MESA Staff

Administrative Team

Team Leader: Lora Blakeslee Atkinson, MNM

Lora Blakeslee Atkinson joined MESA as the Team Leader in March 2012. Lora was educated at the University of Colorado and Regis University; earning a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in nonprofit management, respectively. Prior to joining MESA she held positions with Mental Health Partners (grant specialist), Blue Sky Bridge (co-executive director and board chair), and Boulder County Rape Crisis Team, later MESA, (director of business).

Lora is dedicated to the change that nonprofits provide in the community and has worked extensively as a community volunteer. In addition, she has served on the board of directors of Partners Mentoring Youth, Blue Sky Bridge, and The Women’s Wilderness Institute.

Program Manager: Emily M. Tofte, MSW
Emily received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan in 2007 and holds two Bachelor’s degrees (Psychology and Criminal Justice) from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. She has been working in the field of domestic and sexual violence prevention since 2001. Prior to joining MESA, Emily was the executive director of the Domestic Violence Shelter in Bozeman, Montana. At MESA, Emily oversees the Prevention Education and Client Services Departments. Emily joined MESA in November 2008.

Development Manager: Jane Morton Sovndal, MNM
Jane received her Master of Nonprofit Management degree from Regis University in 2011. She has worked professionally in the nonprofit sector in development, as an executive director, and as a development consultant. Jane's 25+ years of volunteer service have stemmed from her passion working with underrepresented, stigmatized, and marginalized communities. She has served on several boards of directors, and is currently a Lead Partner at Social Venture Partners Boulder County. Jane left her previous position on the development team of Boulder County AIDS Project to join MESA in September of 2011. 

Client Services Team

Bilingual Case Manager: Agueda Morgan
Agueda received her B.S. in Health Care Management and Nutrition from Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2010. Agueda began as a hotline volunteer with MESA in 2006. Prior to working with MESA she had a rewarding experience working for the Women, Infant and Children program in Denver. 

Prevention Education Team

Training & Education Coordinator: Marti Hopper, Ph.D.                                                                          

Marti holds a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the University of Cincinnati. In her current role with MESA, she provides training and consultation for law enforcement, victim advocates, school staff, and numerous other community agency personnel on the topic of understanding and preventing sexual violence. She conducts classroom presentations for middle school, high school and college students, as well as providing training and expertise in the areas of elder sexual assault and sexual assault against people with disabilities. Prior to joining MESA in 2000, she worked in private industry for over 25 years, where she provided management training and consultation.

Disabilities Grant Program

Project Manager: Sanjukta Chaudhuri

Sanjukta Chaudhuri joined MESA as the Project Manager – Intersections (Disabilities Grant Project) in April 2012. She is accredited with a double master’s degree in Women, Gender, and Development from ISS, The Hague, The Netherlands and in Women’s Studies from I.T. College, University of Lucknow, India. She has been working on issues of women and gender rights since 2003. Her expertise is with community-level organizing and advocacy. In South Asia she mobilized state and non-state actors to end gender-based violence, whilst working with nonprofits, namely AALI and Oxfam India in Lucknow, India. She has worked as a volunteer, independent scholar, researcher, and as a nonprofit program and development consultant addressing the issue of violence against women both nationally and internationally. Presently, she is also a Board of Director for TESSA in Colorado Springs, Colorado.