Leadership Team

Whitney was hired as Kids First Health Care’s executive director in April 2019, bringing with her more than 30 years of experience in health care services, public policy and philanthropy.

Under Whitney’s leadership, Kids First opened a state-of-the-art community clinic in Commerce City on the fourth floor of Adams County’s first Community Resource Hub at 7190 Colorado Blvd., centralizing health and other supportive services for families in one, convenient location. This move was made possible by generous capital funders, enabling the 45-year-old nonprofit to purchase and renovate the fourth floor to serve today’s children and generations to come.  Additionally, in partnership with Maiker Housing, Kids First will open another pediatric clinic at Maiker’s Alto Community on 71^st and Federal Blvd., improving access to high quality health care for families in south Westminster.

Before joining Kids First, Whitney served as a senior program officer in health at the Rose Community Foundation, where she directed grant-making efforts for nonprofit organizations working to improve Colorado’s health care system. Prior to serving at Rose Community Foundation, Whitney worked as a consultant hired to open a new school-based health center on behalf of Cape Cod Healthcare in Massachusetts. Whitney also has extensive experience working at the State Capitol as a nonpartisan health and human services policy analyst with the Colorado General Assembly, and a planning and grants specialist in women’s health at the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment. She has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado.

Dr. Amanda Jichlinski is a general pediatrician. She received her Doctor of Medicine degree from
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and completed her residency training at Children’s
National Health System in Washington, DC. Fluent in English, Spanish, and French, Dr. Jichlinski is
passionate about reducing health disparities and serving minority and immigrant patients. An advocate
for children’s health, she serves as a board member of the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) through which she engages in legislative policy impacting the health of children. In
her free time, Dr. Jichlinski enjoys spending time outdoors with her family.

Mr. Lurie joined Kids First Health Care in February 2020. Mr. Lurie leads all internal, nonclinical operations at Kids First and manages the agency’s finances. Prior to joining Kids First, Mr. Lurie served as the Director of Finance and Planning at Mile High Youth Corps, where he developed effective systems for managing financial and administrative processes. Mr. Lurie has many years of experience in financial analytics and operations management, including 10 years at the University of Colorado.

Catherine is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and has worked with Kids First Health Care since 2011. In her current role Catherine, helps oversee clinic projects, grants and operations. Prior to Kids First, she worked for 12 years as a pediatric and NICU nurse including 3 years spent working as a travel nurse, working in various hospitals throughout the US. Additionally, she has spent time in Costa Rica learning Spanish, which she now uses daily with her patients and families. Originally from Tennessee, Catherine and her husband now call Colorado home with their two children, dog, frog and fish.

Ms. Manning has worked for Kids First Health Care in Commerce City since 2001. She is a Licensed Registered Nurse and currently serves as the Director of School Nursing Services for Adams 14 School District. She oversees the nursing team which serves all students in Adams 14 schools, including preschool and transition programs. Ms. Manning also serves as a Child Care Health Consultant for Little Giants Learning Center and the Commerce City Recreation Center.  She truly enjoys working with the children, students and families in Commerce City.

Ms. Pacheco is a Colorado native and graduated with her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Regis University and a master’s degree in health sciences from Nova SE University.  She just celebrated her 20^th anniversary with Kid’s First Health Care.  Ms. Pacheco has worked as a school nurse consultant for Kids First contracting to Adams County School District 14 (1998-2005) and Westminster Public Schools (2005-present).  She has been the Director of School Nursing Services since 2003.  Ms. Pacheco became a National Certified School Nurse in 2011.

Ms. Ortiz joined Kids First Health Care in January 2019. Ms. Ortiz’s work is focused on analyzing data and processes to maximize revenue and increase financial stability. She also monitors and ensures compliance with national and state regulations and commercial contracts. She has more than 10 years of experience in the health care industry, with a varied background in hospitals, facilities, primary care, specialties, non-profits, health care insurance, waiver services, and case management.

Breanna Deidel brings more than 16 years of public relations and corporate communications experience to the Kids First Health Care team. Breanna started her career in the private sector working for a Denver-based public relations agency before she made the switch to education, where she served Adams 14 for five years as a grants and communications specialist and public information officer. She then started her own public relations consulting business where she continued to serve Adams 14 in a variety of capacities, most recently as the director of communications.

Breanna is passionate about leveraging her expertise to build relationships and create opportunities for children and families in underserved communities. In her free time, Breanna enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children. Breanna received her bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations, and minor in sociology from Metropolitan State University of Denver.