CCB Staff Directory

Martin Becerra-Miranda, NOMC, is a certified Orientation & Mobility instructor who works with the adult population at the Colorado Center for the Blind. Martin received his NOMC (National Orientation & Mobility Certification) through the National Blindness Professional Certification Board (NBPCB) in 2018. Martin is currently attending school on a part-time basis in hopes of acquiring his Masters in Rehabilitation Counselling. Martin previously served as the Director of Youth Services at the Colorado Center for the Blind, working closely with blind youth ranging in ages 5 – 21.

Martin was born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and migrated with his parents and older brother to Phoenix, Arizona in 1994. Martin lost the majority of his eyesight as a result of a retinal detachment at the age of 16. At the age of 23, Martin attended the Independence Training Program (ITP) at the Colorado Center for the Blind. Martin and his partner live in Littleton and have two active, growing children under the age of five.

Dan Burke grew up in Colorado, but lived more than 30 years in Montana before moving south again to work at the Center. He served as President of the NFB of Montana for nine years and on the NFB’s Board of Directors for five years. In 1990 he earned a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, after which he worked as a VR Counselor and at the Disability Services for Students office at the University of Montana. His last position at UM’s Disability Services was Assistant Director. In addition to being the Public Relations Specialist at the Center, Dan also teaches a college prep class for students bound for higher education.

“Working here brings together all the skills I have developed along the way with my deepest convictions and passions,” says Dan

A native of Massachusetts, Chaz Davis lost his vision in 2014 as a result of a genetic condition known as Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. Shortly after graduating college, Chaz completed the Independence Training Program at the Colorado Center for the Blind [CCB]. After losing his vision, Chaz found purpose in life again after working with a social worker and rehabilitation counselor. Motivated by this pivotal encounter, Chaz studied and obtained  his master’s in social work from the University of Denver in 2019, subsequently working for 3 ½ years as an adjustment to vision loss mental health counselor for older blind adults in Massachusetts.
 
In the spring of 2022, Chaz came back to CCB, and is now Director of Youth Programs. Chaz enjoys witnessing blind youth find their own confidence and success as they experience new and challenging activities, both in our year-round FAST programming and our No Limits to Learning program in the summer. Chaz ensures that the same philosophy about blindness that he credits for his own positive philosophy is infused into every activity for youth he develops and oversees. Chaz embraces an idea from one of his friends, Randy Pierce, “going blind can be hard, but being blind doesn’t have to be”.   
 
Chaz is a U.S. Paralympian and American record holder in the sport of track and field, competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Brazil. Chaz views running as a powerful social, emotional outlet and is passionate about improving accessibility in the world of endurance sport.
 

Robert Dyson is a native of Colorado and has lived here most of his life. He lost his vision as a result of diabetes and attended the Center in 1994. He learned to read again using Braille and technology, and how to travel anywhere with his long white cane. After graduation, Robert did an internship at the Department of Labor and was hired by Diners Club in 1996. He worked there for three years. He was hired at the Center in 2002 and was the voice who greeted everyone on the phone or as they came in the front door until 2020, when he moved to Canon City to be nearer to his family. Robert now works remotely in our Older Blind programs. Again, Robert’s is often the voice older blind folks and their families hear when they reach out to the Center. He makes many of the initial contacts with new people and helps facilitate our online support groups. Robert loves the Center and feels it is wonderful to work in a place where you can see all the good that happens to people and their lives with a little skill training and also the re-building of their self-confidence. He is grateful for how the Colorado Center changed his life completely and gave him back the chance to live a life of respect and dignity.

Josie Mills was born and raised in Denver and loves its leafy boulevards and snowy days. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Denver. Josie’s love of public transportation led her to the Center as she rode the bus almost daily with CCB students on her way to work at Arapahoe Community College. Around 2014, Josie began volunteering at the Center assisting in a communication class that helped students prepare a resume and cover letter and apply for jobs. Josie loved helping CCB students realize their potential and follow their dreams. She was thrilled to be able to come work full time at the CCB in August of 2022 and now serves as our Administrative Coordinator.  
 

