Alison Burnell

• Shopify Developer
• Alison was born and raised in Northern Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2018. She then relocated to Denver to begin her career as a multi-disciplinary designer. Alison is passionate about entrepreneurship, volunteer work, and is always searching for exciting new opportunities, so TUF is a natural fit! In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, exploring the culinary scene in Denver, everything true crime, and doing all of the above with a lemonade in hand.

Cassie Wallace

• Operations Advisor
• Cassie was born in Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a product leader working on software for environmental compliance, working toward a vision of how technology can work for good. When not in front of a computer, Cassie is usually running, skiing, biking, or learning something new!

Cassie Wanek

• Partner Relationship Manager
• While Cassie was born in Boulder, she spent the majority of her childhood and into her adult years living in Wisconsin and Florida and has only just made her way back to the Centennial state in 2018. In lieu of sporting the “native” bumper sticker, she jumped at the opportunity to join the TUF family in partnering with the local businesses she loves. As a Global Relationship Manager at the HSBC Bank corporate office in Denver, she applies a similar strategy to the community by helping partners and business owners get the most out of the suite of services TUF has to offer.

Claire Crookston

• Creative Director
• Claire graduated with a BA in Communications from Purdue University and began her professional career in New York City working in the contemporary fashion industry. She left buying and merchandising to expand her digital expertise as a Multimedia Creative Consultant, with a focus on UX/UI, graphic design, and brand strategy. One decade and a global pandemic later, Claire relocated from the concrete jungle of Manhattan to Denver, Colorado. When she's not designing, you can find her practicing Katonah yoga, hunting down the best Greek food, snowboarding, or hiking in the mountains with her husband and dog, Bronx.

Clara Balestrieri

• Events Manager
• Clara spent her childhood in Arlington, Virginia and Brussels, Belgium, when she was younger. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations with a focus on Communication Studies and relocated to Denver in November 2018. Clara’s passion for events was ignited when she volunteered for amfAR’s Cinema Against AIDS gala at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, she has worked with Group Nine Media’s family of brands to help bring their experiential extensions to life for media advertisers. In her free time you can find Clara skiing in the mountains, creating candles, spending time in Alaska, and discovering all the new and exciting things that Denver has to offer.

Daniel Johnson

• Web Designer
• Daniel was born and raised in the suburbs outside of Seattle, WA. He graduated from Stanford University in 2016, then worked as a high school English teacher, a technical writer at a healthcare analytics company, and, most recently, an analyst at a renewable energy investment firm. Aside from the traditional Colorado hobbies of hiking and skiing, Daniel enjoys playing music, learning new things about math and science, and writing about philosophy, art, and modern society.

Ez Gadson

• Director of Community Engagement
• Ez is a Colorado native, born and raised in the heart of the city. He attended Howard University, where he graduated with a degree in Business Management. Ez would later earn his MBA at San Diego State University. He has spent the past 5 years working for Denver Public Schools and specializing in Career and College programing. Ez is currently an Operations Manager and works on initiatives ranging from Building Improvement projects to Diversity and Equity projects. Ez enjoys sports, gaming, film, and spending time with his children. Ez leads TUF’s community engagement efforts with a focus on our youth and future leaders in the city.

Jas Kitterman

• Photographer
• Jas grew up in Orlando, Florida where her family owned a small business for 9 years. She worked there day in and out, but when the COVID-19 Pandemic hit in 2020, they were forced to shut down permanently. Jas took the unexpected opportunity to pursue her dreams of becoming an independent, full time photographer while simultaneously moving across the country to Denver, Colorado. Her connection to the small business industry and passion for social justice is what brought her to The Underdog Family.

Justin “JT” Tomlinson

• Director of Marketing
• JT grew up in East Tennessee and studied Environmental Science at the Univ. of Tennessee. Throughout his life, he has volunteered countless hours at hospitals, park cleanups, & the USDA. After college, he spent time teaching English in Thailand and gaining cultural experience traveling and living throughout parts of SouthEast Asia. JT now runs a digital marketing firm, Aggregate Digital, based out of Denver and was brought on the team to help The Underdog Foundation and our partners gain exposure through social media & growing our online presence.

Justin Nedell

• Director of Content & Design
• Originally from Ohio, Justin graduated with a degree in International Business from Ohio University and left his home state to discover the world. His curiosity was piqued by volunteering, teaching English, learning new languages, and exploring ~30 countries before he finally settled in Denver to focus on a career in Product Marketing. Traveling, hiking, camping, writing, learning French, and minimalism are just a few of the things he enjoys outside of supporting TUF's mission & brand!

Lindsay Puckett

• Director of Events
• Lindsay is a Colorado native, born and raised in Boulder. She attended the University of Kansas, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, with a focus in Marketing and Strategic Communications. Post-college, Lindsay worked in the fashion industry in Chicago and Los Angeles, before returning to Colorado after a 10 year hiatus. In her free time she can be found eating and drinking her way through Denver's culinary scene, searching for live music and enjoying the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Matt Casey

• Technical Director
• Born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in Dallas, Matt traveled "abroad" to study Fine Art at Pratt Art Institute and SVA in New York City. He is passionate about supporting his local community and using his knowledge and experience to help others. After graduation, he started learning to build websites for local artists and businesses. Matt also loves camping, hiking, biking, and live music.

Mychal Martinez

• Senior Project Manager
• Mychal is originally from Las Vegas, NV and has lived in Denver, CO since 2012. He enjoys kayaking and exploring the outdoors on his free time. Professionally, he owns Mychal Martinez Basketball and trains youth and high school basketball players throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Additionally, he serves as the Senior Project Manager for TUF and helps organize sports related events.

Paige Millburg

• Lead Photographer
• Originally from central Illinois, Paige traveled her way across the country (and the world) before finding her fit in Denver. Paige graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in Spanish and has worked across a spectrum of projects in healthcare IT. Her professional goal has always been to help others and she loves the creative ways TUF supports the Denver community. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, knitting, exploring breweries and cideries, attending more weddings than she can count, and hiking across Colorado with her pup Despereaux.

Volunteer Network – 200 and counting!

• TUF would not be TUF without our amazing network of dedicated volunteers and donors that make all of our events and initiatives possible.