10-County Budget Conference 2025 — Speaker Bios
Hotel Colorado – Glenwood Springs, CO
Sept. 17-19
Session 2 — Monica Cook
Vice-President of Customer Solutions – OpenGov
Monica Cook currently serves as VP of Customer Solutions for OpenGov, focusing on customer & sales solutions engineering, revenue generation, deal qualification, technical discovery, and effective sales presentations.
Monica has worked at OpenGov for over 9 years, starting in 2016 as an Implementation Analyst. In her role Monica was responsible for the project management, implementation, support, technical pre-sales demonstrations and integrations for our customers. Monica was responsible for the implementation of some of our largest customers including Fi$Cal, Lincoln Nebraska, and Olympia Washington. For the last 5.5 years, Monica has been focused on Solutions Engineering, primarily working with our finance and budget personas. Prior to OpenGov, Monica was a researcher at California’s non-partisan think tank: the Public Policy Institute of California, where she conducted statistical analysis contributing to work evaluating the effectiveness of federal and state programs on poverty and economic opportunity. You can find some of Monica’s work on the PPIC’s website: Monica’s page at ppic.org. She began her career as a Head Start teacher in San Francisco’s low-income neighborhoods through the program Teach for America.
Monica holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Duke University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Session 3 — Jennifer Caragol, M.D.
Author, Educator, and Physician Wellness Expert
Dr. Jennifer Caragol is an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the 2021 Colorado Academy of Family Physicians Teacher of the Year, and author of Living Your Top Five Percent—a guide to leveraging inherent strengths for personal and professional fulfillment.
With over 20 years as a family medicine physician, Dr. Caragol has become a nationally-recognized expert in wellness and burnout prevention. She founded one of the nation’s first resident physician wellness programs over a decade ago and currently directs Project Thrive, helping healthcare professionals rediscover meaning in their work. Her innovative curriculum teaches professionals to lead with strength, find flow states, and cultivate resilience through evidence-based practices. Her workshops are applicable to all types of professionals as well as athletes.
A sought-after speaker at national conferences including the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, Dr. Caragol delivers interactive workshops that help participants identify their unique “superpowers” and apply them to create meaningful careers. Her published research demonstrates how simple practices like gratitude can significantly improve professional satisfaction and well-being.
Her mission is to inspire people to “hold their own fullness”—recognizing and utilizing their inherent capacities to create lives aligned with their true values and purpose. This is the focus of Living Your Top Five Percent (Amazon.com)—a book for anyone who desires to walk their true path.
Session 4 — Kate Watkins
Colorado State Demographer
Kate Watkins was named the new State Demographer in 2024 after 7 years spent as an economist with the General Assembly’s Legislative Council. She served as the Council’s chief economist from November 2017 to May 2022, leading the Council’s economic team through the state revenue forecasts during COVID. She then founded Bright Fox Analytics, an economic, socioeconomic and data analysis consulting firm.
Watkins has two decades of experience analyzing economic and demographic trends in Colorado and beyond. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and international studies from the University of Denver; a master’s degree in sociology from Cornell; a master’s degree in global finance, trade and economic integration, also from DU; and a Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell.
Session 5 — Brian Lewandowski
Executive Director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business – University of Colorado Boulder
Brian Lewandowski is the Executive Director of the Business Research Division at the Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado Boulder. Brian provides regional business and economic information and education, including economic and revenue forecasts, policy studies, economic impact analyses, and data workshops.
He is the Past President of the Association for University Business and Economic Research and the Denver Association of Business Economists, and contributes to the Governor’s Revenue Estimating Advisory Committee.
Session 6 — Chris Fabian
Co-Founder of ResourceX and Senior Director of Product Strategy – Budgeting – Tyler Technologies
As co-founder of ResourceX, Chris Fabian has helped more than 300 local governments implement priority-based budgeting. Priority Based Budgeting is a budgeting methodology that optimizes spending alignment with strategic priorities, and an application that leverages machine learning and AI to predict and identify resource reallocation opportunities. ResourceX was acquired by Tyler Technologies in 2023, helping local governments and school districts reallocate resources to meet desired outcomes of programs and services while saving money.
Session 7 — Armando Guardiola, MSA
Director of Administration and Finance – Boulder County Public Health
Armando Guardiola is a seasoned municipal leader and financial executive with extensive experience in operations, fiscal management, organizational development, and strategic planning. He currently serves as Director of Administration and Finance for Boulder County Public Health, where he oversees budget development, financial reporting, and long-term planning to ensure resources are aligned with the agency’s mission of advancing community health.
Session 8
Ryan Airey
Senior Program Manager, Recovery and Resiliency Division – Boulder County Office of the County Administrator
Ryan Airey is a native of New Jersey and a Hurricane Sandy survivor who embarked on his emergency management journey in 2011. Following the 2013 floods, Ryan was hired by Boulder County to manage disaster recovery grant programs. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in response and recovery operations, serving as a section lead in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and as the program lead for FEMA Public Assistance, overseeing $150 million in federal awards. Ryan is a dedicated public servant whose contributions to the community don’t end with his “day job.” He has been with Team Rubicon, a non-profit volunteer organization since 2017, where he has helped plan and execute numerous response, recovery, and mitigation projects throughout the state. He also proudly serves as a Reserve Deputy with Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael Haney
Director of the Office of Grants Management
Michael is a seasoned public administrator who has directed the administration of over $2 billion in complex federal grant programs throughout his 15-year career. In his current role as Director of the Office of Grants Management, he leads the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s efforts to secure and manage critical funding for disaster recovery, preparedness, and public safety.
His strategic oversight encompasses all FEMA Preparedness and Recovery grants in addition to the DOT Hazardous Materials Grant. Michael’s expertise is built on a comprehensive career managing funds for a diverse range of federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
He holds a Master’s in Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver and a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science from Willamette University. This dedication to strengthening communities is inspired by his upbringing in the small farming town of Irrigon, Oregon, which instilled a lifelong commitment to resilience and public service.
View the 2025 10-County Conference Agenda.