Michael Mumper, Ph.D.
Michael Mumper is professor of Political Science and coordinator of the master’s program in public administration at Adams State University. He holds a Ph. From the University of Maryland in government and politics. His areas of specialization are policy analysis and American higher education policy and finance. In addition to publishing more than 30 articles and papers, he is the author of Removing College Price Barriers: What Government Has Done and Why it Hasn’t Worked (SUNY Press).
Mumper was on the faculty of the Political Science Department at Ohio University for 20 years where he served as Director of the Master’s Program in Public Administration, Department Chair and Associate Provost for Graduate Studies. In 2007 he moved to Adams State and become its Provost and then Senior Vice President. In 2017, he returned to the faculty where he developed this master’s program. In 1996-97, Mumper was Fulbright Scholar at the American University in Bugaria.
Jason T. Kelly, J.D.
Jason Kelly is the Alamosa County Attorney. He also serves as the Conejos County judge. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and his juris doctorate from the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock, Arkansas. Jason returned to Colorado and opened a private practice before joining Alamosa County full-time. He is a member of the Colorado Bar Association and the San Luis Valley Bar Association and has served as past Secretary/Treasurer, Vice-President, and President of the SLV Bar Association.
Christy Doon
Christy Doon is the City Administrator for the City of Salida. The City hired Doon in 2022 as Assistant City Administrator and she stepped into the role of City Administrator in December of 2023. Prior to serving in this role, Doon worked for the past ten years with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs as the South-Central Regional Manager. She provided technical and financial assistance to local governments in a 10-county region including Salida and Chaffee County. Doon was also the Community and Economic Development Specialist for six years with the Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government, based out of Denver. She is currently a faculty member of the University of Colorado – Denver and Adams State University, teaching Master’s level coursework in Local Government Administration as well as Human Resource Management and Leadership Development. Doon started her career in local government as a Best and Brightest management fellow with the Town of Poncha Springs. She holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from the University of Colorado – Denver, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Dallas.
Elyse Ackerman Casselberry
Elyse has worked in state and local government since 2001 in varying roles in community development and public administration. She is a graduate of Prescott College with an MA in Ecology and Resource Management and from the University of Colorado with a BA in Environmental Studies. Elyse’s career in local government began as an intern with Douglas County, Colorado where she helped the County update their 2020 Comprehensive Master Plan. She moved from intern to planner for Douglas County and spent seven years focused on long range and environmental planning. Elyse has since worked in public administration as the Town Administrator in Silverton, Colorado, with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs as a regional manager, and currently splits her time as the Community & Economic Development Director of Delta County and the Town Administrator of the Town of Collbran. Elyse is passionate about local government, and community engagement, and about sharing that passion with future public administrators.
Randi Snead
Randi is the South Central Regional Manager for the Department of Local Affairs and a proud multigenerational Southern Colorado native. After spending seven years in local government, Randi joined the Department of Local Affairs field team as a Regional Assistant, and was later promoted to her current position. Her tenure at DOLA has included working directly with 22 counties, learning from amazing mentors, participating in impactful statewide initiatives and policy, seeing hundreds of projects through, delivering technical assistance and guidance, and gaining broad experience serving Colorado communities. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado State University, and an MPA from Adams State University.
Kat Correll
Kat, Downtown Colorado, Inc., is an innovative and creative strategist, who serves as a resource choreographer for local governments, non-profits, and private businesses hoping to achieve more with less. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Katherine has worked with development initiatives in Denver, New York, Chicago, Camden, and the Former Soviet Union. Her focus on strategic planning and management focuses on building viable and sustainable private, public, and non-for-profit institutions and programs. Katherine received her master’s degree in public administration for international economic development from Rutgers University and her bachelor’s degree in Politics with a minor in urban studies from New York University.