FACULTY & STAFF

Dr. Kelly Arora ([email protected]) is Co-Director of the Master of Science in Palliative Care and Interprofessional Palliative Care Certificate Program. She is also the John Wesley Iliff Senior Adjunct Lecturer in Spiritual Care at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. Arora has taught courses on the relationship between spirituality and health at Regis University and at the Regis University School of Pharmacy, as well as courses in interprofessional ethics at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Her passion for spirituality in health care began when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis over 20 years ago. She actively sought ways to address spiritual questions and concerns related to her health when it was evident that medical professionals were uncomfortable talking about the spiritual dimension of her illness experience. Arora serves on the board of Centus Counseling, Consulting and Education, and she is a member of the Porter Adventist Hospital Ethics Committee. In addition to teaching, research, publishing and speaking about health and spirituality, Arora maintains a private practice in spiritual direction. She lives in the south Denver area with her husband, a wireless communications consultant and two awesome children, who are busy navigating life in their early 20s. The family loves hiking, annual trips to Telluride, and trying bizarre foods. Their elderly and cranky cat rules the world from her command post at home.

Anne Dondapati Allen is a Lead Consultant for the UCH Ethics Consult Service and has been a part of the consult service since 2018. In addition to ethics consultation she contributes to ethics education through the Nurse Residency program at UCH and mentors Ethics Ambassadors. Anne also coordinates the Moral Distress Consultation and Mitigation efforts through the Ethics Consult Service. Anne’s research interests include investigating moral distress and moral resiliency among URiM and other healthcare professions.
Anne is a staff chaplain II at the University of Colorado Hospital, Anschutz Campus and focuses her work around staff and provider resiliency and critical incident debriefing. Prior to her work in Healthcare Chaplaincy, she was Adjunct faculty in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Denver, Colorado Women’s College and Adjunct Faculty in Psychology, Johnson and Wales University, Denver Campus.

Elissa Kolva Ph.D. ([email protected]). I am a clinical psychologist at the Denver VA  working in health psychology and hematology/oncology. I received my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Health and Neuropsychology from Fordham University in New York.  I completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, and then spent five years as a faculty member at CU Anschutz before starting my position at the VA. My research and clinical interests include psychotherapy interventions for coping with psychological distress in the context of chronic illness, measurement of end-of-life distress, and capacity assessment. Elissa greatly enjoys skiing in the winter, hiking in the summer and is working hard to have a better attitude about camping.

Jana Miner is a Palliative Care Chaplain at University of Colorado Hospital. She is an endorsed Humanist Chaplain and Celebrant through The American Humanist Society. She is a Board Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. She graduated with highest honors from Rawlings School of Theology with a Masters of Divinity, and a focus in Chaplaincy including grief, trauma and crisis studies. She completed 4 units of Clinical Pastoral Education residency with clinical assignments that include the MICU, NICU, PICU, Adult and Pediatric Emergency Department, and various other inpatient units. She pursued a Palliative Care Chaplain Fellowship at the University of Colorado Hospital and completed 3 additional units of Clinical Pastoral Education. She has been formally trained in Pastoral Crisis Intervention and Grief Following Trauma. She now works inpatient as a staff Palliative Care Chaplain. Jana is mom to three wonderful children, ages 13, 9 and 7. In her free time she enjoys lifting weights, playing cello, paddleboarding and spending time with her family and friends.

Melissa started her career as an undergraduate psychology graduate working in community-based children’s programs in the Mountains of Northern Appalachia. After her graduate studies in Master’s in Social Work/Juris Doctor program at the University of Denver, Melissa’s practice expanded to mental health and medical social work at Sutter Health. In 2005, she teamed with the local hospice director and nurse to design and implement a hospital based palliative care program in Northern California. She moved to Kaiser Permanente Northern California in 2007 where she worked as an inpatient palliative care social worker. When Melissa and her family moved back to Colorado in 2014, she teamed with a nurse practitioner at a home-based community palliative care program that served Colorado Foothills communities. She currently works at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus on the inpatient palliative care team. Melissa Palmer received her certification for advance practice social worker in the field of hospice and palliative care (ACHP-SW in 2017 and APHSW-C in 2019). In January 2021, Melissa transitioned to the MSPC Director and Allied Health lead.

