About Us

Cherish St. Denis is a nonprofit executive and longtime community connector with
more than two decades of experience working alongside nonprofit leaders, public partners, and community stakeholders across Colorado. She serves as Executive Director of Supporting Courts by Creating Opportunities for Recovery (SCCOR) and was a founding board member, previously serving as Treasurer for five years and helping guide the organization’s early growth and financial stewardship. Known for her collaborative leadership style and strategic lens, Cherish focuses on strengthening partnerships and supporting initiatives that bring practical solutions to
complex community challenges.

Daphne Burlingame is passionate about working with those recovering from substance abuse addiction. As a Magistrate in the 4th Judicial District for 8 years, she led the Recovery Court team, guiding probationers through this 2-year Problem Solving Court program from jail to graduation. She saw first hand the difficulties participants have adjusting from a life on the streets or in jail to a stable life in the community. This experience led Daphne to be active in the community volunteering legal services and doing what she can to try to give those in need a hand up. Daphne has been an attorney practicing in Colorado Springs for over 25 years, as a Deputy District Attorney, a private practitioner doing juvenile defense work, and a District Court Magistrate Judge.

Nic Paczolt is a person in long-term recovery whose journey began on August 20, 2020. What began as encouragement from law enforcement to make different choices quickly became a personal commitment to recovery and rebuilding a meaningful life. Since then, Nic has dedicated himself to showing that people in recovery can thrive, lead, and positively impact their communities.

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He is the Founder and Director of Front Range Peer Coach Academy, which trains future peer recovery coaches, and Front Range Re-Entry Living, a sober living and re-entry program supporting individuals transitioning from incarceration and early recovery. Nic also serves as an expert witness in legal cases involving trafficking and distribution, bringing lived experience and recovery insight into the courtroom.

Nic graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs with degrees in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management.

Deana is in her 16th year serving as a Colorado State Public Defender. She is grateful to be able to supervise brand new Public Defenders while handling complex and capital cases. Her favorite part of her work is getting to know her clients and fighting to get them through the darkest times in their lives. She has always had a special interest in veterans and active-duty military clients because her father served in Vietnam and passed away from cancer caused by Agent Orange exposure. In honor of her father. she helped to create Colorado’s first Veteran Trauma Court along with Sheilagh McAteer in 2008. She takes great pride in knowing that the Veteran Trauma Problem Solving Court serves the military members of this community giving them a way out their criminal justice involvement and allowing them to create healthy and stable futures. Without this court, many would spend years behind bars or worse because they could not beat the demons that came with combat trauma. She is looking forward to being able to help bring support services to problem-solving court members.

Rick Bednarski has been a criminal defense and civil litigation lawyer for over 25 years.  He started as a Public Defender in the Colorado Springs office in 1999.  He entered private practice with Richard Tegtmeier in 2002, joined Sherman & Howard L.L.C. in 2011, which merged with Taft Stettinius & Hollister in 2025.  Rick has tried more than 100 jury trials throughout Colorado during his career.  He is a fellow of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers (ABCL), a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL), and a member of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Ben S. Wendelken Inn of Court.  Rick has handled a number of cases in the Problem Solving Courts and knows how hard addiction and recovery are for individuals.

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In his spare time, Rick enjoys golfing and skiing with his son, traveling with his family, new dining experiences, and spending quiet nights at home with his family

Caitlin is passionate about uncovering community perspectives and enjoys empowering social-purpose organizations to challenge the status quo in search of the exceptional. She brings to SCCOR a knowledge base in nonprofit strategic planning and evaluation. 

In her free time, Caitlin tirelessly hunts for the perfect cup of coffee to compliment her most recent read. She also explores the outdoors with her pup, learns about culture and history through wine, and acts as a mental health advocate.

Sheilagh spent over 30 years as a Deputy State Public Defender, tirelessly representing indigent people charged with criminal offenses. During her time as a criminal defense attorney, Sheilagh came to appreciate the philosophy of Problem Solving Courts and their impact on our communities. In 2008, she was responsible for creating the first Veteran Trauma Court in Colorado, which today is recognized as one of the best in the country. Sheilagh retired from the public defender’s office in 2019 and immediately became involved in creating SCCOR, where she was the founding executive director.

Sheilagh also sits on the Colorado State Advisory Board for Problem Solving Courts and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs in the School of Public Affairs-Criminal Justice program. In her free time, Sheilagh likes to travel the world and explore Colorado parks with her 2 dogs, cook, garden, and practice daily mindfulness and yoga.

Greg Ruben is Vice President of Business Development for Kinder Morgan’s Western Pipeline Group, where he oversees growth initiatives across multiple interstate natural gas and storage systems. With more than three decades of experience in the energy industry, Greg has held leadership roles in marketing, gas supply, and business development with companies including El Paso Natural Gas, Colorado Interstate Gas, and Consolidated Natural Gas. A Louisiana native, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Louisiana State University.