Our Team

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 A Sri Lankan - American first generation Immigrant, Chin was born in Baltimore and grew up just outside Detroit Michigan. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2011, Chin has been working in Implementation and Project Management for Epic Systems, which took him to Madison, Austin, and Chicago before finally settling down in Denver. A current EMBA student at The Ross School of Business, Chin enjoys hiking, biking, EDM Music, and traveling the globe!  

  A German-American second generation immigrant, and the youngest of six, Derrick was born and raised in New York. After graduating with a dual-degree from Syracuse University and SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, Derrick entered the non-profit world as a Community Educator for Cornell Cooperative Extension. Since leaving in 2016, he has found entrepreneurship as his calling. Now, he's looking to give back to the community he cares so much about! In his free time, you can find him playing team sports, hiking, snowboarding and taking as many road trips as possible!   

 Darian was born and raised outside of Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Since then, she has had a diverse career path in IT and is recently certified in web development. She has always taken an interest in technology and is passionate about using it creatively to improve lives and help others succeed. She enjoys coding, camping, hiking, mountain biking, yoga, reading, writing, and traveling.  

  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.

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.

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!

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. 

Lauren Ruppenthal is a Long Island native and Buffalo-to-Denver transplant as of May 2019. Lauren graduated in 2017 from the University at Buffalo with a Masters in Social Work and is working towards obtaining her LCSW licensure in the next couple of months. Socializing with friends at a local brewery, lakeside camping (& giving wakeboarding yet another shot), and wintertime snowboarding in the mountains are a few of her favorite activities. Lauren was a recruitment chair for her college sorority and is excited to be back in the game.

 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. 

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.