Leadership
Liddy Romero
Founder and Executive Director
Liddy founded WorkLife Partnership in 2009, building on her education, small business, and nonprofit experience to bring a new model for social enterprise to Colorado. In the last seven years, Liddy has been a catalyst for change in ways employers invest in their workforce to impact the bottom line and improve employee engagement and worker economic opportunities. Liddy has a dual role in serving as the Director for WorkLab Innovations – a network organization that will lead in the replication and scale of the Sustainable Workforce Model now moving ahead in 2017 and into the future.
The Sustainable Workforce Model engages human capital, increases economic opportunity for families through work, protects the bottom line, and builds more inclusive workplace cultures.
Liddy has 14 years of experience in working with government entities, nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Liddy serves as an executive member of the Colorado Workforce Development Council and currently sits on the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Community Development Advisory Council. She was a previous Aspen Institute Sector Skills Academy Marano Fellow.
Liddy holds a double Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Psychology from the University of Notre Dame. She lives in Centennial, Colorado with her spouse and three children.
- Sector Specialties: manufacturing, healthcare, longterm care
- Consultant to Human Resources
- Public Speaker
- Fundraising
- Systems Change
- Strategic Planning
- Social Enterprise Strategies
- Replication Consultant
- Data Analysis
- Ideation, Commander, Activator, Strategic , Adaptable
Mary Russell
Program Director
Mary brings 20 years of executive leadership experience to WorkLife Partnership. She previously served as Director of Career and Family Support Services Division and as Business and Employment Team Supervisor for Jefferson County Human Services.
She has given her time to serve on the Skills to Compete Advisory Council, represented Colorado to the National Association of Workforce Development Association and was honored as an Outstanding Woman by the Jefferson County/West Chamber of Commerce
Mary holds a Master of Science in Adult, Occupational and Continuing Education from Kansas State University and is a Certified Workforce Development Professional.
- Management
- Career Coaching
- Key Performance Indicators
- Mentorship
- Customer and Client Relationship
- Financial Health
- Tax Assistance Program
- Loan Programming
- Certified trainer for Financial Health Institute’s Bootstraps
- Consultant on Staff development and performance
- Consultant on Career Development Facilitation
- National Association of Workforce Development Professionals, member
- Innovative Educators, board member
Jennifer Beckman
Business Cultivator
Jennifer has spent over 20 years in Human Resources working with employees at all levels. As a certified HR professional and Executive Coach, Jennifer is passionate about WorkLife Partnership’s Sustainable Workforce Model and what it provides workers at all levels.
Since the start of her career, Jennifer has been passionate about meeting people where they are in life. She has been fortunate to work in organizations that deeply care about their employees and this allowed for a natural transition to Worklife Partnership. She is deeply familiar with this valuable model and has been partnered with WorkLife since 2009.
Jennifer also is an Integral Coach, a Myers Briggs Practitioner, a conflict mediator, and a certified organizational development professional. She received a BSBA from the University of South Dakota and has a coaching certification from New Ventures West in San Francisco. In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with family, volunteering and enjoying the outdoors. Jennifer was born in the Midwest, but she considers Colorado her home.
Jennifer looks forward to sharing with you the impact of the Sustainable Workforce Model on lives of employees around the country.
- Organizational Development
- People & Culture Leader
- Human Resources
- Conflict Resolution
- Facilitator
Elizabeth Casswell
Operations Director
Driven by her life-long passion for causes that alleviate human suffering, Elizabeth has been involved with nonprofit organizations as a board member, volunteer, and staff member for over 30 years.
She also brings over 15 years of professional experience in operations and financial management, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Alabama Birmingham in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nonprofit Management.
- Financial analysis and management
- Data and IT management
- Public speaking as advocacy for vulnerable populations
- Operational process design and management
- Providing high-quality support for coworkers in high stress positions
Kate Ridings
Upskill Director
Kate comes to Worklife Partnership with a background in workforce development and community education with experience leading and managing initiatives focused on community member’s economic success and educational attainment.
After earning her Master’s in Education, she decided to join the AmeriCorps team in Denver to work within lower socioeconomic neighborhoods to gain a stronger understanding of the educational and resource access available to the community. This work in community engagement fueled her interest in continuing her work in non-profit education and strategic partnerships. In addition, she has consistently worked within community education and workforce development, and was instrumental in the development of the nationally recognized workforce initiative, the WIN Program.
She is an advocate for connecting community members with the skills, resources and opportunities needed to advance to self-sufficiency and economic happiness. She brings her enthusiasm and experience in workforce initiatives and adult education and training to Worklife Partnership.
- Workforce and career pathway development
- Community engagement and collaboration
- Bilingual English/Spanish
- Career Counseling/Career Development
- Program development and management
- Nonprofit management
Cindy Williams
Impact Manager
In her role as Impact Manager, Cindy offers WorkLife Partnership a broad range of business experience and expertise in using data and metrics to improve internal/external communications and drive program strategy.
After working for several years in magazine and book publishing contributing in editorial and publishing technology roles, Cindy spent nine years managing client accounts for a subscription database service provider. Most recently, Cindy oversaw operations for a small, online education company where she lead client success and B2B business development strategy, managed business operations, and directed product improvement strategy. In this role, she also had the opportunity to create greater potential for long-term career success for fitness professionals by providing educational and career resources to international health and fitness club businesses.
Cindy graduated from St. Lawrence University with a Bachelor of Arts in English Writing and Sociology minor. Throughout her career, Cindy has demonstrated a willingness and ability to commit deeply to her professional endeavors and brings a passion for equality. She is thrilled to join WorkLife Partnership at such an exciting point. An avid gardener and skier, Cindy lives with her husband and dog in Broomfield.
- Consultative client relationship building
- Data analysis and applied logic
- Analytical decision making
- Project management
- Exceptional verbal & written communication
- Creative problem solving
- Vendor/partner relationships
- Digital business strategy/product management
- Data/content management
- Customer database management & navigation
- e-Learning