The American Academy of Pediatrics – Colorado Chapter is governed by volunteer officers, a board of directors, advisors and is supported by a part-time executive director and lobbying team.
Executive Committee
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Stacy Parra, MD, FAAP – Chapter President 2024-2026 Dr. Parra is a general pediatrician at Pediatrics 5280 in Centennial/Castle Rock. She focuses on preventive medicine, immunization and early childhood intervention. Stacy has served on the Legislation and Policy and Membership Committees, testified at the State Capitol, acted as a media spokesperson and participated in the Colorado Medical Society Committee on Legislation. She enjoys hiking, cooking, reading and spending time with her husband and dog. |
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David Higgins, MD, MPH, FAAP – Chapter Vice-President 2024-2026 Dr. Higgins is a general pediatrician, public health and preventive medicine specialist, and pediatric health services researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Higgins has experience in private practice, academic medicine, health services research, public health advising and child health advocacy. He enjoys exploring the Colorado outdoors with his wife and two children and coaching youth soccer. |
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Autumn Orser, MD,FAAP – Secretary 2024-2026 Dr. Orser is a pediatrician at Peak Vista Community Health Centers in Colorado Springs. An innovative physician executive, she has extensive experience in value-based care, quality improvement, integrated medical, dental, and behavioral health, and team-based care. Autumn and her husband have two children and enjoy scuba diving, hobby farming and traveling in their free time. |
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Kaitlin Whelan, MD, FAAP -Treasurer 2024-2026 Dr. Whelan is a primary care pediatrician at the Child Health Clinic, with previous experience in private practice at Peak Pediatrics. Her interests include social determinants of health, preventive care and access to mental health care. Active in AAP-CO and AAP nationally since residency, she has testified at the State Capitol, spoken to the media and educated residents on the AAP and advocacy. She’s served as co-chair of Youth Mental Health Action Day and is an AAP-CO Mental Health champion. In her free time, Kaitlin enjoys traveling, hiking, snowboarding and listening to audiobooks. |
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Cassana “Cassie” Littler, MD, FAAP – Immediate Past President 2024-2026 Dr. Littler is a pediatrician with Denver Health, previously serving families in Mesa County. Cassie was the AAP CATCH Grant facilitator for the Colorado Chapter from 2011 to 2019 and is a member of the Council on Community Pediatrics, the Section on Obesity and the Chapter’s Legislation and Policy Committee. Cassie enjoys camping, hiking, biking and spending time with her family. |
Board
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Zoe Bouchelle, MD, MSHP, FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Bouchelle is a pediatric hospitalist and researcher at Denver Health and a faculty scholar at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab. She focuses on research and advocacy to address child poverty and improve social supports. She co-founded and co-leads the AAP Special Interest Group on Social Determinants of Health, is a member of the Johns Hopkins Guaranteed Income and Health Consortium and a co-investigator in the Center for Guaranteed Income Research at the University of Pennsylvania. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, paddleboarding and spending time with her son. |
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Nichole Feeney, MD, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. Feeney is a med/peds/hospice-trained physician practicing in pediatrics and internal medicine on the Western Slope. She ran a private practice in rural Tennessee before moving to Colorado, where she now serves as the medicine department chair for the area hospital. She hopes to improve Colorado both for children in general and also for her soon-to-be four teenagers. |
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Anne Frank, MD, FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Frank is a med/peds outpatient physician at Denver Health, practicing pediatrician at Eastside Pediatrics and assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Anne is active in medical education at the undergraduate and graduate level, working as a director of the Denver Health Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship and as co-director of the Clinical Pillar for CU School of medicine. She is also interested in advocacy, focusing on foster care, substance use disorders, gun violence prevention and pediatric behavioral health. She enjoys camping, running and skiing with her family. |
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Brooke Geyer, DO, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. Geyer is a Pediatric Palliative Care and Hospitalist at Children’s Colorado in Colorado Springs. She has a strong interest in increasing access to palliative care and hospice services for children throughout Colorado, with experience testifying at the State Capitol in Missouri, where she previously practiced. Brooke is also passionate about helping children access affordable and high-quality preschool and child care. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, farming, gardening and traveling. |
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Amy Goldstein, MD, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. Goldstein is a pediatric hospitalist who recently returned to Colorado. A Boettcher Foundation Scholar, she is committed to giving back to the Colorado community. She is passionate about student and resident education, mental health advocacy and improving communications between hospitals and primary care pediatricians to provide more complete and holistic care for children. Amy enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the Colorado outdoors. |
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Becca Hadeed, DO, MPH, FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Hadeed is a pediatric hospitalist at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children and Rose Medical Center, with previous experience as an outpatient pediatrician. She has a passion for serving underserved pediatric populations in the Denver metro area. With a strong background in research, pediatric immigrant health and international public health, Becca has worked in several countries, including China, Guatemala, Malawi, Peru, Argentina and Zimbabwe. She enjoys outdoor activities with her family and friends, and her husband who is also a pediatrician. |