Laurel Tropeano ([email protected]) comes to University of Colorado School of Medicine by following a palliative care social work thread over the past 15 years. After receiving her BA in Comparative Religious studies at Vassar College and completing her MSW at New York University with a focus on advanced illness, Laurel enjoyed a year-long fellowship in the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care within Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center prior to moving to Denver. In 2012, Laurel co-founded an independent palliative care social work agency that partnered with Kaiser Permanente of Colorado to provide care to their members with advanced illness. During this time, she also worked within the interdisciplinary inpatient palliative care team at Intermountain Health Saint Joseph Hospital as well as the palliative care arm of The Denver Hospice. She served as president of the Advanced Palliative and Hospice Social Work Certification board and enjoys digging into dynamics within palliative care teams. Laurel has two elementary-aged daughters, and she and her husband are recent pickleball fanatics.

Hareklia (Harri) Brackett ([email protected])is credentialed as an Advanced Practice Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Colorado State Board of Nursing (2003) and has had her Advance Certification in Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing (ACHPN) since 2006. She has 35 years of nursing experience and has worked in the areas of inpatient and outpatient oncology and blood disorders in the capacity of staff nurse, nurse coordinator, case manager, clinical nurse educator, and clinical nurse specialist. She has primarily worked with oncology patients and providers and has considerable background in the areas of patient and staff education, conference coordination and direct clinical care. She has extensive experience in communication, value-based goals of care conversations, advance care planning, family meeting facilitation, and pain and symptom management. She has served as the lead advanced practice provider for the UCH Inpatient Palliative Care Consult Service since its origination in 2005 and is faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and an assistant professor for the Master of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) program. She serves on the Communication Curriculum team for the MSPC. She has been the co-facilitator of the bi-annual End of Life Nursing Education Curriculum (ELNEC) and the UCH Annual Current Perspectives on Palliative Care conference for the past 17 years. She is a first generation Greek American and a Denver native. She is the wife of a systems analyst and mother of two young adult sons starting their own careers in graphic design and environmental science. She and her husband enjoy traveling (and visiting their eldest son (who plays semi pro soccer in Germany). In her free time, she enjoys home decorating, going for walks, gardening, shopping and being with friends and family.

Dr Dixon-Anderson is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  She completed her Emergency Medicine residency at William Beaumont Hospital and practiced as an Emergency Medicine physician in large academic centers to critical access hospitals until 2021 when she began her Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Kansas University in Kansas City, KS. Dr Dixon-Anderson also completed an MBA Magna Cum Laude at the University of Colorado and is currently enrolled in the Masters in Public Health program. She is passionate about teaching primary palliative care principles to Emergency Medicine providers, patient care, and medical education. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, hiking, travel, and spending time with her family and friends.

Dr. Kerry “Nellie” O’Connor ([email protected]) is a Clinical Instructor at the University of Colorado. She trained in Family Medicine at the University of Colorado and then did a fellowship in Hospice and Palliative care at Johns Hopkins. She has been working for the Inpatient Palliative Medicine Service on the Anschutz Campus since 2019. She started on faculty for the MSPC in 2022, is a WellDOM Champion for the Palliative Care Division of the CU Department of Medicine Wellness Initiative, teaches EOL in the MICU communication skills for medicine interns on their ICU rotations, and is co-leader of a home-based palliative care organization in Mbale, Uganda. Her professional interests include health care provider wellbeing and mindfulness, the intersection between nature and health/wellbeing, and value-based communication skill education. She enjoys playing with her dogs Scout and Bailey, hiking, skiing and snowshoeing, playing the guitar and singing, enjoying time with friends and family, photography, yoga, meditation, and home improvement projects.

Dr. Maurice (Scotty) Scott is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician, a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). Dr. Scott practices with the University of Colorado Palliative Medicine Service that is accredited by the Joint Commission. Dr. Scott is an Associate Professor and on faculty with the University of Colorado, School of Medicine – Internal Medicine.

Jennifer L. Seibert, M.D. ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (UC SOM), board certified in Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Since graduating from medical school in 1999, Jen has enjoyed a varied career in Family Medicine and has practiced in all areas of Hospice and Palliative Medicine from rural to urban settings, in academic and community-centered programs, from performing home visits to serving on an inpatient consult team. After leaving the palliative care clinic at University of Colorado last year, Jen's clinical practice is now in the long term care facility setting.
She also serves as faculty and as a co-director of communication skills training for the Masters of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) program, and as Medical Director and teaching faculty for the Red Rocks Physician Assistant Program.
When not teaching or seeing patients, Jen enjoys time in the Colorado outdoors with her blended family and three adult-ish children.

