our people
are the
difference

Stuart Thomas

Stuart Thomas has over 40 years of experience helping leaders improve the performance of their organizations through integration of strategy, people and process. He worked at Accenture / Andersen Consulting for 20 years and then founded Arrow Performance Group in 1999. He has helped improve performance for over 500 organizations in over fifteen industries.

Stuart earned an undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Miami University in Ohio, an M.B.A. from Colorado State University, and a Master of Science degree in Information Technology from the University of Denver. He has certificates that include: Senior Professional in Human Resources (HRCI-SPHR®), Project Management Professional (PMI-PMP®), Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®), and ICF-ACC for coaching.

“One thing I’ve seen that can hold an organization back from achieving desired growth is how top management spends their time. Moving from day-to-day operational responsibilities to more strategic focused activities can make a big difference” – Stuart Thomas

Christy Parker

KYLE CHRISTENSEN

Kyle Christensen, M.P.A., is an education, civic engagement, and non-profit professional, and has been developing and implementing programs that meet community needs for more than 24 years. He was recently the director of Colorado State University Douglas County Extension where he facilitated the development of Colorado’s first Juntos 4-H program site. Juntos 4-H helps LatinX families navigate post-secondary and career training opportunities. Kyle was also the director of the Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) of Colorado where he managed the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) project at Colorado State University Extension. With FLTI, he provided leadership to the state-wide family leadership and civic education program and worked to define and develop FLTI’s capacity statewide.

He has worked with organizations such as Peace Corps (Moldova); NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; Centrul Educatia 2000+ (Romania); and the Council for Economic Education. Kyle has spent the last 15 years developing and sustaining young initiatives in Colorado and New York City. He was the manager of the Northern Colorado financial literacy initiative Make Change NoCo and he directed the start-up of the HSBC National Center for Economic and Financial Education in New York. Kyle is dedicated to helping people realize their potential, find their voice, and take action on the important issues facing our communities.

Kyle holds a B.A. in political science and speech communications from Hastings College and an M.P.A. in nonprofit development and management from
New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. He is a Cornhusker from Gering, Nebraska.

Roz Bedell

Roz Bedell is a senior consultant with Arrow Performance Group where she works on organizational development projects for non-profits and local, county, and state government agencies. She brings to her clients expertise in strategic planning, organizational change, coaching, team building, leadership development and HR-related work to help organizations recruit and retain the right staff.

Roz earned her Bachelor’s Degree in psychology at Indiana University and a Master of Arts from the University of Colorado, Denver, with a focus on Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She is certified as a Myers – Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) facilitator and is a trained mediator, certified by the Center for Dispute Resolution, Boulder.

Roz joined APG after spending 25 years working for Colorado State Government agencies.  The agencies included the departments of Transportation, Labor and Employment, Revenue, Human Services, and Public Health and Environment. Her role at each progressed from serving as a personnel analyst, trainer and director of training to director of HR and chief operations officer. She joined APG after she left the state and followed in the footsteps of an associate, referred her to APG.

Recently, Roz worked on a project with the Department of Revenue helping them find the most efficient and customer – friendly way to reorganize their services. She notes, “From the work I’ve done in the past and connections I previously made, it was fun to work with them again with APG where I could share my knowledge of working with state agencies. It was also gratifying to see how far they had come over the years.”

In addition to her work with state and county agencies, Roz also has consulted for small local and national non-profits. One of her key accomplishments in this area was in building a non-profit collaborative for families that she then facilitated before a director was hired to take it forward.

As a former HR professional, Roz places great value on creating a supportive workplace and promoting collaboration. “Having a supportive workplace is what engages us and allows us to bring our strengths to the mission. I also believe collaboration is a key element of a supportive workplace. Working as a team, in collaboration, makes us stronger than any one of us individually.”

This passion for building and maintaining positive relationships is evident in her personal life, where she engages, regularly, with a group to play bridge, meets monthly with a dinner group, attends holiday functions with another, plays piano and socializes with a music group, and meets with a ladies group at her church. She also has a family who she loves spending time with. In all these areas of her life, Roz finds meaningful ways to collaborate with others on many levels. Tying this back to her work she says, “By getting to know the client: what they like, need, and want, I am able to better help accomplish their goals.”

Ron Cabrera, PhD

Dr. Ron Cabrera is a consultant, curriculum development expert, and trainer with Arrow Performance Group. Ron has been an active consultant working with various corporate and nonprofit organizational leaders and community groups since 2016. He had a public education career for 43 years. Most recently, his consultant work has included district turnaround work, leadership development, curriculum review and writing, and executive coaching that has required partnering with and advising central leaders, community groups, and the Colorado Department of Education. 

