Providing interdisciplinary therapies for children with developmental disabilities in underserved communities in the greater Denver area.

Driven by a belief that health and racial equity are critical to our success as human beings, Collinus began her career as a middle school teacher before working with teacher education licensure candidates at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Later, at Aurora Public Schools, she served as the superintendent’s office’s policy advisor, evaluating policy, programs and leading special projects to implement equitable practices across the district. Projects included the development of the Aurora Public Schools Welcome Center, which provides services to immigrant and refugee families and helps students develop the skills necessary to be successful in the American education system.

As director of education at The Denver Foundation, she helped community leaders and educators maximize their impact and witnessed the ways community investments can curb or exacerbate health and racial inequalities. At the Colorado Health Foundation since April 2020, Collinus leads the Foundations School-based Solutions bodies of work.

Collinus is a Denver native. Her parents arrived in Denver in 1978 as part of the last wave of black southerners migrating from the Deep South to northern cities. John and Ruby parented eight children despite the bigotry and hatred they lived through. All eight of Collinus’ siblings are first-generation college students. She attended Denver Public Schools, South High School, and was a Colorado Flyers Track and Field Club member. Collinus earned a track and field scholarship to the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana where she was a 7-Time Big Ten Champion and 6-time NCAA All-American. Collinus lives in Park Hill, where she grew up, with her three daughters Grace, Faith and Rubie.

Education

BA – Sociology and History, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign M.ED – Curriculum and Instruction, University of Colorado, Boulder