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One Chance to Grow Up Advisory Council
Doug Robinson – Chairman, One Chance to Grow Up, Managing Partner Dry Fly Capital, 2018 Candidate for CO Governor
Jill Anschutz – Anschutz Foundation Board member, Community Leader
Celeste Archer – Founder and Former Executive Director, Colorado Student Leaders Institute, National Conference of Governor’s Schools President
Wil Armstrong – Principal Three Tree Capital, Chairman, Board of Trustees, Colorado Christian University
Linda Brown – Board Member of 5280 High School, Community Leader
Catherine Bullock – CPA, Community Leader, Former CO Springs School Board Member
Gina Carbone – Co-founder, One Chance to Grow Up, Community Leader
Diane Carlson – Co-founder and National Policy Director, One Chance to Grow Up
Wendi Chamberlain – Community Leader, Registered Nurse
Hailey Dennis-Perrego – Community Leader, Pueblo, Colorado
John Faught, J.D. – Former CEO and President, Kempe Foundation
Ken Finn, M.D. – Physician, Springs Rehabilitation, PC; pain management expert
Jeff Hanson, M.D. – Retired Neonatologist, Pediatrix Medical Group
Ted Harms – Community Leader
Henny Lasley – Co-founder and Executive Director, One Chance to Grow Up
Melissa Larson, M.D. – Partner USAP, Board Certified General and Pediatric Anesthesiologist
Elinore McCance-Katz, M.D. – Former Cabinet Assistant Secretary and head of SAMHSA
Paula McPheeters – Community Leader
Rachel O’Bryan, J.D. – Co-founder, Author, and Policy Advisor, One Chance to Grow Up
Lorrie Odom, M.D. – Retired Pediatric Hematologist-Oncologist
Scott Pann – Senior VP, RBC Wealth Management, BYU Management Society
Sue Sharkey – Former University of Colorado Board of Regents President
Ge’Swan Swanson – Community Leader
Anna Weaver – Executive Director, Colorado Psychiatric Society and Colorado Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Society
Marie Whiteside, M.D. – Pediatrician and Community Leader
VANESSA T. -Littleton, CO
My name is Vanessa T. and I am 16 years old. I go to Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The impact of marijuana use on youth across Colorado is an issue that matters to me because I see a lot of peers and friends use marijuana without knowing the damage they could be causing to themselves. Marijuana can leave lasting damage to youth’s mental and physical health; educating adolescents about these effects is huge. I want to help create change and protect teenagers my age in any way possible.
JAYLYNN W.-Bennett, CO
Hi there! My name is Jaylynn W. and I am a junior at Bennett High School. I am 16 years old and live in the rural town of Bennett in the Eastern Plains of Colorado. Unfortunately, I see the effects of marijuana and other THC-based products used within my local high school and middle school. I’ve had personal friends turn to it as a coping method, and others who have become addicted to marijuana, and the even sadder thing is we have middle schoolers being found with weed—- as middle schoolers! This issue is especially important to me because of the people I care about who are affected, and also due to the lack of knowledge and awareness among parents and schools.
MONROE C.-Colorado Springs, CO
My name is Monroe C. and I’m currently 16 years old and a junior at Liberty High School, with goals to attend Oxford University for an undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). I am a military kid and have moved a lot, every time, watching high-achieving kids getting burnt out and turning to marijuana as a coping mechanism. Until I see dramatic changes in the American public school system that supports kids and wants to see them succeed; there need to be greater attempts to regulate marijuana use in teens.
SANJITA B.-Boulder, CO
My name is Sanjita B., I am 16 years old and live in Boulder Colorado. I am a junior in high school attending Peak to Peak Charter School. This issue is important to me because I have seen a few of my friends and classmates that I have grown up with start using drugs and I have seen how much it has changed them and impacted their lives as well. I want to make sure that people, especially our youth, are more educated on safe drug prevention and understand the dangers of it.
AISHA O.-Durango, CO
A bit about myself: I am a 16-year-old junior living in Durango, Colorado, and attending Durango High School. I believe that marijuana legalization is critically important not just for Colorado, but for our nation. Think the laws criminalizing marijuana are discriminatory and hinder the development of equality and the economy in many parts of the US. However, for this to happen, the country needs a model in which unjust laws can be rectified without harming our children, and One Chance to Grow Up’s mission of protecting kids must be at the forefront of our legislator’s priorities.
JUDE R.-Boulder, CO
I am 16 years old and attend Boulder High School. This issue matters to me because I have watched many peers and friends destroy their lives through marijuana usage.
ISABELLA G.-Westminster, CO
My name is Isabella G. and I attend Northglenn High School. A bit about myself: I’m a Colorado native, born in Thornton, and live in Westminster. Marijuana, especially the dangers, intrigue me because, throughout school, smoking was completely normalized even as a young kid. I have family members who smoke and use THC or CBD products for medical or recreational use. I want to know the risks so I can educate others and keep people safe.
OLIVER S. –Broomfield, CO
My name is Oliver S., I am currently 16 years old, live in Broomfield, CO, and attend Broomfield High School as a sophomore. Prior to moving to Colorado, I lived in Hudson, Wisconsin for 8 years. And have learned greatly from both states. Within BHS, the consumption of harmful substances such as marijuana and alcohol has impacted our student body, especially during school-wide events. I have known numerous individuals that have been impacted mentally and physically due to harmful substances and I want to advocate for those individuals that have started to venture down that path and don’t have a support system to help them back out. I want to work with my school and other schools across the country to advocate and improve the climate of harmful substances so that individuals do not feel alone in their struggles.
One Chance to Grow Up protects kids from THC through transparency, education, empowerment, and policy. We don’t take sides on the politics of legalization but instead serve as a reliable resource for parents, media, policymakers, and all who care about kids.
Started by concerned parents we’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by charitable contributions. One Chance to Grow Up is a project of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center. EIN: 84-1493585