Hareklia (Harri) Brackett ([email protected])is credentialed as an Advanced Practice Nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist from the Colorado State Board of Nursing (2003) and has had her Advance Certification in Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing (ACHPN) since 2006. She has 35 years of nursing experience and has worked in the areas of inpatient and outpatient oncology and blood disorders in the capacity of staff nurse, nurse coordinator, case manager, clinical nurse educator, and clinical nurse specialist. She has primarily worked with oncology patients and providers and has considerable background in the areas of patient and staff education, conference coordination and direct clinical care. She has extensive experience in communication, value-based goals of care conversations, advance care planning, family meeting facilitation, and pain and symptom management. She has served as the lead advanced practice provider for the UCH Inpatient Palliative Care Consult Service since its origination in 2005 and is faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and an assistant professor for the Master of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) program. She serves on the Communication Curriculum team for the MSPC. She has been the co-facilitator of the bi-annual End of Life Nursing Education Curriculum (ELNEC) and the UCH Annual Current Perspectives on Palliative Care conference for the past 17 years. She is a first generation Greek American and a Denver native. She is the wife of a systems analyst and mother of two young adult sons starting their own careers in graphic design and environmental science. She and her husband enjoy traveling (and visiting their eldest son (who plays semi pro soccer in Germany). In her free time, she enjoys home decorating, going for walks, gardening, shopping and being with friends and family.

Melissa started her career as an undergraduate psychology graduate working in community-based children’s programs in the Mountains of Northern Appalachia. After her graduate studies in Master’s in Social Work/Juris Doctor program at the University of Denver, Melissa’s practice expanded to mental health and medical social work at Sutter Health. In 2005, she teamed with the local hospice director and nurse to design and implement a hospital based palliative care program in Northern California. She moved to Kaiser Permanente Northern California in 2007 where she worked as an inpatient palliative care social worker. When Melissa and her family moved back to Colorado in 2014, she teamed with a nurse practitioner at a home-based community palliative care program that served Colorado Foothills communities. She currently works at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus on the inpatient palliative care team. Melissa Palmer received her certification for advance practice social worker in the field of hospice and palliative care (ACHP-SW in 2017 and APHSW-C in 2019). In January 2021, Melissa transitioned to the MSPC Director and Allied Health lead.

Jennifer L. Seibert, M.D. ([email protected]) is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (UC SOM), board certified in Family Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Since graduating from medical school in 1999, Jen has enjoyed a varied career in Family Medicine and has practiced in all areas of Hospice and Palliative Medicine from rural to urban settings, in academic and community-centered programs, from performing home visits to serving on an inpatient consult team. After leaving the palliative care clinic at University of Colorado last year, Jen's clinical practice is now in the long term care facility setting.
She also serves as faculty and as a co-director of communication skills training for the Masters of Science in Palliative Care (MSPC) program, and as Medical Director and teaching faculty for the Red Rocks Physician Assistant Program.
When not teaching or seeing patients, Jen enjoys time in the Colorado outdoors with her blended family and three adult-ish children.

Dr. Katherine "Katie" Morrison ([email protected]) is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado. She has been working for the Inpatient Palliative Medicine Service on the Anschutz Campus since 2013. She has been faculty for the MSPC since its inception and is currently an APD and co-director of the CHPM pathway of the CUSOM Palliative care fellowship, is lead of wellbeing for the palliative medicine section in GIM, and works as coach, mentor and teacher in the COMPASS program for the School of Medicine. Her professional interests include mentorship, health care provider wellbeing and mindfulness. She enjoys being in water in its many forms, hiking with her husband and dogs, Dahlia and Halley, travel, sharing food with family and friends, reading cozies, birding and being outdoors as much as possible.

Dr. Maurice (Scotty) Scott is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician, a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and a member of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). Dr. Scott practices with the University of Colorado Palliative Medicine Service that is accredited by the Joint Commission. Dr. Scott is an Associate Professor and on faculty with the University of Colorado, School of Medicine – Internal Medicine.