Who We Are

Lydia Prado, PhD

Executive Director

Dr. Lydia Prado is the Executive Director of Lifespan Local, which activates community-driven solutions to collectively identified challenges by partnering across sectors, breaking barriers and elevating community voices. By maximizing sustainable assets within a neighborhood, Lifespan Local is able to reimagine what is possible, creating community spaces where health and wellness thrive.

Dr. Prado approaches her work from a systems and strengths-based perspective, with an emphasis on diversity, equity and community-based leadership. Dr. Prado is a place-maker, convening partners with a shared commitment to healthy living and social change.

Before starting Lifespan Local, Dr. Prado spent 17 years with the Mental Health Center of Denver as the Vice President of Child & Family Services. She is the project visionary behind the Mental Health Center of Denver’s Dahlia Campus for Health & Well-Being, an innovative community center in Northeast Park Hill that promotes well-being across the lifespan. The site features an inclusive preschool, a full service dental clinic for children, a one acre urban farm, 5,400 sq ft aquaponics greenhouse, horticultural therapy spaces, community gardens, teaching kitchen, community room, gymnasium and a full array of mental health services for all ages.

About Dahlia Campus for Health & Well-Being

Located in Denver’s Northwest Park Hill, Dahlia Campus for Health & Well-Being provides a wholistic approach to well-being that supports mind, body and community. This campus is an open space for community members to connect with each other, learn new skills and find the help they need. Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being began through the act of having conversation — conversations about health, connection, raising children, growing old, hope & despair. As Dr. Lydia Prado dreamed of a new approach to mental health care, she met residents of Denver’s Northeast Park Hill neighborhood who were dreaming, too. These conversations centered around words like food, daycare, jobs, and afterschool activities. As these conversations continued, themes began to emerge, people were looking for a way to connect mind, body, and community. As the Vice President of Child and Family Services at the Mental Health Center of Denver, Dr. Prado was tasked to meet the growing community need for services in limited therapy space. She sensed an opportunity to meet a pragmatic need through an entirely new and innovative approach to mental health care. Rather than addressing each risk factor one-by-one, why not promote community well-being comprehensively — through the built environment, partnerships, and lifespan programming? Her process of listening the community took years, and her commitment to centering a community’s voice took priority over everything during this process.

Grayson Bourke

Operations Support Specialist

Hailing originally from central Wisconsin, Grayson has worked as a fundraiser, a tutor, a mentor, a youth advisor, a community engagement coordinator, and an operations support specialist for the past eight years. In his role, Grayson oversees our volunteer program, our community engagement efforts, and facilitates our multitude of community partnerships, including management of the Westwood Partners collaborative. 

Prior to moving to Denver, Grayson graduated with a Master of Science in Community and Economic Development from Illinois State University’s Stevenson Center. Before graduate school in Illinois, Grayson received a double major in political science and international studies from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh.

In his free time, Grayson enjoys reading about our world, hiking/camping, and traveling to new places. When he isn’t learning or doing nonprofit work, you can find Grayson cheering for the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Bucks, and Arizona Coyotes (NHL) or seeing some live music.

Monique Gallegos

Front Office Coordinator

Monique Gallegos serves as Lifespan Local’s Front Office Coordinator. Originally from the San Luis Valley, where much of her family still lives. Monique relocated to West Denver, where she has resided for most of her life. Before joining Lifespan, Monique worked for more than a decade in Denver’s Home Health Community ensuring the care of our elders’ daily, physical, and nutritional needs at their homes. Monique considers being a part of Lifespan Local an honor because of the positive impact it carries in serving her West Denver Community. She can usually be found taking care of her garden during the summers, visiting and cooking good food (from her garden) with family, being active outdoors, and having a good time with her friends.

