​Our staff:

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SHELLY COX, Owner, Executive Director, OTR/L  

Shelly has worked as an Occupational Therapist for the past 27 years. Shelly’s previous experience has included Pediatrics, Rehabilitation (Craig Hospital and Swedish Hospital Trauma Unit), Warm Water/Pool Therapy and School Based Occupational Therapy. Shelly worked as a pediatric OTR for Adams 12 Five Star Schools for 14 years and was most recently a member of the Bal Swan Preschool Team providing warm water and "land" 1:1 therapy sessions as well as group therapy sessions in 2017-2018. She is again on staff at Bal Swan Children's center providing OT services as well as owning/operating Lil' Friends, LLC.  



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ANGE SHORES, Co-Founder, Development Director, ECT, CNA  

Ange has a BA in Communication Studies and a BA in Theater.  Ange is also a CNA (Certified Nurses Aide for her daughter) and a full time mom to 3 daughters, one of whom is physically and developmentally disabled. She has many years of experience with fundraising and volunteering in the Broomfield area. 

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MARLENE EVANS, BSN, Registered Nurse/CCHC  

Marlene is a Registered Nurse in the state of Colorado. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 1987. She has been a pediatric nurse for over 20 years. Her experience includes Pediatric Intensive Care Nursing for 14 years as well as Post Anesthesia Care for 4 years at The Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. She has been Pediatric Advanced Life Support certified for 19 years. She worked as a nurse for Adams 12 School District for 2 years, during which time she serviced 5,700 students. Marlene has owned her own successful nursing business since 2008 and in July 2014 became one of the founders of Child Care Health Consultants of Colorado (CCHC). Marlene has a passion for all aspects of caring for children and believes all little people deserve a voice. She is happy to have the opportunity to work in the childcare and education areas, along with the team of child care providers, parents and staff.

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ANDREA GRAY, Assistant Director, COTA/L

Andrea has a B.A. in English Literature and recently graduated from Pima Medical Institute in March 2019 to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. She served on the board of OTAC, Colorado’s Occupational Therapy Association, as the student representative for her school. Andrea helped to create a sensory-friendly environment and sensory break room for Pizzability in Cherry Creek, a restaurant that welcomes and employs people with disabilities. At FRIENDs of Broomfield, she renovated their sensory room and is currently working to create a sensory-friendly curriculum for their program. Andrea is passionate about enriching people’s lives in any way she can and is so excited to be an integral part the Lil’ Friends team!​​​

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ZOE BOSSLER, PT, DPT 

Zoe graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science at Youngstown State University in 2017, and recently graduated from the Doctorate of Physical Therapy program in 2021, also from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. Zoe has worn many “hats” in her journey to becoming a PT, including group fitness instructor (both on land and in the water), personal trainer, and gymnastics coach. It is at gymnastics where Zoe realized her passion for working with children, and how fulfilling it was to see children learn, grow, and progress. Now Zoe is excited to work with families at Lil’ Friends to encourage those same goals in children within her newfound community. 

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ABRIANNA WINSHIP, Respite Care Coordinator

Currently, I am working on my bachelor's degree in Health & Exercises Science at Regis University. I am also a PT aide at a physical therapy clinic and I plan to continue on to PT school after graduation. I came to Lil' Friends because I wanted to not only learn more about working with kids but also learn more about disabilities while helping little ones overcome their everyday challenges and be able to do the things they love. I love working with kids because they are so loving and caring. The energy and positivity they bring every day is contagious. Children encourage me to use my imagination and find new creative ways to do things! I have two dogs; Ginger, a chocolate lab/pitbull mix, and Panda, a pitbull/boxer mix. In my free time, you'll find me watching sports.

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GIANNA SULLIVAN, Child Care Specialist

Gianna is a recent regis grad who has worked with individuals with special needs for almost 10 years. Connected with Lil Friends through the Regis internship program, she developed a love for the combination of respite and therapy that LF offers and came back to pursue employment after graduating. She also works as a strength and conditioning coach and enjoys powerlifting and hanging out with her dog in her free time. 

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ALEX STRUNKARD, PTA

Alex recently graduated in 2023 from Pima Medical Institute with a degree in Physical Therapy Assistant and plans to go back to get her Doctorate of Physical Therapy sometime in the future. During a clinical rotation at Children's Hospital in the oncology unit, she fell in love with working with kids. She enjoys being creative with her workouts and making physical therapy fun. Alex has a 3-year-old pitbull/border collie mix named Bentley. In her free time, she loves to go wakeboarding, hiking, running, going to the gym, and watching hockey. Alex was a completive figure skater for 6 years and then made a switch to basketball where she played at the collegiate level at North Central University in Minneapolis, MN. Unfortunately, she was injured and stopped playing basketball, but that led her to find her passion for physical therapy!​​​

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MARISA WHITE, SLP

Marisa was born and raised in Atlanta, GA and moved to Colorado with her husband in 2022! She graduated with her Bachelor's degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Alabama and from the University of Montevallo with her Masters degree in Speech language pathology.  Marisa has prior public-school experience, as well as working on a multidisciplinary team at previous workplaces. Marisa's specialty lies in improving language abilities for her clients and finding consistent and unique modes of communication for every child. She also has a special interest in oral motor feeding strategies and in social language therapeutic techniques. Marisa newly started working at Lil Friends and is excited to join the team! If you have any questions regarding your child's communication at this time, feel free to reach out! 

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