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Topic: Health and Wellness

Katrina Little

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Katrina Little, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of focus are on education and health promotion amongst child-bearing and breastfeeding women in minority populations.

Little has 14 years of clinical experience as a registered nurse specializing in inpatient obstetrics caring and sharing in the low to high-risk birth experiences across the states of Texas, California and Colorado. She has over eight years of experience teaching as an affiliate faculty and full-time faculty. Little taught at University of Colorado School of Nursing and College America before joining MSU Denver in 2013. She transitioned to a full-time faculty in 2017. Little has held a variety of leadership roles in the community and professionally. Little is a member of the Women’s Health and Neonatal Leadership team and diversity chairman on St. Elizabeth’s Denver Episcopal Day School Parent Association Board.

Little received her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Administration from Hampton University, a master of science in nursing with a specialty in nursing education from Kaplan University in 2013, and a bachelor of science in nursing from Texas Christian University in 2003. She is a registered nurse in Colorado and California.

Carol Jensen

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Cynthia Dormer

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Cynthia Dormer, Ph.D., R.D., is a professor in the Department of Nutrition at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of expertise include nutrition education, nutrition counseling, online and classroom course design, basic nutrition, and health promotion. She teaches Body Image: Concepts & Approach and Nutrition Education & Counsel. Her career is focused on weight-inclusive approaches, weight management, body image, nutrition, goal-setting, wellness, and college- student success.  

In addition to teaching, Dormer is a registered dietitian nutritionist and the president of Brightside Co. Inc. She is the author of publications such as “Effects of College Classroom Goal-Setting Activities on Autonomous Motivation, Competence, Relatedness, and Achievement of Goals” and “Developing Technologies to Support People to Develop Healthy Eating Routines,” both featured in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  

Before joining MSU Denver, Dormer served as an assistant scientist at the AMC Cancer Research Center.  

Dormer earned a doctorate in Philosophy with a focus in Human Nutrition from Colorado State University.  

Lincoln Davie

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Lincoln Davie, Ph.D., is an associate professor of outdoor recreation and Tourism Management in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Colleen Colles

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Colleen Colles, Ed.D., is a professor of sports management and assistant chair in the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She also serves as the program coordinator for the Sports Management major. Her areas of expertise include gender-equity issues in sport, legal issues in sport, sport internships, study abroad and sport-management pedagogy. She currently teaches classes in Sports Management and Career and Professional Development in Sports Management and oversees internships.

Prior to joining MSU Denver, Colles worked at Nichols College for 12 years, teaching in the MBA program and serving as the department chair for the Sports Management Program. She taught at the University of Northern Colorado and worked as the head volleyball coach and an instructor at Eastern Oregon University. Her involvement at MSU Denver includes co-chairing the College of Professional Studies’ Retention, Tenure and Promotion Committee, serving on the Enrollment, Retention and Graduation Committee, the Experiential Learning Task Force and multiple search committees. She has been involved with the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA) since its inception, serving on the Board of Commissioners for multiple terms. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Sportswomen of Colorado and is an active member of the North American Society for Sport Management and the Sport and Recreation Law Association.

In 2014, Colles led the transformation of the Sport Management curriculum, which resulted in the successful accreditation of the program by the COSMA in 2017. She has also been instrumental in reestablishing a distinguished Sport Management Advisory Board, hosting an annual Women in Sport Leadership panel and creating two academic minors, one in Sport Media and the other in Sport Management. Her most recent work, Networks and Academic Partnerships in International Sport Management, has been published as a book chapter in “Managing Sport Across Borders.”

She received her doctorate in Sports Administration from the University of Northern Colorado in 1997. She received her master’s degree in Physical Education in 1990 from Eastern Kentucky University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Health and Fitness Management from Northern Michigan University in 1988.

Jennifer Bolton

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Jennifer Bolton, Ph.D., RDN, CLC, is a professor in the Department of Nutrition at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her areas of expertise encompass school nutrition, infant and childhood feeding, prenatal nutrition, breastfeeding, initiating solids, promoting healthy foods for children, childhood obesity and trans-fat. She currently teaches Lifecycle Nutrition in the graduate program as well as Maternal and Child Nutrition, Introduction to Nutrition, and Medical Nutrition Therapy I and II in the undergraduate program. Her research is centered around infant feeding, childhood obesity, breastfeeding best practices, and medical nutrition therapy as well as the prevention of neural tube defects in developing countries.

In addition to teaching, Bolton currently works as a Clinical Dietitian at HealthONE as well as a Registered Dietitian for Project Wellness 365. She holds a Certified Lactation Counselor certification, further contributing to her multifaceted engagement in the field of nutrition and health.

Bolton earned a Doctorate in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Colorado State University, a Master’s in Nutrition from Illinois State University, and a Bachelors of Science from Arizona State University.

Susan Bertelsen

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Susan Bertelsen, Ed.D., is a professor in the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver where she has been employed for eleven years. Previously, she taught two years at the University of Wyoming, one year at Santa Barbara City College and over 10 years at the high school level in California, Hawaii, and Colorado. Bertelsen specializes in methods of teaching fitness and physical activity education, health education and physical activity behavior change. She has owned and operated a 3,000 square foot fitness center from 2007-2009 and has been a certified personal trainer since 1997.

Originally from California, Bertelsen earned her Bachelor’s degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo; Master’s from California State University Fresno; and Doctorate from University of Northern Colorado. She is an avid mountain bike rider and enjoys a variety of outdoor pursuits including golf, water sports, and traveling.

Micah Battson

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Micah Battson, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at Metropolitan State University of Denver. His areas of expertise include the impact of dietary patterns and individual nutrients on health and disease, aging, obesity, diabetes, gut microbiome, metabolism, and cardiovascular disease. Battson teaches Introduction to Nutrition; Macronutrients in Health and Disease; and Vitamins, Minerals, and Bioactive Compounds in Health and Disease.

He was an affiliate professor at MSU Denver before becoming an associate professor last fall. Before coming to MSU Denver, Battson worked as the vice president for research fellow at Colorado State University. He was also a lead graduate teacher and a graduate research assistant at the University of Colorado Boulder.

His doctorate research at CSU focused on the interaction among diet, the gut microbiome, and cardiovascular physiology in the setting of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Battson received his doctorate in Food Science and Human Nutrition from CSU in 2018, a master’s in Integrative Physiology from CU Boulder in 2014, and a bachelor’s in Biochemistry magna cum laude from the University of California Los Angeles in 2010.

Brian Bagwell

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Brian Bagwell, Psy.D., is a professor in the Department of Human Services at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

He previously had a 20-year career as a firefighter/paramedic. Bagwell spent five years in New York City, part of which was spent working with a team providing psychological services to members of the New York Police Department following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. In addition to teaching, Bagwell coordinates MSU Denver’s Fire and Emergency Response Administration degree program. He is also a member of the Emergency-Preparedness Committee, a task force member of the Campus Climate Survey Committee and council member of the Service Learning Program Advisory. Bagwell received the Faculty and Staff Award for Exceptions Achievement in Community Engagement from MSU Denver in 2016.

He has presented locally and nationally on topics that include workplace violence, critical incident stress management, trauma, treating claustrophobic firefighters and perception of threat and de-escalation of violence strategies for first responders, employers and mental health clinicians.

Kelsey Asplin

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Kelsey Asplin, is a naturopathic doctor and adjunct professor in the Integrative Health Care Program at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

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