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Martin A. Koyle MD, MSc, MMgmt, MBA(cert.), FAAP, FACS, FRCSC, FRCS (Eng.), FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Koyle served as Chief of Pediatric Urology at Children’s Colorado for almost 20 years and was a Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at the CU School of Medicine. He continues to be active in the AAP mentorship program, pediatric urology and national advocacy for increased pediatric surgical subspecialty representation. He focuses on education, quality improvement, patient safety, physician wellness and health care policy. |
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Rusha Lev, MD, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. Lev is a pediatrician at Denver Health specializing in outpatient pediatrics. She has particular interests in Health at Every Size (HAES) and advocacy work, especially related to school and creating closer connections between educators and pediatricians. Rusha has been active with AAP Colorado in their work with COVID and return to school, mental health and universal pre-K, and is member of the AAP Councils on School Health and Community Pediatrics and the Section on Obesity. She enjoys outdoor activities with her four children. |
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Mary MacLeod-Oguntuase, DO, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. MacLeod-Oguntuase is a pediatric hospitalist in northern Colorado. As a former active-duty pediatrician with the U.S. Air Force, Mary has a passion for medical education and serving medically underserved pediatric populations. She has served in pediatric advocacy groups and administrative leadership roles at a military clinic, authored pediatric board preparatory curriculum and has special interests in vaccine hesitancy and pediatric immigrant health. She is completing her MPH at Johns Hopkins and enjoys running and outdoor activities with her family. |
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David Markenson, MD, MBA, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. Markenson is the Chief Medical Officer for the American Red Cross and has previously held leadership roles with HealthOne, including as CMO of Sky Ridge Medical Center. He served as President of the Colorado Medical Society (CMS) and as part of the CMS board, has held multiple positions with AAP national committees and continues to advise on Disaster Medicine issues. He is fellowship-trained in Pediatric Emergency and Critical Care Medicine. David looks forward to supporting the chapter’s advocacy efforts through his own relevant experience. |
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Brianna Morgan, MD, MPH, FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Morgan is a primary care pediatrician at Every Child Pediatrics in Thornton. She is active in the AAP-CO Legislation and Policy Committee and has attended multiple AAP Advocacy Conferences in Washington, D.C. She’s interested in advancing immigrant health, access to care and health justice. Brianna enjoys skiing, snowboarding, traveling and outdoor activities with her dog. |
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Michelle Shiffman, MD, FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Shiffman is a bilingual pediatrician at Denver Health with interests in early literacy and school readiness, child development, immunization policy, resident education and gender affirming care. She serves on the AAP-CO Legislation and Policy Committee, is the Medical Director for Reach Out and Read Colorado and has worked with Immunize Colorado and CDPHE to advocate for vaccine education in both English and Spanish. Michelle enjoys traveling, skiing and spending time with her family. |
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Amanda Stanton, DO, FAAP 2024-2028 Dr. Stanton is a pediatrician and sports medicine physician who works in both the clinic and hospital settings in southwest Colorado. Amanda focuses on treating hip dysplasia and adolescent scoliosis and aims to improve access to this type of health care in rural Colorado. She has a passion for health equity and improving accessibility for all children. She enjoys outdoor sports and exploring the San Juan Mountains with her family. |
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Michael Thwing, MD 2024-2028 Dr. Thwing is a pediatrician with Pediatric Partners of the Southwest in Durango. He previously worked in Denmark for three years and Vermont for eight years. Michael is interested in pediatric psychiatry, antibiotic stewardship and complex patient care. He enjoys hiking, skiing and traveling with his family. |
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Meg Turner, MD, FAAP 2022-2026 Dr. Turner is a neonatologist at Denver Health, where she has an interest in breastfeeding, early childhood nutrition, immunization policy and prevention of preterm birth. Meg participates in DEFINE Colorado, a statewide collaborative effort to improve family engagement in the NICU, and has testified on behalf of AAP-CO in support of vaccine policy. She enjoys traveling, cooking, gardening and spending time with her family. |
Staff
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Executive Director Ellen Brilliant – Ellen currently serves as the Executive Director for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Colorado Chapter, a position she has held since 2016. Her roots run deep in Colorado’s nonprofit communities, having served as a government relations executive, campaign manager, lobbyist, media spokesperson, door knocker, sign waver, and many “other duties as assigned”. Ellen has been an advocate by profession for nearly 30 years, and by passion since she could talk. |
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Special Projects Coordinator Leisha Andersen, MD, MPH, FAAP – Leisha Andersen worked as a primary care pediatrician in St. Louis, MO and Colorado Springs, CO before redirecting her professional focus toward large-scale, preventative issues affecting pediatric health. As a Quality Improvement and Subject Matter Expert for multiple healthcare and non-profit organizations including the Colorado Chapter of the AAP, she strives to produce an upstream-level impact on the lives of children and families Leisha joined AAP Colorado in 2019. |
Membership
Membership opportunities are available to pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists, and other pediatric providers. American Academy of Pediatrics – Colorado Chapter (AAP-CO) provides an array of benefits and services to keep you up-to-date and informed and is the only organization that supports you through all four phases of maintenance of certification. As a member, you can be a voice for children and pediatrics.