Dr. William Elsass joins Mind Springs Health as Chief Medical Officer
Mind Springs Health, the largest provider of mental health and addiction treatment in Western Colorado, has hired Dr. William Elsass as Chief Medical Officer.
Elsass most recently served as the behavioral medical director with UnitedHealth Group and brings a broad range of experience to Mind Springs Health, having worked in medical administration and as a psychiatrist in both private practice and in the United States Air Force, according to a pres release.
A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Elsass attended medical school at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and completed both his psychiatric internship and residency at the Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Dr. Elsass also completed a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio and psychoanalytic training with the New England Academy of Psychoanalytic Studies in Portland, Maine. He received his Master of Business Administration from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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“We couldn’t be more excited to have Dr. Elsass join our leadership team,” said Sharon Raggio, president and CEO of Mind Springs Health. “His combination of experience as a practicing psychiatrist, along with his in-depth understanding of the business of healthcare, specifically mental health, is an incredible asset to our organization. We look forward to the guidance, training and support he will provide our staff going forward.”
Dr. Elsass resides in Summit County and will work from the Mind Springs Health Frisco office, while providing leadership support to all of Mind Springs Health’s 12 outpatient offices throughout Western Colorado, in addition to the West Springs Hospital in Grand Junction.
Dr. Elsass and his wife, Kelcey, have two children, Zach and Sophia. Zach attends Colorado University in Boulder, and Sophia is a high school junior. In his spare time, Dr. Elsass enjoys skiing in the winter and trail running and obstacle courses in the summer.
Carol Wolff joins YouthZone as new development director
Nonprofits require a steady hand at the helm, a strong supporting staff and the right person in place to lead development. YouthZone’s new Development Director Carol Wolff intends to make sure sustaining efforts are continued to financially support this regional nonprofit, according to a press release.
YouthZone’s provides a safety net of services to families and young people in crisis and youth in need of juvenile diversion. Community engagement from Aspen to Parachute have enabled this local nonprofit to offer effective, strength-based intervention to divert young people toward positive opportunities.
“YouthZone has an A-Team of staff that do amazing work improving life for youth and their families, and I am proud to introduce myself as part of that team,” Wolff said.
Her next few months will be an intense relationship-building endeavor. She looks forward to engaging with all the communities the organization serves and the number of people who already support their services, according to the release.
“Bringing Carol on board as our new development director put our staff and board of directors at ease about our long-term financial future. Everyone already considers her one of YouthZone’s family,” said Executive Director Lori Mueller.
Before coming to YouthZone, Wolff had a history of leading nonprofits to a higher level of stability and financial success. After college, she managed Colorado Honor Band’s summer camp in Grand Lake for 12 years. In 2005, she was hired as Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre’s executive director. Wolff, RMRT’s board of directors and staff and the community raised the $5.2 million they needed to build a theater, and doors opened in 2011.
When she reconnected with the Colorado Honor Band as its executive director for the instrumental music education program in 2015, Wolff was able to rejoin her husband, JR Wolff, in New Castle. Her connections in the community led her to her new position at YouthZone.
