BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Julia Brew
​President
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Julia is a fourth-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 fourth-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.
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.
Ciauna Tran
Vice President
Ciauna is a fourth-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 fourth-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 fourth-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.
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!
Sub-Committee Members
Finance Committee
Taylor Barg
​Taylor is a third-year medical student at the University of Colorado Anschutz SOM with a passion for internal medicine. She has a background in mechanical engineering and worked as an engineer before transitioning to medicine, where she applies her analytical skills and problem-solving mindset to patient care. Growing up, Taylor played soccer competitively, which sparked her interest in health, injury prevention, and overall wellness. Her experiences on the field reinforced the importance of proper medical care, ultimately inspiring her to pursue a career in medicine. She joined Helmet Heads to raise awareness about brain injury prevention and advocate for safer practices in sports and daily life. She is dedicated to educating athletes and the broader community about concussion risks and proactive health measures. Beyond her medical studies and advocacy work, Taylor enjoys playing soccer, listening to music, and spending quality time with her family.
Nicole Chandonnet
​Nicole is a second-year medical student at Rocky Vista University. Originally from Michigan, she moved to Colorado with her husband in 2003 where she built her career in speech-language pathology working with individuals with brain injury. Her profound interactions with her patients, many of whom had been involved in bicycle accidents, inspired her to pursue medical school. Racing the occasional triathlon and volunteering for racing events made Helmet Heads a wonderful fit to contribute to community health through prevention of brain injury through helmet safety! Nicole enjoys skiing (where she always wears her helmet), reading, spending time with her husband and two dogs, and she bakes way too many desserts.
Anna Deschutter ​
Anna De Schutter is a third-year medical student at the University of Colorado. She is originally from Belgium but moved to the United States ten years ago, and to Colorado five years ago. She first started volunteering with Helmet Heads in the Spring of 2024 and fell in love with the mission of the organization, the passion of its members, and the population served. Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces is her favorite part of this experience! Anna hopes to pursue a career in Emergency Medicine which is another reason for her passion for Helmet Heads. She wants to help prevent the head injuries she has witnessed in the Emergency Department. In her spare time, Anna loves to go on walks with her partner and their dog Barry as well as support Max Verstappen in Formula 1.
Marketing Committee
Foram Patel
​Foram Patel is a second-year medical student at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is originally from Ohio where she graduated with a BS in Biology. She then lived in Chicago where she obtained a master’s in business and administration: Finance. While in Chicago, Foram was in an accident where she was told by multiple physicians that the helmet saved her life. When she learned about Helmet Heads and our mission, she knew she had to become involved. She is passionate about advocacy, especially advocating for children who are underserved or in foster care. Foram is currently interested in pediatric medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. Foram enjoys spending time with her family and friends, dancing, and exploring the outdoors through skiing, hiking, and camping.
Elizabeth Leonard
​Elizabeth Leonard is a second-year medical student at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine, and was born and raised in Eaton, Colorado. Her passion for working with children started in high school when she worked as a Camp Counselor and Tennis Coach. During her undergraduate years at Liberty University, Elizabeth enjoyed serving on the Scientific Research Society's Outreach Committee, which focused on developing educational science events for local children. She began working with Helmet Heads in 2024 and quickly fell in love with the unique opportunity to further children's health and safety education, especially on a topic as important as helmet safety. She is looking forward to pursuing a career in pediatric medicine in the future. In her free time, you can find Elizabeth playing tennis, hiking in the Rockies, or listening to her vinyl record collection.
John Taylor​​
John Taylor is a second-year medical student at the University of Colorado. He is originally from Flagstaff, Arizona and attended the University of Arizona. While in undergrad, he developed a passion for working with kids through Camp Wildcat--an organization that takes underserved youth on no-cost camping trips. He has coached youth soccer and taught film to middle schoolers. As a daily bike-commuter, he was immediately drawn to Helmet Heads and the importance of helmet safety education. It envelopes his passions for preventative medicine, youth education, and sports. In his free time, John enjoys mountain biking, telemark skiing, climbing, and long, meandering backpacking trails.
Maddie Labor​
Maddie Labor is a second-year medical student at the University of Colorado. Originally from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, she completed her undergraduate studies at Regis University. Maddie has coached youth volleyball across elementary to high school levels and values the positive impact sports and physical activities have on children's health and development. She was drawn to Helmet Heads for its mission to promote safety and preventative medicine while enabling all children to enjoy outdoor recreation. In her free time, Maddie enjoys mountain biking, skiing, running, backpacking: anything that offers a challenge and takes her outside.