MEET THE STAFF

Cheryl Holmberg

Founder & Executive Director
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Cheryl was a member of the board that founded the Clear Creek Rock House as well as Loaves and Fishes. Cheryl attended the University of Minnesota. She completed the JVA Directors Academy for non-profits and continued her training and education with Tony Grampsas Youth Services, Stephen ministries, suicide prevention, and BrainWise and WAIT training classes. Cheryl also has experience as a foster parent, an EMT, MOPS director, and 4H leader. She is an ACE and Silver Sneaker, CPR/AED certified aerobics instructor and has worked for the Clear Creek Metropolitan Recreation District for the last 30 years. She is also a member of Colorado Western Dressage Association, and the Idaho Springs Garden Club and Social Ethics Club.

“Living in a rural area has some great gifts and challenges. I believe in helping students now versus later. I believe all students can make good choices if given the tools, care, and guidance of adults investing in them. In our society some students are getting lost along the way. Students need a family, neighborhood, and community to raise them. The Rock House tries to fill in where there are gaps. We support the families and students. My desire is for our teens to be successful, happy, contributing members of our society.”

Cheryl grew up with her two sisters, mother, and Air Force officer father in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where her love of horses, camping, boating, and gardening began. Cheryl has lived in Clear Creek County for 41 years. Cheryl also has two children: her daughter is a paralegal in Colorado, and her son is a missionary in Mexico with his wife and three children. Cheryl has always loved students and loves her grandbabies.

Barbara Stahlhut

Administrative Assistant & Tutor
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Barb was an Arapahoe High School Mathematics teacher for 33 years, spanning from basic math to calculus and computer programming. She actually began successful single-gender classes at Littleton. After retiring in 2009, she and her husband moved to Georgetown. Barb began working at the Rock House in 2013 as a tutor and administrative assistant. She is our go-to math tutor, extremely talented in individualizing the help a student needs, believing any student can be successful if you find what works best for them. And within the office, Barb’s work is invaluable to the Rock House providing essential administrative assistance crucial to our organization’s inner workings.

“I am proud to be associated with the Rock House, and I hope to continue assisting students and families for a long time.”

Barb’s father was a career Naval officer, so she lived all over the United States, as well as in Panama. She enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, gardening, and taking her dog to the dog park. She and her husband have two children and four grandchildren.

Deborah Bautista

Mentoring Coordinator
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Deborah has lived in the Colorado area for 20 years. Deborah worked behavioral health for 5 years in a Colorado Springs high school. She has been a mentor for 25 years, a mentor at the Rock House for four years and a mentor coordinator for 2 plus years.

Deborah is passionate about the youth she works with and believes that having a mentor in your life provides lifelong benefits. She wants to bring hope to a hurting generation by providing a mentorship program that produces good fruit! Her hope is that the Rock House mentors and the program will be imitators of the Infinite’s compassion of caring for and restoring our youth. She wants these kids to know how incredibly precious and worthy they are. She is very excited to be a part of the Rock House again after a brief time away and is looking forward to working side by side with her husband Darren who will assist in the mentorship program.

Deborah enjoys being active in all things outdoors like tennis, hiking, kayaking, pickleball, and more. She loves her morning time prayers with her husband, babysitting her granddaughter, and spending time with her family.

Ruth Baker

Volunteer & Tutor Coordinator and Media Specialist
[email protected]
[email protected]

Ruth is a Health and Life Coach certified in 2020, through Health Coach Institute, Boise, Idaho, an accredited online training program and one of the top-rated coaching schools in the country. She is furthering her coaching education through Brave Thinking Institute and will complete her certification in December, 2023. Ruth has been a resident of Idaho Springs since 2017 where she still resides. Originally from Texas but calls the Midwest her home with Iowa being her home state. She started her work career at a very young age at her family’s restaurant which became her career in the service industry for a couple decades. Changing her career in 1992 where she worked as an administrative assistant for the Vice President of Tyson Foods. In 2009 she joined the Sioux City Community School District where she shared her administrative talents, interacted with students daily in different forums and participated as a volunteer in the student/mentor program. During which time Ruth served eight years as a volunteer as a youth group leader for her church. Ruth became involved with the Rock House as a volunteer mentor in 2019 and in 2022 joined the team as a staff member and yet maintained her position as a mentor. She is passionate about helping teens reach their full potential by redirecting their paths into a more transformative hopeful lifestyle.

Ruth is dedicated and committed in all her works. She is loyal and desires to always maintain strong and dependable relationships. She likes to swim for physical activity, loves her quiet time at home, listens to uplifting music, hiking, biking, and reading inspirational books. Ruth has four adult children and two grandchildren and her husband Robin of 28 years, who are the heart of her world. Ruth loves being a part of this mountain community.

Darren Bautista

Mentor Coordinator Assistant
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Darren moved to Evergreen in 2015, where he resides with his wife of 30 years. He established his work in the area as a building consultant. Darren has been a mentor for 29 years and for four years at the Rock House . After ten years in the building consulting industry he has chosen a new career path to have more capacity to serve at the Rock House and his love for kids. He has joined his wife Deborah and they will serve together in the mentor program. 

Darren is dedicated and committed to work with all the staff, mentors, and mentees as we work together to strengthen our core Rock House principles of respect, gratitude, accountability, and integrity.

Darren has three grown children and one amazing granddaughter. He loves all outdoor activities and hopes to bring his love for the outdoors to share with the kids at the Rock House. Most importantly, he loves the Lord, spending time with his wife, kids, and granddaughter.

 

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