Executives/Sr. Mgmt

Randolph E. Ratliff, MA
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Ratliff has over 35 years experience in behavioral health care including serving as program director and regional director of an adolescent treatment program and directing a multi county substance abuse program. He served in a variety of management positions for a comprehensive behavioral healthcare organization that grew to a staff of over 500 with a budget of $22 million during his ten-year tenure. He has served as the Executive Director of the Larimer Center for mental health for over four years having spent the previous year administering the transition of the agency from the governance of the Larimer County Board of County Commissioners to a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) agency.

Vicki L. Grassman MSW, LCSW
Chief Operations Officer - Adult Services
Ms. Grassman has been the Executive Vice President for the past twelve years. An experienced clinician and supervisor, she supervises all Center client clinical services and Program Directors. Ms. Grassman received her degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin. A licensed clinical social worker in the state of Colorado, she is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Academy of Certified Social Workers.

Cyndi Dodds
Chief Operations Officer - Child & Family and South County Services
Ms. Dodds became Chief Operations Officer of the Child and Family and South County Services in August 2008. Previously she served as the Program Director for the Namaqua Center which became a program of the Larimer Center for Mental Health in August, 2007. Namaqua Center is LCMH’s residential program for children ages 3 – 12 who have suffered severe abuse and neglect. Before Namaqua Center became a part of LCMH, Cyndi served as its Executive Director for seven years. She was the Executive Director for the Littler Center in Greeley prior to serving at Namaqua. Cyndi began her career as a therapist at the Center when it was still an agency within Larimer County, acting as a therapist and Program Manager for the Child and Family Team from 1995 through 1999. Cyndi holds a BA from United States International University in San Diego and a Master of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University.

John C. Rattle
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Rattle has been in health care financial management for nearly 30 years. He holds a Master's degree in Finance and passed the exam to be a Certified Public Accountant. He has worked in the mental health system for almost fifteen years including nearly five years as Finance Director for Aurora Mental Health.

Sue Zasadil
Assistant COO - South County Services
Ms. Zasadil is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master of Science degree in Counseling from the University of Wyoming. She has experience in community mental health counseling and in substance abuse treatment. Prior to entering the counseling field, Ms. Zasadil worked as a manager and administrator in a variety of private and non-profit organizations.

 Kathy Forrest
Assistant COO - North County Services
Ms. Forrest has been a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado since 1993, with a Masters degree in Counseling from Georgia State University. She worked with inpatient mental health services prior to coming to Larimer Center for Mental Health in 1989. Since joining Larimer Center, she has worked as an adult outpatient therapist, on-call emergency services staff and intensive services coordinator. She is a strong advocate for consumers and for interagency collaboration.

Kristen Jernigan
Assistant Chief Operations Officer – Child & Family Services
Ms.  Jernigan holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver and has been a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2003.  Before joining the team at Larimer Center she worked for four years as a counselor for youth living in residential treatment and for five years supervising both community-based and office-based Child and Family Services for a community mental health center in Northern Colorado.  Ms. Jernigan has clinical experience working with sexual offenders, families, using and supervising Multisystemic Therapy (MST), providing individual therapy, using sand
 tray and other therapeutic play modalities, and is trained in
Functional Family Therapy (FFT).  She is a certified Mental Health
First Aid trainer and enjoys the opportunities she gets to teach. 
 Ms. Jernigan’s passions in the field include family therapy, advocating
 for consumers, engaging therapeutic teams, and program development
 and evaluation.

John Wilde
Assistant COO - Addiction & Integrated Services
Mr. Wilde joined Larimer Center for Mental Health when the Island Grove Regional Treatment Center became a program of Larimer Center in July, 2008. He worked for Island Grove for 28 years, serving as Director of Outpatient Services for 11 years. Mr. Wilde received a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration and a Master of Arts Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Northern Colorado. He has been certified as an addictions counselor for 28 years and is currently a Licensed Addiction Counselor.

Diane Jesser
Human Resources Director
Ms. Jesser attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA. She has twenty years experience in management with thirteen 13 years experience in Human Resources. She is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management.

Kathleen Whitley, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Whitley joined Larimer Center for Mental Health as Chief Medical Officer in December 2010. She previously served as Director of Clinical and Professional Services at Worcester State Hospital in Worcester, MA. Dr. Whitley received her Master of Science in Health Care Management from Harvard School of Public Health and a Doctor of Medicine from Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University. She has over 22 years practicing psychiatry in outpatient clinics, academic medical center emergency services, consult-liaison services, and public sector inpatient continuing care settings. She is a member of the American Psychiatric Society, Massachusetts Psychiatric Society, and the American College of Physician Executives.

Emily Dawson Petersen
Director of Development and Marketing of the Larimer Center for Mental Health
Ms. Petersen holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the American University in Washington, D.C. She also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration-Finance and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Colorado State University. Petersen has extensive development, marketing and financial experience from previous work with non-profit organizations in Colorado.