Valerie Bustos

Valerie Bustos has an 18-yr history working in Denver’s local community theatre. After graduating from Metropolitan State College of Denver, she worked as the Managing Director of a bilingual cultural arts center for six years. In 2005, she joined the ranks of the Educational Theatre Programs as an actor/educator. You can see her Brad-Paisley-lovin'-self in several of our programs as well as co-leading Kaiser Permanente’s Young Adult Council. Valerie’s strong commitment to young people and the community provide the passion for her work with Kaiser Permanente.

Ricky Casillas

Ricky Casillas, a graduate of the University of Denver, studied film editing and video production. He now uses his finely-tuned skills as a co-facilitator for the Educational Theatre Program in Teens Take It On. With the latest music and cutting-edge graphics (think Christina Aguilera meets Stan Lee), Ricky produces video masterpieces that both educate and engage youth in becoming health advocates in their school, community, and family life. Ricky is proud to utilize his technical skills to enlighten, entertain, and encourage people to live healthy and active lives.

Brian Harper

Brian received his BA in Theatre from California Lutheran University before touring the U.S. with the Missoula Children’s Theatre as an actor and director. He has done extensive film and video work in the Denver community, and is a five-time Emmy Award winner. Mr. Harper lives his passion for improv by co-owning his own comedy club, MaDcap Theatre (don’t miss their version of the “Ipod Shuffle!”). In 1996, he joined ETP and he currently supervises the Project Team, which specializes in long-term residency programs and community partnerships.

Damion Hoover

Damion is a Colorado native, residing in the Aurora area with his beautiful wife and their 2 children. Since his early childhood, Damion always had a flair for the dramatic, performing and dancing for his friends and loved ones. After a brief stint with ETP in 1995, Damion made his triumphant return to our team in August 2009. His desire is to reach those less fortunate than himself through the gift of theatre, and to encourage people to freely express themselves confidently and creatively.

Kaci Jensen

Kaci received her Master's degree in Counseling from Regis University, and has a BA in Communication. Kaci’s many talents range from sweet treats (a professional baker) to speaking Google-ese (the girl can find anything online!). Her dedication to working with others has been a great foundation in creating genuine, professional relationships with the community as the Educational Theatre Programs’ booking coordinator.

Sarah Mae Johnson

Sarah holds a BA in Communications from Metro State College of Denver, a degree which included exceptional communications, theatre and performance training. Sarah Mae has been with Kaiser Permanente for 7 years, and is currently the Special Projects Coordinator for ETP. She wears many hats in her position, including coordinating the assessment and reporting for programs, overseeing marketing and print materials, and managing partnerships. You can see Sarah in Denver’s professional theatre community where she works frequently as an actor and director (most recently in the Henry Award nominated role of the singing, dancing nun/nanny Maria, in The Sound of Music).

Glenna Kelly

Glenna has been associated with Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Program since 1985. She studied theatre at Denver University and received a BA in theatre from Colorado Women's College with a minor in education. What began as a one-year run as an actor/educator has turned into 25+ years of leading the department with humor and grace. Along with her work at Kaiser Permanente, Glenna has performed at a variety of local Denver theatres, including the Denver Center Theatre Company, The Arvada Center and The Aurora Fox.

Liz Konstanty

Liz studied music in Canada before realizing that her love for details and organization outweighed her desire to be on the stage. After fulfilling her dreams of international travel, she found her passion in nonprofit administration (yes, it’s true!). Mrs. Konstanty loves to crunch numbers and puts almost everything into an Excel document. She is privileged to work with Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit programs, most recently as Business Assistant for the Educational Theatre Programs.

Eric Mather

Eric graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a degree in mathematics and a minor in secondary education in 1996. He spent 8 years teaching high school math while earning his stars and stripes in Denver’s improv underground scene. With a 15-year acting history (playing God, the devil and just about everything in between), he’s a 4-time Denver Post Ovation Award nominee (most recently winning the Ovation for Best Comedic Actor), and has been nominated for a Henry Award for Best Actor. Eric has been an actor/educator with ETP for 6 years.

Mark Pergola

Mark graduated with a BA in Theatre from Marymount Manhattan College, NYC. He has performed extensively in professional theatre, and has created original works for the stage. He has also worked with a variety of populations from young children and teens, to people with disabilities and Alzheimer’s patients to create works that give a voice to their experience. Mark keeps the office active with regular games of foursquare and laughter yoga. He is proud to be a part of Kaiser Permanente and the vibrant community work they do.

Arlene Rapal

Arlene has spent most of her career in various aspects of the performing arts. After obtaining a BS in Communication from Michigan State University, she worked with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Young Voices of Colorado and Up With People. In 2005, Arlene toured children’s theater with Imagination Makers Theater Company. Arlene is an accomplished singer and dancer, performing regularly throughout Denver. ETP brought her on as an actor/educator, mostly for her contagious laugh, but also to utilize her incredible facilitation and project management skills. Oh, and her renown acting abilities.

Curtis Robbins

Curtis received a BA in Communications with Theatre Emphasis from Wheaton College and an MBA in Project Management from Colorado Christian University. His teaching experience includes conversational English in China and high school theatre in Colorado. In his spare time, Curtis participates in local theatre projects in the community and in his church, perfects a to-die-for brownie recipe and fine-tunes his photography skills, all while being a loving husband and devoted father of three. He has been with the Educational Theatre Programs since August 2000, where he serves as actor, facilitator, and supervisor of the touring programs.

Jada Roberts

Jada is a senior actor/educator with ETP and has worked as a professional actor in both New York and Denver. Locally, she has performed at Curious Theatre Company, Shadow Theatre Company, and Modern Muse Theatre Company. She received her MFA from The Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University, her BA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, her MBA from the University of Phoenix, and is currently working on a Masters in Education. When Jada is not conquering the world and expanding her education, she is at Kaiser Permanente, using theatre as a tool to educate, inspire, and motivate individuals and communities.

Laura Chavez Slack

Laura attended the University of Colorado at Denver as a theatre major with an acting/directing focus. Her professional acting career includes leading roles at many Denver area theatres, improv comedy at MaDcap Theatre, bilingual English-Spanish productions, and various films. Laura has been keepin’ it real as an actor/educator with ETP since 2001 and is grateful the days of full-body costumes are in the past. Mrs. Slack’s passion for the arts and her strong commitment to having a positive impact on young people is the foundation for her work at Kaiser Permanente.

Katie Rose Wall

Katie earned her BFA degree in theatre performance from the University of Colorado. She has performed professionally in theatre, film, and television across the country, and has also worked behind the scenes in the entertainment industry in production and management. Additionally, Mrs. Wall has directed, taught, and choreographed children’s theatre and musical theatre both in Los Angeles and Denver. Lucky for us, she chose the Mile High City over the City of Angels and as our newest ETP member, Katie brings a passion for inspiring young voices through the power of theatre.

Samuel Wood

Samuel received his MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory and was co-chair for the Charleston County School of the Arts’ Theatre Department. He was a faculty member for Trident Technical College’s Theatre and Speech Department and an active member of the professional theatre community, including the Charleston Stage Company. Mr. Wood was also privileged to direct and perform for the Spoleto Festival USA. As the Teens Take It On program coordinator, and our resident botanist, Sam shares his wealth of experience and knowledge to help Denver’s communities thrive and his team members’ gardens grow.