The Mission of Aspen House/Aspen Services is to cultivate an environment of success for adults with developmental disabilities and their community.
Who is Aspen House & Aspen Services?
Aspen House/Aspen Services operates under A Safe Place In Pagosa Springs, Inc, a recognized nonprofit 501(c)(3). Patricia Brown and Carolyn Paschal created this nonprofit in 2015 to provide a safe home that would support their adult children with developmental disabilities. They expanded their vision to include additional families facing the same circumstances in the Pagosa Springs area.
Once adults with developmental disabilities reach the age of maturity, they age out of various state support programs. Parents can wait up to 10 years or longer to clear the waiting list at other state or nationwide facilities. Pagosa Springs does not have any group homes or residential facilities currently.
The Purpose of A Safe Place in Pagosa, Inc.
The purpose of A Safe Place in Pagosa, Inc. (ASPiP) is to provide room and 24/7 support services for adults with mild to moderate developmental disabilities in Archuleta County. ASPiP operates DBA businesses that act to support the mission of the organization and generate revenue to contribute to the operational costs of the supportive home. These DBAs are: Aspen House, Aspen Services, PS FroYo.
Aspen House will be a 8-suite licensed group care home for adults with developmental disabilities located on Vista Blvd. A qualified support team will assess each resident and create an Individualized Program Plan (IPP) for them based on their specific needs and desires. Round-the-clock care will be provided for the safety of the residents. The program also includes wrap-around resources such as recreation, therapy, community engagement and vocational support services. In addition, all services and programs will be available to non-resident community members that qualify. Once the initial home is built, we will work to develop additional supportive housing options to serve people with other needs.
Meet the Board of Directors and Staff
Bryan Looper
Treasurer
Bryan was born and raised in Pagosa. Bryan attended Colorado Mesa University where he received his BA. Bryan and his wife Nicolle along with with their two kids Brynn and Colle love this community and volunteer with several local non-profits. “We are very fortunate to be able to raise our kids in the community my wife and I grew up in, showing our kids the value of humility and volunteering”
After college, Bryan worked for Special Olympics Colorado a non-profit organization that provides inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities through sports. Bryan now is an Investment Advisor Representative with Leading Edge Financial Planning providing financial advice and plans right here in Pagosa Springs. Bryan is a volunteer local program coordinator for Special Olympics Colorado as well as a coach of Skiing/Snowboarding, Basketball, and Softball working with athletes in Pagosa Springs for 15 years. Bryan has worked in both the non-profit and for profit sectors, and understands the nuisances of both.
Bryan chose to be part of Aspen House/Aspen Services board as he strongly believes that adults with developmental disabilities need independence through support and opportunities
to better our local community and have a safe place to live.
Ali Braun
Secretary
Ali Braun is a retired critical care nurse with a soft spot for pediatrics and a knack for sourdough. She holds a B.S. in Animal Physiology from the University of Arizona and an A.D. from Pueblo Community College in Nursing. Over her career Ali taught Pediatric and Neonatal Advanced Life Support, Trauma Nursing, and served on the state Pediatric Emergency Care Coordination Committee-because helping tiny humans was always close to her heart.
After hanging up her scrubs, she swapped night shifts for early morning bakes, running a micro bakery specializing in naturally leavened breads for 5 years. Nutrition, fitness, poetry, gardening, and community are her passions, which is how she found her way to Aspen House-via an adaptive sports class at CrossFit Pagosa.
Growing up in Colorado Ali is happiest in the mountains with her dogs and a good trail underfoot. She brings a deep care for people, a love of lifelong learning, and just the right amount of humor to her role on the board.
Julie Pederson
Director
Julie was born into a military family, which meant she moved frequently throughout her childhood. Together with her family, she lived in several states, including Wyoming, New Mexico, Ohio, California, and Georgia. These experiences provided Julie with a unique perspective, allowing her to adapt to various communities and cultures across the country. Julie attended the University of Denver on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, which led to four years of service in the Air Force at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Following her military service, she worked for a defense contractor for two years. After her time in defense contracting, Julie “retired” to focus on raising her four children, a commitment that spanned twenty years, primarily in the Kansas City area and in Parker, outside of Denver. As her youngest children entered middle school and high school, Julie found the opportunity to pursue a new career in education, becoming a special education paraprofessional for the past fifteen years.
In 2022, Julie and her husband, Gary, moved to Pagosa Springs in search of a welcoming hometown where their adult children and grandchildren would enjoy visiting. During her first summer in Pagosa Springs, Julie joined the local Special Olympics softball team as a partner and thoroughly enjoyed playing alongside her teammates. She has worked at the middle school for the past three years, which has helped her build connections and become an integral part of the community.
Julie is enthusiastic about serving as a board member for Aspen House/Aspen Services, hoping to contribute to creating more opportunities for her special friends, including work, recreation, and safe independent living. Julie’s passion for supporting individuals with challenges was deeply shaped by growing up with her younger sister, who had Down Syndrome. Her sister’s presence influenced Julie’s life in every way and inspired her dedication to working with those facing various challenges. She especially loves that the house she and her husband purchased offers a view of the sign for the Future Home of Aspen House from their front yard.
