Meet Our Staff
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Ian Engle
Executive Director ian@nwcci.org Prior to taking his current position at NWCCI in August 2013, Ian was Executive Director at the Center for People with Disabilities (the ILC based in Boulder) and before that he was Executive Director for the SouthWest Center for Independence with a main office in Durango. Ian sustained a spinal cord injury in a 40 foot fall from a tree on October 1, 1994. He was hired as an advocate with Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service, defending and enforcing the rights of people with disabilities. This work focused on investigating abuse and neglect in nursing homes as well as state and private institutions. Ian quickly developed a life-long passion for working with people to have more freedom and control over our own lives through exercising our right to choose and direct community-based services. Ian began delivering speeches and facilitating workshops on the conference circuit for human rights and social justice non-profit organizations, with a focus on nursing home transition and person-centered planning. Ian gained experience handling administrative duties, managing organizational budgets, facilitating dialogue-based interactive learning in participatory workshops, and organizing people to effectively address systemic issues in order to affect public policy. He enjoys connecting people with resources to further independence for many who are capable of doing more, in the larger community, for themselves and each other. |
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Montezuma ‘Zuma’ Engle
Service Dog Zuma provides moral support and comic relief for the NWCCI office staff as well as direct service for his owner. After being hit by a car in November 2013, the day before his first birthday, the Steamboat Pilot ran an article about him that has brought widespread community attention to how service animals allow people with disabilities to better reach goals for living well in the setting of our choice. |
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Micheal Bertram
Assistant Director micheal@nwcci.org Micheal was born and raised in Hayden, CO, as a family member of a person who is blind. He served with the Marine Corps from 2000-2005 where he was an aviation electrician. He earned his BA in Social Services in 2012. In 2013 he started working at NWCCI as an IL Coordinator serving individuals with disabilities. He excels in working with people to access assistive technology and provides training on the use of devices for people who are able to better reach goals for living well in the community through the use of these technological supports. Micheal also provides independent living skills development support which consists of budgeting, navigating services, employment-related training, and effectively choosing and directing the supports needed to reach goals for living well in the community. Micheal works with people to set goals and develop plans with specific action steps that detail who does what, by when, and within a strategic framework. His efforts work to put people with disabilities in control of our own lives through the development of an independent living plan that effectively coordinates services and supports around the individuals with whom he works. |
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Meagan Carini
Finance Manager meagan@nwcci.org Meagan moved to Steamboat in 2020 with her husband and is very excited to be a part of the NWCCI team. Her background brings many diverse skills and experiences to the organization including a degree in architecture from Texas A&M and ten years in retail and finance in New York City. During her free time, Meagan loves to go on hikes with her puppies, ski and spend as much time outdoors as she can in the beautiful Yampa Valley. |
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Ian ‘Glitch’ WhiteIT/Media and Facilities Specialist
ianwhite@nwcci.org Ian has lived in Steamboat nearly all of his life. A High Functioning Autistic with a knack for working with technology, he prefers to go by his online handle of ‘Glitch’, this is both to make him feel more at home and to avoid confusion with his boss also named Ian. His duties are to manage the website and organize data for the rest of the staff and other tasks that need doing. He’s quite happy to be here and looking forward to the long haul! |
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Beverly CharlesworthShredding Specialist
Beverly joined the NWCCI team in January 2014 with extensive experience providing clerical support. Her primary duties, tasks and responsibilities revolve around our organization’s goal to be environmentally conscious. This includes, but is not limited to, shredding, recycling, and working to assure that NWCCI is a clean and healthy work environment. |
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Joy BachemTransportation Specialist
joy@nwcci.org Joy is a Northwest Colorado native and has lived in Colorado her entire life. Joy won’t be leaving this area any time soon as she is a Grandmother of 12! She loves crafting, is mechanically inclined, and enjoys assisting people with all sorts of different skill levels. Her friendly demeanor makes her a real ‘joy’ to be around. Joy looks forward to learning about our independent living philosophy here at NWCCI. As our transportation needs are ever growing here in Colorado, we look forward to assisting folks getting where they need to go! |
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Rachelle SummersDevelopment Coordinator
rachelle@nwcci.org Rachelle first joined NWCCI in 2016 as our Operations Manager. Since 2019 she has been our Development Coordinator, writing grants and working with foundations who partner with NWCCI, so that we may reach all individuals with disabilities who are on their quest for living independently. Rachelle's background in business operations, accounting, software training, project management and banking makes for a threateningly long resume, but allows Rachelle to bring all her experiences along with her passion to NWCCI so that she can work with people who have disabilities to live their best life possible, and this helps her to live her best life possible as well. She has raised two children in Steamboat Springs and they are now off in the world fulfilling their dreams. Rachelle spends every minute of her free time with her loved ones, including her cat Dandelion. |
