 46.

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During her six years in the legislature, Rep. Esgar has experienced success passing bills on a wide range of subjects. She has worked to improve affordability and access to healthcare through the elimination of surprise medical billing, expanded treatment options for Coloradans with opioid or other substance use disorders, and enabled patients to be covered for healthcare services provided by a pharmacist. She also led the fight to end conversion therapy, provide identity documents for transgender Coloradans, and grant state employees the right to unionize.

Born and raised in Pueblo, Esgar is the proud granddaughter of steelworkers, a product of Pueblo City Schools and a graduate of Colorado State University-Pueblo. She has worked as a television news producer, in higher education, and as a community organizer focusing on poverty and communities of color in Pueblo. She is known for her work on issues of equality, education, justice, and poverty.

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Rep. Esgar lives with her wife, Heather, in Pueblo with their two dogs, Bella and Huck.

Kathy Hingtgen

2020 Direct Support Professional of the Year

Kathy Hingtgen has worked at Foothills Gateway for 17 years providing supported living services (SLS) to six individuals. 

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She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and moved to Fort Collins in 1982 after marrying her husband. They have two sweet Golden Retrievers, a puppy on the way, and five delightfully silly pet Nubian goats.

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She finished an English degree at Colorado State University in 2003. As an older student, she was deemed “non-traditional”, which corresponds well to her work: no two days are the same. The people she serves teach her something new every time she sees them. The past 17 years she has shared happiness, sadness, and everything in between with them, making her work so fulfilling.

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Kathy is honored and proud to be the Alliance DSP Honoree of 2020.

Julian Wang

Self - Advocate

Julian Wang is President of Speaking For Ourselves Colorado, Treasurer of People First of Larimer County, and Self Advocacy Resource and Fellow for the Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC) fellow at The Arc of Larimer County. As President of Speaking For Ourselves, Julian is interested in increasing participation from self-advocacy groups across Colorado – especially in remote areas. Julian is exploring the use of assistive technology and video conferencing to see if this could be useful to self-advocacy chapters across the state. Julian is also active in his local community as a speaker, Special Olympics participant, and a former Board Member for The Arc of Larimer County. He is currently employed at The Home Depot as a Sales Associate. In his free time, Julian enjoys traveling, playing basketball, spending time with family, and attending church.

Ashley Steinbach

Parent

Ashley Rose Steinbach was raised in a small South Dakota town and spent her high school years on the outskirts of Atlanta, GA. She moved to Colorado Springs in 2005, and she loves everything about this city – especially its open-minded population and acceptance of adaptations. In 2006, Ashley’s daughter Avalee was born and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at eight months old. Since that day, Avalee has received a new diagnosis almost every year, including autism, epilepsy, unilateral deafness, CMV (cytomegalovirus), and others. 

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When Avalee was 10 months old, Ashley found her voice. At the 2007 Blue Ribbon Commission for Health Care Reform, Ashley had the opportunity to share her journey with Avalee and the broken Medicaid system. This experience opened doors to do articles with the Colorado Springs Independent, more speaking, and a testimonial at the Colorado Capitol. Here, she saw her voice be put into action for the first time. Ashley spoke again in 2014 at the Capitol about Medicaid cuts to CNA hours. Within an hour of giving her testimony at the Capitol, she received word of an immediate stop to the current Pediatric Assessment Tool used at that time. That was the day that Ashley saw the magnitude of her voice. In 2018, Ashley spoke again at the Capital on behalf of HB-1006 to modernize the newborn screen, which had not been updated in more than 20 years – that was the day she saw the need for her voice.

Ashley experienced her biggest challenge in 2014, when she had her daughter Brielee and had to learn how to navigate the “typical” world, which has felt much more unnatural to her. But seeing the natural bond and acceptance between the two has been the biggest blessing of her life. Because of her daughters, Ashley finds her voice more every day, understanding the impact and responsibility that comes with it. As a single mom of two girls, Ashley is very mindful of the world and the legacy she will leave for them. Even after breaking so many boundaries and stereotypes, Ashley dreamt of a way for her daughters to play together and enjoy inclusive fun. Because of the lack of opportunities to meet this need, Ashley created one. She became a Special Olympics coach, currently in her third season of coaching the Cool CATS (Children of All Types Succeeding) adaptive cycling team. She enjoys the growth she sees each season, including the grateful families and bonds that are created. Ashley sees the power of her voice and actions every day, and she is humbled and motivated by the opportunity provided by The Arc PPR for not only her voice, but the voices of her families, to be heard.

Seth Ritchey

Organization: Ariel Clinical Services             
Time with Ariel: 6.5 years                     
Years as a DSP: 16 years

Taylor VanAllen

Organization: A Brighter Community               
Time with ABC: 7 years                
Years as a DSP: 7 years

Theresa Bolton

Organization: Mosaic
Time with Mosaic: 14 years
Years as a DSP: 14 years

Scott Leyva

Organization: Parker Personal Care Homes          
Time with PPCH: 6.5 years                       
Years as a DSP: 6.5 years

Ursula Mbene

Organization: Starpoint
Time with Starpoint: 23 years
Years as a DSP: 3+ years