Ernesto was hired to teach Cane Travel in August, 2018 after completing an internship at the Center in preparation to take the final exam for the National Orientation & Mobility Certification (NOMC). He officially received his NOMC in December, 2018. Not only did Ernesto teach adults cane travel all day during the hot summer of 2018, by night he served as the Residential Counselor for three blind teenagers, teaching and guiding them in living in an apartment, planning, shopping and preparing the apartment’s meals, cleaning, doing their own laundry and also having some fun. He did this for 8 weeks and did it with kindness and conviction. (More to come).

Maureen Nietfeld is originally from Philadelphia and went blind at the age of 17 from a rare genetic disorder. Maureen attended training at the Colorado Center for the Blind in 2009 and her life was transformed. After her training, she was hired at the Center as a Home Management Instructor. In 2018 Maureen left the Center to have her son and then served on the Colorado Center for the Blind Board of Directors for two years. She returned to the Center to become Director of Student Services. Maureen has a passion for working with blind people to help them live the life they want. As a woman with multiple disabilities and an education in lifestyle medicine with an emphasis on wellness, her deep interests are in creating an environment where diversity thrives and people learn to live their best lives.

Maureen serves as Second Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado and numerous other leadership  roles in the National Federation of the Blind at all levels.
 

Chris Parsons has been blind since birth as a result of Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). Growing up in rural Missouri, she knew that she eventually wanted to live in a place where she could travel independently. After graduating from Webster University in 2010 with a degree in English, she worked there for a time as an Online Writing Specialist. She attended the Colorado Center for the Blind as a student in 2014. While at the center, she gained valuable blindness skills, but more importantly, she gained confidence and a belief in herself.

Chris started teaching technology at the center in March 2015, but moved to the Senior Program as its Outreach Specialist in January, 2019. She enjoys listening to music and being a part of the NFB. One of her favorite activities every year is attending the annual NFB National Convention

Delfina Rodriguez hails from Tennessee.  She grew up in the Chattanooga area, and later lived and worked near Nashville.  She became blind on March 1, 2010 as a result of complications of diabetes.

When the surgeries and treatments failed, Delfina sat in the rocking chair on her parents’ front porch for a while.  However, this wasn’t destined to last for a woman who still says that she loves to travel, snow board and would love to bungee-jump off a bridge. Through friends, she eventually learned about the Colorado Center for the Blind and decided that’s where she needed to go.

With the support of friends in the National Federation of the Blind, she got here in the fall of 2012.  She graduated in 2013 and after subbing in Home Management that fall, she joined the Home Management team permanently as our third instructor.

Teaching wasn’t new to Delfina.  In her working life prior to becoming blind, she was sought out as a trainer.  She says she loves to see the transformation that takes place in students as they work in the kitchen.

“It’s exciting to work with a student who comes in afraid of using the gas stove, for example,” she says, “and by the time they graduate they prefer to cook with gas.”

One of the most important things to know about Delfina – and the first thing she’ll reveal when asked about herself – is a passion for antiquing.  In particular, she collects colored-glass goblets – all colors, styles and vintages.

Dishon “Shon” Spears was born in Los Angeles, California and has a twin brother named Divon. Dishon and his brother were diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) in 1996 and, after high school, Dishon received blindness skills training to become an independent person. Following that, he attended Louisiana Tech University where his focus was in Psychology and Elementary Education. Dishon has worked for RTD and the Business Enterprise Program in addition to previously working in several areas at the Center including the summer youth program and as residential manager. Currently, Dishon is a Home Management instructor at the Center. He met his wife at the Center in 2010 and they married in 2012. Dishon works hard to insure that the students he is teaching leave with a great feeling of accomplishment and confidence as well as their newly found independence. Dishon’s interests include collecting die-cast model cars, cooking, and working out.

Yolanda came to the Center as a volunteer in our Senior Program teaching technology. Retired as a Tech Instructor for the New Mexico Commission for the Blind, she soon agreed to devote three days a week teaching in the ITP program – but only on the condition that she be allowed to continue to work with seniors on Tuesday mornings.

Michelle Walsh Welty, M. Ed., currently teaches Academic Skills at the Colorado Center for the Blind as well as Language Arts classes at Arapahoe Community College. Over her career, Michelle has been dedicated to adult education, in both the professional and volunteer capacity. Whether in front of the classroom or during one-on-one instruction, she strives to create a positive, stress-free environment where learning can flourish. Beyond her professional commitments, she is an enthusiastic globetrotter, an ardent yoga practitioner, and a devoted dog pal – there's nothing she enjoys more than spending time with her four-legged friends.