Prior to this, Ron served as in several district leadership role, including as interim Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools (DPS) and directed instructional priorities, partnered with many community groups, and worked with financial teams. Before that, Ron retired from the Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services and Equity role in the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD). Additionally, he has also held central positions such as director of curriculum and instruction and executive assistant for integrated learning services (overseeing at-risk student services, English Language Learning, and Title I, and federal grants). Ron has also held senior leadership positions such as assistant and deputy superintendent and superintendent (Thompson School District, Loveland, CO). 

As part of Ron’s professional work throughout his career, he has been a leader in diversity and equity professional learning and programming and policy development. He led the development of policies and services to support transgender students that received praise from the U.S. Department of Education. This work helped to make the culture in Boulder Valley Schools become a more inclusive and positive environment.  The Boulder Valley YWCA recognized Ron’s work and named him a “County Champion” for 2015 for his anti-racism work in Boulder County. In 2016, the Open-Door Foundation recognized Ron as the Change Agent of 2016 for the transgender/gender non-conforming work that he led in BVSD and Colorado. 

Maria Carreon-Ayers

Renny Fagan

Renny has 35 years of experience as an elected official, government executive director and nonprofit CEO during which he led large and small teams to achieve innovative organizational solutions improving business practices and customer satisfaction.  Motivated to make a difference, he works to inspire new ideas, lead by example and build consensus through respect, listening and empathy.

Renny holds a BA in political science from the University of Chicago and a JD from Northwestern University.  After practicing law in his hometown of Colorado Springs, he served as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives, Executive Director of the Department of Revenue, Deputy Attorney General and State Director for U.S. Senator Ken Salazar.  He was President & CEO of Colorado Nonprofit Association, with 1,600 nonprofit, business and individual members providing professional development resources and public policy advocacy for Colorado’s nonprofits.

Renny has negotiated agreements in complex commercial transactions, difficult litigation settlements, multi-interest group legislation and state-tribal intergovernmental compacts.  These situations involved building trust, establishing guiding principles and respecting differences while seeking compromise.  He has facilitated community-based discussions to identify common barriers, opportunities and goals.  He initiated and coached self-directed employee teams to design new business processes and change customer service culture.  He is a frequent trainer and public speaker.

The son of two librarians, Renny adds to his lived experience through continual learning. Renny coaches the “growth mindset.” Our journey is about reflecting, learning and growing.

Mike Guthrie

Mike had a career with the State of Colorado, primarily in the Department of Human Services, where his office was at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan. He managed state facilities for the Division of Youth Services, Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health. Mike retired from state service in 2004 and started a career in nonprofits. He had leadership positions in nonprofits providing mental health treatment to adolescents and in suicide prevention. Since 2005 he has done consulting work with nonprofits and government agencies in strategic planning, operations, business and board development and nonprofit management.

Mike also has multiple volunteer interests, including mediating for Jefferson County Courts, tutoring for Reading Partners in Denver Public Schools, with Jefferson County Open Space as a Park Host, and as Chair of the Board of Directors with Friends of the Haven, a 501(c)3 nonprofit supporting a recovery and treatment program for severely addicted women who are pregnant or have small children.

Lauren Hooten

Therese Lask

Dr. Therese Lask has worked on college campuses for 30 years, with experience in Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Advancement and Human Resources. In her previous role at Colorado State University, Therese spent six years designing, implementing, and facilitating the Supervisor Development Program for over 2000 supervisors on campus. Along with her work with supervision, Dr. Lask consulted with over 50 teams at Colorado State, designing custom programs for their unique needs.

In addition to her experience in higher education, she has worked as a consultant to the Gallup Organization (2008- 2013) and Academic Impressions (2018-2023). As a consultant, Dr. Lask developed and facilitated customized programs focusing on leadership, supervisor, and team development for institutions across the country.

In early 2023, Dr. Lask founded the Athena Institute, with a sole focus on enhancing supervision and team performance in organizations.

Randi Tolme

After several years of working in clerical jobs that should have been virtual, but weren’t, Randi was thrilled to take her skills home and work remotely when her daughter, now 3, was born. She’s a natural problem solver with a bit of an obsession with making people’s lives easier, and when asked to describe her work as a virtual assistant, she usually says something like, “a little bit of everything” or “I’ll try anything once”.

Randi is excited to put her skills to work to help make workplaces better and communities stronger. She appreciates Arrow’s commitment to organizations with a cause, because it’s not just governments that shape the trajectory of a community or a country – businesses do, too.

Randi grew up in Pagosa Springs, CO, got her bachelor’s degree in Communications/Theatre and Music from Western State Colorado University, and now lives in Littleton with her husband and daughter.