About us
Working to serve all Coloradans
Since 1998, Colorado AgrAbility has promoted independence and enhanced the quality of life among producers in rural Colorado. In 2021, the Behavioral Health Recovery Act (Colorado Senate Bill 21-137) expanded AgrAbility offerings to mandate the provision of behavioral health support services, preventative education, stress management resources, and suicide prevention initiatives for farmers, ranchers, agriculture workers, and rural communities.
Through education, outreach, community engagement, research-informed programs, and compassionate tailored services, the Colorado AgrAbility project strives to address the unique challenges faced by farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and residents of rural communities by fostering resilience and improving overall quality of life.
We are committed to ensuring that all individuals have the tools and support needed to thrive, regardless of location or circumstance. Our mission is to promote the behavioral and physical health of Colorado’s agricultural populations and the rural communities in which they reside. We work with partners statewide in delivering our programs. As part of Colorado State University, we leverage the expertise and knowledge from across the university, putting science to work in occupational therapy and behavioral health.
Our programs are evidence-informed to serve Coloradans and meet local needs. Through CSU Extension, we are local in your community.
Read more about the impacts of our work:
Our primary areas of work
Behavioral Health
Colorado AgrAbility provides information, services, and research-based, stress-assistance information, education, suicide prevention training, and referrals to behavioral health-care services to farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their families, to mitigate incidences of harmful responses to stress experienced by these individuals.
Physical Health
CSU Extension and Colorado AgrAbility have partnered with Goodwill of Colorado to support people working in agriculture experiencing limitations due to disabilities, injury, or age-related issues so they can continue to have successful careers in agriculture. Goodwill of Colorado provides resources and life-skills training for more than 127,000 Coloradans each year—including military veterans, seniors, youth, and individuals who have a disability or barrier to employment. Both CSU and Goodwill have worked for more than a century in Colorado to ensure individuals have access to career and educational pathways that help them to live to their fullest potential.
Our priorities
Improve and expand access to behavioral health and well-being services
- Reduce stigma associated with behavioral health concerns and services
- Provide resource navigation to assist farmers, ranchers, agricultural workers, and their families with behavioral health-care referrals
- Support the rural behavioral health workforce
- Ensure access to counseling services by administering the Colorado Agricultural Addiction and Mental Health Program’s free counseling vouchers for agricultural populations.
Increase access to rural rehabilitation resources and direct services
- Reduce stigma associated with help-seeking related to physical health challenges and/or disability
- Increase referral networks throughout the state so that agriculturalists experiencing health challenges or disabilities can receive AgrAbility services
- Provide tailored AgrAbility assessments, resources, and referrals during home visits
Increase capacity with training on strategies and programs
Increase disability and physical health support capacity
- Increase awareness of physical health services provided and the mechanisms to refer potential clients
- Increase understanding of disability in agriculture
- Strengthen relationships to veteran serving organizations
Increase resilience to promote behavioral health and well-being
- Increase behavioral health literacy across the state
- Prevent suicide and other diseases of despair through collaboration with communities, ag-serving agencies, and local and state governments.
Increase resilience to promote physical health among agricultural workers
Our Team
Rebecca Hill
Extension State Specialist and Co-Director of AgrAbility, Colorado State University
Robert J. Fetsch
Extension Specialist and Professor Emeritus, Colorado State University
Clinton Wilson
Extension State Program Specialist – Logistics and Behavioral Health, Colorado State University
Chad Reznicek
Extension State Behavioral Health Specialist, Colorado State University
Jim Kuemmerle
Extension Regional Specialist and Behavioral Health Specialist, Colorado State University
Kirsten Wulfsberg
Extension Regional Specialist – Mountain Region, Colorado State University
Julie Elliott
Extension Regional Specialist -Western Region and Behavioral Health Specialist, Colorado State University
Melissa Fenton
AgrAbility Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University
Ana Gutierrez-Colina
AgrAbility Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Colorado State University
Janell Pisegna
AgrAbility Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University
G. James Sanchez
Director II, Career Development Services, Goodwill of Colorado
Ashley Buchanan
Rural Rehabilitation Specialist, Goodwill of Colorado
Hannah Cefalo
Rural Rehab Specialist, Goodwill of Colorado