Ken Knoblock, MBA

Project Director

Originally from Indiana, Ken moved to Denver 15 years ago to build houses with Habitat for Humanity and fell in love with the city.  He has since continued working in the non-profit sector, serving individuals with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness and poverty.  Most recently, Ken served as Program Director at the St Francis Center where he developed and led comprehensive services for homeless individuals.   

Ken is a passionate advocate for SW Denver where he has led the Athmar Park Neighborhood Association as Board President for the past 2 years.  He is working on capacity building, and creating an inclusive/community driven organization. 

Ken is thrilled to be with Lifespan Local and excited to be part of the team.  Ken graduated with a BA in Psychology from DePauw University and an MBA from Regis University.  

Ariackna Gonzalez

Youth Program Manager
Family Leadership Training Institute

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Ariackna is the daughter of Latino immigrants, and knows firsthand the challenges and opportunities families face when coming to the United States. Based on those experiences, she believes in the power of education and the strength found in a united, informed, enriched, community. Through her work serving children, youth, and families in different sectors, Ariackna has developed skills needed to engage and empower people to be leaders, no matter what stage of life they are at. Now, being a wife and a mother of 3 children,  understanding the importance and relevance of family in society, she wants to work towards facilitating bonds and relationships across languages, generations, cultures, and races.

Her goal working with Lifespan Local, is to equip the southwest Denver community with relevant knowledge, skills, and connections, inviting them to embrace and act upon the beauty and power of their potential.   

 "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

-John Quincy Adams

Chloe Serino, BS-NDTR 

Farm Education and Outreach Coordinator

Chloe is a regenerative farmer with extensive experience growing medicinal herbs, cut flowers, fruit, and vegetables across commercial, private, and non-profit sectors. She is dedicated to uplifting local food systems and nurturing healthy plants and (human) animals alike.  

Blending her education in dietetics with an enthusiasm for continuous learning, she strives to create impactful change in her work through hands-on farming education and advocacy.  

When not tending to our leafy charges in the hydroponic farm, you can find her dancing, eating potatoes, or sitting in the sunshine with her dog, Nancy. honored to work as a part of Lifespan Local, cultivating a healthier and more flavorful world. 

Jaimie Vela

Operations Manager

Jaimie has dedicated her life work to serving low-income families and individuals through direct services, advocacy and allyship. Prior to her role at Lifespan Local, Jaimie's work included overseeing public benefits administration, developing and implementing resiliency programming for young adults and providing employment support to those with barriers to employment. She received her master's degree in Social Science from the University of Colorado and her bachelor's degrees in Sociology/English from Metro State College of Denver. She strongly believes that creating a harmonious balance between participant programming and staff support will change our communities served for the better.

As a proud Colorado native, she enjoys spending her time outdoors with her dogs, drinking champagne, gardening and camping. When she is not enjoying the outdoors, she loves to puzzle, cheer on her Colorado sports teams and spend time with her benevolent disruptors B & C's.

Izzy Becker-Uncapher

Hydroponic Farm Manager

Having spent his childhood growing up in Arvada, Izzy has a strong connection to the Denver area and a love of the people and culture of the front range. Izzy has both a personal and professional background in plant science and a focus on urban agriculture. From a young age Izzy has been building gardens and learning about cultivating food wherever he found himself. Originally studying psychology at CU Boulder, he hoped to use his education to improve people’s lives through therapy and counseling. After devoting much of his free time to community gardening, he quickly realized how much of a positive impact growing food can have on individuals and communities materially, mentally, and spiritually. This inspired him to move his career into the world of all thing’s plants. He began his new path researching soil science at CU Boulder to learn more about the ground we walk on and how it provides life to the world above it. After entering the commercial space, Izzy began designing the irrigation and layout of high-tech farms. He also began educating cultivators by training employees and giving science based educational presentations around the country. Izzy is extremely excited to help provide both nutritious food and science-based learning to the community as the hydroponic farm manager at our Westwood production space. He will be both growing produce and working to use the space for interactive learning in the community. Helping this community connect through food is a privilege he is excited to take part in.