2024-2025 Board of Directors
Erin Liebman, DNP, RN, APN, AGCNS-BC- President
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Behavioral Health, Fort Collins, CO
Areas of interest: Behavioral health, palliative care, healthcare ethics, nurse resilience, healthcare policy, end-of-life planning and ethics, just culture, workplace violence mitigation
Nicole Michels, PhD - Secretary
Chair of Medical Humanities/Associate Professor of Physiology
Rocky Vista University
Areas of interest: The role of immune responses in host defense and autoimmunity.
Gregory James Smith, JD, DBE - Treasurer
Senior Counsel, Cherry Creek Legal Consulting, PLLC- Adjunct Faculty Member at Denver U, Colorado U, Regis U, Rocky Vista U, Medical College of Wisconsin and Loyola U (Chicago)
Areas of Interest: End of Life, Catholic moral theology, health policy
Sarah Roberts-Cady, PhD - 2024-2025 Conference Committee Chair
Professor of Philosophy, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO
Areas of interest: End-of-life decision-making, clinical ethics consultations, health equity, ethical theory, ethics education
Carl Middleton, DMin, MDiv, MA, MRE ~ Immediate Past President
Ethicist, St. Luke's Health - Houston TX
Areas of Interest: End of Life care, organizational ethics, allocation/rationing of resources, social ethics including care for the vulnerable and poor persons, integrative medicine
Amanda Hine, PhD
Assistant Professor, Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions, Regis University - Denver, CO
Areas of Interest: Informed consent, decision-making capacity, conceptions of autonomy
Johnnathan R. Ward, M.Div, CSMC, CWPC, CFS, CISM-I
Director of Mission Integration | Chaplaincy and Community Health | Chair Medical Ethics Committee
Areas of Interest: Healthcare Disparities, Social Determinants of Health, Biomedical Ethics Learning Resources for Disadvantaged Populations/Communities
Aseel Dalton, PH.D., LLM, RPh
Denver Health and Hospital Authority, GEEERC Medical Advisory Group-Governor of Colorado
Areas of Interest: Pediatric ethics, stem cell research and therapies-especially in preventing neonatal diseases, health policy, ethics and infectious disease, enhancing national and international dialogue to improve the regulation of scientific innovations.
Maria Milagros Kneusel Rivera, DNP, MSHCE, MSN Ed, RN, CMGT-BC
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program Director Colorado/Utah/Kansas Division
Areas of Interest: Social justice with an emphasis on dignified care for immigrant communities, Intersections between health equity and healthcare ethics, Community engagement, Nurse education, Health policy
Ryan Westhoff, MD
Palliative Care Physician, CommonSpirit Health
Areas of interest: Care of people with serious illness, surrogate decision making, advance care planning.
Associate Members
Glenn Sackett, MDiv, BCC
Board Certified Chaplain, Highlands Ranch, CO
Areas of Interest: Clinical ethics and ethics consultation, provider resilience, Protestant ethical principles, care for the organization, behavioral health, integrative medicine
Former Members of CHEF
Constance Holden, RN, MSN
Chair Ethics Consultation Team, Boulder Community Health
Areas of Interest: Advance care planning including family conversations, Medical Aid in Dying, inpatient ethics consultation