Julie enjoys hiking with her husband, discovering new and beautiful sights, singing with the Pagosa Community Choir, and spending time with books, crossword puzzles, and Sudoku. She also loves driving anywhere and everywhere, visiting her children and grandchildren, watching Denver Nuggets games, and cheering for the Denver Broncos.
STAFF
Pattie Copenhaver
Executive Director
Pattie joined the Aspen House team in September of 2023. She spent over two decades in marketing communications working for Texas Instruments. After relocating from Tucson, AZ to Pagosa Springs, she fell in love with the small town mountain life and realized that raising her family in a kinder, gentler place was truly the right decision and dedicated herself to finding purpose in her work through creative expression and leadership.
In her spare time Pattie likes to be creative in any way she can – jewelry making, acrylic paint pouring, paper arts, and fused glass work. Her goal is to help Aspen House grow and looks forward to being part of the capital campaign that will build Apsen House and make the dreams of the founders, board and families of adults with developmental disabilities a reality.
Rebecca Thompson
Aspen Services Director
Born and raised in Colorado, Becky received her bachelor degree from Colorado State University. After college, she lived in Denver where she worked in an environmental lab and met and married her husband, Mark. They moved to Pagosa Springs in 1994 when Mark took a job with the school district.
Together they have four children, all raised in Pagosa. She was a stay-at-home mom until the kids reached school age, at which time she began to volunteer in all of their classrooms. High school teachers don’t have parent volunteers, so she took a part-time job as a job coach in the special needs classroom, which then led to an aide position in the severe needs class.
Keena Carstensen
Administrative Assistant
Keena was born and reared in Southern California. In 1982 she moved to Thousand Oaks, CA with her husband Todd to begin their married life and rear their family. Their second child, Jared, is an adult with developmental disabilities. When they moved to Pagosa Springs in 2017 Jared came to Pagosa a month later and has lived with them ever since. Someone referred Keena to Patty Brown at Aspen House and while she and her husband were busy building their retirement home, she became involved with their first big fundraising event in 2019. Once the housebuilding was mostly done Keena made the decision to join the Board in January of 2022.
In her spare time Keena likes to run, hike, mountain bike, kayak, SUP, alpine ski, Nordic ski, snowshoe, sew, crochet, knit, read mysteries and historic fiction, and do crossword puzzles.
FOUNDERS
Carolyn Paschal
Founder
Carolyn graduated from Casady School in Oklahoma City and then received her BA from Baylor University with a major in Education and Speech and Language Therapy. She received her MA from the University of Denver, also in Speech and Language Therapy. She has completed additional coursework towards her PhD at the University of Denver in Early Childhood Education.
She was the owner/director of the first state-licensed preschool in Pagosa Springs and has worked as an early childhood special education consultant to individual families, Head Start, Child Find and in a hippo therapy setting throughout her career. Carolyn has lived in Pagosa Springs for 47 years, has four adult children, including a son with Tetrasomy 18p-.
Patty Brown
Co-founder
Patty was born and, for the most part, raised in Colorado. For parts of her childhood, she lived overseas in places such as Libya and Nigeria. She moved to Pagosa Springs from Fort Collins in August of 1997 and considers Pagosa Springs her forever home. She is a divorced mother of two, Jessica and Christopher. Jessica and husband Cabe have two sons, Ashton and Stanton, and reside in Allison, CO. Christopher is Patty’s 34-year-old adult son with developmental disabilities (Fragile X Syndrome). Patty owns a home in Aspen Springs where she has lived with Christopher since 1998.
In her spare time, Patty enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with friends, family and Christopher at his wide range of activities. Patty has owned and operated businesses in the past, both large and small, and is now a self-employed bookkeeper for multiple area for-profit and nonprofit organizations. She is actively involved in Special Olympics and makes every effort to meet any needs her son may have, including support in activities and work opportunities. Patty’s present passion and priority is to see Christopher set up to live his life safely and independently in a home with his peers in the Pagosa Springs community, a place in which they all grew up in and love.
Monthly Board Meeting Information
The A Safe Place in Pagosa, Inc. (Aspen House/Aspen Services/PS FroYo) board of directors meets monthly on the second Wednesday of each month at the ASPiP/Aspen House offices. These meetings are open to the public and we invite all to come and support our mission ‘To Cultivate and Environment of Success for Adults with Developmental Disabilities and Their Community.”
Below is information from each monthly board meeting including Minutes from previous meetings and financial information.
January 2026 Board Meeting Packet
February 2026 Board Meeting Packet
March 2026 Board Meeting Packet
April 2026 Board Meeting Packet
June 2026 Board Meeting Packet
July 2026 Board Meeting – Information Packet
August 2026 Board Meeting Packet
A Safe Place in Pagosa, Inc. Non-Profit Information
