BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Julia Schearer
​President
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Julia is a third year medical student at Rocky Vista University. She was born and raised in Great Falls, Montana. She has been involved with Helmet Heads since 2021. A personal experience at a young age led Julia to the realization of the importance of helmet safety. Due to this, she has become enthusiastic about educating others as to prevent serious situations such as hers from occurring. Her experiences as a tutor, mentor, and softball coach for children combined with her love for the outdoors has resulted in a passion for preventative education and children’s health and safety. In her spare time, Julia loves to spend time outside participating in activities such as hiking, camping, and golfing
Jake Hanson
Director of Operations
​Jake Hanson is a third-year medical student at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated with a BA in Neuroscience and Psychology honors in 2019. Jake has been involved with Helmet Heads since 2022 and is very passionate about brain awareness and safety. Prior to medical school, Jake worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for a stereotactic and functional neurosurgeon at the University of Minnesota for two years. Jake hopes to pursue a career within neurosurgery and is passionate about patient advocacy and medical education. In his free time, he likes to spend quality time with his wife, Sarah, and two dogs, Hallie and Gigi exploring new breweries and coffee shops around Denver. Jake also enjoys attending sporting events (Go MN!) and plays violin in the Broomfield Symphony Orchestra.
Hayden Barrows
Director of Marketing
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Hayden Barrows is a third-year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She is originally from Centennial Colorado and first started volunteering with Helmet Heads in 2023. She fell in love with the organization and its mission. During her undergraduate degree she worked closely with her school's Dance Marathon program which inspired her to pursue a career in pediatric medicine. She has continued to devote her time to organizations that involve educating children. Hayden enjoys spending time with her family, partner, and friends exploring various coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants.
Ciauna Tran
Vice President
Ciauna is a third-year medical student at Rocky Vista University. She grew up in the Denver metro area. In high school, she found her passion working with young kids while teaching swim lessons and volunteering with the Colfax Community Network. She continued her engagement with children while in undergrad at Stanford University. She taught health classes with Stanford's HELP4Kids and spent a summer in Bolivia to work with Niños con Valor. With an admiration for children's resilience, she is looking to pursue a career in pediatrics. She started her involvement with Helmet Heads in her first year of medical school and found it to be such a fun and rewarding experience! She looks forward to helping the organization grow and getting others involved with Helmet Heads. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, trying new foods, and watching Netflix with her partner.
Carter Odean
Director of Communications​
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Carter Odean is a third-year medical student at Rocky Vista University. He was born and raised outside of Denver, Colorado before heading to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where he studied biology and completed research on invasive bee species there while playing club lacrosse. After graduating in 2019, he then came back to Denver to complete my Master’s in Biomedical Sciences at Regis University. After Regis, he started as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Anschutz Medical campus, working on multiple Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 research trials. He is in the Rural & Wilderness Track which is my favorite part about school. He plans to work as a rural Pediatrician or Family Medicine Physician. In his free time, you can find him dirt biking, fly fishing, hunting, golfing, and relaxing with his family and friends.
Madison Martz
Director of Finance
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Madison Martz is a third-year medical student at the University of Colorado. She is from Tucson, AZ. She first got started volunteering with Helmet Heads in 2023. Her experience as a tutor, mentor and health advocate have resulted in a passion for preventative medicine and health education, particularly in pediatric populations. She hopes to continue to apply these to her future career as a physician. Outside of medicine, Madison spends time exploring Colorado, hiking, and climbing with her rescue German shepherd named Athena.
Kristina Hulen, MD
Faculty Supervisor
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Kristina Hulen is a Family Medicine-trained physician and is currently pursuing a fellowship in Palliative Care. She grew up in Colorado and attended the University of Colorado Anschutz to complete her Doctor of Medicine. An avid outdoor enthusiast, Kristina enjoys skiing, biking, climbing, and camping throughout Colorado. She is dedicated to health and access to physical recreation, and her prior experience includes research in neurodevelopment and volunteering for several adaptive sports companies in Boulder, CO. Kristina is particularly passionate about promoting helmet safety awareness and education, aiming to ensure that younger generations can safely enjoy and explore the outdoors.
Bruce Evans, M.D.
Founder​
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Dr. Evans is an Emergency Medicine physician with Kaiser and Saint Joseph Hospital. He is a skier and snow-border who has seen, first-hand, how helmets save lives. His interest in helmets and head injuries dates back to his days as a professional ski patroller. As a teacher at the CU School of Medicine, he developed an evidenced-based review on the important benefits of safety helmets back in 2004; "Helmet Heads" was born! Since that time, Dr. Evans, who was teaching Emergency Medicine as an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado when he developed the program, has helped Helmet Heads deliver over ten thousand bike/skate helmets to kids in the poorest communities across Denver-Metro front range. He is pragmatic about Helmet Heads; he believes that saving even one child from a serious head injury will more than justify the efforts of the non-profit and all-volunteer team that makes up Helmet Heads. Dr. Evans skis Mary Jane and Arapahoe Basin with his kids with his kids every chance he gets, and they always wear their ski helmets!
Former Board Members
Ed Bilsky, PhD
Faculty Supervisor
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Dr. Ed Bilsky earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology/Toxicology from the University of Arizona in 1996. He has had a distinguished academic career that includes an active research program focused on the neurobiology of opioids, pain, and substance use disorders. He has educated thousands of medical and graduate health professional students and practitioners on opioids, pain management, and mental health-related topics. Dr. Bilsky is also very active in public education, outreach, and advocacy related to brain awareness and brain safety. He has served on various committees with the Society for Neuroscience and other professional organizations and his advocacy efforts have included work at the state and federal levels. He currently serves as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at Rocky Vista University and is a Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology.
Jennifer Larson
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Miles Pimentel​​
Justin Hellwinkel, MD
Emily Wolverton, MD
Talia Scott, MD
Kristina Hulen, MD