Staff
Theresa A. Spahn, Executive Director
Email:
303-860-1517 ext 2
Ms. Spahn is the Director of the Office of the Child’s Representative (OCR). The OCR is a relatively new state agency that oversees all attorney services and was created by the Colorado General Assembly in 2000 to serve as an independent agency that could enhance and monitor attorney services for children. The OCR represents approximately 19,000 children a year in Dependency and Neglect, Domestic Relations, Delinquency, Truancy, and Probate cases. Ms. Spahn has long been a devoted and successful advocate of children’s issues through her work as a Deputy District Attorney, District Court Magistrate and particularly in her current position as Executive Director of the OCR.
Prior to serving as OCR’s Executive Director, Ms. Spahn was a District Court Magistrate in the 17th Judicial District from January 1994 through February 2001, where she presided over juvenile, domestic and criminal cases. Ms. Spahn was Deputy District Attorney for the Mesa County District Attorney’s Office in the 21st Judicial District from October 1992 through January 1994 where she specialized in Crimes against Children and headed the initiation of the Sexual Abuse Task Force. She also was a Deputy District Attorney for the Adams County District Attorney’s Office in Brighton, 17th Judicial District, from September 1989 through September 1992. Her first employment as an attorney was with the law firm Ciancio and Tasker, P.C., working as a domestic relations law clerk and associate from 1986 through 1989.
Ms. Spahn has received national recognition for her career-long work advocating for children. The National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) awarded Ms. Spahn the prestigious “NACC’s 2003 Outstanding Legal Advocacy Award”. Ms. Spahn has also received the 2005 Red Wagon Ball Friend of Children Award from the Advocates for Children, the State Colorado CASA 2005 Advocate of the Year award, the CASA of Adams and Broomfield Counties 2006 Advocate of the Year, and the Boulder County Voices for Children 2007Advocate award..
Ms. Spahn is a graduate of the University of Denver College of Law. She is a member of the Adams County Bar Association, Colorado Bar Association and the 2007/2008 President of the Colorado Women’s Bar Association.
Ms. Spahn serves on numerous committees and boards, including the Colorado Supreme Court Family Issues Committee and the National Association of Council for Children. She also serves as faculty for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA).
Sheree Coates, Billing Administrator
Sheree Coates is the OCR office administrator and manager. Ms. Coates processes all attorney payments and handles all the OCR billing procedures. Before working for the OCR, Ms. Coates was the Division Clerk for the Honorable Chief Judge Harlan Bockman in the 17th Judicial District.
Linda Weinerman, Deputy Director
E-mail:
303-860-1517 ext 3
In the Fall of 2003, Linda Weinerman became a staff attorney with the Office of the Child’s Representative. Ms. Weinerman attended Colgate University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978. She obtained a Masters of Business Administration Degree from Pace University in 1985. Upon moving to Colorado, she attended the University of Denver School of Law and obtained her law degree in 1991.
Ms. Weinerman has dedicated her legal career to children’s issues. From 1992 until 1999, Ms. Weinerman was a Guardian ad Litem in Denver County representing children in dependency and neglect cases. Ms. Weinerman served as a Denver City Attorney from July of 1999 through May 2002, representing the Denver Department of Human Services in both the Magistrate and Presiding Judge’s Divisions. In 2002, Ms. Weinerman served on the first Local Oversight Committee of the Office of the Child’s Representative in Denver County, which was charged with selecting all contract Guardians ad Litem in Denver. Among Ms. Weinerman’s responsibilities at the OCR is the handling of all complaints filed against attorneys who contract with the OCR to provide GAL services in Colorado.
Ryan Burke, Training Coordinator
E-mail:
303-860-1517 ext 5
Ryan Burke serves as OCR’s Training Coordinator, overseeing both the physical and technical aspects of the Training Program. Ryan graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Broadcast Production Management in December of 2006. At school he worked on two student-run broadcast shows, Newsteam and CU Sportsmag, and also interned at Boulder Television 54 as an assistant producer. In addition to his journalism degree, Ryan obtained a minor in Business Administration and aspires to return to school someday to pursue a graduate degree. Before beginning employment with the OCR, Ryan took a two-month backpacking trip through Europe in the Spring of 2007, and hopes to continue traveling in the future.
Sarah Ehrlich, Staff Attorney
E-mail:
303-860-1517 ext 1
Sarah Ehrlich is the Staff Attorney of the Office of the Child’s Representative. Ms. Ehrlich received a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Vermont in 1996 and attended the University of Denver Law School, graduating in 2004. While at D. U., she served as the Business Editor of the Transportation Law Journal and participated in the Corporate Internship program. She also completed a research project in Biometric Technology for Professor John Soma.
Ms. Ehrlich possesses a diverse legal background. She was the Senior Paralegal in the Anti-Piracy Unit for the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. Ms. Ehrlich has studied juvenile law abroad at Magdalen College at Oxford University in the U. K.
Melanie Jannicelli , Office Manager
E-mail:
303-860-1517 ext 0
Melanie Jannicelli is the Office Manager for the OCR, responsible for all administrative duties and supporting the rest of the staff. Ms. Jannicelli, a Colorado native, graduated from Trinity University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History in May 2006. In addition to her Art History degree, she obtained minors in Business Administration and Communication Management, and is fluent in German. Before coming to the OCR, she interned in the Education Department of the Denver Art Museum and volunteered at the Medical Center of Aurora.